Shmups on the 360

[dmauro]

This just in:
http://twitpic.com/15k5zp

Guwange, aka GaWang, will be coming out on jXBLA sometime this year. The nice thing about this is that you can't region lock, or at least they don't, XBLA games. So you should be able to pick this up with jXBLA points.

The XLA version will include three versions of the game: Arcade Version, a “Blue Version,” which was previously put on display at Cave Festival events, and an Arrange version which involves some reworking of the controls with the analog stick. Given that this game is an XLA release, it seems that CAVE will be adding another localization notch to its belt after the North American release of DeathSmiles by Aksys.

edit: reposting my last post since I bottom-paged myself

Forgot to mention that Deathsmiles II Hell's Merry Christmas is coming out for the 360 on May 27th (my birthday). I think I'll pass on this one. I kind of like the cover though:



Glitter, anime goth lolis, crushed snowman, what's not to like?


And here's the Ketsui cover art:



Apparently straight from a flyer, but all the art for Ketsui was awful. I like it better than the Ketsui DS cover though.

[dmauro]

The shooting festa is happening right now which is where this news is coming from.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/02/28/x360_shooting_festa_stage_report/

Check this out:

[FortNinety]

Yeah, am pretty excited for Climax. Won't be as much fun without the sweet cab, but hey, beggars can't be choosers!

Also, re: the new Ketsui boxart, the official illustrations have always been weird, but at least it wasn't stupidly generic. Seriously, looked like they got some kid from Minnesota on the strength of his DeviantArt to do it. Yikes.

And I just find it so odd that for a system that supposedly NO ONE owns or plays with in Japan is getting all these games.

[isfet]

so Espgulada 2's scorin system is sort of above my head. Or, at least, it isn't as obvious to me as Mushi's. On top of that, each mode is totally different. Arrange has a cool bullet eating mode though and I gt how to rack up points

Now the special attack/bomb: is that just unrelated to scoring? Do you build it up to take out harder enemies?

Waiting for Dave itt

[dmauro]

Strat thread for the original game.

Watching top scoring replays is also a good way to figure out how the different modes work. That's what makes these ports so much better than the PS2 ones even though they can't do proper low-res.

As to your specific questions, if this is anything like ESPGaluda I, bombing does not affect your score beyond it killing enemies that would otherwise get you points. It's not like Mushi Futari where it hurts a multiplier, but just watch your ignots and gems when you bomb and see. Bomb in the first game is used for survival/killing some mid-boss enemies faster so that more popcorn enemies spawn.

Everyone is still kind of making sense of Black Label as it is significantly different, but you can get a general idea if you check out the ESPGaluda II thread in the shmups forum chat section. Arrange mode is quite different too, as is Omake, but everyone says Omake is not any harder than Novice mode and is an easy 1CC unfortunately. :/

Omake unlocks by beating the game once, even with a credit feed I think.

edit: I don't have my copy yet. Expecting it tomorrow or Tuesday.

[FortNinety]

Once again Dave, according to the folks at the shmups forum, Deathsmiles 2 sorta sucks?

To be honest, after watching the trailer, I'm a bit unimpressed. Is it just me or part 1 looks much better?

[isfet]

yea, that's the main complaint with DS2.  essentially because it's ALL polygonal and no sprites. 


so i 1CC'd Novice 360 Mode with Gloria last night (Black Label doesn't have a 2-player mode) and i'm starting to get a better feel for the scoring system.  there's still a LOT that seems mysterious, though.  the way you use the bullet-time mode in every version of the game changes dramatically, essentially making each mode its own game.  which is good in terms of long-term play, but a bit daunting considering the system is so complex seeming.

Black Label is the most fun so far, though, for me.  bullet time is used primarily to create more bullets (by killing smaller enemies who then create bullet spirals) and then you cash in on all the extra stuff you've created.  i'm generally able to get an extend by the beginning of the third stage, although i imagine it's probably you could do this much earlier if you really know what the hell you're doing. 

i'm not sure if i prefer this game's style over Mushi, though.  aesthetically, i mean.  i think the main game is deeper than Mushi's systems, but Mushi is a bit more accessible and immediately engaging whereas this game is definitely a shmup-fan's shmup.  i'm also not terribly crazy about all the 10-12 year olds in the game, but at this point in the shmup universe that would be like complaining about how there are too many bullets.

[dmauro]

Yeah, in black label you can get an extend like forty seconds into the first level or something ridiculous like that. And yeah, it's all about bullet spawning by going into zesshikai and rubbing as many bullets as you can then going back to normal and killing the enemies. Again, just download the top replays.

It's a good thing that each mode is so different.

DS II is both ugly and a little weaker in terms of gameplay. Apparently it's ALL  ullet milking and no dodging.

[dmauro]

Arrange mode apparently increases in rank with each 1CC or something? But you can also increase it by watching a replay at a certain level and then saying "yes" to a diaglog box that pops up after watching I think.

[dmauro]

Damn, vanilla label is such a bitch. I think I'm just gonna cut straight to Black Label because I watched a replay of it and it looks a little more simple.

[FortNinety]

Still waiting for my copy, damn it...

[dmauro]

Mine was shipped EMS. I got the soundtrack too. Haven't given it a listen yet though.

[dmauro]

Apparently Zesshikai is actually Zetsushikai. Gaijinpunch claims responsibility for probably starting that mistranslation trend. Either way that mode is a bitch. I've just been playing the first level over and over trying to get that first big points section correct. If I do it right I can come out with 7 or 8 million, and my best run on the first level came out at 13 million (2 shy of an extend). Top score is at 30 million, stage 3, but I know I can do so much better, it's just a really hard game to get a hold of. The section at the end of stage 2 just before the boss, I know there are big points to be had, I actually pulled it off once somehow, but I just don't see how because the enemies shoot straight walls of bullets.

This game is so much more demanding in terms of scoring. You have to score when it wants, not when works for you like in ESPGaluda. The way you have to get gems and ignots to come together for scoring opportunities means the stage sets you up for certain sections, and if you're not ready for those, you're fucked. You can't afford to use kakusei defensively at all (I think exiting kakusei might even cost more gems this time around 0_0, it feels like it at least), and I've found myself bombing offensively for score, something I rarely if ever did in ESPGaluda. It's just that if you don't kill that mid-boss in stage 1 faster than you can with just your rapier, you miss out on some of those guys that spit out shit tons of bullets.

Ugg, and those guys too, you have to shoot them just enough to get them to spit out the big bullets, and then they can only take another shot after that, they're so delicate and you're trying to kill popcorn enemies in front of them without killing them so you can go into zetsushikai... man this game is MEAN.

[dmauro]

Back to Deathsmiles II, EOJ chimed in. If you don't know him, he runs Cave-stg.com and is probably the biggest Cave fanboy around. He writes great reviews of Cave games (which then get stolen by Icyclam for insomniac.ac).

Watched a bit of SIN's high scoring run, but only skipped around so I missed that part. Cheesy milking techniques aren't going to kill a game for me, though, otherwise I'd never play Esprade.

Milking in this game is quite minimal on bosses, nothing to the extent seen in Esprade (thank goodness) or even other recent Cave games like Futari or Espgaluda II. DSII is an incredible game, don't listen to the schmucks who complain about how crappy it looks but have never actually played it - these people are the source of pretty much every negative comment about this game. When I was living in Japan last year I had Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu and Ketsui cabs right next to the DSII cab, and almost every time I went to the arcade I ignored DFK and Ketsui and played DSII instead (with the occassional credit of Futari 1.5, of course). It's definitely one of my favorite Cave games. The scoring system is easy to pick up, but very deep, and it's just pure fun from start to finish, including an awesome last boss fight. Also, each character plays very differently in regard to scoring, which gives the game a lot of longevity. I'm really happy the port is coming so soon.

If the game were really good it would be easier to overlook, but it seems like most people that have played it only say it's decent at best.

Most people I've talked to who have played it a good amount love it. It's popular in Japanese arcades (there was almost always a line waiting to play it at the arcade I frequented). And by the way, the arcade game looks quite excellent on an HD monitor when you're actually playing it.

[dmauro]

Getting a little better. I got up to 41 million, had the extend by the beginning of the 2nd stage. Joe, have you been playing this mode at all?

Here's some Ageha fan art to get you psyched about the game, Matt: