Shmups (Shoot 'Em Ups) |OT| THE FULL EXTENT OF THE JAM

Mr. Virus · Dec 9, 2021

What's the deal with exA anyway? I heard some stuff a few years back that they were a bit questionable, but nothing super concrete. Was it just a reaction to them needing really expensive PCs and commissioning custom ports/versions of some games?

I mean I'd love for the games that came out for it to get a wider release, but I get that it would, uh, completely ruin them as a company.

CielYoshi · Dec 9, 2021

Mr. Virus said:
What's the deal with exA anyway? I heard some stuff a few years back that they were a bit questionable, but nothing super concrete. Was it just a reaction to them needing really expensive PCs and commissioning custom ports/versions of some games?

I mean I'd love for the games that came out for it to get a wider release, but I get that it would, uh, completely ruin them as a company.

I think back then there was the question of when they were going to actually release systems, as for a long time they talked about their system but had nothing concrete to show for it. Nowadays I don't know if there's any talk of them being questionable other that a dislike for their exclusivity clause.

Mr. Virus · Dec 9, 2021

CielYoshi said:
I think back then there was the question of when they were going to actually release systems, as for a long time they talked about their system but had nothing concrete to show for it. Nowadays I don't know if there's any talk of them being questionable other that a dislike for their exclusivity clause.

That's fair enough then! At least it's nothing horrendous, cheers for the info :).

KidAAlbum · Dec 9, 2021

twentytwo22 · Dec 10, 2021

Almost got the 1-ALL 1CC on DDP Daioujou. First time getting to the last boss. If I had gotten the second extend it would have been easy, but I am still totally trash at scoring this game. The chain windows are so damn tight. I need to figure out how to pick up 10-15mil more points in the first three stages, cuz lord knows I ain't doing anything but trying to survive in stages 4 and 5.

ScOULaris · Dec 10, 2021

So, uh, what's the deal with the final boss in Espgaluda II? For the last chunk of her health bar she has a big green shield around her, and none of my shots do any damage whatsoever. I shot her for ten straight minutes, credit-feeding in an attempt to figure out how the hell to do any damage. Eventually I just ended my run having been unable to finish her off.

Was that a bug?

twentytwo22 · Dec 11, 2021

ScOULaris said:
So, uh, what's the deal with the final boss in Espgaluda II? For the last chunk of her health bar she has a big green shield around her, and none of my shots do any damage whatsoever. I shot her for ten straight minutes, credit-feeding in an attempt to figure out how the hell to do any damage. Eventually I just ended my run having been unable to finish her off.

Was that a bug?

You can't bomb/autobomb. Just regular shots.

japtor · Dec 11, 2021

twentytwo22 said:
You can't bomb/autobomb. Just regular shots.

To be more specific, the bomb (well the bomb's field/beam) recharges the boss. So if you use it you just gotta be sure to move out of the way to miss the boss.

(I might be thinking of the first Espgaluda here but I think it works the same way in II)

ScOULaris · Dec 11, 2021

japtor said:
To be more specific, the bomb (well the bomb's field/beam) recharges the boss. So if you use it you just gotta be sure to move out of the way to miss the boss.

(I might be thinking of the first Espgaluda here but I think it works the same way in II)

I thought that might be the case, but regular shots don't seem to be doing any damage in the first place. What a terribly annoying last boss in an otherwise fantastic game.

CielYoshi · Dec 11, 2021

ScOULaris said:
I thought that might be the case, but regular shots don't seem to be doing any damage in the first place. What a terribly annoying last boss in an otherwise fantastic game.

Are you perhaps dying during that phase of the boss? Whenever you die or bomb during that phase she'll put up that invincibility shield around her, but it will disappear in about 15 seconds, provided you don't die or bomb during that period, otherwise the time resets.

ScOULaris · Dec 11, 2021

CielYoshi said:
Are you perhaps dying during that phase of the boss? Whenever you die or bomb during that phase she'll put up that invincibility shield around her, but it will disappear in about 15 seconds, provided you don't die or bomb during that period, otherwise the time resets.

Oh Jesus Christ. That must be why. REALLY hard not to die or bomb for that long during that last one phase.

twentytwo22 · Dec 11, 2021

I kinda like them, to be honest. Galuda 1 is the same. But they are really fun to learn and execute.

twentytwo22 · Dec 11, 2021

Sorry for the back to back posts, but I finally got it! Insanely good game, but I hate the rigid scoring system.

Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label 1-ALL 1CC 56,051,760 B-S

Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label 1-ALL 1CC 56,051,760 B-S

Dodonpachi Daioujou 1-ALL. Get yourself a man who knows how to score in DDP DOJ. It isn't me.

youtu.be

CielYoshi · Dec 11, 2021

twentytwo22 said:
Sorry for the back to back posts, but I finally got it! Insanely good game, but I hate the rigid scoring system.

Dodonpachi Daioujou 1-ALL 1CC 56,051,760 B-S

Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label 1-ALL 1CC 56,051,760 B-S

Dodonpachi Daioujou 1-ALL. Get yourself a man who knows how to score in DDP DOJ. It isn't me.

youtu.be

I love DDPDOJ, it was one of my first PS2 imports, but I don't think I've ever gotten past stage 3, or at least I don't recognize anything past that.

twentytwo22 · Dec 11, 2021

CielYoshi said:
I love DDPDOJ, it was one of my first PS2 imports, but I don't think I've ever gotten past stage 3, or at least I don't recognize anything past that.

The PS2 port was white label, which I might go for next. It's a bit harder than what I did here, which is black label. But yeah, PS2 DOJ was such an excellent port, I also got it when it came out. Great memories.

StarCreator · Dec 14, 2021

japtor said:
To be more specific, the bomb (well the bomb's field/beam) recharges the boss. So if you use it you just gotta be sure to move out of the way to miss the boss.

(I might be thinking of the first Espgaluda here but I think it works the same way in II)

I think the recharging aspect of it is unique to the first Espgaluda, but otherwise it's similar.

CielYoshi · Dec 15, 2021

Super early reports and all, but it seems the DeathSmiles ports are fine, no noticeable input lag. As a curiosity, it seems DS1 is running in the engine LiveWire created for its ports, while DS2 runs on the zeroDiv engine.

MrNewVegas · Dec 15, 2021

CielYoshi said:
Super early reports and all, but it seems the DeathSmiles ports are fine, no noticeable input lag. As a curiosity, it seems DS1 is running in the engine LiveWire created for its ports, while DS2 runs on the zeroDiv engine.

Looks like I'll grab the physical for Xmas!

ScOULaris · Dec 15, 2021

CielYoshi said:
Super early reports and all, but it seems the DeathSmiles ports are fine, no noticeable input lag. As a curiosity, it seems DS1 is running in the engine LiveWire created for its ports, while DS2 runs on the zeroDiv engine.

How much Japanese text is there in the menus and such? I know it's getting a Western release, but it's not until March of next year. Trying to decide if I should just import it to have it earlier.

Lakeside · Dec 15, 2021

I can't for the life of me find this (DS) on the Japanese PSN shop. I see the DLC though!

CielYoshi · Dec 15, 2021

ScOULaris said:
How much Japanese text is there in the menus and such? I know it's getting a Western release, but it's not until March of next year. Trying to decide if I should just import it to have it earlier.

The japanese version has English support, at least on the eShop

CielYoshi · Dec 15, 2021

More impressions coming up:
-The DS1 side of the game has essentially arcade-perfect slowdown (they actually invited top DS1 players to playtest the port) and very low input lag.
-The DS2 side of the game has wrong coloring, wrong contrast, almost no arcade slowdown, but very low input lag.
-In both sides for some strange reason you can't zoom in so the screen fills vertically (it stops at 102% in DS1, for example)
-The DLC girls act like a different version of DS1 and you can switch between them (so you can't mix original and DLC girls for P1 and P2)
In summary: the DS1 part of the game is a fantastic port, the DS2 part is a dumpster fire (but with low input lag!)

double_heist · Dec 17, 2021

Grabbed the physical PS4 copy for Deathsmiles over PlayAsia!

FinFunnels · Dec 17, 2021

Disappointing to hear about the DS2 port. I'll still buy it just so that I'll have a way of easily playing it, but man...

Mr. Virus · Dec 17, 2021

Sega's Astro City V announcement dropped. Tate version of the original one. Featuring Toaplan, Raizing and others!

Trailer:

Games:

Zaxxon
Action Fighter
Wrestle War
Desert Breaker
Raiden
Batsugun
Dogyuun
V-V
Same!x3
Out Zone
Tatsujin
Tatsujin-ou
Shippu Mahou Daisakusen
Armed Police Batrider
Battle Bakraid
Sengoku Ace
Strikers 1945
Gunbird
Moon Cresta
Terra Cresta
Cosmo Police Galivan
Sonic Wings

GSK on twitter has more details

MrNewVegas · Dec 17, 2021

Mr. Virus said:
Sega's Astro City V announcement dropped. Tate version of the original one. Featuring Toaplan, Raizing and others!

Trailer:

Games:

GSK on twitter has more details

Holy shit. Glad I held out on the OG.

Funkfox · Dec 17, 2021

Mr. Virus said:
Sega's Astro City V announcement dropped. Tate version of the original one. Featuring Toaplan, Raizing and others!

Trailer:

Games:

GSK on twitter has more details

The games on here are insane!

1upsuper · Dec 17, 2021

Mr. Virus said:
Sega's Astro City V announcement dropped. Tate version of the original one. Featuring Toaplan, Raizing and others!

Trailer:

Games:

GSK on twitter has more details

I can hardly believe what I'm seeing. Holy shit. That lineup is incredible.

Futaleufu · Dec 17, 2021

They managed to get most of the iconic "independent" vertical shooters. The only missing game I can think of right now is Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings

Agent Unknown · Dec 17, 2021

As someone who has been waiting since the Dreamcast era for home ports of Batrider and Bakraid I'm very excited for this not to mention the previously arcade exclusive Toaplan titles. I own the original Astro City Mini but will be getting this without hesitation, that is a dream lineup. I'd prefer home console ports of course but the Mini is a solid little device and I'll take this for now over spending insane amounts of money on PCBs or waiting forever for any possible M2 ShotTrigger versions to gradually trickle out.

Timu · Dec 17, 2021

Futaleufu said:
They managed to get most of the iconic "independent" vertical shooters. The only missing game I can think of right now is Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings

Uh, Sonic Wings was shown at 12:07 from that Youtube vid.

Futaleufu · Dec 17, 2021

Timu said:
Uh, Sonic Wings was shown at 12:07 from that Youtube vid.

LOL, I stopped watching the video after Galivan was shown, well, that's that

MrNewVegas · Dec 17, 2021

Agent Unknown said:
As someone who has been waiting since the Dreamcast era for home ports of Batrider and Bakraid I'm very excited for this not to mention the previously arcade exclusive Toaplan titles. I own the original Astro City Mini but will be getting this without hesitation, that is a dream lineup. I'd prefer home console ports of course but the Mini is a solid little device and I'll take this for now over spending insane amounts of money on PCBs or waiting forever for any possible M2 ShotTrigger versions to gradually trickle out.

It's insane value.

twentytwo22 · Dec 18, 2021

Got the 1-ALL 1CC on the original Donpachi:

Donpachi 1-ALL 1CC Ship C 7,685,920

My first 1-ALL 1CC on Donpachi. Ship C, 7,685,920.

youtu.be

Not too difficult after getting Dodonpachi and Daioujou before it. Definitely a strange game after playing the others first; it feels like Batsugun and Dodonpachi were put in a blender. Fun stuff, though.

I now have some sort of 1CC on each Dodonpachi game, which is cool. (I don't count DDP2 :D )

Donpachi 1-ALL
Dodonpachi 1-ALL
Daioujou Black Label 1-ALL
Daifukkatsu Strong 1-ALL
Saidaioujou Xbox Mode Shot 1CC

Not sure what to play next, but something a bit less punishing would be nice.

CielYoshi · Dec 19, 2021

twentytwo22 said:
Got the 1-ALL 1CC on the original Donpachi:

Donpachi 1-ALL 1CC Ship C 7,685,920

My first 1-ALL 1CC on Donpachi. Ship C, 7,685,920.

youtu.be

Not too difficult after getting Dodonpachi and Daioujou before it. Definitely a strange game after playing the others first; it feels like Batsugun and Dodonpachi were put in a blender. Fun stuff, though.

I now have some sort of 1CC on each Dodonpachi game, which is cool. (I don't count DDP2 :D )

Donpachi 1-ALL
Dodonpachi 1-ALL
Daioujou Black Label 1-ALL
Daifukkatsu Strong 1-ALL
Saidaioujou Xbox Mode Shot 1CC

Not sure what to play next, but something a bit less punishing would be nice.

You know what you must do: Track down an arcade with DDP2 and 1CC it, so you really complete the DDP series AND it fits the criteria of something less punishing :D

clippa · Dec 20, 2021

Moon Dancer demo is out. You get the caravan stage with an online leaderboard for free like the demo with his last game. Really good fun.

I was at the top when I uploaded this, but things might have changed since!

SharpX68K · Dec 21, 2021

Konami's Xexex is this week's ACA release!

This time last year right around Christmas we got Gradius III.

nintendolife.com/news/2021/12/xexex-one-of-konamis-greatest-shmups-is-coming-to-switch-this-week

Originally released in 1991 and powered by hardware that was far more advanced than the current home systems at the time could manage, Xexex mixes elements of Irem's R-Type with Konami's own Gradius and X Multiplyto create one of the most unique and distinctive experiences in the shmup genre.

It didn't see a domestic port until 2007, as part of the Japan-only PSP collection, Salamander Portable. Its release on Switch will thankfully make it easily accessible to millions of potential players

Agent Unknown · Dec 21, 2021

SharpX68K said:
Konami's Xexex is this week's ACA release!

This time last year right around Christmas we got Gradius III.

nintendolife.com/news/2021/12/xexex-one-of-konamis-greatest-shmups-is-coming-to-switch-this-week

Nice! XEXEX is sooooo good. Now I can retire my Salamander collection on PSP. =)

clippa · Dec 22, 2021

M2 live stream is on.

Aleste Branch trailer timestamp - https://youtu.be/g6ZqU0_pVCc?t=4714

Noisepurge · Dec 22, 2021

Ugh, i hate this trend of putting all the ports and variants under the day1 DLC codes :(

Fireshark games aren't my favourites, might be a skip anyways

Lakeside · Dec 22, 2021

Man I hate that we have M2 energy being expended on Fire Shark when we have Batsugun, Batrider, Bakraid, Ibara (and BL) out there begging for modern ports.

Mr. Virus · Dec 22, 2021

Honestly just wish they had as much as a digital release outside of Japan (and the odd US one that happens).

I don't fancy paying double (or more) for any of them because of shipping and customs.

ScOULaris · Dec 22, 2021

Lakeside said:
Man I hate that we have M2 energy being expended on Fire Shark when we have Batsugun, Batrider, Bakraid, Ibara (and BL) out there begging for modern ports.

I feel the same way. Toaplan is cool and all, but we all know what the people want. Raizing and Cave. That's it.

It especially sucks because we've seen what M2 can do with titles from those legendary devs. Their ports of Kestui and Battle Garegga are basically the definitive, Criterion Collection versions of those all-time classics.

PepsimanVsJoe · Dec 22, 2021

It's ridiculous that you have to buy the game and the DLC in order to get the best version of Fire Shark (The MD port).

Plume · Dec 22, 2021

Yeah I'm not feeling these Toaplan collections either. I got into Batsugun recently on my Saturn, so I was hoping it would be next in line for the M2 treatment. Ah well!

Aleste Branch looks awesome though! Looks closer to Aleste than Senjin Aleste did tbh, though both look excellent. Hopefully both of them will get console ports before long.

Or is Branch already a console game?

1upsuper · Dec 22, 2021

M2 show no signs of stopping their Shottriggers line so I'm more than happy to see more of these historical compilations. They're right up my alley.

But please do get to the rest of the Bat trilogy soon, please. The Astro Mini V isn't going to offer the same treatment that M2 would.

jazzfunkgreats · Dec 24, 2021

The physical version of Cotton Rock n Roll just turned up today which is mental seeing as it only got shipped yesterday from Amazon Japan! Interestingly enough the whole game is already in English, so it's import friendly unless they feel like patching out other languages again. It came with a history of Cotton book which looks fantastic (night dreams) from a quick flick through, as well as the Nendoroid and OST CD.

Only played the game for a few minutes before going back to work, so no real impressions yet apart from that the first couple of stages are good fun even if the graphics look a bit budget. Runs great on the Switch (so far) as well.