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[Jonnyboy117]

I just submitted my import review for editing, but I thought I'd send a quick warning to anyone thinking about importing this shmup: Don't. The game timer has an interesting effect once it counts down to zero. It doesn't mean game over for you, but rather for the boss (and keep in mind, the game is entirely bosses). So you can go through the whole game just waiting for the timer to count down on each boss, dodging the unblockable bullets and swiping away the rest with your sword. Icing on the cake: the only difference I could find in the difficulty levels is that hard starts each battle with fewer seconds on the clock, so hard mode is actually easier than easy mode, which is broken in the first place.

Anyone got that photoshopped GC controller with the "win" button? Chaos Field Expanded is that dream, now realized. You can literally beat the game by pounding on the A button and dodging the pink triangle shots.

 

[drohne]

i don't think chaos field is particularly good, but you really shouldn't be reviewing it. bosses leave after a certain span of time so you can't play the game indefinitely; try and find an arcade game without time limits of some sort. and when they leave they kill your score. you don't win when they leave. you lose when they leave.

 

[Jonnyram]

So you can go through the whole game just waiting for the timer to count down on each boss, dodging the unblockable bullets and swiping away the rest with your sword.

A lot of shmups are like this. It doesn't mean they're broken. Many people play shmups for points rather than just finishing.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

First, this is the GC version, not the arcade version.

Second, bosses don't just leave. Most of them are shown blowing up when time runs out, just as if you had depleted their life bars.

Third, I set new high scores by going through the game like this, never actually attacking the bosses. You could do better by being aggressive, I'm sure, but I don't think you don't lose points when time runs out (I'll check though).

I understand that these games are played for scores, but there is no online ranking or even multiplayer to compete against a friend. And the combo system, as far as I can tell (don't read Japanese), is extremely simple.

I'm not claiming to be a shmup expert, but I like the genre and have played Ikaruga, Gradius V, and Sin & Punishment extensively. Don't remember bosses just leaving in any of those games, but they are all Treasure. I may have to reconsider the review though. Luckily, there is a shmup expert on the editing board, so I think he would have caught this anyway.

 

[Jonnyram]

For the record, I agree the game is bad (I can't believe you played it enough to say you completed it more than once, but I guess your review must be thorough at least), but this kind of thing does happen in other shmups, for sure. It's just more pronounced in this game as it is only boss after boss after boss.

 

[drohne]

i know bosses in gradius v leave after a certain amount of time. in virtually any shooter they'll either leave or blow up. it's just a necessary fact of arcade games. and i mean "kill your score" relative to what your score would've been if you'd killed the boss. chaos field is a deeply score-based game. you essentially set your own level of difficulty, with greater risks yielding greater score opportunities. i mean, the game is named after its chaos field/order field system.

i don't know who you're reviewing it for, but you should probably consider that angle. i've only played it briefly, and i wasn't impressed. but the time limits do not "break" it.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

Thanks guys, I will reconsider the angle of the review, though I don't think it will come off much better if at all. And yeah, I did play through both modes multiple times and on different difficulty levels.