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[bob_arctor]

Finished with Windia and Sakura, with continues. Been playing only the 360 mode. Does anyone mess with the screen settings? I was really put off by the small size of the screen--so much so that I stretched both x & y to zoom 114, which makes it like a "normal" 4:3 ratio in that at least the screen is filled vertically. I normally would never do that but it was too severe to leave alone. I also turned down background brightness to 0 to have it all black on the sides and turned off smoothing.

 

[mjemirzian]

Got it here in Toronto. The gamerama guy was happy to see me purchase one, I'm guessing he thinks he's going to have trouble selling them. I think he still has 1 or 2 left. No regular editions in yet, just limited.

 

[souvlakispacestation]

turned off smoothing.

The JP release didn't have any smoothing filter options. What smoothing options were added for the US release?

 

[vulva]

If it's still in at my store, I'm gonna CAVE and get it. I hope I love it

 

[depths20XX]

There are other factors to consider as well.
Depending on the type of weapon used (Shot/Laser) certain enemies drop more skulls than others. I think it works like using the shot weapon for most flying enemies and the laser weapon for enemies on the ground...which makes sense since ground enemies tend to have more health.

Also you have to be sure to be close to grab items before they level down. Like say you kill an enemy and a crown appears if that crown hits the ground it becomes a skull and so on. Once the suicide bullets come into play each bullet absorbs adds the equivalent of one skull so that's definitely something to consider. Timing the power-up is essential as there are certain spots where you can practically refill a just emptied gauge. Also trigger the power-up when there are a ton of bullets on-screen. Every bullet canceled leads to more bonuses.

You are right about using correct shot type on certain enemies. However, it isn't as simple as shot for air and laser for ground enemies, unfortunatly. There are quite a few of the bigger flying enemies that yield more rewards from laser, such as the flying dragons.

Also, if you have max counter it's better to let the big gold crowns drop and hit the ground so they split up into multiple skulls

 

[bob_arctor]

The JP release didn't have any smoothing filter options. What smoothing options were added for the US release?

Just one choice that you can enable or disable. Nothing like RFA options.

 

[danmaku]

You are right about using correct shot type on certain enemies. However, it isn't as simple as shot for air and laser for ground enemies, unfortunatly. There are quite a few of the bigger flying enemies that yield more rewards from laser, such as the flying dragons.

Also, if you have max counter it's better to let the big gold crowns drop and hit the ground so they split up into multiple skulls

Actually, there are 3 types of shot (normal, laser and lock shot) and you have to use the right one for each enemy to get the maximum amount of crowns from them.

Very useful guide (including an enemy/shot table): http://www.cave-stg.com/forum/index.php?topic=281.0

 

[mintylurb]

If it's still in at my store, I'm gonna CAVE and get it. I hope I love it

get it so you can play online co-op with narayan!

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

You are right about using correct shot type on certain enemies. However, it isn't as simple as shot for air and laser for ground enemies, unfortunatly. There are quite a few of the bigger flying enemies that yield more rewards from laser, such as the flying dragons.

Also, if you have max counter it's better to let the big gold crowns drop and hit the ground so they split up into multiple skulls

Yeah it's kind of screwy how it works. Eh well most of the enemies get re-used very often so it's easy to memorize what works and what works less.

Oh and IIRC you can also get skulls by allowing the familiar to rest on top of enemies. I think it works on bosses as well.

I really shouldn't have used Sakura the first time I played Death mode. Really sucks getting used to going from two familiars to one when it comes to absorbing suicide bullets. Still at least outside of the EX/Final stages it's fairly manageable.

EDIT: Doh completely forgot about the lock-shot. I'm still trying to get used to that damn thing.

 

[vulva]

get it so you can play online co-op with narayan!

you think I have xbl gold? Think I'm made out of money!?

 

[depths20XX]

Actually, there are 3 types of shot (normal, laser and lock shot) and you have to use the right one for each enemy to get the maximum amount of crowns from them.

Very useful guide (including an enemy/shot table): http://www.cave-stg.com/forum/index.php?topic=281.0

Ah, yeah I meant to say lock shot. Haven't played this since last summer. Anyways, yeah, just look at that guide, it explains it better than I can.

 

[conman]

Just picked this up this afternoon. I've been wanting to give a Cave shooter a go for a while now, but I didn't want to spend $80 on an import (or bother with a tiny iPhone port).

Can't wait to get home and fire it up!

 

[Coin Return]

IGN review - 7.5

About what I expected.

 

[InfectedZero]

I have been putting a good amount of time into it and its such a wonderful game. Loving the music and just the awesome "Castlevania" feel I get from it, like another person said here. I'm just playing for completes right now. Since I'm not fully skilled or anything, just going to move up as I progress starting with Rank 1, 1CC. And I have to say that Casper is my favorite person to use.

 

[gunstarhero]

Is the general consensus here for control pad or stick?

Normally I wouldn't even ask (stick of course!) - but moving your familiar around with the right analog seems very tempting. I haven't tried it yet, but then again, I havent tried manually positioning my familiar with the stick either... (I think you have to hold a button down to do that).

Seems like to score big you have to position your familiar into the "x" bullets. Anyone try this with stick vs. pad?

Also - I kinda like using the blonde on the left - seems the weakest, but seems to get better results with her.

another AWESOME cave game!

 

[Risette]

My Amazon preorder finally shipped.

 

[souvlakispacestation]

Is the general consensus here for control pad or stick?

Stick. Definitely stick with the stick.

 

[Sysgen]

Is there any brick and mortar store that carries this? Gamestop says no copies within 100 miles.

 

[Balb]

So how do you guys like the packaging?

I ordered mine off Amazon so I won't be getting my copy until Friday, but looking at pics of the big box and such has me excited.

 

[InfectedZero]

So how do you guys like the packaging?

I ordered mine off Amazon so I won't be getting my copy until Friday, but looking at pics of the big box and such has me excited.

I was expecting it to be much larger. But its more of a "fun size" box which I really like.

Oh and you have much more precision with the stick. Ive been using my Street Fighter 4 fightstick which is fantastic. If your looking for a good, cheap stick, go with this since its only 50 bucks at Gamestop.

 

[amishpriest99]

IGN review - 7.5

About what I expected.

To quote from the review:

The real problem, though, is that Deathsmiles would seem to make more sense as a cheap Xbox Live Arcade game than the $50 retail game it is.

Gee, I sure didn't see that line coming (especially from IGN)...

 

[InfiniteNine]

To quote from the review:


Gee, I sure didn't see that line coming (especially from IGN)...

IGN can go to hell. I like my games boxed and on a disk.

 

[Daigoro]

So when you guys are playing, do you just play one credit or do you always continue to the end?

Whenever I get one of these games, it's one credit forever for me. I still haven't "finished" Ikaruga because of this.

i was surprised that the game would actually let you continue while playing Score Attack.

at first i thought it was dumb and pointless, but i like being able to continue after a run. sometimes it nice to be able to practice the later and harder portions of a game when youre so used to the first 2/3 of it.

its also nice that it doesnt affect your score at all, it just stops off where you died last and cuts off there. good stuff.

Finished with Windia and Sakura, with continues. Been playing only the 360 mode. Does anyone mess with the screen settings? I was really put off by the small size of the screen--so much so that I stretched both x & y to zoom 114, which makes it like a "normal" 4:3 ratio in that at least the screen is filled vertically. I normally would never do that but it was too severe to leave alone. I also turned down background brightness to 0 to have it all black on the sides and turned off smoothing.

yeah, we were so spoiled by RFA's options. (best port ever) first thing i did was turn off smoothing.

im playing on a CRT at 1024x768 and the screen size is still wacky. i went up to about 106% on X and Y so its a bit bigger, but even playing in a 4:3 ratio its still all widescreened with thin bars at the top and bottom. confusing...

i wonder if i would be able to get better results setting my 360 resolution to 640x480 or something. im going to play around with it, but i doubt im going to be able to much with it.

 

[luka]

IGN can go to hell. I like my games boxed and on a disk.

Are you my soulmate?

 

[InfiniteNine]

Are you my soulmate?

Only if you are female or a very convincing crossdresser.

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

Derp derp arcade / retro / 2d games aren't worth real money derp derp. Someone more well spoken than myself needs to make a thread about this. I'm curious what other people on here think.

 

[jepjepjep]

Wow, this game is great. Even better than I expected.

 

[Cedille]

Is anybody willing to provide the official names of each stage? I could only find the first one...


1. Halloweentown Aflame
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

 

[danmaku]

Is the general consensus here for control pad or stick?

Normally I wouldn't even ask (stick of course!) - but moving your familiar around with the right analog seems very tempting. I haven't tried it yet, but then again, I havent tried manually positioning my familiar with the stick either... (I think you have to hold a button down to do that).

Seems like to score big you have to position your familiar into the "x" bullets. Anyone try this with stick vs. pad?

Also - I kinda like using the blonde on the left - seems the weakest, but seems to get better results with her.

another AWESOME cave game!

IIRC you can use the right stick only in 1.1 mode, in Arcade and 360 the familiar spins around you in the opposite of your direction (i.e. if you press up he goes down), but I may be wrong, it's been a while since I played DS.

 

[Flek]

after seeing all the guys posting there LEs in the pickup thread and getting spamed with "this game is awesome" via caves twitter i cant help but bitch about region locking and not releasing this in europe. Most stupid shit ever … you make a "indy game" - what do you do? YOU REGION LOCK IT ? WHAT? Stupids… region locks need to die in hell. Fuck MS and fuck nintendo for still alowing it. They should force developers to make all games region lock free (like sony does). Stupid shit.

 

[Garcian]

after seeing all the guys posting there LEs in the pickup thread and getting spamed with "this game is awesome" via caves twitter i cant help but bitch about region locking and not releasing this in europe. Most stupid shit ever … you make a "indy game" - what do you do? YOU REGION LOCK IT ? WHAT? Stupids… region locks need to die in hell. Fuck MS and fuck nintendo for still alowing it. They should force developers to make all games region lock free (like sony does). Stupid shit.

I feel your pain brother.

 

[InfiniteNine]

I feel your pain and I don't even live in Europe.

 

[gunstarhero]

IIRC you can use the right stick only in 1.1 mode, in Arcade and 360 the familiar spins around you in the opposite of your direction (i.e. if you press up he goes down), but I may be wrong, it's been a while since I played DS.

You sir, are correct.

 

[TheApatheticOne]

Well, mine is out for delivery!

Of course.... Im at work for another 9 hours and wont have time to play it until Saturday. : (

 

[kiryogi]

Mines out too. Cheap shipping tho... Estimate sez july 7th D: D:

 

[DJmizuhara]

Hey Peeps, just wanted to let you know that we're livestreaming Deathsmiles 2X over at Justin.tv
Come join us for some mayhem!

 

[mjemirzian]

Derp derp arcade / retro / 2d games aren't worth real money derp derp. Someone more well spoken than myself needs to make a thread about this. I'm curious what other people on here think.

Here's what happened when I tried to argue that super cheap, poorly made euroshmup-style online shooters were harming Cave's potential in the west. You'll just get a very angry group of ignorant gamers who don't know the difference between Cave and 'yet another poorly made $1 online shooter'.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=20011442&postcount=93

Anyway I've been enjoying the game. Pretty easy to 1cc level 1 on original arcade mode.

 

[sixteen-bit]

after seeing all the guys posting there LEs in the pickup thread and getting spamed with "this game is awesome" via caves twitter i cant help but bitch about region locking and not releasing this in europe. Most stupid shit ever … you make a "indy game" - what do you do? YOU REGION LOCK IT ? WHAT? Stupids… region locks need to die in hell. Fuck MS and fuck nintendo for still alowing it. They should force developers to make all games region lock free (like sony does). Stupid shit.

Yeah bro as a gamer you're entitled to this shit

 

[RoryDropkick]

Christ, that IGN review was... well predictable but still, it's almost like they were trying to troll shooter fans :lol

 

[hipgnosis]

Yeah bro as a gamer you're entitled to this shit

Yeah it's hard being a stg-fan in this day and age. Especially if you happen to live in Europe.

On top of that you have to get used to play as little girls, you have to import stuff expensively, you have to read reviews that totally miss the point and you have to explain people why the hell you're playing 2D-shooters while there are plenty of 3D FPS-games available among other things. :lol

Hey Peeps, just wanted to let you know that we're livestreaming Deathsmiles 2X over at Justin.tv
Come join us for some mayhem!

Nice DS2X-stream by the way!

I'm just really disappointed about the polygon-graphics in the sequel. Shit looks so dull compared to the beautiful 2D-graphics were used to. And I gotta admit I'm not a big fan of the loli-shit and it seems it goes way further than the in the first game.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

Hey Peeps, just wanted to let you know that we're livestreaming Deathsmiles 2X over at Justin.tv
Come join us for some mayhem!

Thanks for doing that stream, it was nice to see some gameplay of various 360 shooters and having a bunch of people translating and discussing the games as well was great.

After watching the stream I feel that if Deathsmiles doesn't get announced for an EU release within 12-18 months I'll be importing a Japanese 360 console, there are too many crazy shooters to ignore it any longer.

 

[Flek]

On top of that you have to get used to play as little girls, you have to import stuff expensively, you have to read reviews that totally miss the point and you have to explain people why the hell you're playing 2D-shooters while there are plenty of 3D FPS-games available among other things. :lol
.

yeha it sucks … and developers love to tease you with a "region free mushihimesama"

 

[LiK]

Mine comes tomorrow, hearing the praises here has gotten me very excited

 

[str8-h4x]

Went through the entire game until the bonus stage and the last stage where I had to use at least 4 credits on 360 mode last night. Major fun. I did send the chick back to the real world, and no achievement popped - glitched, or does it have to be a 1cc run to get those to pop?

super happy.

 

[InfiniteNine]

Went through the entire game until the bonus stage and the last stage where I had to use at least 4 credits on 360 mode last night. Major fun. I did send the chick back to the real world, and no achievement popped - glitched, or does it have to be a 1cc run to get those to pop?

super happy.

Do you have voices on? That causes problems for achievements most of the time in the Japanese version.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Anyone have a date for when the regular edition gets released? I'd like to add it to the OP.

 

[depths20XX]

And I gotta admit I'm not a big fan of the loli-shit and it seems it goes way further than the in the first game.

Not only that, but you get little crossdressing boys in maid outfits in DS2!

 

[Tain]

I didn't day one this since I lost a bit of hype when I 1cc'd a friend's import copy so quickly, but the DLC sounds cool from trustworthy people so I'll probably pick up the US release when I get my next paycheck.

In other news, I wish M2 would port all of Cave's games. I mean, the DS port isn't bad or anything, but it's definitely not as cool as Mushi's port. I especially liked the whole no continues mode being the default!

 

[Chiaroscuro]

Anyone have a date for when the regular edition gets released? I'd like to add it to the OP.

I want to know that too. I decided not to spend a lot of money to get this huge collector's edition shipped here, since I already have the Japanese CE. Plus, I want to the normal version to have the normal cover.

 

[mjemirzian]

I didn't day one this since I lost a bit of hype when I 1cc'd a friend's import copy so quickly, but the DLC sounds cool from trustworthy people so I'll probably pick up the US release when I get my next paycheck.

In other news, I wish M2 would port all of Cave's games. I mean, the DS port isn't bad or anything, but it's definitely not as cool as Mushi's port. I especially liked the whole no continues mode being the default!

You won't be 1ccing mega black label 1.0 or 1.1 on level 999 difficulty very easily, unless you're a shoot em up god.