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[adversesolutions]

Welcome to the official Neogaf Grev thread, your source for obscurantist news on the one and only G Revolution, one of the last Japanese shooter devs, with a taste for colorful characters and bizarre scoring systems. Composed mostly of ex-Taito employees, Grev made a name for themselves with their Dreamcast-era hits Border Down and Under Defeat, as well as their programming collaboration on Ikaruga, which became a milestone in the shooting genre.

Grev has distinguished themselves in the shooting space by their willingness to try their hand at new game styles, and in 2005 the company launched their space mech fighter, Senko no Ronde, into arcades. Senko no Ronde was released in English as Wartech: Senko no Ronde by Ubisoft in the US. With a passable game balance, Senko built up a fan base with tournaments in arcades. A more manic sequel, Senko no Ronde DUO was released in 2009, and ported to Xbox360 in 2010, included MvC2 style assists and more tweaked game mechanics. Grev have built on a small but loyal fanbase, and are still putting out original games for console platforms as well as the occasional arcade (NESSiCA) release. Recently they released the impressive XBLA shooter "Strania: the Stellar Machine", and their recruitment of Ikaruga director Hiroshi Iuchi hopefully bodes well for upcoming projects despite their shaky financial state.

This thread will be the spot to get the latest news on Grev games and products. Subscribe to this baby because it won't be on page 1 for long!​

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COMPANY INFO
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Official Grev Facebook - The only spot on the internet besides this thread with dedicated news about Grev in English. Check it out!

Grev Blog - Regularly updated by Maruyama with news about their latest projects, this page is only in Japanese. Located here.

Official Homepage - Overall info on the company.

Grev Shop - Not open to overseas orders unfortunately...

Ustream Channel - Recently Grev has taken to Ustream to promote their games. Cool if you understand Japanese.

​

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DEVELOPERS
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Hiroyuki Maruyama - CEO and game designer for Grev, Maruyama has overseen the Senko no Ronde series and acted as director for most of Grev's games. Maruyama originally worked at Taito, and worked on G. Darius among other games.

Hiroshi Iuchi - A recent transplant to Grev, Iuchi was a co-founder of Treasure and has worked as a graphic artist on titles like Yu-yu Hakusho, Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier. He served as director and chief planner for Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun and Gradius V.​

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RECENT INTERVIEWS
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Gen 16 (2011)​

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COMING SOON
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As of February 2013, Grev only has Under Defeat for Sega's All.net plus Multi scheduled for release this Spring.
In terms of their future plans, Senko no Ronde for Vita was officially announced about a year ago, but there has been almost no information on the game and some Japanese users are speculating on whether it will actually come out given the dismal state of the Vita.

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OUT NOW
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UNDER DEFEAT HD
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TITLE: Under Defeat HD
GENRE: Vertical Scrolling Shooter
PLATFORMS: Xbox360, PS3 Disc Release
DEVELOPER: Grev
PUBLISHER: Grev
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
RATING: Cero A
PRICE: 7,980 yen (LE)
5,600 yen (SE)
​

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RELEASE DATE: February 23rd, 2012
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ABOUT UNDER DEFEAT HD
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A vertical-scrolling helicopter shooter which was originally released for the Dreamcast in 2005, Under Defeat became a collector's item due in part to its compelling 3D Naomi 2 graphics and the simplicity of its gameplay which was a return to the "shoot and destroy" shooters of yesteryear. In the HD version, available for both Xbox360 and PS3, the original game lives on in Arcade Mode, where players navigate military-themed levels while taking out enemies with their shot and bomb. However, like any shooter, Under Defeat has a scoring system under the veneer of simplicity. Similar to the Raiden series, a certain amount of patience is encouraged: holding off on the shot button will charge your option gauge, and hitting shot once it's full will release your option attack: either Vulcan, Cannon or Rocket. Enemies killed with your option attack will give a 2x bonus.

The HD remaster also features a "New Order Mode", which is a full 16:9 expansion of the game where each stage is much larger on-screen. Whether other parts of the game system differ from the original arcade release remains to be seen.

More thoughts on the Dreamcast release from 1CCBlog:

One of the trademarks of Under Defeat is the bullet sprite fired by enemies, a single thin shot used in several deadly and organic formations. "Organic" is my way of seeing how these bullets are generated (based on rank) and how random certain gameplay aspects turn out depending on your peformance. And much like in Rayforce the ground shots seem to have a life of their own, taking some time to reach your altitude. With the slight tilting applied to the vertical axis this leads to a unique style that's pleasing to the eye but at the same time extremely deceiving: death comes with a crushing explosion that seems to freeze the screen for a split second, and when I learned the game had absolutely no extends or 1UPs I realized that the word "difficult" had found a new home.

Attention to detail is what makes Under Defeat a real gem. This goes both ways, in that the player must refine his/her gameplay to the standards set by the game. In other words, the more you advance the more important a good strategy becomes. Death awaits in every corner, often ruining a perfectly planned run due to the slightest mistake imaginable. Some of the most frustrating things are running into a stray bullet or missing the target with the rocket. This last one spoils the strategy completely, either incurring in risky moves to get things back together or in the use of a bomb. However, getting a 100% contribution ratio based on a well-executed plan is a wonderful payoff. It makes you feel powerful in a way very few other shmups are capable of.

On their February 17th USTREAM broadcast, Grev announced that there would be extra DLC available for Under Defeat in the near future.

What we know at the moment:

• Gamer Icons
• New Playable Helicopter - Beginner-oriented, probably much stronger than the normal ship like the DLC character "Nowa" for Mamorukun wa Norowaretteshimatta.

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VIDEOS AND SCREENSHOTS
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Check out the first promotional video for Under Defeat HD here.

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LIMITED EDITION BOX ART AND CONTENTS
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The limited edition of UDHD comes with a reproduction of the original Dreamcast packaging inside the box, which houses the game DVD.

Also packed in is a "New Order Soundtrack CD" by composer Yosuke Yasui, known for his retro soundtrack on minimalist shooter Eschatos.​

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GAME MODES, SCORING SYSTEM AND ACHIEVEMENTS
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A translation of the achievements can be found here.

Shmups also has a breakdown of the scoring system here.​

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KOKUGA
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TITLE: Kokuga
GENRE: Arena Shooter
PLATFORMS: 3DS Download
DEVELOPER: Grev
PUBLISHER: Grev
PLAYERS: 1 to 4 people (Compatible with Local Wi-fi and Download Play, i.e. if one person has a copy, several others may play)
RATING: TBD
PRICE: TBD
​

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RELEASE DATE: March, 2012
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Grev president Maruyama hinted that Kokuga would release in March on their Ustream broadcast of 2/17. So far the release date has been "Spring" only.​

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ABOUT KOKUGA
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Hiroshi Iuchi's first directorial project at Grev, Kokuga is also Grev's first 3DS release.

Kokuga's game design consists of four main points:

• 1 shot on screen
  
  Commanding your mobile ship, you will have to maneuver into position with the slide pad and aim with the shoulder buttons. Fire with the A button to take out enemies. Only one shot can remain on screen at time so you will have to pick your angles.
  
  
• Cards
  
  Cards are randomly dealt at the start of each stage, and can be used to recover life, help out your friends or deal massive damage to enemies.
  
  
• Play time and difficulty
  
  You can choose how you want to play Kokuga depending on how much time you have. You progress through the game along a route of your choosing, towards one of the Final stages below. If you're playing with your friends, you could for instance choose the shortest route to the Final stage, and take a longer route when you're playing on your own.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As you beat stages, their difficulty transforms from Normal -> Hard, Hard -> Ultimate.
  
  
• Multiplayer
  
  Play co-op with up to four players. Kokuga is compatible with "download play" meaning that you can play with friends even if they don't have a copy.
  
  

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VIDEOS AND SCREENSHOTS
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First promotional video.

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GAME MODES, SCORING SYSTEM AND ACHIEVEMENTS
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There are three difficulties: normal, hard and ultimate. Scores are recorded for each mode, and for each stage.
Scoring essentially involves destroying as many enemies as possible in the stage, while using the multiplier that you get with your cards as best you can. You'll notice a x2, x3 etc. on the cards on the bottom screen, this is the multiplier applied to any enemy when you destroy it.

Clearing a stage will earn you a medal. The more medals you collect, the higher the game's internal rank climbs, making enemies fire more bullets, change their attack patterns, and become harder to kill.
Kokuga is a straight-forward clear-based game so there is not much to the scoring.

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STRANIA, THE STELLAR MACHINE
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TITLE: Strania - The Stellar Machine
GENRE: 16:9 Vertical Scrolling Shooter
PLATFORMS: XBLA
DEVELOPER: Grev
PUBLISHER: Microsoft
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
RATING: E10+
PRICE: 800 MSP​

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RELEASED: March 30th, 2011
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Demo and full game are available on Xbox LIVE. The demo version features first two stages.
Download Strania on Xbox.com here.

​

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ABOUT STRANIA
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Strania is Grev's first original title for XBLA, and is playable in arcades via the NESiCAxLive system.

Built around a weapon-swapping scoring mechanic that encourages players to use the myriad of weapons found in the game as often as possible, if Players can make it to the end of Strania, they will be rewarded massively for each weapon they raised above rank 10, meaning that high score runs will focus on constant weapon switching and safe play.

In place of the "bomb" mechanic found in other shooters, Strania has an "O.D. Gauge" which builds up as you destroy enemies and can give you up to a 2.0x bonus on bosses. Visually, the game is very dynamic and has a cinematic sci-fi feel to it.​

Story

April 23, 392 PD
Operation "Stella Shooter"

By positioning a base, codenamed "NS-032," on the frontline, the Vower army controlled the space over planet Strania. In order for Stranians to retake the area, destroying NS-032 was of utmost importance. However, to accomplish that feat, they would first have to eliminate "Gunrock," Vower's enormous particle weapon that was aimed directly at their planet. Even with the fleet of warships that the Stranians commanded, they had to destroy the weapon in order to give themselves a chance to win the war.

A covert operation was developed, centering on the elite special task force - the Stella Machina.

More story information here.

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SCREENSHOTS
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SCORING SYSTEM AND GAME MODES
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See this thread for more information.​

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DLC
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SIDE VOWER
PRICE: 400 MSP

A tale does not become an epic without multiple twists and storylines, and the epic of Strania is not limited to the chapters detailing the Stranian forces’ attempt to defend the planet they call home. In the DLC package SIDE VOWER, gamers assume the role of the intergalactic travelers who have come to Strania with a mission – to recapture the land that they hold sacred.

Work your way into the heart of the planet as you fight through newly arranged stages each capped with a Stranian boss. New music tracks accompany you as you duel with the elite Stella Machina. Break through Stranian defenses and lead the Vower army to fulfill their destiny.​

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MAMORU-KUN WA NOROWARETTE SHIMATTA!
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TITLE: Mamoru-kun Wa Norowarette Shimatta! (Little Mamoru got cursed!)
GENRE: 16:9 Vertical Scrolling Shooter
PLATFORMS: PS3
DEVELOPER: Grev
PUBLISHER: Cyberfront
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
RATING: B 12+
PRICE: 8925 Yen (LE)
6279 Yen (SE)

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RELEASED: March 31st, 2011
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■■■There is a free demo with two stages of the new Meikai Gekijou Mode available on JP PSN.■■■
​

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ABOUT MAMORU-KUN
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Mamoru-kun was a quirky game released for Arcade and later Xbox 360. Players control one of six characters in this vertical-scrolling style shoot-em-up with a scoring system built around "cursing enemies" with your special attack, turning their bullets into colorful stars, and building long combo chains. The Xbox360 release featured a Story Mode along with Arcade Mode.

The PS3 release reworks the game into full 16:9 and gives a wider playfield to maneuver in. It also adds a new objective-based challenge mode with over 60 missions, a new soundtrack and new downloadable costumes.

This game is the first packaged release for a shooter on the PS3, despite being several years into the system's life-cycle.​

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SCREENSHOTS
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LIMITED EDITION BOX ART AND CONTENTS
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Excerpts from the art book:

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GAME MODES, SCORING SYSTEM, ACHIEVEMENTS AND COSTUMES
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See this thread for more information.​

 

[adversesolutions]

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Gunhound EX
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TITLE: Gunhound EX
GENRE: Mech Shooting/Action Game
PLATFORMS: PSP
DEVELOPER: Dracue, Grev
PUBLISHER: Grev
PLAYERS: 1
RATING: B 12+
PRICE: 5229 Yen (LE)
3129 Yen (SE)

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RELEASED: January 31st, 2013
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There is a free demo available on JP PSN.
http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/uljm06225.html
Search for 機装猟兵ガンハウンドEX .

​

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ABOUT GUNHOUND EX
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Gunhound EX is a mech horizontal scrolling shooter, originally developed by Dracue for PC as a Doujin game. The EX version was ported to PSP by Grev who also polished certain parts of the game and added voices during story sequences. In Gunhound, your mech shoots its way through over 7 stages, against a mechanized enemy army that includes robots, drones, watchtowers, radar installations and huge boss mechs. You have two standard shots that requires aiming, and also lock-on weapons like homing missiles that attack the enemy automatically.

Gunhound is set in a world defined by the 21st century conflict between the Europe-African Union (composed of the southern European states and African countries) and the New Eurasia Union, composed of mid-east countries and the former EU. These two federations are fighting over "neutron polymer", which has replaced oil as a central fuel resource. The player is thrown into this conflict in a country called Veltonia, where armed factions fighting for democracy have risen up against the dictorial government, creating a proxy war between the EAU and the NEU. The NEU dispatches the Gunhound squad into the heart of this conflict, but what will they find there?

​

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SCREENSHOTS
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LIMITED EDITION BOX ART AND CONTENTS
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Limited edition includes a soundtrack with a mini-artbook.

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MINI-FAQ
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Since there is not much info about this game on the net, I've assembled a simple FAQ below. Check back for updates later on.

CONTROLS

X = Jump, hold for thrust/hover
[] = Machine gun, or mega blast (+ R-trigger)
^ = Punch, or missiles (+ R-trigger)
O = Dash
R-trigger = hold down for secondary weapons
L-trigger = hold to lock turret arm, also orients you in zero-gravity sections (MUST be used in these sections)
D-pad = moves left & right, double tap for dash. Up/Down aims turret arm angle.
Select button = Armor purge, increases mobility and restores health to 100%. Also means you will take much more damage when hit.

(Thanks Koa Zo at Shmups)

TIPS

・Go into the options and make sure auto-save is on before you start playing.

・Get used to holding the R shoulder button to use your lock-on attacks. You'll need them all through the stages and especially on bosses.

・On bosses and in tough parts, using your armor purge is essential since it boosts your health back to 100%. When you get low on health, be ready to hit Select.

・You can change weapons, armor and colors at the "Customize" menu option. Try out different combinations to see what works for your play style.

・The game doesn't have a high score screen, so if you want to score attack it you'll have to take a pic or write down your score at the Results Screen after the credits scroll.

・If you're having trouble in the game, which you will, grind for a bit to unlock more items and give them a try (see unlockables below). Clearing the game with default equipment is a chore after the fifth stage or so, and it's nearly impossible to carry scores from stage to stage since you die so much.

・Spend the time to clear all the simulation missions. Although they can be really hard and frustrating at times, they'll teach you the basics of the game, and once you clear all 7 you'll get a defensive shield you can use in the main game. This shield will stop your forward movement, but it will block any attack.

UNLOCKABLES

Gunhound EX has unlockable weapon/armor upgrades that make your mech significantly stronger. Basically the more you play the game, the more you'll unlock.
Unlockables are unlocked by raising the "Total Score" which is displayed on the Main Menu, this number tracks the overall score from all missions you have cleared, including Simulator missions.
You will see your first unlockable at 5,000,000 points. Weapons and armor unlock after that with every 10,000,000 points and the last unlock is at 100,000,000.

Weapon List:

All weapons listed from top to bottom of the equipment categories.

Main Shot

Gatling Cannon (Default Load-out)
Gatling Cannon (Short barrel)
30mm Surface to Surface Cannon

Sub Shot

Hard Blow (Default Load-out)
Iron Claw
Hand Grenade
Gatling Claw
Clutch Fang
Anti-bullet Shield

Main Anti-air

Twin Rifle (Default Load-out)
Shotgun
Napalm Thrower
Grenade Launcher

Sub Anti-air

Quad-barrel SAM Missile Launcher (Default Load-out)
XVI Warship Cannon
35mm Anti-air Heavy Machine Gun
Anti-ship Energy Launcher
Double barrel Anti-air Missiles

Armor List:

Default
Light Setting
Pink
Yellow
White
Black
Green
Red

Difficulty Settings

The "Easy" difficulty is unlocked upon clearing the game. So far there are only two difficulties: Normal and Easy. There is no apparently no Hard Mode in the game.

LAST BOSS STRATEGY

Spoiler

His first form is easy once you get the hang of it. The only thing that might nail you is the green missile attack which seems to cover the whole screen, but it doesn't. Just head to the left of the screen and jump over them.

There's a zero-gravity section in this fight that you will absolutely need to have practiced for. Simulator mission 7 is good practice. You'll need to hold the L shoulder button down and navigate through the green orbs that spawn at the top of the screen to attack the boss at his vulnerable point. Make sure that when you fire your missiles they all stay visible since the game doesn't track projectiles fired off screen. Basically you're going to need to maneuver quickly across the screen, position yourself right under the boss' chin, right your ship so the homing missiles lock, fire and then roll on quickly. Using the X button to boost around is a smart choice.

 

[Brobzoid]

subbin,


don't have anything to add beyond that... >_>

 

[A Huge Battleship]

A+ thread. Only thing I would say is that the B.O.S.S. mechanic was in the first Senko no Ronde as well.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Thanks for the thread. I have Under Defeat HD and Mamoru-kun's rerelease preordered. I actually never (really) played any of Grev's games, even though I have bought Strania.
By the way, isn't Strania's DLC priced at 400 points? I'm not really sure if that is the same one because for some reason all its names and descriptions are in Japanese even on the European marketplace.

 

[SOME-MIST]

subscribed. very awesome thread. I've played mamoru-kun wa norowarette shimatta (360), senko no ronde, senko no ronde duo, under defeat, and border down. I've been dying to check out strania

 

[adversesolutions]

A+ thread. Only thing I would say is that the B.O.S.S. mechanic was in the first Senko no Ronde as well.

Corrected! Never really got to play the original enough.

Thanks for the thread. I have Under Defeat HD and Mamoru-kun's rerelease preordered. I actually never (really) played any of Grev's games, even though I have bought Strania.
By the way, isn't Strania's DLC priced at 400 points? I'm not really sure if that is the same one because for some reason all its names and descriptions are in Japanese even on the European marketplace.

400 is right, corrected above.
If anybody else finds errors, please let me know.

Yeah I was on the fence about Under Defeat, but I've decided to make the jump since Grev announced they'll be putting out the DLC helicopter. Having played the arcade version a few times, I feel like it's a pretty damn tough game, so anything that will help me get those second loop achievements is welcome.

 

[iconoclast]

Nice work on the thread. I ordered Under Defeat from solarisjapan, so I hope I'll have it before long. I'm starting to get tired of DOJBL, so I could use a change of pace. Hope it clicks with me.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

We needed a GRev OT?

Trick Question. Yes, we fuckin' did.

I need to buy Under Defeat HD... though I'm waiting to find out which console's version is better. Holding off on selling my Dreamcast LE until I'm sure they didn't screw it up. Though maybe I'll just hang onto it anyway, for posterity's sake.

I also need to nab Senko no Ronde Duo, because apparently, that one was actually pretty rad... from what I hear.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Got UDHD on preorder at the moment. Can't wait.

 

[adversesolutions]

The Pink Bullets blog sat down with Hiroyuki Maruyama and interviewed him about Grev's current projects.

http://www.pinkbullets.co.uk/blogs/g-rev-interview/

It's a bit surprising here that Grev is talking about "re-focusing" on social games, and I wonder if something wasn't lost in translation given that they've never made a social game and don't have any in the pipeline now. I definitely do believe that they're looking into mobile stuff, in fact I'd be happy with some Grev goodness on my smartphone. If anything, besides their core shooting projects, the company seems focused on small projects like the Senko no Ronde novel and a new SnR soundtrack CD.

Speaking of the SnR novel, it's coming out in March and is a collection of the serialized installments which appeared in Arcadia. Maruyama showed a rough sketch of the cover on the stream the other day:

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

Great job on the OP! Always nice to see G Rev get some attention!

Very tempted by Kokuga next month. Still also undecided (gone back and forth so many times) about Under Defeat HD this week. Loved it first time round on the DC, but it's expensive, especially as there's a lot of other stuff coming out in the next few weeks. I'll probably hold off a few months, but looking forward to reading some impressions.

 

[Daigoro]

i want to buy Under Defeat HD so bad. it's disc release only for 360 or am i mistaken?

im tempted to make a Japanese account just to buy those upcoming gamer pics if they are decent.

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

i want to buy Under Defeat HD so bad. it's disc release only for 360 or am i mistaken?

im tempted to make a Japanese account just to buy those upcoming gamer pics if they are decent.

Disc release for 360 and PS3.

 

[Slermy]

Any chance Under Defeat will be region free on the 360? I already own the Dreamcast release, but I'd like to support G.Rev, so I'd be willing to double dip if it was.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Any chance Under Defeat will be region free on the 360? I already own the Dreamcast release, but I'd like to support G.Rev, so I'd be willing to double dip if it was.

No chance. G.rev said so.

IIRC there won't be any more region free releases, but I forgot where I heard that.

 

[Slermy]

Unfortunate.

 

[BOTEC]

After glancing over the OP I realized that I don't even like any G.Rev games, but for some reason I own them all. Still, I support shooting games, so I subscribed. Looking forward to UDHD later in the month.

 

[Tain]

Ready and waiting for UDHD 360.

I want to hole up somewhere and clear all the Darius games and Border Down. That would be nice.

Great OP!

 

[djtiesto]

Awesome OT, great to see this company get some love... I've played (and really enjoyed) Mamoru-kun (even though a lot of people find it mediocre), Strania, and Senko no Ronde, and didn't know that they were formed by ex-Taito people.

I've always wanted to play Border Down but the price is really high, hopefully that game gets the HD treatment one day.

 

[Gen X]

Great OT. Love the LE with Dreamcast cover, what a great homage to a great system. <3 Grev

 

[adversesolutions]

New Order mode + Mango juice nau.

 

[danmaku]

I'm on the fence for Under Defeat HD. Did't like Strania at all, but UD looks totally different (in a good way).

 

[Tain]

all that jealousy

NCSX is awesome and all, but it'll be days before I have it.

 

[Yes Boss!]

Yay! Under Defeat Week!

 

[BOTEC]

New Order mode + Mango juice nau.

Curse you and your geographical location! My pre-order just shipped today. Got my new stick delivered this morning too. It's all falling into place...

 

[adversesolutions]

Yeah, looks like NCSX orders are shipping. Good news for folks overseas. It was that news which prompted me to ask if it had shipped at my local game shop while picking up some XBL points, and there it was. Good times.

Impressions so far:

&#12539;It's fun! This game is really 100% a clear-based shooter. You can score if you want but there are a) no extends and b) no massive score bonuses like you'd see in a CAVE game for instance. That means less stress when going through the levels since your main focus is survival. By the way, the game is very hard so don't have any illusions there. I would say a little under Ketsui in terms of difficulty so far...

&#12539;The game loads quick and snappy. Bam-bam-bam you're playing. And I haven't even installed it yet. No long waits between retries (and you will be doing a lot of that).

&#12539;New Order Mode is pretty gorgeous in its 16:9 glory. The gameplay seems well-balanced as well, no cheap shots from far off, almost seems like the game was designed for this from the get-go.

&#12539;As someone noted on shmups, the boss fights in New Order Mode do not have boss music, which is disappointing.

&#12539;Gallery unlocks as you accomplish certain things in-game. Not much unlocked so far, just some sketches of the main characters.​

Won't have a lot of time to play this week, but will get back to it on the weekend.

 

[iconoclast]

Can you use the new arrange soundtrack in arcade mode? Solaris shipped my order as well, hope I'll have it by the end of the week.

 

[adversesolutions]

Can you use the new arrange soundtrack in arcade mode? Solaris shipped my order as well, hope I'll have it by the end of the week.

You can use an "Arrange" soundtrack in Arcade mode, which is slightly different from the original (possibly DC era?). New Order soundtrack is limited to the New Order Mode, although you can switch to the Arcade soundtrack there.

 

[Tain]

no extends

Whoa, I never realized this.

my scrubby hoarding tactics won't work here

 

[thetrin]

This thread makes me want to break out my CE of Border Down and play a few games. My Dreamcast is packed up a little too deep to make me want to do that though.

 

[ExitPlanetDust]

Yeah, looks like NCSX orders are shipping. Good news for folks overseas. It was that news which prompted me to ask if it had shipped at my local game shop while picking up some XBL points, and there it was. Good times.

Impressions so far:

&#12539;It's fun! This game is really 100% a clear-based shooter. You can score if you want but there are a) no extends and b) no massive score bonuses like you'd see in a CAVE game for instance. That means less stress when going through the levels since your main focus is survival. By the way, the game is very hard so don't have any illusions there. I would say a little under Ketsui in terms of difficulty so far...

&#12539;The game loads quick and snappy. Bam-bam-bam you're playing. And I haven't even installed it yet. No long waits between retries (and you will be doing a lot of that).

&#12539;New Order Mode is pretty gorgeous in its 16:9 glory. The gameplay seems well-balanced as well, no cheap shots from far off, almost seems like the game was designed for this from the get-go.

&#12539;As someone noted on shmups, the boss fights in New Order Mode do not have boss music, which is disappointing.

&#12539;Gallery unlocks as you accomplish certain things in-game. Not much unlocked so far, just some sketches of the main characters.​

Won't have a lot of time to play this week, but will get back to it on the weekend.

Does the game fullscreen when on a 4:3 standard def set when playing the old or original mode? Someone on shmups said it would, but I was hoping for confirmation when people started receiving their orders. A box within a letterbox would suck.

 

[CAVE343]

Thanks for the great thread, subscribed! Ordered Under Defeat, never played it, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[adversesolutions]

Does the game fullscreen when on a 4:3 standard def set when playing the old or original mode? Someone on shmups said it would, but I was hoping for confirmation when people started receiving their orders. A box within a letterbox would suck.

Unfortunately I do not have a 4:3 set to test this out on. If anybody does though I would appreciate the info.

By the way, confirmed today although it was no surprise: the game does not have replays. This was the case for Strania and Mamoru-kun as well, really all of Grev's 360/PS3 shooters. I actually very much prefer this to the situation with CAVE games where everybody just watches the best guy on the leaderboards and copies his strategies. For people picking up the LE, there's a scoring DVD in there that includes both a scoring run and a low-risk clear run, and that's a really good guide if you need help getting through the stages.

 

[Gaspode_T]

Strania has to be the most accessible game on that list (in terms of purchasing it, no excuses, it's available everywhere!), buy it folks

 

[Daigoro]

After glancing over the OP I realized that I don't even like any G.Rev games, but for some reason I own them all. Still, I support shooting games, so I subscribed. Looking forward to UDHD later in the month.

makes sense.

&#12539;New Order Mode is pretty gorgeous in its 16:9 glory. The gameplay seems well-balanced as well, no cheap shots from far off, almost seems like the game was designed for this from the get-go.

in the original the field of play did shift left/right as you moved, so there were enemies off screen at times. i assume this is no longer the case?

 

[Uncle Dukey]

I'm still waiting for Senko no Ronde DUO to come out overseas... Doesn't seem like it'll happen does it?

 

[adversesolutions]

makes sense.

in the original the field of play did shift left/right as you moved, so there were enemies off screen at times. i assume this is no longer the case?

Indeed, in New Order Mode they are always on-screen.

To a certain extent this is compensated by the amount of room you have to maneuver, but in certain sections enemies seem to have been added (for instance there are two tanks on stage 1 instead of only one in Arcade Mode), so the difficulty seems roughly the same compared to Arcade Mode.

I'm still waiting for Senko no Ronde DUO to come out overseas... Doesn't seem like it'll happen does it?

Yeah, it's a shame. If anything could sell overseas it's this game. You've got:

1. The fighting game renaissance
2. A solid fighter with some balance issues but no major bugs
3. A great story mode, score attack in the port

But the big barriers are probably the costs involved in the localization, which would be somewhat large I imagine (even forgoing the voicework).

I almost wish they would upgrade the game and re-release it on PS3 so people overseas without a J360 could play it, but I doubt sales would justify it. Right now Grev is probably trying to connect up enough projects so that they can eventually release an SnR 3 since it's such a popular franchise for them.

 

[iconoclast]

No replays suck, but I guess it isn't such a big deal with this game since the scoring is so straight forward (ie. let your option finish as many enemies as possible). Ah well, there's always youtube/nico for us strategy thieves.

 

[vulva]

I want Under Defeat but it's just way too expensive for me I think. I love shooters, but it's getting a lot harder to justify spending that kind of money =(

 

[ExitPlanetDust]

Unfortunately I do not have a 4:3 set to test this out on. If anybody does though I would appreciate the info.

By the way, confirmed today although it was no surprise: the game does not have replays. This was the case for Strania and Mamoru-kun as well, really all of Grev's 360/PS3 shooters. I actually very much prefer this to the situation with CAVE games where everybody just watches the best guy on the leaderboards and copies his strategies. For people picking up the LE, there's a scoring DVD in there that includes both a scoring run and a low-risk clear run, and that's a really good guide if you need help getting through the stages.

Ahh. I should be able to confirm when my copy gets here. Play Asia says it shipped today. I have my PS3 hooked up to an SDTV the majority of the time.

Is the included bonus DVD region free?

 

[sixteen-bit]

New Order mode + Mango juice nau.

yo what the fuck man

i jelly

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Yeah, it's a shame. If anything could sell overseas it's this game. You've got:

1. The fighting game renaissance
2. A solid fighter with some balance issues but no major bugs
3. A great story mode, score attack in the port

But the big barriers are probably the costs involved in the localization, which would be somewhat large I imagine (even forgoing the voicework).

I almost wish they would upgrade the game and re-release it on PS3 so people overseas without a J360 could play it, but I doubt sales would justify it. Right now Grev is probably trying to connect up enough projects so that they can eventually release an SnR 3 since it's such a popular franchise for them.

I think the epic bomba that was Wartech (I blame Ubisoft entirely for that) really scared them off of localizing the sequel. That aside, TEN STRONG FOR US SENKO NO RONDE DUO.

 

[kaioshade]

SHIT, how did this slip past me?

Time to break out the wallet...

 

[sixteen-bit]

Just paid for my Under Defeat HD LE. Can't wait.

 

[Baron]

Is there any chance whatsoever of an Under Defeat HD release here in the west, in any form? I've got the LE for Dreamcast, so I'm loath to drop an even hundred on importing a port of a game I already own. I've still got to import those other two region-free 360 shooting games, Bullet Soul, and the weird greek-sounding game that comes with Judgment Silversword.

 

[BOTEC]

Cross-posting from pick-up thread.

The disc is full color. A nice touch.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Is there any chance whatsoever of an Under Defeat HD release here in the west, in any form? I've got the LE for Dreamcast, so I'm loath to drop an even hundred on importing a port of a game I already own. I've still got to import those other two region-free 360 shooting games, Bullet Soul, and the weird greek-sounding game that comes with Judgment Silversword.

Never say never, but we haven't heard a thing yet.

 

[adversesolutions]

Is there any chance whatsoever of an Under Defeat HD release here in the west, in any form? I've got the LE for Dreamcast, so I'm loath to drop an even hundred on importing a port of a game I already own. I've still got to import those other two region-free 360 shooting games, Bullet Soul, and the weird greek-sounding game that comes with Judgment Silversword.

Best way is to ask Grev directly. Given the CAVE ports coming over via Rising Star I would say there's a possibility.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grev-Ltd/194052213944305

 

[Teknoman]

Strania is amazing.