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[Rummy Bunnz]

Yeah, I owned Cybercore. I'm just baffled why anyone would put it on any list. It's kinda...well...forgettable. Despite playing it recently I don't remember it at all, aside from the bug theme. I think shooters comprise 50% of the PCE library, and I'd probably put Cybercore towards the bottom of that 50%. I'd rather play Steam Hearts.

I was kinda disappointed with Progear at first, too, but that's cuz I'd spent years hyping myself up for it. I really dug it once the scoring clicked, but Espgaluda's gimmick is pretty similar and better. I think if I'd played Progear first I would've enjoyed it a lot more. Not that I didn't love it. It just didn't rocket to the top of the pops like I expected it would. Has my favorite Cave art, though. It is hard, but I found it easier than a lot of horizontals for some reason. I'm just really, really bad at them for the most part.

Battle Garegga's a game I really wanna like, but everytime I try it I just end up irritated. Again, I think my opinion might be different if I could play it properly (TATE'd on a big screen) as I've totally flip flopped on games by doing that before, but that ain't happenin' anytime soon.

I'm praying Cave announces an Ibara port soon. Mushihime would also be nice, but a new Raizing-esque game has me all excited.

I just used MAME for the first time in almost a year. Tried out Raiden Fighters Jet, and it seemed quite good. I discovered a fairy! Then I felt dirty for playing on an emulator and went to play with my cab. I'm a no good snob.

What's that really fast, bullet crazy Famicom game? Is it Recca? That's pretty cool. Ain't better than Gradius V but worth playing to see the Fami do shit you wouldn't think possible.

 

[bob_arctor]

What's the general consensus on this? Pretty much a must-buy?

 

[aku:jiki]

Pretty much a must-buy?

I wouldn't say so, no. I've never really heard about anyone raving about that one. It's more of a game people buy just because it's by Raizing. (Not bad by any means, though, from what I can recall.)

I was kinda disappointed with Progear at first, too, but that's cuz I'd spent years hyping myself up for it. I really dug it once the scoring clicked, but Espgaluda's gimmick is pretty similar and better. I think if I'd played Progear first I would've enjoyed it a lot more. Not that I didn't love it. It just didn't rocket to the top of the pops like I expected it would. Has my favorite Cave art, though. It is hard, but I found it easier than a lot of horizontals for some reason. I'm just really, really bad at them for the most part.

I hear ya. I should play it some more tonight, now that I have RGB (clean pixels!) for my Xbox, but damn... Shooters really do turn you into a snob! I'm starting to cringe more and more at the framerates in the XB emus. Progear was all right, though, I think.

Actually, how does Progears scoring work?

 

[drohne]

i absolutely love soukyugurentai. which was incidentally my first manic shooter, and my first serious one-credit clear. it makes brilliant use of its wide playfield, with attacks coming at you from every direction, and it's uniquely chaotic. and the level choreography and sakimoto soundtrack occasionally conspire to produce something sublime (e.g. the initial descent through the clouds in stage 3). as with all raizing games, the rank system (which essentially punishes you for playing the game well) can be oppressive, but it's not as pronounced as it is in garegga...i could get to the final boss on one credit before i knew what rank was. i think it's a must buy.

incidentally, if you're using a domestic saturn with a converter cart, you'll want the white-bordered rerelease, "soukyugurentai otokuyo"; the original release is glitchy on such a setup.

 

[Nick Laslett]

delete

 

[bob_arctor]

i absolutely love soukyugurentai. which was incidentally my first manic shooter, and my first serious one-credit clear. it makes brilliant use of its wide playfield, with attacks coming at you from every direction, and it's uniquely chaotic. and the level choreography and sakimoto soundtrack occasionally conspire to produce something sublime (e.g. the initial descent through the clouds in stage 3). as with all raizing games, the rank system (which essentially punishes you for playing the game well) can be oppressive, but it's not as pronounced as it is in garegga...i could get to the final boss on one credit before i knew what rank was. i think it's a must buy.

incidentally, if you're using a domestic saturn with a converter cart, you'll want the white-bordered rerelease, "soukyugurentai otokuyo"; the original release is glitchy on such a setup.

Ah! Thx for the info--I was about to purchase the original release off Ebay. The game, from even those teeny screenshots floating around, looks incredible enough for me to be convinced.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

Progear's scoring is awfully confusing. Took me awhile to get it down, even after reading the guide on Sheep's World of Arcades. (Hopefully linking to his site is ok - there's some big disclaimer on the splash page, but it doesn't mention anything about linking.) I'd actually forgotten how it worked exactly until I re-read this just now.

My shooter snobbery has gone as far as it can go, thank goodness. I think the only thing left is to start buying new releases at $2,500, and I'm a sad enough person that I probably would do that if I had a ton of money. Wait, I still don't own a Naomi. That's the next step - paying exorbiant prices to play games with arcade perfect Dreamcast ports on my cab! If only they'd hurry up and get cheap...

 

[bob_arctor]

Just copped this off ebay--the racer/shooter theme was too hard to resist.

 

[aku:jiki]

Progear's scoring is awfully confusing. Took me awhile to get it down, even after reading the guide on Sheep's World of Arcades. (Hopefully linking to his site is ok - there's some big disclaimer on the splash page, but it doesn't mention anything about linking.) I'd actually forgotten how it worked exactly until I re-read this just now.

Yeah, I checked that out and have now played a few sessions. It really is great. Addictive, like any Cave game. I want to relax and watch a movie right now, but I just can't let go of the controller. (Well, I finally managed to, obviously...)

Either way, though, I don't fully get it yet. You're supposed to switch back and forth between weapon "modes", right? Alternating between getting rings and rocks. But, like, when do you do it? I just kinda switch back and forth at random now.

Oh, and for the record, I still don't get ESP Ra.De. or Guwange either. ESP is awesome great even without the scoring, though.

 

[j^aws]

Wow...some of you definitely know your shooters...and my hats off to you! ... And to the only other poster who mentioned the Defender series (Defender 2, aka Stargate) apart from myself!

Just gonna have to spend the next couple of years going through these shooters, time permitting...

 

[Kola]

Raiden Fighters Jet

 

[callous]

I have Soukyugurentai for PSX and it's one of my favourite shmups for the system. One of those games I keep taking out to play through again and again over the years.

 

[The End]

I was playing Castle Shikagami II in tate mode last night. Very satisfying.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Gradius V is lovely, but yes, it's too long for my taste and it's way too easy to have a good, long run go to crap in a hurry. I like playing individual sections and bosses in the level select mode than practicing the full game. I like shorter shooters with denser difficulty and level layout. My favorites are Battle Garegga, Raiden Fighters Jet, and Espgaluda.

incidentally, i happen to be one of those garegga fanboys who loves the overwhelming brown and invisibullets. to the point that i can't enjoy bakraid or batrider in the same way, and am suspicious of ibara's pastels and anime chix and rose motif (though of course i'd still kill for a ps2 port).

I feel the same about Bakraid and Batrider. Neither of them seem to be as intricate or serious as Garegga, and as such I've had a hard time getting into them when emulating and haven't spent anywhere near the hours with them that I have on Garegga. One of those two will be the next PCB I buy, though, if not RFJ, so that'll help me put the necessary time in. I'm completely sold on Ibara, though. It's like Garegga done up in a Cave color scheme with that much more debris and bullets and explosions, and I think the chara designs are classy enough to fit such a thing.

someone really needs to do a raizing collection on ps2...or two collections, maybe a mahou daisakusen pack and one with bakraid and batrider. eighting could take a moment out of defiling razing's legacy and throw shooter fans a bone. they're still my all-time favorite shooter developer, raizing.

Definitely. Mahou Daisakusen and Great M.D. need console ports in a bad way.