My order from P-A arrived sooner than expected!
I put a few credits in the 3 main modes (360, and the 2 arrange) and here are some first impressions:
- The graphics are great. Espgaluda 2 had nice pastel colors (and I still prefer that style), but here everything is as bright and vibrant as possible. Later levels looks more like a disco than a space battle :lol it's a pleasure to see it running at 60 ultra-smooth fps with the obscene amount of stuff they put on screen. I think it's kind of a "point of no return" for Cave, they can't really make a game more crowded than this.
- Music... er... it's quite difficult to hear it, there's stuff exploding all the time!
- The 360 mode (=arcade in HD, no low-res mode this time) has 3 basic settings: Bomb, Power and Strong Style. Both Bomb and Strong style have autobomb... sooo disappointing. Coupled with the bullet-cancelling hyper, it makes the game far too easy. I reached the final stage on my first credit, and I wasn't even trying hard! I don't like this choice. I'm not a Cave god, actually I'm far from even being a "good" shmup player, but I love the feeling of "impossible" challenge that bullet hell games give me, and I think that having so many lives (in the end, that's what autobomb means) spoils that feeling. Oh well, I'll stick to Power mode. The scoring system is the traditional 'pachi chaining system, but much easier to keep than the past games, with a lot of bullet cancelling to increase the chain meter. The unlockable mid-bosses from DDP are a great idea!
- Arrange A is similar to DOJ, but you can switch between shot power up and laser power up anytime with a button instead of being force to choose one at the beginning of the game. Chaining is still done DFK-style, much easier than the original DOJ.
- Arrange B is... bizarre. I can't even understand what's going on. It's a pure score run, 1 level only. I'd better wait for a guide, as things seem to happen totally at random :lol
I need to play some more and see if the scoring system "clicks". I don't know if it'll last as long as Futari but surely it's gonna be a fun ride. Also, Aksys should be seriously considering this game for a localization. It's easy, it looks totally crazy and it hasn't a potentially off-putting theme like Death Smiles. Don't be fooled by the artworks, you see the robotic girls only for a few seconds during the game, this isn't a cute'em up, just a space shooter with some bizarre things thrown in.
