with all the talk about the iOS versions of CAVE shooters, which is the best one to get? more then one good? all are good? I have both a 4S iPhone and iPad 2.
let me know CAVE-gaf
They're all solid with the caveat of scoring being kind of hard cause they're all auto shot with a separate shot on/off button, with the exception of Deathsmiles which has a full manual shot option (haven't tried Bug Princess 2 though).
Otherwise if you're going to be playing on both devices I'd suggest one of the universal apps just so they fill the screen on the iPad, or ideally one of the "HD" ones (just Espgaluda II and DDP:R for now) since both your devices can play them. Just try the lite versions out. If you're cheap but still want high res, there's separate arcade and smartphone mode versions of Espgaluda II. The smartphone mode is tweaked version with touchscreen specific kakusei mode and new soundtrack, I don't really care for it but some people like the change up.
I've been playing these primarily on my iphone, I found that it's surprisingly hard to find a way to hold an ipad at an angle with one hand and tap with my thumb for laser/bomb and to use my other hand to move...it's easier to just move on the phone with my thumb and have a second hand ready to tap laser...but also because cave shmups are just really expensive for me to import right now. I might be able to swing a couple in a month or two (and really want to get Akai Katana), but for the moment, just a little low on funds.
When playing on iPad I just have it resting on something so I don't have to hold it at all.
DOJ Part 2 looks like a great return to form. I think DOJ would have been much better received if it had multiple difficulty levels.
Cave has said they aren't making 360 games anymore, but I'd be pretty disappointed if it didn't make it out of arcades to a console that supported arcade sticks (sorry smartphone lovers).
Android supports controllers...but the international store situation is still a mess I think. iOS has iCade but that's not an official thing so I don't expect Cave to support that, hopefully official controller support eventually comes. Hell enable apps and the Bluetooth chip on Apple TV and you have the potential for a $99 Cave console (if the single core A5 can handle the games in HD). I've wondered how much it'd cost to make Mac ports with digital input, god knows I've seen a bunch of iOS-Mac ones on the Mac App Store, even lazy listings just using iPad screenshots with fingers and touch inputs.
As for DOJ I was fine with the difficulty as far as survivability, but I couldn't stand playing it for score. The timing window of the chaining system with the level layout made it overly strict for me when trying to score well (and I'm someone that had no problem with Ikaruga).