Yes region free but I have no list I’m afraid. Off top of my head:
Battle Garegga
Dangun Feveron (I think that’s out?)
Raiden V (have it on Bone, I like it)
Ghost Blade HD (it’s not all that)
Astebreed (a bit shit)
Darius Burst C.S. (I like it)
And last but best... Resogun is absolutely stellar. Great game.
Got to the level 5 boss with no life loss tonight (in amongst a lot of screw up attempts but there's an underlying improvement - I have lost the fear I had of this level). I feel a breakthrough coming. I need to keep at this.
Used a save state to practice the level 5 boss for a while too - it's a weird one - there seems to be different attacks prompted in different ways. Beat it a few times but the pattern was different each time. I don't think it's random - needs some study - there seems to be a relatively easy way to beat it.
Need to so do some complete runs though - don't want to go cold on levels 1-4. Level 4 can still be a bit of a bast at times.
Aye staying frosty on 1-4 is a good shout, when I playing ikaruga it was all well and good doing great individual level runs, bit stringing them all together in a single effort was quite something else.
I'm not even thinking of scoring with the levels 4 and 5 - I'm grabbing most of the gold I generate in the earlier levels but I doubt my skill level will ever get near the mad scores the top guys get. The amount of gold they generate using the reflect shield is insane - they overtake my best score somewhere in level 2...... They also counter stop the multiplier in level 5.
Their final red score digits (think it's the trillion count) are north of 250... I'll be lucky to break 50 with a survival 1CC.
Even if (EDIT: when!) I get a 1CC, Gigawing has 3 other ships to try and their firing patterns are quite different. Tried a few and they change how the game feels quite a bit.
Tried a full run tonight - got to level 5 with no miss and using my usual 1 bomb on the level 3 boss. Was quite comfortable , though level 4 is still twitchy. Then went on to get past the level 5 mid-boss so quite satisfying though my scoring was well behind my usual par.
Did a few more level 5 crunches and got to the boss a couple of times. Just need to keep playing. I need to put in a real crunch session to get a definite route for when I get past the mid boss - maybe over the weekend (trying to do some coding in the evenings as well) - just need to keep myself warm until then.
Some more level 5 pain tonight. Getting better but progress is slow. It's such a demanding level. I'm finding as I get better at the earlier sections I get a bit ahead of my pattern and end up missing something and that's all it takes to have to waste a bomb.
So I have to sit back and try not to be too clever. I'm still kind of freestyling around a basic route toward the end of the level but it doesn't feel all that difficult now - the challenge is just stringing all the sections together.
Beat the level 5 boss again too so that has started to loose its mystique now. Level 6 which is just a boss fight looks like it won't be too bad - have dipped my toe into that this evening too.
As a palate cleanser I tried the game from the start with a different character. The game mixes up the order of the first 3 levels depending on which character you select so the bosses have new tricks when you meet them on a later level than you are used to. Got to the level 3 boss first time and it was fun. My life losses were silly mistakes - just getting a bit tired I suppose. The fact that a well crafted shooter adds value like this is another reason I love this genre so much.
This game isn't lying down. Some more level 4 & 5 last night. Some more pain. So close though.
Level 4 life losses are silly mistakes.
Level 5 life losses are caused by :-
* lapses in concentration and being out of position or
* not hitting a bullet spewing enemy enough to take it out before moving on or
* just falling "behind the route".
If I lose my pattern in level 5 early on I can recover - did that a few times which is pleasing.
Boozing this Friday so may not be fit for rinsing this over the weekend.
ooooohhh had a couple of slick level 5 runs tonight. Did the level and took out the boss using 1 life and 1 bomb. Was in control the whole time too. Repeating it with consistency is the trick though
Using shmupMAME so I can record replays. Would be nice to do it on the Dreamcast version too - it has an exclusive extra ship that's unlocked when you 1CC the game.
EDIT: the unlockable ship is actually the TLB. Nice.
Save stated my way to level 6 tonight with 2 lives. Have had a few cracks at that boss. Have hit it enough times to make it change state twice but there's probably another state to go...think I'll hit youtube and see how the pros deal with it. Problem with those videos quite often are the experts milk bosses - I'd just like to see the fastest defeat.
Level 5 getting better - beat the boss a few times with no life loss or bombs.
Six levels. Level 5 is the last "proper" level. Level 6 is just a boss fight. If you beat levels 1-6 on 1 credit you fight the TLB. No loops or anything.
The TLB looks tough but not mad DoDonPachi tough. If you can get there with a couple of lives you could probably alternate bombs and reflects to spam it.
Use of the reflect is extremely satisfying as it rebounds bullets back at enemies and any enemies that reflected bullets hit generate gold to pickup which increases a score multiplier. It's a simplistic game in many ways but the levels are well designed. Very enjoyable. It isn't considered a tough 1CC over at shmups.com but for me I think the difficulty is just right - just above my skill level - so it's a good one for me to develop myself with.
Hungover today after a bit of splurge yesterday. So only played a short time today. Getting better at level 5 and its boss. I'm pretty confident of being able to no-miss up to level 6. Might have a go at that tomorrow.
Made a no-miss 1 bomb up to the mid boss of level 5 this morning. Was comfortable. Then I messed up - silly mistakes - and game over at level 5 boss. I have a no bomb route in level 5 that if I get wrong forces me to bomb in 1 place (I see other 1CC videos bombing in the same place so I shouldn't get too fussy about that).
I know I can no-miss 1 bomb up to level 6 now. Worst is 2 bombs used.
Will have a crack at it again later this evening. Fighting a head cold at the minute but playing this makes me forget that
Palate cleansing with a spot of Christmas Nights from time to time.
Recorded a 1 credit run up to level 6 tonight. Got there with no lives or bombs left - all life losses were just silly mistakes - even lost a life in level 2 but my joystick is getting a bit funny with diagonals so I'm choosing to blame that for that life loss. It was gutsy though - picked up the mercy 1UP that level 4 throws you if down to 1 life left. Even then you have to earn it by shooting a layout of gems leaving the centre one to last - it appears same time as a large particularly nasty bullet spitting enemy that you have to take out before the gems scroll off screen.
My level 5 was quite smooth right up to a section in the latter half where I just fell a fraction of a second behind my route resulting in a bullet storm. Still. Progress.
Will have to record the playback ghetto off the screen so will do that later.
Then I switched back to the Dreamcast version. It looks prettier and feels smoother and maybe a bit slower but that could be because I'm not playing right up at the screen as I am with MAME. The timings are a bit different so I will stick with MAME and go back to the DC after getting the 1CC.
Perfect run up to level 5 then something went funny with the control. Tapping to the right wasn't working consistently.....cost me the game.
Tried another few runs and same again - was happening in all levels. Put the game into service mode and the controller looks like it's working in test mode just fine - it may be me pulling down and right while I am at the bottom of the screen or something similar. I might have unlearn whatever it is I am doing.
I have a couple of Hori sticks for my 360 - might have to swap to see if that helps. Wifey is away this weekend (snow permitting) so should be able to really grind this over the weekend.
Really enjoyed that, can see where you've practised so much there, what look like very brave absolute stops just because you know to the pixel whee the enemy fire is, very nice. I'm also glad that my standard tactics (in any shooter, and not executed as well as you) of sweep and press are still valid
"I spent years thinking Yorke was legit Downs-ish disabled and could only achieve lucidity through song" - Mr B
Yeah - tapping to the left and right as you go deals with aimed shots a treat.
Have been watching some 1CC videos of that level 6 boss which is giving me some pointers. Will get back to it tonight maybe.
When you watch expert players the thing that really impresses upon me is actually how little they move. Sometimes just staying still is the right thing to do.