davyK wrote:

Cave has bought Touhou. https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68803

Correction - they have bought the licence for it.  That probably means just phone conversions of existing games.  Cave are all but a one band now too so maybe this is some sort of cross over on mobile.

A mini breakthrough of sorts. Beat the game with the default 4 credits. Got to mid boss of level 6 with first credit (which is the usual good run for me) and then managed to hold onto enough resources to get the level 7 boss to experiment. Had a good level 6 boss and first phase of level 7 which is a bit of a turkey shoot as it's pure reaction and no patterns. Discovered a quick way of despatching the first phase of the final boss which helps a lot.

https://blog.playstation.com/2021/08/05/sol-cresta-revealed-platinumgames-36-years-in-the-making-space-shooter-sequel/#sf248286610

Looks splendid.

Also ....  Vol.1    More to come.

Sigh. Can't stay away from Mushihimesama on Steam. I'm playing it on Novice as I can't be bothered with a challenge at the minute and it's so pleasurable with the rank lowered. Got to the final boss last night. I'll 1-CC it and then see how it goes on Normal but I really need to get back to Layer Section.

The Saturn will be set up again next week. Will get back on it then.

My Novice run. Did this just to practice capturing a game recording in Steam using WINDOWS+G menu. Handy enough.

Novice mode is a bit too tame but it's a decent way to learn a game and get an idea of level layouts. This run has a lot of freestyling without any memorised patterns which shows how much easier it is. There are a couple of sections where I've memorised where the bullet cancelling large enemies appear but that is very much in the minority.   

Obviously I don't consider this a proper 1CC but it's a nice relaxing way to play a game when Layer Section is pissing you off!. Of course trying Maniac and Ultra in Novice is a good way of sampling those harder modes too.  I need to return to this on Normal mode though.

Well back at Layer Section again. Got a better first run after a break than I could reasonably expect - half way through level 6 on the MAME version. See a recording of it below..hard going back to an old school game with no bombs to bail you out!!

The Saturn port awards 1ups at 500K and 1M while the arcade version here does it 1M and 2M. Doesn't really matter once you can get to level 6 but it puts a bit of pressure on when you make an early mistake as I do here with the level 3 mid boss. It's a nice start though. Levels 4 and 6 are the key to a 1CC. If I can limit my life losses to one in each of those I'll be well on my way but once you take a hit and lose your way then multiple hits are likely.

You can see me checking if save states work in the new MAME version I'm playing this in but I get the same warning message I get in earlier versions sadly.

I had a great level 4 and made a stupid mistake in 5 which I can usually no-miss. My first life loss in level 6 was stupid too but the others were just being ring rusty. Had a bit of luck in one or two places too (just before the level 4 boss for one).

Lets you see what this game is like anyhow - it's peak old school with an almost cinematic feel with the way it seamlessly joins levels up.

Got to the final pattern of the TLB today.  One or two more bombs and I could've had it.  It's painful but encouraging, I'm almost there.

Just checking in, wishing you many lucky dodges and much zen, Davy.

Pain, pain, pain. Level 6 save state practice tonight. Happy with first phase now. Concentrating on mid boss to main boss now.


Excuse the first 15secs of static - still learning how to make videos using Windows 10.

Here's a thing. A vertical shmup embracing modern screen ratios. I might check this out when it hits steam. Need to support these efforts.

More level 6 improvement. Cleaned it and the boss but lost 2 lives. I have the patterns down just need to execute.

Of course level 4 had got rusty so keeping that warm is a challenge too and doing occasional full runs.  This is a hard game for me. The toughest I have played seriously yet. It is so easy to get over run and no bombs to use. I'd put this above Gigawing as a 1CC challenge.

Flushed with success I tried the Switch port by M2 of Gaiden. Just cannot get on with the 8bitdo controller though. That's my excuse for playing like a panda. The rank feels a teeny bit harder but I've cleaned this game on Saturn and MAME. I've always played with a stick and going back to dpad feels off and I kept making daft moves like running into the floor etc.

The M2 port is spectacular though. i should look around for what stick options there are on Switch as there's a few others Switch ports I've got an eye on.

Level 6. Bloody level 6 of this damn game.

2nd and 3rd phases. Getting better but I'm not getting enough regular practice in.

Getting better but dear me this is a struggle.  The increase in rank is noticable when I get to the 3rd phase of the level with the red laser. The red enemies at the start of that section are far more aggressive and I have to use mis-direction more heavily to get past them. With the green laser they are a lot tamer. The boss is less aggressive too of course.

Took delivery of the Hori mini stick for Switch. Feels a lot better playing Darius Gaiden. Will need to adjust to it but it's a nice - if rather light feeling - stick.