Like when my brother asked why I bought the Quake remaster on the Switch when I had it on Steam already... Mate, Quake on the bus, innit.

Back at Mushi then (on Steam - the Switch game hasn't arrived yet).

I've been using Maniac to start a session which makes switching to Original feel a lot easier. Have been able to get to level 3 of Maniac without really committing.

I've started to regularly get to the end of level 3 of Original without losing a life and then screwing up trying to get the 1UP. The bullets must be moving a bit faster because of the no miss rank which screws up my timing.

My real weakness , apart from making stupid mistakes over and over - and not playing regularly enough - is the last part of level 5 - the final run up to the final boss. Still haven't got a proper route down for that.

Also toying with v1.5 and it's really enjoyable - is good to play at the end of a session. Because the enemy waves themselves are different it feels really fresh.  Have got to the last level of that in Original on 1 credit too - but I have no consistency with it as I'm only really playing it casually. There's an optional max mode in v1.5 which is even crazier - it increases your firepower but it makes enemies fire a lot more too    But the bullet speed is slower in v1.5 so that helps me out quite a bit.

I finally got around to playing Team Ladybug's excellent Drainus. I'd heard it described as a mashup between Gradius, Rayforce, and Schildmaid, and yeah that's about right. It looks great, plays beautifully, and has difficulty options that make it a real easy pick up and play for just about anyone.

Frequent use of your shield to absorb energy fire and return it as homing shots is key here, and while there are no bombs as such, a limited ammo power shot is able to cancel both energy and physical bullets. There's also a cool RPG-lite system for unlocking and upgrading weapons and whatnot that you can access at any time in-game. Hell, even the story, while very short and simple, is surprisingly decent for a shmup and even manages to work the second loop into proceedings in a way that feels entirely natural. 

So yeah, if you're looking for an good update to an old-school, non-bullet hell, horizontal shmup that's accommodating to all skill levels and have access to a PC - give Drainus a go.


Trailer: 



Bullet Heaven's typically excellent review is worth a watch if the trailer caught your attention and you want a proper in-depth look. 

Its a great channel. Shame that. At least there's a fine batch of reviews available that they published over the years.

That's probably a good idea. I wasn't gonna bite on Drainus just yet either but my willpower deserted me on the last day of the Steam sale and I grabbed about a dozen indie/doujin shumps that had caught my interest. Quite when I'm gonna get around to giving them all a fair go is anyone's guess.

Current backlog (ie/ games I've been actively playing and want to get some closure with before getting into more)

I've still have to get the Layer Section monkey off my back. (level6 runs there - out of 7 levels)   Level 6 is a real back breaker of a level. So many hours practicing it with save states.

When I get the Mushi Original clear , there will be a couple of modes I'll want to clear there too.  (v1.5 and Arrange. Maybe Normal Maniac). There's an Arrange mode too which I haven't touched apart from a couple of casual credits.

Got to the final boss of Samurai Aces a few times - just missing the 1-ALL on that. (A 2-ALL Psikyo is probably beyond me).

I've been able to get to the last level of Arcade mode DFK which I know is an easier 1CC with the right ship selection. Want that done too. 

Then there's a 1-ALL of DDP. I think that's going to be a tough one for me though - my best has been a run to level 5. 

Futari - which I'm hoping might be less of a big gulp when I get Mushi cleared. Best I managed on Futari Original was past the mid boss of level 4 - but there's a long way to go there too.

That's just the games I have played seriously over the previous few years. Have a big pile of shame consisting of games I really want to get stuck into like RSG, Game Paradise, Muchi Much Pork, Gradius, Espgaluda etc. 

Fancy tackling some of the Raidens but I might be just too old for those. I've managed Raiden III but only on easy - III's ship speed is cripplingly slow. I've messed about with IV and I think that might be managable with the faster ship speed.

Have a route for Mushi's level 5 figured out now. Can no miss the level using one bomb. The lvl 5 boss still needs some practice though.

My physical copy for Switch arrived today but no chance to boot it up and try it out - tomorrow.

Can't find the thread folks we're on about Progear. That's the sets of 10 games in the Stadium Collection vol 1 with a third off on the Xbox store this week. A shade over 8 quid each.

Check your respective platforms. Maybe the same there!

The pack with Progear has some banging side-scrolling beat em ups on it too. I'm tempted!

Yeah that Pack 3 with Progear and Gigawing is great, definitely worth £8. Besides those two I grabbed 19XX, Powered Gear, Cyberbots, and Battle Circuit individually from that pack, as Dubs says. Would have bought the whole pack if it was on sale. Haven't tried any of them except Progear yet though.

gnnnnnn..... Another last boss run. And a couple of late level 5 runs. Losing a life cheaply in level 5 is costing me the 1CC


I got an extension lead for the Switch mini Hori stick. Ran a couple of credits on Darius Gaiden. Feels nice but I need to adjust. The lead means I can sit on the couch and play Switch games. Not ideal for 1CC attempts of course - for me anyhow - as I like to sit closer to the screen - but it's still nice to have. Will give it a proper go with Mushi on Switch over the weekend.

Watched a Mushi Original 1CC just to see how folks manage the last level 5 boss pattern. Jeez - there's some arse-tightening dodges to be done if you have no bombs.     Thought there might have been a clever way to avoid that!  Heh.

I've been somewhat glued to Evo but I did catch a bit of Zero Ranger and Schildmaid from the torunament, good stuff. I'm not all that familiar with Gun Frontier beyond a little MAME action years ago, will check that one out. Cheers, Davy. 

Bullet Heaven's last ever episode dropped as well. They covered the Neo Geo hori, Choutetsu Brikin'ger, which again I've only played a little bit of via MAME and didn't like for reasons I don't remember. Maybe I should give it another go? After I play everything else in my backlog that is. So probably no then. 

I discovered Gun Frontier on one of the Taito Legends discs for PS2. AT first I dismissed it as totally generic and it has a slow ship speed which doesn't help first impressions either. But play a couple of credits and it reveals itself to be a very nice game with an interesting weapon power up system. Cinematic in its presentation too.

davyK wrote:

If I get a chance for a 1CC I'll bomb spam if I can. I'm not proud....

Needs must as the devil drives.