Futari Diary : Got deep into level 4 tonight - best score ever at 73m.

More daft mistakes . More level 4 runs. Broke 80m for the first time though - so there's that.

I'll give that a watch, cheers, Davy.

Couple of crappy runs tonight on Futari but had a run to the level 4 boss.

Level 4 is an odd one. It doesn't feel that hard - easier than level 3 maybe but if I'm to no miss it then I need to practice a good route. It's mainly swathes of popcorn interspersed with a relatively small number of large enemies with cancels. Usually catches me out though and I will lose a life. Mid boss is oddly easy.

Nice!  Killing it.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

stormyskiesahead wrote:

I think you have to buy physical from Japan for Rolling Gunner on Switch? Drainus on PC though. Srsly.

Ah right. No PC gaming for me tho.

Maybe I missed a later post but this is coming to Switch in 5 days.

mrsmr2 wrote:

Moot_Geeza wrote:

stormyskiesahead wrote:

I think you have to buy physical from Japan for Rolling Gunner on Switch? Drainus on PC though. Srsly.

Ah right. No PC gaming for me tho.

Maybe I missed a later post but this is coming to Switch in 5 days.

Yep, nothing gets past me on the eshop. Got it on my wishlist

Pt2. of Shooting Weekly's coverage of Raiden DX is up .

This is some hardcore game. The scoring depth is bonkers - as this video demonstrates.   Wonder what @Dubs would make of it.  The loop/advance requirements feels a bit over contrived but it's pretty amazing the devs built this into a game.
 

Layer Section is one of the best shooters on the console. It's an old school game - but has a 2 layer/plane system like Xevious with a lock on feature that is really satisfying and has a nice combo scoring scheme. Some enemies start low down and fly up to your level - but take them out low down and you save yourself a lot of trouble dodging bullets.  
The level design is superb and it's quite cinematic - each level blends into one another using in-game graphics. Tough though - and no bombs to save you. Sensibly priced still - though that won't matter if you have a solid state drive installed! (I don't).

This is one of my best runs on it without continuing (recorded anyhow - every life lost is a bloody stupid mistake) - this is running in MAME but the Saturn port runs exactly the same and if anything is better - its soundtrack is superior at any rate.  The sound glitches in MAME too. Despite the recent Switch port Saturn is still the best version (The Switch port is the emulated Saturn port with control lag).



Soukyugarentai is a lovely game too. It has a enemy lock-on mechanic too but it's quite different from Layer Section. Each different ship has a different lock on "web" that lets you attack the levels in different ways. Not an easy game either. I haven't got deep into yet but its quality is obvious after playing for 10mins. On my enormous pile of shame. No idea how much it costs though.
 
Sega Ages Fantasy Zone is a rock solid port of the arcade game. Has some nice unlockable options to make the game a bit easier(!). Pastel hued and a bit cute but it's no walkover. Features a shop system for buying weapon upgrades that encourages experimentation because the more you use a weapon the more expensive it gets (unless you unlock and use the toggle inflation option.) Sensibly priced.

Saturn got solid ports of the Gradius, Salamander and Parodius games too but they aren't exclusive.  

Its port of Game Paradise is exclusive too and it's excellent. The PS1 got the sequel. Not sure how these prices have faired though,

Thanks for that.

JP copy of Strikers 1945 1&2 for PS2 arrived today. Felt I should have a physical copy of these.

It's a pity these games didn't get the releases they deserve as they are kind of brilliant. These are pretty much the PS1 ports shunted onto PS2 (and thus are the same as on Saturn too I guess).

No high score save. There's TATE though which is more important but fuck me, no score saving?

The biggest crime is that if you get a game over you auto continue if you hit any face button!!!!!!! I've had to remap fire/bomb onto the L1/2 buttons on my stick,  Of course - no saves - so you have to configure them every time you power the game up.

What a crock of shit.  Still - this is more for collecting. The Switch ports are bare bones but at least they don't commit these crimes!  

Comes with a superplay DVD though which is nice. One of the plays is in TATE. 

Raiden is one of those games that hides its greatness under very ordinary looking graphics. Even the old original game reveals its charms the more you play. Raiden 2 and DX initially look like minor upgrades until you start to notice the lovely graphical details and then you start to figure out the deep scoring.

IV is a splendid game -- there's an overkill mode that is super addictive - like juggling a defeated character in a versus fighter. Hit a defeated enemy enough times and you get bonus pickups. Horrifically addictive in that risk/reward way.

Raiden V was a bit of a disappointment for me - still a nice game though.

Haven't even looked at it! I remember the original game from way back. The remake got OK-ish reviews. I think it's very much something for people who really like the original.

Played a lot of Moon Cresta in the arcade but it was a real coin muncher. Terra Cresta not as much but a nice game. Was more of a MAME experience for me.

I can't work out Sol Cresta. Bullets are slow and easy to dodge. Powerup system looks in depth. And I couldn't work out the purpose of the splitting/docking.

It's very expensive and looks amazingly awful. I mean, seriously crap.

Still, I can see something in it.

Moot, Switch version has comical levels of input lag. (unless they've patched it since).

edit: watching the video. Moon Cresta is what I played the most. I did play Terra but not a lot. Sol is a new version of Terra.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Thoughts in Sol Cresta? It's not budged from full price on PSN but I'm interested.

It’s a bit shit. Overcomplicated and slow.