I Wanna Get It On With Jahbulon : The Shmups/STG Thread - The Bear and Badger

stormyskiesahead

davyK wrote:

Running out of energy and losing interest in getting this damn 1CC. Haven't gone near it in a week now. Getting to the last level but just can't put a performance together.

Just catching up for the first time in a while, and I'm sorry Mushi's grinding you down, Davy. I hope you get there.

Very happy to hear you've found Zakesta though! The dev, Zakichi, has put his freeware shmups on itch.io and they're all worth playing, with the Battle Garega influenced -Kaikan- standing out.

Speaking of itch, the legend that is x.x gameroom has all of his old freeware danmaku shmups on there as well with highlights being Eden's Aegis and Blue Wish Resurrection Plus. And if you really like them, his more recent Blue Wish Desire is available on Steam.

Oh yeah for x.x's games remember to go into custom.exe and select the 60fps hard cap if you have a high refresh rate monitor, or you'll be uncontrollably screaming around the screen at 1000mph.

davyK

stormyskiesahead wrote:

Just catching up for the first time in a while, and I'm sorry Mushi's grinding you down, Davy. I hope you get there.

I still love the game. And I know I have a 1CC in me, but I just don't have the concentration for it. I have given up on 3 games in a row now :-

Samurai Aces - got to the final boss
Layer Section - consistent runs to mid level 6 (out of 7)
and now Mushi. Getting to the latter half of level 5 (out of 5). What is depressing is that Maniac Mode awaits!!!

It becomes a mental game - keeping the focus and believing you can do it. That's what I need, an intermediate player, to make the move to the next level of expertise.

hylian_elf

Watchingh the second vid, game looks good. But did one of the guys just say Dough-Don-Parchy?!

davyK

I like that channel. Haven't watched it in a while. I like the main presenter's style - sounds like an ex-frat guy but really laid back. He can handle some of the weirder guests some of which aren't gifted with communication skills.

stormyskiesahead

Oh man I missed "Dough-Don-Parchy", American pronunciations are always a great source of amusement. And yeah, it's a good channel to relax to.

For shmup reviews, Mudprints' Bullet Heaven series on YouTube has become my go-to over the last few years. Some complain their style is a little dry, but they really know their stuff and I've discovered loads of games through them.

We really are in a golden age of indie shmups right now.

davyK

Yeah - Bullet Heaven are great for reviews.

I like Mark_MSX's channel too - Electric Underground.

There's also a guy called IcarusFW. He is currently playing a pile of old and homebrew shooters on a JPN Windows XP machine he has built. Some gems there and nice to have a Brit youtuber too. He sounds like he suffers from hayfever though - always coughing and clearing his throat.

stormyskiesahead

Yes! Electric Underground's great, I even watch Shmup Junkie despite it always feeling like he's talking to children.

I don't know IcarusFW, but from a quick look his YT channel looks great. Think I'm gonna give one of his Drainus or Grand Cross Renovation vids a watch while it's quiet at work.

I really need to grab both of those games before the Steam sale ends.

davyK

I'm trying to maintain control of my Steam purchasing. I have quite a few games I have still to spend time on as it is.

stormyskiesahead

I've given up trying to curate anything, I'm an absolute mess. My shmups folder on Steam is now at 80+ games and I have another dozen or so on my wishlist.

That's not to mention my itch.io shmups folder, my freeware doujin games, plus all the MAME stuff. That's just PC obvs, there's also my 360 games and four generations of Playstation shmups.

I did end up grabbing both Drainus and Grand cross Renovation on Steam last night. Plus Straina which I've had on 360 forever. Plus Space Moth: Lunar Edition and Star Hunter Dx from the quite brilliant 1CC Games despite already owning SM:LE on PS4 and SMDX on Steam.

Like I said, an absolute mess.

davyK

I have several shmups for 360 including the region free games like Futari, Muchi Muchi Pork etc. Most of them have only had cursory plays - have played a fair bit of Futari, DFK and Deathsmiles but nowhere near enough.

You can be less controlled with digital, esp. with sales - I picked up Raiden IV for less than £5. With physical games, especially now, you need to curate more. I have started to buy on Steam and then if I really like a game I consider adding to my physical collection. Have physical Raiden IV for Switch now. I'd like to get Tetris Effect physical and I have a physical version of Mushi pre-ordered for Switch.

Some games won't get physical releases - joyful expressions like Polybius for example and it's a shame to deny oneself something like that.

Saturn and Megadrive games are now mentally priced so I'm sticking with with what I have. Maybe I'll get a solid state drive for Saturn one day to play anything I haven't got.

stormyskiesahead

Yeah, that makes sense re physical game curation vs digital. My PC is basically just a digital games archive at this point, with the latest full MAME romset, full Naomi and Atomiswave romsets for Flycast, GC titles via Dolphin, and all the rest. It's easy, takes no space, and gives me access to some obscure or arcade-only titles, but it's not the same as having a boxed release with a nice manual.

The Cave 360 releases were the last physical games I think I actually collected. I only ever imported Mushi Futari V1.5, Espgaluda II, and Muchi Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets, but I did buy all their UK releases. Just wonderful games. I have Under Defeat HD as well (haven't played much though), but my 360 hasn't let me log in with my original account for a good while now, so when I do play them it's on a new account.

I do really like the look of all those physical Switch shmup releases though. Almost enough to make me buy one and start collecting again.

davyK

The only other 360 import I have that you didn't mention is DDP-SDOJ. Was lucky to get that before prices went sky high. Have PAL DFK,Deathsmiles,Akai Katana and Under Defeat. Got into 360 very late in its life but just about the right time for picking up shmups for it.

The big disappointment with forking out for physical Switch games is the absence of a manual. Feels really cheap. Have Darius Arcade Collection, G-Darius and Raiden IV so far.

stormyskiesahead

No manuals!?! Damn, I used to love a good manual. Kinda feels like they should be a requirement for any physical release.

I've just looked up DDP-SDOJ on ebay, oh my. The limited-edition with CD and steelbook does look absolutely stunning though.

Edit: wait, there's one Platinum Collection copy going for £90. That's not much more than I paid for my imports back in the day. I'm tempted.

I don't have a stick for my 360 though, and my controller has just developed stick drift - after many thousands of hours of use across console and PC. Dunno if I can I stretch to a stick plus DDP.

davyK

I just use a cheap Hori fight stick on 360. I use it with the PC as well. The buttons have started playing up though. I have a nice PS2 stick - maybe I should get an adaptor for it or start looking for a better quality USB stick.

My Futari, Espgaluda II and SDOJ are all the platinum editions.

SDOJ port is nice - there's extra content that you unlock by earning coins by playing and also beating different mini missions/achievements. The replay feature lets you take over at any time which isn't something I've seen before.

davyK

Just checked - some of these are getting expensive now...but I've seen them for £40-£50 quid which isn't bad nowadays.

I have a really nice Wii stick - the Capcom v Tatsunoko stick and I upgraded the buttons. But I need an adaptor for it.

davyK

SDOJ is bloody tough though. It's a return to the older style of game - with real emphasis on bullet dodging over hypers and big cancels. It does not suffer fools. At all.

One of the unlockables is a small ship option which of course I haven't been able to unlock yet.

stormyskiesahead

Hmm, being the bang-average player I am SDOJ might be a step too far. Especially at £90 plus the price of a stick.

That Wii Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick does look lovely, 'twas the same model as the 360 Mad Catz SF4 stick I think? I remember lusting after it when it came out and always regretted not getting it.

I'm using a Hori RAP4 on PC and PS4 these days for all my shmups, fighting games, and arcade roms. The Hayabusa buttons and stick are a delight and a massive step up from anything I've used before. There's plenty of modding potential as well thanks to the size, but that's something I've not attempted yet. I will though, it looks like it could be great fun and I'm already itching.

davyK

None of the sticks I own are high end. And I'm pretty sure my skills match them. I have stock DC sticks which are really nice. A JP Saturn stick and a couple of Hori PS1/2 sticks. Happy with them all.

The Saturn stick which is probably worth the most only has the ascii joystick in it but it feels really nice. Upgrading it is an expert job so I will have to live with it.

I put sanwa buttons into the Wii stick as it can be upgraded easily (all connectors - no soldering needed) as they started failing.

These have all been acquired over many years at sensible prices btw.

stormyskiesahead

Yeah the stock DC stick was nice, that was the only stick I'd owned previously. Played around with a good few though. An adaptor for that Wii stick you've got would be great, Davy. Can you get Wii to Switch and PC? Or would you need to buy two different adaptors?

davyK

Switch has usb so I think a usb adaptor would do it and 360 and PC.

davyK

Back at it.

Life losses are 99% boss pattern mistakes. Hate bosses. Also life losses holding bombs. Need to stop trying to perfect them and choose bombing points. The level 5 mid boss can slip me up on occasion too. But pride kicks in...can't stomach bombing a mid boss.

Harumph.

davyK

stormyskiesahead wrote:

Hmm, being the bang-average player I am SDOJ might be a step too far. Especially at £90 plus the price of a stick.

SDOJ running well in some emulators now. Worth a look?

stormyskiesahead

davyK wrote:

Back at it. Life losses are 99% boss pattern mistakes. Hate bosses. Also life losses holding bombs. Need to stop trying to perfect them and choose bombing points. The level 5 mid boss can slip me up on occasion too. But pride kicks in...can't stomach bombing a mid boss. Harumph.

Boss bombing points are something I've always had to rely on, being the scrub that I am. Absolutely no shame in using them at that point in the game though, Davy.

davyK wrote:

SDOJ running well in some emulators now. Worth a look?

Oh damn, I've checked and yeah I have SDOJ Tamashii and Black Label on the latest MAME build. Had a quick blast on BL to check that it runs okay and first impressions are not bad. I'll be spending a bit of time on this I think, and maybe look at buying a 360 copy if it really clicks.

I did end up grabbing a 360 stick in the end and it should arrive by the weekend, so I'll be doing some quality spelunking all round.

davyK

Nice.

The first SDOJ ROM that appeared had been hacked with some childish replacement graphical assets. But the unadorned version is available now too. I haven't tried it yet.

I haven't had a good experience with retroArch. I did get it going but managed to screw up my config trying to get stream captures working in TATE mode. Haven't gone back to it. I use shmupMAME usually but I have the latest version of MAME too.

davyK

So there I am at the end of level 3 with no misses. Plenty of bombs. Going for the 1up.

Screwed up the 1up. Lost 2 lives. Lost 2 lives on the boss.

Game over.

Previous run I got past the mid level 5 boss; albeit with only 1 life left after 2 stupid mistakes in level 4.

gnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

stormyskiesahead

Damn that's rough. Next run will be better!

I still use the ShmupMAME set you sent me for the classics, and yeah I've not had the best results with RetroArch either, I tend to just load up the emus directly. Mainly MAME or ShmupMAME, plus Flycast for Naomi/Atomiswave stuff, and the odd newer arcade game on Teknoparrot - if I can get them working.

Pretty much all shmups with some run n' guns and fighting games chucked in.

davyK

Yeah - don't see the point of using other cores apart from the arcade one you get with retroarch.

I find MAME more than good enough for my purposes. retroarch is better at running Layer Section as the save states don't work properly in MAME, but there isn't much else I use it for.

I use MAME for DonPachi, DDP, DOJ BL and Ketsui in the main but of course there's a pile of others that run great in it.

stormyskiesahead

I'm very pleased to say that CeX came up trumps with my 360 stick. It's a Mad Catz TE R2 and it's in immaculate condition with the Sanwa stick and buttons feeling fantastic. No need to swap the spring as I expected, and while I will give the stick and buttons and clean there doesn't seem to be any need as it doesn't look or feel like it's ever had any real use.

Played a bit of Strania and then a lot of Bullet Soul (and some Tekken Tag 2 and Darkstalkers Resurrection) and it's fantastic to use. It's not going to do anything about my complete lack of skill but it feels so much better than a regular controller that I couldn't care less.

Will give it a go on some Cave stuff over the weekend. I'm thinking Muchi Muchi Pork first, then some Espgaluda II.

hylian_elf

Tempted by the Limited Run edition of Espgaluda 2 for Switch. With little arcade cabinet peripheral.

davyK

I have physical Espgaluda 2 for 360 so I'll probably avoid the Switch version. Though if it goes on sale digital I might get it.

I'm keeping an eye out for physical Switch DFK. Even though I have the disc for 360 and on Steam, the 360 version doesn't have BL Arrange (aka KetsuiPachi) so I'd triple dip to get the compete version physical.

I have had physical Mushi pre-ordered for ages. So have that in the bag.

Nice pickup @stormyskiesahead Any decent switched stick is going to be better than a pad. Once you make the transition there's no going back.

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