noiseredux wrote:I've played Guardian Heroes, Gunstar Heroes, and both GBA sequels, along with Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Silhouette Mirage, Gradius V, Bangai-O and its DS sequel, and Silpheed: The Lost Planet.
I see a severe lack of Alien Soldier and either of the Sin & Punishment games. No wonder you're still disappointed.
As it turns out, there are four Treasure games available on Steam for $0.99 each: Alien Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, Gunstar Heroes, and Light Crusader. I picked up Alien Soldier and Gunstar Heroes because I had never played either before and wanted to check them out.
Alien Soldier didn't work out the way I had hoped. I didn't have the best of times with this one, but I don't blame the game for it; the controls have a bit of a learning curve, which was coupled with my using an Xbox 360 controller to play instead of a 3-button Genesis controller (I don't have a PC adapter for one). Alien Soldier relies on the d-pad for certain actions, and the 360 is known for not having a quality d-pad, and the game configured in a way that I found awkward, so it just compounded the issue I was having. I'll have to spend some time later really working with the controls to get them down before I give this game a serious attempt. I think it's gorgeous, and from the little I played, it certainly lives up to its action-packed reputation. I'll also have to get a firmer understanding of how each weapon works and what situations they excel in.
Gunstar Heroes I spent more time in. For one, the controls are considerably less complex. It throws action right out the gate. And while I didn't love the lack of i-frames after getting hit (the first main boss juggled me more than once), this game starts with guns blazing and just doesn't seem to ever back down. I like how bosses and sub-bosses have numerics to tell me how much life they have left. I also appreciate just how varied they look in approach and design. I'll likely spend more time with this one in the near future. And while there are several weapons I never used, the list isn't nearly as extensive as what I saw with Alien Soldier, so the learning curve is considerably less. With the level designs, it feels like a much more action-packed Mega Man with a greater emphasis on the gunplay, and I like it; the game's got heart.
Ack wrote: And while there are several weapons I never used, the list isn't nearly as extensive as what I saw with Alien Soldier, so the learning curve is considerably less. With the level designs, it feels like a much more action-packed Mega Man with a greater emphasis on the gunplay, and I like it; the game's got heart.
This is a bit misleading because Alien Soldier has 6 weapons, whereas Gunstar Heroes only has 4. But Gunstar has 2 weapon slots, and you can combine any combination of 2 weapons together into a new type of gun. That gives you a total of 14 weapon options - the basic 4, plus every possible combination of them for another 10.
I can combine them? I saw the weapon drops, but I figured it was similar to shmups where if I grabbed a new weapon, it would replace the old one unless I grabbed a double.
Ack wrote:I can combine them? I saw the weapon drops, but I figured it was similar to shmups where if I grabbed a new weapon, it would replace the old one unless I grabbed a double.
Nope. The second weapon you get will fill the second slot. You can switch to the single weapons with A, and if you only have one select that one will be replaced when you choose a new weapon.
Doubling a gun will power it up (fire + fire is a bigger flamethrower) but combining 2 tends to give new effects - fire + chaser gives you a moving fireball that you can control with the d-pad for example.
Well, that's going to make things a bit more complicated. I guess now I'll have to experiment a bit more. That said, it probably would have helped a lot with that first boss...
