What shmup are you playing now?

[dunpeal2064]

I picked up Ghost Blade HD as well, and spent most of yesterday playing it. Figured I'd share some thoughts.

Overall the game is pretty decent. I think at times it gets a little close to crossing the line from homage to rip off (Several times I thought "This entire section is Dodonpachi. That boss is Dodonpachi. These bullet patterns are Dodonpachi), but I think as a whole it feels like its own thing.

The 3 difficulties are nice. Aside from bullet count and speed, Easy gives you an auto-bomb, and Hard makes all large enemies shoot suicide bullets when killed, which is a drastic chance when it comes to scoring. I do wish there was some penalty for auto-bombing (It using your entire bomb stock would still give a new player a lot of time on the credit, but train them to still manually bomb when in danger).

Scoring is a mixed bag. Point-blanking large enemies for more points is great, it invites learning strategies without demanding a strict route or memorization. The Combo count, though, I am less a fan of. Its not chaining, since there is no timing meter, instead it just keeps track of enemies killed on the stage, and resets after clearing the stage, or when you die. This means that just by playing the game, without trying to score at all, your chain will be near max, but dying at any point other than the start of a stage basically ends the run. Its oddly punishing for a scoring mechanic that requires no effort. I guess bombing to kill doesn't add to the count, but that doesn't change the count enough to be crucial.

The Score Attack mode is neat, basically a little Caravan mode where you play what feels like a few chunks of different stages stapled together, ending with a fight against the first boss. You have no life count, so you can die as much as you like, since scoring is the goal (Which means that you actually can't die at all). It does feel a little half-assed, but I'm glad its at least there.

For all the game kinda mucks up, it still ends up being fun. The ships have a nice variety (At least as much as DDP did, since its the same deal here). The music is pretty good, with Stage 5 standing out as an eerie ending to a rather upbeat journey. And in general, figuring out the best way to approach each large enemy as you weave through the popcorn gives me some mild Ketsui feels (Mild being the operative word). I feel like $10 is a fair price, and even in its shortcomings (and rip offs), its still a shmup, and those are fun.

*Also, if you like Trophies, this game hurls them at you. I got 35/37 my first day with the game

[prfsnl_gmr]

I picked up Ghost Blade HD on the XBO, but wanted to note my surprise that it made the WiiU eShop! Not many shmups for the old U; kind of wish I held off.

That is the version I will be getting!

Apparently, Sky Force Anniversary was released for the Wii U today as well, and I plan on checking that out too.

Finally, shmup fans with a Wii U should be sure to check out X-Type+. It is a procedurally-generated bullet-hell twin-stick shmup, and I have enjoyed my time with it. (Also, it is very cheap.)

[retrosportsgamer]

X-Type + sounds right in my wheelhouse, awesome.

I've got Sky Force Anniversary on Steam and PSN (PS4 - Vita cross buy). I enjoyed it more on Steam than handheld .

[retrosportsgamer]

Before I jump into Ghost Blade, I played a good bit of Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax (PS4) tonight.

Horizontal shmup with a campaign, plus a gauntlet and special missions. I got to the second stage of the fourth world. There are a lot of difficulty settings and tweaks you can make to the in game. It's also goes up to four player co-op, which seems fun.

You've got your main weapon (many to choose from on the mech/ship you pick) and as a secondary weapon. you essentially hold the triggers the entire time to constantly shoot, but when you lay off your main weapon your shield, which protects your armor guage, re-fills. You also build a charge shot and have a sword. Some interesting pick-ups in the game also, and you upgrade your ship with different things after each stage and world.

Thumbs up so far here.

[retrosportsgamer]

Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax (PS4) tonight.

This game is $5 on XBLA sale this week. Of course I *just* purchased it for PS4 a couple days before. Missed co-op opportunities.

[retrosportsgamer]

This game is $5 on XBLA sale this week. Of course I *just* purchased it for PS4 a couple days before. Missed co-op opportunities.

Spent a good chunk of time working through the 5th boss last night, definitely get better with each run. Just the right kind of difficulty curve for me personally.

Oh and I finally found a good use for the sabre you get to wield. Came in handy with these smaller enemies that hoarded in on you during that level. Pretty good design so far.

[retrosportsgamer]

I picked up Ghost Blade HD as well, and spent most of yesterday playing it. Figured I'd share some thoughts.

Overall the game is pretty decent. I think at times it gets a little close to crossing the line from homage to rip off (Several times I thought "This entire section is Dodonpachi. That boss is Dodonpachi. These bullet patterns are Dodonpachi), but I think as a whole it feels like its own thing.

The 3 difficulties are nice. Aside from bullet count and speed, Easy gives you an auto-bomb, and Hard makes all large enemies shoot suicide bullets when killed, which is a drastic chance when it comes to scoring. I do wish there was some penalty for auto-bombing (It using your entire bomb stock would still give a new player a lot of time on the credit, but train them to still manually bomb when in danger).

Scoring is a mixed bag. Point-blanking large enemies for more points is great, it invites learning strategies without demanding a strict route or memorization. The Combo count, though, I am less a fan of. Its not chaining, since there is no timing meter, instead it just keeps track of enemies killed on the stage, and resets after clearing the stage, or when you die. This means that just by playing the game, without trying to score at all, your chain will be near max, but dying at any point other than the start of a stage basically ends the run. Its oddly punishing for a scoring mechanic that requires no effort. I guess bombing to kill doesn't add to the count, but that doesn't change the count enough to be crucial.

The Score Attack mode is neat, basically a little Caravan mode where you play what feels like a few chunks of different stages stapled together, ending with a fight against the first boss. You have no life count, so you can die as much as you like, since scoring is the goal (Which means that you actually can't die at all). It does feel a little half-assed, but I'm glad its at least there.

For all the game kinda mucks up, it still ends up being fun. The ships have a nice variety (At least as much as DDP did, since its the same deal here). The music is pretty good, with Stage 5 standing out as an eerie ending to a rather upbeat journey. And in general, figuring out the best way to approach each large enemy as you weave through the popcorn gives me some mild Ketsui feels (Mild being the operative word). I feel like $10 is a fair price, and even in its shortcomings (and rip offs), its still a shmup, and those are fun.

*Also, if you like Trophies, this game hurls them at you. I got 35/37 my first day with the game

Is there a trick with absorbing enemy bullets when you use the X shot? I started playing this today and was up to the second boss, but feel like I'm missing some mechanic. I've grown as a bullet dodger, but felt this one was near impossible in parts.

This is a minor baby gripe from me also: I like that there are a finite amount of continues, but I hate that it resets the scoring after you use each one. I'm very partial to how Jamestown + scores - which is cumulative. This is pretty much "how much did you score in the first level" since after that I've burned through lives fairly fast.

I also like all three ships and have had the most success with the purple one so far.

[retrosportsgamer]

^ I figured this out pretty quickly then and have gotten to the third boss.

I cleared the game on easy and used two credits I think. Didn't mind the auto bomb as a training tool. I think with practice I should be able to clear on normal over time .

[Segata]

Most recently played Astebreed from Limited Run Games. Loved it.

[retrosportsgamer]

Back at it with Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax.

I had been stuck on the boss for 5-3, but finally got past him and then made it to 7-2. Saved up and got a big power-up for damage, which has helped. 7-2 has a lot of one-hit kill traps so just another thing to keep in your head as your navigating through swarms of bullets. Good game.