Ibara Hi-Score Thread

[dsheinem]

Bah! This is a bad month to throw this out there to tease me. The new DDP arrives for me on Friday, and I like the SOTM this month too. Still, I may cave...

noise and mjm: does this mean you aren't gonna play Rapid Hero? It's a nice title that reminds me in some ways of Toaplan games that I like...

also: have either of you played Battle Garegga? This always seemed like a more Cave-y version of that game. I prefer BG, personally, but many of the mechanics (e.g. bomb collecting, medal points, etc.) are the same.

[mjmjr25]

I'd really like to play Rapid Hero. I don't know why it is - maybe my PC isn't made for it, dunno, but I spend more time trying to get set up than playing.

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The rank in this game is intense. Been doing some reading up and it sounds like a lot of guys suicide twice on the first boss for big points and to lower the rank immensely. I can't imagine trying to tackle the rest of this game with only 1 life. Crazy.

Different bosses will be susceptible to different weapons.

Keeping your one of your turrets a consistent weapon will allow you to get 10K each time you grab that same weapon.

The Yagawa feel is alive and well in this game. If nothing else, I should get better at Garegga and Batrider.

[pierrot]

pierrot - 1,052,430 - Stage 2 - P1/Type C - PS2



Lost my mind in the early part of Stage 2 after realizing I was close to the extend. Got the jingle, and lost it. I was bombing like crazy.

I tried out the charge bomb, and it can be used if you have a super bomb stocked. I don't know if it changes depending on fighter type, or just player, but for P1, it left a trail that lingered for about 5-6 seconds, killing everything it touched.

It's weird for me to play Ibara, since in most other shmups I horde bombs like crazy, and forget to use them because I'm too focused on dodging; but in Ibara I spend most of my time bombing, and forget to shoot, because it handicaps me. I end up thinking a lot differently with this game than most others, and Battle Garegga is just too damn hard for me, so it's not quite as fun.


EDIT: Found out something a little shifty about the PS2 port: Apparently it's possible to restart any stage from the beginning of the stage, as many times as you want, and without penalty whatsoever. Good for practicing, I suppose. (Although there's already a practice mode.) I don't know if it actually allows you to input your initials if you restart at all, though, as I continued after finding that out.

[noiseredux]

@dsh: honestly, since moving into the new house I think I've been a lot more selective with my precious gaming time. I've had a lot of trouble playing games just because of forum schedules lately, and instead have just been playing what I'm in the mood to play. Look at Colonial Marines. I can't tell you why I'm so compelled, but I'm just playing what I feel like which has unfortunately not been the Summer Gaming list or Fatal Fury Special or heck even Cotton Boomerang which was a game I had been looking forward to getting into beforehand.

@mj: yeah it is def hard. I don't find the first boss all that tough, but the second boss is a wall for me right now.

[dsheinem]

I've had a lot of trouble playing games just because of forum schedules lately.

Yeah, I hear you. Summer Challenge is always victim to this. For SOTM and TR I think you can easily spend 10 min with a game to be able to chime in and see what you think, though. That's very minimal time comittment.

[mjmjr25]

Time for superplays I guess. 2nd boss is a beast. This doesn't bode well.

[pierrot]

I'm not sure how much superplays will help. After Lewis and Clarking through the rest of the game with a pocket full of credits, I can safely say that stages 3-6 are bat shit insane. Fairly certain that if I ever 1cc this game, it won't be without the aid of Lunar Red Eye. (Also, I think there may have been some slowdown stripped out of the PS2 conversion that make it impossible to 1cc the arcade mode.)

If you want, I can focus on the Stage 2 boss portion of the walkthrough booklet, and see if it's of any use to you.

[mjmjr25]

I wonder if there isn't something to the suiciding on the first boss - I had 2 runs last night where I made it to the 2nd boss full, and it was just murderous, the next run I died twice on the first boss (not on purpose) and coasted through the stage, even built up a spare bomb, and had the 2nd boss on his last legs, thought I was passed him in fact.

The rank is definitely lowered, but for how long, if it only gets me to stage 3, that isn't a good plan either. This is the first shmup i've ever played where stage 4 was the goal, but at this point, it has to be. Brutal game.

[pierrot]

Stage 3 is my goal....

Either the manual or walkthrough basically said (about the rank) that the fewer ships you have in reserve when you die, the more the rank lowers. I don't know by exactly how much, but the rank is always accumulating through shots fired, items picked up, and bombs used. I don't have a very good grasp of the rank, though. Sometimes I'll get to the Stage 1 boss thinking I've played it tight, and not picked up too many unnecessary items, and she's just ready to obliterate me.

I guess there's an order in how you're supposed to dismantle her, but I can't figure out what way gives me the easier time, and the walkthrough seems to point all roads through the attack of hers I hate the most. I have a hard time focusing on what I'm hitting, though.

[jepjepjep]

You can play Ibara pretty differently if you're playing it for score or if you're playing it just for survival. For scoring, you want to be collecting all of the medals, earning extends, and suiciding/dying all time. The ACR replays on youtube are really good for scoring strategy (I think he's the world record holder or former).

If you want to play it just for survival, one of the shmups forum guys put up a low rank video on how to approach the game. Basically, you only want to have one spare ship in stock at all times and you suicide your extra ship before you earn extends to get back up to one spare. When you die with no spare ships the rank is lowered a lot more than if you die with more than one spare in stock. Then you play through the game by avoiding medals and earning bombs to use the Hadou cannon on the bosses. The Hadou cannon is ridiculously powerful in this game.