RAYFORCE / GALACTIC ATTACK / LAYER SECTION - Hi-Scores

[RyaNtheSlayA]

You guys still playing this? I sort of took a break and went back to Skyward Sword. I've come to the conclusion that if you don't rank in between 270-300,000 points after beating the stage 1 boss, you're doing it wrong.

I haven't gotten close to my high score so I haven't had much to post.

Sort of where I'm at.

I freaking love this game.

As do I. Yet I never hear much talk about it in the SHMUP circle. At first it wasn't really my favorite but it just kept growing and growing on me. It's frankly one of my favorite games on the Saturn at this point.

[wip3outguy7]

I think the game isn't as admired because it was so easy to obtain. Had Acclaim never localized it, it might be a bit more "legendary".

Or maybe not. My favorite shmup of all time is Soukyugurentai (also on the Saturn), which is often considered the spiritual successor to Layer/Galactic/Gunloc. While it was never localized, both the original and re-releases of Souky can regularly be found for under $40. Cheap for a Saturn shmup.

Regardless, Layer/Galactic/Gunloc is a fantastic game. It may be one of the easiest to find shmups on the Saturn, but it is also one of the best.

[mjmjr25]

I'm playing it off and on, rotating w/Garegga, Eco, and Axelay.

I'm leaving stage 1 boss w/200K-ish, nowhere nears 300K. I milk the first part as i'm sure you all do and have 46K within 10secs, but I don't score enough at the end of stage 1 where those guys evolve, I focus on them and miss the lazer-bomb-chain in the meantime.

Stage 2, I am just struggling, not sure what it is - I can either survive and not score, or score but die out before the boss.

I originally played this years ago w/composite video and didn't appreciate it very much. The s-video has changed the experience, as well as giving it a bit more time this go round, appreciating the scoring mechanics a bit better. It isn't overly complicated, just needs a bit more love.

[wip3outguy7]

Stage 2, I am just struggling, not sure what it is - I can either survive and not score, or score but die out before the boss.

Staget 2 has three key areas that are very dangerous.

The first one is with the mini boss at the start of the level. Time it so that you can lead his bullet barf away from you. Give him a face full of plasma in when swinging around out of the way. Just make sure you don't colide with the smaller ships coming out from the sides of the screen. Ignore the power ups if you have to, they will get you killed quick.

The second area is just after, when you are forced to deal with the turrets on the frameworks. Forget scoring unless you really have the timing down. Just lock on to the turrets and kill them ASAP. Your ship's hitbox is just too large to dodge all the enemies and gunfire here.

The third is just before you get to the battle cruiser in the cave (?). There are groups of robots who come in from the background. One of the two always fires erratically. If all are allowed to fire, you're going to have a lot of bullets to wade through. Try to take out at least one of them via lock on before they come up to your altitude.

Get those sections down and the rest of the level isn't so bad.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

My first life lost is always right before the battle cruiser scene. When the 3 mechs fly up.

[s1mplehumar]

My first life lost is always right before the battle cruiser scene. When the 3 mechs fly up.

The trio that fades in from the background? Yeah, those turds gave me grief for a while. especially while dodging those slow floating bullets when they emerge on the foreground. You pretty have to multi lock them right away. If you can't get to them in time, and they all get a chance to shoot, just hug the wall hard right and evade.

[wip3outguy7]

Don't forget that the game has a pretty viscous ranking system. The longer you survive, the more difficult it becomes. I have found that you can loose a ship on purpose in a few sections to manage things. A good place to spend a ship is at the beginning of Stage 4.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Don't forget that the game has a pretty viscous ranking system. The longer you survive, the more difficult it becomes. I have found that you can loose a ship on purpose in a few sections to manage things. A good place to spend a ship is at the beginning of Stage 4.

Yeah. It took a few playthroughs to realize this then I noticed turrets that never fired before were sending tons of crap at me.

[dunpeal2064]

Man, it seems this is the only high score thread that is really active. I suppose I'll join in.

[mjmjr25]

Man, it seems this is the only high score thread that is really active. I suppose I'll join in.

Yeah, it isn't bullet-hell by any means, but it's got some nicely designed stages with gorgeous backdrops. The lock-on mechanism is such a different take on "B - Button = Big Bomb". Though, I like my bosses to be a bit more challenging (says the guy who dies 2-3 times on stage 2 :/ )