Shmup of the Month Club 2012

[Tyranix95]

Hey guys, I thought I'd join in on the Dimahoo fun.
I just had time for a quick survival run, no idea how to score in this game.

1,484,000 - JEP - Stage 4 - Miyamoto - 31/108 - PCB ...

Karte: Excuse me...

1,514,450 - TX. - Stage 3 - Karte - 40/108 - Battery, Blue (US) Arcade Board.



Some Scoring Tips:

1) Shoot enemies in opposite element color for 2x points.
2) Collect Magic Books for points: After your max power, the books chain for extra points.
3.A.) Collect enemy Treasure for poitns: Use your Charge Shot Magic Attack to turn enemies into Treasure. The level of the magic attack determines what level Treasure the enemy will turn into. And remember what enemy turns into what Treasure.
3.B.) Exception #1: Destroy some parts of a boss with your Magic Attack to release Hidden Treasure Items.
3.C.) Exception #2: Destroy some back ground characters with your Magic Attack to release Hidden Treasure Items.
4) Complete Treasure Sets for point multipliers.

In the game, you can access a Treasure List sub-menu and see what Treasure you have collected. To open: Hold down START for 3 seconds, then hit "A." Next, the list will pop up in the upper left hand corner. Hit START to cycle through it. To close: Hit START and "A." IMHO, it's a distraction during the game. Would have liked to have seen CACOM place this sub-menu window below the action window, like in the D&Ds.

Definitely doing better now that I see the importance of using the proper element on the fire/ice enemies - and wow, that can make the bosses so much faster.

1,615,700 - mjmjr25 - Karte - Stage 4 - 53/108 - Arcade

...coming through.

[hashiriya1]

That stage 2 boss is atrocious. I can only beat him by bombing. Trying to beat him with no bombs.

hashiriya1 - 1,845,850 - Stage 2 Boss - Solo Bang - 39/108 - MAME

[mjmjr25]

1.8mil by and not clearing stage 2 is crazy! I usually clear at around 1-1.3 mil and that is with the boss bonus.

Remember, he is an "Ice" element boss - so if your character is blue, you are doing very little damage. Be sure to switch your character to red when using your main fire, or your charge attack - he goes down much quicker.

Stage 3 boss i've given up on no bombing for now. When he releases that wave of balls, red on one side, blue on the other, and then they intermingle I just bomb now.

I wonder though - maybe I should just try and weave and accept the rank drop by absorbing a ball of my element, if it happens. Hmmm...

[dunpeal2064]

3.C.) Exception #2: Destroy some back ground characters with your Magic Attack to release Hidden Treasure Items.
.

For the first goblin, you just have to kill it with a magic shot and empty bomb meter. Pretty easy to avoid those first few, but picking up the Pinwheel through that first dragon shooting can be tricky.

Also, if you bomb the buildings, you get a level 8 of different items (depending on the building). However, do NOT do this. It will prevent you from getting unique items.

The Stage 2 midboss will drop the Legend Sword as long as you have 4 bombs in stock, no matter your charge shot. (Of course, you still have to use a charge shot to get any items)

[hashiriya1]

1.8mil by and not clearing stage 2 is crazy! I usually clear at around 1-1.3 mil and that is with the boss bonus.

Remember, he is an "Ice" element boss - so if your character is blue, you are doing very little damage. Be sure to switch your character to red when using your main fire, or your charge attack - he goes down much quicker.

Stage 3 boss i've given up on no bombing for now. When he releases that wave of balls, red on one side, blue on the other, and then they intermingle I just bomb now.

I wonder though - maybe I should just try and weave and accept the rank drop by absorbing a ball of my element, if it happens. Hmmm...

My problem is when charging I always die waiting for my ship to return to red. I also have a bad habit of level 8 charge shooting EVERY TIME. I have no finesse or strategy. Dodge, dodge, dodge, LEVEL 8 charge shot, and repeat....

[ExedExes]

ExedExes - 1,324,140 -- Stage 3 -- Karte -- 43/108

Joined the Karte club. Found that if I just chilled out at the first boss she is fast enough to avoid everything while I keep the maximum blue charge shots up to get the Ruby *AND* the Fairy for points goodness.

Stage 2 boss, honestly, IS NOT all that bad. Only have to use bombs when I get trapped. Otherwise, stay Fire (Red) and shoot away and sweep along the bottom to avoid shots. Gets easier when you knock more parts off.

I made it to the Stage 3 boss. Probably the most challenging so far. I know what I have to hit, but when you run out of lives and bombs, well....

[dunpeal2064]

I personally think the stage 2 boss is much worse than stage 3, if you try to get the special items at least.

Oddly, I think all of stage 3 is pretty easy compared to stage 2. Then stage 4 kicks it back up and rapes.

[mjmjr25]

Just put 3 hours straight into this thing (off work, kids in school )

Put a few runs on survival and made stage 5. As crazy as stage 4 is, the boss is surprisingly manageable. Had to bomb out of corners twice, but got him on first go.

Went back for score and now that I'm focusing on getting food and shoes complete early (usually by end of stage 2) that is helping the score a lot.

The 4-bomb stock bonus on the mid-boss on stage 2 is nice, finally got that. I usually have 4-bombs, then panic on those 2 dueling spike things before farming those 3 ships, and bomb them guys, so back to 3...and no bonus.

This is truly one of those games that just takes time and memorization. I coast through first 2 stages, stage 3 is becoming cake. Stage 4 is still brutal, but getting better...

Best run of the day:
1,870,800 - mjmjr25 - Karte - Stage 4 - 56/108 - Arcade

[dunpeal2064]

I like focusing on Axes on stage 1. Then, on a good run, I'll end up with Axes, and usually can complete Food and Shoes in the process, since everything drops them.

[jepjepjep]

I played a few runs tonight, man this game is crazy. There's so much stuff raining down on the screen.

I made it into the middle of stage 5 with Gain on one run, but my score was lower than my stage 4 run w Miyamoto .

I should look into how to score properly. I have no strategy at all for item collection.

1,831,340 - JEP - Miyamoto - Stage 4 - 43/108 - PCB