Shmup of the Month Club 2014 (Completed)

[ExedExes]

Update -

ChrisH2049 - 13,274,650 - Chapter 4 - Dreamcast
skate323k137 - 5,415,120 - Chapter 4 - Arcade
DocHauser - 4,835,600 - Chapter 3 - Dreamcast
ExedExes - 1,520,240 - Chapter 2 - Gamecube
mjmjr25 - 1,249,280 - Chapter 2 - PC
noiseredux - 627,790 - Chapter 2 - PC

[noiseredux]

Give it a try dude -

I will, but at the same time you know my taste in shmup scoring. I tend to like stuff that you can at least try to approach from a reactionary stand-point. I hate when a game is basically "this is the RIGHT way -- the ONLY way to do this wave if you wanna score big" right? I mean, I'm sure there's a "right" way to maximize Deathsmiles, Mushi, DDP, etc, but if that's the case it's not so obvious to me. I hate feeling like there's only one way to play a shmup at every moment, and if I'm not sticking to the script then I'm not doing it right. Though again, this is a far better game than RS. But I still have a hunch that I'll enjoy more for survival than score.

[mjmjr25]

Well, i'll say this, playing for score beyond stage 2 is crazy (to me). Stage 1 is fairly easy (granted, i'm still only getting 20% of what can be gotten). Stage 2 there are areas where you can chain, but once through the blocks it's strictly survival for me. Stage 3 is definitely survival only.

[ChrisHaha2049]

Yeah. I'd say survival is the way to play at first. If nothing else than to get the hang of the color changing mechanic. This applies to individual sections, too. Find a path you're comfortable with first - when to switch, when to shoot, when to absorb, when to dodge. Then try a little chaining that fits into that path. Then after awhile you might start adapting the path to get more.

Noise - I totally get what you're saying, and it's a valid point. All I can say is to try not to think of it as only one correct way. Just do it your way, and try to improve with each successive play. One thing I found so appealing about Ikaruga is how satisfying it can be with even a slight improvement. Parts of the game look so impossibly difficult on first impression, but become doable with a little perseverance. I know many games are like this, but with Ikaruga, that swing just seems more extreme than usual to me. There may be only 1 way to score the most points possible, but there are still maybe 100s of ways to score respectably well.

[DocHauser]

I hate when a game is basically "this is the RIGHT way -- the ONLY way to do this wave if you wanna score big"

While this is true for Ikaruga, it mainly applies to people going for top scores in any level. If you're just learning stages, then you can grab easy chains and 'skip' tougher chains by just not killing certain enemies. That way, you can chain an easy part of a stage (say, the first part of stage 1), then just pick off selected enemies to keep the chain going.

You probably won't get any A ranks by doing this, but for novice players there's still a certain satisfaction to be gained by being able to finish stages with at least a 20-30 chain...

[TSTR]

Mainly playing for survival, no fux given about chains at the moment. Although, I might try Mike's tips for the Prologue. Anyway, here's me so far:

TSTR - 685,310 - Chapter 2 - PC

[skate323k137]

Well, i'll say this, playing for score beyond stage 2 is crazy (to me). Stage 1 is fairly easy (granted, i'm still only getting 20% of what can be gotten). Stage 2 there are areas where you can chain, but once through the blocks it's strictly survival for me. Stage 3 is definitely survival only.

My trick with stage 2 is to stay straight up the dead center of the screen as much as possible, deviating only to hit some chains real quick then re-centering. It helps because you can "eat" 2 streams of bullets almost constantly if you're in the middle of the screen.

[noiseredux]

whatup, TSTR?



894,880 - noiseredux - Stage 2 (boss) - PC

First time seeing the St2 boss... ever.

[mjmjr25]

Stage 2 boss was a wall for a good 4-5 runs, but now I have it and improving on boss bonus, best is 70 seconds so far, but most have been in the 30-40 seconds left. I'm getting really close to putting it all together - stage 3 is giving me some fits, but getting it slowly.

Stage 1, best is 1.8mil and 55 chain - I can not keep it through the 2 trains, will keep plugging away. I'm getting better at just letting some enemies slip past to keep a chain alive - I have a hard time with that, but it's necessary at some points.

I'm getting good at chaining the middle of stage 2 - the first part, I have no idea how to chain that at all until the 2 white pods come at the end, then I can chain and usually enter with a 9-10 chain, then get it to around 20 or so before I miscounted the blocks and am forced to blow up a white or red that I hadn't planned for.

[DocHauser]

Got the 1-coin-clear achievement on the Steam version by playing it on Easy. According to the Stats, only 0.76% of players have managed that.

(Also, I added some of you lot to my friends list on Steam, hope that's ok.)