Shmup of the Month Club 2012

[dsheinem]

64,970 - Stage 2 - MAME - that's my first Metal Black entry.

I like this one, but I must warn people: DON'T play the PS2 port on Taito Legends. It is slow and jerky, to the extent that it really ruins the game. I played it first for a good hour or so before moving to the MAME cabinet, and the difference in fluidity was extremely noticable - it is like haveing a Gradius ship with no speed powerups vs having one with a couple: the slowness and poor control is very noticable and will certainly impact your ability to dodge and weave.

I need to figure out how the bonus stages work and how to best use the beam mechanic, but I like that the scoring seems (at least for now) to be very basic (especially compared to last month). I see myself sticking this one out

[noiseredux]

DON'T play the PS2 port on Taito Legends. It is slow and jerky, to the extent that it really ruins the game.

Ticked: Dave just preemptively ruined my night.

[dunpeal2064]

Don't worry Noise, I'm playing the ps2 port. No PC for MAME, and I sure as hell and not seeking that pcb out.

I've played it a good amount and didn't notice any issues. But, I have never played it in MAME.

Shmups has the scores comparable at least, so if it is a little jerky, at least we know the scores are comparable.

[dsheinem]

Don't worry Noise, I'm playing the ps2 port. No PC for MAME, and I sure as hell and not seeking that pcb out.

I've played it a good amount and didn't notice any issues. But, I have never played it in MAME.

Shmups has the scores comparable at least, so if it is a little jerky, at least we know the scores are comparable.

It is more than a little jerky. I'm sure someone else can play both and confirm this, but I think the PS2 version is nigh unplayable by comparison.

Noise, you have PC gaming up and running, why not just play it in MAME?

[dunpeal2064]

Huh, I've played the game up to stage 4 and never had any issues. Could it be buggy on specific models of the ps2?

Usually things like that bug the crap out of me.

KAI has a 400k ALL on shmups, and many others are playing it with no complaints... which, for that place, is usually saying something.

What exactly do you mean by jerky? Input delay?

[noiseredux]

Noise, you have PC gaming up and running, why not just play it in MAME?

if I find the PS2 version unplayable, I'm sure I will. But I've learned from experience (last month) that I'm less likely to stick with an emulated game consistently. I can't even explain why. It's in my head.

[dsheinem]

Huh, I've played the game up to stage 4 and never had any issues. Could it be buggy on specific models of the ps2?

Usually things like that bug the crap out of me.

Not sure. I am playing on a slim.

The shmups people note problems too with the Taito US release. Apparently it is better on the JPN version: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 746#260746

EDIT: it looks like, in addition to slowdown, there's a problem with focusing the laser beam properly.

[dunpeal2064]

Hmm, so apparently, according to shmups, there is a bug in the western TLII release where it has an issue refocusing the bomb? No idea what that means.

[dsheinem]

Hmm, so apparently, according to shmups, there is a bug in the western TLII release where it has an issue refocusing the bomb? No idea what that means.

Yeah, I added that to my post above. if you don't absolutely have to play the PS2 Taito Legends 2 US port, don't. I wonder how the Saturn port rates?

[dunpeal2064]

According to Shmups, the jp release of TLII and the Saturn port are perfect.