What shmup are you playing now?

[Erik_Twice]

Taking a break from Gradius II? Or did you just want to see what you have in store for you next?

I play Gradius III when I want to get right into the fray, mostly.

I can now reach the Boss Rush most of the time in Gradius II, sometimes I die in the Moai stage, sometimes I die in the Speed stage, but I think I can get there. The bosses themselves aren't particularly difficult except for the Zub Rush and Covered Core so I expect to reach the last stage soon.

My biggest improvement these days has been Death Core MkII. He reacts to your movements and I always ended up running into his laser so I decided to actively lure him to the bottom of the screen, where my missiles hurt him and I can easily control where he's going instead of running away from him.

I also discovered the point in Stage 4 that allows you to ditch Double for Laser, which makes Death Core a bit easier.


Concerning Gradius III, I can beat the first part of the Volcano Stage and the underground, while treacherous isn't too difficult. Right now I'm dying over at over at the sand you have to shoot to make your way through, I don't have a strategy for it and it seems memorization-heavy.

[dunpeal2064]

Death Core mkII is pretty tough. I haven't put in the effort you have with Gradius II, so my runs usually end there. Those lasers are so damn quick, and I never know when to expect them! I'll have to try out your strategy next time I play.

it seems memorization-heavy.

This pretty much sums up Gradius III for me

[Frag Mortuus]

I'm not a huge shmup fan, but I do enjoy them. Right now I'm playing Resogun on PS4 and Sine Mora. Both are great.

[Erik_Twice]

it seems memorization-heavy.

This pretty much sums up Gradius III for me

Well, so far I haven't had to memorize anything so I can't really complain much.

My guess is that the sand part of the stage isn't designed to be memorized but tackled with Laser. The previous section is perfectly beatable by getting close to the top to destroy the turrets and Duckers so a Shield isn't needed.

Strategy, strategy.

[dunpeal2064]

Well, I suck at horizontal shooters

Then again, I've never been too sure on what "memorizor" means in a shmup. To me, it just means learning. If you do something and it doesn't work, do it differently. If it does work, do it the same way each time. I guess this could be called memorization, but it could also be called strategy.

It seems like games that don't have a panic button to get you out of a pickle are often considered "memorizors".

[DocHauser]

Broke 4 million in Dimahoo after a lot of effort. Man, scoring in this game is hard work.

[dunpeal2064]

Broke 4 million in Dimahoo after a lot of effort. Man, scoring in this game is hard work.

Its very "All-or-Nothing". You can have such a great run going, and then the tally at the end of the stage shows that you are missing one item from one or two lists. So frustrating.

And thats not even touching the secret items. Okay, I need to have 4 bombs here, no bomb stock here, use this charge shot here, bomb here... seems more strict than Ikaruga!

[DocHauser]

I actually like playing it for survival, though. I just tried a run where I ignored items and tried to survive as long as possible. Made it further than before (surprise!), to the Stage 5 boss Infernon.

It's probably doubtful that I can low-rank my way through the entire game - the final stage lasts about 7 minutes and has a fairly tough-looking boss-rush part in the middle. Then of course there's the infamous final boss...

[Erik_Twice]

I only played two credits of Gradius II today but they showed what I've learned to do and what I haven't.

First, Death MkII is getting smashed. Leading him close to the ground means all my options fire lasers AND missilies right into his face and he lasts even less than Crystal Core now. Funny how the two bosses that used to give me the most troubles are the easiest right now.

Oh well, the real problem now are my inconsistent deaths in the Moai Stage. The first issue is the dreaded option thief that appears for the second or third time here. Normally he just cruises through the screen from left to right and he's very easy to avoid but now he will move up or down to chase you down a bit. This means putting all your options together and pressing down when he gets closer is no longer viable. I need a plan for this.

The second issue is the middle of the Moai stage itself. The level features infinite scroll, which means that whenever there's a vertical opening on the level you will be shot at by dozens of Moais at the same time. I normally try to dodge my way through but I also need a strategy to get through this. Just dodging is not enough in this game, you need a plan.



On other matters, I played Dangun Feveron for the first time. What a great game! It has a great "Toaplan is dead, long live Toaplan!" vibe to it and I fear it may be so good at it it may have made Toaplan itself obsolete.

[mjmjr25]

Played Jamestown for the first time tonight. I REALLY like it. I've only played stage 1 so far, but I just adore the depth of the different ship options and the difficulty settings.

I mean, difficulty in CAVE / RAIZING / PSIKYO games...there really isn't a huge leap on difficulty settings, so it's really cool to see a game where level easy...is very easy, the middle ground...is middle ground, and insane is insanity.

I love the super long chaining timer. I LOVE the music. The graphics are excellent. Controls are super smooth. Boss fight is enjoyable. Most importantly, online leaderboards - woot! I can see putting a ton of time into this.