All purpose SHMUP thread

Sin & Punishment 2 is a) ugly as hell, the cutscenes will make you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spoon b) really really difficult at times c) tremendous fun

sounds a lot like sin & punishment 1. (which, to be fair, did look pretty cool. just in an ugly, n64 kinda way.)

and raiden fighters aces kinda rules. I like throwing that one on late at night while chillin out and listenin to records. which is something I really like to do. so consequently, it's prob my most played 360 game.

and I didn't realize nintendo is publishing sin & punishment 2 in the US. guess that means the price will never go down and I should just bite the bullet and pick it up?

also, whoa. deathsmiles on amazon.com. never thought I'd see the day.

def will be a little embarrassed to own this shit tho:

http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/04/500x_deathsmiles.jpg

anyone downloading donpachi from the japanese PSN?

also jeff do you have any insight into why these games are being published on the 360? I thought the PS3 had a bigger install base in japan. it's a bit annoying because of the 360's archaic region protection : /

I've read that thought the PS3 is more popular in JP, the target audience for shmups leans 360. not sure how true that really is...

cozen - the version of Donpachi on the jPSN store is just the ps1 port of donpachi - I don't know how good of a port that is, but the original arcade game plays perfectly in MAME, as does its sequel Dondonpachi, which is a better game. So unless one is a complete puritan, MAME is a great way to go on those old games.

In regards to why the 360. Obviously I don't know the facts, but here is the basic theory... after the original xbox flopped amazingly hard in Japan, Microsoft wanted to make a better effort to be competitive with the 360. One of the ways they did this was apparently to reach out to some of these niche / hardcore publishers and probably incentivise them to work on the 360, as they also did for some Japanese RPG developers (to mixed results, see Blue Dragon, etc). For a small publisher like Cave, obviously some extra dough to help with development or marketing would be appealing, but also the fact that the 360 would be much easier to program for, very similar to what they were used to, especially compared to the ps3, which requires learning a whole new programming skill set (which obviously would be hard for a niche company), as well as the higher costs associated with blu-ray. There's also some though that since Microsoft reached out and tried to get these companies and Sony ignored them / took them for granted, these smaller companies felt flattered and that working with Microsoft seemed like it might be a good thing, enough to offset the thought that the playstation machine would be more successful in Japan.

As to region coding, until very recently, I think the idea just wasn't something these companies even thought about. Cave really feels their games appeal to Japanese gamers and, shortsightedly (realistically?), they didn't really think about the rest of the world and the bigger market they could reach.

Alan - well, the hardcore audience in Japan leans towards the 360, because the 360 has done a very good job of sewing up all the hardcore releases. Basically if you wanna play these games at home, you have to buy a j360, so the hardcore have - which was Microsoft Japan's plan. Unfortunately for them, sewing up a niche market, means their console is still pretty niche (though more successful than the original xbox). Unfortunately for us, it means getting these games is quite a bit more difficult :(

donpachi ps1 port was pretty well done, iirc. I think I had the ps1 port and the saturn ver. of dodonpachi and the difference wasn't too drastic. (but saturn was better, obv.)

but yeah, they play fine on MAME.

and jeff's droppin' serious knowledge here. thanks!

that was interesting to me too, i didn't know about this

booming post, thanks jeff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQBrwM2tE0

yeah I got to try the iPod Touch version of Espgaluda II out a few weeks ago on my brother's machine... I was REALLY impressed by how well it controlled. It did seem that the patterns were slower (by about half?) than the arcade game, but it felt balanced, and did pretty much have everything you could want out of a portable version. The graphics and music were also quite good. I enjoyed it, but not enough to buy a new, compatible iphone/pad/touch product.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5600/hardcorps1275595666000.jpg
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1094576p1.html

A Contra: Hard Corps sequel coming out by Arc System Works?! Huh.

iPhone/ iPad Touch version of Cave's DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu coming later this summer!
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/07/16/dodonpachi_iphone/

as a dude who historically does not give a shit about shooters I have to say I'm enjoying Espgaluda iPhone a whole lot

Location test footage of Cave's brand new arcade STG Akai Katana - looking very Progear...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Y2dbEydD0

whoa

sunk a good amount of time into the new deathsmiles us release yesterday.

first impression - this game looks great but I really, really wish they went straight castlevania instead of the pedo-vania art style we ended up with. nice to see age info at the character select screen too. (all 17 and under!)

second impression - eh, who cares? this game is a blast. best horizontal shmup since gradius 5?

uh....

On the back of the arcade game poster, there is a template for a skirt blowing game. In the game, the player attempts to blow up the skirt or petticoat of the model to see her underwear. The player scores 30 points for blowing up a skirt and 50 points for blowing up a petticoat. Points are deducted if a pumpkin or tombstone is knocked over.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathsmiles#Marketing

so, playasia says that the 360 ports of deathsmiles 2 and ketsui are both region encoded. bummer.

big news outta Japan today...
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/08/14/cave_festival_live_report/

Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork are coming to Xbox 360 in a single retail release planned for Spring 2011. The games will not have high res visuals, but will have new modes.

Feveron coming to an unannounced platform. It was not revealed if the game will be retail or download.

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Version 1.5 is coming to Xbox 360 for retail release on 11/25 at ¥6,800 in standard form and ¥8,800 in limited edition. Cave Festival attendees get a DLC card that ups the game to the Version 1.51 arcade version that was on display at the event. The 360 version has two arranged modes.

Guwange, announced for Xbox Live Arcade earlier this year, is set for September or October release. They showed a live play demonstration at the event.

Milestone reps came out and introduced the Xbox 360 version of Radilgy Noah, Radilgy Noah Massive. Set for 10/28 retail release. The 360 version has Classic Mode, Massive Mode and Death Modes. Massive Mode is a time attack mode where you play through two minutes and aim for the highest score. There's a boss at the end, and by killing it off you can get a higher score.

guessing these new cave games will be region protected as well? argh.

man, that stuff plus ketsui and deathsmiles 2 is making me think twice about getting a j360.

any other good shmups that are japan only?

guessing these new cave games will be region protected as well? argh.

Guwange is getting a worldwide release via xbla. The rest - we will see - probably region protected tho - yeah.

any other good shmups that are japan only?

There have been a handful of releases - Castle of Shikigami III (also available for wii in the US tho), Shooting Love, 200X (compilation), Otomedius Gorgeous (coming soon to the US, I think), Mamoru-kun, and Strike Witches. I've only played the Wii version of Shikigami III (which is great), the rest I've heard mixed things about and haven't seemed worth the cost of importing.

yeah, I was really hoping cave would stop locking games after mushihimesama futari and espgaluda 2. guess not. whadda draaaaaag.

and thanks for that import rundown. I thought of one more:
senko no ronde duo

not exactly a shmup but pretty close. doubt it will make it out of japan. I bought the localization of the first one for two bucks used.

weird that otomedius gorgeous is getting a US release. was interested when it came out due to the konami pedigree but digging around mainly revealed reviews by disappointed folks.

hmm. my link breaks in firefox for some reason. one more time:

http://www.vigigames.com/?p=1039

i sure wish i had an ipad :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIiG44LDThI

Radiant Silvergun HD port coming to XBLA in 2011

nice!

psyched for bangai-o HD and radiant silvergun

what with those and fire pro, there's finally some exciting xbla games on the horizon

Love bangai-o. Do not have these fancy systems.

Can you guys beat this?

http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/files/KILLGOD.rar

It only has three levels.

bangai-o rules. feel like designing for HD tv dimensions would work out well for the gameplay too.

kinda miss the goofy vibe of the first game tho.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/09/bangaio091207.jpg

Europe getting a Deathsmiles port...
http://www.eurogamer.se/articles/2010-09-17-varldsexklusivt-deathsmiles-kommer-till-europa

Mushihimesama Futari (I assume it will still be region free) goes greatest hits in November, for $34.90 US (over half off the original price)
http://www.play-asia.com/Mushihimesama_Futari_Ver_1.5_Platinum_Collection/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3yu5.html

BREAKING NEWS! Latest version of MAME now supports Ketsui, DoDonPach Dai-Ou-Jou and DoDonPach Dai-Ou-Jou Black Label and good ROM dumps are out there if you look around. Apparently Espgaluda should also work now too, but there may not be a good ROM dump yet?

any update on the radiant silvergun xbla port?

ketsui!! (still bummed that the j-360 port was region encoded.)

and what did you think of espgaluda 2, jeff? I've only played for a few hours but... it didn't really do it for me for whatever reason. weird because I love espgaluda and esp ra.de.

I also haven't played a ton of Espgalua 2, but I do like it. I think I just got distracted by the purity of Ketsui, which came out at almost the same time and is much more to my liking. The thing about Esp2 is the mechanics of not only the two different shots, but the two different hyper modes for bullet cancelling & bullet swarms is a bit much to get one's head around. Ketsui is a "harder" game, but it's understandable, while Espgaluda is slightly easier, but more confusing and less straight-forward in a way that makes it slightly less fun to play.

Speaking of region free, in case you didn't know, CAVE has announced the the Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork double pack due out in February 2011 will be region free as well.

yeah, I didn't hate esp2 or anything. but after coming off of playing mushihimesama futari heavily... it seemed a bit lacking to me.

the mechanics of it did seem a bit clunky but I'll have to play more to really solidify my opinion on this one.

and I hadn't heard about pink sweets/muchi muchi. great news!

A couple notes on Ketsui MAME - you will want to change the default settings on the ROM that is floating around as it is set to easy and no continues. To change the settings just hit F2 which takes you to the test menu, go to 7. Game and in there you can set the difficulty to Normal (or Hard or Very Hard) and turn on the rapid shot (C button) so you don't have to tap button "a" to get the shot, just hold down "c" button for shot and hold down the "a" button for the lock on shot (B button is bomb) or however you configure your stick / pad / keyboard). 6. System is where you can turn on continues if you want to credit feed so you can at least see the whole game once. Also there are still some minor sound glitches to the emulation, but nothing to lose any sleep over - future revisions should be able to fix this (top men or working on it).

new dreamcast shmup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxWTVuJqS-U

really impressive trailer.

and a new one from g-rev coming to xbla:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn9FQ5NjDdA

just stumbled on Score Rush on xbox indie. a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAIhtPSrm-4

nice. that looks like a good time.

looks like there's a new mushihimesama port coming out soon:
http://www.shopncsx.com/mushihimesamahdlimitededition.aspx

doesn't seem like it will be region free. wish cave kept that trend up. :-/

whatever happened to Jeff LeVine

he retired from ilx :(

my understanding is that he has somewhat un-retired and has been posting here occasionally, but under a different, considerably shorter name...