Games are Unbeatable

[grinvader]

I just got done playing "Perfect Cherry Blossom"

I think my eyes are bleeding...

You're not 'done' until you can pwn Yukari without dying and/or 1cc Lunatic without using Reimu A.

[Firon]

I don't have the skill to do that

[SonGoku1905]

Has anyone beat Progear which is a CPS 2 game on Mame or Kawaks ?
ıt's one of the hardest games I've ever seen.Also Svc Capcom vs SNK , ISS Deluxe, Star Ocean and Bahamut Lagoon seem nearly impossible to me

[Agozer]

Has anyone beat Progear which is a CPS 2 game on Mame or Kawaks ?

Yes, but I end up using a good chunk of credits to pull it off. Same goes with every arcade shooter.

[Joe Camacho]

Has anyone beat Progear which is a CPS 2 game on Mame or Kawaks ?

Yes, but I end up using a good chunk of credits to pull it off. Same goes with every arcade shooter.

Well, then again, those games were designed to eat up credits.

[Neo Kaiser]

Like Mars Matrix but from the console games I'll still say Ikaruga not only because the dark-light shifting but because the stages are unpredictable at first.

[MisterJones]

Progear ship bombs make battkles much easier. Turning bullets into jewels is a blessing.

[Palin]

You're not 'done' until you can pwn Yukari without dying and/or 1cc Lunatic without using Reimu A.

I'm just getting into the bullet curtain genre, so I'm definately in the "suck" category. Is it my imagination or are some of the patterns in the last two levels impossible to dodge? Is it assumed that you'll have built up enough bombs to just clear the screen when you're trapped? Or am I supposed to memorize when those patterns occur in order to slot myself into a location that doesn't get walled in? For some of the patterns I just need better reaction time, but other patterns seem impossible. The bullet walls during the revival battle... uggg. The three walls traveling at slight angles to each other that mesh together, I can only successfully dodge those about 20% of the time.

Also, how do you get the spell card capture bonus? Just cancel the spell before a certain time limit?

[Agozer]

The trick is that your character only has a fairly small hit area, so you must get used to grazing a whole lot.

IIRC, you get Spell Card bonuses by not dying during a boss fight nor using any bomb. I could be wrong, Grin knows.

[grinvader]

I'm just getting into the bullet curtain genre, so I'm definately in the "suck" category.

It is actually a genre where beginner's luck doesn't exist.

Is it my imagination or are some of the patterns in the last two levels impossible to dodge?

Your imagination. You can go through the game with a 'perfect grazer' challenge (i.e. no shooting, no bombing, no dying), although some lunatic stage parts would require some heavy pratice (in lunatic, stages are harder to set up than cards, they're a cinch).

Is it assumed that you'll have built up enough bombs to just clear the screen when you're trapped? Or am I supposed to memorize when those patterns occur in order to slot myself into a location that doesn't get walled in?

The latter, mostly. Although you'll also need the former to rack up some really high scores. Some spellcards are even worth losing in that regard - the amount of points you get from invinci-grazing or plain bombing is worth losing bomb points, not getting the card bonus, or even dying several times, for some cards.

For some of the patterns I just need better reaction time, but other patterns seem impossible. The bullet walls during the revival battle... uggg. The three walls traveling at slight angles to each other that mesh together, I can only successfully dodge those about 20% of the time.

That's when practice comes into play. The easy patterns can be dodged as they come with enough reflexes, but for some you need a negative reaction time - anticipation. Just a matter of knowing what's next in your face and placing yourself in the right spot as it's launched.

Remember that most patterns use your position as a reference, so dodging them is just a matter of a few pixels in a single direction (also known as 'streaming' patterns, as opposed to 'tricky' ones). If you freak out and start dashing around the screen, even otherwise simple streaming patterns become undodgeable.

Also, how do you get the spell card capture bonus? Just cancel the spell before a certain time limit?

To get a spellcard bonus, you have to clear the card:
1- without bombs
2- [PCB only] without border break (clearing the screen with your supernatural border)
3- without dying
4- in the time limit

Failing any of those and you miss the spellcard bonus (shows up in the top-right corner in PCB and IN). The exact scoring mechanics changes slightly depending the game, though.

Just keep trying and you'll eventually get the hang of it. If you need any tutoring, feel free to ask.

[Gil_Hamilton]

I'm just getting into the bullet curtain genre, so I'm definately in the "suck" category.

It is actually a genre where beginner's luck doesn't exist.

You never saw me and Mars Matrix, obviously.

I'd definitely file myself as a beginner in bullet-hells(and with all my decent joysticks busted, my skills have atrophied horribly).
I ran through most of the game on one life without using the shield. But then I got distracted, lost my focus, and burned all my lives almost immediately.
My only regret is that I didn't have the VCR running. I never did half as good as that one shield-less dodge-fest ever again.



But Ikaruga's a memorization game, not a proper bullet-hell.
It's also grossly over-rated, just because there's not a lot coming out in terms of shooters these days.

[SonGoku1905]

I'm just getting into the bullet curtain genre, so I'm definately in the "suck" category.

It is actually a genre where beginner's luck doesn't exist.

You never saw me and Mars Matrix, obviously.

I'd definitely file myself as a beginner in bullet-hells(and with all my decent joysticks busted, my skills have atrophied horribly).
I ran through most of the game on one life without using the shield. But then I got distracted, lost my focus, and burned all my lives almost immediately.
My only regret is that I didn't have the VCR running. I never did half as good as that one shield-less dodge-fest ever again.



But Ikaruga's a memorization game, not a proper bullet-hell.
It's also grossly over-rated, just because there's not a lot coming out in terms of shooters these days.

Mars Matrix and Gigawing are surely hard games , although I can finish them both with 2 coins. But I believe games like
-Guwange
-Vasara
are way too hard. Even in earlier levels screen is filled with bullets and you have nowhere to go and like impossible.Especially Guwange, cause there are obstacle and little paths that you should follow,even the first boss gives hell. But I like that game. Anyone plays it ?
Also Pang is very frustrating when there are walls that prevent balls to go far upside.
These games were sure made for eating creadits , and surely they serve their purpose well. I wish there were more games of this kind.

[Agozer]

Especially Guwange, cause there are obstacle and little paths that you should follow,even the first boss gives hell. But I like that game. Anyone plays it ?

Yup. Guwange is a good game, but I agree that it quite difficult, to the point of frustration.

Or maybe I just suck at playing it.

[Palin]

I switched from keyboard control to using a playstation controller adapter, that helped smooth out my movements. I do tend to die a bit more often from direct fire patterns though (since my dodging is a bit fuzzier.) Trying not to move around too much during the last two levels seems to have helped me. I reached revival before hitting my first continue screen, so I'm almost there. Then of course I have to master normal mode, then hard mode, then expert mode... then whatever secret bonus hell mode the programmer probably slipped in there.

[grinvader]

Then of course I have to master normal mode, then hard mode, then expert mode... then whatever secret bonus hell mode the programmer probably slipped in there.

I advise tackling the extra stages before lunatic (before hard, if you feel like it). They're all about stage setup and trial & error, so if you keep them for last you'll grow tired, frustrated and dead.

Mostly dead.

[Joe Camacho]

I like Ikaruga.

[SonGoku1905]

I like Ikaruga.

Is it a Mame game ? Cause I haven't seen it in any sites

[Palin]

There was a Dreamcast port I think.

You could set it to render 90 degree rotated so you could put your screen on its side to get a funny aspect ratio.

[grinvader]

Dreamcast/GC.

Bullet hell with a selective shield - shields are usually making things worse in those games... (No shield means there is always a way to dodge everything, else the programmers can make stuff go haywire whenever they want)

The last boss (not the stone, the real boss thing, which actually requires shooting) is sweeeeeet shield swapping action, though.

[Gil_Hamilton]

There was a Dreamcast port I think.

You could set it to render 90 degree rotated so you could put your screen on its side to get a funny aspect ratio.

The funny aspect ratio is actually the original arcade one. The screen is just mounted sideways in the arcade cab.
The option's there because some shooter fans seriously turn their TV sideways for the "real arcade experience" or whatever.


As far as it being MAME'd...
The arcade version is a NAOMI game. NAOMI isn't emulated yet, and likely won't be for a long time.

[SonGoku1905]

There was a Dreamcast port I think.

You could set it to render 90 degree rotated so you could put your screen on its side to get a funny aspect ratio.

The funny aspect ratio is actually the original arcade one. The screen is just mounted sideways in the arcade cab.
The option's there because some shooter fans seriously turn their TV sideways for the "real arcade experience" or whatever.


As far as it being MAME'd...
The arcade version is a NAOMI game. NAOMI isn't emulated yet, and likely won't be for a long time.

I've heard that Naomi system uses hardware similar to DC's is that true ?
Maybe it's like CPS3 ; both hard to emulate and not much people bother to work on it cause there aren't enough games to make it worth it.

[Firon]

It is Dreamcast-based, but there are a fair amount of games for it. Besides, if MAME emulates it, you'll need a 2139847GHz PC to play it.

[Gil_Hamilton]

There was a Dreamcast port I think.

You could set it to render 90 degree rotated so you could put your screen on its side to get a funny aspect ratio.

The funny aspect ratio is actually the original arcade one. The screen is just mounted sideways in the arcade cab.
The option's there because some shooter fans seriously turn their TV sideways for the "real arcade experience" or whatever.


As far as it being MAME'd...
The arcade version is a NAOMI game. NAOMI isn't emulated yet, and likely won't be for a long time.

I've heard that Naomi system uses hardware similar to DC's is that true ?
Maybe it's like CPS3 ; both hard to emulate and not much people bother to work on it cause there aren't enough games to make it worth it.

NAOMI's basically a Dreamcast with more RAM.

CPS3 is a pain to emulate, partially because no one's really sure what the hardware is and Capcom did a good job hiding it.
MAME team wound up shaving the chip casing to find out what CPU it used.


NAOMI is a pain to emulate just because it's pretty beefy hardware.
As far as stuff worth playing... it's been one of the most successful systems of the modern era.
Aside from "niche" stuff like Ikaruga, it's got
Marvel VS Capcom 2,
Capcom VS SNK(1 and 2 both),
House of the Dead 2,
the Guilty Gear series(also on Atomiswave, which is a Dreamcast with a cart slot{or a NAOMI with less RAM, depending on how you look at it}{is this getting niche?}),
Crazy Taxi,
Virtual On 2,
Dead or Alive 2(never mind that the home versions have bunches more stuff),
and Special Bonus Round: Virtua Fighter 4 runs on NAOMI 2(Featuring MORE more RAM, twin CPUs, and twin GPUs).

[Mark57Raider]

Has anyone beat Progear which is a CPS 2 game on Mame or Kawaks ?
ıt's one of the hardest games I've ever seen.Also Svc Capcom vs SNK , ISS Deluxe, Star Ocean and Bahamut Lagoon seem nearly impossible to me

Star Ocean is easy son!!

[Mark57Raider]

Oh this Igaragua game sounds so off the hook! I'd have to try to play it myself to find out how hard the game is. I've seen shots where players have to change the color of the bullets light or dark depending on which enemies arise on the airships. Seems like Metroid Prime 2 has ripped their gameplay from Ikargua and put it on theirs. Oh well, both seem to be pretty good titles.