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What do you get when you combine steampunk and horizontal shoot-em-ups? You get Steel Empire! Originally released in 1992 on the Mega Drive/Genesis line of consoles, this unique horizontal scrolling shooter combined the steampunk theme and aesthetic with an interesting shooting game that adds a couple different mechanics to make the game stand out. Instead of only scrolling from left to right, some areas have you scrolling right to left at different times, as you pass back and forth over some bosses or landscape. There are 2 different craft to choose from, each of which has different attributes, and gives the player a very different experience. The large dirigible is slow and a bit clunky, but it's quite powerful. The biplane is weaker, but faster and far more nimble, in addition to being much smaller, and better able to weave through bullet spam. Choose either craft, and prepare to take on the Motorhead Empire, as you fly into their strongholds to attack their bases, and take out their forces, to weaken them and stop the tyranny. You play as a pilot for the Silverhead Republic, the only free state left in the world, on a mission to free the rest of society from the Morothead Empire.

This game is available on many platforms. In addition to the original Sega Genesis and Mega Drive release, it received a remake on the Game Boy Advance, as well as a later remake on the 3DS, available via the eShop. Recently, the game was remade again, based on the 3DS remake, and given a release on Steam, with updated graphical elements. No matter which you play, you're sure to have fun shooting bullets, dropping bombs, and blowing up elaborate tanks, canons, and other fantastic flying machines from a fictional steampunk universe. Whether you play on console, PC, or on the go, be sure to join us for the Shmup Club game of November 2018, Steel Empire!

Participants:
MetalFRO
Addicted
Normatron
lordb0rb4
Retroshmuper
Square_Air
Golem
EZ Racer

High Scores Per Version:
Sega Genesis - MetalFRO (Normal) 4,782,800  -and-  Golem (Hard) 5,978,800
Game Boy Advance -
3DS - Golem (Normal) 1,776,681
Steam/PC - Normatron (Normal) 3,109,050

I hope its not to late to put my name in the hat for this game, im playing this on steam.

Nope - we start in November, so I'll add you to the list. Welcome aboard!

Thank you, I used to have it on the genesis but somehow lost it, but saw it on steam when I saw this post. so I got it! :)

I'll be playing this on the Genesis and 3DS.

Should have the Genesis copy shipped to me by the end of the week.

Hello RF Generation!
First time posting here and this topic was the very reason for me to join this amazing Forum.
I'm from Brazil and english is not my native language so please bear with me.
Steel Empire was a game that although i've known it for a long time i didn't actually give it a go until the recent steam release and OH BOY what a gem of a game!
I'm going to be honest here, after playing it on 3DS the PC port seems to be inferior in a lot of ways, the smoothed graphics doesn't blend well and there are some hickups performance-wise.It's not deal breaking but it is not perfect at all.
I'm playing both PC and 3DS version and maybe Genesis for curiosity sake.How high scores are going to be settled? 1 credit on default settings?

Welcome to RF Generation, lordb0rb4! Steel Empire is our game for November, so obviously we'll be waiting to look at scores specifically until then, but yes - high scores should be submitted only on a single credit play. There are no prizes, per se, but more a matter of bragging rights, so take a screenshot or photo of your score and post it here. I use Imgur for mine, but you can probably use most any image hosting service to do that. Glad to see more people coming in internationally, and I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the game as we go through November :D

Thank you my friend, i can't wait!

Hi, I'll be playing this with you this month as well. Looking forward to it

Welcome aboard, Retroshmuper! Glad you can join us, and good luck!

Not a high level run by any means but i think i've managed a good 1cc run, dying twice.
As i said, not a gold tier score but it is a starting point.
[img width=700 height=394]https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1962/44751593295_2b08785c5a_c.jpg[/img]

Woah, congrats on the 1CC already! Which craft did you use, the plane, or the dirigible?

Etopirika, the plane, it's downward bombing run is really usefull.
Forgot to say that i've played the Steam version.
lordb0rb4 is my tag on Steam if anyone cares.

Count me in! I actually had never heard of this game before dinner when I got home today, and after about a half dozen credits, I manged to grab a 1CC on Normal mode. I almost manged to no-miss it as well, but I foolishly lost a life during the second last attack from the final boss  :P. A clear is a clear though, so I can't complain.

[img width=664 height=374]https://i.imgur.com/0J6AjqI.png[/img]

Genesis/Mega Drive - Normal Mode
Square_Air - 4,027,200 - ALL - Fusion 3.64

I kind of enjoyed this game! After 1942 twisted up my soul (though I will get my revenge clear on it one day ;)) I was quite relieved to find out that this game is actually pretty cool. It's a little easy for my tastes, but still a fun steampunk journey. It's actually quite colourful for a steampunk game, and the usual twangy electric guitar style Genesis/Mega Drive synthesizer is used to pretty great effect here. While the gameplay earns an overall thumbs up from me, I don't feel like this game really offers enough for more relatively experienced players besides going for the no-miss/no-bomb. The game doesn't seem to have much in the way of scoring either, so that's unfortunate. The highest scores for this game that I can seem to find are around 4.8 million.

A few tips:

1. Don't stick to the plane or the dirigible for the entire game. It is more beneficial if you use this order:
The plane is the all around better option, since the maneuverability is usually better than bulk and power. The 3rd and 5th stages have a large midboss and twin bosses respectively that take much too long to damage with the plane, while the dirigible's missiles can make short work of them comparatively. Those two stages don't have tight enough dodging to really justify the plane's low hp either, which makes the dirigible the superior choice.

2. During the speed section of stage 2 I like to stay about two thirds of the way back to be a bit closer to the spawning life recovery power ups that appear. If you're having trouble reacting though, staying all the way back might be easier for you.

3. ALWAYS Bomb the helicopter drones that appear near the end of stage 5 & 6, right before their respective bosses. These drones are too resilient to effectively destroy with your normal shot, but a single bomb will take out all drones on screen. You want to do this because they drop a plethora of goodies including: power ups, options, points, life recovery, bombs, and even 1-UPs. You will usually gain more bombs then what you spend on destroying them, so this is a risk free way of loading up on resources late game that you should never miss.

4. This might not be obvious for everyone, but you can hide behind the rocks during the last attack from the final boss.

Congrats on the clear! I'm interested to hear if there's scoring differences between the original and steam versions if anyone is willing to give both a try.

Good luck to all on their progress!  ;D

Square, congratulations my friend, amazing score!
It will be nice to see if the score is even between all version, did you remember if you have a no miss bonus at the end?
I ask because my version showed this at the end:
[img width=640 height=349]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4852/44952773904_67a98700e8_z.jpg[/img]

After taking a closer look at the steam version, I am now 100% positive that the scores are not comparable. Take a look for yourselves.

Genesis/Mega Drive Version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyvSpDCnsKc)

Steam Version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyyH-Nou1Tw)

As you can see, stage scoring & overall scoring is much higher in the original version, whereas the steam version has less stage scoring & overall scoring, but has a large no continue bonus at the end that isn't in the original. In terms of survival, the Steam version seems to be a mostly faithful (~80%) remake with a few big noticeable changes. Some of the bosses like the first boss seem to have been redesigned.

At least i was not utterly destroyed by your score XD

Welcome aboard once again, Square_Air! Impressive that you guys have already 1CC'd the game, but for those who have spent more time focusing on the genre than I have in recent years, all I can do is marvel at your skill and keep practicing!

I was playing last night with the plane, through to Stage 4, and at least made the score board in the 4th position, on the Genesis version:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/ZXWsTmY.jpg[/img]

I was hoping to get to the point where I can do a full 1CC run with the plane on all stages, and the dirigible on all stages, so it's interesting to see layout of which craft is best for which stage. I might try that, and see if it will help me get a 1CC more quickly, which should also help me learn the later stages faster, and then go back and see if I can accomplish it with a single craft through the whole game. I found the plane easy enough to use at least through the first 3 stages, so I don't think it's out of the question. To your point about the lack of challenge, Square_Air, save for a no-miss, a 1CC with a single vehicle might be another way to challenge yourself, especially doing a 1CC run with the dirigible. I imagine the Stage 2 speed trap section would be very challenging with that thing.

I am not surprised that the scoring has been tweaked for subsequent releases. I plan on checking out the Steam release this month as well, to compare. I know the game came out in Europe on the Game Boy Advance, and then later on the 3DS, but I have to believe those versions have made concessions for the small bullets and projectiles that get thrown at you, because some of that stuff is hard enough to see on the Genesis original, but if those things haven't been made easier to see on the tiny handheld screens, that would make the game that much more challenging, and downright unfair. I'll be curious to hear from anyone playing either version, as to what they find. I'm on the fence yet, but have thought about grabbing the 3DS version to mess around with on my 2DS. I may yet be convinced, depending on how well I do as the month progresses...

I played my first official run of the game today. I played it on normal and choose the plane for every stage and this is what I got. I recorded my run but I will just put my score here so far. I will try the next difficulty to see how far I can get. must say, i'm loving this game so far.

Nice score Normatron, the game is indeed amazing, no-hit run i presume?

Damn, everyone got to work on this quick!

I remember this game being mind-numbingly boring, so I was all ready to post and complain. But now that I've tried it again, I can't clear stage 2. :b So, I'm excited to get back into it. I'm also surprised to hear advice to switch crafts--I always figured you would want to stockpile experience all on one vehicle.

Here's my 3DS score, which I'll be trying to reach and pass on Steam: https://imgur.com/nicPMRA
(Can't have been that easy if I took 70 damage...)

Hey--how come lots of projectiles are destructible in the remake are indestructible on Genesis?

lordb0rb4 - Sent you a Steam invite as "golemio".

never thought of a no hit run but on Normal I beleave it is possible. I finished the game I guess with beating the true final boss. found out if you do continue and beat the game that you miss out on a big part of the final boss.

Glad to have you back again this month, Golem! I don't suspect you'll have a lot of trouble with the game, but good luck nonetheless!

Using the strategy outlined by Square_Air, as to which craft to pick for which stage, I have made much progress, and have now reached 6-B, and achieved a much better score this time around!
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/OUfs9QE.jpg[/img]

3,810,800 points is much better than last time, and that's after playing for around half of this afternoon. 6-B has some challenging bits, and a couple spots that are hard to avoid taking damage, so that will take a bit of practice to get through, and I credit fed earlier, to see Stage 7, which also has some trickiness, but overall shouldn't be too difficult to overcome with a bit of work. Hopefully, I can get the 1CC before the end of next week, and can then attempt to do either a full plane run, or a full dirigible run. I also grabbed the Steam version, so I can compare with what the rest of you guys are doing on that.

lordb0rb4 - I sent you a friend request on Steam. If anyone else wants to friend me on there, I'm metalfro777.

Congrats, FRO, sounds like you are on track!

I popped on the Steam version and accidentally cleared it? (https://imgur.com/xUJOXpm) The last stage is Sisyphean, with a final boss long enough to make Metal Slug 3 blush.

The Genesis version was giving me way more trouble. Above, Square said that Genesis and PC scoring weren't comparable. I understood that on some level, but it didn't hit me how different the two were. Check out the stage 2 midboss:
Genesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrMwwlqUwy0&feature=youtu.be&t=100
PC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyyH-Nou1Tw&feature=youtu.be&t=565
Seriously, look at how much faster the projectiles are on Genesis.

There's definitely a few big changes made between versions. It seems to mainly just be with bosses and mid-bosses as far as I can tell.


Well done on that progress, MetalFRO! Nice to get more Genesis scores going. I must unfortunately let you know that I believe your score is actually 3,210,800, though I don't blame you for thinking otherwise, as the 2 & 8 digits are very difficult to discern from one another. I was prompted to take a closer look after I realized that 3.8 million by 6-B would be world record pace, and probably even a no-damage run up to that point.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I didn't want you to be confused about better runs potentially turning out oddly lesser scores. Still though, you're not too far off from the clear, so best of luck on the climb. ;D

Metal and Golem added...
Man, Steel Empire on Genesis is A L-O-T harder than it's remake, it's going to take some real training to get close to those scores.

Edit:
Just to be clear, are you Genesis players using only 1 credit?  :o ???

Edit2:
NVM, score resets if a continue is used.

Finally got to try it out today after getting the Genesis back out. Getting stuck on the second half of Stage 2, but love the aesthetics of this title so far.

That was one crazy run! if I knew it was going to turn out this way I would have recorded it! this is where im sitting at scorewise.

also its crazy how the all clear and no continue bonuses add to your score.

I haven’t tried it yet, because I’m focused on the Genesis version right now, but is there an end-level No Death bonus in the Steam version?

Well, it's been a productive morning for me already! I managed to get a 1CC, using Square_Air's optimal craft selection strategy, and scored 4,530,500 points in the process:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/m1c28c2.jpg[/img]

I followed that right up with an all-dirigible clear, scoring 4,560,400 points!
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/U9tkxhH.jpg[/img]

The dirigible run is especially difficult in Stage 6, with all the floating platforms to dodge, and tight spaces to maneuver in. Also, the floor you have to destroy on one of them can be hard to target, if you don't have the outriggers, and you'll end up taking damage, so you have to be prepared for that.

Did a good Dirigible run up until the very end, screwing up my 11 bomb reserve and losing 2 lives but managed to increase my final score:
[img width=700 height=394]https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1919/45009550724_038ae27185_c.jpg[/img]

Nice! I really like how, in 2-3 spots during the game, you can really farm for extra lightning bombs. That really helps with some of the more bullet spammy bosses, and in particular, the last boss. I can dodge nearly all of its firepower up until it puts out its side units, then those fireball clusters come out, and are huge, and they're difficult to dodge. I tend to just expend my entire remaining bomb stock on those, to damage it enough that it goes into its final pattern, the flame waves.

I took another crack at Steel Empire on the Genesis last night, and managed to get the all-plane clear, and also got my highest score so far!
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/j38oPxH.jpg[/img]

I think it's because of the spread effect of the ground bomb. You can use that to great effect for both ground and aerial enemies, if you use it right. Also, after a couple of attempts, I decided to try a "least optimal" craft selection run, meaning that I used the opposite of what Square_Air outlined. Thus, I used the dirigible for all stages, except 3 & 5, where it's most useful, and used the plane instead. It took a couple tries, but I pulled it off, and got a pretty good score in the process!
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/Q4GaDBY.jpg[/img]

Short of a no-bomb run, or a no-miss run, both of which would be quite difficult, I've nearly exhausted the Genesis version, so I think I'll move on to the Steam release next, and see how that goes.

Awesome progress MetalFRO! Looks like I have some catching up to do when I come back to this game. I also believe that the genesis version has a hard mode as well, so that's something else to take a look at.

Nice work Lordb0rb4 and Fro! It is fun to experiment with the plane selection.

Apparently stage 2 is this game's hump stage, because once I cleared that, I sailed through to the last stage:
3,571,900
[img width=256 height=224]https://i.imgur.com/26kv0UH.png[/img]
Now, it's time to show the final boss what's-for.

The turning point came when I could fight the stage 2 midboss without watching my plane, having burned my plane's movement into muscle memory (verified by the plane's shots). Muscle memory plays such a huge role in these games--I'm reminded of Gradius, where it was key to challenge my muscle memory to internalize Vic's higher speeds.

Some rough thoughts, to be revisited later to correct my naivete:

Years ago, I dismissed this game as boring for having no characteristic features. Playing it now, it seems to me its distinguishing feature is the way every goddamn thing has to undulate. Or, to be more exact, many enemies and hazards move irregularly. Some enemies have a slow vertical aspect to their movement, as if they bob up and down. Some things shift left to right, shooting as they go, so that bullet patterns have a shifting source.

(This comes out more in the Genesis version. I would say that's the better version, despite the cleaner presentation of the HD version.)

In the opening of the first stage, the scrolling brings the ground into view. You don't fly straight forward. Instead, the screen shifts slowly downward until the ground is in view.

Or there's the flying submarine (would that make it a supermarine?), which tracks back and forth.

It strikes me that this couldn't be as unique as I feel it is. "Stuff moves" is a pretty key aspect of shooters. The distinction I'm trying to draw is too subtle for me to really put my finger on.

Take the stage 3 boss of R-Type. You have to navigate the R-9 past a giant, hulking battleship exterior and strike a small, tender weak spot hidden away. The battleship moves as you approach. However, it moves at a fixed pace, pauses a fixed time, and then moves again. You also have the yellow weapon, which can climb along walls to reach it, and the force pod itself can be navigated into little nooks. In other words: the movement is regular, making it easy to understand, and even if you don't want to understand it, the game has options for maintaining your distance instead.

Compare it to the three battleships of Steel Empire. When you approach their weak points, they move without pause. And the best you can do to maintain distance is lob the dirigible's bombs upwards, which means you are less than a plane's hitbox away from slamming into the battleship exterior.

Or compare it to Metal Black. Scraping with your shots is a key tactic. You sidle the Black Fly just above or below an enemy, and your shot's hitbox is so big vertically that you can strike. So, the rockets and fish of stage 2 are perfect for scraping, since they lurch onscreen horizontally, with no vertical movement. You can line up the scrape with them easily.

Compare this to Steel Empire and, in particular, the hatch covering the battleship's weak spot. If you take the plane and lose your options, you're forced to scrape off the hatch. This feels about a million times worse than it does in Metal Black because the battleship will slowly pull away, then slowly pull towards you. You can't place the plane exactly--you have to constantly tap it closer and tap it away.

It gives the game the sense of not being "clean" or "orthogonal" or "discrete". I really feel like there's an unusual amount of undulation in the enemies and screen scrolling, but I would wonder how much of that is due to my inexperience in the genre.

The secondary fire also brings this out.

Consider Darius, where your bombs move diagonally out from your ship. Because enemy waves enter the screen in tightly-choreographed dances, you can easily line up your bomb trajectory with a key point in the enemy path and take out a squad without moving. The four-way bomb lets you take this approach no matter where enemies enter the screen.

Or Gradius, where missiles "fall" to the ground and travel along it. This naturally meets many of the enemies that exhibit a sense of gravity themselves, like the duckers.

And then there's Steel Empire. The upward arc of the dirigible's missile is so strange--you are either hitting an enemy just above you, in which case they're pretty close, or you are trying to aim down on an enemy, a process made complicated by its initial upward swing (you aren't drawing a straight line).

And for both vehicles, as you gain levels, the bombs upgrade by covering a wider horizontal swath. This reduces the need for accuracy, since you'll cover more ground. Compare this again to Darius. The upgrades there don't decrease your need to be accurate, since your front-downward bombs still just shoot along the one path. Instead, you get entirely new avenues for bombs to travel; you can line up an enemy above you or line up an enemy below you. By comparison, the upgrades in Steel Empire fit better with a slowly-shifting set of enemies, where it's hard to exactly line up shots.

I hadn't even thought of that, but you're right! I think I might try and explore that...

Great thoughts, Golem! I think I get what you're saying. You can't sit still and pick off enemies for more than a couple seconds at a time. There's a lot of small movements you need to make, in order to line up shots, target with the dirigible's arcing bombs, or conversely, the plane's dropping bombs, for maximum effect. There's an interesting interplay between the risk/reward of the dirigible, due to its size, but balanced out with its increased HP and air-to-air firepower differential. On the flipside, the plane is faster and more nimble, has a smaller hitbox, and has the ground bombs, which move MUCH more predictably, so they can be used to more effectively target enemies below you, whether on the ground, or in the air. However, it has less HP, and isn't as effective against air targets for straight-on combat. I'm not sure if this disparity between the 2 ships was specifically designed this way, but it feels like it was deliberate, and the game has more depth than you would expect it to, because of that factor.

I'm with you on the upgrades as well. I think the upgrade system works well, and gives the game a slight RPG leveling progression sort of vibe. That wouldn't normally work in a shoot-em-up, but I think it fits the game, and the overall steampunk military theme. I really appreciate the fact that death doesn't instantly mean I lose all my upgrades, and am back to a measly pea shooter, with a fraction of the speed. Were that not the case, I suspect the game would be significantly harder, the later bosses would be even greater bullet sponges than they are, and it would become a war of attrition, or the kind of game that one seeks a no-miss as the only real way to play through it. I feel as though that would have hampered the game's appeal, and review scores for it upon initial release might have been more harsh.

Finally got on a good run. I just am hoping to finish the game, and take whatever score I can get in the process. (2.5 million this time).

I definitely agree that it is nice the powerups don't reset upon a death, and I think that helps from a fun-level perspective.

I am curious: did anyone else have Level 2-B remind them of Battletoads Turbo Tunnel to a degree? I know it's not near the difficulty, but the first time in 2-B I instantly was thinking of that.

One thing I think is a credit to the game is how it mixes different playstyles into its levels. Sometimes the best playstyle is read and react, sometimes it's pattern memorization, and sometimes (like level 3 and 5 boss) it's more about placement of your ship in an intricate position to do max damage while taking the minimum.

On a negative, not a fan of the "bubbly" sound effect when you deal damage to enemy ships, but so refreshing to have nice, fully composed background music after playing 1942 for a month.

Got a 1CC of the Steam version my first try, with a half-decent score, though not as good as a couple others here:
[img width=700 height=424]https://i.imgur.com/gm1kn2R.png[/img]

This was using Square_Air's strategy as with the Genesis version. Will probably go back and try an all-plane and all-dirigible run, then try again on Hard. The Steam version is much easier than the Genesis original. Granted, I've played a ton of that version, but even with the changes they made to the Steam release, it's definitely easier. Something that's not so great: for some reason, on my Windows 10 laptop, the resolution is such that full screen mode goes off the screen, and I can't see everything, so I have to play in windowed mode. Not sure if it would be the same on my Windows 7 desktop PC, but it's an annoyance, for sure. Also, the sound effects were quiet in the Genesis version, but I didn't mind that so much, since I like the music. However, they went too far in the wrong direction in this version, and the default volume level for sound effects is WAY too loud, and overpowers the music, which is a shame, since the PC version remixed OST is pretty good.

You can say that again! :laugh: The weirdness of the hit splash noise from Steel Empire is only bested by the hit noise in Space Harrier II, which sounds like someone stepping through mud in rain boots.

I gone and got the 1CC in Genesis on stock settings:
[img width=319 height=224]https://i.imgur.com/3uD2HBT.png[/img]
4,596,500
Speaking of comparisons to 1942, it's nice to see there's an extra digit in the score rather than not enough digits.

Good score, Golem, and congrats on the clear! Which craft did you select for which stage?

I got an all-dirigible clear on the Steam version just now. I came close to a 1LC/no-miss, but that pesky sub-final boss that was added in this version is a real stinker, and whittled my health down to nothing. Sadly, I also seem to have trouble dodging those blasted fireballs in the final boss' second to last attack vector. Had I been able to navigate that, I would have made it in one life. As it stands, I think I did pretty well overall.
[img width=700 height=424]https://i.imgur.com/co3HCj9.png[/img]

Anyone else playing the Steam version finding that, once you clear the game, it just sort of quits, and if you want to go again, you have to relaunch?

Got another clear on the Steam version, all-plane, though the score wasn't as high, so I'm not going to bother and post it. Also: the hardest difficulty level on Steam is super challenging. Absolute bullet spam, enemies that are even spongier, and your HP drains WAY faster when you take a hit, to where you essentially have 3 hits and you lose a life. Very unforgiving, and not something I'd recommend trying, until such time that you absolutely memorize that version in and out. I managed to reach Stage 2, and that's about it.

Thanks! I chose:
1 - plane
2 - zeppelin
3 - plane
4 - zeppelin
5 - plane
6 - plane
7 - plane

For the battleship levels, I found it more important to have options than to have the upward swing of the zeppelin's bombs. Since it's much easier to stay alive with a smaller hitbox, that's what I went with.

I've also had some problems on the Steam version, although not what you describe. If I go to the options menu, then the score records, I can see them fine. If I try to view my scores without going to options first, though, it crashes. I also agree that difficult mode is much harder than hard mode, and I haven't made much progress in it myself. The sheer amount of bullets makes me think you'd have to do a plane-only run. Preferring the Genesis version, I think I'd rather go back and try to clear hard mode there.

I'm with you. I think there's some interesting stuff going on in the Steam release, and the remixed soundtrack is fairly decent, I find myself preferring the Genesis version. No, the graphics aren't as pretty, yes the sound effects are a bit limp, but aside from a few issues I have with the design, I think overall it's pretty solid. I tend to prefer the music in the original, but I say that, knowing full well I'm a fan and proponent of the YM2612 and PSG sound hardware. The Steam version would definitely be recommended for beginners and novices, because it's substantially easier, and a clear could be achieved with reasonable effort, but not having to dedicate a ton of time. I feel like the Genesis version isn't overly difficult as well, but certainly on the default setting, it's harder than the re-release. I'm still working toward a clear on Hard in the Genesis version as well, so I'll be curious to hear if you get that done.

I got the clear last night on Hard difficulty on the Genesis version, and my highest score yet, at 5,648,200 points:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/FDPkxH1.jpg[/img]

I know it's possible to do better, because I've seen other scores above 6 million, but that would probably mean a no-miss, or 1-life clear, so that you get the extra lives bonus at maximum after every level, and making sure to earn all the 1up's throughout the game. Also, probably finishing each level close to (or at) max HP to get that bonus as well. I don't see myself accomplishing that yet this month, but I might make another run at it. I did this one with the dirigible on all stages except 6, because of those stupid "floors" that you have to destroy. Much easier to do with the downward bomb spread, versus the upward toss. Anyone else trying Hard mode on any version?

Playing hard mode, it strikes me how important it is to internalize the timing of enemy shots. There's no tell before an enemy shoots, so to use the full range of space available, you need an instinctive sense of when an enemy shot will pierce that space. This aspect leans pretty hard on long term memory, in my experience. I wonder how different the game would be if you hacked in a 15-frame tell for shots. Most shooters lack tells for most enemies, right?

Better late than never. Let's see if I can get the clear within a week.

Landed a hard clear using all planes (video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRveLTo8okc&feature=youtu.be)):
[img width=317 height=222]https://i.imgur.com/ivdnEd0.png[/img]
5,978,800

Fro, to your question about scoring--couldn't you (in theory) counterstop at one of the battleships? They spawn enemies infinitely which give you points.

Key lessons that went into this clear:
-When you pass the turrets on the first train boss, stay to its right as much as possible. This makes dodges cleaner (weaving between fewer diagonal bullets) and lets you do more damage. Only move up if you absolutely have to, but when you do, zipping over such a large area will make it easier to dodge the fire from any remaining turrets.
-The ceiling in the opening of stage 2 and the floor during the midboss and boss of stage 2 are both decoration. They don't hurt you. It helped me so much when I realized I could ignore how close I was to them. (It's also misleading that they would put ceiling and floor graphics in--just leave those elements out if I can't collide with them.)
-When you fight battleships, you blow open a hatch to reveal a weak point. It creates a little indent for you to fly into. The bottom right lip of that indent is decoration. It won't damage you.  Now obviously you can get damaged if you fly into other parts of the battleship hull, but you can fly fine right over this one patch. Another case of graphics lying to you about hitboxes, but this time it's worse, given the close quarters you're in. Those few inches on the battleship are precious.
-The stage 4 midboss can't touch you if you stay at the bottom of the screen. Rather than fly over top, where all of the gooey weak spots are, you want to fly under and poke up from either side. The right side of the boss in particular is safe for long periods of time. Bullets can get you there, but I'm not sure the ship itself can fly into you there.
-During the entirety of the stage 4 boss' flying phase, the bottom left corner of the screen is a safe spot.
-Something I realized long ago, but worth mentioning: bomb the UFOs on stage 5. They give you tons of stuff. One of them gives you a 1UP in stage 6.
-I hate the electrical barrier on the underside of the stage 5 boss' weak point.
-During the inside portion of stage 6, the turrets on the underside of structures are a pain. Wait for them to shoot, then zip past. (Do a macro dodge instead of a micro dodge, if you will.) It's tight, but I really can't dodge them if I'm up next to them.
-When the stage 7 blimp extents two long branches, one above and one below, stay at either the top edge or the bottom edge of the screen. Bullets from the closer branch will be more direct, making it easier to gauge and dodge. Bullets from the farther branch will be further spread apart.
-When the stage 7 blimp loses both branches and opens its afterburner in the back, stay lined up with the fire. The blimp will shoot a spread that will not line up with you this way. Occasionally, he will shoot a long pulse of bullets directly at you. I try to micro-dodge by staying in place as long as possible, then weaving between the aimed bullets and the inner bullets of the pre-baked spread shot.
-If anyone has figured out the giant fireballs on the final boss, I'm all ears.

And one thing that bugged me: I'm pretty sure homing missiles only sustain one hit, but shooting them doesn't always kill them. I feel like my bullets must move so fast that their hitboxes skip over some homing missiles--as if there's a safe spot between my shot on one frame and the next frame.

@Dingo - I'll be curious to see how you progress in the last few days of the month, and whether or not you get the clear!

@Golem - great points here, and thanks for some very detailed strats that people can use to help shore up as we finish out November! To your question about  the counterstop on the battleships, I suppose you could, for a kind of boss milking. That's probably one way to push the score above 6 million, which I've seen elsewhere. Seems like a waste of time, though, and ultimately, the better strategy would be to just improve your overall approach so achieve a no-miss, and also to try and end each level with as much HP as possible, so you get all the bonuses. I wasn't aware of the safe spots, though I had an inkling, so thanks for that. I also didn't realize about the ceiling on Stage 2, since the floor and ceiling during the downward diagonal sections definitely damages you, just like the speed trap section. As for the fireballs on the final boss, this is where I just use my entire bomb stock, because the final form is actually pretty easy, once you know how to avoid the flame walls. In the Steam version, it's easier to avoid the fireballs, because of the slight increase in space to maneuver, and the widescreen aspect ratio, but otherwise, it's still pretty cheap.


This is a good way of explaining it, and I think you're right. I found that my shots didn't always connect with the slow moving homing missiles, but they seemed to be taken out with a single hit once they did connect. I'm not sure if that's because of the small size of the missiles, or the slight gap between your shots, but it's a curious thing nonetheless. This is one of the nice quality of life things that was changed for the later revisions - all missiles can be destroyed by your shots, even the fast moving ones, which is one reason the later versions are easier. Rather than concentrating on dodging those, you can concentrate on other types of bullets/hazards, and just take out missiles with your own bullets. After playing the Steam release, it seems like potentially an obvious oversight that HOT*B made, but that could also have been part of the original design philosophy. I'm not sure if there's been an interview to shed light on that or not.

Some speed bumps along the way but managed to get through on 1 credit with the good old blimp. I think I recorded each stage when they prompted me to though I can't recall the prompt for the end of game. Regardless feel pretty good about it considering it was on my first real attempt. I played stage 1 with each of the ships to see how I felt about them (though I was leaning towards the zeppelin and I think it worked out for me, also I know it doesn't always attack the ground but once you get bombs you essentially are ). I think the ground attack is a touch overstated in the select screen nonetheless it was a fun game.

If is pretty straightforward, but played well on a stick. It may be a touch on the forgiving side but seeing as my previous 1 credit clear probably took me easily a final fantasy's worth length of time. Its nice to play something that while still keeping you on your toes and requiring some skillful play, isn't a brutal grind to success for a change.


I think they did a solid job with the graphical bump. It doesn't do anything drastic to alter the games aesthetic and leaves the appearance a few special effects not withstanding that your playing an original version with the way they managed to keep the sprites clean but still pixelated as they were.

 

final score

Damn, I just noticed how close all our scores on normal were regarding the steam version. Pretty interesting.

Congrats on the clear, Dingo! I will have more to say about the differences between the original and the later revisions in the podcast, but it’s safe to say, there are some significant changes to the game that make the later iterations even easier than the original.