December Shmup Competition Thread

[slackur]

I'd be the first to admit Xyanide is an eclectic beast. And not well explained or immediately intuitive. However, once the game's weaponry and upgrade system is understood, it really gels, at least it did for me. Pacing was obviously designed for the higher difficulty, as it is quite disparate on easier levels.  It's a tough game to defend, and one that kinda 'clicks' with the player or doesn't. I can understand the criticisms against it, but the game really worked for me and I very much enjoy it. One of my favorites on the system.

[singlebanana]

Alright ladies & gents, Week 2 has passed and some of you put up some really impressive scores. A big congratulations to JerryGreenwood for not only taking first in the U.N. Squadron campaign, but for also completing the game. We didn't expect anyone to finish any of these brutal shooters, so that is quite the feat!  Also, congrats to MetalFRO for taking yet another 10 points with his high score on Xyanide. He was in the lead last week, but his non-participation in Xyanide has allowed RetroRage to leapfrog him and take over in the total standings. However, please remember that at the end of the competition, each participants' lowest score on each side (retro & modern) will be dropped; a non-participation for any game is noted as a "0" and can be one of the games dropped. (see rules in initial post for further clarification).

The current overall standings are as follows:

RetroRage - 33 
singlebanana - 31
MetalFRO - 30
JerryGreenwood - 19
GrayGhost81 - 18
ae.tc - 9
OatBob - 7
techwizard - 6
Duke.Togo - 5
EngineerMike - 5

Again, PLEASE, PLEASE go behind me and make sure that your scores are correct. I do my best, but it's possible that I made an error.

Week 3 starts now, so let's have some fun with Lightening Force and Sin & Punishment. I hope that everyone is enjoying the competition this month. 

[GrayGhost81]

I'm so psyched to have the privilege of playing through Sin & Punishment for a third time (the first was just to check out the game, the second was because it's such an amazing game, but neither time was I concerned with my score).

Floyd, will you please confirm the scoring structure for S & P that you proposed earlier in the month regarding the difficulty level and also are we drawing any distinction between the two playable characters for scoring purposes?

[singlebanana]

Floyd, will you please confirm the scoring structure for S & P that you proposed earlier in the month regarding the difficulty level and also are we drawing any distinction between the two playable characters for scoring purposes?

Floyd's call, but I assume that "Normal" mode is what we should be playing this on, since that is what we are doing for all of the other games and that was what was stated in the overall rules post. I've only played the game with the girl, but is there some sort of scoring distinction between the two that would be of any concern? Since all players can select either party to use (no unlockable characters to my knowledge), I don't think there is any reason to declare any of them ineligible. Just my two cents, but of course Floyd has the final say on the modern game.

As far as Lightening Force is concerned, high scores are easy to obtain after your run (YAH!!!). You can continue if you so choose because the scores reset back to zero after you continue. (Not sure if this the case with S&P, so maybe someone can advise). In LF, you get to choose your path for the first 4 levels. I think players will find this interesting and a neat part of their strategy, since some levels are a bit easier than others.

[GrayGhost81]

I've only played the game with the girl, but is there some sort of scoring distinction between the two that would be of any concern?

Kachi (the girl) has a lock on capability that some people argue makes her a little easier to play with. Personally I would say that any difference is negligible, especially for our purposes, but I'll leave it to you guys.

You can continue if you so choose because the scores reset back to zero after you continue. (Not sure if this the case with S&P, so maybe someone can advise).

Your score will reset to zero when you continue in S&P.

[singlebanana]

Yeah, as long as there are no differences in scoring, I don't see the issue in using either player. Everyone can choose Kachi if they want, so everyone has the ability to exploit the lock on if they so choose.  As long as people are starting fresh games and not using unlockable characters, character choice should never be an issue IMO.

[JerryGreenwood]

I'm excited for Lightening Force. Thunder Force II & III are probably my 2 favorite shmups so I'm sure Lightening Force won't disappoint.

[MetalFRO]

Just played a little S&P: SS over lunch break, and wow, this game is tough but cool! I can't imagine how hard the N64 original is without easy aiming. My first score attempt:
[img width=700 height=525]http://i349.photobucket.com/albums/q388/MetalFRO/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-12/41C3B7A4-0A01-486D-822E-23A8D00C62AD.jpg[/img]

[singlebanana]

I'm excited for Lightening Force. Thunder Force II & III are probably my 2 favorite shmups so I'm sure Lightening Force won't disappoint.

I played a little of it yesterday before recording the podcast and so far it's my favorite of the games we are playing this month. It's beautiful for a Genesis title and it feels really good.

[singlebanana]

Wife took the kids to school this morning, so I had a little time for a pre-work run.

[img width=700 height=522]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Video%20Game%20Scores/29E1F7BB-BF60-4D3A-A0EE-2733A4ACE9D3_zpsebvk8ur3.jpg[/img]

[RetroRage]

[img width=700 height=933]http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w365/adsanislo/20141215_161906_zpspxrccys8.jpg[/img]

Lightening Force is amazing!  You can't get closer to the arcade experience than this.  Everything is moving so fast, it really gets your blood pumping!

High score: 238820

[MetalFRO]

Okay, I'm starting to get the hang of S&P a except my timing is off on the melee attack to deflect missiles, etc.  Still, Stage 2 to the building with all the robotic arms on it isn't bad for a 3rd or 4th attempt. At least I hope not
[img width=700 height=525]http://i349.photobucket.com/albums/q388/MetalFRO/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-12/ACEE9391-4781-46BB-A30F-794B845049CA.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

Okay, so for those of you who haven't played this game yet, there are 2 things you need to know. First and foremost, this game is AWESOME! Second, you really want to maximize your multiplier, and to do that effectively, you have to avoid getting hit. If you can do that, the score goes way up. This is me reaching what I think is the 2nd stage boss, and keeping a 10x or higher multiplier through as much of the stage as possible. It makes a huge difference in scoring, especially when you can take out hordes of popcorn enemies.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i349.photobucket.com/albums/q388/MetalFRO/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-12/E2890CEF-5283-4846-BD6C-C13623BF603A.jpg[/img]

[techwizard]

for S&P both characters have the lock-on ability, but the girl will automatically lock on to whatever you fire at, and the boy requires you to manually lock on with A. at least i think that's how it works. i haven't tried the boy yet but i found the girl's auto-lock on really annoying, i think i would prefer manual. lock-on does less damage according to the tutorial level anyway so there's not much advantage in using it really.

edit: i'm officially in this week. i managed to hit a 15X multiplier at one point, though it didn't last long. usually was at least 6X and above, but 10X for quite a while.

on normal with Isa:

[JerryGreenwood]

[img width=640 height=480]http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a420/JerryGreenwood/2014-12-15215745_zps0a8e2096.jpg[/img]

Great game. The stages look great, very imaginative.

Something strange though. When the SEGA title is on screen, if you hit start it skips the title screen and goes right into the game. I'm not sure I've ever played a Genesis game (or any game) that skips the title screen like that. Bizarre.

I'm guessing the order of level doesn't matter too much, but maybe it could matter if a certain stages have better power ups than others.