August 2019 Shmup Club - Blazing Lazers aka GunHed

[MetalFRO]

I keep getting back to that same spot on the last level where all the enemies converge. So close, yet so far.

That's an incredibly difficult spot to navigate! I think my trips through there so far have ended in a few deaths, and only by having enough resources to soldier on, have I been able to get past it, to the last boss. It's a fairly brutal moment, in an otherwise manageable game.

[Duke.Togo]

With so many enemies coming up behind you at that point, bombs are pretty useless and if you're stuck with the default weapon or the #4 they give you, it feels brutal. I'll just have to get a better run so I can go into that with decent power.

[MetalFRO]

I've been trying some challenge runs, and it's quite difficult to stick to one weapon, as it is to do an "all weapons" run, where I've been grabbing weapons indiscriminately, as they come along. In Area 5, where there's that gauntlet of Moai heads and other ground installations toward the end of the level, if you die there, good luck with recovery, unless you keep the shield. Without that to ward off all the projectile vomit that comes at you, it becomes a war of attrition just to get through, and I usually end up at the boss with only the default pea shooter and a couple bombs. Even if I stick with a weapon, that spot is very hard to get through, because the hitbox on your ship is not very forgiving, and having either the shield, or a larger shield due to a higher power-up level, just makes it worse.

[coin_tengoku]

Just listened to the Strikers 1945 2 Podcast. I keep forgetting to tell you guys how cool it is that you share forum posts during the podcast. You guys are one of a kind and I can’t say I’ve ever listened to another podcast that does that. Thanks so much guys for doing this. You rock!


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[MetalFRO]

Just listened to the Strikers 1945 2 Podcast. I keep forgetting to tell you guys how cool it is that you share forum posts during the podcast. You guys are one of a kind and I can’t say I’ve ever listened to another podcast that does that. Thanks so much guys for doing this. You rock!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you kindly, coin_tengoku! We definitely want to encourage community engagement, so that's a lot of why we include comments from the forum. That said, we didn't come up with the idea, and completely ripped it off from our friends, and fellow podcasters, thesinglebanana and GrayGhost81 here on RFG, from their RF Generation Playcast. As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

[MetalFRO]

I forgot to post it here a couple days ago, but I got another clear of Blazing Lazers, using the #3 weapon:



And a new high score, to boot! One thing that I've noticed with the game is that is has a rank system, similar to Zanac, which isn't surprising, considering that Compile had a hand in making this game. For example, if you get to the boss in Area 5 with a shield, the purple orbs he throws at you will come at you pretty fast. Similarly, as you power up your main weapon, some areas will be harder, or there will be more thrown at you. Area 8, all the "space bubbles" will be harder to shoot down, if your weapon is powered up, because they'll take more hits to destroy. And all the "bubble fountain" things that look like time/space continuum rips will spit out way more bubbles for you to contend with if you have a shield, or a more high powered weapon. So there's definitely a risk/reward factor in powering up your weapon all the way.

[dtungsten]

I know it's late but... 998360, made it to level 5

[zoydo]

@MetalFRO: That's awesome, congrats!

Here's  my final thoughts:

When i played Gunhed for the first time after a few months at the end of july, i got an instant 1cc with the first try. Unluckily i couldn't repeat that for the August Shmup Club. To be honest i haven't played a single run in the last two weeks because i felt a little frustrated, but not because i couldn't clear the game. I always failed at the exact same respawn spot and it always took me an hour or even more to get there. One time i did some experimenting with the weapons in stage 8, to be better prepared at the beginning of stage 9 and that took me more than one and a half hour, just to lose all my extends at my "favourite" spot... I got a nice score with that, but not comparable with the scores you get when you beat the final boss. That made me feel like all the time and effort i spent during the last hours just were totally useless anf wasted. I really enjoyed the game and still do, even would say it's one of the essential shooters if you own a PCE/Turbografx, but playing for score can be very frustrating.

@MetalFRO: when i tweeted my 1cc you replied that GunHed would be an easy clear. I wouldn't agree with you on that. It can be an easy clear if you got a nice weapon-flow (i experienced that myself), but this game can also give you hell. It's very forgiving until the boss rush and it spams you with extra lives, but if you make one mistake during the last stage, those a worth nothing.

Anyways, Gunhed is a great game and i hope to get the CD-version someday, to play the caravan modes. I will definetly come back to the game now and then to play a run or two just for fun, but i don't see me playing it for score or clear anytime soon.

Shoutouts to everyone who cleared the game, posted scores or improved his PB.

[Duke.Togo]

I never managed to best my first score of the month, hence no other screenshots even though I played quite a bit.

This game definitely feels like a collaboration between Hudson and Compile, and the results are mostly for the best. Unfortunately, some of the weapons don't seem to be worth the time. From the Start Soldier side, weapon 1 just suffers way too much in most areas due to the lack of penetrating past one hit. It'd situatiotional, but overall a pass. Weapon 2 is really great at coverage, and it's versatility makes it a regular choice for me. More on the Compile side, weapon 3 is my regular go-to. The ability to penetrate and cover the whole screen, as well as moving the shots along with the ship make it very strong. Lastly, #4 seems very situational, and overall the orbs are too ineffective as a shield and too tricky to use offensively.

The secondary power-ups really add a lot to the variety, but I tended to only stick with the shield, as I didn't really have much issue in taking out the enemies on screen with a powered-up weapon, and shield let me keep that. If I still did everything I could to dodge with the shield, I found that I could almost always keep it going until the next one dropped.

I never could crack that really annoying part in stage 9, and the difficulty spike at that point seems almost ridiculous compared to the rest of the stage. I get the onslaught, but from watching the end boss, it seems the toughest part is just getting past that last gauntlet to fight it.

Overall, great game. The stages are a bit too long for my liking, but it stands up.

[MetalFRO]

Thanks for the great final thoughts, guys! And it's never too late, dtungsten! Anyone's welcome to jump in whenever they have a chance to play.