March 2020 Shmup Club - Gaiares

[Gamer707b]

You are ripping it up FRO!  I struggled on level 3 but eventually made it to level 4. At this rate , you'll be done with the game in no time. Are you going for a 1cc or just clearing it?

[MetalFRO]

I'm doing some credit feeding, to learn the game, but I'm hoping to get a 1CC by the end of the month. Also, tonight, I managed to make it to the stage 5 boss on a single credit, and got my PB so far!

[Gamer707b]

  I did 4 credits yesterday before work. I got to the middle of level 3 on 1 credit, then I used the remainder credits and ended up on the 2nd mini boss of level 5. I forgot that there were 2 mini bosses on this level. Im going out of town for work next couple days, but Im having at it when I get back. Love the 16 bit shooters.

[MetalFRO]

That 2nd stage 5 miniboss can be tricky, because you need to stay between the top and bottom lasers, and avoid the center laser when it fires, while keeping the fireballs and crystal shards at bay. I find myself circling around every so often, to avoid the center laser, and re-position the TOZ to block incoming fireballs. I usually do okay there. My big hangup is with the dragon boss at the end of the level. I know what to do, I just have a hard time executing it cleanly every time.

[Gamer707b]

 Alright , just got back into town yesterday, Looking forward to playing some credits. How's your progress Fro? And where is everyone else. Besides us two, everyone else has gone silent.

[Gamer707b]

 Ok just did a playthrough and got to level 6 boss. The female mech with the sword. Not much room to maneuver in this one. Its pretty tight. BTW, I was looking to see if you had any shmup runs and saw you singing. Was that you FRO?

[MetalFRO]

Singing? Where did you see that? I do sing, but I wasn't streaming over the weekend. I did, however, get a really good run last Thursday! I managed to get my new PB, and reached stage 6. I burned some continues getting through the stage, and to the boss, but I didn't manage to last very long on that boss. Will definitely need to practice that area.

[Gamer707b]

 it wasn't a stream. I don't do twitter . It was YouTube. I like to go there at times and watch superplays. Things like that. And instead of a MetalFro superplay, I seen MetlalFro singing.  Good stuff. Hey, I cant sing for nothing. Anyway, you are progressing nicely. I'll probably get a run in tonight, but I also want to play some Genesis Mini. FYI, there is a very nice version of the 1st Darius on the MINI. BTW, Are you open to suggestions for shmup of the month? There's some good ones I'd love to do that you haven't done already.

[MetalFRO]

it wasn't a stream. I don't do twitter . It was YouTube. I like to go there at times and watch superplays. Things like that. And instead of a MetalFro superplay, I seen MetlalFro singing.  Good stuff. Hey, I cant sing for nothing. Anyway, you are progressing nicely. I'll probably get a run in tonight, but I also want to play some Genesis Mini. FYI, there is a very nice version of the 1st Darius on the MINI. BTW, Are you open to suggestions for shmup of the month? There's some good ones I'd love to do that you haven't done already.

Oh yeah, I guess I do have a couple videos of me singing on one of my other channels - I don't do much with those, so sometimes I forget what's online :lol:

I definitely want to grab the Genesis Mini at some point, for the Darius port, and for a couple other things. Part of me wants to double up and get the Mega Drive Mini as well, since the Japanese version has MUSHA on it, and it's probably cheaper to buy that than a legitimate copy of the game. As for suggestions, we may be open to some, but since Addicted and I play all the games, we need to make sure we keep it to games we have access to, so keep that in mind. I would certainly be interested to hear what games you might want to play in the future. We have a schedule already mapped out for a while yet, but it would be good to know what members want to play as well.

[Gamer707b]

 I would pick up the Genesis Mini before its out completely. Great value. As far as what games Id want to play in the shmup of the month, the after mentioned Mini Darius. Great game and the perfect game for us. Also , you and I have similar tastes, so Id be interested in more of the classics. Rtype, Axelay, Space Megaforce. Thunder force 3 and 4, Darius Gaiden , games like that. 16 and 32 bit. Even if some on this forum don't have said game, Im sure most of us will make an effort to procure it in some way. Be it emulation or buying said game. So long is it doesn't break the bank. Maybe have everyone chime in on what they'd like to play. That way its not just one person , say myself with certain games I already own, and making everyone else get what I have. The more people that get in on the game of the month, the more fun for us all. Just a thought.

 BTW, after a bit of a break, looking forward to getting a Gaiares session in tonight.

[MetalFRO]

We covered R-Type the first month we were out, and we played Thunder Force IV last January, so those will be off the table. I can say that we have a Darius game on the list for this year already, so you're in luck. Regarding Space Megaforce, that one is going to be tough. I prefer to have the actual games we play, and that's a heavy hitter I haven't been able to get my hands on yet. That could be a while, before we see that one in the rotation. But we definitely have some classics in the schedule for this year, so you should have some good choices to jump into. Our philosophy, with game selection, is to mix things up and make sure we have a variety, so that means some classics, some modern, some indie/doujin, and sometimes we throw in a game that's not quite a shmup, but is related, or as we like to refer to it, "shmup adjacent" enough to make it worth exploring. We also like to mix it up between horizontal and vertical, and do other stuff when we can. Last year, we covered Zaxxon, and also N2O, which is a tube shooter inspired by Tempest. That keeps things fresh, I think.

Regarding Gaiares, I managed to get a clear of the game last night on stream, but it was with multiple credits. But I did finally brute force my way to the end of the game, so that was pretty cool. I'm still hoping to accomplish the 1CC by the end of the month.

[FauxMacho]

I took a week off playing Gaiares and put some time into Castlevania Bloodlines on the Switch collection, but I now have a Genesis and a Gaiares cart so I got that hooked up and working after a bit of cleaning. I was previously playing on a Raspberry Pi and honestly this is the first time I've played a Genesis, other than a faint memory or two. The dpad doesn't feel the greatest so maybe I can get another controller from the used game store near me, but trying to not go out if I can help it. Anyway, in the run I did tonight I was still defeated by the stage 2 boss. The run was really good until then and I'll get it next time.

[MetalFRO]

Good initial effort, FauxMacho! Regarding a Genesis controller, I would recommend a 6-button pad. There are a handful of games that aren't compatible with it, but Gaiares plays beautifully with one, and that's what I've been using. It has a better d-pad than the original 3-button controllers had.

[Gamer707b]

I took a week off playing Gaiares and put some time into Castlevania Bloodlines on the Switch collection, but I now have a Genesis and a Gaiares cart so I got that hooked up and working after a bit of cleaning. I was previously playing on a Raspberry Pi and honestly this is the first time I've played a Genesis, other than a faint memory or two. The dpad doesn't feel the greatest so maybe I can get another controller from the used game store near me, but trying to not go out if I can help it. Anyway, in the run I did tonight I was still defeated by the stage 2 boss. The run was really good until then and I'll get it next time.

  What I do with her is I shoot the middle of her shell right when the fight starts. Then right before she shoots those 3 missiles  I go above her and to the right ending up almost to the middle on top of her shell. that way her missiles cant get me. Rinse and repeat until her shell opens. I'll let you figure the rest out. You'll have more fun that way.

[MetalFRO]

I've completely hit a wall in stage 6 & 7, I think because of how I've approached weapon choice. Relying on the T-Braster is great for scoring, but when you enter a later level without a weapon, getting set up anywhere is completely ridiculous. I probably need to go back to stealing weapons from enemies, and just relying on those, and then only using the T-Braster if I die during a level, and it's realistic to try and get it back.