May 2020 Shmup Club - Fantasy Zone

[shaggy]

Awesome find, shaggy! I had not heard of that tip before. This will be great for practice, though I would say play it straight/legit w/o using this, for submitting a score

That was my feeling, wasn't sure if using it would be counted.  I want to know if someone was able to do it as I can't yet.

[Duke.Togo]

I started playing the SMS version the other day and enjoying it so far. The snowmen boss is pretty hectic!
[img width=700 height=525]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EW-bWtfXYAAAlcN?format=jpg&name=large[/img]

[shaggy]

Protip: I figured out that you need to hit the first boss in the mouth in order for the hit to count.

[Normatron]

Hope it's not to late to toss my name in the hat! I'm on the switch - sega ages version.

[MetalFRO]

So, I'm playing the SMS version.  I read through the manual and it wasn't pleasant.  It seems to be lacking in detail.

I don't like the speed that my ship moves around at.  It's to fast and slippery to me so I don't think the engine upgrades will work for me.  I got some extra weapons and didn't know they were timed which really makes a point of getting a weapon useless.  I figured out that initially the shop comes out after you get $2,000 but after that I don't know when it comes out. 

At first I thought I needed a special weapon to destroy the bases because the noise it makes is a noise that sounds like it was "blocked".  Through luck I figured out that your regular shots can destroy the bases.  Same with the bosses, I didn't if I was hitting them.  Again, I thought maybe I needed to use a special weapon but I was able to defeat the first boss (with many shots). 

There are a lot of improvements that could be made for this game/version.  I wonder how the NES game plays out.  I'm wondering if maybe you are supposed to get a weapon and not use it except for the boss but then that brings up the next question, when does the select (SEL) come so you can change weapons?

I'm not particularly enjoying this game.  I know it gets a lot of love but at the moment, I don't get why.

I made it to level 3 and got 41,000 points.  I'll have to take a picture next time.

I understand your frustrations here, because I think I experienced them as a kid, the first couple times I played the game. All except for the speed thing - the NES version, which was the first I played, has a very slow default speed, and you absolutely have to get a Big Wing, at a minimum, to get a workable speed. The weapon time-out is frustrating, as is the fact that they all cost more each time after you buy them. This is an area where I wonder what the design team was going for, because the limited use case really makes it very strategic, as to when you buy and use a weapon. For me, areas where there are too many fast enemies to deal with are when I'll grab a 7-way (5-way in the NES version), just to help me clear the field. Otherwise, sometimes the Wide Beam helps with that. The Laser is iffy, depending on the version. I always liked it before, but playing the game now, I'm not sure it's any more powerful than your default shot, and might be a bit of a red herring.

Level 3 is nothing to sneeze at, this early in the month, so don't be disheartened by that. I'd say that's good progress already, considering that some of the game's RNG can be unforgiving, particularly in the spacing of the bullet spread/shower that the stage 2 boss throws out.

[shaggy]

My current Hi Score:

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/pgG9Tuu.jpg[/img]

[shaggy]

Level 3 is nothing to sneeze at, this early in the month, so don't be disheartened by that. I'd say that's good progress already, considering that some of the game's RNG can be unforgiving, particularly in the spacing of the bullet spread/shower that the stage 2 boss throws out.

What is RNG? 

Does anyone know what triggers the SEL to come out?  I haven't been buying weapons at all.  Just using the normal gun.  I haven't been using the bombs, either.  Has anyone been using bombs at all?

[MetalFRO]

Sorry, RNG = Random Number Generator. In essence, a randomization of certain elements. When that stage 2 boss throws out all the bullets from the top, they rain down in a non-specific, very random sort of pattern. That's likely because a RNG was programmed into the game to create that effect. RNG is the generic term used for random game elements. Regarding weapons, I buy them sometimes, mostly when I feel like I need an edge of some kind. I always get the double bomb, so I can drop 2 in rapid succession, because it does help with being able to occasionally pick off an enemy, or for some bosses (stage 3 is a good example), bombs are the preferred weapon. The shop comes out at certain $$ thresholds, I believe, but it appears to be different in some versions. The first time, it seems to come out when you get a certain amount of money, but I'm not sure it's the same across versions. It seems to be somewhere just below $2000, so around $1800 or $1900 is where I've seen it the most. I used to think you had to destroy at least 2 "bases" beforehand, but that's not the case. In the arcade and TurboGrafx versions, the shop seems to appear more often than in some of the other console ports.

With the changes between the versions, and what appears to be some scoring inconsistencies with each, I think what we'll do is have separate categories for each console version, and then arcade conversions/ports will fall into the same category, so the Saturn version, the PS3/360 arcade port on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, and the Switch port should all be equal. The rest of the versions will each have their own score category, so everyone feel free to try as many versions as you like or have access to, and let's get some competition up in here!

[shaggy]

The shop comes out at certain $$ thresholds, I believe, but it appears to be different in some versions. The first time, it seems to come out when you get a certain amount of money, but I'm not sure it's the same across versions. It seems to be somewhere just below $2000, so around $1800 or $1900 is where I've seen it the most. I used to think you had to destroy at least 2 "bases" beforehand, but that's not the case. In the arcade and TurboGrafx versions, the shop seems to appear more often than in some of the other console ports.

For SMS, the first shop comes out at $2,000.

I was watching your stream from a few days ago and your ship movement in the NES version is slow!  I like that the NES version has the map of the bases!  Something that is really beneficial.

I tried getting the Twin Bombs like you suggested and that really helps with destroying the bases.

[MetalFRO]

Yes, the default NES speed is very slow. Since that's the version I grew up, I assumed that was how it was with the other versions, but so far, it seems like only the NES version has Opa-Opa moving at a snail's pace up front. The others are faster from the start, though I still get at least the Big Wing, to get a little more speed right off the bat. And yes, the map in the NES version is based on the map from the original arcade version. It's curious that the Tengen NES version includes that, but the Sunsoft Famicom port, and SMS port don't.

[douglie007]

Here are my scores so far, I really do suck at shooters...  first is from the sonic collection on 360 and next is the SMS. [img width=700 height=476]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200506/b761f29819c48470fe947feb5760ccc8.jpg[/img][img width=641 height=441]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200506/ff8ac1009d6df4107fcfe4af90054574.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

Don't be discouraged, Doug - those are respectable scores for this early in the month. My primary focus has been on shooters the last couple years, so it's not unheard of that I would have improved. It's a difficult game, and there's definitely some randomness with certain elements that makes it a bit unfair, at times, so just keep trying, and you'll get there. Good stuff so far!

[douglie007]

The lack of continue sucks tho

[Duke.Togo]

I posted this the other day to Twitter, but my latest high score on SMS:
[img width=700 height=525]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXNrPZJWkAAoyaZ?format=jpg&name=large[/img]

[MetalFRO]

The lack of continue sucks tho

It does, because it means practicing the later levels means grinding it out. This is an instance where playing on a mini console or emulator might be a good idea, because the ability to use savestates can certainly help learn the strategies for the more difficult levels and bosses.

@Duke.Togo - great score progress!

I managed to get my new PB on stream, while reaching the final boss, and nearly completing the game, with only the last 2 mini-dudes left to take out. I'm really close to clearing this TurboGrafx version!