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Post by toei on May 3, 2021 15:23:48 GMT -5
That's the SNES one, right? Yeah, I'd heard it's not super great. Isn't Spriggan Mark II also a horizontal shmup? Oh, right. I don't think I tried that one, I just assumed it was vertical because that's what Compile normally did.
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Post by Sarge on May 3, 2021 16:59:33 GMT -5
It's definitely a different animal from the first Spriggan, just from the small amount of time I put in. I just didn't know if it does any perspective-swapping along the way like Axelay or Life Force.
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Post by Sarge on May 3, 2021 23:18:01 GMT -5
Holy crap, I did it. I beat Gate of Thunder on my first run (well, I've played a small bit of the first stage before). Freaking intense - I was down to two lives and no continues left, and I managed to take down shoot the core. It's definitely easier than something like Gradius to recover since your default weapon is pretty good, but losing weapons at the wrong time will definitely give you a hard time of it. I liked the full-powered green shot, since it has such wide coverage. I actually think the laser upgrade is a bit of a downgrade, although it still has its uses since it appears to have piercing properties. Anyway, I gotta give this an 8/10. It really is a great shooter that, while not doing anything mind-blowing, executes the formula really well. And it's intense without being completely unfair. The speed of the game and enemies really ramps up in Stage 6, so it's a bit of an adjustment there. I can also clearly see the Thunder Force influence. Xeogred , definitely give this one a look. EDIT: And another one bites the dust! Legit run of Sylphia. I tend to like fantasy-themed shooters, and this one was pretty fun overall. Not as bare knuckle as Gates of Thunder, though - the pace feels a lot more relaxed, and with the right weapons, you can really dominate as long as you don't get too sloppy. Not a 1CC, though - I continued I think twice. Surprised I pushed through to the end, honestly. I'd give this one a 7.5. Also, it's got one of the weirdest soundtracks in a shooter I've heard. It feels like it's for a DDR game or some disco somewhere. Very odd indeed. Dig that funky bass groove!
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Post by toei on May 4, 2021 8:29:53 GMT -5
Sylphia's soundtrack reminds me of Exile's on the PCE-CD. Pretty close to what Yuzo Koshiro was doing around that time. The game is ok, and it's pretty and all, but I personally found it too easy, and I'm not good at shmups. It's not very exciting to play. I had forgotten how good that soundtrack was, though. I blame the fact that a single playthrough was enough to get through, so you don't get to hear the music very much.
Glad you liked Gate of Thunder. It's just a really good example of a classic space shooter. It does some interesting things with the use of obstacles in some stages, too. I like when shmups incorporate that stuff into their level design.
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Post by EasyHard on May 4, 2021 9:03:09 GMT -5
Sarge By coincidence those were the two shmups I was going to play first. Looking forward to playing them more now.
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Post by Ex on May 4, 2021 9:44:31 GMT -5
I'm not sure if I've beaten Gate of Thunder, but I did beat Lords of Thunder on TGCD back in 2016. Apparently I liked the game, giving it a 9/10. If you've never played Lords, I recommend it. Looks like you and I basically agree on Sylphia. I gave it a slightly higher 8/10 when I beat it back in 2016. These were my thoughts at the time:
So here's a 1993 fantasy themed shmup for those of you who enjoy stuff like Legendary Wings or Valkyrie no Densetsu. It's a Japan only release for the PCECD, but don't let that stop you from importing Sylphia if you enjoy the genre. Nothing earth shattering here, just a very well made shmup about being a fairy and blasting magic at all kinds of mythological monsters. I enjoyed how well balanced this was, the difficulty was never too hard or too easy. I really loved each and every boss fight, great fun! Level designs remained imaginative with enough variety to keep things interesting. The OST was rather low key, and the graphics didn't blow me away, but the whole package was entirely competent.
The TGCD/PCECD is a treasure trove of intriguing shmups, no doubt.
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Post by Sarge on May 4, 2021 13:02:10 GMT -5
Sarge By coincidence those were the two shmups I was going to play first. Looking forward to playing them more now. Great minds think alike! toei : I definitely get the criticism of it being too easy. I think, though, that sometimes my measure of a shmup more lies in aesthetics and feel than challenge, so I liked Sylphia a bit more based on that. Ex: Yeah, I suspect our scores would align a little more if I didn't use half points. I've actually been considering going even further and using quarter points as well - I've had a lot of cases where I feel like a game is riding that line between good and very good. Either that, or I need to revise my mental scale again, since I have so much that clusters from 7 to 8. (But then again, I'd kinda expect that.)
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Post by toei on May 4, 2021 16:48:32 GMT -5
Sarge It's not that I need a high challenge necessarily, but that I need a certain intensity to become engaged. I think when you say "feel", you're referring to the controls and maybe the visual and audio feedback given for your actions. That matters - it's the foundation for any action game, really - but I also need to feel like I have to focus to actually focus, and I can't really have fun if I don't. And most of the time, high intensity goes with challenge (though some easy games actually manage to feel intense, which is always impressive to me). And Sylphia is just a little boring and unsubstantial to me. It's definitely not bad, but it's lacking something.
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Post by Ex on May 5, 2021 0:11:06 GMT -5
Title: Gun NacPlatform: NES Region release played: USA Year of release: 1991 Developer: Compile Publisher: ASCII Entertainment Graphics: 3/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 5/5 Quick Thoughts: Gun Nac is a NES exclusive shmup with hardcore gameplay and a silly sense of humor. It's got some innovative stuff, like shopping between missions and an intricate weapon system. Impressive programming and furious action will keep you engaged through 8 stages. The difficulty starts off fairly easy, but the final two stages are truly tough. Being way above average, if you are a NES fan and a shmup lover, don't miss Gun Nac. +Compile were frickin' programming wizards. +The shooting and bombing systems are pretty cool. +Options has a switch to prioritize speed or avoid sprite flicker. +Auto-fire out the gate! +Unlimited continues. -Graphics are kinda plain. -OST is merely adequate. -Some enemies are practically unavoidable. -Accidentally grabbing the wrong power up, again. -The final boss is a bit much. Ex's time to beat: 2 hours 45 minutes (that's my total time invested, multiple runs until legit win) Ex's rating: 8/10
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Post by Sarge on May 5, 2021 0:21:30 GMT -5
Nice! This one is on my list for this month, so we can compare notes.
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