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Post by toei on May 1, 2023 22:07:51 GMT -5
-Twinkle Tale - I kind of thought you'd played this already. I'm pretty sure another one of the regulars did a couple years back (maybe Sarge? dunpeal2064 did for sure) This is one of the gems among Japan-only Megadrive releases. The closest point of comparison would be something like Pocky & Rocky, because you walk around and there's no forced scrolling, but it's faster, better-designed, and much more fun in my opinion. Recommended for anyone here who likes shmups at all, and even people who don't love traditional shooters. - Android Assault - The Revenge of Bari-Arm This one always looked cool to me, but I guess I never played it much. - Panorama Cotton (J) All I can say is try it and see how it feels to you. Visually, it looks really cool, but I find that none of the sprite-scaling shooters made for consoles play well to me. I do like arcade Space Harrier, though. There's also a sprite-scaler shooter by Taito, I think, that was ported to the Genesis, and the port is good. I forget what it's called, though. You're on a jet ski and stuff. - Robo Alesa I don't know that lady, but I do know Robo Aleste, which is the Sega CD entry. It's the direct sequel to MUSHA and has a similar aesthetic, but is generally not considered as good. It feels kind of puny until you power up significantly, after which it's a decent Compile shooter. However, a lot of Compile shooters are always like a level too long (as someone else mentioned recently, I think it was you), and this one is the worst in that category - it's like twice the length of a normal shooter. That's why I quit playing it. There's a lot of Compile shooters I'd play before this one, personally. They made over 20 in that style. - Trouble Shooter Yeah, Trouble Shooter is cool and quirky. I always like shmups with human characters rather than ships, and the twin-characters gimmick is cool. The sequel Battle Mania 2 has better graphics and a great first level but I was kind of let down by the rest of the game, in the same way I was with Shinobi 3. Which means you would probably love it. - Whip Rush A standard shmup in terms of mechanics and setting, but better executed than most. I never finished it, though. I'm still very so-so at shmups. There's some tight maneuvering required and I kept crashing onto the walls. Quoting dunpeal: "Whip Rush seemed only slightly above par to me at first, and it may just be that, but I found after digging around in the dirt for more shmups to play, that one ended up standing out once the obvious gems were rinsed. Surprisingly tight design and feel, and it gets real good later on." - Wings of Wor Nice dark shmup with a proto-bullet hell feel. I never beat it, but I like it. Plus you play as angel with realistic proportions so it kinds of feels like ActRaiser is going through hell. - Wonder Boy III - Monster Lair This is a cool game, and it also has platforming levels (with forced scrolling). The only reason I never beat it is that it felt too long. |
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Post by Xeogred on May 1, 2023 22:18:37 GMT -5
Nice breakdown on some of those. Robo Aleste, okay, I think I keep mixing that one up with Seirei Senshi Spriggan on PCE-CD. I've beaten that one and it was also kind of a b-grade follow up to MUSHA, not as good. I think I've knocked out most of the big hitters from Compile by this point, so maybe it's some diminishing returns with them now. I don't even need to look up Wings of Wor again after you description, that reminds me it's the extra gross fleshy one that looks rad haha. is dunpeal secretly Shmup Junkie? Ex : I swear I thought I've played Alien Soldier on an older 360/PS3 Genesis collection or something. But visually it sure looks like something I'd remember better than not.  So maybe I've only sampled it over the years. I'll try and give it a look this summer.
Also makes me think of Gunstar Heroes, I don't think I've ever played that one too long.
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Post by Ex on May 1, 2023 22:56:23 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure another one of the regulars did a couple years back Also makes me think of Gunstar Heroes and Gunstar Heroes both had the same developer; Treasure. Alien Soldier is a much better game overall. (And yes, I've beaten Gunstar Heroes too.) |
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Post by toei on May 1, 2023 23:15:58 GMT -5
I didn't mean you, though. You gave it a pretty low score IMO - I remember someone else liking it a lot more.
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Post by Sarge on May 1, 2023 23:20:17 GMT -5
So I can speak to these, at any rate: Android Assault - The Revenge of Bari-Arm - Fun game, probably a 7/10. Just well-executed shooting action. Ranger X - Yep, you know I like it. Robo Aleste - It's decent, but not their best. Not considered as good as MUSHA, but I also think that game is a little overrated. I liked Seirei Senshi Spriggan more on Turbo CD. Trouble Shooter - Good shooter, although the sequel, Battle Mania Daiginjou, is even better. Make sure to monkey around with your control options in the sequel, you can actually enable 8-way fire. www.romhacking.net/translations/1075/Twinkle Tale (J) - Very fun, just shy of an 8/10 for me. I'm much more a Gunstar Heroes over Alien Soldier guy. Just not a huge fan of boss rushes. But it's a technical marvel, and requires a fair amount of learning from the player to get the controls down. |
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Post by Ex on May 1, 2023 23:24:55 GMT -5
You gave it a pretty low score IMO Well, I listed my reasons. 🤷♂️ Gave it a 7/10, that's above average. Game didn't rock my world or anything dramatic. I enjoyed Fray CD: Xak Gaiden more even if it's untranslated. |
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Post by Sarge on May 1, 2023 23:29:41 GMT -5
Made more progress in Robotrek. I've beaten down the crab boss, I'm also wielding a Level 9 Axe 1 that just wrecks enemies right now. I also got enough money to create another robot, who I've decided should focus more on defense - I picked up a Shield 2 and it has helped against a few tougher enemies I've encountered. Still liking this one quite a bit. I also discovered that, outside of a few areas, you can use the Transceiver to save anywhere. Good to know since I'm not playing on platforms that have save states!
EDIT: Against my better judgment, I booted it up again after transferring my save back from the MiSTer to the Pocket (which I had transferred originally from the MiSTer). Save sync would be awfully nice, haha. Anyway, I went through the entire haunted house area, it was pretty fun and I didn't have any major issues there after boosting my defense a bit more. Still really enjoying the game, clearly - so far this is one that I wish I'd have stuck with back in the day. But it's also providing me a nice surprise after falling off so many 16-bit RPGs in these latter years.
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Post by Ex on May 2, 2023 16:15:30 GMT -5
What I remember about Robotrek was being able to make your own robot party member... is that really in the game? Or did my dusty memories make that up? I do recall enjoying that one quite a bit. But it was around 1995 or 1996 when I played through it. I really can't remember much at all now. Definitely could do with a replay eventually. If it turns out to be a winner for you. -  I finished the first stage of Ikari no Yousai 2. At this point it's an improvement over its predecessor in some ways, but I don't like looking for hidden doors in games in general. Not loving that particular aspect. I will keep going though because it's highly decent thus far. Not something I usually say about Jaleco games. |
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Post by Sarge on May 2, 2023 16:37:38 GMT -5
Yep, you remember correctly. You build your own (although they come with a standard loadout), and can have up to three (although as far as I can tell you only have one active at a time). You can change their color and their statistics at a whim - don't like that power buff and need defense and HP instead? Steal those points and make it happen! You can also make your own items and weapons (from plans or combining items).
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Post by Xeogred on May 2, 2023 18:54:47 GMT -5
Makes me think maybe I played an unfinished fan translation back in the day and that's why I didn't beat it? I'm seriously thinking like late 90's/2000 when I probably checked this out. Or it was a victim of me devouring JRPG's in that era too though, I didn't always finish them all.
Sarge: Is there an in game timer? |
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So maybe I've only sampled it over the years. I'll try and give it a look this summer.
