GaijinPunch
09-25-2003, 11:33 AM
Man, this game is amazing. I'm slugging myself in the balls for not hunting this down months ago in the arcades (I did something similar w/ Ikaruga). Honestly though, I've not seen it in any of the arcades I go to, and they're pretty big.
Anyways, on w/ low down (gotta make it quick -- late here)
Limited Edition - comes in a double-cd case, with the soundtrack, PLUS a seperate CD case (no cover, but has a back slip) for the soundtrack. Still haven't figured that out. The cover is different from the normal edition as well (scanned 'em, but haven't posted)
Normal Edition - single CD case, different manual.
Both editions came w/ a mouse pad if you ordered from Sega Direct.
Graphics: Arguably just as incredible as Ikaruga. Very, very impressive. I'm just delighted with how clean and smooth the game is. Very polished, especially for a shooter. There are some backgrounds in Stage 3 a la Legend of Galactic Heroes (big batttleships, blowing each other up, etc.)
Gameplay: VERY original, but frustrating if you don't know what's going on. Basically, there are five stages, broken into 3 parts each (part 1, part 2, and the boss). There are also three borders for each stage (green, yellow, red). Die on the green border, "border down" to yellow. Die on yellow, "border down" to red. Die on red - game over. So essentially, there are 9 different pieces to each stage. Yes, each border is different. Now, here's the kicker -- the green borders are the hardest, the yellows medium, and the red easiest. Thing is - you die on red, and it's over. So, it's a payoff. In the tips section, it even says "it's recommended to die once a stage".
Now, how do you "border up" you say? Well, you don't. There is however, a specific level of points you can get for each stage (bottom right-hand corner) which will allow you to select your border on the next stage. So basically, you'd like to keep it in the yellow, but definitely get the bonus, so you can start green, then ease down to yellow if it's too rough. Trust me - you don't want to screw w/the green bosses. There is one thing to note, which you'll notice if you watch free-play 1. You want to kill the bosses fast, b/c this is where the majority of your points come from. If you use you're beam (forgot the name of it) the same time they do, you'll do a LOT of damage. Just watch free play 1 and you'll see... you gotta earn it first.
Weapons: You've got your normal laser (A-button) which you can hold down. Let go, and it's heat seaking, but weaker. There's a weapon gauge at the bottom of the screen, which starts at level 2, and can go up to level 5 ( or down to 1 ). This goes up with time, and faster if you kill things. The B-button is your blow the tits off of everything weapon -- kewl. Make note of how to use it on bosses. Also note that it takes off off the normal weapon gauge quickly (and yes, you can go DOWN levels by using the beam).
Music - the only bad part of the game, and it's really awful I think. Then again, I might be the toughest cookie to crack when it comes to music (11 years of classical piano, and years of DJing, so I'm picky). There's an extremely out of place jazz piece in stage 3 as well (weird).
Other stuff:
Free Play -- great. ALmost teaches you how to play the game
Practice Mode -- VERY useful. You only start w/ 1 credit (yeup - no continue) so you'll need to use practice mode to learn the enemy layouts.
Remix Mode -- haven't tried it yet.
Now, here's what REALLY miffs me. This is a dead system people. A DAMN good one. I blasphemed and stuck it under the bed for a while b/c I've either been playing old stuff, a ne game here and there on PS2, or old games remade for the PS2. Getting this in the mail brought back some nostalgia from two years ago when I used to get a new DC game in the mail every day, and they were damn good games. Why won't those days come back?
In short -- this rocks. This may even take Ikaruga's title for best Next Gen shooter, even amongst non-shooter fans. I know how diehards are about RS and Ikaruga... I think they're both brilliant, but so is this.
Anyways, on w/ low down (gotta make it quick -- late here)
Limited Edition - comes in a double-cd case, with the soundtrack, PLUS a seperate CD case (no cover, but has a back slip) for the soundtrack. Still haven't figured that out. The cover is different from the normal edition as well (scanned 'em, but haven't posted)
Normal Edition - single CD case, different manual.
Both editions came w/ a mouse pad if you ordered from Sega Direct.
Graphics: Arguably just as incredible as Ikaruga. Very, very impressive. I'm just delighted with how clean and smooth the game is. Very polished, especially for a shooter. There are some backgrounds in Stage 3 a la Legend of Galactic Heroes (big batttleships, blowing each other up, etc.)
Gameplay: VERY original, but frustrating if you don't know what's going on. Basically, there are five stages, broken into 3 parts each (part 1, part 2, and the boss). There are also three borders for each stage (green, yellow, red). Die on the green border, "border down" to yellow. Die on yellow, "border down" to red. Die on red - game over. So essentially, there are 9 different pieces to each stage. Yes, each border is different. Now, here's the kicker -- the green borders are the hardest, the yellows medium, and the red easiest. Thing is - you die on red, and it's over. So, it's a payoff. In the tips section, it even says "it's recommended to die once a stage".
Now, how do you "border up" you say? Well, you don't. There is however, a specific level of points you can get for each stage (bottom right-hand corner) which will allow you to select your border on the next stage. So basically, you'd like to keep it in the yellow, but definitely get the bonus, so you can start green, then ease down to yellow if it's too rough. Trust me - you don't want to screw w/the green bosses. There is one thing to note, which you'll notice if you watch free-play 1. You want to kill the bosses fast, b/c this is where the majority of your points come from. If you use you're beam (forgot the name of it) the same time they do, you'll do a LOT of damage. Just watch free play 1 and you'll see... you gotta earn it first.
Weapons: You've got your normal laser (A-button) which you can hold down. Let go, and it's heat seaking, but weaker. There's a weapon gauge at the bottom of the screen, which starts at level 2, and can go up to level 5 ( or down to 1 ). This goes up with time, and faster if you kill things. The B-button is your blow the tits off of everything weapon -- kewl. Make note of how to use it on bosses. Also note that it takes off off the normal weapon gauge quickly (and yes, you can go DOWN levels by using the beam).
Music - the only bad part of the game, and it's really awful I think. Then again, I might be the toughest cookie to crack when it comes to music (11 years of classical piano, and years of DJing, so I'm picky). There's an extremely out of place jazz piece in stage 3 as well (weird).
Other stuff:
Free Play -- great. ALmost teaches you how to play the game
Practice Mode -- VERY useful. You only start w/ 1 credit (yeup - no continue) so you'll need to use practice mode to learn the enemy layouts.
Remix Mode -- haven't tried it yet.
Now, here's what REALLY miffs me. This is a dead system people. A DAMN good one. I blasphemed and stuck it under the bed for a while b/c I've either been playing old stuff, a ne game here and there on PS2, or old games remade for the PS2. Getting this in the mail brought back some nostalgia from two years ago when I used to get a new DC game in the mail every day, and they were damn good games. Why won't those days come back?
In short -- this rocks. This may even take Ikaruga's title for best Next Gen shooter, even amongst non-shooter fans. I know how diehards are about RS and Ikaruga... I think they're both brilliant, but so is this.