The Mame Club! - This week's game is BATTLE BAKRAID!

[zektor]

Thanks to an excellent idea from one of our respected forum members (Gamereviewgod), each member of the club will pick out one game that is emulated in Mame once a week to play through and post a review. This is an excellent way for people to try some of the different titles Mame has to offer.

The game in question will be uploaded by DP every week so it is easily accessible to you, and you will be able to find out this info by reading the new "Weekly Game" sticky in this forum!

When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. It would also be nice to let us know other aspects of the emulation. Here are some things that would be good to know:

Did you like/dislike the game? Why?
What type of machine are you running it on? Specs?
What version of Mame?
How long did it take you to beat it? Score?

Again, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!

EDIT BY DP: You can find the game on the MAME by REQUEST page at
http://www.videogamearchive.com/emu/mame_request.htm

[chadtower]

If the rom is up, where is it?

[zektor]

If the rom is up, where is it?

Just waiting on Joe to reply

[Sotenga]

Battle Bakraid, the sequel to Battle Garegga, made by Raizing/8ing, is one hell of a shmup. It apparently takes place in the 1940's (that's my guess) and you have to shoot your way through six (or eight) stages, each one more difficult than the last. This game gives you the option of choosing your difficulty mode. There's Training, Normal, Advance, (which you should play in order to see all eight stages) and a very nifty "Only Boss" difficulty, which has you go up against all the bosses in a row, as the name implies.

The graphics are luscious, colorful, and there are loads of huge sprites. The bosses, composed of titanic war machines, look impressive. The backgrounds are very pleasing to the eye. One thing I like about them is the multiple layers of depth you can see. Three, maybe even four different levels of the ground can be visible at the same time.

The music is pretty good, but nothing really stands out for me. The tunes can best be described as a fusion of techno and war-like themes. It's not bad, but it could be better. The sound FX are also quite good. You'll hear the explosion sound very often. That's something I can't complain about, as I love explosions.

You can choose from nine different ships. Yep, nine. That's a pretty big selection. Each different ship has their own method of main weapons, and all ships can obtain the assistence of options a la Gradius. You can have up to six of them at a time, and if you find a special power-up, they'll even follow you around EXACTLY like the Gradius options! Each ship can launch bombs that become stronger as you collect more bomb power-ups.

Heh... speaking of power-ups, the enemies literally bleed power-ups that benefit your main weapon, your side weapon, your bombs, and more options. Believe it or not, there are more bullets from the enemies than there are power-ups. Yes, this is a manic shmup. Maybe not as manic as Dodonpachi or Mars Matrix, but it does get very intense at times. The bosses churn out projectiles like Rush churns out great albums. Fortunately, you have infinite continues, and you can pick up on the exact spot that you die. If you're trying to one-credit this game, loads of luck to you!

Overall, Battle Bakraid is a top-notch shmup. Then again, there aren't a lot of shmups that I even remotely dislike, so maybe my positive opinion is a little biased. If you like Battle Bakraid, check out it's prequel, Battle Garegga, and another great shmup by Raizing/8ing, Armed Police Batrider. SHMUP ON!

[Gamereviewgod]

Oh man, this game is great. It looks a bit dated considering the year it was released, but who cares when the soundtrack is this good? The game could look like River Raid and I probably wouldn't care thanks to the tunes. The flying pancake ship-thng rocks. Must have 8 of those options when fully powered up. What I love even more is that this one is POSSIBLE. Unlike so many other shooters released today, you don't need some stupid shield to protect you, just skill. Every moment of the game is entirely managble. Great stuff.

[digitalpress]

If the rom is up, where is it?

Now available (see Zektor's initial post).

I'll post my comments later. I LOVE this game!

[Gamereviewgod]

@ Sotenga: That review needs to be on the review page stat...nice stuff.

I just played through this one with a buddy and we only had 5 levels. Does it vary or something?

Side note: Just played the first game. While good, the bullets are way too hard to identify in clutch situations. This game were talking about here is much inproved in this aspect.

[Sotenga]

@ Sotenga: That review needs to be on the review page stat...nice stuff.

I just played through this one with a buddy and we only had 5 levels. Does it vary or something?

Side note: Just played the first game. While good, the bullets are way too hard to identify in clutch situations. This game were talking about here is much inproved in this aspect.

Thanks, GRG!

Joe, can it be on the review page? Canitcanitcanitcanitcanitcanit?!?!?!? :wired:

5 levels... either you were playing on a difficulty other than the Advance level, or you're using a different version of the game. The one I use is the Unlimited Version. Or, perhaps, the stages varied because it was a 2-player game? I dunno...

[Gamereviewgod]

What's the difference between the unlimited and standard version?

[Anonymous]

I had a good time playing this game. My roomate heard me fire up my mame machine and joined in at about the third level. The game was a little short for my tastes, but that just means that in an arcade setting it would be beatable with a reasonable amount of quarters.

As a two player game I was surprised that there wasn't a whole lot of competition for power ups. The game literally floods you with power ups, and gaining a good number of shot enhancers and options (which do a great job as shields hehe) means that unlike gradius, dying in Battle Bakraid doesn't mean losing everything.

On my MAME machine, which sports an 800mhz PIII running AdvanceMAME, the game suffered from slowdown a fair bit at the beginning, then probably once or twice every level. There was also one instance where my plane started going up, and I couldn't get it to go back down. This is probably becasue I'm using USB controllers in DOS though. I still really enjoyed this game; a nice change of pace from all the Elevator Action I've been playing lately

[digitalpress]

I just played through this one with a buddy and we only had 5 levels. Does it vary or something?

It's 3 levels at "training", 5 levels at "normal", and 8 levels at "advanced". One of the cooler aspects of the game is that the stages appear at random (or could be just different for each ship you choose) after the first stage.

Side note: Just played the first game. While good, the bullets are way too hard to identify in clutch situations. This game were talking about here is much inproved in this aspect.

You'll get used to that fast. This game has some of the easiest bullets to detect, IMHO. One of the most frustrating things about this genre are the games where you can't see what hit you. After a few plays I NEVER had that happen.

[IntvGene]

Well, Sotenga already did a great job introducing the game, so I'll just hop in with my impressions.

The game is very likeable for all players, and it really has very few faults. There are excellent graphics with large, colorful sprites and large explosions. I really notice the bright colors in this game, something that a lot of military shooters desperately lack. The backgrounds are detailed, but not too intrusive. I like the design of the ships, and there is a quite a lot of variety, but personally, I don't love them.

The sound is quite competent. No real complaints here, but fairly typical output for an arcade shooter, especially a modern one. The music didn't really grab me, but I am not playing DDR here.

GRG makes a good point about the difficulty. I do like being able to get somewhere for my quarter's worth, and this one allows that. The screen isn't also polluted with millions of shots either. It's also one of those games that's also great for experts with medals, and lots of unlockables too. I really like slowly collecting your bombs until you have enough to use one, instead of just catching one single icon, like in most shooters. The bomb animation didn't really impress me though, and it is something that I think is a necessity for shooters. When I hit the bomb button, I want the full nuclear effect, thank you very much. There are a lot of other gameplay featuers, I love the powerups for the ships, and also being able to recollect them after dying.

There's really a lot to like here, and most of my problems are just minor nitpicks. Military shooters aren't my favorite, so I have to look past that bias. There IS a great game here, and while I wasn't sucked into it immediately, I can see that the game has a lot going for it.

I must have played the game for about an hour and a half so far, on my 1.4 Gig machine, running MAME32, ver.74. I'd give it an 8 or 9 / 10.

[zektor]

Well, I finally got around to playing it through today. This is a classic shooter, and what I like to call a "Mame Sleeper". This is because it is one of those excellent games that you just pass up in the over 4000 games list in Mame, and you don't get around to playing it until someone mentions the game. I guess this is what our club is all about!

The graphics are fantastic and the slowdown is virtually non-existent...at least on my P3 machine w/TNT2 32MB video card. I was pretty amazed at that really, since I do end up getting slight slowdown when you have alot of explosions and fire onscreen in some other shooters.

The sound is excellent as well. ESPECIALLY the soundtrack. The music just fits the game so perfectly. The music actually kind of reminds me of a console game for some reason...but a console game with a really great music score.

The only problem I can see with this shooter is that it ends too damn soon! I did not actually time it, but it felt like I completed the game in under 15 minutes. I may be right.

All in all, a great classic shooter. One of those shooters that allows you to get into a type of Zen state, missing thousands of bullets....but then getting nicked by one lone bullet afterward!

Here are some tips and tricks for the game as well. I didn't try them all, but I did try the stage edit:

- CODES & SECRETS:

*Ship selection*
At the ship select screen: To select a "main shot power type" fighter, select your ship with A button, To select a "Bomber power type", select your ship with B button, To select a "Side shot power type", select your ship with C button, To select a "Speed up type", select your ship with Start button.

*Phase 2*
To unlock 3 more fighter planes, Insert a coin, and press: Up(x2), Down(x2), Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, Start.

*Phase 3*
To unlock 2 more fighter planes, Insert a coin, and press: Up(x2), Down(x2), Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. (The entering of this code has to be finished before the counter passes 10)

*Special Course*
Hold C button and insert a coin, press: Up, Down, Up, Down Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start, and release C button.

*Team Edit*
Insert a coin, and press: Up, Down, Up, Down Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, Start. (The entering of this code has to be started after the counter passes 10)

*Stage Edit*
Start from the game mode selection screen, highlight the game mode of your choice, and press A+B simultaneaously.

*Score mode*
To shows up score calculations: Start from anywhere in the game, hold C button, and tap Joystick Up. (To leave the score mode, re-enter the code)

[digitalpress]

WHOA! There are unlockable ships?! Damn I was just about to write up my entry! Alright I've got a little more research to do. Good thing this is game o' the WEEK or I'd never get through this in time.

[Gamereviewgod]

The sound is excellent as well. ESPECIALLY the soundtrack

At least SOMEONE else here mentioned the soundtrack!

[zektor]

What's the difference between the unlimited and standard version?

Good question! The unlimited version is the only version that will accept the codes I posted above! This is the only difference I know of.

[WiseSalesman]

I'm playing the unlimited version (posted on the request site) and am having MAJOR problems with the controls. I can only get the ship to respond to the down or back command about 50% of the time. Is this normal?

[ddockery]

OK, so I'm convinced! I need a goad joystick or gamepad ASAP to hold me over until I can build a cab (probably a year away). I played this for about an hour last nght and I think I have carpal tunnel now. As has been mentioned a few times, the soundtrack kicks some major ass. Te level designs are nice because there are enough projectiles to make things difficult, yet not impossible. I can't comment on the graphics as my monitor has no blue at the moment, so pretty much everything looks ugly. Tonight I'll be grabbing a gamepad and giving this another go.

Nice choice for a first game. I love schmups and hadn't checked this out before.

[IntvGene]

Okay, I just finished beating it again, and I specifically played this time with an ear for the soundtrack, and it still doesn't do anything for me. It's not bad, but I am surprised to hear the number of excellent comments for it.

[Gamereviewgod]

@Wise: My buddy had trouble about halfway through the game. Unplugged and re-inserted the controller into USB port and he was good to go. Is this the only game doing it for you? Could need to be calibrated in Windows control panel.