I just bought Grand Cross, which came out yesterday on Steam
My first impressions are:
HOLY
FUCKING
SHIT
The other day I saw @TracyDMcGrath recommending Summer Carnival '92 RECCA on the 3ds eshop recommendations thread so I decided to try it and holy crap, I love it! It‘s insane how fast and hard it can be and that’s the kind of extremely hard exercise that for some reason makes my brain feel good. Oh and the soundtrack goes so hard! It has also been nice playing it primarily on CRT with my mister but also being able to play it in my 3ds when I get tired and just want to be in my bed lol
I’ve never posted in this thread because I haven’t played that many shooters for more than a couple of minutes because when I play a hard game I obsess with it until I 1CC the heck out of it (my previous 1CC obsession before recca was super monkey ball).
I’ve been playing it for around a week and right now I can get to the beginning of stage 4! trying to beat Recca is the first thing that has scratched the same itch in my brain as beating Alien Soldier and gettting a tetris 40 line clear in under a minute.
Are you playing it on the 3DS?
Is there a way to reset?
On Famicom when you get here,
hit the reset button,
not the power button.
@Geoff I‘m playing it in a MiSter and on the 3ds, both have the ability to reset from a menu, but I don’t know if it works exactly as the reset button on original hardware, I assume the MiSter reset does?
That’s how you unlock the hard mode right? I think I read about that.
Yeah, there are more stages in the post-reset version of the game.
Been playing some more Grand Cross Renovation.
I’m going to be extremely surprised if this game doesn’t end up of my list of the best of 2022, even if it’s for the soundtrack alone.
It feels like a lost 96-97 Saturn game in all the best ways. Fits perfectly in all that tradition of console designed STGs from the end of the nineties, the good stuff like Soukyugurentai, Einhänder, R-Type Delta and all that. Can’t recommend this game enough, folks.
Hideki Kamiya, Yuzo Koshiro and Hamster on creative support? Reason enough to be interested in Sol Cresta. Anyone heard anything else about it? The ship docking system looks complicated enough to be a little unwieldy. Getting some Wonderful 101 vibes from this. It could be a fantastic innovation, or it could just be trying to do a little too much.
I expect it’s going to be a complete disaster sales-wise, especially as it comes out for no good reason during one of the busiest months of new software releases in recent memory, but it’s cool that a respected game creator was given the opportunity to lead a passion project and that the project in question did neither put the company at financial risk nor (most likely) put any strain on the staff that got dragged into its development. You rarely get that combo. Kamiya is a highly skilled shoot’em up player and participated to a few Arcade Archives live streams and events to show off his talent.
@whatsarobot Anyone heard anything else about it?
It started (at least officially) as an April Fool joke in 2020, just like when Sega first showed the new RPG battle system for Ryū Ga Gotoku 7 the year before.
@chazumaru The fact that Kamiya knows shmups adds to my intrigue, and your use of the phrase
one of the busiest months of new software releases in recent memory
makes me realize that, wow, I really don’t know what’s currently happening in the new game releases landscape. I don’t think I could name any of the gamesofts you’re referring to. Is Elden Ring one of them?
The gameplay they showed a few months ago didn't inspire much confidence, honestly.
@gsk I mean, what are the expectations of the Cresta fans? … Do fans of the Cresta series other than Kamiya still walk this Earth? This game seems dedicated to an audience that I am not sure exists.
@whatsarobot
Here is what comes out from February 4 until March 4, not accounting for surprise releases and the usual unexpectedly successful Early Access campaign that Steam seems to cherish during this time of the year.
Dying Light 2 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 4
Sifu (PC, PS4, PS5) - February 8
OlliOlli World (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) - February 8
A Memoir Blue (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) - February 10
CrossfireX (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 10
Edge of Eternity (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 10
Lost Ark (PC) - February 11
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) - February 15
The King of Fighters XV (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) - February 17
Total War: Warhammer 3 (PC) - February 17
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection (Switch) - February 17
Horizon: Forbidden West (PS4, PS5) - February 18
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 22
Sol Cresta (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch) - February 22
Martha is Dead (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) - February 24
Atelier Sophie 2 (PC, PS4, Switch) - February 25
Grid Legends (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 25
Elden Ring (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - February 25
Elex 2 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) - March 1
FAR: Changing Tides (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) - March 1
Taito Egret II Mini - March 2
Babylon’s Fall (PC, PS4, PS5) - March 3
Gran Turismo 7 (PS4, PS5) - March 4
Triangle Strategy (Switch) - March 4
I guess there is no direct competition in the genre, besides the Egret II Mini’s catalogue, but I can’t see how any streamer or vtuber even vaguely interested in Platinum Games’ output will give this game the time of day in late February, and the requested $40 bucks will be a strain on a few gamers’ budget for the month. This should have been a slow news day August release.
@chazumaru
I mean, what are the expectations of the Cresta fans? … Do fans of the Cresta series other than Kamiya still walk this Earth? This game seems dedicated to an audience that I am not sure exists
Well, there is me, a person who is very excited about Sol Cresta and who was a fan of Moon and Terra Cresta too!
I’m sure it will be a disaster sales-wise, but it’s also like a gift from folks who I can tell get it about what makes this era of games fun (to an incredibly small group of people).
@chazumaru Gran Turismo 7?!? Wow. That’s a lovely little surprise.
Now even I have to admit that Sol Cresta is not my most-anticipated on this list.
@Karasu
Well, there is me, a person who is very excited about Sol Cresta and who was a fan of Moon and Terra Cresta too!
Well then I am genuinely happy for you and also I had no idea the creator of Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 spoke English so fluently.
@chazumaru
I mean, what are the expectations of the Cresta fans? … Do fans of the Cresta series other than Kamiya still walk this Earth? This game seems dedicated to an audience that I am not sure exists.
My presumption is that they’re not expecting monotonous, overlong stage design (the ones who aren’t also Kamiya fans, at least).
i “beat” armed police batrider last night (brute forced it with unlimited continues on an emulator and took what seems to have been the shortest, easiest route through the game). i dunno, i'll never be good at it but very fun to tour as just an awesome graphics and music exhibition
@tapevulture i would REALLY like to play this game, but don‘t know what i’m doing when it comes to mame emulation. is it easy enough to figure out?
(i have successfully figured out a whole lot of emulation in the past, but mame feels like a different beast.)
@whatsarobot The trick is to match the romset to the mame version. Some games are easier to get working than others, luckily Batrider is compatible with most cores back to like 2003 or earlier.
There’s a bunch of codes you’ll want to know for Batrider (or you could fiddle with the dipswitches but codes are more fun). Copying this from Giant Bomb for convenience’s sake but looks accurate, you’ll have to hurry to put all three in but Secret Ships is the only one you ~~~~really need:
Stage Edit:
Highlight the game mode of your choice
Press A + B Button at the same Time
Unlock Secret Ships:
On the Title Screen, insert a coin and enter the following code before pressing Start:
[UP] [UP] [DOWN] [DOWN] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [A] [ B ] [Start]
Unlock Player Select (single-character mode):
On the Title Screen, insert a coin and enter the following code before pressing Start:
[UP] [UP] [DOWN] [DOWN] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [ B ] [A] [Start]
A fourth Menu Option should now be available.
Unlock Special Course:
On the Title Screen, insert a coin and enter the following code before pressing Start:
[UP] [DOWN] [UP] [DOWN] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [LEFT] [RIGHT] [A] [ B ] [Start]
Linking that whole article because it goes over a lot now that I’m looking at it:
TL;DR for Yagawa shmups generally:
Get only the power ups you need, don’t miss any medals or extends, and die if it gets too hard to lower your difficulty
@TracyDMcGrath Awesome! Thank you. I know you are a known Batrider fan, so I trust your judgment on this.
Any explanation as to why M2 Shot Triggers hasn’t done a Batrider release yet? Did they stop after Garegga and Ketsui?