I rarely play Ikaruga, but I was alright at it a couple of years ago. From what I remember, you have to shoot one of the red 'shields' in the middle to make it drop down, then get between it and the exposed part of the ship and just hammer away until the gap's almost closed again. When you've destroyed both halves, that's it! It'll seem pretty tough at first, but you'll be doing this boss with your eyes closed in a few days. 
YouTube should have tons of videos for Ikaruga, too!
YouTube should have tons of videos for Ikaruga, too!
I've been playing that Warning Forever and it's quite a lot of fun. I've got to Stage 11 with the Penda Force Wing Wide Perfect thingy and it is stupidly tricky but satisfying.
Cheers for the recommend!
Cheers for the recommend!
Klatrymadon wrote:
I rarely play Ikaruga, but I was alright at it a couple of years ago. From what I remember, you have to shoot one of the red 'shields' in the middle to make it drop down, then get between it and the exposed part of the ship and just hammer away until the gap's almost closed again. When you've destroyed both halves, that's it! It'll seem pretty tough at first, but you'll be doing this boss with your eyes closed in a few days.
YouTube should have tons of videos for Ikaruga, too!
YouTube should have tons of videos for Ikaruga, too!
Ah! Cheers for that! I had no idea you could sneak inside those shield thingies - I must have been squeezing the occasional shot inside the boss, because I couldn't work out why its energy bar kept appearing and disappearing. Looking at the videos on YooChoob it definitely doesn't look too difficult once you know what you're supposed to do.
Any time, mate! For the really popular shmups, I always defer to YouTube. It's full of ludicrously skilled players going "look, no hands!"
Did you get Parodius working, jonarob?
Did you get Parodius working, jonarob?
Hullo! Yeah I got it working - it's a fucking toughie, isn't it? I didn't realise it was so similar to Gradius. Good stuff.
jonarob wrote:
Hullo! Yeah I got it working - it's a fucking toughie, isn't it? I didn't realise it was so similar to Gradius. Good stuff.
You probably guessed, but it was named as a parody of Gradius.
Klatrymadon wrote:
Any time, mate! For the really popular shmups, I always defer to YouTube. It's full of ludicrously skilled players going "look, no hands!"
Did you get Parodius working, jonarob?
Did you get Parodius working, jonarob?
How come MAME plus shows all the games I don't have as well? Is this normal or is it because I basically downloaded your setup with a smaller selection of roms?
like the psx version of parodius better than the mame one (via snesorama)
Ummm, I can't seem to install new roms. I put them, still zipped, into the ROMS folder, but restarting MAME doesn't show them, neither does auditing or refreshing. What's the crack?
Argh! Does anyone know why?
Have you told MAME to look in that folder during an audit? That's where I was going wrong.
I'm using MAME plus and I don't see an option for that. It seems to be auditing the right folder, though. It's just not finding my new roms.
Cocknobs. I think it's because the roms aren't compatible. I was trying to play Giga Wing. I downloaded it from a MAME site, though. Am I using an old version of MAME or something?
How big is the Gigawing zip?
If it helps, there's a few links to Giga Wing here. I don't know how up-to-date Emucation's roms are though. Mind you, every time I visit the site, I expect it to have been pulled.
I had an old version of MAME Plus is all. I've got the latest one now and it all works. Also fully configured my Hori stick so it's working excellently.
Shienryu is awesome and gets the thumbs up from me.
Shienryu is awesome and gets the thumbs up from me.
markg wrote:
I can understand the appeal but for me this game just sounds like a recipe for frustration and misery.
I appear to be ok at this game only if it's 3.30am and I'm half drunk, sober and in the daytime I'm exactly as rubbish as I expected that I would be.
Plus you had excellent one on one coaching.
(hic)
(hic)
The PSP Parodius and Gradius collections are a thing of beauty.
i kind like Shmups. The only thing i don't like about them is that they hurt my self-esteem by make me think that i'm the person with worst reflexes in the world. Do they all need to be so goddamn hard?
The only one that i remember being accessible was Wings of Death on the Amiga. Everything else is impossible in my book. Ikaruga isn't even that hard imo (at least i can finish the 1st level without losing lives).
The only one that i remember being accessible was Wings of Death on the Amiga. Everything else is impossible in my book. Ikaruga isn't even that hard imo (at least i can finish the 1st level without losing lives).
Xenon ftw!
Zen-Chan wrote:
The PSP Parodius and Gradius collections are a thing of beauty.
Did they get a Euro release at all? Sounds good, but play.com turns up nada on the Paro front.
I'll post my Parodius Da! scores after I get back to clearing the first loop.
(The Gradius games all go pretty easy on the numbers, y'see. If you've scored over one million, you're usually half way through the second loop, so first-loop scores tend to look very unimpressive indeed.
)
(The Gradius games all go pretty easy on the numbers, y'see. If you've scored over one million, you're usually half way through the second loop, so first-loop scores tend to look very unimpressive indeed.
) 
Zardoz wrote:
nervouspete wrote:
Are there any decent schmups on the PC or DS Lite, either horizontal or vertical? I'd quite like at least one. 
Better off playing GBA shooters on your DS lite. Gradius Galaxies is a good start.
So, for those of us like me whose only current-gen TV-based console is the Wii, any good shoot 'em ups?
(BTW, I can get access to a PSP, so may well get the one of those Konami shmp compilations. Are PSPs region free?)
Fuck me! Had a look on Shmups.com and according to those guys, DoDonPachi is the finest shooter of all time and they're not wrong. What an incredibly fun game. Everyone should download MAME, get an arcade stick and play this. Fucking brilliant. Anybody got any high scores? I got 350,000 on my first go (I think, I'll double check).
Gigawing is better.
DoDonPachi is proper good fun, though, 'specially on the second loop.
DoDonPachi is proper good fun, though, 'specially on the second loop.
I'm not a huuuuge fan of Gigawing, it's pretty decent.
DoDonPachi is awesomesauce. I would kill for a proper Live release.
(not a silly disk version.)
(not a silly disk version.)
jonarob wrote:
Fuck me! Had a look on Shmups.com and according to those guys, DoDonPachi is the finest shooter of all time and they're not wrong. What an incredibly fun game. Everyone should download MAME, get an arcade stick and play this. Fucking brilliant. Anybody got any high scores? I got 350,000 on my first go (I think, I'll double check).
Haven't played in a while, but I was getting onto Level 4 on one credit in the past. My high is 10.5 million or thereabouts, although I've never been able to get the hang of chaining to get the really big scores.
The prequel, DonPachi, is also worth checking out - not least for some hilarious Engrish in the copyright notice when you first boot it up.
throughsilver wrote:
Zen-Chan wrote:
The PSP Parodius and Gradius collections are a thing of beauty.
Did they get a Euro release at all? Sounds good, but play.com turns up nada on the Paro front.
Sadly not, but all the menus etc are in English (and they are hugely extensive, even going as far as allowing you to emulate slowdown in the originals).
There are two other Konami shooter collections on the PSP, a Salamander one and a Twinbee one as well.
Ta for the info. And in the absence of lik-sang (I am an old school head), which sites still ship to the you-kay?
Try perhaps Play Asia (not affiliated with Play.com). They're good, though I don't know if they have what you're after.
Pundabaya wrote:
Okay, I don't particularly like shmups, but I downloaded the trial to Ikaruga, wanting to see what all the fuss is about. I enjoyed the first level, didn't beat the boss, but saw how to beat the boss. Bought the full game. Got past the boss quite easily. And 
holy crap, that second level is a bitch and a half. First level: tough, but fair. Second level: Insanity.
holy crap, that second level is a bitch and a half. First level: tough, but fair. Second level: Insanity.i don't think level 2 isn't that hard, and i'm crap at shmups. Level 3 is the shit though. Has anyone got to level 4?
Level 2 is a definite step up from the first level though.
Still haven't mastered it myself yet. I get unstuck after the cube maze bit when the rotating blocks spit out arcs of alternate white then black, with a medium size ship pissing photon death down the centre.
Is everyone else playing on normal with 3 lives and no continues?
Still haven't mastered it myself yet. I get unstuck after the cube maze bit when the rotating blocks spit out arcs of alternate white then black, with a medium size ship pissing photon death down the centre.
Is everyone else playing on normal with 3 lives and no continues?
Does anyone know a handy guide on how to install and run MAME on XP? Because I've tried looking for guides out there, and the only ones I've found are completely incomprehensible.
Never tried Mame before, you see. Intrigued.
Never tried Mame before, you see. Intrigued.
I was completely new, too. First, I downloaded the awesome package provided by Klatrymadon up there ^
This worked most excellently, and comes with many great games. However, I wanted some newer shmups so I had to upgrade to the latest version of MAME Plus, which I found with a quick google. It's not the most user friendly thing in the world, but you get used to it. And once you do, it's pure shmup heaven.
Klatrymadon wrote:
MAME Plus is probably the easiest one to use, mate. I actually have a version of it up on my FTP, with a bunch of games:
Enjoy!
Bookmark this for all your ROMs.
Enjoy!
Bookmark this for all your ROMs.
This worked most excellently, and comes with many great games. However, I wanted some newer shmups so I had to upgrade to the latest version of MAME Plus, which I found with a quick google. It's not the most user friendly thing in the world, but you get used to it. And once you do, it's pure shmup heaven.
i got to the Wheel in the 3rd level of Ikaruga. They gotta be kidding
MAME OS X works pretty well if you have a Mac, thankfully.
RuySan wrote:
i got to the Wheel in the 3rd level of Ikaruga. They gotta be kidding
The wheel is actually pretty easy. Sit near the front as one colour and just rotate round in the appropriate colour stream. You'll easily knock out most of the opposing colour, making a whole lot of breathing room before the streams start appearing. Managed to kill that one without losing a single life.
Zardoz wrote:
Level 2 is a definite step up from the first level though.
Still haven't mastered it myself yet. I get unstuck after the cube maze bit when the rotating blocks spit out arcs of alternate white then black, with a medium size ship pissing photon death down the centre.
Still haven't mastered it myself yet. I get unstuck after the cube maze bit when the rotating blocks spit out arcs of alternate white then black, with a medium size ship pissing photon death down the centre.
I still haven't beaten the Level 2 boss yet, but the best technique for the streams of bullets section is to lay off the fire button as much as possible and just concentrate on absorbing the bullets by switching colours. I usually fly around and sweep up as much of each stream as possible before quickly swiching colours and sweeping up the next one. It's actually not that difficult with repeated play, which is more than I can say for the bastard boss, which eats me alive every time.
Quote:
Is everyone else playing on normal with 3 lives and no continues?
I am, anyway.
Ikaruga Final boss = Bleh?!? My hand is hurting from hitting the change colour button as quickly as possible. But I beat it, anyway.
Mr Dave wrote:
Ikaruga Final boss = Bleh?!? My hand is hurting from hitting the change colour button as quickly as possible. But I beat it, anyway.
I've never seen it, I'm too obsessed with chaining. Managed to get an "A" on level 1 last night with a 49 strong chain.
I may have to just try and play through the game with continues at some point to see whats's in those later levels.
Trousers wrote:
Mr Dave wrote:
Ikaruga Final boss = Bleh?!? My hand is hurting from hitting the change colour button as quickly as possible. But I beat it, anyway.
I've never seen it, I'm too obsessed with chaining. Managed to get an "A" on level 1 last night with a 49 strong chain.
I may have to just try and play through the game with continues at some point to see whats's in those later levels.
What was your final score on Level 1 when you got that A, Trousers? I've managed 50-odd chains but my best rating so far is B+. Hmm, I wonder if you automatically don't get an A if you lose a life, as that seems to be my major problem - I spend so much time concentrating on the chains that I die stupidly at some point in the level.
Oh, and I'm gunning for your score, obv.
been playing soldier blade (Pc engine). Still can't get past level 5
What are the newer shmups you mentioned playing, jonarob? Is Ketsui up and running? That'd be amazing. I haven't downloaded any ROMs for a while, but I may get a newer version of MAME Plus for my PC if there are any awesome games I can't currently play (my laptop has serious issues running the latest version, y'see, and that's what I usually play MAME stuff on).
Edit: I've been playing lots of G-Darius, lately. I can get to Great Thing (the final boss on the game's hardest route), but he's totally pissing on my chips.
Edit: I've been playing lots of G-Darius, lately. I can get to Great Thing (the final boss on the game's hardest route), but he's totally pissing on my chips.
Malc74 wrote:
What was your final score on Level 1 when you got that A, Trousers? I've managed 50-odd chains but my best rating so far is B+. Hmm, I wonder if you automatically don't get an A if you lose a life, as that seems to be my major problem - I spend so much time concentrating on the chains that I die stupidly at some point in the level.
Oh, and I'm gunning for your score, obv.
Oh, and I'm gunning for your score, obv.
I was just over 2m when I finished the level (yes I totally shit out on level 2). I think the time to finish the boss counts in the rating as well.
Nya-ha! At the moment* I'm striding triumphantly on top of my friends leaderboard for Ikaruga with 2.6 million! Woo!
Hell, in a fit of madness I even had a few goes on Hard, and actually managed to clear Level 1 and score over a million - good enough for 157th in the world at the moment!
I still haven't beaten that bastard Level 2 boss though...
*Until Trousers plays again.
Hell, in a fit of madness I even had a few goes on Hard, and actually managed to clear Level 1 and score over a million - good enough for 157th in the world at the moment!
I still haven't beaten that bastard Level 2 boss though...
*Until Trousers plays again.
Malc74 wrote:
*Until Trousers plays again.
Incorrect. I have played it for at least an hour, possibly two this morning and am still 400k off your score and don't look like getting anywhere near it the way I am playing right now.
In a huff I went on Mario Kart and spanked my Luigi Circuit time which made me feel a bit better.
Woohoo! Finally beat the Level 2 boss in normal play. Finished up at around 3.6 million or thereabouts.
Of course, Level 3 spilt my pint, belched in my face and called me a "great big girly puff", but we'll see about that - oh yes we will.*
*Or maybe not - it really is very, very difficult.
Of course, Level 3 spilt my pint, belched in my face and called me a "great big girly puff", but we'll see about that - oh yes we will.*
*Or maybe not - it really is very, very difficult.