Aug 15, 2024 #shmups #darius #ダライアス "I always wanted a thing called tuna sasimi."

A 1 Credit Clear or 1CC of Darius II on easy (which was originally supposed to be the normal difficulty). Played on the Darius Cozmic Collection using 12hz rapidfire.

Heard mixed reviews about Cygni -- everything from "too frustrating" to "the next evolution of the shoot 'em up genre." If you're not allergic to the Epic store (I don't judge people for this), you can get a chance to see it for yourself for free, this week.

Missed the initial news about Raiden NOVA -- and since it's a twin-stick shooter, I'm really only mentioning it due to its pedigree. Might be fun, but I confess am a little puzzled by this change in the series direction.

A neat little video that succinctly explains what makes Gunbird a fun game.

A book for learning how to improve your skills at shmups, focusing mostly on practice habits.

A mix of run 'n gun an shmup, according to the trailer. Never heard of this one before, but I'll be keeping an eye out as we near the release date.

Expert guests and players in Prickly_Angler and Lyv join us to talk Sengoku Blade. We watch Prickly's 1 loop clear with Hagane, Lyv's 2-ALL clear with Junis, and then end with the current WR score by J.U Kang with Koyori/Miko. We talk strategy, replay commentary, Psikyo games, etc.

~1 hour, 30 minutes.

I have a lot of affection for the Parodius series, but just because they're lighthearted in tone doesn't mean they're easy to beat!

I have Mushihimesama Futunari on Xbox 360 for a long time, store closed and I learned black label DLC is now going.

Are there any option? I can't find physical DLC disk, maybe it never exist.

I have options?

I'm excited to hear this news! The Switch has turned out to be a haven for shmups over the years, and it's good to see ZPF added to the group.

The Shikigami games are classics, and if this campaign meets all of its stretch goals, they've promised to port the entire series to console.

From the Retronauts re-release roundup for this week:

I struggle to understand how this loophole has persisted for so many years but I'm happy to report that it is still open: simply log into the Xbox Marketplace using your browser and then click on this link (and do not change the region settings on the page) and you should be able to claim a copy of Ikaruga for your Xbox for the low, low price of nothing. Be sure to download a copy onto your X360 before you put it away; it'll sleep better, I'm sure.

I still have a copy of Gradius V, but my PS2 died a few years back, so I sure wouldn't mind a re-release/remaster.

Honestly I'm a little afraid of Mushi's maniac mode, but I think I'll give it a serious try after seeing this!

Is anyone aware of a list of the Shikhondo games? I was familiar with Soul Eater but today I found this trailer for Red Purgatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_sb_PpI-eE

I also found a Steam release from this April for Youkai Rampage, which I didn't know existed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2712480/Shikhondo_Youkai_Rampage/

Has DeerFarm produced more in the series? It's such a unique take on the genre.

Gradius and Life Force are included in this collection and the included "book" is good. It's neat seeing minor differences between the Japanese and International versions as well. This plays very well with the console streaming feature and one of those controllers that clamp onto the phone. Solid ports.

SNK has several neo geo games for sale in the Play store. At about $4 USD, they're pretty expensive but they seem to work OK. Pulstar and Blazing Star are available. I purchased Pulstar and the controller support is great. Its a pretty good experience if you don't normally use something like Lemuroid.

Some relevant shmup releases this week, covered as part of Retronauts round-up are:

G-Mode Archives+ version of Argus:

What's this? A mobile phone conversion of NMK and Jaleco's 1986 arcade shooting game Argus, originally released for Japanese feature phones in 2003; this port valiantly attempts to recapture all the features of the original, which include a Xevious-esque air-shot/ground-bomb system, the invincibility power and the end-of-stage landing runway sequences.

And Over the Horizon x Steel Empire:

What's this? An emulated three-pack containing the original Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Hot-B's steampunk-themed horizontal shooting game Steel Empire, the Game Boy Advance remix of said game and the 60Hz NES version of Over Horizon, another Hot-B horizontal shooting game that was only released in Japan and Germany.

Thanks to Retronauts for covering these releases!