The RGF Shmup League - Season #3 Game #2: Hellfire

[Misery]

Misery - 776,500 - Hien - Stage 8 - Mame

That goddamn boat managed to shoot me twice. I really loathe that thing.

[Misery]

Hmm, and I was GOING to make a video of the game too, since I can pass the boat level now, but the accursed game entered the Infinite Paris Loop again, so I'm not touching it for the rest of the night. I wont do a run with THAT level as stage 2. There's little point. Screws up the scoring. And the game WILL NOT stop pushing it as level 2, so enough for the night.

If I could hack the game, I'd just remove that damn level and replace it with.... I dunno, a picture of a horse or something. Anything is less annoying.

[AmidstStorm]

Yeah have to agree somewhat.. On the picture of a horse thing

I've noticed the France level is pretty much pointless and more of a hinderence when playing for score so yeah might as well take it out. Brazil needs to be stage 2 imo for a strong run. I seriously reckon it's
possible to be on about 400k after stage 3. That's what i'm aiming for. My best is 389k so far.



Edit: ok i take the comment about the France stage back, in part that is...



France came up as Stage 2 on this run, Brazil Stage 4. Ive had 3 hours sleep and i'm hungover to buggery, still clearly drunk as my lack of being able to walk around the house quietly i'm finding rather amusing, but look at what just happened:

"I never thought i'd be frying over a rain forest"

AmidstStorm - AMS - 736,100 - Stage 8 - Spanky - US MVS



Took the Stage 6 boat out with no deaths and no bombs. Oh, and stage 7 is a another bonus stage by the way. 8 I can't even remember, lasted one wave of enemies...

Rankings Updated

[Sel Feena]

Never paid much attention to levels and that before. Will be jumping in Sunday, when I can set a decent amount of time for it.

[Misery]

Stages 8 and 9 are where it gets really nasty.

10, from the looks of it, is a bit on the easy side. Very few real enemies, mostly just the..... er..... monkey..... and the ghost thing.

I havent gone through them yet, and I *need* to take a break from this for a few days. Not a choice this time.... I shouldnt have gone back to it today. Now my arm is kinda screwed up again. Dont need it getting any worse.

Anyway, there's Youtube videos featuring a full run-through of the first loop, look them up if you wanna see those last few stages, or other tricks. I dont remember the account name of the guy that uploaded them, but there's so few videos of this game that it should be pretty easy to find.

[AmidstStorm]

Over 4 hours straight on this. Think i'm done for today.. hitting some pretty consistent scores though and actually starting to like the randomness of the stage order. Makes each credit slightly different. A good game. I almost don't want to stop playing. Haven't managed to get past Stage 6 a second time.

Here's my latest scores for today:

[Sel Feena]

Anyway, there's Youtube videos featuring a full run-through of the first loop, look them up if you wanna see those last few stages, or other tricks. I dont remember the account name of the guy that uploaded them, but there's so few videos of this game that it should be pretty easy to find.

^ Yep, I think with harder titles, there's no shame in boning up and seeing how it's done!

Come to think of it, Fightersmegamix has brought up an interesting issue; nominations for games within the same series. If someone wanted to nominate SW1 or SW3, do we allow that or rule it out on the grounds that we've already visited that series for this run of games in the league?

[AmidstStorm]

Fightersmegamix has brought up an interesting issue; nominations for games within the same series. If someone wanted to nominate SW1 or SW3, do we allow that or rule it out on the grounds that we've already visited that series for this run of games in the league?

I don't have a problem with it, but for variety it would be better to mix it up. Maybe perhaps, just keep it so games with sequels, prequels etc. eg. Gunbird, Strikers 1945, Thunder Force, can't be played in the same season as each other. So we could play Sonic Wings 3 next season no probs.

Is there an Arrow Flash 2?

[Sputryk]

Not sure, but location order may have something to do with which character you play as. Don't think I've had Paris as L2 whilst playing as two girls (F14 aircraft). Could be just my mind and my limited playing time. Do find other characters go straight to Paris for L2 every time which, although a bit of a pointless level, is rather easy to pass so early on. Then again, find NY boss rather tough without bombs, so would prefer NY early so to be easier to pass!

Have tried all characters. Don't know all names, but the American seems strongest on shot but has very limited 'all over' capability. Ninja special, though brief, is rather effective, and the all over capability of the F14 is most useful if not exactly strong in main guns. Am favouring F14, so far.

As for nominating other games in a series in the same season: I'd say not. Variety is the spice of life, and all that.

[Misery]

Fightersmegamix has brought up an interesting issue; nominations for games within the same series. If someone wanted to nominate SW1 or SW3, do we allow that or rule it out on the grounds that we've already visited that series for this run of games in the league?

I don't have a problem with it, but for variety it would be better to mix it up. Maybe perhaps, just keep it so games with sequels, prequels etc. eg. Gunbird, Strikers 1945, Thunder Force, can't be played in the same season as each other. So we could play Sonic Wings 3 next season no probs.

Is there an Arrow Flash 2?

I'd say, go for stuff that's totally different.

After Sonic Wings, even going to a different Psikyo series is.... well, I like Psikyo but nearly all of their games feel exactly the same and play pretty much the same. Sonic Wings here is one of the biggest deviants from their usual formula, and that's not saying much, since pretty much the entire difference is that the scoring almost makes some sense and takes effort (oh, and it has bonus stages).... everything else is basically the same, from the boss pattern styles right down to the way it handles rank. And other stuff. The only exception is Space Bomber, which.... ahh, I dont really think is a good idea for the league. It's the longest of their shmups and also the most cruel.... that one was DEFINITELY designed to suck quarters from players, and I sure dont mean that in a good way. It's VERY frustrating. There's a TV Trope by the name of "Fake Difficulty", and that game has it in spades.

I'd say, for the next one, go with an entirely different developer/series/whatever. Not that I have any idea which. I dont think though that I could do two Psikyo games in a row, I know that much.

[Sel Feena]

Yeah, that was kind of my concern; I'd happily play all Sonic Wings, but not in a row! Don't see the harm in nominating games from another Psikyo series, though; the league's votes will sway towards something different if we've had enough (the only explanation I can think of for poor G-Darius not doing well!).

So what AmidstStorm said sounds good, visit a series just once per season.

[Sputryk]

Bit further, but still waaaaaaaaaay behind leading scores on here for similar distance. Tried a different plane this time.



Sputryk - RYK - 346,100 - Level 6 - F15 - MAME

[AmidstStorm]

Bit further, but still waaaaaaaaaay behind leading scores on here for similar distance. Tried a different plane this time.

I'm still experimenting with different characters. hi-en is great because his projectile attacks clean up the enemies you miss.. did my best run with Spanky the Dolphin though, as his projectile can sometimes stop bullets killing you which is handy if they are close to you.. the french guy is my 2nd best run.. I don't really know who to pick for fixed use just yet.

Happy with my progress though. reckon i've sunk about 7 hours into this game already, only just getting used to the Neo Geo Arcade Stick again. It's not as accurate as my Hori stick and slight movements tend to be more like half an inch across the screen. Not sure if that's the game or the stick though. Might try it in MAME with my Hori.

Can anyone tell me if the NGCD pads are any good?

Rankings Updated

[Fightersmegamix]

The pads are pretty good. I was a bit dubious at first but they are comfortable and the 8 way thumb stick works great, similar to the NGPC if you ever tried one.

[Fightersmegamix]

Fightersmegamix - 545,800 - Stage 6 - Hein - Neo Geo CD Jap

A slight inprovement. I was on a good run, got to the boat boss with 2 spare lives and 2 bombs. Could have just bombed through but did I....of course not, decided to try and dodge It's annoying dying with spare bombs.