DLC:

Mushihimesama Futari Black Label – 600pts (regularly 1200pts)

Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Black Label – 600pts (regularly 1200pts)

Deathsmiles Mega Black Label – 600pts (regularly 1200pts)

Standalone games:

Guwange – 400pts (regularly 800pts)

Nin2Jump – 200pts (regularly 400pts)

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It’s rare for these to be on sale, so it’s the perfect time to buy all the DLC and games you don’t have yet!

Inspired by some really skilled players at a-cho arcade I saw last week and the recent release of Saidaioujou, I decided to try and learn the game with B-Strong. By “learn”, I mean fully chaining all stages with high level scoring. It took me about 2 hours of practice, but last night I learned and mastered a stage 1 pattern that nets me about 4.5 billion (4.62 was my best of the evening). I have to say I was surprised by how much fun it was. And now that I can pull off that chain, I love playing the stage with Strong style. In fact, it’s one of my favorite Cave stage 1′s now. There are so many parts to it that require finesse – e.g. knowing just the right amount of time to hyper cancel bullets in the first part, timing the end of the midboss fight properly so you can rush the top of the screen and refill your hyper, etc.

As I was learning the stage, it dawned upon me that doing the mastered “routine” was pretty similar to performing a musical piece that I learned and mastered. Both require similar motor-visual skills, both require practicing the same set routine over and over, and both produce a satisfying end result when skillfully performed. Essentially, I think chaining games like DDP are really just “instruments” for performance pieces to be composed and to be mastered on.  You may be a “composer” if you make your own patterns from scratch, but most of us will just be “musicians” who try and “play” the works of SWY-Yusemi, GFA-ISO, chrono, and other great composers in the genre. Of course, like a musician, each one adds their own style or minor alterations to the original piece when they perform it. Most of us will make errors in the performance from time to time. Some of us are more naturally skilled than others. All of us require practice to hone our craft and refine our technique. If you don’t take the time to really learn how to score in this game, it’s a rather boring experience akin to randomly banging keys on a piano. But if you do really immerse yourself in the scoring, and learn the “performance”, the end result is immensely satisfying. Well, I guess you could say this about all Cave games. But I think the DDP-chaining “instrument” is distinct from the other Cave “instruments”.

People often compare shooting games to competitive sports, but I think the music analogy is more fitting. After all, watching a shooting game replay by a master “musician” is more like watching a pianist perform a composition than a basketball game.

Anyway, I’m now viewing this game in a new light. Tonight I’m going to try and learn the second part of the performance – the stage 2 chain.

It’s a WIP, so more stuff will be added over time.

EDIT: Updated with pics!

-Mushihimesama Bug Panic – Nice graphics and a good idea for a game, but the controls suck and it’s not worth the $6.99 asking price. They should have released this on XBLA or PSN. DON’T BUY

-Espgaluda II (regular/HD) – Arcade mode isn’t worth it as it plays poorly with the complicated controls that don’t translate well to the iOS, but the arranged mode is the best thing Cave has made for the iOS. BUY (only the arranged mode, skip Arcade mode)

-Mushihimesama – Actually a really good port (the slowdown is spot on!), and it plays fairly well on the ipad. Buy it now if you want (it’s only $5), but an HD version will probably come later in the year after the X360 port arrives. BUY  (or wait for the HD version)

-Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu (regular/HD) – The arranged mode is garbage and the arcade game isn’t much fun on the iOS due to the complex controls (simplifying the controls doesn’t make it much fun either). Overpriced too. DON’T BUY

-Deathsmiles – Really overpriced ($12!), terrible control scheme that doesn’t work well on the iOS, no HD graphics, and the arranged mode is just a DLC extravaganza. DON’T BUY

-Dodonpachi Daioujou – Decent port, and pretty fun. Plays well too. At a very reasonable price of just $5, this is an easy BUY 

-Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 – Another pretty good port (missing lots of slowdown even with Wait “on”, though, so this is vastly inferior to the X360 version in this regard). Plays fairly well too. At a very reasonable price of just $5 (for the first week, $7 after that), this is another easy BUY

UPDATE: The guide is now 100% complete! Check it out.