Best thing about this game: Easy mode doesn't cost an extra $6. GC is lagging really bad though, having a lot of difficulty loading scores.
I'm no pro yet, but is it even feasible to compete with high scores using the laser ship? (or anything other than the lock-on ship, really). Just unlocked the Orchid, gonna give it a whirl. If you're wondering, beating 5A gives you the Tigerschwert, & in turn, beating 5-A with it unlocks the Orchid.
Only played a few times so far, but my initial impression is that the laser is the best for scoring. I'm interested to hear what others think.
That's a hard one, I think as far as getting into DDPMAX is the best one on touch screens. I love the other games but ultimately for higher level play where you think about scoring and stuff you have to use the virtual buttons quite a bit, and they're sort of a pain. For DDPMAX they stripped it down to a regular shot (and laser if you let go or stay still, at least on the cat ship) and tapping a second finger on screen for bomb. There's just less to deal with control wise. Plus as far as mobile gaming it's more accessible for scoring since it's all level by level instead of a straight shot through 5 levels. Also if you're into unlocking stuff...well it has stuff to unlock. I remember seeing some stories yesterday about iMessage and GC being out for many people, some issues might still be happening.
I have all the ships. Here's my reasoning for the laser ship. You get larger bonuses by killing close up. Spread or seeking shots don't allow you to strategically place yourself for kills as easily as the concentrated laser. The laser also allows you to avoid hitting enemies until the last second possible to make sure you keep your combo going rather than killing stuff as soon as it appears on screen. As I said though, still getting a feel for it, so I could be missing something.
Hm, I think I'm gonna go back to it. It suits the way I like to play more; just got swayed by the lock-on's ability to focus on smaller targets with the main laser while wearing down the big stuff. Did a couple levels with the Orchid; it's ok. The bomb meter racks up fast, but it seems lacking in firepower.
So ya, this is deffinately something a bit different from Cave. Didn't know what to think at first, cause it looks so different. Bottom line, major win, beautiful addition to addition to the Dodonpachi series
Well, I will start off with the bad news first... There is no full screen mode on ipad. It has a big border and looks kind of like the medium screen setting of DDPR. It is not retina ipad, but the graphics are good. It kind of looks like iphone 4 quality graphics. So the screen size issue itself may turn some people off. Wish there were some way to go full screen on the ipad. Does this game on the iphone use full screen?
Even the normal setting is fairly easy. Can't imagine it on the easy setting. Kind of surprised cave didn't add a hard or hell setting cause the game is pretty easy overall.
To me, this seems like 3 games merged into one, Danmaku unlimited, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, and Dodonpachi Ressurection. Kind of has the beautiful color effect like Phoenix hd does too. Your bottom line is correct, it is a major win, it is fun, colorful, and what a shmup is all about. The music is kind of like DDPR remixed with a more techno feel. Both versions are great, and the music and sound effects are really wonderful in this game. This game seems much easier than other cave games, and seems a little more casual than the other titles. A different look, but the same overall good cave experience. Flaws, no full screen mode on the ipad, also controls on ipad orbit the finger slightly instead of being on top of the finger making it a little hard to control. This game really seems like it was designed for a phone, not the ipad, so the size of the screen and controls suffer a little on the ipad. But overall, this is a great game, I would recommend it for eveyone at this sale price, and I am curious now to see how it will play on my iphone, cause it seems more suited for that over my new ipad. Will be back with more impressions later... Gotta go delete something from my iphone...
Same thing on iPhone, I think less side border just cause the aspect ratio difference. It's actually bigger than I'm used to playing so I've sometimes had trouble with my finger covering up the ship. The different branches are the difficulties basically. I've only gotten the B route myself but haven't played too much yet. From comparing the Ketsui level, A vs B felt like the game at low vs a higher rank, I recognized a lot more parts when playing the B level.
I can't rate this against ESP2. Galuda will always have a special spot in my heart as it was the first Cave game I was ever exposed to, and has been my favorite Cave game since. But... In terms of ready for the touchscreen, and simplicity with scoring as well as gameplay; DDPM gets my vote. Like Japtor said, DDPM was made for the touch screen... Is not a port from the arcade. There's no weapon power ups, bees, or button pushing to worry about. Just pay attention and dodge. Two finger to bomb (there's also an option for a one finger tap, but if you adjust your fingers while playing, I imagine this would get in the way) - and with the amount of leaderboards, and difficulty ranging from easy (all the a stages), medium (b + c stages), hard (d stages) and insane (e stage), and with the path you take dependent on how well you do, as well as different ways of playing with each of the ships... Unless you've got a strong connection with ESPGaluda, I wouldn't be surprised if you enjoyed DDPM more out of the two. To get an idea of the gameplay, since ATM there's no lite version, there's a free version of rRootage, which has the same sort of VR feel/aesthetic... Just mix that with Caves style, DDP BD's chaining system and the up-close high scoring challenge found in Maniac mode of BP2, and you'll have a pretty good idea. Even if you haven't really clicked with the DonPachi series, DDPM is very easy to understand and a blast to play... I completely suck at DDPR and DDPBD, but I seem to be doing pretty well with this one (on the leaderboards) - so there's is that... Sorry I can't give you more of a straight forward answer... =o/
I have DDP on the iPhone and have it on my ipad and play into 2x mode. Will this game look tons better and fill more of the screen? I like the casual vibe I'm reading from posts and saw in the video in easy mode. Me and my kids like to be able to progress and really enjoy the crazy bullet hell graphics. Should I get this?
Well it'll look better cause it was designed for higher res screens to begin with, I think 480x800 (or whatever Windows Phone was) vs the normal ports being from 240x320 (or 224x320 in Blissful Death's case). Whether you like the style is another question, some love it while others aren't really feeling it. (The other "HD" ports are options if you want a nicer looking iPad experience too, although gameplay wise they're the same as the non HD ones you might already have.) The gameplay screen won't fill the iPad screen, but it's a universal app and fills out the screen with a fancy border, which is playable area for your finger at least, vs just unusable dead space when 2x'ing an iPhone app. If you and your kids like bullet hell then I think it's a pretty good choice...I wouldn't necessarily say it's all that "casual", but the easy branch I think is accessible enough if you have a little experience with bullet hell already.
I dunno...I've only tried the Hd versions, but they look pretty sharp to me. Of course it could just be the frenetic action not allowing me to focus for more than a fraction of a second.
If you don't have many CAVE games yet, and you and your kids are more casual bullet-dodgers, then I would suggest going for DDP:Ressurection, Espgaluda 2 HD, Bug Princess, or Deathsmiles first since they're more visually artistic and crammed with crazy monsters and weaponry. DDP:Maximum, like the Black Label version of Bug Princess are aimed more at bullet-hell score-chasers who play it for the interesting scoring systems and insane challenge.
Questions for the Pro's (that means you, Vally and ColdCoffee): - I've been using the laser bomb for score-milking like the Hyper Blast in DDP:Ressurection, am I on the right track? - how do you carry a chain over to the stage boss? The timer always runs out and resets my combo to "0" during the gap made by the "Warning" announcement.
Man...can't get this then...I fell asleep tripping during Lawnmower Man and went into the movie; I got stuck in that machine in the end and had to recreate every color in the world...coma, persistent anxiety problems to this day, a real actual saw god trip, took WAY too much...err, guess this isn't the topic for this...
On the new ipad, the graphics are pretty good. The graphic style though to me is cool, vectors, colorful colors, and a retro feel and vibe. I really wish it had been full screen on the ipad, but it plays really well, and is a lot of fun. On par with the other cave games, and although a different retro vibe style, it plays well on the touchscreen. I think the main difference to me is the bullets are bigger and more manageable to dodge. This makes for a more pleasant experience than some of the other cave games, cause in them, you are JUST LOOKING AT BULLETS. In this game, you feel like this is more of a touch screen experience and can see both the bullets, ships, and backgrounds. So in that aspect, this is much more pleasant. I haven't played it on my iphone yet, but I would think this game would be well suited for it, even moreso than the other cave titles. On the ipad, it still is a great game, and the graphics look great, just wish they had full screen mode, and the controls were tweaked a litle bit. But I would definitely recommend it for ipad users. Looking forward to loading this game on my iphone, cause it does feel more touchscreen iphone oriented for sure.
