Ran a search and saw nothing in FP on this so here goes. These impressions are after an hour or so play on the latest from the greatest Cave, purveyor of the quality old school shoot 'em up...
FYI ESPgaluda was released into the Jap arcades in 03 and, against all odds (even in japan) has been picked up for ps2 elease by Arika, who handled the suprise japanese success DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou.
Graphically this is very similar to ESPerade so expect no great advances there. There are a number of graphical nods to the earlier game especially right at the start of the game. However, sprite-wise everything seems a little larger- more in the vein of Dai-ou-jou in terms of size of the bullets flying around but despite this it still retains the unique esperade feel.
The layout of menu's and all options are almost exactly the same as on DDPDOJ. An art gallery, and advanced techniques DVD is included with this release.
Two main characters to choose from: one male one female. More angelic and less Akira than in the prequel.
Three buttons handle gameplay:
[A] handles fire which functions as you'd expect. Tap for fast speed ship and wider unfocused shot and hold for boosted, targeted fire but decreased ship speed.
[B] Kakusei button. Tap tghis and a red ring like a clock surround the player. Time slows down ands the bullets are easier to dodge. Hoiwever, while in Kakusei mode the red clock face drains. When it is emptied you can no longer utilise Kakusei mode. The counter is refuilled by collecting green pick-ups from all downed enemies (like the coins in DDPDOJ)
[C] Barrier. A short barrier/ invulnerability mode which can be used three times. It provides cover for the player for around 2 seconds during which time enemy bullets can be absorbed and unleashed a la Gigawing.
Personally, I have found that the combination of Kakusei and Barrier modes make the game more straightforward in terms of straight level progression (I got far furthur on one credit on my first go than I did with Esperade). However, as with all Cave's recent output, its a fine balance between progression play and high score play.
These are just my initial impressions.
Other points:
Pause the game, then go back to the action, there will be a count down of 3 seconds before the action actually starts up again, to allow you to prepare yourself.
Famitsu gave 8. 7. 7. 7 (29).
Interesting (and extremely rare) ingterview with the enigmatic (and tiny) Cave here:
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