As requested, a few impressions of Espgaluda 2 which I've had since release. Cost a fortune as you can imagine but I loved the first one so much I couldn't resist. ^_^
There are three characters this time; Ageha, Tateha and newbie Asagi, who has a linear shot but with sort of homing options. Personally, I still can't get on with anyone but Ageha, although they're a well varied selection. Ageha now has a purty swirl effect on his laser when you're powered up.
Four buttons as before - shot, kakusei, bomb and rapid. You can choose between two button layouts.
Graphics are lovely. It's running on the Mushi/Ibara hardware which means more detailed BGs and animation than the PGM based Espgaluda. It also has that gorgeous colour pallette Mushi has.
Wonderfully designed stages as we've come to expect from Cave, all on that weird and wonderful alternate history theme. People with wings, castles in the sky, you know the deal. I especially like stage two, set at a sea port with lots of ships, some sideways scrolling, a mid-boss with a huge revolver and a dragon boss who bursts out of a ships hull.
The music is just as impressive as Espgaluda. Very similar in style with some nice remixes of the more memorable tracks. The first level music is the same as on this vid for example.
Gameplay wise, imagine a hardcore Espgaluda.
Some people complained that Espgaluda was a bit easy, mainly because of the kakusei system, and it is certainly Cave's easiest shmup. E2 is a big step up. Loads of bullets fill the screen much faster than before. As you get to know the levels you'll know what to aim for first to kill the bullets but there's no denying it's much more intense. Perhaps not Daioujou or Ketsui hard, but it's no walk in the park like Galuda. This means Espgaluda is the more accessable choice for a Cave n00b, but Espgaluda 2 is a bullet dodgers dream. Cave still manage to create a perfectly paced shmup and a very satisfying game.
Personally I can't get past L4 yet and as with Ibara, there are a generous 6 levels.
There are also a couple of nice tweaks like kakusei turning itself off at the end of a level and lasers that only penetrate the enemy in front of you.
As if upping the difficulty wasn't enough, Cave have added a new dimension to Kakusei, called Kakusei Zesshikai. This is a sort of overdrive mode where you can up the multiplier to 500 at the cost of faster gem depletion, some gold depletion and insane bullet patterns that spawn from destroyed enemies and almost appear to chase you! I've barely touched on this mode and even the score nuts seem a tad confused by it but you can get more info here.
So far I've only been playing for survival and found plenty of challenge without figuring out the intricacies of the score system. Needless to say if it proves to be as balanced as it is complex we'll be seeing some nutty score attack vids from Japan and this'll be in arcades for a long time.
Zesshikai aside, it's beautifully presented and wonderfully addictive. Everything you could want from a sequel to one of the best shmups in recent years. A PS2 port in 2006 is almost certain I'd say.
There are three characters this time; Ageha, Tateha and newbie Asagi, who has a linear shot but with sort of homing options. Personally, I still can't get on with anyone but Ageha, although they're a well varied selection. Ageha now has a purty swirl effect on his laser when you're powered up.
Four buttons as before - shot, kakusei, bomb and rapid. You can choose between two button layouts.
Graphics are lovely. It's running on the Mushi/Ibara hardware which means more detailed BGs and animation than the PGM based Espgaluda. It also has that gorgeous colour pallette Mushi has.
Wonderfully designed stages as we've come to expect from Cave, all on that weird and wonderful alternate history theme. People with wings, castles in the sky, you know the deal. I especially like stage two, set at a sea port with lots of ships, some sideways scrolling, a mid-boss with a huge revolver and a dragon boss who bursts out of a ships hull.
The music is just as impressive as Espgaluda. Very similar in style with some nice remixes of the more memorable tracks. The first level music is the same as on this vid for example.
Gameplay wise, imagine a hardcore Espgaluda.
Some people complained that Espgaluda was a bit easy, mainly because of the kakusei system, and it is certainly Cave's easiest shmup. E2 is a big step up. Loads of bullets fill the screen much faster than before. As you get to know the levels you'll know what to aim for first to kill the bullets but there's no denying it's much more intense. Perhaps not Daioujou or Ketsui hard, but it's no walk in the park like Galuda. This means Espgaluda is the more accessable choice for a Cave n00b, but Espgaluda 2 is a bullet dodgers dream. Cave still manage to create a perfectly paced shmup and a very satisfying game.
Personally I can't get past L4 yet and as with Ibara, there are a generous 6 levels.
There are also a couple of nice tweaks like kakusei turning itself off at the end of a level and lasers that only penetrate the enemy in front of you.
As if upping the difficulty wasn't enough, Cave have added a new dimension to Kakusei, called Kakusei Zesshikai. This is a sort of overdrive mode where you can up the multiplier to 500 at the cost of faster gem depletion, some gold depletion and insane bullet patterns that spawn from destroyed enemies and almost appear to chase you! I've barely touched on this mode and even the score nuts seem a tad confused by it but you can get more info here.
So far I've only been playing for survival and found plenty of challenge without figuring out the intricacies of the score system. Needless to say if it proves to be as balanced as it is complex we'll be seeing some nutty score attack vids from Japan and this'll be in arcades for a long time.
Zesshikai aside, it's beautifully presented and wonderfully addictive. Everything you could want from a sequel to one of the best shmups in recent years. A PS2 port in 2006 is almost certain I'd say.
Comment