The Gundemonium Collection [PSN]

[JP]

I was really hoping that somebody else what start a first play thread for these games, preferably who isn't laughably bad at this type of game!

The Gundemonium Collection is the first release in an exclusive deal that Sony has arranged to bring Japanese doujin games to the US & UK. One of the team who worked on he localisation has claimed that they won't be released in Japan on the PSN as the agreed contract doesn't cover Japan but I suppose that could change at some point.

The collection has been available in the US for a couple of weeks and they've already been localised for the various European languages so hopefully it won't be too long before they are released over here. I like the way that they've been localised as they've changed as little as possible, they've pretty much left everything in Japanese but will add English subtitles which I think is the best way to do these things.

There are three games in the collection which are available individually for $5.99 or you can buy the bundle for $14.99.

Here are the trailers for the three games in the collection...

Gundemonium Recollection


GundeadliGne


Hitogata Happa


All three games continue the story with the third one, Hitogata Happa being a prequel to the other two. The story? It's not important,in all the games you play chibi girls and loads of things shoot loads of stuff at you and you shoot loads of stuff at loads of stuff.

Gundemonium Recollection and GundeadliGne which are the first two games use large, gorgeous sprites and the game scrolls horizontally whereas Hitogata Happa switches to vertical scrolling and looks far more standard in design.

As with any game like this a large part of the game is learning how the combos work and nowhere near doing that yet but the controls are fairly standard for this type of game using fire, rapid fire, bomb and action buttons.

The first three are pretty much what you'd expect while the action button unleashes a mana attack which appears to vary from character to character and slows everything down which is a big bonus as these games are tough!

As I mentioned earlier, I'm never any good at this type of game but don't let that fool you as these games, Hitogata Happa is particular is known for it's difficulty. There selectable skill levels in the games but the easy skill level on Hitogata Happa is not even close to easy.

I've perhaps enjoyed the first two games more because of the difficulty levels but I really want to learn the last one as well the game itself seemed really good.

The set up of the scoring, the differences between the characters, how you build up your weapon gauges, etc changes from one game to the next but I'm not going to pretend I understand them yet.

I'm going to post a video from the PC version to give you an idea of how difficult it can get in the hardest game.


I've really enjoyed all three games so far and I wish that there were demos so people could try them to see how good they are as Sony have already said that they want to bring over more games like these but they've been quite straight about it depending on how well.

Also, there are some free themes available to download from the US Store.

==========

AMAZON.COM DOWNLOADS

• Gundemonium Collection ($14:99)

Or available separately:

• Gundemonium Recollection ($5:99)
• GundeadliGne ($5:99)
• Hitogata Happa ($5:99)

GAME GUIDES (By Goshi on shmups.com)

• Gundemonium Recollection
• GundeadliGne
• Hitogata Happa

WEBSITES

• Rockin' Android website.
• S.O.E. website.

[briareos_kerensky]

I knew the collection was available for PC and I was curious to try it out on the PS3, but I was unaware of its release. Buying points and downloading the games now.

[J0e Musashi]

Bit meh that you can't get them on the JPN store.

What I'd really like to know is if they are PSP compatible? I find that the only D/L games I actually play for more than the one initial sitting are PSP compatible ones. I've got too many PS3 games sitting on my HDD that have not been touched.

These look like they'd be great for on the train.

[JP]

I knew the collection was available for PC and I was curious to try it out on the PS3, but I was unaware of its release. Buying points and downloading the games now.

Have you given them a go yet?

[briareos_kerensky]

Nope. Tried buying points from GamePointsNow but they don't serve non-UK costumers and waiting VGP reply on their Canadian-only PSN card. Might go the eBay route tomorrow if I don't receive any reply.

[JP]

That's a shame, not sure if you're interested but I've bought from this sites without any issues when I've not been able to use a credit card:
HD Movie Source, Gaming Glue, NCSX & Maximus Cards.

[briareos_kerensky]

Thanks. I knew about HDMS but they are pretty strict with new costumers, so I was waiting for my usual retailers...Maximum Card sounds good, will try.

[briareos_kerensky]

This is one of those post I really want to make but I'm not able to compose a sentence, let alone a whole message...right now I can't add much to John's words because I only had a very quick go with all three titles.

I was able to complete GundeadliGne with the red girl, Elixirel, in two credits, standard mode, while I mostly experimented with Recollection and threw just a couple of credits in Hitogata Happa.

The two horizontal shooters have similar mechanics, centered a phase system that determines how strong enemies are and, therefore, your score.
The main character is Eryth and can shoot in two different modes, standard and rapid. Rapid shot overheats her guns and when fully overheated she won't be able to fire for a short period of time and the phase level goes up, increasing difficulty. Using a bomb will decrease the phase level by one.
The secondary attack is called mana, and its use is limited by an energy gauge. Mana recovers by collecting gems that killed enemies leave behind.
Scoring is also affected by friction (an other name for bullet grazing); friction enough bullets and you'll get a friction break that will covert all bullets into gems.

Depending on the game you're playing, other mechanics might change.
For example GundeadliGne allows the player to choose between different bomb types while Recollection allows to costumize the other character (Earl); in GundeadliGne the second character is Elixirel, with only a single bomb type but has no negative effects on overheating, only phase change.

In Recollection it's possible to trigger a Demonic Shift that will set the phase to 11 as long as you have mana, while in GundeadliGne it's possible to change facing, like DeathSmiles.

Both games are fairly refined and my biggest complaint is that the hitbox isn't as clearly visible as it should be: during the first play it's kinda hard to understand where it is and during the most demanding patterns it's easy to lose track of it...yellow bullets and yellow hit boxes mix too well.

Sprites are big and fairly detailed, but most enemies only have two or three frames of animation.
Sound effects are average but events like guns overheating or extra lives collected have their own, distinctive jingle. GundeadliGne and Recollection do no feature any voice work, which Hitogata Happa does.

Hitogata Happa is the vertical shooter, and is the most challenging of the pack.
The player controls a certain number of dolls, each with a different firing mode. Game ends when all dolls are destroyed. Each doll type has its own counter and the player can switch what the next doll will be.
There's a mana bar that slows down time and there's a flow bar that allows the player to send his doll toward the enemy for massive damage in exchange of one life.
Bosses are timed, but unlike most shooters, if you don't kill it within the requested time, sidebars get filled with Evangelion-like red hexes and it becomes more dangerous.

I haven't played enough with Hitogata Happa to say anything more.

One last thing: no game offer a proper explanation of the mechanics, no what all gauges and numbers do. While a couple of lives are enough to get an idea, an proper online manual would have been greatly appreciated, as nothing explains the phase system for the two Gun games, for example.

[JP]

Yeah, it's a shame that there's no guide to let you know what everything is. There are basic guides for the PC versions on shmups.com which are worth having a look at. I'll post links to them in the first post.

I noticed earlier that you can link the games to a YouTube account and upload the replies which I like.

[Sketcz]

I bought the collection on launch day, and kept meaning to do write up for HG101... But I'm finding the trio a bit meh. I've got so many games to play, and these have only inspired me to play them on two separate sittings. Finish Gundeadligne on normal with 1CC (easy with auto-bomb on), and reached the final boss on Higota Hippa before running out of lives. Can't be bothered to go back.

I guess the real novelty here is that it's doujin games on PSN. Which is nice. But these aren't the best doujin games available, and with so many free doujin titles on PC, it seems a b it of a waste.

Higota Hippa is probably the best if you can only afford one.

[hush]

It looks fun
When is this out in the uk would love to pick this up

[briareos_kerensky]

Higota Hippa is probably the best if you can only afford one.

I'd go for Recollection.
Past the first stage Hitogata Happa becomes much, much better but it feels more repetitive than both other games, though it still manages to beat GundeadliGne in terms of raw quality.

GundeadliGne's main problem is that Recollection is available too. It's still decent, but the other horizontal shooter offers more challenge, customizable characters and a somewhat more inspired enemy design and functionality.
Recollection also has a small edge on presentation and without the flip ability it feels more straightforward and focused: the flip ability in GundeadliGne is somewhat underused and often seem that "flipping" patterns were thrown in just to have players press that button...in fact, I think that the best flipping part is during the first boss, often it's better to bomb when bosses or strong enemies flip.

[JP]

Not sure if people outside of the US can use this service but amazon.com are selling the download here for $14:99.

They're also selling Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne & Hitogata Happa individually for $5:99.

If this method is able to be used outside of the US then it's going to be the cheapest way as you're paying the cost of the download without additional fees which happens using other methods.

[teddymeow]

Bought the pack today. ?9.99 for 3 games and show support for this niche style of game doesn't seem like a bad deal at all.

Haven't played much yet but, by God, Hitogata Happa is difficult!

[Sketcz]

Several weeks later and I realise that I don't like these. A total waste of my US PSN funds. I played em a couple of times, but they're not great shooters.