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[PS4] Assault Suit Leynos

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    [PS4] Assault Suit Leynos

    This is a port of Masaya's Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth in the west) by Dracue Software of Gunhound EX fame; Gunhound EX was more than inspired by the Assault Suit series and I absolutely loved it.
    I would have pretty much preferred a new game or a port of Assault Suit Valken (Cybernator), but maybe starting from the first game in the series means that Dracue will do all three of them...and I really hope they'll step up their technical proficiency.
    Right from the introduction ASL shows some pixellated assets, with the scrolling text seemingly captured from a Megadrive, badly cut from its background, blurred to high jaggies, and upscaled to 1080p. Some of the larger sprites and background images show some horrible jaggies, as they were drawn with a lower resolution in mind and never redone to have them look decent on a large screen in Full HD. It's a pity because Leynos has a lot of small details, like the barrel on your Suit's gun despinning after firing; your Suit is delightfully animated, and the selected weapon is shown on its sprite; unfortunately the sprite is mirrored for left and right, no unique sprites ? l? Super Metroid. Large enemies and bosses are amazing as well, though their faked perspective does stride a bit with the rest of the presentation. Unfortunately anythign that is not your Suit didn't receive has much attention; their sprites are less defined than yours, and just like Gunhound EX, scaling and rotation pixellates everything. My guess is that Dracue used a modified version of Gunhound EX's engine, which was done with the help of G.Rev and thought for the PSP; Leynos seems entirely an effort by Dracue, and the lack of technical expertise/funds weights down the game's presentation.

    However, the game plays good. I've never played the original Leynos, and control-wise, this port feels exactly like Cybernator, maybe with a slighty more agile mecha.

    There are various game modes, though Classic, Practice, Stage Select, and Tutorial modes are buried in the Options menu for some reason, while "Game Start" on the splash screen will bring you to the enhaced port, with voice acting, new soundtrack, revised weapon selection screen (before a mission, rather than show right after starting one), and (if rumors are true) different endings.
    Right from the start the game has a huge gallery available with sketches for this version, the MD original, full script, and even the manual of the MegaDrive version.
    Points are automatically exchanged to increase your rank, that in turn opens up new game options, like laser pointers for your gun, improved weapons, and so on; that list is quite long, and at rank 16 I think I'm less than half done.
    Game modes can be faced in Easy, Normal, and Hard modes; in Normal mode the enhaced version is relatively easy, while Classic mode is relentless, with more enemies that continuously respawn, and your health taking longer to recharge. In Classic mode the soundtrack is the original one from the MD.

    Right now I think it's a well done port, though it shows than the underlying engine needs an overhaul to iron out the various technical problems.

    #2
    Didn't realise this was a full release. I've been checking the DL only section on JPN PSN for ages as I knew this was due in December.
    Anyway, I've ordered it now and it's been sent so I should have it in about a week.

    Can't wait to play it. I'm a huge fan of Gunhound EX so the idea that Dracue did this is fine with me.

    I never really played Leynos on the MD but I know that the limited buttons on the MD pad restricted it over Valken.

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      #3

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        #4
        Managed to play this for a couple of hours, not sure what to make of it TBH...

        The gameplay itself is totally sound it's the whole; infinite continues, auto regening health, unusual level ranking (I was able to get an A rank after dying and continuing 3 times...!?) plus the game (as a whole) progression.

        I'm on the last level of arcade mode now but I don't feel like I've earned it at all, I feel like I've just brute forced my way through using the above gripes.
        I haven't tried classic mode yet, have no idea why it's sitting in options, as is level select for missions you've completed. I noticed trophies don't seem to pop when using level select either, which is a bit annoying.

        So yea, I feel like there's a whole system of unlocking and achievements to go for but none of it seems to be well defined.

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          #5
          The regenerating health was in the original too, and makes much more sense in Classic where enemies are relentless in their assault. Well, it would make sense if you had the time to wait for its regeneration, but the first two levels are possibly the most brutal of the whole game.

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            #6
            I've been put off of buying the game proper because each of the three trials are SO difficult, it's stupid.
            Kept you waiting, huh?

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              #7
              Arcade mode is much easier than the trials in the demo. I'd say that even Classic mode is a tad easier than those.

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                #8
                Nice. I'll get purchasing then.
                Kept you waiting, huh?

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                  #9
                  For the current arcade mode I’m actually thinking the exact opposite…I think infinite continues and regening health make it too easy.
                  At least I never really felt like I had to properly learn something, I’m hoping the Classic mode forces this a bit more.

                  I’m enjoying the gameplay for sure. I’m not sure the MD had to buttons to be able to shoot, boost, punch, switch weapons, block, lock aim so they’ve definitely taken from Assault Suits Valken too.
                  Not sure I like it as much as Gunhound EX right now but I will have to see as I delve deeper in trying to get some of the mastery achievements.
                  Last edited by Goemon; 11-01-2016, 16:22.

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                    #10
                    Finished this a couple of times now. The last couple of levels require some learning but finishing it and starting again, I was able to pretty much ace each level on arcade mode.

                    Still find it all a bit weird...

                    When you finish the game - that's it. No mission select, rank improvements, retaining weapons, nothing. One thing I find particularly weird is that you finish the last mission and you actually receive weapons...That – afaik - you can never use because you finish the game!

                    I still feel like I'm missing something...I'm on rank 26 now yet I can't see what I'm unlocking!? I have limited JPN knowledge and I'm reading things like 'sunglasses' 'armour knockback' but I have no idea what these are or where they live in the game.

                    Trophies seem to be a first time thing. If you die and continue the level the trophy won't pop. This has lead to lot of quit/reloading of missions to go for trophies, which is pretty annoying.

                    Classic mode seems to be the story/mission design as it was in the original, however I don’t really find it well balanced at all.
                    It spawns a ridiculous amount of enemies, they fire more bullets and they swarm you. None of these traits are present in the original did from what I’ve seen (watching youtube), I’m guessing they tried to balance it based on the extra options you have but I’m not sure they got it right. You die literally in seconds if you try to take things on head on, which has lead me to flying over huge chunks of the level or cheesing enemies by standing on a hill and relentlessly shooting them as they come over the top. I don’t find it as enjoyable as arcade mode.

                    It sounds like I’m moaning a lot…The game and the gameplay are still quality and I enjoy playing it. I guess I just had really high hopes for this after Gunhound and consider this a bit of a wobbly step

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                      #11
                      Stage Select is in the Option menu (for some strange reason) everything you unlock must be first activated in the Game Config (or something similar).

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                        #12
                        This certainly piqued my interest though having studied the videos it looks like a flash game, so bad. What's with the wierd angle boxes sit on the landscape

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                          #13
                          Ahh okay, so you go into options, config then game config and set everything there.
                          I read game config as the title of the screen not an option.

                          Finished classic mode last night and hit rank 30. Started arcade mode on hard, this seems to be better IMO. The main difference I've noticed is that then you take damage your health goes down but also the maximum amount goes down too. So you get the health regen but you don't go back to 100%. This seems like a better system to me and probably been default.

                          I would suggest to new players they start on hard as I think it becomes quite easy after a session or 2.

                          Baseley, don't let the graphics put you off, the gameplay is solid. I don't mind them personally, I think quite a few high rez 2d games start to look like flash games.

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                            #14
                            Just got the Platinum, which is basically the mastery list.
                            Don't really go for these types of things any more and had no intention of going for it but just enjoyed playing the game.

                            Some nice trophies to go for, make you think about the game differently.

                            Got to rank 38 and still have 5 things to unlock on the config list...43 seems to be an unusual rank to finish on though. Doubt I'll carry on for the remaining ranks, it's probably another couple of playthroughs to get enough points, which I'm not sure I can be bothered with.

                            Main gripe I have with the game is the balance, it needed some work. Other than that I really enjoyed it, still think I prefer Gunhound though.

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                              #15
                              I'm stuck on the Stage 6 Boss in it's final form. When I 'Continue' Arcade mode from the main screen it continues a short while before the Boss, not the start of the stage like it did previously for other stages. This prevents me from selecting better/different weapons at the start of the stage.

                              Do I need to start over from the very beginning and make better weapon choices at the start of Stage 6? I already accidently hit Classic mode in the options menu resetting my Arcade mode game.

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