Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5 [JP XBOX 360, 2009] REGION FREE W/ SCANLINES

[bucklemyshoe]

... and they're already sold out.  Wow.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-a120-71-br-49-en-84-j-70-3j1c.html

It's back in stock. I'm biting the bullet.

I own the LE of Trigger Heart Exelica sooo.....

[adverse]

Just noticed another interview with Asada in the Mushi Futari section of Fam 360.  He mentions that Arcade/360 mode has exactly the same slowdown as the arcade version thanks to M2.

[EOJ]

He mentions that Arcade/360 mode has exactly the same slowdown as the arcade version thanks to M2.

That is great if true. Though judging from the clips of Original mode 360 they showed in the promo vid, Original 360 is missing some (but maybe they added it later?).

As long as they don't fuck it up like DSMBL, I'll be pretty happy.

[adverse]

More details:

Asada says they learned their lesson from DS about the accuracy of slowdown replication.

Mushi Futari Arrange will have a fever mode a bit like Deathsmiles which will encourage players to stay in fever as long as possible.

[SuperPang]

Just noticed another interview with Asada in the Mushi Futari section of Fam 360.  He mentions that Arcade/360 mode has exactly the same slowdown as the arcade version thanks to M2.

Fantastic news. I'm confident this is gonna be aces now.

[brentsg]

More details:

Asada says they learned their lesson from DS about the accuracy of slowdown replication.

They should go back and patch it then!  That is one benefit of the current console landscape, the ability to actually fix things that went wrong.

[adverse]

In the arcade waiting for dfk...lol

just read the mushi futari review. 8876

they fucking have an ESP II pic instead of a mushi futari pic on the review.  Telling!

[EOJ]

What were the complaints? Especially the guy who gave it a 6. I know a few guys gave DS lower scores because they said Arcade mode made their eyes bleed on an LCD. I have a bad feeling Futari will be the same.

[adverse]

6 guy said he couldn't tell WTF is going on in arrange mode.  Too many bullets for experts etc

two reviewers complained "not much content"

[EOJ]

Ah, then we don't have to give up on the hope of a scanline option just yet. 

This is Famitsu 360, right? Famitsu will review it later. I don't expect more insightful reviews from them, but I bet they'll get the pic right.

[HVL]

two reviewers complained "not much content"

Right.

Anyway, the slowdown news are really fantastic.

[neomoe]

I don't think this was mentioned here before, but Asada recently mentioned the Futari LE will be in an over-sized DVD box case. It will not be a cardboard slipcase with the normal edition package and soundtrack housed inside, like the Deathsmiles LE (and Mamoru-kun LE) was.

Interesting....but I hope that doesn't mean that the soundtrack won't get its own separate jewel case.  If that's the case I'll be kinda disappointed...

[adverse]

Ok, there were some details on the Arrange mode written up in the Famitsu 360 that I didn't have time to write up.  Sounds like it could have really deep gameplay.

"In Arrange, your secondary character forms a barrier for you.  While using shot, enemy bullets will be slowed and paused, and when firing laser the stopped bullets will bounce back and lots of gems will be generated.  What's important here are the 4-digit numbers at the bottom of the screen.  When your control character is using shot, this will increase, and when the control character uses laser it will quickly drop.  However, if your reserve character gets hit by a bullet, the counter of the control character will drop.  Your reserve character's counter will not drop and will go on increasing, so a precise switching of both characters is required.  When both gauges are at 9999, you enter fever mode in which you are much more powerful and your score increases greatly."

This is gonna be hot.

[moozooh]

Sounds even more confusing than I expected, good job, Ikeda. :D

[brentsg]

You know it has a deep scoring system when you have to take notes.

[antares]

two reviewers complained "not much content"

lol. I can't think of any other shmup port that offers more content than Futari.

[RAR]

Has it been confirmed that the port will be region free, or was it a bad translation? I recall someone mentioning that in one of the threads in this forum. I would like to order a copy, but I don't want to get stuck with a coaster because I don't have a Japanese Xbox 360.

[Monouchi]

two reviewers complained "not much content"

lol. I can't think of any other shmup port that offers more content than Futari.

True.
Its like today people expect so much customization, achievements etc etc that they "cannot see the forest cos of all the trees."

If Cave made the port with only arcade mode, I would still be happy.

[adverse]

Anyone complaining about lack of contents in the Futari port is probably at the very bottom of the leaderboards because they didn't even bother to learn what is there.

[EOJ]

"In Arrange, your secondary character forms a barrier for you.  While using shot, enemy bullets will be slowed and paused, and when firing laser the stopped bullets will bounce back and lots of gems will be generated.  What's important here are the 4-digit numbers at the bottom of the screen.  When your control character is using shot, this will increase, and when the control character uses laser it will quickly drop.  However, if your reserve character gets hit by a bullet, the counter of the control character will drop.  Your reserve character's counter will not drop and will go on increasing, so a precise switching of both characters is required.  When both gauges are at 9999, you enter fever mode in which you are much more powerful and your score increases greatly."

Yeah, you can see that in action (in Maniac mode) in SIN's vid he posted. Frankly, it didn't seem too exciting to me, but maybe once I try it out I'll change my tune.

[EOJ]

The official site opened up yesterday:

http://www.cave.co.jp/gameonline/Xbox360/mushihime2/index.html

It includes a detailed section on the new Arrange mode.
Some new details (mixed in with info already posted by adverse on the previous page):

-There is a button to switch characters (defaults to X). You also switch between 'OS' and 'DS' when you switch characters (see below).
-the counter on the bottom left is called the 'offense' counter, on the 'offense side' (OS). It increases as you absorb all gems except the blue-hued ones
-the counter on the bottom right is called the 'defense' counter, on the 'defense side' (DS). It increases as you absorb bullets with your option. It decreases when bullets hit the option's hitbox or when you reflect bullets back at the enemy.
-Hold shot while on the DS and your option moves as a trace.
-Hold laser while on the DS and your option is fixed in place.
-While using shot on the DS your option forms a barrier (or 'guard') which you can use to absorb bullets. It also slows the speed of bullets.
-You can absorb bullets as long as your DS counter is not at zero.
-To reflect bullets back you have to be on the DS and have a counter that is not zero. Absorb bullets while holding shot then press laser to reflect them back in the form of gems (the bullets never do any damage to the enemy and are always reflected back as gems for you to absorb). The longer you hold the guard before you press laser, the more gems you'll spawn.

One observation: the whole DS barrier thing is similar to Ibara Kuro's XTC sphere - and they both have counters that go up to 9999 as you let bullets into the sphere/barrier.

I'll add this link to the first post of the thread.

[EOJ]

Just got an email from the Cave shop - they will be selling the standard version of this game with a free telephone card, starting from 11/14.

http://cave-matsuri.shop-pro.jp/?pid=16333427

They sell it for the MSRP (7140yen), which is a ripoff really as you can get it from amazon.co.jp for under 5700 yen. So unless you really want the stupid phone card, I don't see the point.

[brentsg]

It makes sense though...  Add some exclusive collectors item but don't undercut your retailers.

[EOJ]

Asada made a new blog post. He says Futari Black Label is pretty much done (about 2 months after they started), so I will be very surprised if the slowdown is completely accurate. He says they'll likely put it up for download before the end of the year, which is basically what I hypothesized much earlier in this thread.

He also said he'll announce the next port(s) at the Cave festival in December.

[Megalixir]

There's now an interview with Asada on the Japanese 360 marketplace, for Gold users. With orange hair.

He showcases the game by playing Arrange mode on Ultra.

[EOJ]

Meh, all they show is the damn arrange mode. Give me a single vid of Maniac or Ultra arcade modes please.  

[EOJ]

It's been upped to nico douga:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8828417

For those who don't have access otherwise.

[Ast-Kot]

I've saw it.......The arrange mode looks like GigaWing

[EOJ]

MS-sponsored Futari goods giveaway campaign:

http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/campaign/mushihimesama/

[NR777]

Really looking forward to this.

May be slightly off-topic, but how long does P-A typically take to ship an order to the US?  I've never imported before, and I live in NYC.