Mushihimesama Futari version 1.0

Started by EOJ, September 10, 2008, 03:42:33 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

caincan

Fine if the video helped you.   it contents me to have another mode for such pcb i got at 360?

EOJ

After over 3 weeks, I'll finally get my 1.0 PCB back next week w/ Ultra unlocked. It's due to be shipped to me on Oct 30th.
Will post detailed impressions and some more digi cam vids after I spend some time with it.

Also, throughout this process I've learned the path CAVE PCBs go on when getting repaired: The shops have to send them to AMI, but then AMI sends them to CAVE. So CAVE does the actual repair/reprogramming. Then AMI has to wait to get it back, and finally it's sent back to the shop, and then ultimately to you. This is one reason why it's so expensive (21,000 yen for the service), and why it can take a number of weeks. Interestingly, they gave me a slight discount (3,100 yen) on the repair fee this time, due to the long wait.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

EOJ

Alright, my PCB arrived today, much faster than I thought (overnight shipping from Japan!). I ran through Ultra from start to finish, and I was pleased to see there are indeed many differences between this and version 1.5's Ultra. It was well worth the money to upgrade.

First of all, my master ver changed. The periods were removed. So, it's clear that if you get a Futari 1.0 PCB with periods in the master ver you won't be able to Unlock Ultra.

Here are a list of all the differences in version 1.0's Ultra:

-Change shot every 500 on the counter
-Gem values the same as in the other modes (i.e. much lower than in ver 1.5)
-You cannot vacuum up items on the ground (also like the other modes in ver 1.0)
-Same bomb carriers as the other modes, and the same pitifully weak bomb damage
-No notches in the bosses' lifebars, just like the other modes
-There are numerous different bullet patterns in ver 1.0. Here is a tentative list:

  • Last phase of stage 1 boss (slightly easier compared to ver 1.5)
  • Last phase of stage 2 boss (bullets are a bit thicker, denser, and the spiral motion is a little different.)
  • There are no popcorn enemies or large flying bugs after the stage 3 midboss, even if you kill it quickly. Just a lot of empty space for a few seconds (so this is much easier than ver 1.5)
  • Second phase of the stage 3 boss. It has a weird homing bullet pattern much harder than ver 1.5.
  • Last phase of the stage 4 boss is a lot harder. In ver 1.5 this is ridiculously easy. In 1.0 there are layers of bullets not in the 1.5 pattern, and the large rotating balls move faster and in a different pattern. Overall a really nasty pattern, but I have managed to no miss/no bomb it in practice
  • Pretty much every large enemy on stage 5 has different bullet patterns. All of them are more difficult than ver 1.5 as well. The medium-sized flying bugs at the start of the stage shoot out much longer and more complicated bullet spreads, for example.
  • The same snipers as in Maniac mode are in stage 5, to make things extra nasty. Again, these are absent in ver 1.5
  • The lanterns in stage 5 spew suicide bullets when you destroy them, but it doesn't seem like you can cancel the bullets by destroying them when right on top of them, like you can in ver 1.5. So this is once again harder here than in ver 1.5
  • Stage 5 boss seems unchanged, just much harder due to the lower bomb damage.

I found the different bullet patterns to be the most interesting (many of them have more marked movements, reminding me of Ketsui's harder patterns), as it shows they didn't just unlock Ultra for ver 1.5, they really went through and altered it just like the other modes. It also is amazing to see how much they reduced the difficulty. Ver 1.0's Ultra is a lot harder overall, and is easily the hardest CAVE game mode ever made. That's saying a lot considering how hard ver 1.5's Ultra mode is. So here's the ultimate challenge, if you're up for it.

Overall this is a real treasure to have, almost like owning a location test PCB or some special CAVE festival PCB. I'm surprised more CAVE fans aren't hunting for a Futari 1.0 board. 

I'll try to make some digicam vids over the weekend and post them on the site.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

EOJ

Alright, I've played some more, and here are some more impressions of 1.0's Ultra:

-Normal Reco and Normal Palm are more powerful than in Ver 1.5, so they are the ones to use in this mode. I guess you could use Abnormal Reco as well, but Abnormal Palm is pretty worthless. He's weak and slow.
-Most of Stage 2 is A LOT easier in 1.0 because those big icicles go down about twice as fast as in ver 1.5. This is the biggest problem in ver 1.5, I have no idea why they made the icicles so hard, as it makes the game feel a bit imbalanced, but in ver 1.0 it feels just right. As a tradeoff the big flying bugs in the second half of stage 2 are a bit harder to take down in 1.0 than in 1.5.
-There is definitely a smoother, more natural difficulty curve in 1.0 than in 1.5. In 1.0, the difficulty ramps up in stage 3 and on, while in 1.5 parts of stage 1 and 2 are overly difficult.

Another thing I didn't mention is how the counters work differently in 1.0 in Original and Ultra mode. If you die, the main counter is reduced by 50%, while the stage counter is only reduced by 30%. This can make your stage counter higher than your overall counter in certain circumstances (such a thing is impossible in ver 1.5). In ver 1.5 when you die both counters reduce by 30%. Now, when you bomb, the overall counter does not change at all, while the stage counter is severely reduced, by about 70% (incidentally, this severe reduction is something they later used again in Futari Black Label). In Ver 1.5 both counters reduce when you bomb, but just slightly. So this is a pretty big difference, in regard to the scoring systems.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

EOJ

Alright, I made a vid (digicam, not a direct feed) tonight of Futari 1.0's Ultra. It's in DivX format, and you'll need to rotate it to display vertically (so use something like VLC player):

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SGXKD5LW

It's a full run, but I only make it to halfway through stage 2 on a credit. The rest is credit feeding to show the different bullet patterns in the game, especially on the bosses. Make sure to check out the stage 3 and stage 4 bosses.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

Plasmo

Interesting watch! Especially the fourth boss' last attack looks absolutely undodgeable. The icicles might have lower hitpoints, but most boss patterns are much more difficult. Judging only from this vid alone, I'd say 1.0's Ultra looks harder overall compared to 1.5's. What do you think EOJ?

EOJ

I've figured out how to no miss/no bomb the 4th boss's last pattern actually, I pulled it off once yesterday! I think the 3rd boss's last pattern is harder.

Yes, this is harder than ver 1.5! Stage 5 is ridiculous, and the lack of bullet cancels in stage 3 make it pretty harsh as well. However, I've noticed there seems to be a stronger proximity effect in ver 1.0 compared to ver 1.5, in terms of damage. If you notice I took down one of the armored turtles in stage 5 very quickly due to being so close to it. You probably need to find a pattern that involves getting really close to the big enemies to take them down quickly and avoid their complex bullet spreads.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

EOJ

An interesting fact I forgot to mention: there are different Ultra mode descriptions in 1.0 and 1.5.  When you highlight Ultra on the mode select screen in 1.0 it says:

人知を迎えた場違いな難易度のモードです。ご注意ください。
"A mode with an out-of-place difficulty that calls for the human intellect. Please be cautious."


In 1.5, it says:

"絶望すら無駄になる、空気が読めない難易度のモードにご注意ください。"

"Be cautious of this mode with a difficulty in which you cannot read the situation and even despair is futile."
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

GaijinPunch

I put in a few credits on this puppy last night.  I was pretty tired from the plane ride, but needed to unwind.  I'm only dealing w/ Original now, as it seems to be the one that I like better than the 1.5 board.  I'm kind of getting my ass kicked though.  I regularly die on the 2nd stage boss, and regularly don't make it to the 3rd.  I got to stage 4 one time.  Reminds me a lot of the first Mushihime-sama in terms of bullet speed (they're pretty fast from the get go) and the "old Cave" in terms of difficulty.  Not the old Cave that didn't make 3D horse shit, but the one that made difficult games...regardless of scoring mechanic. 

I do feel that I am dying unfairly when trying to figure out which button to use for score, but I think I'll get over that.

And now checking out the scoreboard, it seems I should be using Palm. :|

EOJ

Are you using Palm or Reco? Reco is really hard to use in Original. The stage 2 boss is a pain, as is the Stage 3 boss. Once you get to the second half of Stage 5 things cool down a bit, but then the last boss is a good challenge.

I didn't play Original too much, but I cleared it 3-4 times with Normal Palm. Then again I've played Futari 1.5's Original quite a lot, so that probably helped.

Getting a 1CC in Original mode in this actually feels like an accomplishment, unlike in ver 1.5.

The difficulty is definitely "old CAVE", but to me it felt rather similar to Pink Sweets' difficulty, at least in Maniac and Ultra modes.

EDIT: I see now you're using Reco.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

ave

Got a question to you who played all versions of Futari.

I've played Futari BL quite a lot at a shmup meet this week end and came to the conclusion that it is outstandingly awesome. So far so good, but it's also an 850 Euro kit (if that's enough even) and I could get Futari 1.5 for 650 euro (complete upgraded PCB kit w/1.0 pop). I've hardly played 1.5 though, so I can't really judge if I liked that just as much as BL... I love BL for the awesome maniac mode and the fun Original thing. Are there any other major differences apart from the new counter system and the changed ultra mode? What do you think is better, Ultra Mode or God Mode? I never played Ultra Mode in 1.5, but I already quite sucked at God Mode in BL... but I guess it would still be more fun to dig into God Mode than into Ultra (still no one was able to clear this, right?).

東亜プラン4ライフ

EOJ

You should probably ask that question in the Futari 1.5 thread or the Futari BL thread. Since you don't seem interested in buying 1.0.

Version 1.5 has the same POP as 1.0, BTW. All the art/inst are the same, you just get an extra mini POP and a couple stickers in ver 1.5.

As I've said in various other threads, I still find 1.5 to be the best overall (due to the superb Maniac mode and the awesome Ultra mode). Second is BL, third is 1.0. But all three are great games.

I have a thread in the strategy section that lists the major differences between BL and 1.5. Check it out.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

GaijinPunch

Yeah, I was using Reco.  Indeed -- stage 2 boss sucked ass.  Used Palm once, and got to the 3rd stage boss quite easily.  Died 3 times on him, but wasn't bombing, and am definitely not used to him. I've not played much original of 1.5 or God, so this is a semi-fresh start.  Good fun though...

I guess for me, if I had to have all the best versions it would be:
Original: 1.0
Maniac: 1.5
God: BL, of course.

I have little time to devote these days, so Ultra is way out the window.  I'd love to get involved in MBL 999 but I know my time constraints prevent me from lifting.

EOJ

Quote from: GaijinPunch on February 24, 2009, 06:12:42 PM
I guess for me, if I had to have all the best versions it would be:
Original: 1.0
Maniac: 1.5
God: BL, of course.


Heh, I think that's about right actually. Too bad you need to own all 3 PCBs for that. I wish they'd slap those three modes together on one board.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

GaijinPunch

I'm waiting for the 3D XBLA release of all of them.

EOJ

My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jpj

how you managed to persevere with ultra mode i will never know  :oogle:

EOJ

I didn't get very far in 1.0's Ultra. I have fared better with 1.5's Ultra, thanks in large part to Ab Palm. Set the extends to every 80mil and the game becomes doable for the non-uber-elite.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jpj

will it wipe my scores if i piss about with the settings on my 1.5 though..?   :-X

EOJ

No (which is unfortunate actually - there's no way to tell if someone got a score on defaults or not because the scores are saved just the same).
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

peg

I'm bumping this ancient post because I'd like to add that Mushi Futari 1.0 also apparently has a 1 dot version with ultra mode working:
"2006/10/23 MASTER VER."

This is also the version that appears to be dumped in MAME but when you run it from scratch ultra mode is not there.  I'm not sure how to unlock it but I'd bet you can unlock it in the version that runs in MAME if you know the code.  Does anyone know the code to unlock it?

So there are 3 versions, with only the last one not being able to unlock ultra it would seem:
"2006/10/23 MASTER VER" - Ultra unlockable
"2006/10/23 MASTER VER." - Ultra unlockable
"2006/10/23.MASTER VER." - Ultra cannot be unlocked (or the code is unknown?)

Quote from: EOJ on October 31, 2008, 08:40:49 PM
First of all, my master ver changed. The periods were removed. So, it's clear that if you get a Futari 1.0 PCB with periods in the master ver you won't be able to Unlock Ultra.

EOJ

Thanks for the info. It makes sense there was a one-dot version. Has anyone else ever come across a two-dot version? It seems to be the rarest one (thankfully!). I only had one, but I sent it in and got back a no-dot, so my two-dot version disappeared...
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999