Author Topic: Mushihimesama, Espgaluda II and DDP DFK ports by LiveWire [Switch, 2021] (Read 4751 times)

EOJ · « **on:** June 15, 2021, 05:18:14 PM »

These were announced on the JP Nintendo Direct today. Mushihimesama is already available for download at 2500 yen in Japan and $19.99 in the USA. EspII will follow in "summer" and then DDP DFK in "winter". The company porting them is called LiveWire (never heard of them before). Seems to be download-only for these games.

Official site:
https://www.live-wire.co.jp/sp-shooting

Youtube trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKpZD9BKpNM

Nintendo JP eshop page for Mushi (2500 yen):
https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000027461.html

Nintendo USA eshop page for Mushi ($19.99):
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/mushihimesama-switch/

Good to see EspII in there as it was never ported to Steam!

EOJ · « **Reply #1 on:** June 15, 2021, 05:28:49 PM »

Well, I did my part. Now let's see how much input lag this has!

EOJ · « **Reply #2 on:** June 15, 2021, 05:45:53 PM »

I played through the first three stages in Normal (Arcade) mode.

First impressions:

-I don't notice any input lag. Feels very responsive, like the X360 port. ESP.Ra.De Switch, in comparison, had noticeable lag that bothered me so much I had to sell the game (and just play it on my PS4).
-Slowdown accuracy seems the same as the Steam/X360 version.
-Everything loads quickly.
-Looks great on the Switch lite, but I'll try it on my main Switch later.
-So cool to have Matsuri Ver 1.5 on the go!

For twenty bucks, this is a great deal.

RandomRetro · « **Reply #3 on:** June 15, 2021, 06:49:56 PM »

Well there goes $20. I have to try it now

Glad to hear the initial take on lag doesn't seem to be bad.

Sandinista · « **Reply #4 on:** June 15, 2021, 07:10:24 PM »

Wow , great news on these releases . Been tempted to get a Switch for a while ...

Really hope these sell well

EOJ · « **Reply #5 on:** June 16, 2021, 07:36:01 PM »

I tested out Stage 5 in Maniac mode on the Switch and X360 versions back to back on a proper monitor. The good news is the slowdown seems to be in the same places. The bad news is the Switch slowdown is more jittery, and the transitions in and out of slowdown are jerkier and/or faster. Maybe the Steam version was like this too. It's not a huge difference, but enough for me to notice. The X360 version just feels and plays smoother overall. The difference is less noticeable in Ver 1.5, because the slowdown is heavier overall and thus there are fewer places to transition out completely.

So, unfortunately, I cannot retire my copy of the JP 360 port, as it remains the best console port to date.

Other good news: I definitely don't feel any difference in input lag between the two versions, so they did a great job there.

bcass · « **Reply #6 on:** June 16, 2021, 08:49:50 PM »

Quote from: EOJ on June 16, 2021, 07:36:01 PM

The bad news is the Switch slowdown is more jittery, and the transitions in and out of slowdown are jerkier and/or faster. Maybe the Steam version was like this too.

Can anyone confirm this?

SH4R4KU · « **Reply #7 on:** June 28, 2021, 07:24:16 AM »

Quote from: EOJ on June 16, 2021, 07:36:01 PM

I tested out Stage 5 in Maniac mode on the Switch and X360 versions back to back on a proper monitor. The good news is the slowdown seems to be in the same places. The bad news is the Switch slowdown is more jittery, and the transitions in and out of slowdown are jerkier and/or faster. Maybe the Steam version was like this too. It's not a huge difference, but enough for me to notice. The X360 version just feels and plays smoother overall. The difference is less noticeable in Ver 1.5, because the slowdown is heavier overall and thus there are fewer places to transition out completely.

So, unfortunately, I cannot retire my copy of the JP 360 port, as it remains the best console port to date.

Other good news: I definitely don't feel any difference in input lag between the two versions, so they did a great job there.

I really like the port and am not yet good enough to tell the differences, but this is encouraging.

For example, I didn't notice a problem with ESPrade...!

EOJ · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2021, 05:28:21 PM »

Test play of the still-in-development Espgaluda II port in a handmade cardboard Switch mini cab:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT9pRrGm57I

EOJ · « **Reply #9 on:** August 15, 2021, 05:00:35 PM »

Looks like the release of Espgaluda II is just a few weeks away: September 9th.

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/08/espgaluda-ii-for-switch-launches-september-9

EOJ · « **Reply #10 on:** September 09, 2021, 07:18:42 AM »

Espgaluda II is out now. Today I saw some review videos on youtube and this gameplay video from a few days ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJNvx4HHnhw

EOJ · « **Reply #11 on:** September 09, 2021, 05:01:14 PM »

OK, I did my part and bought this today. Good news is the slowdown seems about the same as the X360 port, in the first two stages at least (I haven't played beyond that). Bad news is it feels like there's a little more input lag, maybe one more frame? Doesn't feel quite as responsive as the X360 port to me. YOZ, the world record holder with Ageha in both the arcade and X360 versions, also commented on there being more input lag ("but not so much that it is unplayable"), and I trust him on this! > https://twitter.com/Yora_/status/1435999896721526790

Shalashaska · « **Reply #12 on:** September 09, 2021, 09:28:50 PM »

That's good news, for the most part. I'll have to pick this up as my love of shmups has been reignited somewhat over the last month or so.

I really wish they had the leaderboards active for Mushi and this though.

buffi · « **Reply #13 on:** September 10, 2021, 05:33:46 AM »

Switch is usually a frame or two extra compared to other ports (like the M2 stuff). Guess the hardware has some reason for it.

Glad the port seems alright otherwise

el_rika · « **Reply #14 on:** September 11, 2021, 12:50:08 PM »

It's really strange. Should not have these issues at all.

EOJ · « **Reply #15 on:** October 23, 2021, 01:05:30 AM »

Clover-TAC is going to play the Switch port of EspII live at Mikado arcade on October 30:

https://twitter.com/babamikado/status/1451687121756983297

It will be live-streamed. Should be pretty awesome!

EOJ · « **Reply #16 on:** November 24, 2021, 03:25:48 PM »

DFK port releases soon (November 25th). Unlike the X360 port, you can practice the Zatsuza fight in this one!

https://twitter.com/LiveWire_pr/status/1463492785357856769

EOJ · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2021, 03:17:15 PM »

I bought this and played for a bit. I started with Black Label, B-Power, because I'm very familiar with it.

I began with Stage 5 in training mode. The slowdown seems pretty similar to the X360 version, though it seems to be missing a bit here and there. What's worse though, is I can't get any hits off the laser turrets in the first part of the stage. In the Steam port you can get WAY too many hits here (several thousand more than you should), in the X360 port it was identical to the PCB, but here, if I'm lucky I get a paltry 50-100 hits when I first start a hyper, then nothing. I just sit there and no hits. It's bizarre. Maybe it's just a bug in training mode (I hope so!), but if it's like this then BL is worthless as-is.

Input lag feels OK, I'm sure it's 3-4 frames like the other livewire ports.

This does seem to be based on the Steam port rather than the X360 port.

EOJ · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2021, 03:27:01 PM »

Here's a video with C-Strong showing the same problem (watch for when he uses a hyper on the laser turrets):

https://twitter.com/xrq69817878/status/1463890080162930696

Sandinista · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2021, 04:00:31 PM »

Not bought this yet as i use my daughters switch and she lives a few miles away . Probably hang on and see what else is missing or incorrect first ..

EOJ · « **Reply #20 on:** November 25, 2021, 06:53:02 PM »

I played a full run with B-Strong (Black Label) to see if the ST5 laser turrets give you hits there (as opposed to training mode). I got some hits if I was positioned just right (up to 500 or so on a turret), but only in the first second when I make contact with the turret (and only at the start of a hyper). If I sit there any longer, or move to another turret while still in hyper mode, then nothing happens. So, still messed up, unfortunately.

EOJ · « **Reply #21 on:** November 26, 2021, 05:54:07 PM »

I tried out Ver 1.5 and that seems fine to me in terms of slowdown and gameplay. Apparently the game can crash in the credits, though.

Although BL is borked, the game is only twenty bucks, and at that price it's worth it for 1.5 and the Zatsuza training mode alone.

I do expect some bug fix patch(es) in the near future.

You have to wonder how Yagawa coded the laser turret hits that makes it so hard to replicate accurately in ports.

I'm grateful they got it right on the X360 port, but maybe he helped program that one.

EOJ · « **Reply #22 on:** March 09, 2022, 03:27:01 PM »

All three games have just received new patches:

https://live-wire-cstg.blogspot.com/2022/03/blog-post.html

It seems they finally fixed that problem in DFK BL where you couldn't get hits from the lasers. I hope they made it accurate to the X360/PCB, rather than the Steam version that gives you too many hits.

EOJ · « **Reply #23 on:** December 18, 2022, 03:33:53 AM »

Quote from: EOJ on March 09, 2022, 03:27:01 PM

It seems they finally fixed that problem in DFK BL where you couldn't get hits from the lasers. I hope they made it accurate to the X360/PCB, rather than the Steam version that gives you too many hits.

I finally bothered to test this out, and bad news: they "fixed" it to be the same as the messed up Steam version that gives you way too many hits. So the Switch version is useless for serious scoring, since the few thousand extra hits you can get before the first ST5 midboss (compared to the PCB/X360 version) have a big impact on your overall score for the stage.