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

[KOMA]

Sweets news!

[GaijinPunch]

Big news: according to the official cave blog (8/15 entry), both the regular and LEs will come with a download card giving you Futari ver 1.01 for free. That's the slightly tweaked version of ver 1.0 only shown at a Cave matsuri a few years back. Unbelievable.

No Futari Black Label though. Good thing I still have my kit.

NTSC-J always said the one difference was just the stage 2 boss.  Is that right?
Guess we can do a close comparison now.

[EOJ]

I think it was just they added 2 bombs and fixed the messed up last pattern of the Stage 4 boss in Original.

Though ver 1.01 didn't have Ultra mode. So maybe that won't be included? It would be nice if they included that, and tweaked it a bit, as ver 1.0's Ultra
is more or less impossible.

[HVL]

P-A preorders up! No LE yet, I think I will wait.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3cq6.html

[EOJ]

The LE is up for preorder on amazon.co.jp (@8200 yen, pretty good deal), but no regular edition yet. The LE is limited to one per customer, so unfortunately I can't grab a few for other members here. 

[Shalashaska]

Interesting news about the 1.0 version. I always wanted to try it (thought about snatching up your kit, EOJ, when it was available). I need to jump on the X360 bandwagon soon I suppose.

[Megalixir]

http://sp-game.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/08/26/0826_stick.jpg

Apparently Seimitsu but those look like Hori buttons. Probably not gonna buy it. The LE is still not open for reservations on play-asia yet, which is getting irritating as apparently it's sold out on amazon.jp already.

[adverse]

Nice that they had the foresight to go with Seimitsu though. 

I'm thinking about it, but really I've spent way too much on sticks already lol.

[EOJ]

Looks like an LS-32 with Hori or Sanwa buttons (let's hope it's the latter). I'll spring for one if I can get one off amazon.co.jp, but otherwise I'll pass.

[Monouchi]

Agree, if its Sanwa its a sure buy...but not Hori..
I didnt buy any of the other sticks, maybe I should get a go at this one.

[HVL]

The LE is still not open for reservations on play-asia yet, which is getting irritating as apparently it's sold out on amazon.jp already.

I have a feeling that history will repeat itself with these MF1.5 limited editions... How fucking hard is it to confirm their order with the supplier? It has been over a week already!

[EOJ]

Just checked and that stick has a Seimitsu LS-32-K-SS2. They don't mention what the buttons are (which means they're Hori buttons!). Eh, I'll order one anyway. They're cheap on amazon.co.jp right now.

[adverse]

According to Famitsu this week, the arrange mode splits your character into two, with either Reco or Palm functioning as some sort of shield against which bullets are cancelled and turned into gems.  I guess this is what I saw at the Matsuri.  Sounds cool but I hope manipulating the "shield character" isn't mapped to a different stick on the 360 controller.

[EOJ]

I bet it will be just like DS 1.1 - you move the other character ('the option') around with the other analog stick. For joystick users, you'll be able to hold down a button and rotate the option.

That's my current theory.

[adverse]

I'm open to it but I definitely prefer modes that I can play with an arcade stick.

By the way, from what I saw at the Matsuri this mode currently has 0 slowdown.

[EOJ]

Well, I could still play DS 1.1 with a stick. But I agree, I'd rather not have the option control BS.

[HVL]

I'm open to it but I definitely prefer modes that I can play with an arcade stick.

By the way, from what I saw at the Matsuri this mode currently has 0 slowdown.

Didn't the early DS footage lack slowdown too? I'm quite certain the slowdown will be in the final product.

Another vote for no option control, though I find DS1.1 much more enjoyable with a stick than the standard pad.

[adverse]

News from the latest 360 Famitsu:

Asada hopes to release MFBL Black Label as DLC
Arrange mode is called "True Mushihimesama Futari"
Partner character functions much like a familiar in Deathsmiles, absorbing bullets and also firing them back (!)
But the barrier is not unlimited, has a number attached to it which can fall to 0 in certain circumstances
No Co-op mode
Novice mode super easy, built so scrubs can get achievements, but not all of them

[HVL]

No images yet?

Confirmation of MFBL plans is great news although it was to be expected.

Is there really a need to put the novice mode there; original is quite tame after all. Well, not that I mind as long as it doesn't sacrifice anything else, e.g. accuracy of the traditional modes.

[EOJ]

Just got an email from Amazon Japan - the LE joystick's release got bumped back a few days later than the release of the game.

[HVL]

SIN has shot some footage of the arrange mode!

http://sinmoon.sakuraweb.com/movie/090829_futari.3G2

Credits to emphatic for linking it on shmups.

[EOJ]

Yeah, I mentioned that in the Cave user meeting thread earlier today (before it was mentioned on shmups).

[HVL]

Yeah, I mentioned that in the Cave user meeting thread earlier today (before it was mentioned on shmups).

Sorry, I completely missed your post.

Anyway, the arrange mode looks fun and different. I wonder why it says "maniac mode" on the screen, though. Does this mean there will be arrange modes for original and ultra too?

[NR777]

Arrange mode looks like a lot of fun.

[EOJ]

Anyway, the arrange mode looks fun and different. I wonder why it says "maniac mode" on the screen, though. Does this mean there will be arrange modes for original and ultra too?

Yes, arrange has Original, Maniac, and Ultra modes. All three play slightly different in the scoring (for example, you can trigger the xXXXX multiplier in Maniac, but not the other two modes, and Original's bullets get really fast once you pass 70,000 on the overall counter).

[HVL]

Yes, arrange has Original, Maniac, and Ultra modes. All three play slightly different in the scoring (for example, you can trigger the xXXXX multiplier in Maniac, but not the other two modes, and Original's bullets get really fast once you pass 70,000 on the overall counter).

That's just damn cool. Original will be a thrill with super fast bullets. I'm quite interested in the arranged Ultra too; maybe it will be a little more accessible than the normal.

[EOJ]

I think SIN said he beat Ultra Arrange in his first time playing. Or the game crashed in the 5th stage. Something like that. He said it's pretty easy though.
Arrange also has an auto-bomb, by the way. Let's hope you can turn that off, like in Ketsui DS.

[moozooh]

You won't see the difference if you don't get hit. :P

[EOJ]

Outside of Ultra mode, I don't think the training wheels are necessary. It dumbs down the whole experience.

[moozooh]

Probably… Then again, it urges the players of any caliber to pay more attention to scoring rather than survival. Not particularly a bad thing if you consider that the game has to be accessible to do well with non-hardcore (by Japanese standards of hardcore) audience.