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

[Megalixir]

Just got the game. Can someone elaborate on how to make this look as close to the PCB as possible on a 17" rotated CRT?

I just need to know what to mess with under Picture Setting #D; mainly the effect mode, effect bias and glare settings.

[Lunchbox]

Just got the game. Can someone elaborate on how to make this look as close to the PCB as possible on a 17" rotated CRT?

+1, but for 29 "(I guess it's the same ...)
This would definitely be a very useful guide for many people around here.

So, please, anyone?

[EOJ]

First week sales are in. Not too hot, sold about 15K and didn't make the top 10:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=381294

Deathsmiles sold ~20K in the same time frame, and ranked #6. And deathsmiles wasn't region-free. Make of that what you will.

It'll be interesting to see the second-week sales. DS sold ~7000 in its second week.

BTW Amazon Japan has both the regular edition (w/DLC) and LE back in stock now.

[bcass]

I suppose the only interesting stats for Cave as to whether or not they make any more games region-free is what percentage of those sales were made to foreigners...

It's a shame it hasn't sold as well as DeathSmiles (yet) though as I think this is definitely the better game.

[EOJ]

Yep. I don't think more than a few hundred foreigners actually bought it, though (would be interesting to get ncsx.com's sales numbers, though they stated it wasn't their top seller for the week it was released). Most people outside of Japan have no clue what this game even is, and they can't go into a store and buy it.

[adverse]

There's no way that Futari is going to sell like gangbusters to foreigners who have not even played the PCB first week.  Asada and CAVE probably have the foresight to release that if overseas sales will have an effect, it will be a slow one as people familiarize themselves with the game.

Ikaruga was not an overnight success for instance.

[EOJ]

Ikaruga on the Dreamcast sold a ton outside of Japan when it was first released. NCSX.com said they had to spend 3 days just to box and prepare all the preorders they had. This was nowhere near that level, and Dreamcasts were not region free.

[adverse]

I take that back then.  Actually I'd be curious as to why Ikaruga sold so well then, and what the numbers were back then.  I doubt it would go over 4k/5k...wasn't the initial Ikaruga print run quite low? 

[HVL]

Damn, those sales are pretty disappointing. I was expecting it to sell more than Deathsmiles. It must be them lolis.

It's been 8 days since P-A shipped mine, I hope I get it today or tomorrow. Already tate'd my 37" LCD.

[antares]

Futari officially released on the 26th so these first week sales are only for 4 days. I will be interesting to see how well it sells in its first full week.

If it sells less than DS I could think this is because of the screen format.

[antares]

Japanese players have said that the Deathsmiles patch added/fixed slowdown in the Deathsmiles Mega Black Label 360 mode (only this mode, not Arcade mode, and they didn't add/fix it nearly enough), so I guess it's possible.

So DS MBL 360 mode is more arcade perfect than MBL Arcade mode?

Could you give an accuracy percentage for each mode compared to the PCB?

[brentsg]

I take that back then.  Actually I'd be curious as to why Ikaruga sold so well then, and what the numbers were back then.  I doubt it would go over 4k/5k...wasn't the initial Ikaruga print run quite low?  

1)  There are a ton of Treasure fans that gobble up anything Treasure
2)  I think Radiant Silvergun had already spiked in value, so the "rare" crowd snapped up Ikaruga quickly (and I know some folks bought copies to keep sealed)
3)  It was terribly easy to play imports on the DC and a lot of people were tuned into Japanese releases for this reason
4)  It's painfully hard to play imports on 360, so most people wouldn't even pay attention to JPN releases and thus wouldn't know it was region free
5)  The economy sucks now, plus people are trying to figure what they can do for Christmas...  and MF is expensive

Maybe I'm full of shit, who knows.  I actually believe that the Playstation/Saturn/Dreamcast/PS2 days were pretty damn good days to be importing games from Japan.  The 360/PS3 era.. not so much.  Sure, there are still a few non-localized gems but for most people there aren't enough to justify importing a 360.  And on the PS3 front it's easy but it seems to me the gems are either localized or have too significant of a language barrier.

[lawnspic]

Now that EOJ and other Jp players have confirmed differences in slowdown accuracy what is your overall opinion of the port in terms of quality and playability? Though the PCB counterpart may not be interchangeable with this installment 100% it is still a great experience. Sometimes when i read those comments of arcade perfection i get the feeling that some people think its  a poor product. Now if the original PCB were a port of this then what would be the overall opinion? and if this were an original title for the Xbox everybody would say it's perfect. What does everyone think?

[Megalixir]

Also posting here since I think someone wanted pics of the limited edition limited edition:



The cat's facial expression was the same as mine when I turned it on.

[HVL]

Now that EOJ and other Jp players have confirmed differences in slowdown accuracy what is your overall opinion of the port in terms of quality and playability?

How about reading the previous pages, it's all there. The port is not perfect, but M2 did hell of a good job all things considered. I think the only real complaint is the slightly inaccurate replication of slowdown.

Though the PCB counterpart may not be interchangeable with this installment 100% it is still a great experience. Sometimes when i read those comments of arcade perfection i get the feeling that some people think its  a poor product.

Well, of course. You wouldn't notice any differences if you haven't played the original arcade version. It is inevitable that the port gets ripped apart and compared to the original. You simply cannot avoid critical comments regarding the quality, especially of slowdown replication.

Now if the original PCB were a port of this then what would be the overall opinion? and if this were an original title for the Xbox everybody would say it's perfect. What does everyone think?

That's pretty bad comparision. A port will never be "perfect" unless it plays exactly the same way as the original.

[PsychoDiver]

I hope my copy gets here soon from P-A. I am considering rotating my 32' LCD which I have not done before. Is there any smart method of doing this?

[lawnspic]

@HVL, in the last quote i meant if this were an original title for the Xbox it would be a perfect game. Your right in saying that it would not be "perfect" compared to the original. Then again how many ports exist that are perfect to their console counterparts. On its own i think it will be well received and many players will adapt to reach another high score.

BTW, as far as the slowdown in the original PCB is concerned is it due to hardware limitations of the SH3 (so much going on at once sprite wise) or is it intentional? Thanks

[EOJ]

@HVL, in the last quote i meant if this were an original title for the Xbox it would be a perfect game.

It isn't an 'original xbox title', so this point is irrelevant. If I were a Martian I'd live on Mars.

Then again how many ports exist that are perfect to their console counterparts.

I think you mean "PCB (or Arcade) counterparts". Off the top of my head: Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga Dreamcast, Espgaluda PS2, and Deathsmiles (only Arcade mode, and disregarding the lack of 240p or scanlines). Maybe Battle Garegga Saturn too? All of those ports are highly regarded by shmup fans (not necessarily the games, but just about everyone respects the port quality). Can't say that about inaccurate, sloppy ports like Mushi PS2, Ibara PS2, and DDPDOJBLEX X360.

I take that back then.  Actually I'd be curious as to why Ikaruga sold so well then, and what the numbers were back then.  I doubt it would go over 4k/5k...wasn't the initial Ikaruga print run quite low?  

According to wikipedia, Ikaruga DC sold 50,000 (same as Deathsmiles). Ncsx.com says they estimate they sold over 30% of the entire print run. They say that to this day, it is still their best selling import game ever. I think points that some people mentioned in this thread were probably correct, such as it being a Treasure game, and Radiant Silvergun love being at a peak before its release. All of that added to the desire for it outside of Japan. In America today people are conditioned to expect these games to be $10 XBLA downloads, or at the most a $20-$30 disc release. Few Americans are going to shell out $70+ for something like this.

Japanese players have said that the Deathsmiles patch added/fixed slowdown in the Deathsmiles Mega Black Label 360 mode (only this mode, not Arcade mode, and they didn't add/fix it nearly enough), so I guess it's possible.

So DS MBL 360 mode is more arcade perfect than MBL Arcade mode?

Yeah, 360 DSMBL is probably more accurate than Arcade mode, if only for the fact that the Ice Palace has much more of the arcade slowdown, whereas the Arcade mode runs way too fast, missing like half the slowdown. However, in the first six stages, Arcade mode is more accurate, particularly in rank 999. So it's hard to judge a "percentage" or whatever overall - both are majorly flawed in different ways.

Also, sorry, but I didn't have a chance to test the slowdown with the other character types last night. I'll try to do it over the weekend.

[EOJ]

Could someone please post the current high scores on the leaderboards for the following modes?

Ver 1.5 (Arcade or 360, whichever scores are higher)

ORIGINAL-RECO
ORIGINAL-PALM
MANIAC-RECO (<- Especially this one)
MANIAC-PALM
ULTRA-RECO
ULTRA-PALM

As someone without access to the online leaderboards, I'd very much appreciate it.

[HUU]

It seems xbox mode have higher scores right now ...
I took only the best score because scores are divided for each character and each shot style ... too much pictures to take .. sorry  

Ver 1.5 Original Reco Normal

Funny last day I did 326millions in normal play (not score attack) !! I should be at 7 place !

Ver 1.5 Maniac Reco Normal

For Palm, the best score in Maniac is in normal shot !! ---> 516 322 699

Ver 1.5 Ultra Palm Abnormal

[EOJ]

Thanks. I'd currently be #4 on the Reco Maniac list, I have a 500+mil score. In 4 weeks I'll be able to post scores online.  

I score much better with Normal Palm in Maniac too - Abnormal Palm, while easier to 1CC, is harder to score with for me.

[lawnspic]

V 1.5 X360 Mode

ORIGINAL-RECO 486180630 N
ORIGINAL-PALM 396070648 N
MANIAC-RECO-  698760113 N
MANIAC-PALM-  516322699 N
ULTRA-RECO-    1969781172 N
ULTRA-PALM-    2941778983 AN

V1.5 Arcade

ORIGINAL-RECO 375482251 N
ORIGINAL-PALM 414054993 N
MANIAC-RECO   643533357 N
MANIAC-PALM   519046706 N
ULTRA-RECO     729116562 AN
ULTRA-PALM     2069625540 AN

N=Normal
NA= Abnormal

[EOJ]

Thanks a lot!

[lawnspic]

Question- When playing arrange and you hit laser when in fever the counters drops back to zero, do you have to avoid doing that not to lose fever and keep scoring. Can that be stopped?Thanks

[EOJ]

Once you get in fever, it's going to go down to zero no matter what you do. Laser might make it go down faster than shot, anyone test this?

[lawnspic]

Once you get in fever, it's going to go down to zero no matter what you do. Laser might make it go down faster than shot, anyone test this?

From what i can tell once in fever it's infinite untill you get hit (you or your option and you only lose a %) or you use laser to reflect bullets in desperation to survive (this will make it count backward quickly to zero).

That would make sense so you are encouraged to basically play like normal and not get hit, nice twist to the gameplay IMHO

[EOJ]

Well you have to reflect bullets back in fever, that's how you score. So there's no way of (or benefit to) staying in fever "infinitely".

The fever counters count down no matter what you do, BTW. Just trigger fever before a boss - it counts down rapidly while you are waiting for the boss to appear. It wouldn't do that if your conditions were true.

[lawnspic]

Yes that true but its like a balancing act, you have to use it sparingly or you lose fever (which delivers large gems in return, i think) What is better hitting fever and staying there or reflecting. I think its a careful combination of both. I just dont know which is more rewarding. BTW i just started to dabble in this since playing 1.5 so excuse any mistakes i may have made in judgment

[EOJ]

Sorry, I'm not following you. Maybe we're talking about slightly different things (i.e. you're ALWAYS going to lose fever after a short time, it has nothing to do with what you're doing in fever mode).

[lawnspic]

Well i will have to go see again. I thought that when both your counters reach 9999 and you enter fever you can start accumulating large gems. On the flip side you could reflect and trade those bullets for gems. Now when i was playing i thought that when i kept using shot in fever it kept my fever counters at 9999 till i got hit or used reflect. Im probably wrong so i will have to play some more to see. I think if it did it would be one hell of a play mechanic as it adds some more variety