Instant Brain (& Dodonpachi) [JP X360 2011]

ssfsx17 · November 11, 2011, 04:20:32 PM

Comparable to Phoenix Wright? Awesomeness!

EOJ · November 12, 2011, 01:23:18 AM

Yeah, it is pretty awesome. I can't believe how much I'm loving this game. I'm totally addicted. I finished Chapter 1 this morning (all told, took me about 6 hours) and I've started on Chapter 2. It's really not a true visual novel, it's more of an interactive adventure/detective story game.

If you can't read Japanese I suppose it would be theoretically possible to fumble your way through the game with some extremely tedious trial and error, as you can reload a save if you get a game over, and you can save right before you need to pick a picture out, but later in the game when you have like 100 pictures to choose from, this would probably take hours to do, and be about as fun as watching paint dry. There are also A LOT of sections where you have to take a picture or choose a picture to show someone. Also, the parts where you have to use a pointer on a picture to show some very tiny detail would probably take hours to get through as you'd have to point at every millimeter of the picture until you got the right one, and for every 5 times you make a mistake you'd have to reload a save. I guess it's not impossible, but I don't know who would want to go through all this tedious work. It would probably take you well over 100 hours to get through the game, and there are much easier ways to play Dodonpachi.

I've also heard that Chapter 1 is the easiest, and it just gets harder with all the picture stuff. Remember, there are [spoiler]7[/spoiler] chapters in total.

SpiralSage · November 12, 2011, 07:12:06 AM

So much for importing this then.

Sounds great. I'm going to have to hope that Aksys or someone localizes this. Which obviously is pretty slim.

TimingTripod40 · November 12, 2011, 08:37:17 AM

Wait for the PC port. Most VNs end up on the PC at some point and if enough noise is made maybe a fansub group could translate it.

EOJ · November 12, 2011, 09:23:59 AM

Not likely. Cave's never made a PC port of one of their console games, and they've said this game is an X360 exclusive.

EOJ · November 13, 2011, 06:54:12 PM

Quote from: TimingTripod40 on November 10, 2011, 09:43:10 AM
Does DDP have leaderboards?

Yep, it has online leaderboards. Here's a video of the game in action:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16141758

cstarflare · November 13, 2011, 07:33:13 PM

I'm really happy IB turned out to be a good game in its own right. If nothing else, it might increase the chances of a domestic release. Don't know how much work it would be to localize this vs. a Wright game or something like 999, but the fact that those found a market stateside gives me a little hope.

Looking forward to hearing more about the DDP port quality too.

EOJ · November 13, 2011, 08:31:38 PM

Early indications are this may be the best port of DDP yet, and certainly the best on the current gen systems - slowdown accuracy on par with the Guwange XBLA port, no graphical modifications as in the Saturn port, and not as much input lag as on the PSN version (which is the PS1 port). You also get online leaderboards. Not sure about replays yet. Cons are: no tate (no screen options at all, apparently), and no button config.

Monouchi · November 14, 2011, 02:00:20 PM

no tate......

HVL · November 14, 2011, 02:45:03 PM

Quote from: TimingTripod40 on November 12, 2011, 08:37:17 AM
Wait for the PC port. Most VNs end up on the PC at some point and if enough noise is made maybe a fansub group could translate it.

Even if this got ported to PC, I highly doubt somebody would pick it up as a project. The visual novel translation scene is small and the projects require huge dedication, not only from translator and editors, but from hackers. It's not unusual for novels to be 50,000+ lines long and projects last for years. For comparison, a regular anime episode is less than 300 lines and require no specialized tools.

I'm not too surprised by the lack of tate mode, the DDP port is kind of an omake anyway.

I think I'll hold off and wait for the improbable English localization as I am not quite advanced enough to be able to read IB in Japanese yet. Time's better spent on studying more and reading some fluffy moege.

TimingTripod40 · November 15, 2011, 02:52:00 AM

So you're basically saying it'd be faster to just learn Japanese than to wait for a VN to get translated?

HVL · November 15, 2011, 10:00:23 AM

Quote from: TimingTripod40 on November 15, 2011, 02:52:00 AM
So you're basically saying it'd be faster to just learn Japanese than to wait for a VN to get translated?

That's quite a radical way of putting it (reality isn't that simple!), but if relying on an unofficial translation/localization, pretty much yes unless a miracle happens. Plus, it seems IB really is X360 exclusive, so...

Blue_Rei · November 22, 2011, 11:18:04 AM

Thanks for the impressions EOJ! Everyone else seems to dog this game based on the pics. If anything, I'm much more intrigued as I actually love the character designs (Kamiri Iruma/Hellabunna; an artist I tend to follow), and seems like this is one of those gems that will be overlooked. Also looking to brush up on my Japanese , so the fact that it has a good story makes it even better!

Though on the off chance that there is a localization, gonna have to double dip!

EOJ · November 22, 2011, 06:25:32 PM

I'm almost done with Chapter 2, I should finish it today. I don't think Ch2 is as good as Ch1 - it drags a bit and feels too long. The story in it is not as exciting or interesting either.

My only real complaint about the game is it's way too long. I've played at least 15 hours and I'm not even 1/3 of the way finished. Maybe I'll clear it by the end of the year!

Also, about unlocking the hidden games (DDP & Nin2-Jump): you have to get six secret pictures throughout the game. They are a bit tricky to find (I have two so far). You can't just blow through the game and clear it and have the bonus games unlock.

EOJ · November 23, 2011, 08:16:19 AM

Alright, I finally finished chapter 2 tonight. The climax was actually pretty awesome, but there was too much filler in the chapter. Hopefully the rest of the chapters will move at a brisker pace.

Sorry if this thread is turning into my own personal Instant Brain play-through blog, but since no one else seems to be playing this, I thought I'd keep posting updates and impressions as I go through the game.

TimingTripod40 · November 23, 2011, 08:43:28 AM

No, keep at it man. I'm very interested in this game and gonna try to learn Japanese to play it.

Monouchi · November 23, 2011, 08:46:30 AM

yeah, keep going. *buys popcorn*

EOJ · November 23, 2011, 09:01:15 AM

There are a lot of shooting game references in the game. For example, most of the character's names are derived from Cave games. There's an idol singer with green hair whose name is Foure (compare Follet in Deathsmiles), and a fashion lady with red hair whose name is Windy (think Windia from Deathsmiles). Oujou Fuuka is an obvious homage to Dodonpachi Daioujou. There are a lot more, but you get the point.

There's also an extensive dialogue where they're talking about playing shooting games, and the different styles to hold the joystick! They also use the term "Ura route" (in quotations) to refer to an aspect of a story. I hear there's actually a Dodonpachi story sequence in the game too.

My favorite characters so far are the lady detective Mikuri and Zenya's android, Shi. Fuuka is pretty funny and talks in a rather tricky Kyoto dialect. Hyuugo, the male prostitute/bar owner dude, gives me the heebie-jeebies, but he's funny as hell when he gets mad at Shi.

adverse · November 26, 2011, 04:20:38 AM

http://ib.cave.co.jp/enq_chara.html

Vote for your favorite character!

(Everyone's favorite ↓)

Sucks you can only pick one though.
Gonna wait til I finish the game, but I'm probably going with either Chloe or Android C for their sassy Zenya rebukes and saucy sub-scenarios.

MagicT · February 05, 2012, 07:25:57 AM

What about this game? Nowhere is there a video Dodonpachi...

yosai · February 05, 2012, 09:41:37 AM

There is one near the top of this page.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16141758

AweOfShe · February 06, 2012, 06:07:44 AM

Hey EOJ (or anyone else), have you ended up finishing the game? I finished it a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Though near the end of the game (I think around the end of Chapter 6), I started losing focus, and parts of the story started going over my head...

I was hoping to ask a question or two about Chapter 6, but wasn't sure if anyone finished it.

EOJ · February 06, 2012, 07:06:50 AM

I haven't played it since my last post in this thread. I need to get back and finish it one of these days.

TimingTripod40 · February 06, 2012, 02:48:55 PM

Just out of curiosity what's the best score on the DDP leaderboard?

bcass · February 06, 2012, 03:19:48 PM

Does anyone know if the save file for a completed game can be shared?

InsaneNutter · February 22, 2012, 05:29:12 PM

Quote from: bcass on February 06, 2012, 03:19:48 PM
Does anyone know if the save file for a completed game can be shared?

Yup very easily, just save it on a USB memory stick that has been configured for use on the Xbox 360.
After that you can extract the save game using a PC.

Do you have or know someone who has a save with Dodonpachi unlocked, i would love to give it ago but dont think ill ever manage to unlock it myself.

bcass · February 23, 2012, 08:07:31 AM

I don't have it. I'm sure someone here who has completed the game can upload their save. It's a 2 minute job.

Blade Runner · February 23, 2012, 08:15:51 AM

I'm not certain about this, but aren't game saves linked to the Gamertag?

bcass · February 23, 2012, 08:18:09 AM

Only one way to find out.

InsaneNutter · February 23, 2012, 05:51:17 PM

Yup they are, however you can easily resign them to work with any profile you wish.

Basically you need to open a save from your profile to get your profile id, then open the save you wish to resign, insert you id and resign it.

It will then work with your profile on the Xbox 360.

If anyone here has a save with Dodonpachi unlocked ill happily do a little tutorial with some screenshot of the process, very easy to do though!