What are your favourite cave shooters and why?

[ninn]

High Tier
Ibara
DDP
Daioujou
ESPGaluda
ESPGaluda2
Mushihimesama
Mushihimesama Futari

If I had a 6-way-jamma switcher, I would not connect Espgaruda.


Can please someone sort the games by bullet color?

[ninn]

Pink colored bullets
Mushihimesama
Mushihimesama Futari
Deathsmiles
Donpachi


Pink and blue colored bullets
Ibara
DDP
Daioujou
ESPGaluda
ESPGaluda2
Akai Katana
Ketsui
Guwange
ESPrade
Daifukkatsu
Saidaioujou
Pink Sweets

Blue colored bullets
Muchi Muchi Pork
Progear
Dangun Feveron




no idea
Deathsmiles 2



please correct me if I am wrong.

[Chempop]

What are your favourite cave shooters and why?

I have not cleared Donpachi, Progear, Pink Sweets, Dangun Feveron, SDOJ, or Guwange... when I do my opinions of them may change.

[Jan]

Low Tier
Pink Sweets

[crunchywasp]

[ninn]

If I had to choose one:
Ibara.

If I had to choose two: Mushihimesama and Ibara.

Reason for that is simple:
I favour Sama over all other cave games so far. It is even the favourite of my girl.
I think it is because it got an unmatched art style, plain powerup-system with some, but not too much, selection, a great setting and a girl you can identfy with ( ). It even got a subtile "save nature"-undertone. I can not emphasize how creative the setting is, and it is so well executed.

But it's simplicity comes at a price: low replayability (more exact: low variety). Dont get me wrong, I am still playing that game after several years on a regular base, but there are lot's of other reasonably similar games - from the same developer - that got better replayability.

That is where Ibara jumps on the stage...

It is like the evil sibling of Mushi: Lots of weapons, lots of Bombs, lots of explosions, Lots of debris, - gritty, industrial setting. It does ot **** around, and it will wipe the floor with a cloth made from your skin if you don't take care.

Both are like polar opposites, bound together by a company who was on their height. In my eyes, there are no better cave games (save special editions).

And, if these two were not enough, I would invite DaiOuJou to the party, too. Just to have a proper space ship too.

Code: Select all

           MUSHI  
  IBARA   --------    DOJ   
 --------|        |_______
|                         |
 -------------------------

DisplayCollapse view

Mushihimesama Futari: wtf happened to the setting? Who is this fat lady anyway? does it always stutters like this? All employees that where involved in Level 3 and 4 please collect at the trash compactor.
Deathsmiles: ok .. it is creative ... and original. Did not sell me neverteless, maybe too much halloween.
Donpachi: Too much Raiden, great transition-title. If you miss some oldschool.
DDP: Gorgerous too. In my eyes, the birth of Cave as we know it.
Daioujou: Great game, but in my eyes too few changes to Dodonpachi. Could have used some more polish.
ESPGaluda: Great original game! Sucked me in like a
ESPGaluda2: Never played it, but looks like a full enhancement of every aspect.
Akai Katana: ... horizontal? nothing to see, move on.
Ketsui: I just chipped in for some coins in mame, and ... was not sold.
Guwange: Would love to try that one out.
ESPrade: Would love to try that one out.
Daifukkatsu: See cave overloading it's own hardware.
Saidaioujou: Would love to try that one out.
Muchi Muchi Pork: Too expensive for what it is. Artstyle does not blend.
Pink Sweets: see Muchi Muchi Pork.
Progear: played it, felt like I missed something. [ah, scoring! replayed it with scoring in mind: felt like I wasted some time]
Dangun Feveron: I'd rather play Dogyuun.
Deathsmiles 2: No idea.

[cools]

Sama rips off Nausicaa manga, it's not creative whatsoever. I still don't understand peoples love for the game. It's decent but the music stinks and the first couple of levels bore me to tears after even just one play they're so sparse. Futari spanks it.

And Ibara spanks all the rest.

Pork comes a close second, it's wonderful and would possibly be my favourite if it wasn't for the outrageous difficulty later on. I mean - I can see myself managing to clear Ibara one day, but Pork is too much. It's also not as replayable as Ibara in the early stages.

The balance of medals, extends, level length in Ibara is quite simply perfect in terms of how replayable it is.

[cRacKh0rN]

I'm pretty much the same as cools here.

Ibara is pretty much the perfect game in my opinion. I love the scoring mechanic, the rank system, the graphics and the music.
It will take a life time for me to master it and it can drive me nuts, but like a love struck teenager, I keep coming back for more.

I bought the PS/Pork 360 pack and wasn't that keen on either, but having bought the PCB of Pork last year, I think it is second place for me also. Wonderful graphics, a nice soundtrack and some really imaginative bosses.

Coming in third is a tie between Futari and Espgaluda II.

I like all the other titles apart from the last couple of DDP's which just seem a bit OTT for me.
SaiDaiOuJou seems especially hard and unforgiving, to the point where I cannot be bothered to try and play it.

[yosai]

Sama rips off Nausicaa manga, it's not creative whatsoever. I still don't understand peoples love for the game. It's decent but the music stinks and the first couple of levels bore me to tears after even just one play they're so sparse. Futari spanks it.

This. I picked up Futari recently and am really enjoying it. I though I may pick up sama again because of this but have watched a few vids and remembered it's lacking in comparison.

Ibara is pretty much the perfect game in my opinion. I love the scoring mechanic, the rank system, the graphics and the music.
It will take a life time for me to master it and it can drive me nuts, but like a love struck teenager, I keep coming back for more.

I don't mind Ibara but for me it's far from perfect. I've owned three or four PCBs but always sell because;

• I don't care much for the graphical style
  The music isn't particularly great
  The BOMBAHHHH sample grates quickly
  Not a fan of the suicide to control rank system
  huge amount of memorization required for high scoring
  It's also hard as ****

I understand why folks adore it, but like Batrider, it's just not for me.

[cRacKh0rN]

The BOMBAHHHH sample grates quickly

My girlfriend concurs. I could listen to it all day

[Chempop]

Pink Sweets I would genuinely enjoy if half the game didn't consist of shooting destructible bullets. Also, the difficulty spike after stage 4 is hilarious, then there is the 10 minute air stage which was just a bad joke. I do enjoy the arrange mode on the 360 port a good deal though.

The Mushi vs Faturi thing can really go either way for me. I prefer the look and overall style of the first game (futari was a little too playful with the dinos and snowman/snowball fight). Futari maniac mode is probably my favorite of the scoring systems, but it can also be infuriating, where the first mushi you can kinda zone out and ignore all the point counters and just enjoy mindlessly plowing through the stages. One thing for certain, both mushis have some of the best bullet patterns out of cave's entire library.

Sama rips off Nausicaa manga, it's not creative whatsoever.

It's inspired by Nausicaa which is great and is unique for a genre that is mostly spceships and military themed.

[phillv85]

I'll go against the general consensus here and say Deathsmiles is my favourite. I like the art style and setting, it's got a few good bits of music in it, and I'm quite good at it. I quite like all cave shooters except Ketsui (sorry, I just don't get it), but I'd have to say my next favourite is Espgaluda.

[idc]

Code: Select all

             MUSHI  
                .--.-.
               /   '  \
           |-______-|
              |        |
              |        |
              |        |
  IBARA  |        |   DOJ
       .------|     .  |_______
      /  \   .   .      .   .\ \
     |    .     /    ..    \    |
      \ . ./  \   \. /   \ /. ./
       '----------------------'

Fixed.

[pubjoe]

[crunchywasp]

Nice cybercock

[theMot]

What are your favourite cave shooters and why?

My favourite will be the first one i can 1cc

Why? Because i will feel unworthy of the genre until i can say i finished one!

[SuperPang]

My favourites these days are..

Espgaluda II
Muchi Muchi Pork
Deathsmiles
Ketsui
DDP SDOJ
Akai Katana
Deathsmiles 2 v4.0

My least favourites are..
All the Mushihimesamas
DDP DFK
Progear

[TadCool]

My least favourites are..
All the Mushihimesamas
DDP DFK
Progear

I thought you liked it better 'cause of the B1 poster you had framed and all.

As for me, I guess my fav will always be the original DDP (1997). I wish Cave have kept its soundtrack style on the sequels.

[Chempop]

DDP (1997)

DDP is what I keep coming back to after all these years. I like the visuals the most, the sprites and backgrounds are drawn so well. The 2nd loop is crazy intense.

I do need to return to Guwange and go for the clear, I can see it getting bumped into my high tier. I should spend some real time with Progear and see what all the fuss is about.

[Svovl]

Progear holds a special place in my heart as it was my first arcade pcb. However, it is a love hate relationship since the game is so extremely unforgiving and intrinsically designed to punish greed.
I also have been enjoying playing Deathsmiles a lot, although I prefer the graphics style of the older less pre-rendered Cave games.