RF Generation Message Board

By now, most of us know that Psikyo was famous for blistering hard shooting games. We've already tackled Strikers 1945 II in the Shmup Club, and that game's legendary difficulty certainly gave us a run for our money. What about the company's roots, however? Are the earlier games any easier? The easy answer is, of course, no. But that's not the whole story.

Psikyo's second shmup was the now-legendary Gunbird. Select one of a ragtag group of characters, to seek out pieces of a magic mirror. Once obtained, they can make a wish. However, their task won't be easy, because The Trump are a group of sky pirates, who are also after the magic mirror pieces! They will try and thwart your every move along your journey.

Gunbird was released in arcades in 1994, and came to the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in Japan in 1995. A European PlayStation release followed in 2002, and a rather clumsily localized version reached North America on the PlayStation, rebranded as the budget title Mobile Light Force. The game was added to the North American PlayStation Network in 2009, as well. Most recently, most of the Psikyo shooter catalog has been released on the Nintendo Switch, and also Steam, and is available in the West via NIS America, bundled in the Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo package. There were also physical Psikyo releases for Nintendo Switch in Japan, and an Asian region release was available through retailers like Play Asia. Join the RF Generation Shmup Club in May 2021, as we tackle Psikyo's second shooter, and our second Psikyo game, Gunbird!

Participants:
MetalFRO
Addicted
douglie007
BdotReality
FauxMacho
Geriatric Danmaku
Iori Branford
zoydo
Cork
Christapp76

I have the 2nd one on my Dreamcast, but I could add the first one to my Saturn's ODE and play it on my stream next month with you guys.  Works out, right now I only stream Saturn games on twitch.

Sounds great, douglie! I'll be doing the same, since I got a Satiator recently, as well as playing the PS1 port, and the Switch version. Possibly the Steam release, as well.

Picked up the Steam version, so count me in!

Excellent!

I'm in. I have it on Switch, and this week I ordered a Saturn and a Satiator so I may try it on there too once it arrives.

Very good! Will be nice to have a couple of us comparing versions, so we can look at the differences between them. Anyone else going to tackle the butchered North American PlayStation version? :slick:

I also have the Saturn version now to play as well!

This should be interesting to see which version gets the most attention.   Modern MAME plays Gunbird VERY well.   Hardly any lag.   But it's so easy to cheat.   

So picked up the ZeroDiv port on Steam.   Gotta say that the lag issues reported on Switch are NOT really present.   So I'm going to be playing the official Score Attack on this version, and submitting it.

Other ports are not as good for PC emulation.   Specially that PS1 "Light Force" version.

A quirk about the Steam ZeroDiv version:  If you continue a game, it keeps on counting the score.   So the local leaderboard permits scores to register with as many as three continues.  If we decided to compete at that level, it would be cool.   But for now, my first official score submission.   This is PC leaderboard.   Very little chance that Switch is included: 

First Score Submission:

Apparently the PS2 Gunbird release has a hit box mode. That's really cool to see under the hood (see attached) but so far I could only find this one YouTube video showing it off. https://youtu.be/xjUFaAzvhSA?t=373

First high score on level 5: 353,100
I really wanted to get past 1-4 on a single credit tonight, went into the boss with a bomb and a life, and crumpled by assuming a bomb after my death would take it out. Oh well.


On Switch release continues add a single point to the score, does the ZeroDiv Steam release do the same?

I noticed this last night, when I was streaming the Steam version. Will have to have a closer look, and see if the Steam version behaves the same way as the Switch version, where it adds a point to the end of the score, to denote the credit usage. If so, I would say we could have a category for scores using all continues, and one for just a single credit. Oh, and feel free to submit scores for any difficulty level. I probably won't stay on Normal the whole month, because I typically hit a wall with Psikyo games where I just don't progress, so I imagine I'll give Monkey and Child a good try later on, to see if I can potentially get a clear, like I did with Strikers 1945 II.

I'm in with GroovyMame, maining Ash.

Welcome, Iori! I'm having the most success with Tetsu so far, though I really like Yuan's charge attack, because it can clear bullets in your path. But Tetsu's attack is so powerful starting at power level 3, it mows down enemies quickly, which helps to clear the field, and minimize the number of threats on screen, assuming you attack stuff as soon as it arrives.

I've gotten 1CC clears on level 1 Monkey and level 3 Very Easy. Is the second loop only for level 5 Normal and higher?

I imagine I'll wrestle with Level 5 Normal for the rest of the month. I've only been using Marion, so time to branch out and try the rest - I actually don't enjoy ship choices so I go with whoever seems like the main.

The back half of the game has some fun bosses, but I really wish there was a practice mode on the Switch port.

Scores:
Level 1 Monkey: 770,200
Level 3 Very Easy: 773,300
Level 5 Normal: 353,100

Great work, FauxMacho! I haven't messed with Monkey, Child, or Very Easy yet, but I might try to do that on tonight's stream. And yes, I believe for all 2-loop Psikyo games, the 2nd loop only unlocks with a 1-ALL on Normal or above.

To your point about ship choices, that's very interesting! Generally speaking, I would think choice would be a good thing, but I can see just wanting to jump in and build your skill in a game rather than having to take the time to learn the quirks and capabilities of the different options. Having said that, the choices on offer in Gunbird definitely vary a fair bit, so while Marion may be a good overall character, there's plenty to like about some of the others. Yuan-Nang has a charge attack that can cancel bullets immediately in front of her, Valnus's bomb is super powerful, and once you get Tetsu's power level to 3 or 4, he can cut through stuff like a hot knife through butter. Each character's charge time is a little different, as well, so there's variety in that aspect also.

Very Well FauxMacho!   Lv3 Competition is ON!   BRING IT!!! ! ! !  !   please don't actually bring it I'm not for really high levels of competition, just keeping friendly :)

300k @ Stage 4 boss on Arcade Normal.

Good progress! I'm hoping to stream some more Gunbird this evening, after a busy weekend.

Hi, sign me up

Chris Tapp76


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Anyone try the PS1 or Saturn versions yet? I was playing the Saturn version.

So you can control the speed of the scrolling a bit by moving up and down in original mode? What? I'm not sure how I like it. Maybe I'll play more and see if it's something I can get into.

If you're not playing in tate, then yes, the standard 4:3 mode gives you some ability to advance the play field a tad faster, to see more at the top of the screen, but you're definitely better off playing in tate, if at all possible. I fought that odd scrolling quirk with Strikers 1945 II for years.

Welcome to the Gunbird play-through, Chris!

I managed to clear Monkey and Child with Tetsu on stream tonight, so my high scores so far are as follows:

743,200 - Child difficulty with Tetsu
717,000 - Monkey difficulty with Tetsu

Tetsu's power so far has been the big draw, but I may branch out more again, and see if I can get Monkey clears with all characters.

I don't think I like Saturn original mode scrolling control mechanic. Just makes it feel less like shmup to me.

I'm playing the Switch version and the lag doesn't seem to be too bad, at least for the lower difficulties and my skill level.

I think I like more powerful characters Tetsu and Valnus at this point. They play according to the Cobra Kai motto:

Strike First

Strike Hard

No Mercy

[img width=700 height=709]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210512/780cd0e15bf9ec7f1edca0a44cbe1343.jpg[/img]

Managed to get to level 4 on one credit tonight using ASH on default setting.

Switch version

ASH to me is the best overall character to play with.

I find Marions special weapon too distracting on screen.

Tetsu certainly has the power but find him too slow.

Will keep trying to get the 1cc lol 😂

Oh, when is the deadline to submit final score?

Chris👍


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:slick:

I'm with you on "wobble mode" in the older Psikyo ports. That's one of many reasons I didn't take to Strikers 1945 II, back when I first bought it for the Saturn.


You can post scores through the end of May, since each game selection is dedicated for the entire month. Also, good progress! Stage 4 things tend to ramp up on the default difficulty, to where reaching stage 5 is a bit of an achievement in and of itself.

Cool, so got a few weeks then

May try the ps2 version on my CRT tonight

Probably give the Saturn version a miss having read the feedback.

Actually, I think I have every console version of Gunbird, plus mame on my cab 🤦

 


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I've been comparing the Saturn and Switch versions. I got clears on "Child" on both so far. Valnus on the Switch and Marion on original mode for the Saturn.

I prefer the regular scrolling on the Switch but the "original" mode on the Saturn is growing on me. I didn't do so good in that mode with a slower character like Valnus that I had been using. But, as soon as I switched to Marion, I did better. I was able to get out of a few times I was essentially trapped. I think you might need a faster character to take advantage of the adjustable scrolling speed.

I tried out level 3 difficulty and I see the bullets are a significant jump in speed. I'm curious to see if I do better with the regular scrolling or the adjustable scrolling speed.

I started the month on the Saturn version, and I liked the scrolling, it gave me a sense of control, but I know that's all faked and after playing the Switch version I don't think I'd like going back to it. I say I 'know' but that's me assuming the Saturn port cropped the view a bit so you are just looking at the bottom 80% or top 80% when you are 'controlling' the scrolling.


I would LOVE to know if Valnus (and everyone) have the same hitboxes. Valnus matches my play style, but he either has a bigger hitbox or it's just his low speed that gets me hit more often. If you can get a screenshot of the practice mode with hit display on with some of the characters I'd find that really interesting.

I've made it to the beginning of stage 6 in my best score. Knocked out quickly, but since I've gotten this far, I think with some more luck I could get farther.

Scores:
Level 1 Monkey: 770,200 - 1CC
Level 3 Very Easy: 773,300 - 1CC
Level 5 Normal: 497,300 - Stage 6

*cleared my high scores because they were filled with multi credit attempts I didn't want to keep anymore.

I'm I missing something? My saturn version doesn't seem to have a high score board.. or I suck and haven't made it on it yet.

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Did you let the game's attract mode loop after you played, to see if it displays the score board?


@Cork - what controllers are those for the Switch? I haven't seen that form factor yet. Good progress so far!

@FauxMacho - excellent work, hitting stage 6 on Normal! And awesome scores for the lower levels clears! You must be playing really aggressively, and mopping up all enemies, and snagging all power-ups.

Thanks, man! I've been using these below instead of the standard JoyCons. I like these because the thumb sticks are much better. The D-pad isn't quite ideal but I like it better than the standard JoyCons. At least I can do Street Fighter special moves with them. They have a little meat to them and are more comfortable for me.

https://www.amazon.com/KINVOCA-Controller-Nintendo-Replacement-Programmable/dp/B087CJYG2M

[img width=700 height=933]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210518/90fade1f1d5c8421f72874e119cd7e7d.jpg[/img]

I tried Yuan-Nang tonight and got my best score so far on level 5 difficulty 390,800

Probably my fav character now

Her bomb mechanic is very powerful against the stage bosses

I think I made it to the last stage 🤔


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Good progress, Chris! The game has 7 stages, so if that's how far you got, then that's excellent. Hopefully you can get a clear this month :D

A little tip for anyone who hasn't picked up on it yet, but I just confirmed that the auto power-down in Gunbird is based on the number of shots fired, i.e. when you get a power-up icon, it gives you a certain amount of "ammo" to use, and when you expend that, you get powered down to the next lowest level. So it's not on a timer, as I originally thought. Conserve your shots when you can, and when there are short lulls in enemy activity, depending on your character, set up your charge attack so you can strike immediately at the next target, and you can use that to help stay powered up longer.

Cork and I just played a test two player game with Fightcade.    It's loads of fun!  

Not quite perfect tho.   My side had some lag.   Cork was the server.   Did your side have any lag?  

Sometimes a sound effect would linger for several minutes.  

My play window size was too small.   Not the best for my aging eyes.

NONE of this should stop anyone from trying it out.

Fightcade plays Gunbird using the MAME format ROM.   I can hook up anyone who needs it.

Hey Guys.

Once again a bit late to the party. :)

Here's my progress so far:

Monkey - 757.900 (clear)
[img width=281 height=500]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51202220466_6a1ab19613.jpg[/img]

Child - 717.600 (clear)
[img width=500 height=281]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51203285670_0aa1daae46.jpg[/img]

Very Easy - 719.500 (clear)
[img width=281 height=500]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51201504242_c0fe402768.jpg[/img]

Easy - 522.500 (St.6 Boss)
[img width=281 height=500]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51203285650_7ef79f464b.jpg[/img]

Normal - 480.300 (St.6)
[img width=281 height=500]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51202422503_34eaef7355.jpg[/img]

Nice... some REAL scoring there TOB!

And now for some UNREAL scoring.   This evening, GameBoy Guru and I teamed up to TAKE ON THE WORLD!!!! ! ! !  !!1  (version ROM of Gunbird).   Two players mode.   On fightcade!   And it WORKS!

But not perfectly.   There is some input lag on the client player side.   I was always about 3-4 frames behind, and could not realistily navigate dense bullet patterns.   But these days I have problems with that at the best of times LOL.

For the first time ever, I got a higher score than GBG.   Probably because I spent more money on credits.  Pay to Win!  1994 Style.   Seriously we continued with reckless abandon.

Everyone should give this a try before declaring their Gunbird experience completed.

That was insane! I'm pretty sure the World version of the arcade ROM is harder than the original Japanese ROM set, but in 2-player mode, it ramps up to the extreme. You have to know what you're doing, and be prepared for serious challenge. We played a round, and then a bit later, I played around with Cork, and did the full 2 loops. One thing I made sure to do was move the window over to my tate monitor, and resize it, so I could actually see what was going on. In terms of lag, I don't know if I felt any or not. I was kind of overwhelmed the whole time, so I didn't take time to notice latency. I'll have to pay more attention next time, and see if I notice. We'll have to give Fightcade another go, but move the difficulty down to "Easy" and see if that's a bit closer to "Normal" in the original Japanese ROM set. Oh, and next time Geriatric.Danmaku.....stop hogging all the power-ups!  :grrr:  :slick:

Also, great scores, zoydo!

Nice scores and clears Zoydo!

I didn't notice any significant lag when I played two player with Geriatric or MetalFRO. But, I had been playing the Switch version so maybe forget my lag opinions.  :P

Probably after playing with a 2P for a while you start to get a good flow going and get used to the chaos. I noticed playing with MetalFRO using Yuan and me playing Marion, we had a high / low strategy going. FRO used Yuan's charge attack high and close to the enemies for big damage. I sat back with Marion and tried to cover FRO. Who knows if it was the best strategy but it was a strategy.

I noticed there were different interactions between characters between levels. Between Yuan and Marion, it was all about Marion not being a fully "developed" woman  :-\ :-\ But, I'm curious about the interactions of the other characters.

Keep in mind, Marion is 13 in the game, so that should provide a bit of context. And given that, I wouldn't go in for a play-through with Ash and Marion. He takes an unhealthy interest in her, and let's just say when she gets her wish, he loses interest.

As for the strategy, I think it worked well enough, considering all that was going on in our run. I'll be curious to see what we get trying it again on Easy, and see if it more closely mirrors the standard difficulty.

Thx guys. Your coop-session sounds like fun too! :D

They were! I think going forward, I want to try and incorporate online coop play as often as we're able, whether it's through Fightcade, Steam, or other platforms/means. It opens up possibilities in some games, like this one, that change the experience enough that we will want to explore that more specifically.

Heck yeah on the Coop play.   Those of us who are not planning on setting up a full streaming setup can have a chance to put in a few score attempts.   Just being on stream for a few minutes really amped up the pressure to deliver.

Thanks, I was wondering about this. Just my luck I didn't see it until after my last run of the month. But hey, got muh Stage 5. Feels like I could get further still if I could just stay focused longer.

Here's my final high score from Gunbird. I got to the last batch of bosses in Stage 6. I went to Galloping Ghost last weekend, unfortunately the monitor for their Gunbird was half dim and the top half was a bit out of focus, so it was not very playable. I did play Sinistar for the first time, and that's an excellent game I will now always play when I see it.

I really enjoyed the game, but I wish the Switch/City Connection/Zerodiv port had more to it. I'm not good enough to detect the lag, so I'll have to trust the science on that one, but a practice mode and online leaderboard would have been nice.


Scores:
Level 1 Monkey: 770,200 - 1CC
Level 3 Very Easy: 773,300 - 1CC
Level 5 Normal: 546,100 - Stage 6

[img width=108 height=144]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/9578814ae44f88f896c122d8ee7b31fb.jpg[/img]

Think I’m going to submit my final score as 390,800 - difficulty 5 - stage 5 - Nintendo Switch

Final thoughts

Great game, mainly used Ash and Yuan Nang.

I found Yuan Nang the best overall character with a good balance of speed, power and bomb ability. My highest score was achieved with her.

Ash was pretty cool to use and liked the speed of the character but felt his shot was very much underpowered.

Marion was by far the worst. I just found her fully powered up shot too distracting when trying to dodge enemy bullets.

Overall the pace of the game was just right but the game difficulty really ramps up after the fourth level!

During this months play thorough I tried the ps2 version on a CRT but actually preferred the switch version running on a 4K tv, using the TVs game mode setting. If I’m honest I didn’t really notice any comparable lag between the two.

To sum up, I have many versions of this game across all platforms, old and new. The Switch version comes highly recommended and never noticed any of the reported lag issues that apparently come with ZeroDiv ports.

Maybe Gunbird 2 should be on the agenda, if it has not already been covered???

Chris Tapp76


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[img width=288 height=384]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/13a6c53f4e922eeeaf97e29db8abd996.jpg[/img]

Another screen shot of final score

Chris Tapp76👍


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This was a great month of Shmup Club!  We have given the team alot of material for the podcast.  Hopefully not too much?

Nope, this is awesome! Was great to see this much participation, and have plenty of feedback to use. Thanks everyone for jumping on board!