I still don't know what the hell a 'Border' is, but the name of the game happens to be, there are three paths in each level assigned to three friendly craft (ie. the craft you control; they're exactly the same except for their color). Before any given level begins, the path through a particular level is outlined (sorta like a road map) in Red, Yellow or Green. In Level 1 all three paths are the same but Level 2 onward the path through each level branches off. You have the option in the beginnning of the first level to select a desired path.
The craft that takes the Red path faces heavy opposition from enemy forces (bullets spraying everywhere in true manic fashion), there's moderate opposition facing the craft that takes the Yellow path, and the Green path is more or less a cakewalk with no particularly overwhelming 'dot clutter'. If you lose a life while taking the Green or Yellow path, you 'Border Down' (what does that mean exactly?), or in other words the 'operation' involving the Green or Yellow path ends, and you assume the role of the craft taking the respective Yellow or Red path. Once you lose a life when taking the Red path, the game is over (that's right, only one life while in Red). Also, there are checkpoints in the game, so when you lose a life you don't have to start at the beginning of the 'lower' path once you reach a certain area of the previous path. All three crafts meet up at the same time with the end boss of any given level (that I've played through so far). Instead of the action ending during boss fights after a lost life the way they do in the regular levels, the next craft in line appears right after the last craft is destroyed.
There's an 'extend' meter on the bottom right hand of the screen that gives you the option to select an easier path at the beginning of a particular level (eg. if you finished Level 1 with the craft that takes the Red path and you want to choose Level 2's Green path, only way to do so is to rack up enough points in Level 1 to 'unlock' both the Yellow and Green paths).
Bottom line is, the action and bullet clutter gets rather heavy (like other Taito shooters) in BD's Red paths of each level. Still, the Yellow path is no slouch in difficulty either. Hope that clears up some of the mystery behind Border Down's gameplay. Not like many of you guys will have the opportunity to play the game
I'll provide more updates when I can about BD. I'd love to offer more and frequent details about Border Down and other games like Ketsui (wow that game rocks so far) and hopefully the upcoming SNK vs Capcom, but the arcade I go to that has all the new and cool games is too far away for me to visit on a regular basis.
PS. Seven Force, do you have or have you seen the latest copy of Famitsu? For some reason, nobody's carrying the magazine this week. What's going on here?
My main concern with the Border system is that there's too much incentive to coast through on green. Kinda like how gradius screws you over when you die, the border system will screw you up when you die, and the key to winning will be just to not die. Is there any incentive to choose the yellow or red path at the start of a level?
Nice to hear the stages branch off, the Border system would seem to offer a decent amount of replayablity. One life for the red border is harsh though. *-neo
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