Don-Pachi: Strategy

The more enemies you hit consecutively, the higher your chain is. In other words, once you hit an enemy, a chain-timer starts to count down, and if you fail to hit another enemy before it reaches zero, your chain will end. Hitting another enemy will restore the timer to maximum. Getting the hidden bee items also contribute to chains, I think.

Unlike DoDonPachi, you can't see this timer, and it seems to be a bit shorter in countdown time (a fraction of a second). It's tough to chain in this game. My max is 40 (thank you start of level 2!).

As for tips on score improvement (besides chaining), I don't have much to offer except get as many hidden bees and stars as you can, and try not to use too many bombs (since you get a nice bonus at the end of a level for bombs remaining).

I have the Saturn version, but it's been a long time since I played it (mostly because my TV doesn't take well to TATE). I remember having a somewhat decent score. I'll load it up and retrieve it when I get a chance.

Randorama - 15,007,140 - stage 2-4 - max hit 101 - type c (blue one)

Perhaps the " worst " game by cave team, but still a good game ( but Batsugun was better :p ).

Oh, and Tate and a good joystick help a lot :cool:

first things first:

the timing in chains is stricter than Do DonPachi, so you won't do huge stage-long chains. This doesn't mean that you can't rack up good ones tho. Best thing to do is waiting a bit before destroying squadrons or columns of tanks, so you can understand how you're supposed to chain them ( example: in stage 2, wait a bit before killing the first group of thanks, when they move on the left, then move slowly to the right, link with the incoming planes from the left, go to the right and destroy the thanks first, then link the the planes form the right while moving on the centre of the screen to chain the other row of planes from the left). Please consider that you won't get any minimum chaining time for hitting and destroying larger enemies ( like in DDP, where the hit counter stops at the red line when you use laser on those enemies), so it's better if you kill them like they are normal enemies.

Use your bombs.If you use the bombs, as you may have noticed, the game will understand that you're not a shmup god, so your bomb roster will increase in number, up to 7 ( a bomb per stage level, i.e. 1 after stage 1, 2 after stage 2, etc: when you loop, you'll get the simple level+1, i.e. 2 after stage 2-1, 3 after 2-2, etc), but be sure to use the shot bomb when the screen's engulfed with bullets, and the laser one when you have lots of large enemies.

Know your ( larger) enemies.Treat them as mid-bosses: learn their attacks and how to dodge them, it's better if you don't use any bombs on them and to use the bomb as the last defense. This of course means that stage 4 is a pain to properly master, but once you've done it, you'll find stage 5 slightly easier ( ehr, my opinion at least :sweat: ). Of course, bosses are a bit thougher than the mid-bosses: be sure to always use laser tho, else you'll spend too much time on them and they may get " angry" ( use extra attacks, thougher to dodge).I'll prepare a boss guide soon :p

P.S.

The green planes from behind: they'll pop up just before the first large dark-grey mid boss. if you use type-c, stay on your right and go towards them to hoard the bullets and destroy them with your side attack, then use your right side attack to destroy the row from your right side, and advance while destroying them: you should have destroyed the ones on upper part of the screen and while going up in the screen, you should destoy the ones who could collide with you ( sorry if i'm not clear :sweat::sweat: )

BOSSES

Stage 1

This one is pretty easy: i don't think you need any explanations, you just have to damage the central core a bit if you want to take all the bees, in order to avoid its " angry " attack.

Stage 2

a bit thougher, but still quite manageable. You have to always use laser, so you'll always destroy all the discs with your weapon or the aura. once he starts going left and right, be sure to pass between the more external part of the bullets shooted by its wings, and to go in the opposite direction ( without exagerating, since he will quickly return and go in the other direction).

Stage 3

thougher and with much more stamina, the first real challenge. Its cycle is:
1)rows of homing bullets, just dodge before they hit you and don't get closed to a side, make small movements and be wary of helicopters, they'll come from the other side of the screen.
2-a)( if the cannons have just opened) a discharge of both side cannons of bullets: stay in front of one of them if you haven't killed it yet, dodge the incoming bullets by centering your self with the random hole in the fluxus, and avoiding any other bullets from the other side.
2-b) missiles exploding in shrapnels, avoid them by positioning on a side and then standing still if no bullets are coming to you. You immediately get
3)the wild fluxus of homing bullets:if you are on one side, SLOWLY dodge going to other side ( tapping, best way) and be careful for the last blast. It takes a while, so destroy the side cannons before killing it, it's difficult to get the " angry" attack.

STAGE 4

This bast is quite tricky, so be careful!
1-a)The shield part is risky: destroy one side cannon, damage a lot the central shield, just before it explodes, then destroy the other cannon.
1-b)The machine-gun part requires calmness and careful bullet-hoarding: tap slowly to control the bullet stream, it last something like 4 seconds, when he finishes change side and tapping direction, use normal shot if you see you'll get hit and dash in a direction, the fluxus will suddenly, not gradually, change direction and you may have a chance to create a hole for dodging.

2-a)If you don't become blind for the garish colours of these attacks, the second part is not difficult, save one attack: the first wide attack, is a mix of blue and pink bullets, shot in a wide formation. Be sure to stay on his right side, just in front of the central part ( between the central and the first pink bullet on the right). Blue bullets are more, but slower and smaller, so be more careful to dodge the pink ones.
2-b) Once you destroy the first layer, continue dodging like i said the pink bullets, just don't stay in front of the enemy, since it now shoots a double machine-gun stream ( This means you have to follow him).
2-c) It will then switch to single, homing-like , pink bullets, slower and nastier, in small series of three. advance in order to get the bullets looking for you not at the bottom of the screen, time yourself in order to dodge the machine-gun attack, and make the three bullets exit from the screen on 1/4 of the screen in height, and on one side: this trick should be repeated 3 times, if i'm not wrong, and then it will switch back to 2-b.

STAGE 5

This bast has a lot of endurance, and lots of nasty attacks.

1-a) It will shoot some narrow two-bullets combinations of attacks, nothing difficult as long you don't stay in the centre.
1-b) It will call the first row of side enemies, be sure to wuickly destroy them, while dodging the increased fluxus of wide attacks ( how?Be calm, and never stay in the centre, try to be right in front of one of the central cannons, so you'll easily avoid one of the streams, and you can control the other ones: be more careful on the purple and faster bullets, the pink ones are more but very slow, just to make the patterns more convoluted).
2-a)It will open the side cannons, and start to shot the destroyable missiles: continue hoarding the normal bullets, and destroy the central cannon ( and then the side ones) while being careful not to make the homing bullets shot by the cannons overlapped in their stream.
2-b)Other enemies will go arrive on the side ramps, destroy them as fast as you can, you should now get the small exploding helicopters, don't move so they will shoot a couple of bullet per 'copter, grazing your ship.
3)The last attack:the central cannon will then shoot random bullets at two speeds, avoid the faster ones without harsh movements, so you won't get entagled by the web of slower bullets.

Now, i may say something on the second loop, but i don't think you'll need it right now :sweat:

And, of course, i won't say anything on the secret...

Uh, nevermind :sweat: :sweat: :sweat: