Gunbird 2!

[Punky Skunk]

I'm thinking about switching over to Morrigan

Sorry, but she's taken.

I hear Hei-Cob could use some company, though.

[Triple Lei]

Ha, Hei-Cob totally sux! Then again, I thought Morrigan wasn't all that great either, and, well...

About the Mode7 method for the 1-4 boss, second form: I was playing and I Powered Down twice (on purpose, of course), and I was able to get a Power Up from the red enemy... then when crossed sides (the only place you're supposed to Power Down), I was able to easily get another Power Up from another red enemy, getting my Power Level to where it should be! Maybe this part isn't so "fate-determining" after all. The only thing is, where the red enemies actually come from seems kinda random: right, top, or left? More testing I suppose...

And my site should be updated really soon...

[Mode7]

You can power down entirely with no major repercussions and without relying on the appearance of the power-up enemies during the 1-4 boss (which requires you to power down earlier, putting you at additional risk if they should fire). You just need to make damn certain that you can grab the power-up from the first "walker" enemy of the 1-5 stage without being powered down by the swarms of smaller dive-bombing enemies. Tougher than it sounds, actually, but entirely possible to work out consistently.

[Triple Lei]

Um, I say "fate-determining" to mean, "if you Power Down more than you're supposed to, you're not going to have enough charge for 3 yo-yos," which is what you need to destroy it, right? I'm not good enough to consistently dodge the spiral that follows, and the cross after that gets me every time.

Note that I discovered the Rapid Fire feature on the Dreamcast stupidly late (as in, this week ), and with that, I noticed that Powering Down twice, I still have just enough for that 3rd yo-yo. I'm basing my experience on arcade play, where I couldn't have tapped the fire button that fast for that long, only giving me enough charge for 2 yo-yos, forcing me to use another bomb. Sure, I'm the best at my arcade, but it's still shameful...

[Mode7]

It only takes two yo-yos to drop him, and I can generally do so with a couple melee attacks to spare. Are you staying close enough to ensure a boosted charge rate?

For the criss-crossing pattern, use very small dodging motions. Running about the screen will get you killed every time. But really, he shouldn't even be surviving that long if you're in his face with the yo yos.

[BER]

For the sky stage's bird boss, I found a landmark that
helped me locate the safe spot in the boss's loose spray
attack. Try using the bird's skeleton.

http://www.shmups.com/beepreying/gb2/safespot.png

While the boss is stunned for losing its legs, I would
align horizontally the top of Alucard's head with the tip
of the bird's fourth bone from the right. You guys should
be able to use a similar landmark for your favorite
characters.

[Superstition]

Well, not the best score since I was going for pure survival:
306,700 Superstition / Tavia 1-4

I'm playing in original mode one since I'm not all that hot about flipping my 27" WEGA on its side.

Have any of you fared better using the Agetec Arcade Stick instead of the Dreampad? I was thinking about finding one and see if it improves my game.

[jef]

Personally, I play better with a stick. I think it may be my arcade roots, it just works better for me.

It's totally a preference thing though, ymmv (totally).

-Jef
...who believes real mean play with sticks

[Triple Lei]

Umm... hmm.

Original Mode is... yucky. When I had to go back I couldn't trigger a single gemhead, and since you actually lose movement area, I couldn't get to the hiding spot in the 1-4 boss' 2nd form, and the 1-5 boss' 1st form was impossible. I played better on my side, even though I have a huge headache just remembering it...

Pads VS Sticks: I play my absolute best at the arcade; I bought an X-Arcade stick and I'm sorry to say it doesn't quite match up, since the base can and will move around when you go up (it happens less often when I sit on the floor, but meh), and "tapping" movements are much more finicky, though I suspect this just means I have to get another stick and install that somehow. So although I couldn't imagine even beating the game with a pad (since quick left-right movements were impossible, and moving down often meant moving down and to the sides, due to the horrible design of the DC controller itself), I couldn't imagine playing without it. Though if I did order a stick from Happ Controls, I wouldn't know which one to get... help?

As for the 1-4 boss' 2nd form, it still takes me 3 yo-yos, though I can throw 2 and kill it with regular shots before I have to do serious dodging. Luckily I can now dodge that too, so no worries. And I actually did try that "tap down as you need to" tactic I created and it works beautifully! And to be honest I can't really use that landmark... just me.

Finally I updated my Personal Bests page - most notably my "earliest extend," which is now after the first few gems of the 1-5 gemhead. I bet Rob gets his extends in 1-4...

I think I'm going to further revise my 1-6 and 1-7 strategies since I relied too much on dying. Perhaps I can just go through the stage with the 2nd highest power level...

[jef]

Originally posted by Triple Lei

Pads VS Sticks: I play my absolute best at the arcade;

<SNIP>

Though if I did order a stick from Happ Controls, I wouldn't know which one to get... help?

Personally, I'm not a big fan of HAPP sticks. I'd check out Arcade Infinity's website and try and get a Japanese ball-type stick. It's short, has a small ball on the top, and it very clicky; just the way I like them :>

-Jef