[AC] [DC] [360] [PS2] Triggerheart Exelica

[icycalm]

Exelica port is coming to XBLA. (filterpunk, if you are reading this, here's your precedent. From now on all bets are off.)



(Source: Kobayan)

[icycalm]

Announcement on Exelica's official site:

http://www.warashi.co.jp/exelica/information.htm

[MAXCHAIN]

Why do they always go to the console with the worst controller? Well, at least KKKK World is going to PS2.

[filterpunk]

Yep, still reading. As far as the niche games I inaccurately referenced, this is definitely a precedent... though in the previous discussion, I was thinking of Castlevania SotN, which is relatively popular, but still a 2D title and one relegated to a cheap novelty among many mainstream gamers.

In any case, I'm a little annoyed by their choosing to release this on XBLA rather than physical media. Part of that is the collector in me, as I like having little niceties like cover art. It's the same reason I continue to buy CDs and records rather than downloading crap from the iTunes store or wherever. Call me silly, but I like looking at a rack filled with games/cds/records and wondering what to play or just admiring it all for a moment.

It also leaves a bad taste in my mouth to think of anything I purchase being quite so bound to the console used to download it. I can't sell the games, nor do I know how long I'll be able to re-download them, and placing my faith in a console that I've had to send in for "repair" twice (aka shit refurb) and may have to send in a third time? Fuck that.

On the re-downloading btw, I didn't have an original Xbox, but I wonder if downloadable content like the Ninja Gaiden Hurricane Pack can still be nabbed. If so, why the hell can't I download any of the "old" content on a 360?

Maybe I'm overreacting?

[icycalm]

Why do they always go to the console with the worst controller? Well, at least KKKK World is going to ps2.

It makes no difference. Exelica is nearly unplayable with a pad anyway, regardless of the pad's quality. This is because of the stick-rotation technique which is the game's central mechanic.

As far as the niche games I inaccurately referenced, this is definitely a precedent...though in the previous discussion, I was thinking of Castlevania SotN, which is relatively popular, but still a 2D title and one relegated to a cheap novelty among many mainstream gamers.

What I was saying back in the Shiki III thread had little to do with whether the game was mainstream or niche. SotN is a decade-old game, and hence its appearence on Live is not surprising. Shiki III is a brand spanking new arcade game, and until Exelica's XBLA port was announced no such games had appeared on any of the three download services. Even Söldner-X (which will be released simultaneously on PSN and PC) doesn't count in this respect, because it's a straight-to-console/computer game and not an arcade title.

[filterpunk]

Good point, and probably where we had a bit of communication breakdown, as I didn't pay enough attention to you stating "modern arcade games." I'm not too proud to admit that yeah, you were right and I was off somewhere else :p

Anyway, I'm not terribly excited about Triggerheart, but I'll give it a go on XBLA and see if it's worth nabbing the DC version. Maybe they'll toss up Shienryu Explosion next?

[MAXCHAIN]

It makes no difference. Exelica is nearly unplayable with a pad anyway, regardless of the pad's quality. This is because of the stick-rotation technique which is the game's central mechanic.

Oh, I'd forgotten all about that :( With this and the other STGs I might end up buying a 360 arcade stick.

[icycalm]

Just came upon this cool unofficial Japanese site that looks like a kind of parody of the official one:

http://www.kk19.net/triggerneet/

They are calling the game "Triggerneet Exelica" and they have lots of stuff up there that I haven't had a chance to look at yet, including some funny-ish downloads:

http://www.kk19.net/triggerneet/download.html

[icycalm]

Screens from the XBLA version:

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/gemaga1985/19590637.html

Answers to fan-posed questions about the port:

http://www.warashi.co.jp/exelica/information.htm

This was supposed to have been out in 2007...

[icycalm]

The XBLA port is finally out (and apparently worldwide?), and Warashi has a special page for it linked off the arcade version's website:

http://www.warashi.co.jp/exelica/exelica360.htm

The line with red letters at the bottom tells us to expect more information...

I wonder how the rankings will pan out. Will we see any Shmups people up there? I bet Kiken will put in some effort.

What I also wonder is whether Warashi will consider a sequel, or any new shooting game for that matter. I do hope they make some money off this and consider future possibilities. This was by no means a bad game.

[AlphaONE]

Downloaded it today. Plays great and I heard the ability to play in tate mode is intact also... I just haven't had the time to try it yet.

[Fredrick2003]

Has anybody tried this game with the Xbox 360 Hori stick yet?

[milkycha]

Yea I had a long session with the stick today. Works well enough, but after 30 minutes I went back to the pad. Something just feels off. Maybe it's that I'm not playing in tate mode, and given the size of the playing field, it feels like there's just way too much travel on the stick for even the smallest of player movement (if that makes sense).

All in all though I'm impressed and surprised with what I got for my Microsoft points. I just wish I could put my 226BW on its side without fear of damage, because as it is, the playing field comprises only a third of my monitor's space.

[icycalm]

Just posting to say that I no longer feel the same way about the game as I did when I wrote my review, circa November 2006. I have since played the game more and my estimation of it has changed. I will play it a great deal more and when I am done with it I will either amend my review or completely rewrite it. In the meantime note that the game's official Insomnia rating is now four stars.

[Doctor Fugue]

I'm not sure what changed your mind, but I had a similar experience with the game. At first I thought it was an ugly game with an obnoxious gimmick, but for some reason I came back to it a year later and liked it much more. It is rare for me to disagree with my first impression, but here it is many months and many credits later and I enjoy it more than ever.

I have recommended to several people recently to give Triggerheart a second chance.

[icycalm]

See back then I was seeing Cave in my sleep. I still do sometimes (for real -- once about every four, five months, and then wake up with a desire to empty my bank account and buy a cab and every single PCB they've made), but I also yearn for some variety. And I'll be damned if Exelica is not the most "varied" STG to come out since Ikaruga. And so it's ugly -- and so what? Beggars can't be choosers! -- it's not like we have a choice! At least the music is cool...

Besides, I hadn't played the game enough back then. I just dropped like 10 credits in the machine and went home to review it. Like I said, my excuse was my Cave fever. Every moment spent in Hey without playing a Cave game I felt like a drug addict forced to sit down in a drug factory while staying clean and sober.

[icycalm]

Via email:

Subject: Exelica is also out for PS2

Just found out myself: http://products.alchemist-net.co.jp/pro ... index.html

Don’t have anything to say about the game and it was ported over in March 2009, so I wasn’t sure if it was worth a post in its thread.

See you.

And you thought it's best to personally email me, so that I would HAVE to respond, instead of simply posting in the thread. Great dude. You are really smart and considerate.

From now on I will only deal with you in connection with the translations. Email them to me when they are ready.

And don't email me again about anything else. I get enough spam as it is for fuck's sake.

He thought it was a good idea to personally email every time a game gets ported, instead of using the dedicated website which I designed for this very purpose. Do you see what I mean by subhuman? How can you work with such people? Every other word that comes out of their mouths, every other action they make, is an insult! I've banned him once or twice before, but that's it. If Recap's site never gets translated, so be it. There's no prize in the world valuable enough to make me associate with such stupidity.