Battle Bakraid
Title screen
| Developer: | Raizing |
|---|---|
| Music: | Atsuhiro Motoyama |
| Program: | Shinobu Yagawa Tatsuya Uemura |
| Art: | Hironobu Tamai N.Kaneko F.Namie |
| Release date: | June 8, 1999 |
| Previous game: | Armed Police Batrider |
| Next game: | Great Mahou Daisakusen |
For replay videos, visit the Video Index.
Contents
Gameplay Overview
Controls
- A: Shoot
- A (After charging): Without pressing the button, you charge an "aura", which can kill enemies at close range, pressing the button will release a charge attack.
- B: Bomb
- C: Reconfigure option
In Game Commands
- Hold C + Tap UP: Displays chain timer and score calculations. A "?" will appear to the left of the level name. To exit, repeat command.
- Hold C + Tap A/B: Changes autofire bullet speed. Tap A to increase or tap B to decrease. The number left of the level displays bullet speeds of 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 (default), 30.
- Left, Up, Left, Up + A: Enables chaining sounds. A "!" will appear to the left of the level name. To exit, repeat command.
Bullet Color Commands
Input the command and continue tapping the directional button to loop through color choices during game play. Color Choices in Order: [Yellow loops back to Orange]
- Orange (Default)
- Pink
- Purple
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Hold Start + Tap Right: Changes the NML (most common shot type such as lasers) color. Continue tapping to choose between 6 colors.
- Hold Start + Tap Down: Changes the MSL (destructable) color.
- Hold Start + Tap Left: Changes the BAL (ball shots) color.
Shooting Frequency
To change your autofire rate, tap the A button in the frequency you want to set auto-fire to.
Options when Invincible DIP switch is set
- Hold Start: During the game, the message "SLOW !?" will appear on screen and thus the game will slow down.
- Press Start: During the game will pause the game and display "PAUSE !"
- Press 1P + 2P Start: Will end the game with your current character(s) and show the credits. Skip by Start.
Formation Commands (with at least one option)
| Formation | Directional Input | Numpad Not. |
|---|---|---|
| V-formation | Right, Down, Down-Right + A | 623+A |
| Front-formation | Up, Down, Up + A | 828+A |
| Back-formation | Down, Up, Down + A | 282+A |
| Control-formation | Left, Down, Down-Left + A | 421+A |
| Circle-formation | Left, Down-Left, Down, Down-Right, Right + A | 41236+A |
Ships
There are nine ships in the game, with four different variations each. You can choose each ship's special variation by pressing a button when selecting the ship, right before starting a run:
- A = Main Shot Enhancement
- B = Bomb Enhancement
- C = Side Shot Enhancement
- START = Speed Enhancement
| Sky Dragon | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot. Side Shot: Diagonal 4-way bullets. Charge Shot: Side Shot with no gaps.
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| Saber Tiger | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot that becomes a 5-way shot at Level 4. Side Shot: 2 sets of homing missiles. Becomes a 5-way shot at Level 4. Charge Shot: Side Shot with no gaps.
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| Lightning Wolf | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot. Side Shot: Laser beams. Charge Shot: 4 side laser pods.
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| Hammer Shark | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot that becomes a 5-way shot at Level 4. Side Shot: Directional lasers. Charge Shot: 4 rotating lasers.
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| Flame Viper | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot that becomes a 5-way shot at Level 4. Side Shot: Flamethrowers. Charge Shot: 4 side flame pods.
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| Steel Bat | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Narrow 4-way spread shot that becomes a 6-way at Level 4. Side Shot: Lock-on lasers. Charge Shot: 4-way lock-on lasers.
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| Solid Ray | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: 4-way shot that becomes a 6-way at Level 3. Side Shot: 2 sets of 4-way missiles. Charge Shot: Side Shot with no gaps.
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| Buster Lizard | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot that becomes a 3-way at Level 2. Side Shot: Zig-zag lasers with homing properties. Charge Shot: Side Shot with no gaps.
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| Blade Owl | A | B | C | Start | ||||||||
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Main Shot: Forward shot that becomes a 3-way at Level 3. Side Shot: Wave shaped bullets. Charge Shot: 8-way spread.
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| Sky Dragon | Saber Tiger | Lightning Wolf | Hammer Shark | Flame Viper | Steel Bat | Solid Ray | Buster Lizard | Blade Owl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Shot Width | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Side Shot Power | Very Low | Medium | Very High | Low | High | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
| Side Shot Coverage | High | High | Low | Low | High | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Side Shot Homing | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Charge Attack Power | Very Low | Low | Very High | High | High | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
| Charge Attack Coverage | High | Medium | Medium | High | High | Low | Medium | Low | Very High |
| Charge Attack Piercing | No | No | Partial | Full | No | No | Partial | No | Full |
| Speed | High [6] | Low [2] | Medium [4] | Very High [7] | Medium [3] | Medium [3] | Low [1] | High [5] | Medium [4] |
| Main Strength | Speed | Side Shot | Side Shot | Speed | Side Shot | Main Shot? | Charge Attack | Speed | Charge Attack |
| Main Weakness | Power | Speed | Coverage | Power | Minimum Shot Width / Speed | Almost Everything | Speed | Power | Power |
Full piercing attacks penetrate through all obstacles.
Partial piercing attacks stop when they hit something, but their impact can damage objects slightly above the impact point, which can be all you need on some bosses like Grell.
Ship Hitboxes
Red = Player hitbox (mostly located on the cockpit window of each ship)
Green = Graze hitbox
Items
Medals
Special Option Formations
| Wide | 1) Miss exactly 5 Side-Shot Power Ups 2) Pick up the next Option item |
|---|---|
| Search | 1) Miss exactly 5 Option items 2) Pick up the next Option item |
| Homing | 1) Miss exactly 5 Bomb items 2) Pick up the next Option item |
| Shadow | 1) Miss exactly 5 Medals 2) Pick up the next Option item |
| Rolling | 1) Miss exactly 5 Shot Power Ups 2) Pick up the next Option item |
Rank
There are two separate values determining the rank in Battle Bakraid. One value determines only the starting rank and has no further effect on the gameplay (START RANK in the dip switch settings). This value is the same for Training and Normal mode. After the player has started a run, the rank is then gradually increasing determined by another value, which is the per frame rank increase (TIMER RANK in the dip switch settings).
The starting rank of the first credit after boot-up is always 14,221,312 (D90,000 in hex) on default settings regardless of the Course you choose (the game checks for the starting rank value of Normal Course). The starting rank of all succeeding runs actually depends solely on the Course selection of the previous run. If your previous run was on Normal Course, the starting rank of your next run is the value of Normal Course regardless whether you have selected Training Course, Advanced Course, or Only Boss Course. However, if your previous run was on Advanced Course instead, the starting rank of your next run is the value of Advanced Course regardless whether you have selected Training Course, Normal Course, or Only Boss Course.
The minimum rank cap behaves in exactly the same way. The first run after boot-up will always start with a minimum rank cap of 16,252,928 (F80,000 in hex) on default settings regardless of the Course you choose.
Therefore, you get a lower starting rank and a lower minimum rank cap for Advanced Course and Only Boss Course when you reset the PCB after each credit (or play a run of Training or Normal Course first). If you choose to continuously play Training or Normal Course, shutting down the PCB has no advantage.
| Difficulty | Course | Minimum rank in dec (hex) | Starting rank in dec (hex) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Training | 16,776,960 (FFF,F00) | 14,679,840 (DFF,F20) |
| Normal | |||
| Advanced | 14,679,840 (DFF,F20) | 12,844,832 (C3F,F20) | |
| Only Boss | 12,582,720 (BFF,F40) | 11,009,824 (A7F,F20) | |
| Normal [default] | Training | 16,252,928 (F80,000) | 14,221,312 (D90,000) |
| Normal | |||
| Advanced | 14,221,312 (D90,000) | 12,443,648 (BDE,000) | |
| Only Boss | 12,189,696 (BA0,000) | 10,665,984 (A2C,000) | |
| Hard | Training | 15,728,640 (F00,000) | 13,762,560 (D20,000) |
| Normal | |||
| Advanced | 13,762,560 (D20,000) | 12,042,240 (B7C,000) | |
| Only Boss | 11,796,480 (B40,000) | 10,321,920 (9D8,000) | |
| Very Hard | Training | 14,680,064 (E00,000) | 12,845,056 (C40,000) |
| Normal | |||
| Advanced | 12,845,056 (C40,000) | 11,239,424 (AB8,000) | |
| Only Boss | 11,010,048 (A80,000) | 9,633,792 (930,000) |
Notes
- Rank maxes out at 00,000,000 (000,000 in hex) regardless of the difficulty setting or Course.
- At the end of every stage, rank is increased by 655,360 (A0,000 in hex), regardless of if you timed out the boss, or killed it.
Per frame rank has the following base values (decided by the TIMER RANK dip setting).
| Per Frame Rank | Rank | Rank (Starting game by pressing Start in test menu) |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 0 (0x00) | 1 (0x01) |
| Normal [default] | 3 (0x03) | 4 (0x04) |
| High | 14 (0x0E) | 16 (0x10) |
| Very High | 112 (0x70) | 128 (0x80) |
The following things will also increase your per-frame rank for all runs:
- Pressing "Yes" on Stage Select screen (+1 per-frame rank)
- Having more than 0 credits inserted while playing (+X per-frame rank, where X are credits inserted)
Both the overall rank counter and the per frame rank are influenced by certain actions of the player, e.g. firing your Shot or picking up an item. The actions that have an effect on rank are listed in the tables below (incomplete listing as of now). Even though, an increase in difficulty is actually measured by a decreasing rank counter, the numbers below are listed as if the rank counter would count up. This is simply to make things easier to follow.
Rank can only be lowered by one of the following actions.
| Action | Rank increase in dec (hex) |
|---|---|
| Death from 0 lives > Game Over | -4,194,304 (-400,000) |
| Death from 1 life > 0 lives | -2,097,152 (-200,000) |
| Death from 2 lives > 1 life | -1,048,576 (-100,000) |
| Death from 3 lives > 2 lives | -524,288 (-80,000) |
| Death from 4 lives > 3 lives | -262,144 (-40,000) |
| Graze a bullet (per frame) | -512 (-200) |
Activating Shot Special Power Up and secret Option Formations results in a permanent per frame rank increase that stays even after the player dies or unequips them.
| Action | Per Frame Rank increase in dec (hex) |
|---|---|
| Shot Special Power Up | 2 (2) |
| Wide Formation | 1 (1) |
| Search Formation | 2 (2) |
| Homing Formation | 2 (2) |
| Shadow Formation | 0 (0) |
| Rolling Formation | 0 (0) |
| Item | Rank increase in dec (hex) |
|---|---|
| 100~900 Medals | 1,024 (400) |
| 1,000~9,000 Medals | 2,048 (800) |
| 10,000 Medal | 4,096 (1,000) |
| 100,000 Medal | 131,072 (20,000) |
| Shot Power Up | 4,096 (1,000) |
| Side-Shot Power Up | 4,096 (1,000) |
| Option | 4,096 (1,000) |
| Bomb Item (small) | 2,048 (800) |
| Bomb Item (large) | 65,536 (10,000) |
| Extend Items | |
| 0 lives > 1 life | 131,072 (20,000) |
| 1 life > 2 lives | 262,144 (40,000) |
| 2 lives > 3 lives | 524,288 (80,000) |
| 3 lives > 4 lives | 1,048,576 (100,000) |
| 4 lives (surplus) | 2,097,152 (200,000) |
| Attacks | |
| Bomb | 32768 (8,000) |
| Shot (per bullet) | 4 (04) |
| Option shot (per bullet) | 6 (06) |
| Side shot (per bullet) | See table below |
| Ship | Side shot rank increase in dec (hex) |
|---|---|
| Sky Dragon | 6 (06) per bullet |
| Saber Tiger | 56 (38) per missile |
| Lightning Wolf | 6 (06) per frame, per laser |
| Hammer Shark | 6 (06) per beam |
| Flame Viper | 56 (38) per fireball |
| Steel Bat | 26 (1A) per bullet |
| Solid Ray | 36 (24) per missile |
| Buster Lizard | 26 (1A) per bullet |
| Blade Owl | 6 (06) per bullet |
Notes:
- Dropping a medal or an extend item has no effect on rank.
- Collecting excess items for score has no additional effect on rank.
- Reaching the next full bomb with a Bomb Item (small or large) has no additional effect on rank.
- Aura attacks have no effect on rank.
Killing large enemies that have an effect on the multiplier while a multiplier is already active (so anything higher than x1) increases the rank as follows. Small enemies that do not have an effect on the multiplier also do not increase the rank this way.
| Multiplier Chaining | Rank increase in dec (hex) |
|---|---|
| Large enemy at (x1) > x2 | 4,096 (1,000) |
| Large enemy at x2 > x4 | 8,192 (2,000) |
| Large enemy at x4 > x8 | 16,384 (4,000) |
| Large enemy at x8 > x16 | 32,768 (8,000) |
| Large enemy at x16 > x32 | 65,536 (10,000) |
| Large enemy at x32 > x64 | 262,144 (40,000) |
| Large enemy at x64 |
Mame debugging rank
Address to rank in Mame debugger: 20f2e6 (4-byte long)
Address to per-frame rank in Mame debugger: 20f2ea (1-byte long)
Address to rank variation in Mame debugger (only tracks changes whose absolute value is greater than 0x400): 20f2f4 (4-byte long)
Address to maximum rank in Mame debugger: 20f2ee (4-byte long)
Scoring
WIP
Enemy point values
- Main article: Battle Bakraid/Enemy list
Bosses
- Main article: Battle Bakraid/Bosses
Strategy
Self-Destruction
Destroying your ship on purpose (known as either self-destruction or "suicide") is very important in order to keep chains going and get more bombs once you've run out.
While the player's ship is exploding and releasing shrapnel, the combo chain multiplier becomes frozen. Their ship will also not respawn until the debris has completely left the screen.
This means that just like in Armed Police Batrider, you can control the respawn time depending on where you die on the screen, corner deaths or deaths at the top or bottom of the screen will create the longest respawn time, which is useful for chaining, while deaths close to the center of the screen will create the shortest respawn time, which is useful for catching extends or medals before they fall off the screen.
Trivia
Bugs
- Collecting an option item while a charge-shot is ending (while the options are returning to their normal placement) is buggy, and behaves differently between the original release and Unlimited version of the game.
- In the original release, the collected option becomes the only option, and the options that were acquired previously are hidden. By dying or releasing a charge-shot, the previous options are restored to normal behavior.
- In Unlimited, the collected option does not actually give an option, but the space where an option would be is considered occupied. As a result, collecting more options will never fill that slot. By dying or releasing a charge-shot, the empty option is removed, allowing its space to be occupied again, but the option that was collected is lost forever.
References
- Pictures of the ships from Eighting's official website (https://www.8ing.co.jp/museum/prd/bakraid/)
- Table for the classification of the ships from shmups forum member "ciox" (forum post dated October 21th 2016; cf. https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1218735#p1218735)
- Rank info from shmups forum member "croikle" (forum post dated August 6th 2010; cf. https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=599952#p599952) and "trap15" (http://daifukkat.su/strats/bakraid/system)
