Mushihimesama Futari
Title screen
| Developer: | CAVE |
|---|---|
| Music: | Manabu Namiki Kimihiro Abe |
| Program: | Tsuneki Ikeda |
| Art: | Hideki Nomura |
| Release date: | October 27, 2006 |
Mushihimesama Futari (虫姫さまふたり literally Bug Princess Duo) is a vertical scrolling shooting game released in arcades by CAVE in 2006. It is a sequel to Mushihimesama (虫姫さま) which was released in 2004. In addition to Reco, the player character of the first game, it features the addition of a second player character called Palm. After a short life in arcades the original version 1.0 was replaced with an upgraded 1.5 version featuring numerous gameplay changes and enhancements. A more extensively modified version, Mushihimesama Futari Black Label was also released to arcades in 2007. A slightly easier revision of Black Label, subtitled Another Version, was also developed, and may have been originally intended for international release?. The game was ported to the XBOX 360 by M2 in 2009. It included version 1.5 with Black Label available as DLC, in addition to exclusive Arrange and Novice modes. A 1.01 version based heavily on version 1.0 with minor changes was produced in 2007 but was not widely released in arcades. It was included as a bonus DLC code in limited editions of the XBOX 360 port.
The game features three modes to choose from. Like the original 'Mushihimesama', Original Mode features few in number but fast moving bullets and a simple scoring system, while Maniac Mode has greater in number but slower moving bullets and a more complex scoring system. Much like the first game in the series, Ultra Mode aims for an exceptionally high difficulty level with an extreme number of bullets. Unlike the first game the scoring system of Ultra Mode is based on the simpler Original Mode system rather than a duplication of the Maniac Mode system. In Black Label, however, 'Ultra Mode' is absent and is replaced instead with God Mode, which features a more manageable difficulty level, with often simplified versions of enemy attacks from Ultra Mode, and an enhanced version of the Maniac Mode scoring system.
For Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 replay videos, visit the Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 Video Index.
For Mushihimesama Futari Black Label replay videos, visit the Mushihimesama Futari Black Label Video Index.
Contents
- 1 Gameplay Overview
- 2 Console Release Notes
- 2.1 Unlockable Secrets
- 2.2 Shot Types
- 2.3 Items
- 2.4 Rank
- 2.5 Scoring
- 3 Strategy
- 4 Story
- 5 Development History
- 6 Version Differences
- 7 Trivia
- 8 Gallery
- 9 References
Gameplay Overview
Controls
- A (Press): Wide shot
- A (Hold): Focus shot
- B: Bomb
- C (Hold) Wide shot (autofire)
While using focus shot, movement speed is reduced. If both A and C are held A takes precedence. An often used technique is to hold both buttons and release the A button to seamlessly transition from laser to rapid shot.
Tapping A and holding C both have the same effect and will produce an autofire stream of rapid shot. Tapping C on the other hand has two functions: it will produce a momentary burst of fire, and will also set the rate of autofire to be used when using the normal rapid shot. Tapping C also resets the lasers shot by Reco's options and this can be used to manage damage output in some situations.
Use of a bomb will grant temporary invulnerability and erase all enemy bullets throughout its duration.
Console Release Notes
Xbox 360
- Physical Release? - Yes
- Region Locked? - No
- Arranged Modes - Yes: 'Arrange', 'Novice' [1]
- Online Leaderboards? - Yes
- Tate Option? - Yes
- Original Arcade Graphics - Yes in Version 1.5 'Arcade' mode (and Xbox 360 can be forced to output 4:3 ratio at 480p)
- Internal Scanlines Generator: Yes- 'Picture Setting D' :)
- Graphical Filters: This release has a huge variety of graphical options!
- Training mode - Yes
- Training Mode Configuration:
- Save States - No - Level Select - Yes - Customise Resources - Yes, all. - Save multiple sets of training configurations - No - Boss Fight Select - Yes :) - Mid Boss Fight Select - No - Save Training Run Replays - No
- Replay Mode - Yes (& can download high scoring replays from Leaderboards)
- Replay Options:
- Can slow playback to 1/16 speed.
Unlockable Secrets
Unlocking Ultra Mode in Version 1.0
In the original version 1.0 Ultra mode was hidden by default. In order to unlock it a code must be entered: After inserting a coin, hold A, B, and C on the 2nd player controls and input the following combination on the 1st player controls:
→, C, B, ↑, ↓, ←, B, A, C, A[1][2]
A sound effect will play upon successful activation and Ultra mode will become available in the mode select menu.
Always face Spiritual Larsa in God Mode
In Black Label, the true last boss, Spiritual Larsa is normally only accessible by completing the game on God Mode, the highest difficulty, without losing a single life, including defeating the standard final boss, Dragon Emperion. However, on the arcade platform there exists a code that removes this no-death requirement, enabling the player always to encounter Spiritual Larsa at the end of God Mode.
In order to activate, first insert a coin, then while holding the B button on the 1st player controls, input the following combination on the 2nd player controls:
B, B, ↓, ↓, C, ↑, A, C, ←, A, →, B[3]
A sound effect will play upon successful entry, and Spiritual Larsa will always appear upon defeating Dragon Emperion at the end of God Mode whether the player has died or not. This code remains in effect even when the PCB is powered off and on again, but can be disabled by inputting the standard CV1000 hardware reset code (as documented in MAME's CV1000 driver source) that also works in games with code unlocks like DFK 1.0 and Deathsmiles to return the game to its factory settings state:
" - During boot hold P1 Right+A+B+C and P2 Left+A+B+C - Forcibly initialise non-volatile data (EEPROM or NAND settings area)"
" - During boot hold P1 A and P2 A - Reset random numbers generator at each game start. Probably was used during testing or/and competition events."
Shot Types
Each of the two playable characters has two shot types to choose from, Normal and Abnormal. The Normal types tend to be weaker in power than the Abnormal Types but more mechanically conventional and easier to use. Unlike other versions of the game, Black Label features only two shot types, one for each character. They can loosely be considered an amalgamation of the Normal and Abnormal shot types from version 1.5. The two characters also have different bombs that function differently.
Reco
Reco's bomb is similar to the bomb in the first Mushihimesama game. It is thrown towards a target where it then explodes. The damage is concentrated within a small area and the bomb can be aimed to some extent by moving in the direction to be thrown towards. Like the original game, the bomb will bounce off the edges of the screen which can cause it to miss its intended target.
Normal
Normal Reco's weapons make reference to two of the weapons in the original Mushihimesama game. The rapid shot is based on the W Power weapon, being a wide shot that expands in range as power increases. The options fire lasers and are positioned at the sides of the player, in a similar way to the Formation option style in the first game.
The laser is based on the S Power weapon from the first game, being a forward aiming weapon that isn't a true laser, but consists of individual bullets like the rapid shot.
Normal Reco has the slowest non-laser movement speed in the game, which can sometimes be a disadvantage when a high degree of mobility is required to deal with enemies or their attacks. The movement speed while using laser is shared with Abnormal Palm, and is also the slowest laser speed in the game, allowing for accurate movement between tightly spaced bullets.
The Laser of this shot type is the second weakest of the four shot types. This can prolong boss fights allowing them to progress to much more dangerous attacks and make it much harder to survive. The laser also has quite a narrow range, which can make dealing damage to crucical targets difficult while being continually pushed away by threats. However the rapid shot has an extremely wide range making this shot type very useful for dealing with the large swarms of enemies that often appear around the entire screen during the later stages of the game.
Abnormal
This is the most difficult of the four shot types to make effective use of. Abnormal Reco's rapid shot is similar in range to 'Normal Reco''s rapid shot, but is much stronger and can deal a large amount of damage to enemies at point blank range. Specifically, the rapid shot gets a special damage bonus when firing at close range, which is shown by the explosions becoming much bigger. The close range damage from the rapid shot is roughly equivalent to the laser damage (with all 4 options locked on) but is generally impractical for bosses. In contrast to Normal Reco, the option formation is based on the Trace style from the first Mushihimesama game, following along with the movement path of the player in a snake-like pattern reminiscient of the Gradius series from Konami.
The laser is somewhat more powerful than its normal counterpart, but making effective use of it is difficult. The majority of damage comes from the options which must be locked onto the target by placing them within a very close range. This carries a high level of risk, and failure to attach enough options to a target will severely reduce the damage output.
Compounding the difficulty in making effective use of the laser is the eccentricity of the movement speeds of this shot type. The movement speeds are essentially inverted, with the speed while using laser being the fastest movement speed available in the game. The movement speed while not using laser is far slower while still being faster than the laser speed of any other shot type. This makes Abnormal Reco the fastest shot type of the four. Laser must be used with all options locked onto the target in order to deal effective damage at long range. This means use of the laser is essential while fighting bosses, but this also means that attacks must be dodged while dealing with the extreme movement speed, requiring a high degree of precision. The laser movement speed makes dodging certain attacks so dangerous that sometimes a significant amount of damage output must be sacrificed by switching to the slower rapid shot in order to navigate the enemy attacks. This shot type is the least score efficient of the four shot types by far, purely because its unusual mechanics often interfere heavily with optimal scoring technique.
Black Label
Reco's Black Label shot type is most similar to the Abnormal variant from 1.5. The range from which the options can lock onto a target has been greatly extended, making it much easier to deal effective damage to durable enemies, and the damage of the laser has been greatly increased. The movement speeds have been returned to a much more conventional arrangement, with the laser speed being considerably slower. Reco's rapid shot speed is somewhat slower than Palm's but her laser speed is somewhat faster.
Palm
Palm's bomb behaves very differently to Reco's. It deals similar damage but instead of being concentrated within the area of the explosion radiates outwards from the explosion, the damage being more evenly distributed throughout the screen. This means that it will instantly remove any enemy of sufficiently low HP from the screen, regardless of its position, wheras Reco's bomb will only damage targets in its immediate vicinity.
Normal
Normal Palm's rapid shot is fairly powerful, though not as powerful as Abnormal Reco's rapid shot when used at close range. As it is a straight angled shot proximity does not have as significant an effect on damage output as Reco's rapid shot types.
Normal Palm's laser is by far the weakest laser in the game, being not much more damaging than the rapid shot. While the two weapons being so close in damage can seem to make switching between them for scoring purposes much simpler, the weak laser greatly prolongs boss fights, and makes timing destructions for optimal bullet cancels extremely difficult. The vast majority of damage is concentrated in the central laser, with the smaller lasers coming from the options contributing essentially negligible damage. Despite this, the firing angle of the option lasers can be adjusted through vertical movement, with the lasers fanning out as the player moves up, and contracting as the player moves down. Diagonal movement however will not have any effect on the angles of the option lasers.
Normal Palm moves considerably faster than Normal Reco, both when using laser and not using laser. This is advantageous in the latter case but the higher laser speed makes precision of movement more difficult while dodging bullet-heavy enemy attacks.
Abnormal
In version 1.5, Abnormal Palm's main advantage is power, as this shot type possesses the most damaging laser in the game. This makes it by far the best shot type for dealing with bosses, as the bosses will often be destroyed before having the chance to use some of their most dangerous attacks. The high damage output also provides a scoring advantage as it grants a high degree of flexibility in the timing of bullet cancels. In addition to extremely high damage, the laser has a wide range of attack as it will automatically lock onto nearby targets, allowing the player to move freely while still dealing damage.
In contrast, this shot type has the weakest rapid shot, both in terms of damage and range. The rapid shot follows an unusual path, becoming thinner the further it travels. The horizontal range of the shot is therefore much greater at close range, making it the polar opposite of either of Reco's rapid shots. Because of the poor range of the rapid shot, stages require more planning to navigate with this shot type.
While not using laser, this shot type moves at the same speed as Normal Palm, sharing with it the fastest non-laser movement speed in the game, and the second fastest overall movement speed after Abnormal Reco's laser movement speed. Its laser movement speed is shared with Normal Reco, being slower than Normal Palm's laser movement speed, and the slowest overall movement speed in the game, allowing for precise movement while dodging.
In version 1.0, this shot type was very different. The laser's damage was considerably weaker, although still stronger than the other shot types' lasers. The non-laser movement speed was slower than even Normal Reco's, and the locking range of the laser was much smaller, making this shot type far more difficult to use and less effective in versions 1.0 and 1.01.
Black Label
Palm in Black Label moves faster when not using laser than either of his 1.5 counterparts, while retaining the Abnormal laser speed, whereas Reco moves slightly faster than Palm when using laser. The laser itself is a combination of the Normal laser, albeit considerably increased in power, and the locking behaviour of the Abnormal laser. The option lasers still deal negligible damage as with Normal Palm in version 1.5, and vertical movement still expands and contracts the angles of the option lasers, however the angles now automatically contract while not moving. The rapid shot is very similar to its Normal counterpart in 1.5, with the addition of the Abnormal type's lightning that locks onto nearby enemies.
Items
All excess items are worth 10000 points .
Power Up
Increases power level up to seven times. The increase in power level is permanent and power is not reduced when a life is lost or through any other means. There are eight power up items in the game in total, with all but one of these being necessary to reach maximum power.
Bomb Item
Increases bomb stock by one. A maximum of six bombs can be carried. In most versions of the game there are four bomb items available throughout the game, usually appearing towards the end of a stage before a boss. In the original version 1.0 (but not version 1.01) only two bomb items appear in the entirety of the game.
1UP
Increases life stock by one. There is only one of these in the game, appearing in stage 5. It is contained in a house shortly after the midboss. In order to obtain the 1UP, the house must be destroyed while a bomb is not being used. Even if the bomb itself does not destroy the house, simply having a bomb in use is enough to disqualify from receiving the 1UP. In Novice Ultra mode exclusively this house contains two 1UPs.
Max Power
Appears only after having used a continue. Immediately increases the current power level to maximum.
Rank
Version 1.5
Rank plays the most prominent role in Original mode. The general rank formula is as follows:
base + bombs*4 + power*2 + framecount/256
The result is capped at a value depending on the specific mode:
| Original | 208 |
|---|---|
| Maniac | 232 |
| Ultra | 248 |
The base value is specific to each stage within each mode:
| Stage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 12 | 44 | 72 | 60 | 96 |
| Maniac | 128 | 136 | 144 | 240 | 240 |
| Ultra | 208 | 224 | 240 | 255 | 255 |
Comparing the base values with the maximum values it can be seen that rank is always at the maximum from stage 4 in the Maniac and Ultra modes. Original mode has the widest range between the minimum and maximum values so the additional factors have a much more significant impact on the final value.
This rank level primarily affects the frequency of enemy attacks, and how soon they first attack.
Original Mode
In version 1.5 and Black Label, Original Mode has an additional system. While not strictly related rank it has a large impact on difficulty: when the total gem counter reaches 70000 (version 1.5), or 100000 (Black Label) respectively, the speed of enemy bullets dramatically increases, until the counter falls back below this threshold. Activation of this special mode has additional effects which are relevant to scoring and will be discussed below. This feature is entirely absent from version 1.0 and it's derivative version 1.01.
In Black Label alone, reaching the maximum value of 9999 on the Stage Counter also causes the bullet speed to increase, but not to the same degree as the total counter. This is restricted to Black Label and the stage counter has no impact on difficulty in version 1.5 or any other versions.
Scoring
Each mode of the game has a unique scoring system, and each version of the game has a unique scoring system for that mode. The 1.0 and 1.5 scoring systems are very similar. As 1.5 is considered to be the definitive release, any differences will be noted. Scoring across all modes revolves around the collection of point items, colloquially referred to as gems or amber (琥珀) and the management of one or more gem counters. The XBOX 360 exclusive Novice Mode is identical to version 1.5 in terms of scoring mechanics.
Gem Counters
Depending on the mode, the counters used consist of either a single multiplier, or a pair of counters known as the Total Counter and the Stage Counter.
As the names imply, the Stage Counter resets at the start of every stage while the Total Counter accumulates throughout the entire game. The functions of the gem counters will be covered in more detail later.
Gem Types
In all versions and modes there are various types of gem items to collect. There are airborne gems which descend until they fall off the screen, and stationary ground gems, both of which appear in large and small varieties making for a total of four distinct gem types.
The primary difference between them is the base value that each gem adds to the gem counters when collected:
| Airborne | Small | 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Large | 2 | |
| Ground | Small | 5 |
| Large | 10 |
The large ground gems usually have a value of 10 but have a value of 13 in the highest difficulty modes.
Attracting Gems
In most versions an airborne gem can be attracted to the player by coming within 11,010,048 subpixels of its location. However in versions 1.0 and 1.01 the attraction range is smaller at 9,437,184 subpixels. Airborne gems may only be attracted while not using laser.
Ground gems can be attracted by holding the A button in most versions, however the ability to attract ground gems in this way is absent from version 1.0 and 1.01.
Bonus Gems
Destroying certain boss and midboss enemies with rapid shot regardless of the Total Counter produces extra gems: the stage 3 midboss' projectiles and the stage 4 midboss' web produce large airborne gems if destroyed with the rapid shot. The stage 3 boss leaves behind 16 large ground gems if destroyed with the rapid shot.
Stage Clear Bonus
Gem Tally
Upon completing a stage the total number of every type of gem collected is counted. However, a death will reset all of the gem counts to zero. The values awarded for each gem are as follows:
| Airborne | Small | 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Large | 1000 | |
| Ground | Small | 200 |
| Large | 2000 |
Bomb Bonus
Upon completing a stage the player also receives a bonus of 500,000 points per bomb in stock. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 this is a smaller amount at 50,000 points per bomb.
No Miss Bonus
If the player completes a stage without losing a life, a No Miss bonus is awarded. This is equal to a base value specific to each mode, multiplied by the number of the stage completed.
| Original | 1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Maniac | 2,000,000 |
| Ultra/God | 5,000,000 |
Again, in versions 1.0 and 1.01 these values are ten times smaller.
Counter Penalties
In all versions and modes, dying or using a bomb will drop the values of the Gem Counters. When bombing, the counter drops by a fixed amount per frame while the bomb is active. Since Reco and Palm have completely different bombs, they are active for different lengths of time and so the reduction in counter is different:
| 1.0(1) | 1.5 | Black Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reco | 1540 | 980 | 6820 |
| Palm | 1320 | 840 | 5940 |
In versions 1.0 and 1.01 only the Stage Counter is penalized, while the Total Counter remains the same value as it was before using a bomb. In all other versions the penalty is applied to both counters.
Upon losing a life the counters are cut by 1/3 in all versions but 1.0 and 1.01. In these versions the stage counter is cut by 25% and the total counter is cut by 50%
The counters also continuously decrease during bosses. In version 1.5 the rate of decrease is fast when not shooting (either laser or rapid shot) but slow when shooting. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 the rate is always slow.
Versions 1.5 and 1.0(1)
General
Green Gems
Collecting a gem within a certain time after it appears causes the gem to glow green as it is collected, which doubles its value. In version 1.5 an airborne gem must be collected within 48 frames of its creation to become green, while ground gems may be collected within 80 frames of creation. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 however, ground gems are never able to become green.
Bullet Cancelling
When certain enemies are destroyed all bullets on the screen will be instantly converted into gems. The duration of this effect varies from enemy to enemy and some enemies that cancel bullets in one version of the game may not cancel them in another, or for a different duration.
Life Bonus
Common to all modes is the remaining life bonus, which awards 10 million points per life the player has left upon clearing the game. This bonus is only awarded if the player has not used any continues. It is doubled if the player has defeated the true last boss, awarding 20 million points per life.
Stage 5 Lanterns
In version 1.5 the points gained from destroying the lanterns placed throughout the final stage are multiplied by the number of lanterns destroyed. The first lantern awards 100,000 points, increasing up to 2 million points by the final one. The crater left behind constantly emits a fountain of small airborne gems while it remains on screen. In Ultra Mode the lanterns also cancel bullets when destroyed within very close range, which also causes the gem fountain to consist of large airborne gems instead of small. In versions 1.0 and 1.01, all lanterns award 100,000 points, do not cancel bullets and do not emit gems when destroyed, leaving only one small ground gem in the crater.
Counterstop
The maximum score that can be reached is 3,999,999,999. Any points received beyond this will not be added to the score.
Original Mode
Stage Counter
This is the more important of the two gem counters. When collecting a gem, the value of the gem is added to the counter. The value is doubled if the gem is green. The new value of the stage counter is then added to the score. In version 1.5 this value is also doubled if the gem is green. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 green gems do not double the score awarded. Note that the type of gem does not directly affect the base score gained - this is always equal to the new value of the stage counter. Larger gems offer a small increase in point value as the stage counter increase they provide is larger.
In Original Mode the stage counter has a maximum value of 9999. When it reaches this value all four gem types become almost identical in value, aside from their contribution to the end of stage tally, as the differences in counter gain become irrelevant when the counter is already at the maximum value.
Total Counter
This counter alternates between green and blue, changing each time it increases by 500. This determines which weapon the player should use to destroy enemies. Every enemy has four sets of gems it can drop, based on the combination of the total counter state and the weapon the enemy was destroyed with. With the exception of some special cases These drop sets follow a general pattern as follows:
| Green | Blue | |
|---|---|---|
| Shot | N large gems + 1 small gem | 1 small gem |
| Laser | N small gems | N large gems |
As can be seen, the most gems are received when the counter is green and rapid shot is used. This makes the most difference with small zako enemies, as these appear in large numbers and for these particular enemies, N is equal to 1, meaning the amount of gems received from these enemies is doubled when the total counter is green. The total counter does not affect bullet cancels, which always convert each bullet into one small gem.
In Original Mode the total counter has a maximum value of 99999.
Total Counter Above 70000
When the total counter reaches 70000 the game enters a special mode in which the bullets of enemies greatly increase in speed, and a score bonus is awarded every frame. This bonus increases in value every additional 5000 added to the total counter above 70000:
| Total Counter | Per Frame Score Gain |
|---|---|
| 70000 | 1111 |
| 75000 | 3333 |
| 80000 | 6666 |
| 85000 | 11110 |
| 90000 | 16665 |
| 95000 | 23331 |
A total counter of 70000 in version 1.5 is not reachable before the final stage and not without a high level of scoring optimization.
Boss Destruction Bonuses
Each form of a boss awards a fixed point value upon destruction. For bosses in all but the last stage you receive an additional bonus equal to the Stage Counter*100. For the last stage bosses the bonus is equal to the larger Total Counter*100. Note: in versions 1.0 and 1.01 the bosses in the final stage also use the stage counter, not the total counter.
Maniac Mode
Meter
Destroying enemies with rapid shot increases a meter, represented by a horizontal bar on the left of the screen, which empties quickly. In version 1.5 simply shooting at midbosses and bosses will fill the meter, but in versions 1.0 and 1.01, as with all enemies, only destruction of midbosses and the different forms of bosses contributes to the meter. The status of this meter determines what happens when an enemy is destroyed with a certain weapon.
- When the meter is completely empty and an enemy is destroyed with laser, blue gems (see below) are produced.
- When the meter is in the blue area and an enemy is destroyed with any weapon, small gems are produced
- When the meter is in the red area and an enemy is destroyed with rapid shot, large gems are produced
- In 1.5, When the meter is in the red area and an enemy is destroyed with laser, twice as many large gems are produced. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 this does not increase the number of gems produced.
In the case of bullet cancels, only the bullets present when the cancel is first initiated can be converted into blue gems. Any bullets fired after initiation but before the cancel has ended will be converted into normal gems.
Multiplier
Maniac mode only has a single gem counter - the multiplier. Collecting ordinary gems increases the multiplier by the standard amounts, including the doubling of the value received when collecting green gems. The multiplier is not applied to these gems and they directly contribute only a small amount of score.
Blue Gems
These are the only gems that award a significant amount of points in Maniac Mode. Unlike other gems these blue gems only exist in airborne form. When collected the multiplier is applied to the base value of the gem, and large blue gems have twice the base value of small ones. At the same time the multiplier is decreased. Maniac scoring therefore consists of a cycle of building up the multiplier by collecting normal gems, then spending the multiplier at lucrative points by producing blue gems. Unlike other gems, blue gems do not contribute to the end of stage gem bonus tally.
Ultra Mode
Ultra Mode uses the same basic scoring system as Original Mode with a few adjustments:
- In version 1.5 the total counter changes state every increase of 2000 rather than 500. This is because the large number of bullets that are cancelled cause the counter to increase more rapidly than original mode and so the original value of 500 would cause it to change much too frequently. In versions 1.0 and 1.01 the original value of 500 is retained.
- Some enemies cancel bullets for longer than in Original Mode, and in versions 1.0 and 1.01, some enemies that did not cancel bullets at all now do.
- The Total Counter has a maximum value of 999999
- The Stage Counter has a maximum value of 99999
- Ultra has no equivalent of the 70000 total counter effect in Original Mode.
- There is a true last boss which can be accessed by defeating the stage 5 boss without having used a continue. This extra boss consists of three forms, the last of which also requires no continues to have been used to access.
- In version 1.5 alone, the lanterns in stage 5 will cancel bullets if destroyed within a 100000 subpixel radius (16 pixels).
Black Label
General
Blue and Red Gems
In addition to green gems which are double value, collecting gems even faster after creation will produce blue (Original Mode) or red (Maniac, God Mode) gems that are worth four times their base value.
Boss Counter Loss
The rate of counter loss during bosses is inverted from 1.5. Shooting now causes the counters to decrease rapidly. Not shooting causes the counters to decrease slowly.
Stage 5 Lanterns
The lanterns in stage 5 now cancel bullets in all modes, and the range from which the cancel can be triggered is much larger.
Counterstop
The maximum score of 3,999,999,999 in earlier versions has been raised to 9,999,999,999 in Black Label, which is well out of the reach of a single player in any of the three modes.
Life Bonus
In Black Label, much like other versions, the player receives 10 million points per remaining life, or 20 million points per remaining life if the true last boss was defeated. However unlike other versions, this is then multiplied by the player's bomb stock. The maximum amount receivable on default settings is therefore 600 million points, while the minimum is 0 if the player has either 0 lives or 0 bombs remaining.
Original Mode
Original mode in Black Label is based on an augmented version of the system in its 1.5 counterpart. The major additions and changes are outlined here.
Proximity Effect
The Total Counter has the same original function as it does in version 1.5 - destroying enemies with the appropriate weapon produces more gem items. In Black Label shooting an enemy with this weapon when the source of the weapon's attack is within close range of the target causes the target to exude a stream of gem items. Since a large number of gems can be produced in this way the counter changes state every increase of 3000 rather than 500. In addition any gems produced by this proximity effect will be worth 10% of the score value of gems produced in other ways. The proximity effect applies to almost all enemies but the very smallest, including midbosses, but is absent from all stage bosses.
Bullet Cancelling
Unlike 1.5, when a bullet is cancelled the number of gem items varies with the speed of the bullet. An important aspect of scoring well is therefore to raise the bullet speed as much as possible by raising the gem counter values as outlined below.
Total Counter Above 100000
The maximum value of the total counter has been raised from 99999 to 999999. From a value of 100000 a special mode is activated similar to the one activated at 70000 in version 1.5, but with an additional effect: all points received from collecting gems are doubled. Combined with the increased yield of bullet cancels resulting from the increased bullet speed, entering and maintaining this special state hugely increases the potential for score gain.
9999 Stage Counter
Reaching the maximum stage counter value has some additional effects absent from version 1.5. A very small bonus is awarded each frame. The gems produced from shooting an enemy at close proximity will be large instead of small. The speed of enemy bullets speed is slightly increased, with the associated effects on bullet cancelling.
Maniac Mode
The scoring changes from Version 1.5 in Maniac Mode are limited. They consist of the ability to raise the multiplier by dealing damage to enemies and the ability to fill the meter by shooting any enemy with rapid shot, not only bosses.
God Mode
Unlike Ultra Mode, which is based on the Original Mode system, God Mode is an enhanced version of the Maniac Mode system.
The maximum multiplier value is 30000 instead of 9999.
When the multiplier reaches 10000 or over it becomes possible to raise it by dealing damage - when the meter is in the red zone, shooting at enemies with rapid shot will increase the multiplier, and the effect is much more pronounced at close range. When the meter is empty, shooting at enemies with laser will increase the multiplier.
Strategy
See (Template Page)/Strategy for stage maps, enemy and boss descriptions, walkthroughs, and advanced play strategies.
This section details some particular strategic information about the game and its gameplay, such as hidden 1UPs and some basic scoring tricks. For anything particularly deep or highly complex, you can probably leave it in the Strategy page.
(Currently evaluating whether or not this specific section should even include information outside of the separated Strategy pages. Worth thinking about as a community.)
Story
Basic story breakdowns, plot information, and endings are included here.
If there is no story at all, or any information about the setting, then this section can be omitted. Try to include at least small things here when you can.
Development History
If available, you can include information here about the hardware, the development of the game, and its general reception. Try to have as much information in this section cited as possible.
Version Differences
1.0 and 1.01
Version 1.01 is almost identical to 1.0 with a few changes:
- The size is the Ultra Mode hitbox is much smaller
- There are two additional bomb carriers, before the stage 2 and stage 3 bosses.
- A hitbox bug in the final attack of the stage 4 boss was fixed
- Ultra Mode is unlocked by default and no longer requires a code to access.
1.0(1) and 1.5
In version 1.0(1):
- Shooting does not change the rate of counter loss during bosses.
- The final boss(es) use the Stage Counter as a point value multiplier instead of the Total Counter.
- Abnormal Palm is much slower and has a much weaker laser
- Bombs deal much less damage to enemies
- Lanterns do not award more points as more are destroyed and do not cancel bullets in any mode. They leave behind a single gem instead of a constant fountain from the crater.
- The location of the 1UP in stage 5 has changed.
- Some large enemies that cancel bullets when destroyed in version 1.5 do not cancel bullets.
- The large dragon enemies in stage 5 cancel bullets for a much shorter period of time.
- Green Gems still double the amount of counter value gained but not the amount of score value gained.
- The range from which gems can be attracted to the player is smaller.
- Ground Gems cannot be green and cannot be automatically collected by pressing A.
- Many enemy attacks are more difficult.
- The speed of bullets in Original Mode is much faster.
- The end of stage Bomb Stock and no miss bonuses are much smaller.
- Reaching a value of 70000 on the Total Counter has no effect in Original Mode.
- Holding A emits a short burst of rapid shot before initiating the laser.
- Many enemies continue attacking for longer after appearing or will attack at times they wouldn't in version 1.5.
- Some enemies that would only appear when no bullet cancelling enemy was on screen will always appear.
1.5 and Black Label
In Black Label:
- Ultra Mode has been replaced with God Mode featuring a different scoring system and many simplified versions of the Ultra attacks.
- The Normal and Abnormal shot types have been removed reducing the number of distinct shot types from four to two.
- The shot types deal more damage than the shot types in version 1.5.
- The Maximum Score has been increased from 3,999,999,999 to 9,999,999,999.
- The rate of enemy fire in general has been increased.
- Stage 5 lanterns cancel bullets in every mode. The range from which the cancel can be triggered is greater and the fountain of gems in the crater only appears if a cancel was successfully achieved, and in God Mode it will consist of large gems instead of small.
- Some large enemies cancel bullets not only on destruction but in the transition from first attack phase to second.
- There are additional enemies in many areas.
- The scoring systems of every mode have been expanded and enhanced.
Trivia
- In one of the location test builds, there was only one counter in Original mode. This may have been a prototype for what was to become the stage counter in the final release. ?
Gallery
See (Template Page)/Gallery for our collection of images and scans for the game.
