A shoot 'em up (or shmup for short) is a computer and video game genre where the player controls a vehicle or character and fights large numbers of enemies with shooting attacks, usually of a highly stylized nature. In Japan, where the genre remains most vital, they are known simply as "shooting games" (STGs for short). During the peak of their popularity, they were commonly called simple shooters, but as games broke into three dimensions, this term came to be more inclusive.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Espgaluda (Cave/AMI, 2003)

Espgaluda was released in 2003 by Cave and ported to the PS2 in 2004 by Arika. I wasn't kidding when I wanted to fall back on something easier. Known to most players as Cave's easiest shooter, honestly, I don't think Galuda is THAT easy.

It's certainly not a cake-walk, but compared to the likes of DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou or even Progear (Ha), it is definitely doable. There is only 1-Loop, and its key gameplay mechanic includes slowing down all of the bullets on the screen. Plus, the patterns are easier to manage.

Galuda is one of those games where I can play just to listen to the music alone. In fact, what motivated me to play it so much in the past was just so I could make it to Stage 4 and listen to its beautiful track. It's like what one guy once wrote about it in the past: It's better than sex.

Unlike Progear, I already have some experience with the game under my belt. The farthest I've been was making it up to the last boss, and my highest score for the moment is 23,500,420. I haven't 1CC this game yet, even though I've come pretty close to, and this has haunted me for some time. I want to reach my fullest potential with this game, and that is why I am choosing to focus on it.

I'm playing the PS2 port using the same HRAP Stick (Sanwa JLF stick with Sanwa buttons) on a TATE'd TV. The character I'll be using will be the agile Ageha, which is pretty much the default character.

**Images courtesy of The Sheep's World of Arcades
**For more info on Espgaluda, check out icycalm's fantastic review over at insomnia.ac
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2 comments:

Arcade Fever said...

This was a satisfying 1CC for me. Once I learned how to get through the train boss unscathed (always died there somehow), I was able to 1CC it soon after. Using the PS2 simulation mode for practice made all the difference in the world. Point wise my final score sucked (had 1 extra life in tow), but I needed to finish this before trying Espgaluda 2.

Arranged mode is hard as hell, so that more than makes up for any easy 1CC this game offers.

October 25, 2007 at 7:30 PM
DirtyMonk said...

Considering you had Galuda 2, I'm amazed you were patient enough to play through this game before tackling it. I would have jumped into Galuda 2 and tried playing that immediately, because that's how I am.

As far as the 1CC goes, Galuda is the closest I've ever gotten to it. That final pattern is tricky, but it's not impossible.

And I don't even want to bother with Arrange Mode.

October 25, 2007 at 8:36 PM

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