So word is out on the boards (shmups and cave-stg) that Ketsui and Dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU Black Label are going to be ported to the Xbox 360 (as discs, not through XBLA). This is great news for those looking for a chance to play Ketsui without having to pay through the nose for the PCB (like me). I love the idea that more people will have a chance to play these games. The bad news so far?-It's only available in Japan. This means if you buy a Japanese XBox and you get those rings of death, the warranty will not cover your ass, and you'll have to buy a brand new one if that happens. **EDIT: I just found out recently that this only applies to Europe. If you're in the US, then Microsoft will fix your imported 360!
-No screen-tilting TATE mode is confirmed yet. Every quality shooter port MUST have this option. It's like having topless dancers at strip clubs.
-The company doing the porting is not Arika, who did the excellent DOJ port for the PS2. It's some weird obscure company called 5PB, which seems as though their only experience so far has been dating sims.
So far, it isn't looking very good. I fucking HATE the Xbox360 anyway. I hate it mainly because it is a shitty system that breaks down after a couple months of use. Also, its D-pad sucks, the damn thing is made by Microsoft, and it will force me to buy a new TV, therefore turning me into a fanatical HD graphics whore if I ever get one. As crappily-built the X360 is, I do think it has a lot of good games on it, even though 99% of them aren't really my cup of tea anymore.
Suppose the ports turn out to be great, and this then leads them to porting new Cave games like Futari and Deathsmiles--and in addition to that, somebody finds a way to play them on a domestic Xbox360, then GREAT, maybe I might even think of getting one. But even then, I'd have to consider the idea of getting an HDTV, which can never match the same feeling of playing it on a lo-res cab, while looking for another HRAP joystick for the x360...yeah. That sounds like a huge pain in the ass for me. And like hell would I turn my newly-acquired 50" plasma on its side to play it in TATE. Kind of a catch-22 there with TATE and HD's.
There are some people speculating that a panic selling of Ketsui PCBs are going to happen because of this, and it'll drive the price of the PCB down. What do I think about all of this? It seems unlikely, and plus, I don't care. No matter what happens, I'm holding on to my board. I have no regrets for spending that much on Ketsui so I could play it on a setup that it was meant to be played on. That, and the fact that I actually own it justified the price for me.
**Pictures above are scans EOJ posted from the cave-stg boards.
3 comments:
Most 360 games are playable on SDTVs as well. The only sheen on HD graphics is mostly high-resolution fonts and textures in 3D games, which DDPDOJ and Ketsui are not.
Unless this new developer aims for upgraded graphics, I think there might be a TATE mode available in these ports. If not....
Yeah, having a 360 won't turn you into a fanboy. If you're anything like me, you'll still be showing your PS2 much love :)
Do you think there's any way we can petition to have the game NOT be region-locked? Like, is there someone we can email? Rather than crying about it, maybe we can make a case for ourselves. Not only that, if we could get just ONE game to be region-free it would set precedent.
Japanese companies usually listen to their fans, so if we make a strong enough case, maybe they'll make sure it's not region-locked.
It hurts them none, and costs them nothing. All it would do is allow importers to be able to play the game, without estranging their target base.
I don't know, maybe you have connections, or can get into contact with someone... maybe something can be found out and we can get some kind of info to these people before development goes on. I mean, if we catch this early enough, we could possibly do it.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments everyone.
Johtoken: I don't own an HDTV, but I did try playing the PS2 DOJ port on one (a 50" plasma I believe), and it didn't look so great. Of course, we didn't TATE it either. TATE mode would be a must if you were going to play it on an SDTV anyway. Either way, from what I've learned HD is great for the newer games, and is not so good for the lo-res, older games.
remyk: I love my PS2 also. At least when I started getting DRE's on mine, I could replace the laser (I had the non-slimline version). It sucks because there is no way to fix a 360 once it's gotten all ring of death on you (that I know of).
It's nice that you mentioned the petition, since rtw over at the cave-stg boards is suggesting on getting a petition out to make it region free. Go here:
http://www.cave-stg.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?id=135&p=2
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