Progear no Arashi : #17

Current High Score: 10.863.540

FUCK THIS GAME.

After not having played for over a week, I came back in and felt as though I've never played this game at all. I still die in the same places, and now it's even more frustrating than ever. I wanted to scream into my pillow. Nearly a month into this, and I still can't even come near to 1CCing it.

To be fair to myself, I've been trying to relearn how to play shooters using a stick. Plus, every time I play, I cannot stop myself from trying to vacuum in those gems whenever I see an opportunity to. So I was trying to score while playing for survival at the same time, when I should be just playing for survival if I want to 1CC it. This, added to the horizontal-manic aspect of it makes it incredibly frustrating for me. I just seem to die a lot easier dodging horizontally.

Also, to be honest, I don't think I like Progear THAT much. I'd still miss playing it, but it isn't the end-all-be-all game for me. If I were to choose a favorite Cave shooter, Progear wouldn't be on top of my list. I'd much rather play DOJ or Guwange.

I guess deep down this whole time I was trying to prove to myself that I could be better at this game than I was before, and I've done that already. 10 mill is quite a feat considering I used to surprise myself by scoring over 5 mill. There's still a lot more to work on, but I'm just burned out at the moment.

I feel like I've been working out with weights that were too heavy for me at the moment. I think it's time to fall back to something easier...

But I'll be back for you, Progear!

**Oh yeah, I did away with the "Day #" format because it was becoming ridiculous having to update the blog EVERY TIME I played.

Progear no Arashi : Days #15-16

New High Score: 10.863.540 - Stage 5 - Bolt/Nail

After several frustrating runs ending at 5-6 mill, I managed to pull through with a sudden 10 mill-breaking score. Hell, I could have broken 11 mill if I had survived any longer, but I had no more bombs left. Again, triggering rank early and pulling in those gems whenever I can, but this time survived and used bombs whenever I could instead of getting greedy with the bullet cancelling. I was beginning to panic once I got to the 4th boss and had to take deep breaths to calm down, since I knew I was surpassing my old score. Miraculously, with some panic bombing, I manged to destroy the 4th boss, bringing me over 10 mill.

I was overjoyed, but it wasn't over yet. The 5th stage was crazy, and I had no more lives and bombs left. I was lasting pretty well, until I got trapped in a corner with a huge barrage and died. Oh well. After this run, I was a bit shaken from having made a 1 mill increase and just practiced playing over the last level (via save states), as well as the other stages. Maybe it's time for another break.

Progear no Arashi : Day #14

Current High Score: 9.158.610

Last night I managed to sleep early (at 12 pm) without alcohol or anything. I just got tired from playing lots of Progear and decided to sleep. I got up this morning at 10 am feeling quite normal, so rest assured, I am normal once again. But then again, I may have jinxed myself by mentioning that. Watch me sleep at 9 am after this.

Even after not getting any sleep the night before that, I managed to pull in a 9 mill run last night (100K short of my record). I'm making progress for stages 1-2. I can get to the 2nd boss with 2.6 mill, which is quite a feat concerning that I used to have 1.6 mill coming to him in the past. It's all about triggering that rank as early as possible, and that is through maximizing on getting those gems.

The tips of my fingers and toes felt chilly from lack of sleep and I was irritable as hell. My roommate mentioned I might be coming down with cabin fever since I've been home for so long, but I don't know. Isn't that a paranoid delusional disorder? I was supposed to go out and watch a movie with a friend, but I just wasn't in the mood to go to a theater full of people, so I decided to stay home and try to fix my sleeping habits.

Progear no Arashi Day #13

New High Score: 9.158.610 - Stage 4 - Bolt/Nail

I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up at 8 am, ate some breakfast and decided to play some more. I don't remember much of the run because I'm writing it later in the day after I took a 6 hour nap. All I can recall was that the key for me to score higher now is triggering the increase in rank so I can get more bullets on the screen. To increase the rank, I believe it has something to do with accumulating more of that jewelry/jems counter in the lower left corner until it reaches a certain point. The earlier you do this, the more it makes the game harder, but it also makes it easier to score. This has been happening to me lately since I've gotten the hang of scoring a bit, and I've noticed more bullets on the screen.

The Italian dudes over at AEX Shooting Team put up a useful guide to scoring well (as well as 270 mill!) using Ring ('Gambler'), and one of the things I recall reading is to get at least 7,000 on the counter by the time you reach the big tanks at the fort in the middle of stage 1. That's crazy. I get 7,000 by the time I get to the first boss. I actually have that superplay video they cover in the guide, and whenever I watch it, I start to play worse because I die a lot trying to do what the guy in the vid does. I wonder if there is a good Bolt replay around, because I don't feel like switching pilots just to get a higher score. Sounds kind of lame to do that. I want to play how I like to play and make it happen around that.

Progear no Arashi : Day #12

New High Score : 8.887.210 - Stage 4 - Bolt/Nail

Man, does playing on a full stomach make a difference. At least a 200K difference. I keep getting excited whenever I know that I am breaking a new high score, and it makes me mess up when I realize that in the middle of a run. I'll be bombing and squeezing past bullets trying to stay alive in stage 4, and once I look up on the left-hand corner and see that I may just surpass my old score, I'm then out of the zone and thinking about things not related to the game, like how I may have to update my blog after this run. Figures.

Some things I've noticed when experimenting with different couples:

--Bolt/Rivet: I felt slower, and those missiles are strong and quick! The homing missiles choose their own targets and this is difficult for me to get used to since I'm already accustomed to Nail's erratic shots that go forward. Her targeting feels very direct and more accurate, hitting like darts. Nail's cannon spread is pretty chaotic and tends to hit things you don't want to hit...at least that's what I feel at the moment.

--Bolt/Chain: I also felt slower, but the bombs she throws out in plane mode fly straight in front of you and are easier to control when attacking specific enemies (as opposed to Rivet's missiles, which hit whatever they target). In gunner mode (when holding down the fire button), her aiming is very slow (as in the rate at which it turns to other targeted enemies) and her rate of fire seems slower than when she is paired up with Ring. Those bombs do pack a punch though, and in gunner mode, they kill things pretty quickly. I feel like I'm pulverizing enemies when I'm in gunner mode. Like Rivet, they come out and pinpoint the exact enemy like darts, which is nice since you know exactly what you're hitting.

I'm too used to Bolt/Nail right now to switch. Nail may have the weakest shot in gunner, but she is fast, and I like fast. It feels interesting to try something different once I've gotten the gist of how the game feels enough to notice the subtle differences in Pilot/Gunner combinations. It almost feels like a different game when you switch pilot/gunners.

Progear no Arashi : Day #11

Current High Score: 8.658.400

It's been a couple of days since I've last touched this game. The highest I was able to pull off was that 8.4 mill score. I literally had to grind my way to those scores above. I must have played for over four hours nonstop, clearing out all of my remaining old scores off that board--except for the highest one. At least I've been becoming more consistent at being able to make it to stage 4 at the least, and I'm improving at scoring. I just suck at survival though.

My performance for the earlier stages have been getting better, since I just cannot keep myself from trying to find new ways to vacuum those gems and milking that first boss. I felt so good when I was able to pull off that continuous gem vacuum on the first boss's trident-shaped line of bullets. The second stage is still tricky though, and I always die when I'm trying to milk that large plane in the middle of the level, and sometimes the second boss pulls off a pattern I can't dodge for some reason.

I've noticed the game begins to rank up, as in enemies begin to throw a bit more bullets at you, and bosses which seemed easier before are suddenly a little more difficult. Fuck. Just when I get better at scoring, the game begins to make it harder for me to traverse a level. At least it makes it easier to pull in more gems.

As for Omega Fighter Special, I wasn't able to spend any quality time with it. The team was able to pull through with at least three scores anyway, so my contribution wasn't required. I thought the whole idea of changing it to special mode to make the game easier was a bit lame since that made the game all about suiciding at the boss to get a 1 million pt bonus or something. I didn't quite like that, since scoring was supposed to revolve around point-blanking enemies to get a proximity bonus, which would have made it more interesting, even though that made me play terribly at first.

Progear no Arashi : Day #10

Current High Score: 8.658.400

It's been a couple days and still no change in my score. I've been playing in a more experimental way lately, trying new, riskier things and dying early in the process. And in other runs, I've simply credit-fed and just allowed myself to die and perform badly to allow myself to relax, which has helped in places where I would normally panic bomb at the first sight of a difficult pattern.

I've played this game enough to anticipate when and where certain enemies will be appearing, especially in the later stages, and have been noticing certain areas where scoring can be maximized. If only I can string them together, though. The scoring mechanism is so reliant on anticipation and timing, that it can seem nearly impossible at first. It just seems to feel incrementally easier as each day passes, but it is still daunting to say the least. I'm not surprised at all when I read about Japanese players taking years to get as good as they did at this game. Maybe it's time I took a few days off this game.


I've also been caught with the duty to play Omega Fighter Special for the 'Shooting Game Tournament 2007' being held at the Shmups.com Forum. I'm a member of the 'California Dudez'. I already made it clear to my teammates that I most likely won't be participating for this 'Hidden Gem Week', but since we need at least three scores submitted before the deadline or else we'd be forfeited, I'd like to get in some kind of a passable score just in case our other members don't go through with their part in it.

Progear no Arashi : Day #9

New High Score: 8.658.400 - Stage 5 - Bolt/Nail

It's strange. I began this run dying twice very early from what I remember. I think I must have died twice on the first level or having zero lives coming into Stage 3. I decided that since I was doing this bad, I'd mind as well see how far I could get with this one life. I mean, all it takes is one life, right? Needless to say, I did better this way, making it up to Stage 5 (after bombing the hell out of Kraken--the Stage 4 bitch) before dying right at the beginning of the last level out of sheer excitement from having broke 8 mill.

I feel like the harder I try to score higher in this game, the more likely I'll make some stupid mistake, such as backing into a bullet fired by a power-up ship or something. There seems to be a Taoist approach to this. Focus more on surviving, and I should do better, instead of focusing on doing what the pros do to maximize their score. So in this sense, I'll play better by not focusing on playing well, but simply having fun, and I have the most fun out of shooters whenever I dodge bullets and make it really far in the game.

Progear no Arashi : Day #8

Current High Score: 7.833.550

Skipped another day playing. I made no gains for this day. I was tired and my back ached from doing all sorts of errands so I played nearly half-awake. Best score I managed was that 5.9 mill in 5th place up on that scoreboard. Not bad, considering how tired I was. Score sucks really bad, but I like to look at it this way: Last week, my highest ever was 5.3 mill, so at least I know I'm making some progress. That's much better than beating myself up and then quitting. I know there will be that day when I will hit that inevitable wall with this game that will provide a lot of continuous frustration, but if I can remain optimistic, then pushing through will be much more manageable.

Bullet patterns feel easier to dodge as I'm getting used to the click-stick. It still feels a bit awkward because I was weaned on controllers since day one. Plus, it's a Horizontal shooter, and I'm not accustomed to playing them with a stick.

Progear no Arashi : Day #7

New High Score: 7.833.550 - Stage 4 - Bolt/Nail

Edit: Know what? I like the day format. Makes for some more exciting posts.

Been busy lately going out to social events such as professional mixers and LoveFest in SF today. After having gone for nearly two days without playing, I made a 400K increase to my score on the first run today. It was as though my hands longed for the touch of my joystick (yeah, I know you liked that imagery), and I just felt more calm playing. Before, I would feel a sense of panic whenever I was facing a pattern I usually died at. Today, it was like ho-hum, I just dodged that.

One improvement I'd like to note is that I'm no longer consistently dying at the first boss since that last pattern that used to give me so much trouble is actually more manageable now. Something about feeling more relaxed, which makes it easier to maneuver the stick in a more precise way. Funny thing is, I still die anyway on some subsequent runs, but I'm less consistent at it. But you know what, I may have jinxed myself by mentioning it anyway.

Strange thing was, that after the first run, I had nothing but shitty runs after that (no pun intended). Maybe I was trying hard to score well on the early levels again, so the game punished me for trying to act cocky coming off my latest score increase. Or maybe subconsciously, I thought that the 400K was enough of a jump for today, since I'm now in the mood to watch some movies. Until next time.

Progear no Arashi : Day #6

New High Score: 7.483.410

Lesson learned: Bomb like a wuss.

After a string of really bad runs ending at stage 3 (Averaging about 2.4 mill), I was getting irritated with how Progear was putting me in my place whenever I tried to score. But scoring is so tempting! Vacuuming in an entire screen-load of those diamond gems feels so good, even when I end up dying early with a shitty score. It's like getting greedy and OD'ing on cocaine before I get the chance to develop a tolerance.

So I decided to heed my own advice learned from the previous runs and decided to bomb when in doubt. My mission was to make sure that if I died, I didn't have any bombs left in stock. Needless to say, it worked. I made it to Stage 4 with 1 life! My score coming in was quite shitty, but it's much better than dying early. Not only that, but I managed to beat Kraken (the Stage 4 Boss) for the first time and made it to Stage 5, which is the last level. I used those bombs, allright.

I guess this is the way I ought to be playing for now until I get better. But making those gems is so enticing! This is how it's like for me: Let's say Progear is this really attractive woman, you see--but she's someone who wants to take it slow. I'm over here trying to get into her pants, trying to unhook her bra, and going in for the kiss all on the first date (Hell, in this case, it may not even be a first date yet). Of course I'm going to get slapped.

Progear no Arashi : Day #5

New High Score: 6.594.660

I managed to improve my old score by 1 million. My technique? I just swallowed my pride and bombed more, so I was able to survive longer. One of my biggest issues with this game is that I think it's easy so I never bother using any bombs to nullify those bullets. What ends up happening is that there is always that pattern I think I can dodge, but that stray bullet ends up hitting me anyway. It's infuriating.

I am still continually inconsistent at this game. It takes me a dozen runs before I can break 5 mill, and they are usually moments when I just bomb more. It is when I try to score that Progear hates my guts. It waggles its finger at me and goes, "Now, now. You're not good enough to do that yet." Then I ram into a bullet and explode. I have a love/hate relationship with this game.

Edit: Played a little more and managed a 250K increase for 6.5 mill.

Progear no Arashi : Day #4

Current High Score: 5.390.850




I tried using Ring/Nail yesterday because I felt that his slower speed was better suited for weaving past patterns, but I eventually had to ditch him because he was lacking the direct power I needed, so it was back to Bolt/Nail, and I managed to break 5.3 mill. I always liked using faster ships with direct shot anyway.

One thing that has been frustrating me to no end about this game is that I can never be consistent at it. I ALWAYS die at either the first boss (that last spreading pattern always gets me), the battleship on the second level, the train coming out of the tunnel in the second stage, and that damn large plane mid-boss for the second stage. I end up trapped at the edge of the screen hoping I could score some more, until a bullet hits me. So what I am being consistent at is ending my game at stage 2 when I know I can make it to stage 4, if only I could put aside my pride and use some bombs when I need to.

Progear no Arashi (Cave/Capcom, 2001)

Cave's first entry in horizontal shooters. I've been playing this game for about three days now. Before that, I was playing it on and off, and the longest I've ever played it must have been a week before I stopped--and that was a few years ago.

I suck at Progear. It is one of those games where I've become consistent at dying at the same exact place without any sign of improvement. But despite that, I love the intensity it has to offer, and the art direction in this game is gorgeous. This is why I aim to suck less at it.

The intensity I mentioned before is what keeps me coming back. Somewhere beyond half of the second stage, the bullets begin to fill the screen, and when that happens, I don't have time to think anymore. I enter this zen-like state where nothing else matters except for staying alive and turning those bullets into jewels and gems. That whole gunner and fighter mechanic becomes second nature at some point after I've played it enough, and the whole idea of changing bullets to jewelry, and then changing them into gems makes it extremely fun. It's one of those things that are hard to explain, but has to be experienced yourself to understand.

Anyway, I'm focusing on this game right now. I believe the world record for this game is around 270 million, and at the time of this post, I am sitting at 5.3 million. There is no way in hell I'm looking to beat that soon.

I am playing this through WolfMame 0.106, using a HRAP (ver. 2) joystick connected through a PS2-USB converter. The stick is a Sanwa JLF, and the buttons are also by Sanwa (30mm). I am also playing the Japanese version with default difficulty, and I have turned on Auto-fire for button C.