Ketsui : #3

Current High Score: 60.392.273 - Stage 4 - Panzer Jager

That victory the other day ago against the Stage 4 boss meant a lot to me. To me it was one of those feats that made me realize what I was capable of. And this didn't just apply to Ketsui, but my decisions in life as a human being. There was an energy that was always there, but I either never paid attention to it, or I always thought it eluded me whenever I needed it most. But it was there. What is it, and how did it come about? I was a timid cat looking into a mirror. What stared back at me was a powerful lion.

Ketsui : #2

New High Score: 60.392.273 - Stage 4 - Panzer Jager

Actually, I obtained this score over a week ago. I remember playing for hours, like constantly credit feeding, and then trying full runs after I "beat" the game. I must have gone through about 80 credits that day, since I keep a bowel full of quarters ($10 worth) and it had run out (I have it set to 2 credits per coin). I felt like I was becoming autistic after that playing session, thinking in terms of visuals and whatnot. I bet playing this much is a normal, daily ritual for most hardcore players.

I played some more today, and managed to survive up to Stage 5, but my score was only 59 mill, so I couldn't count it. I just felt a whole bunch of aggression today, and I took it out on the game by dodging bullets. Once I got to the 4th boss and his final, clock-wise spraying pattern of death, I managed to survive without bombing, after repeating to myself that I could do this. And I did it. Man, that was a rush. I have to admit, that felt good. It was like landing a dream job or bagging a hottie at the mall or something.

Ketsui Kizuna Jigoku Tachi (Cave/AMI, 2002)

2054.

It was as though the Earth itself wanted to punish humanity for their destruction of the environment. For over a century of pollution, the effects of global warming are finally clear. Water levels rise, changing the Earth's borders while invading upon the countries of its continents. It is a complicated matter for an increasingly complicated world. Territorial disputes arise, and it is not long before war erupts, blanketing the neighboring countries of the world with all-out warfare.

War cannot exist without weapons, as weapons in this modern age cannot exist without profits and mass-production. There is no other company which understands this more than EVAC Industry, the illegal weapons distributor responsible for manufacturing and exporting these weapons to the warring nations for mass profits. Working behind the scenes, they are the bonds of Hell which have been unleashed upon the world.

After failed attempts at peaceful negotiations with EVAC Industry to "stop all forms of weapons import and export", the United Nations decide to take matters into their own hands. Their solution? A preemptive strike on their weapons base using two heavily armed gunships piloted by elite special forces. The objective calls for the complete destruction of EVAC Industry's weapons and all of its installations...which also includes everything related to the United Nations Military Intervention.

Whomever signing up for this mission is not expecting a trip home.

Compensating for this grave mission, the United Nations will grant one demand to those brave enough to rise to the challenge. It is essentially a granted wish the United Nations will take responsibility for. A way to free oneself from the world and its worries.

Four young men applied for this suicide mission. They know full well how much they are risking their lives taking on EVAC Industry, a military supplier so powerful that even the gunships they pilot are funded under their name, but the men's desires remain strong in their hearts as they embark on their mission.

For perhaps they themselves cannot even see, it is all in hopes of a bright future...

--------

Ketsui Kizuna Jigoku Tachi literally translates to: "Cutting the Bonds of Hell". Most people just call it Ketsui. Notice how the title is constructed in the picture above. The three katakana symbols in the red squares, which represent "Ke-tsu-i" (cutting), are reading downward, crossing over the more complex phrase "Kizuna Jigoku Tachi" (the Bonds of Hell) to symbolize the cutting and forming of a cross as though it were deterring the bonds of Hell itself. This is so characteristic of what happens in the story, as it is simply a straightforward battle against the evil corporate giant known as EVAC Industry, which symbolizes the Bond of Hell that must be severed from the rest of the world for a better tomorrow.

To me, what makes Ketsui so likeable is its rather laidback scoring system. All you have to do to score is destroy one enemy up close (like, at point-blank range) with the C Shot to get that 5 chip, and then hold down button A and sweep away enemies with your lock-on shot until the counter on top of the screen expires. Then rinse and repeat.

Knowledge of enemy placement is essential for scoring and eventually you'll develop your own route for effective scoring, so Ketsui does demand a specific way to play the better you get at it. Compared to the likes of DoDonPachi or Ikaruga, where one mistake can mess up a chain counter that is built up throughout an entire level, Ketsui is a game that allows for more improvisation. In Ketsui, since you're constantly killing enemies up close, you have to be really aggressive, and there is greater emphasis on dodging bullets as you're squeezing past them to get up close to an enemy, then hitting them with that C shot, and then wiping off enemies with that lock-on A shot. This makes for some of the most intense shooting game experiences, especially for stages 3-5, where you're up to your neck in bullets and the thought of trying to score on those levels becomes an idea of insanity. But you'll do it anyway to reap the rewards.

That, in addition to the futuristic military motif, two loops with a true last boss that goes by the name of "Doom"(most people never meet Doom, let alone survive him), makes Ketsui my favorite Cave game by far. And since Cave shooters are my favorite, this puts Ketsui up as possibly my most favorite game ever, since the whole intensity of it, and the fact that it is so hardcore is what keeps me coming back more than any other shooter. If there was one game I would choose, and it would be the one single game I could only play for the rest of my life, it would be Ketsui.

I was planning on writing some more, but I think I'll just stop, since I've spent a week trying to come up with the perfect write up for this game and ended up not playing it for a while because I wanted to post this before I'd post any new scores. So there, Ketsui rocks. I hope more people get to play this masterpiece.

Special thanks to Gaijinpunch for his translations.

HA-HA

I've been reading over some of my older posts and reveled in how serious I was in trying to get better at some shooters, and then ultimately failed in doing so because I ended up getting more games. That is so evident of how I've been for gaming these last couple years. While those mainstream console games I could beat after spending enough time with them, I could never beat those damn shooters (with NO CONTINUES!). I would try to play one in hopes to get good enough to beat it, and then just before some critical point in my skill with the game, I'd switch it for something else because I'd get bored. Hah.

I'd chalk that up to impatience. I've been a lot more laid back in terms of my progress in conquering these games, though. I used to be a lot more detailed when I was playing Progear, literally updating each day I played it and trying to study every single detail. That was pretty fun to do, but it got so tedious and after I realized that I could be spending more of that time actually playing the game, maybe I'd get over those frustrations.

Nowadays, if I do poorly, I'll just credit-feed and mindlessly just dodge bullets and survive, adding more credits until I reach the end. I can do this for hours, and what happens then is that I end up getting better naturally without shame. Because I've already shamed myself by dying hundreds of times, and now the feeling of dying is numbed, and it is easier to accept death as a path to living longer in the game. As much as I play this way, though, it still does not alleviate that paranoid feeling you get when you are doing extremely well with one run and are then afraid to die since you are kicking so much ass.

Oh yeah, in terms of the blog, I've been a lot more lenient with the posting too.

So whatever. It's all fun and games. What is my goal? I'll have fun. Maybe I'll attain a really good score, but it's all about the fun. But then again...what if fun in these games equate to scoring very well? There is fun in that as well. But it doesn't solely exist there either.

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

--Michael Jordan

It's so nice to be able to get into a pleasantly drugged state with only one puff and a beer...

There really is no right or wrong way to play--or hell, to even live life...just as long as you are enjoying it. Be attitude for gains.

Ketsui Revisited

New High Score: 55.913.625 - Stage 4 - Panzer Jager

At Dave_K.'s latest meet, I managed a 55 mill run out of the blue after not having played the game for over a month. I did play a bunch of different games (including Futari) before getting this score as well, so that could have been it. My highest score preceding this one was 41 mill, so this is quite a gain concerning I've been playing nothing but Espgaluda II lately.

Hovering all around my score on the table is Zakk from HEY POOR PLAYER! fame, including that monstrous 133 mill score on the top of the picture. I was glad there was another Panzer Jager player around, since every time I played Ketsui at Dave's meets, I'd swear everyone used the Tiger Schwert, and I would think there was something wrong with me for preferring the faster ship. That's how I rolled. I was also glad that Zakk didn't play Ketsui too much after I broke my record, since he would have easily cleaned me off of the scoreboard. Thanks for the pic as well, Zakk.

I think it's about time I played some more Ketsui.

Perceptions of Situations

From the writings of Chuang-tse:

An archer competing for a clay vessel shoots effortlessly, his skill and concentration unimpeded. If the prize is changed to a brass ornament, his hands begin to shake. If it is changed to gold, he squints as if he were going blind. His abilities do not deteriorate, but his belief in them does, as he allows the supposed value of an external reward to cloud his vision.

(Excerpt gathered from The Te of Piglet)

Espgaluda II : #4

New High Score: 118.816.985 - Stage 4 - Ageha
Kakusei Overmode Survival: End of Stage 3 (past midboss)

So much potential with this run, since I was doing so well in the beginning. This is my highest stage 4 score, let alone being my highest score ever. I died at that "eeeh-hehehe" boss. I believe I was at one of his last patterns with no gems and bombs left.

I managed to break 18 mill at the end of the first stage, which is a record for me. It's just that I began to die in parts where I would normally slip by unscathed. What a pity. It's like a beautiful model who just wants to stay home in her trailer park for the rest of her life after she lost her second beauty pageant or something.

I was pretty loud playing today, cursing and screaming whenever I died. I mean, I died at the first boss for god's sake. I yawn at his patterns. Yet, I died because I was so excited for breaking 13 mill after triggering the Zesshikai and scoring high in the middle of the stage.

After days of comparatively meager scores, and some credit-feeding sessions (yes, I do continue, but it's only for practice.), I finally get somewhere new with this game. I want to switch this game out and play Ketsui & DOJ, but I know that I'm getting better at Galuda II the more I play. What a predicament.