Gunbird

[Discoalucard]

www.hardcoregaming101.net/gunbird/gunbird.htm

With this, I think we've covered most, if not all, of Psikyo's shooter library. I have to admit, I see Gunbird 2 on the SHMUPS all-time best shooter forum voting list pretty consistently...and I don't QUITE get it. They're both pretty alright games, but...not THAT great.

But man, the first game sure has a salty English translation.

[cplethan]

Gunbird's a classic. I played the hell out of this game and its sequel while that big arcade in Pasadena was still open in the late 90's. I had no idea about the hacked-up PS1 release for America, that's just... terrible.

[roushimsx]

The art gallery and original intro are still on the PS1 disc of Mobile Light Force. They just did a quick and dirty hack to bypass the intro in the game and removed the option to access the omake from the menu, but if you pop it in your PC you can totally access everything just like on the Japanese disc. They smartly opted to not actually remove anything (since it could have unintended consequences), though why they elected to omit access through the normal game is anyone's guess.

Maybe they didn't think anyone would actually notice.

[cj iwakura]

Small nitpick: Shikigami no Shiro was published by Taito, but Alfa System developed it.

XS Games, you won't be missed.


That said, I love Gunbird 2.

[lanceboyle94]

I still remember a huge goof of theirs on their main site: the main page showed one of their games, a racing game... except it was with a screenshot from Need for Speed: Carbon.

Electronic Arts did not notice it, I guess.

[Weasel]

This article could use a mention (or a full profile?) of Psikyo's Breakout-variant, Gunbarisch (sp?), which has Marion as one of two playable characters.

[nickz]

Completely forgot about Gunbarich. It's acutally a fun little block/paddle game. It kind of reminds me of Arkanoid II, how it throws a lot of enemies (and bullets) at you for a game of its type.

[Lord Dalek]

One thing to point out. The Pirates in Gunbird 2 are pretty obviously based off the many permutations of the Majo gang from Time Bokan.

[Deleted]

Zero Gunner 2 was Psikyo's final shooter, not Dragon Blaze.

Unless you count Sengoku Cannon, which was released under Psikyo's name after they were absorbed into X-Nauts.

Article desperately needs a writeup for Gunbarich. Also, the appearance of Gunbird 2's gemheads isn't random, they have to be triggered by the player.

[nickz]

I can write something on Gunbarich, but I don't know if it should be in the same article for Gunbird. They're very different games that only really share Marion and the word "gun" in the begining of the title.

Oh, and I had never heard of Time Bokan before. I had to look it up. Thanks!

[benoitren]

This is one article I've been looking for on Hardcore Gaming 101. Glad to see that it's there. Sad to hear that the PlayStation 2 compilation's music is off. I'm wondering if you used any emulators and if this could be affecting the comparison.

[Discoalucard]

That was mostly taken off numerous complaints from the guys at the Shmups forums. They are super picky, but not often wrong.

[BulletMagnet]

One fairly small thing I didn't see mentioned (someone correct me if I missed it): in the Dreamcast port of Gunbird 2, the elephant-esque final boss is replaced by a cartoon dog, who also appears as a mascot of sorts in Psikyo's "Taisen Hot Gimmick" mahjong games (you can see him on this box art as well as screenshots). IIRC all his attacks in-game are the same as the elephant's, but he also takes over the latter's appearances in all the character endings.

[Deleted]

Jun 13, 2013 14:16:52 GMT -5 @felixm said:

Zero Gunner 2 was Psikyo's final shooter, not Dragon Blaze.

Unless you count Sengoku Cannon, which was released under Psikyo's name after they were absorbed into X-Nauts.

Also, the appearance of Gunbird 2's gemheads isn't random, they have to be triggered by the player.

I see these things were not fixed before publication.