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Post by Discoalucard on Dec 1, 2014 21:12:57 GMT -5
www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalblack/metalblack.htmMetal Black has one of the best first levels in any shooter I've ever played. The launch sequence, the atmosphere, the moody music. So damn brilliant. One of my favorite Taito shooters, but mostly because I'm not really a huge Darius fan. Speaking of which, there's a lot of stuff around the English speaking internet that indicates that Metal Black was intended to be Darius 3. Even the old Darius article here mentions that it was a rumor. But upon doing some research on the Japanese speaking side, I can't find any evidence of this at all. It seems like someone said "This seems like it might've been a Darius game" - which kinda makes sense, because it features a few of the same aquatic themed enemies - and over the course of many years, this became "This was planned to be Darius III". Maybe this was mentioned in an interview somewhere, but if it was I can't find it. In the end, the similarity is superficial anyway, because the game plays MUCH differently. As a sidenote - pay attention to the awesome explosion (we included an animated GIF, you have to click on the picture), it seems like the pattern is based on the continents of the Earth.
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Post by Magma MK-II on Dec 2, 2014 8:41:23 GMT -5
Yeah, I've noticed the continent patterns too.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Dec 2, 2014 16:30:34 GMT -5
The first paragraph in the article... Space Invaders has always had strong ties to the genre through its long history as a quirky arcade giant, with two of their most notable brands being the Darius and Rayforce series. Metal Black, one of the many off-shoots the company produced during the early 90's, is also considered one of their greats due to how unique it is. ...seems like it would make more sense if "Space Invaders" were replaced with "Taito."
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Post by zilliont on Dec 2, 2014 16:33:37 GMT -5
Yay, my first article was finally posted! And yeah, it's the Earth-like pattern that makes this game's boss explosion so freakin' awesome! I even think that it also foreshadows the ending, which just doubles its awesomeness. This game is loaded to the brim with detail... All the bosses have meaningful, symbolic names like Apartheid does, but sadly they are only presented in supplementary material, unlike in Darius. The first stage also references both Darius 2 (with the mini-boss) nd Gun Frontier (with the video billboard), which I find very cool. And that Stage 2 boss intro! Probably the best way to introduce a boss I've ever experienced. I find the way the Black Fly's rapid-fire works very interesting, as it requires you to push the fire button in a certain rythym. Speaking of the Black Fly, it's probably the best ship you can get in Space Invaders Infinity Gene, since the Newalone Laser on it blocks ALL bullets and doubles as an ever-growing shield. Not only that, the Born To Be Free remix that plays in the "remixed" DLC stage (Before Ten Orb - yay for anagrams!) is awesome. That extra stage in the Tarabar Edition looks very interesting (and though!), especially because it uses the targets and missiles from the Bonus Stages as enemies. However, the intro paragraph is missing its first few words. It's supposed to be: Be on the lookout for more articles written by me, including some pretty big ones!
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Post by kingfossil on Dec 2, 2014 18:36:10 GMT -5
I can understand why theres that notion (wiht no direct citacion) that the game was supposed to be darius 3, as it presents some things that were in G-Darius: Spacecraft built from enemy technology (which in turn is the same in R-type), giant beam clashes and lots of mechanichal marine life.
Personally im not a big fan of this game. The powerup system is kinda boring and while the artstyle is incredibly cool, the graphics are a bit grainy. Praising the weirdness is debatable, were a talking about the shmup genre, lol. Theres definitely weirder stuff out there (tons and tons of phallic enemies, sperm enemies, baby fetuses, etc) but I really liked the 2st stage boss and you can tell the developers did too seeing they reused it a second time.
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Lord Dalek
Full Member
WHY DOES HE HAVE A SECOND/THIRD/FORTH/ETC. FORM?!?!
Posts: 249
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Post by Lord Dalek on Dec 2, 2014 18:44:51 GMT -5
Nice somebody figured out the plot to this game. The opening demo doesn't make much sense no thanks to Taito's signature command of the Engrish idiom.
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Post by Allie on Dec 2, 2014 19:41:02 GMT -5
I'm not really a fan of this game at all.
Something just felt off about it, and I'm not quite sure what it is.
Borderdown felt like a much better execution of the same idea.
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Post by Discoalucard on Dec 2, 2014 20:57:35 GMT -5
I'm not really a fan of this game at all. Something just felt off about it, and I'm not quite sure what it is. Borderdown felt like a much better execution of the same idea. Conversely, I don't care much for Border Down. The "border" system I find too disorienting, and I'm not a fan of the glossy sci-fi sheen, compared to Metal Black's sublime weirdness.
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Post by Magma MK-II on Dec 3, 2014 8:35:27 GMT -5
Nice somebody figured out the plot to this game. The opening demo doesn't make much sense no thanks to Taito's signature command of the Engrish idiom. The only hard thing to figure out about the plot is the ending, really.
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Post by ReyVGM on Dec 3, 2014 19:52:09 GMT -5
I think the article should mention how this game was never meant to be Darius 3, or at least that there's no evidence of it. That way I can finally delete such mentions from wikipedia by using this site as proof.
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Post by Snarboo on Dec 4, 2014 3:02:31 GMT -5
Praising the weirdness is debatable, were a talking about the shmup genre, lol. Theres definitely weirder stuff out there (tons and tons of phallic enemies, sperm enemies, baby fetuses, etc) but I really liked the 2st stage boss and you can tell the developers did too seeing they reused it a second time. It's weird in a way most shmups aren't, however. A lot of shmups go for the sexual/gross out angle, but Metal Black has an almost contemplative and mind warping quality to it. The only other really "psychadelic" shmups I can think of are the Fantasy Zone games and Space Harrier, if you want to count those. :p Am I the only person that feels awful upon destroying the bosses in this game? Most of them cry out in pain when you kill them, which is a strange touch for a shmup.
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Post by zilliont on Dec 4, 2014 3:50:08 GMT -5
Praising the weirdness is debatable, were a talking about the shmup genre, lol. Theres definitely weirder stuff out there (tons and tons of phallic enemies, sperm enemies, baby fetuses, etc) but I really liked the 2st stage boss and you can tell the developers did too seeing they reused it a second time. It's weird in a way most shmups aren't, however. A lot of shmups go for the sexual/gross out angle, but Metal Black has an almost contemplative and mind warping quality to it. The only other really "psychadelic" shmups I can think of are the Fantasy Zone games and Space Harrier, if you want to count those. Am I the only person that feels awful upon destroying the bosses in this game? Most of them cry out in pain when you kill them, which is a strange touch for a shmup. Yes, exactly! Metal Black isn't openly weird like the later R-Types or some doujin games; instead it's kind of... peaceful, in a way. It's obviously drug-influenced (especially in the later segments), but some say that drugs bring out a person's true creativity, so yay? And I might be overthinking it, but I think this game's plot has a deeper meaning to it. 2042 Earth was already doomed even before the aliens started attacking it, and considering how they cry out in pain (which I never thought about before) and explode in a symbolic way when defeated... I think they are kind of the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, in that they are signals that the end is coming for humanity and they were sent to Earth to finish things up... But of course the silly humans strike back, not understanding that even after Armaggedon their planet will eventually be born anew, thus speeding up the proccess by destroying Omega Zone (the final boss, who also has a symbolic name). But as I said, I might be overthinking it I really, really love this game, that's all.
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Post by kingfossil on Dec 4, 2014 8:44:19 GMT -5
Theres actually shmups that go fir this style (atm I can only think of R-type final)
Also darius bosses let out a final cry when defeated, but its cheesy.
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Post by Woody Alien on Mar 5, 2016 11:07:52 GMT -5
Just reading about this on the Taito Arcade Classics book. The atmosphere and graphics are fascinating, amazing, reminds me of a more bleak and depressing XEXEX for some reason. Even if the Black Fly is one of the ugliest shmup vessels in my opinion. The gameplay is interesting if anything, even if it didn't seem all that special to me. Makes one wonder how the creator could make a game as idiotic as Dino Rex after this one! Wikipedia still didn't cut the claim about this being Darius 3, I suppose this is one bit of false info we'll never get rid of.
Also, my lack of musical ear speaks again, but the famed level 1 tune sounds like Christmas music to me! I think I prefer level 4's one...
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Post by Discoalucard on Mar 5, 2016 16:06:22 GMT -5
Well, I didn't add this back into the site article, but I did find that slide on the developer's old home page that put it along with the Darius name and heroes (though not actually Darius III): www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalblack/mb.htmlAs for Dino Rex, it was pretty clear the guy's strengths were in shooters.
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