Psikyo Strikers 1945 2 Arcade PCB Vs Nintendo Switch Vs Steam Port Review!

[@ghoulsarefree]

Played this very Strikers board at Shmup Slam V, and let me say this: as a casual player and Psikyo fan, I've rarely thought/cared about input lag. I don't mind 2CCing or 3CCing a game I enjoy, so I usually stick to console ports, including the ZeroDiv Switch version of Strikers II. First impression of the PCB was, "wow! I'm better at this game than I remember!" I was dodging patterns with what felt like surprising luck. Going back to the Switch later that day, the lag was unmistakeable, like the plane was on ice. It wasn't the initial response time that I noticed, but the way that every movement lasted much longer than intended, like the plane had no brakes. The controls had never felt laggy to me before, but now I realize that they're placing a huge artificial difficulty cap on the game. If you're playing on Switch, you can still have a great time, but be aware that you're playing a super-max difficulty mode of the game that is going to be a lot harder to clear and score.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

That s awesome you got to feel the difference! Also big shout out for coming to slam 5, it was super fun!

[@liamconverse8950]

I just noticed the same thing today with playing Truxton on a Genesis Mini 2 vs a real Genesis

[@nicklong27]

Nintendo life shrugging you off for your critical reviews just proves how worthless their channel is. They obviously care more about pleasing everyone rather than actually delivering informative and useful reviews. I guess it’s their choice, but I know the people to go to for actual reviews. Keep being you Mark, we all appreciate it

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!! Yeah they built a brand on telling people what they want to hear basically ha

[@Meriscan]

The steam port of Strikers 1945 (the first one) is actually very accurate to the arcade version. When you mentioned that the steam port wasn't faithful to the arcade version, you were probably thinking of the Gunbird steam port, which has some notable inaccuracies. But the Strikers ports (both 1 & 2) and 99% accurate to their arcade versions in terms of difficulty and gameplay accuracy. The only very notable differences are cosmetic (different sound effects, music).

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Perfect thanks for clearing that up!

[@RiRinKal]

I wonder if there is actual inaccuracy on the other Psikyo games such Sengoku Blade or Dragon Blaze.

[@Meriscan]

@@RiRinKal Dragon Blaze is the best and most accurate of the ports. Since it's actual emulation of the arcade version, rather than of previous console ports like the rest of the steam/switch ports are.

[@kamadoma715]

Hey, Mark. I'm the guy who commented about two weeks ago on your 1945 I Steam review with regards to the input lag. I remember saying I felt 1945 II felt a bit sluggish, but after days of shmupping I guess that was just me adjusting to my arcade stick. Great review and comparison of 1945 II, and congrats on getting the awesome looking PCB. I would say this inspires to take on 1945 II now since I've already achieved a couple of 1cc Monkey runs on 1945 I.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh be sure to go into your configuration settings and turn off vsync! That is likely the reason for the slugishness and I didn't really know about this setting for the game until I bought the steam version for this review ha.

[@dr_ubo]

Just popping in to mention that your efforts to increase the quality of camera, editing and video in general is noticeable. We as a shmup community usually don't care as long as bullets and stuff are visible, but I do recognize the effort put into our craft. No matter whether we agree or disagree, I respect the hustle. Seems like a new cam and new settings, better editing than usual and although we laugh about it, the reaction cover faces ":o" is all an effort. It does not go unnoticed Mark, even if it goes unappreciated. Take care! I know this game was and is a game that has a history with you with all the Nintendo Life stuff. GGs!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!! Yeah I do think it really helps a lot so people are a bit more open when it comes to potential new viewers and stuff, it s definitely a lot more work but I think it is helping :-)

[@claw320]

Props on doing a video review comparing original arcade PCB to versions of game average people are likely to play. Complete with input-lag testing. Your coverage of these topics is top-tier! :) I'm curious, what is the lag of the shmup-arch version of the game without run-ahead?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!!! Yeah I'm pretty sensitive to input lag so I always try my best to cover it in my reviews :-)

[@Moonlite_17]

Limited Run is about release the psikyo collections again later in 2023 for PS4…I might get those

[@Latin00032]

Just a side note. I realized this while playing Crimzon Clover World Explosion: I noticed the difference of input lag in World Explosion while playing with Vsync-on compared to Vsync-off more often than many other games i play because the extra frame of input lag is a 33% increase when the lag goes from 2 frames to 3 frames. When i play a game that may already have 3 or 4 frames of lag with vsync off and then turn on vsync which may add a frame of lag, the extra input lag is either about a 25% or a 20% increase. I'm bringing this up because I think when people (myself included) play games that have 4, 5, or 6 frames of lag with vsync off and then play with vsync on, they may notice less of an input lag change because of the percentage of change. Example: If a game has 60 frames of input lag, am i going to notice 1 more frame of input lag (61fps)?? Probably not. For certain games that I play that normally play with 1, 2, or 3 frames of input lag: When the input lag goes up even by one frame, I have a tendency to notice it more than games that have 4 or 5 frames of input lag especially if it is a game I like to play often.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah the vsync settings in different games can have some interesting effects for sure, I d say across the board just turn it off, as I can tell the difference when there is an extra frame of lag, but some players don t mind it too much

[@johnt7372]

You’re doing a great service here by calling City Connection out for the lag, keep these companies honest! As far as the Arcade Archives releases go how do you feel about the Strikers Plus Neo Geo port? Do you ever detect any lag issues with any of Hamster’s shooter ports since there are so many? Do you delve into some of the older ports for example Dangerous Seed on the Megadrive compared to the ACA release last week?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh so the ACA ports tend to be pretty solid and range around 3 - 4 frames of lag, I do wish they were a little more responsive and had proper save states though!

[@CrawlingPanther]

Would love to get a PCB of a game like this some day. What do you think about the PS4 ports of games like this? I have both the Psikyo Collections for PS4, as well as the original Strikers 1945 on both PS1 and Saturn.

[@nobodytonobodysbusiness]

Mark - You are starting to look like me when I work from home. I finally caved and killed the neckbeard after 3 months. It feels amazing to see my neck again.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha I just got a professional shave tonight, so I ll be looking fresh next vid :-)

[@ninetendopesaitama2107]

Playing all the 194x games on my MiSTer. Bought the psikyo collection 1,2,3 also on Switch. Amazing you compared the pcb and other versions for the lag.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yes so now we can put to rest the debate on the game s intended input lag :-) also looking forward when psikyo is on the mister!!!

[@geekconnoisseur]

What's the lag on the MiSTer?

[@mukabout4243]

I won’t lie, that custom case for your Strikers II PCB is beautiful 🤩 Though the “hot glued pizza box” sounds like something I’d do for sure! 👍🤣

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It is very cool! That's why I decided to promote it a bit in the vid :-) Also yes I did really hot glue my pcb to a pizza box before getting the case ha, that wasn't just made up for the joke.

[@streetmagik3105]

Ooooh, that PCB cover is beautiful 😍. Also, we knew you were right about the Psikyo Switch collection. Cool you could prove it though.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It took time, but i finally got my hands on the og arcade board ha

[@dylangaletti395]

I have all 3 games in the series on my Xbox and Switch. I love them regardless of any issues, I remember playing these with my Grandfather back in the day (RIP). So many memories playing these.

[@awesghulam]

Always enjoy your content & in depth info.. Well presented!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!

[@Chinopolis]

Very informative, thanks for the breakdown

[@TheElectricUnderground]

No problem!!

[@fazares]

I own the Psikyo Shooting stars Alpha collection and the ACA NEO GEO release of this one...i love Strikers 1945 2 but boy the last boss was a pain in the ass, lol

[@TheElectricUnderground]

No kidding those final patterns are brutal

[@JJRosko1]

Interesting comparison! FYI, if you have a USB converter you can plug your arcade stick directly into the charging port on the Switch tablet and it reads all the inputs. It's basically like playing in handheld mode with an arcade stick. I wonder if bypassing the dock like this might reduce some of the input lag?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Good news I have a video all about this! kzbin.info/www/bejne/harEhp2fd7N_pc0

[@LowKeyTired-q7d]

Awesome music ... I wonder will you have views on street fighter 6 and the capcom retro compilation of fighters coming out ???

[@TheElectricUnderground]

yes I think so!

[@Undermog]

Okay, how good was that product placement? Very smooth :)

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha a rare occurrence but I thought the steel case is really cool so I wanted to do it justice

[@dr.phil.pepper3325]

Do you know how the games runs on PS4? I'm already playing it via MAME but I would also like to play for the trophies. I'd also like to know if the port features auto fire or save states?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

The game has 4 frames of lag on ps4, I checked it a few weeks ago :-)

[@dr.phil.pepper3325]

@@TheElectricUnderground Thank you very much. I guess it's worth buying then.

[@frostbitex23]

Oh wow, I didn't knew that the Strikers trilogy have a Steam port. However, I'm happy running it on Retroarch. The input lag might not be pretty for someone who's trying to get back into the game. I've played Strikers 1945 II the most because there used to be a local arcade in my part of town. Had a bit of a rep for humming the stage themes while steamrolling through the game. Nowadays, I'm a bit rusty now since Cross Sinker is a pain in the butt. xD

[@riggel8804]

That product placement was painless. Good job.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha mission accomplished, not a super common occurrence on the channel so I had to think quiet a bit about it funny enough

[@ScottX68000]

I have Strikers 1945 1 & 2 on PS2, its been a long time since I played them but i'm curious how they fair regarding the input lag.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh that is super interesting!!!! You never know with the PS2 could be good or awful ha

[@martinevans1206]

They are dreadful! This and Gunbird Special Edition are terrible ports of these games. The lag is even worse in my humble opinion.

[@ScottX68000]

I just tested it and it felt absolutely fine to me, very responsive. Did you play it at 60hz? I'm running the pal version on my NTSC PS2 so I get 60hz gameplay, I image in PAL at 50hz it feels less responsive.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I ll have to try it in the future and check!

[@martinevans1206]

@@TheElectricUnderground PAL exclusives as far as I’m aware.

[@jaykelley103]

I bet having that pcb in that slick case set up is good feels

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It does!!

[@marcusortelan]

I have the version of the ACA NEOGEO collection and I really like it. I love shmups from Psikyo and Hamster versions

[@TheElectricUnderground]

oh yeah they did the strikers plus port, which is a neo geo game as I understand :-) Really interesting version of strikers for sure!

[@kevindilworthno1]

If you own a mvs, “strikers plus” is no brainier at its current market price, it’s bit of a steal, and a excellent game

[@rahndail3863]

Curious about the Saturn port, any drawbacks there?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

3 frames of lag on strikers 1 on saturn I'm pretty sure (it's been a few years since I tested it), but I'm not sure how accurate it is gameplay wise. Still better then the switch version I would say ha.

[@philmason9653]

@@TheElectricUnderground Have you done any testing on Saturn Strikers II? I know people say the PS1 port is the superior one there, but that seems to be based on slowdown rather than input delay. I'd be curious to know how they both fare in that department.

[@kbxthegamemaster06]

Interesting. btw how's the input lag in Gradius Collection on PSP?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Challenge accepted

[@michaelhoule2134]

It's not bad actually. I've been loving Gaiden on ppsspp.

[@wtfdoihavetodohere]

Thanks again for the great review! Can I swing by Shmup Slam 5 just to watch other people play?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Absolutely!!! Message me on discord!

[@Psych0boost]

1:37 wish I knew this before valentines day

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ahh damn I was too late! Yes a fantastic valentine's day gift ;-)

[@zuffin1864]

Now we needed aleste 3 on original game gear (if that's possible!) Vs ps4 vs switch lol

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh boy ha! I think it could be possible since I think there s a way to play gear games on a master system, right?

[@zuffin1864]

@@TheElectricUnderground there has to be a way to rip the rom then dump it on a game gear flash cart or something. Maybe the gamegear aleste micro? Or somebody with a hacked console willing to investigate that jazz. I have 0 clue of what would actually work lol

[@AtelierGokujou]

Get this nonsense! I found a batting cage in Kabukicho, that had a few old candy cabs inside, and decided to have a look inside. I see they have a Strikers cab, and happily sat down and popped a coin in. Everything is goin' fine, until I realize, I cant get the plane to fly diagonally. These arcade ops swapped in a 4 way gate onto this machine! And just to really drive the nail in, after I got smoked, I walk around to check the other cabs. Metal slug, Tekken 7, the puzzle games, all had regular 8 way sticks. I suppose that is one way to make sure no super player sits down and jam out a 1cc. I do wonder if there is some OG in Kabukicho that can manage to sit down and 1cc Strikers 45 2 with a 4 way stick.. Anyways! Thanks for the content Mark yer killin it!

[@obiiWan7]

Do you think that there would be the same situation with Tengai/Sengoku Blade? I was looking to buy that game solo (not the whole collection), but there would be no point in doing so if the input lag is that high in such a difficult game

[@TheElectricUnderground]

good question! So I can only guess here, but I would guess that it has the same amount of input lag as strikers 2 (3 frames with vsync off) as strikers 1 also is 3 frames, but that's only a guess.

[@MovingTargetOne]

This is unrelated to the video, but i had to vent somewhere. I'm just getting back into shmups after a long break, and for some reason there is hardly any of the good shmups for ps4 available in the UK. WHAT THE HELL?! edit: Strikers 1944 2 is actually on android as well lol. Its actually thanks to mobile shmups that I started playing again, away from home a lot so was looking for things to do on mobile.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

m2 need to stop being so dumb and do multi-region releases, it's annoying and silly. I feel your frustration, buying all their games with yen cards from playasia sucks

[@ChrisStoneinator]

@@TheElectricUnderground we don't even get to buy the limited run ones (which I wouldn't anyway because they're a terrible company). I'm on holiday in Florida right now and I'm going to buy every shmup I see lmao

[@ps3inquisition441]

Do you have any experience with the Saturn or PSX ports? I own both, and feel the Saturn is slightly better, even though it definitely has extra slowdown. It feels more responsive.

[@NLSagat]

I would also like to know, been playing ps1 version a lot!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I played the Saturn version briefly a few years back, I think it s around 3 frames if I remember right, I have no idea how accurate it is though ha

[@okuu_utsuho]

I don’t know if you have made a review for Strikers 1999/1945 III. I would like to hear what other say about it. For me its too hard because of Psikyo being Psikyo. Also 1945 II is one of my favorite Psikyo shmup next to Gunbird 2.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah those will be interesting to check out!!

[@nicholaseales]

Did you test the standalone 1945 II strikers on Switch or the one part of the bundle? Is there any difference between the standalone and the bundled one?

[@PedroFerreira-sx2gd]

Great review of one of my favourite shootemups. Would love to see more games like this published today instead bullet hells. By the way.Just bought sophstar yesterday. I haven t managed to reach Later stages yet, but i think we have a candidate of best shoot em up of the year. Not a masterpiece, it hás is faults but great.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yep gonna review it soon! Probably after slam 5

[@PedroFerreira-sx2gd]

@@TheElectricUnderground just trying to reach to reach Later stages too see if a certain game mechanic ( i won t spoiler) that i dislike is obligatory and then have a final opinion.

[@michielkroder4031]

Super interesting. Now you have me contemplating the purchase of Psikyo PCBs haha

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Can t go wrong!!!

[@merlijn2000]

Great vid! I have the PS1 version also next to the Switch release, do you know how well this PS1 version performs?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I don't actually!!! I ll have to try it out sometime

[@merlijn2000]

@@TheElectricUnderground do you own a copy? It's still pretty cheap. I got it for around €10 last year.

[@bruhbymobileedition3765]

I played this game since I was a little boi and played the 3 and 1

[@mondealenvers8657]

is there a difference of input lag between the version of the game on the Psikyo collection and the stand alone on Switch?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

No, sadly not

[@williamguile1788]

Are you hardwired to your supergun or using the brook board and a USB decoder?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

USB decoder :-) I did lag check it back in the day and didn't detect any additional lag, but I could see it being possible that the super gun plus decoder might add a bit of lag

[@AzrialAlaria]

I must be lucky as hell then! Cause I don't even perceive anything but the absolute WORST lag possible. People complain about terrible lag in shmups and I just roll along like nothing is even wrong and STILL dominate them. So sometimes, man... I just don't get this lag stuff...

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Nice! :-)

[@overkill1473]

The SEGA Saturn port of strikers 2 is pretty good.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

yes I think it is 3 frames of lag, if my memory serves right

[@Kira-ji2ft]

Input lag is like sound quality. You may be perfectly happy with kind of crappy mp3 rips, but once you start listening to stuff on vynil with a good pair of speakers it's hard to go back. There's a gap in quality between the two which is impossible to ignore, but which you would never know existed until you experienced it for yourself. And i guess emulation is a good comparison to high quality CD rips.

[@MrSkinnyBuh]

Is there a Mister Core for Strikers? Or am I thinking of 1945 loop master

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I don t think so yet, but I think we will get one someday!!

[@MrSkinnyBuh]

@@TheElectricUnderground me too. I’m a big fan of the mister so far. It needs more devs

[@pimsbury5155]

That woman would have been more impressed if the pizza box was a Totinos.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

absolutely! Maybe a nice Red Baron also ha

[@pimsbury5155]

@@TheElectricUnderground Clearly, that chick does not appreciate the thrifty gentlemen.

[@Camdavis11]

Thanks for this analysis, in my opinion Nintendo life lost a very valuable asset when they stopped commissioning your reviews. Is the PS1 port of this any good??

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks so much my dude!!! I m not sure how the PS1 port runs, I ve actually never played it. I m going to cover the gradius collection on psp soon if I can figure a way to play it on console

[@Camdavis11]

@@TheElectricUnderground oh the Gradius collection is awesome (by m2 if I'm not mistaken?) but man I wish you could turn off the horrible smudgy filter without the display becoming tiny. The salamander collection is also pretty sweet too if you can get your hands on it.

[@andrewbutler9533]

Just blind bought the ps4 version (digitally) - anyone know of this is (typically) a frame faster than switch or not? Assume 5 frames?

[@stopbuyingstuff5522]

Glad to hear the steam version is close to the arcade it’s one I’m starting with getting into the genre. So did you watch that conspiracy theory for the shining?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh yeah room 237 where the shining is secretly Kubrick s admission he faked the moon landing (I think that was one of the theories). Fun times! Yeah I love that sort of stuff, moon landing is sort of old news but a classic ha

[@stopbuyingstuff5522]

@@TheElectricUnderground I haven’t watched that one yet I know I need to. No the one called the Wendy theory

[@TheElectricUnderground]

@@stopbuyingstuff5522 oh I ll have to look that up!

[@digitalworms]

Good advice lol I almost struck out getting lucky with a few chicks because of my pcbs!

[@sibbyeskie]

Haha I love the “product placement.” Too funny!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Glad you enjoyed!!!

[@sebastiaanvanderaar9894]

how much input lag would't mame have?

[@Heisenberg2097]

I prefer the PIZZA box solution... then I can always have hot pizza while playing.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Brought to you by freschetta!

[@sunderark]

Anybody ever tried doing an entirely passive run of the game? You can beat the entire game without shooting even once. just survive.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

That sounds super interesting!! It s probably possible since you don t take damage from enemy ships ramming you

[@sunderark]

@@TheElectricUnderground I tried it, but the nature of Psikyo shooters itself makes it impossible for me with the clear everything on the screen routing once stage 5 kicks in. You'll have my utmost respect if you can pull it off.

[@AngelEpinoia]

Wow almost 10k what world is this?! Does that mean shmups are growing in popularity, finally?!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I hope so!!

[@realFUGAR]

So Pandora Box rom is better than my Switch card?

[@dankhill6851]

Flying Pancake is the GOAT

[@fuzzbear677]

Strikers 1945 is good on Neo Geo aes to I think that's the best one🕹🎮😀👍🏽

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Oh that s an interesting version!

[@hessiankyojin]

The GOAT of Shmups

[@mareksekua4287]

that case is sick!!!

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It is really cool, I m going to get more when I get PCB in the future :-)

[@dbnpoldermans4120]

I wonder what lag the ps and saturn ports have

[@TheElectricUnderground]

saturn i'm pretty sure is 3 frames, almost every saturn shmup I've tested has been 3 frames :-) but it's been a while since I tested and so my memory is foggy

[@shain6946]

Screen tearing in 2022 is unacceptable.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Gsync baby!!! Turn off the in game v sync and let your GPU do the work :-)

[@jakesmith5278]

Dude, I think you forgot the most important version, MAME emulation.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

or shmuparch! you can get 1 frame of lag on shmuparch ha. I talked about the steam and switch versions as people often ask me about them and wonder how they compare to pcb

[@VenusFlycast]

how about PS4 version input lag?

[@Ishmokin]

Anyone test the ps4 port input lag?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Not yet

[@scalliano]

To be fair, there are worse things you could hot-glue to a pizza box...

[@f-zerogx2624]

Are you as good as Japanese players in stg’s?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Not as good as the superplayers no, but probably as good as some of them :-)

[@thegreatjonzini]

Is it me or the audio is out of sync?

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It might be youtube being weird, I checked the vid before publishing and didn't see any audio issues.

[@Arandui]

Sometimes, when your internet connection is drunken, the audio of a video can desync. I had that happen a few times on different videos.

[@thegreatjonzini]

@@Arandui my internet has been sober 3 years. 🙂

[@segatouringcar3738]

Adios hermano! Bueno escucharte hablar español :D

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I can speak and read a bit of Spanish, but at the level of a 4 year old ha ;-) I was on a Spanish podcast though!!

[@segatouringcar3738]

@@TheElectricUnderground Hahaha its enough ;) I'm not a big fan of podcasts... they usually last a long time and in the end the topics are very diversified... but if you tell me what podcast is maybe i will take a look ^^

[@fuzzbear677]

You forgot about the PlayStation 4 Port which is better than the switch🕹🎮😀👍🏽

[@shanekhan3437]

The ps4 version is perfect 👌

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It's not too bad, still a bit laggy (4 frames) and barebones, but still much better than the switch version.

[@ronnygranados2433]

your video has input lag 😅 voice is out of sync

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I m not sure how that could have happened ha, maybe a bit? The curse of psikyo

[@techknow9237]

Just get the games on PC, XB One or Series or PS4 on PS5...Nintendo Switch will always suffer the lag issue on Shumps.