Espgaluda II REVIEW (Switch) - Bullet Heaven

[@therichwhite]

Lets hope the CAVE content keeps on coming! (physical releases too)

[@LaurensNerdyFunStuff]

Wow! I'm super terrible at SHMUPs (so I also don't really know much about them yet) and just seeing how much complexity is in this is mind boggling for me lol. I really enjoyed the review though! :) I'm not super familiar with some of the terminology, but I like how in-depth you go with your reviews.

[@StudioMudprints]

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. The terminology comes with time, though I may have to make some sort of glossary for some of the terms we use often lol I think the Novice modes would be a perfect place to really experiment with it if you find your skill lacking in other shooters. It may not prepare you for the true difficulties, but the two extra arranges are skewed to beginner and low-intermediate. Might be a good place to check things out 👍

[@cmdrfokker]

Great review, boss! I'm glad you also brought up the sheer gulf in difficulty between standard arcade and novice, I too got blindsided pretty hard by it. I guess DDP DFK kinda spoiled me, that novice mode really ramps things up, particularly when you reach the second loop. It made the transition to standard and higher difficulties feel less like walking into a brick wall. I'm basically telling everyone I know to buy this release, it'd be great to have more of the Cave library on Switch!

[@whatamalike]

Totally good point about the slight disconnect between novice and other modes: I played through novice yesterday and thought I was utterly shit hot. Went to normal and black label this morning and felt like I'd been hit by a bus! Otherwise, undeniably a fantastic port and certainly livewire are proving themselves to be a more than competent studio possibly only second to of course M2

[@TheSamuraiGoomba]

Yeah, novice is a very easy mode. So it's a great way to get an easy 1cc if you're a less experienced player. I did it on my first run of the game. And every subsequent Novice run. I suck massively at shmups too. But I'm sure that moving up to Normal difficulty will make for a refreshingly "cave" wack in the testicles. Live Wire being supposedly comprised of ex-Cave staff, it's no surprise they've been doing a great job porting these games. I'm especially happy that Espgaluda II got ported, since the 360 port is prohibitively expensive for most. For $20, this is one of the best value shmups on the market, particularly on Switch.

[@JustFun-ho6qy]

Yeah, in Galuda2 the gulf is downright absurd. In Mushihimesama it's also pretty massive, but not only do you still have to pay attention on novice if you wanna get a 1CC clear, arcade/normal actually feels like maybe - just maybe - normal human beings were at least being considered as the target demographic for the end product;) The M2 port Esp.Ra.De Psi is almost as bad as Galuda 2, by the way. The beginner mode is a joke. I'd say it's even easier than Galuda 2 on novice.

[@MrRawnch]

I forgot how difficult this game was. Looking forward to seeing DoDonPachi on the Switch later this year.

[@johnyluci21]

Hey, never played these should i start with dondonpachi or this one ?

[@p3d_evanfredricosagala236]

It reminds me about the underrated-old game in PS 2,'Mobile Light Force 2'.The "shoot'em up" and "bullet hell" game that using person as the shooter/gunner.

[@StudioMudprints]

That game is great. I love Shikigami no Shiro.

[@andrewbutler9533]

Bought them both and will get DDPR ASAP (guessing a Nov/Dec release).

[@JohnGavalas-xh5ub]

Yeah and sadly Mushihimesama is delisted on the eShop glad i was able to get it while it was available would lovd to see Live Wire port Mushihimesama Futari Ibara Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork i doubt it will happen but it would be awesome

[@HansAlRachid]

I'm so damn happy LiveWire suddenly popped up out of nowhere - I'm not a particular fan of Galuda 2, but seeing this get a modern port does the heart good. Luckily it's a really good port as well! I really hope LiveWire is making bank off of these, I'd love to see some more beyond the one coming up for DoDonPachi Resurrection. Imagine a port of Mushi 2, or even something like Ibara Kuro! EDIT: Also totally agree on the disparity between Novice mode and the rest - I feel like it's so comparatively easy that it really doesn't end up teaching you any of the necessary skills for the more complex difficulty modes.

[@StudioMudprints]

In retrospect (and I wish I thought if this for the review) novice is an excellent training ground for the basics of scoring.

[@HansAlRachid]

@@StudioMudprints You have a point there - that said, can it even really convey the essence of Galuda 2 style scoring if it doesn't end up absolutely flooding the entirety of the screen with golden numbers while the most satisfying slowdown ever takes over?

[@shinkazama3959]

Great review Ed :)

[@ApenBaard]

Great game! Loved it on ios and hadnt been able to play it since ios9 or something. Its a LOT harder without the unfairly precise and fast touchcontrols though haha almost a different game.

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

Awesome review Ed!

[@Zenon00007]

Playing it now, amazing game..🕹🕹

[@futureskeletons66669]

Are Esprade and Espgaluda related? Is Espgaluda a Steampunk alternative universe of Esprade? So glad this has been re-released. I sold my Xbox 360 copy and regretted it.

[@handlessuck589]

I'd compare them to something like Drakengard and NIER Espgaluda happens then thousands of years later, ESP Ra.de. Distant sequels.

[@HansAlRachid]

I believe the official statement is that the Espgaluda games are the spiritual successors of Esp Ra.De.

[@broken1394]

To quote Olivia Lets get physical.

[@RetroShock19]

Maybe a suggestion: review Astro Ace - just released. Its a deeper game than it looks - very fun, based on oldschool asteroide like ones. Difficult as hell.

[@Progearspec]

Given this port is top notch i'll have to buy it asap.

[@ShadowBasch]

This game is sooo good, I fell for its soundtrack and it's soo fun to just pickup and play! Heads up btw, the new patch 1.03(?) Messed up the ost option, so now Black Label music doesn't work for some reason in any mode... I hope the devs notice it and patch it because both osts are superb!!

[@ShadowBasch]

Update: They fixed it!!

[@StudioMudprints]

Nice! Gotta have that Black Label OST!

[@JogosMofados]

Good review, but I'm confused. The genre is actually called bullet hell, but the series is called bullet heaven, which is how another genre is being called nowadays. Thought if the goal is to draw attention, well, it does. ☺️

[@StudioMudprints]

Yeah, here's the thing: I had the title all the way back in 2009 when my first of over 300 videos on the matter was made. It's unfortunate that no one did any cursory research (which I actually did at the time to avoid stepping on anyone's toes) to avoid naming things that would dilute our brand. But here we are.

[@JogosMofados]

@@StudioMudprints got it, like shooters took over the meaning of what people used to call shmups back in the 80s.

[@listerofsmeg884]

Sorry for the dumb question, but the bar at the bottom of the screen: is that your health bar or something else? Doesn't appear to be a one hit kill game

[@StudioMudprints]

Thats the barrier energy. The barrier auto engages in novice modes and in awakening in any other mode. In Normal Arcade and Black Label, the player will lose a life if hit (indicated with soul flames under the score)

[@ZetZatar]

Glad to have this portable! But its ironic that its a direct 360 port (credits and all) on the Switch yet isnt available on the Xbox (even through backwards compatibility). 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@StudioMudprints]

That is pretty ironic, actually.

[@SvensPron]

Just picked this up on switch, but I'm still bummed it doesn't look like we're getting more steam releases...

[@StudioMudprints]

All we can do is let Live Wire know there's demand. Hopefully we'll see more soon.

[@123phi123]

Localized endings had previously been present in the now-delisted mobile ports of this game, similar to the delisted port of Futari localized as Bug Princess 2 and the still-available iOS port of DOJ Another thing to note is that when you highlight the Credits option in the main menu, it says it shows the Mushihimesama credits. Oops.

[@StudioMudprints]

Yes, but not on home console which is what I was getting at. Shame it's not available on android anymore. I bought it ages ago and it was dependent on a connection to a server to operate.

[@naitomea4664]

The Android version of this game was the first game that got me into shmups. It was so nice being able to play back through it again.

[@trangus]

The scoring on this game has always broken my brain and I basically have to ignore it. I do love it, though.

[@StudioMudprints]

To be perfectly honest, I made the effort to get better at scoring for the satisfaction that only edging a seizure with those unreasonably shiny x1000 bonuses that flood the screen can provide.

[@sushi.kirishima]

Funny enough, I find Espgaluda II to be the most satisfying scoring system in Cave's STGs, while Ketsui, as much as I love the game itself, is much less fun when playing for score. It's a lot to remember and manage, but it's never frustrating like Ketsui can be.

[@ridho39]

still hoping for steam release, 3 games is not enough

[@StudioMudprints]

It has been so long though. Maybe Live Wire can do it though, if there's enough demand. I'd start some kind of information campaign, but I don't really have the reach for it.