Fighting Games Are NOT Products. (Internalized Marketing) The Electric Underground 2026-09-26 | Fighting Games Are NOT Products. (Internalized Marketing)
Shmup Trivia Stand-Off Livestream! (Shmup Gameshow) The Electric Underground 2024-05-10 | Shmup Trivia Stand-Off Livestream! (Shmup Gameshow). Boghog, M.Knight, Catpat, and Myself will all be competing in a shmup trivia gameshow created by NightWingisDaBestRobin where we will be answering shmup trivia Jeopardy style and I'm sure we'll all get destroyed by M.Knight ha. Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH
Stellar Blade Is Shallow And Deceptive | Review The Electric Underground 2024-05-05 | Stellar Blade Is Shallow And Deceptive | Review. I'll admit I bought into this game's marketing hook line and sinker. Like everyone else I was interested and excited to see a new game come out with bold sexual appeal, graphic violence, and interesting combat. I am a hardcore Team Ninja fan and I miss the 2000s era action game of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Ninja Gaiden like everyone else. Stellar Blade is definitely teased and aimed at this audience with its marketing and demo. Because there is a law that every game that is made these days needs to be influenced by Dark Souls, I wasn't naive enough to think that Stellar Blade would be pure uncut character action. I knew from playing the demo that it would have that slower more 1 versus 1 feel and pace like the souls series and I was open minded to this possibility. I do enjoy souls games especially Elden Ring. Day 1 I bought Stellar Blade and starting playing and after a few hours it became very clear to me that I had been played by this game -- rather than the other way around. Everyone is so wrapped up around the controversy of this game's visuals and the various culture wars that somehow have attached themselves to it that sadly no one has actually bothered to review the game itself. On top of that the people who do review games -- like game journalists -- are the exact market this game is targeted towards. What Stellar Blade does is takes the skin of a real action game and then guts out everything that is inside of what makes a game good. The section immediately after the demo ends is literally a swimming section ha. Honestly I do think Stellar Blade is the case of a small and limited action with a few interesting (but unfinished) boss fights that then got mixed in with a giant sludge of empty gamification and then passed on as a full release. And none of it is accidental. Let's not forget that at that core Shift Up are Gacha games makers, not classic arcade devs like the Devil May Cry and Bayonetta teams. They are more than comfortable treating game design as casino inspired mental manipulation rather than as an art form.I won't spoil all my thoughts about the game in the vid description but I think after the initial hype wave and culture war boost this game has received has moved on (which it always does, like Bayonetta 3) players will calm down and see that Stellar Blade is more of a brilliant act of marketing than it is game design. Incredible thumbnail made by the master @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Modern Game Design Is a Scam of Empty Engagement And Gamified Mechanics07:53 Filler Engagement and Pretend Challenge is the New Monetization Model – Sawdust Instead of Meat.15:15 The Misleading Marketing of Stellar Blade – This Is Not a Genuine Action Game (Or Even a Souls-Like)17:52 Stellar Blade’s Combat Mechanics Are Heavily Restricted, Prescribed, and Shallow25:17 The Enemy Design is Passive and Uniform. They Don’t Trap or Challenge the Player28:15 The Boss Fights Are the Best Part of the Game and Start Fun, But Are So Static They Don’t Have Longevity. 32:00 There was a Potentially Fun Game Here if Stellar Blade Developed Its Combat More and Didn’t Crush the Player Under Bloat and Intentionally Padded Content.33:32 Don’t Put the *Meow* On a Pedestal Fellas, Wait for a Significant Sale at Least#stellarblade, #stellarbladereview, #sekiro
Esports Will DESTROY Fighting Games | Dead Or Alive 4 Review The Electric Underground 2024-04-26 | Esports Will DESTROY Fighting Games | Dead Or Alive 4 Review. There is a lot of talk right now about how much the fighting game genre is "thriving" because if you look at peak metrics like Evo tournament entrants and sponsorship prize money, things have never been better, right? But the metric that no one seems to want to look at is the thinning out of the fighting game genre as a whole. Sure Tekken, Guilty Gear, and Street Fighter are doing well, but what has happened to the once densely populated fighting game landscape? What has happened to once extremely popular series like King Of Fighters, Dead or Alive, Soul Caliber, Virtua Fighter, and many more? They've all withered away. The reason for this, as I'll explore in the video, is because the fighting game genre actually grew and prospered under the arcade business model, but now that the arcade business model is dead, the genre has been orphaned and adopted by a new step daddy -- esports. And while I think competitive fighting games are really cool and I enjoy watching tournaments more than most, I think it's also important to discuss what the ramifications of following the esports model of game design will mean for the majority of the genre, extinction. I'll explain why this is in further detail in the video, but one really interesting game that is often overlooked is the peak of the arcade era game design, Dead or Alive 4. These days most "serious" fighting game players treat DOA, even the classic entries, as basically a joke because the way these games are designed does not fit neatly into the esports model of game design and balance (fox only, final destination). But as a piece of video game design, not as an esports platform, Dead or Alive 4, created by Team Ninja, is doing A LOT right that other modern fighting games could certainly learn from (Strong Enemy AI, Fully Features Modes) especially fighting games that have no hope of being major esports to begin with *cough* Dead or Alive 6. If you want to check out Dead or Alive 4, which I highly recommend, you can get it for basically nothing on the Xbox 360 with the physical disc. But if you want a more convient way to play the game, the Xbox 1 version runs really well and you can access the online leaderboards without Xbox Live which is fantastic. Then on PC there is no Steam version (and probably never will be), but you can play it via Xenia Canary with some graphics and audio glitches that I expect will be sorted out in the near future.Amazing Thumbnail Created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 The Dangers of the Esports Model (Winner Takes All)06:27 Dead or Alive 4 Reduces TURNS and Increases INTERACTION11:45 Gameplay "Depth" Is Over-rated and Misunderstood. PACE Matters.15:10 Esports is Shortening the New Game Lifespan and Killing Longevity.21:30 The Timeless Visuals of Dead or Alive 4 Still Hold Up26:30 THE GEM of Dead or Alive 4 - Difficulty and MODES31:00 What Makes Single Player Content GOOD (Hint: It's Not RPG Mechanics)#esports, #deadoralive, #tekken8
Stellar Blade and the Provocative Female Form The Electric Underground 2024-04-18 | Stellar Blade and the Provocative Female Form. The internet is on fire and the Sony marketing team are happy clams at the bottom of the ocean. From the day that Stellar Blade was revealed to the world, as Project Eve at first, this game has been making headlines and generating conversation. Now the content of the internet conversation, whether or not its morally acceptable to depict a provocative female form, has been rehashed for about a decade now. I think most of us are tired of hearing the constant back and forth about it. However, why i felt compelled to make this video and discuss the topic is because in terms of art critique, the depiction of the female form is a pursuit that is timeless and important. No matter who you ask and what their cultural stance is, you will find that they do feel that some depictions in art are more effective than others. Why this is, though, that these types will explain, is because some depictions are morally correct and others are not -- which is overly simplistic and not reflective of how art really works. I think there is an entire deep and aesthetic conversation to be had around provocative and arousing imagery, but right now that conversation is being completely bludgeoned by political and cultural warfare. For the past decade the age of the average gamer has been rising, we Millennials are getting old. And as we get older, we are naturally going to become more sensitive towards provocative imagery than we were when we were hot-blooded teenagers. This is why, I think, we are seeing a lot of series like God of War and Devil May Cry aging their protagonists. Not only because the devs themselves are aging, but also the target customer base. I bring this up because I suspect, though it will be interesting to see, if Stellar Blade might be one of the first AAA published games in a long while that is not primary aimed at the married millennial, but rather the Gen Z demographic. And it will also be interesting to see how the sales of this game turn out (though they seem to already be doing well pre-release) and how the sales of this game may influence other developers in the AAA space. Best case scenario, in my mind, is that the sales of Stellar Blade help push Team Ninja to rediscover their mojo and return to making games like Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden, but we'll see. This topic video was made before the release of Stellar Blade. But if you are interested in the game it looks like it will be a Playstation 5 (PS5), exclusive for the forseeable future. Maybe, if it actually plays well, it can be this console generation's Bloodborne for Sony. The Rise of Ronin has already attempted to be the PS5's Elden Ring and I don't think that turned out as hoped. Fantastic thumbnail, as usual, created by the master @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Sexuality (or the Lack of It) is a Fundamental Aspect of Character Design.04:30 A Character Understanding Her Own Sexuality, and Its Effects, Creates Depth07:00 Provocative Character Design Can Be Used To Create Aesthetics Beyond Fan service.08:10 Aging Millennials Are Naturally Becoming More and Sensitive to Erotic Character Design.09:40 Sexy Characters are A Risk When Developing AAA For Mass Audiences.11:15 The Origins of Stellar Blade Studio, The Power of Gacha is Increasing13:00 The Alcohol Analogy - Sensitivity to Sexual Content is Individual and Crosses All Demographics16:20 Final Thoughts - Humor is Refreshing, Moralistic Warfare is Boring.#stellarblade, #stellarbladereview, #ign
Top 10 Greatest Shmup Developers of All Time! The Electric Underground 2024-04-13 | Top 10 Greatest Shmup Developers of All Time! I love shmups and talking about the development and the design of this amazing genre. In today's video I go through and rank who I think are the top 10 greatest shoot em' up developers of all time. One thing that I want to recognize though is that the talent and library of amazing games in this genre is INSANE and that it is simply not possible to actually capture who the 10 best developers of the genre are, especially based on which versions of shmups you value more than others. There are a lot of sub genres within sub genres. However, what I think this list is great for is expressing what I value in the genre's design and why I value it, which I think is a much more important and interesting discussion than trying to be somehow objective. In some genres, the talent pool is pretty limited so it can be pretty easy to formulate and decide on which developer is the most important and influential, but in the world of shmups, these devs are just on another level and really making games with so much artistic intergrity and passion that we simply do not see anymore outside of the arcade era. So on top of discussing why I think certain devs are ahead of their peers, I also want this vid to demonstrate, once again, how VITAL the arcade era was to pioneering and forward thinking game design. If you want to be spoiled about the list you can check out the chapters below ha. As of right now, a lot of the games I discuss can be played on the Nintendo Switch, the Playstation 4/PS5, and of course PC via Steam or sometimes stand alone programs. Alas though, for certain devs on this list *cough* Psikyo, if you want a decent experience playing their bueatiful games, you are going to need to venture into the world of emulation either with Retorarch/Final Burn Alpha or MAME. Both are honestly solid options these days. Link to Mushi Ep I was on with Shoot The Core-Cast: youtu.be/1NUmEFyaFCMAmazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTGPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 This List is About What I Value00:02:00 Honorary Mention: Yotsubane (CCWE)00:04:26 10 = Seibu Kaihatsu (Raiden Series)00:06:46 9 = IREM (R-Type Series)00:10:55 8 = Toaplan (Mother Of Bullet Hell)00:15:53 7 = Taito (Gun Frontier, Rayforce Series, Darius Series)00:23:35 6 = Psikyo (The Most UnderRated Dev)00:29:00 5 = ZUN (Yes, Touhou Is TOO POWERFUL)00:37:00 4 = Treasure (Experimental AND Fundimental is Their Magic)00:40:38 3 = Konami (The Big DADDY Of Shmup Design)00:46:10 2 = Raizing (True Meta Shmup Design)00:53:39 1 = CAVE (Simply Untouchable, Peak Art)#shmup, #shootemup, #bullethell
Rise of the Rōnin is Butter Spread Too Thin | Review The Electric Underground 2024-04-02 | Rise of the Rōnin is Butter Spread Too Thin | Review. Team Ninja are my favorite developer. I know over the years they have received a lot of criticism, especially of the Dead or Alive Series, for their signature mixture of brutal battling and beautiful ... women. The Ninja Gaiden Series, even among casual game journalists, is still beloved and respected. However, since the departure of Itagaki in 2008 (right after the release of the true masterpiece Ninja Gaiden 2 on the Xbox 360), it seems like the team has struggled with re-establishing their signature brand of game design and seem to be moving in a new creative direction since the release of the excellent Dark Souls-influenced Nioh in 2017. The issue with this new creative direction, however, as Ronin clearly illustrates, is that following along and being the secondary Pepsi to Fromsoft's Coca-Cola was a novel and interesting idea seven years ago. Since that time however, and especially since the release of the Parry Focused Sekiro in 2019, copying the current Fromsoft formula of Parry + Stamina + Stagger is far from being original or interesting -- especially because this has essentially become the action game standard. Even Armored Core 6, a supposed mech game, utilizes this formula to some degree. With other new developers, like the creators of The Lies of P, copying Fromsoft isn't surprising, but in the case of Team Ninja, who were once on the cutting edge of combat design only a few years ago and who made some genuinely cool innovations with the Ki-Pulse system of the Nioh franchise, the Rise of the Ronin feels like creative burnout. When discussing their vision for the game, the thing that stands out the most is Team Ninja discussing expected sales figures and it certainly comes across when playing Ronin that the move to this expanded open-world setting is much more of a commercial choice rather than a creative one. The open-world aspect of the game's design is certainly underdeveloped, even casual reviewers have pointed this out, but what is even more of an issue with Ronin's world/level design is that for a combat focused game, all the time spent wandering around and doing fetch quests devastates the gameplay density and all of the open ended space allows for players to effortlessly siphon away enemies from groups and slowly pick them off one by one. Bayonetta and Devil May Cry have locked in combat areas for a reason Team Ninja.Right now Rise of the Ronin is a PS5 exclusive and goes for the absurd price of $70. And being a Sony Published game, it seems unlikely they will be releasing it on Steam (PC) anytime soon (Sony wants another Bloodborne I think). But hopefully in the near future it will drop on sale because buying it full price seems steep. Very cool thumbnail created by the master, himself @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Chapter 1: Team Ninja Are Lost09:19 Chapter 2: Open-World Dilutes Combat16:54 Chapter 3: Stagger and Parry Burnout29:03 Chapter 4: Style is AGGRESSIVELY Bland33:05 Final Thoughts#teamninja, #riseoftheronin, #sekiro
BestGuyEver Understands Artistic Integrity | Youtuber on Youtuber The Electric Underground 2024-03-26 | BestGuyEver Understands Artistic Integrity | Youtuber on Youtuber. Today I am joined by a fellow youtuber whose videos I have been a fan of for many years, BestGuyEver, as the flagship guest in a new video series I hope I am able to continue into the future called Youtuber on Youtuber. The idea of the series (in case you've haven't seen Variety Actor on Actor) is to talk to other Youtubers that I respect about their creative process and ethos when it comes to making videos. I'm excited about this series because I do think there *can* be more artistic merit to making videos and reviewing media that is beyond just chasing algorithms or pushing political views, but that takes a certain degree of self-control and discipline since many forces on the internet incentivize drifting towards the lowest common denominator and treating media like soap boxes to stand on. The main thing I love about BGE's channel, other than his fun on camera personality, is his like-minded respect for the artistic integrity of media and often discusses important topics surrounding remake culture, author intent, artist -versus-publishers, and media revision. My favorite parts of the interview are when we dig into these topics :-)As fun as it is to talk to BGE, there is an important topic that he is asking for help on, which is helping him merely get the attention of a human being at Youtube with some authority about an absurd copyright situation that has somehow snowballed into getting BGE's longtime youtube channel taken down. As both BGE and I express in the episode, neither of us are the types who want to engage in big statements or internet drama or public outcry or anything like that. The issue though is that BGE's copyright situation, I feel, is mostly the result of automation in the copyright system gone wrong (as well as the aggressive copyright policy of Japanese companies like Shueisha) that fired off all at once without giving BGE any chance to correct or rectify what the copyright holder wanted changed. Also, the fact that Youtube is behind the scenes connecting together the behavior of accounts that are completely disconnected from one another is wild. I can see why they would do something like that in some ways, but at the same time I think treating a copyright strike on a smaller experimental channel as a strike against a larger more standard channel is going to lead to a ton of problems and unfair situations for the creators. BestGuyEver is requesting, if you are inclined, that you follow his twitter and help him tweet at youtube support #FreeBGE as well as potentially helping him with other attempts to get their attention like writing letters. My hope for the situation is that a human at Youtube takes a look at the situation and smoothly amends the copyright strike snowball and allows BGE to continue his career as usual. Below is the link to THE TWEET he'd like retweeted as much as possible:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RETWEET HERE with #FreeBGE and @TeamYoutubetwitter.com/BestestGuyEver/status/1762107714631520472?s=20----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Below are links to BGE's information:Twitter: twitter.com/BestestGuyEverPatreon: patreon.com/BestGuyEverAmazing thumbnail, as always, created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergr00:00:00 BestGuy Ever Explains His Battle With Copyright Automation00:05:55 Mark Got Channel Strike for Linking Japanese Shmups in the Past00:10:00 BGE is battling the ultimate enemy - Bureaucracy00:17:00 BGE Just Wants to Continue Making Vids with least Drama Possible.00:26:30 Making Content that is Both Relevant and Meaningful is a Delicate Balance.00:32:30 Author Authority, Can Creators Revise or Change Old Work?00:40:00 Not All Remakes are Equal, Staying in the Compositional Window Matters00:50:00 Early Days of Youtubing, The Initial Artistic Impulse01:02:35 Navigating the Gray Areas of Acting, Performing, and Entertaining01:11:00 The Underlying Ethos of BestGuyEver (And Mark)01:20:00 "MASTERPIECE" Means Nothing Without Contrast - Dynamics Matter01:37:30 As An Artist, Are You Willing to Push Your Audience? 01:45:33 Why Remakes CANNOT Stand Alone, New Releases Override Public Discourse01:50:14 BGE Video Creation Process, From Concept to Final Upload#FreeBGE, #BestGuyEver, #finalfantasyviirebirth
Contra: Operation Galuga is Developer Fan-Fiction (Review) The Electric Underground 2024-03-20 | Contra: Operation Galuga is Developer Fan-Fiction (Review). Over the years I have found that the most interesting reviews are for flawed but ambitious games, and this game certainly falls into this category. Because even though this review is certainly critical of Contra: Operation Galuga, I am happy to have such a clear example of issues with current attitudes and approaches when it comes to mechanical design, weapon balance, aspect ratio, progression systems, graphics, visuals, music, scoring, lack of leader boards, boss fights, and so much more. Wayforward are an interesting developer and publisher because in a lot of ways they are fulfilling a lot of the things I want to see western developers and publishers do, like picking up on franchises that have been abandoned by the larger Japanese Studios like Konami. But one MASSIVE problem with western developers and with Contra: Operation Galuga is that they are not designing these revival games with the fundamentals of the series in mind. Instead, what they tend to do is pick and choose through all the previous games in the series from a fan's perspective, and then try to blend together a lot of the surface aspects of the games into one ultimate mega mix of fan fiction. This makes the game sound like an advancement on the surface, especially when they mix in modern game design trends (like a parry in Metroid Dread), but what often happens is that the fan fiction completely overlooks why certain game play elements of each title in the series cannot be mixed in with the level design of other titles. A big example of this is of course the homing weapons of the boss rush games being mixed into the stage design of the NES era games. The level design of the earlier games absolutely requires a limitation in player aiming and homing weapons completely obliterate this form of challenge. Then there is weapon swapping glitches that over ride the boss fights and really bland plodding side scrolling stages, but I'll get into all that in the vid. In summary, while I did have some casual fun with Operation Galuga, this game has a lot of really fundamental design oversights that I hope can be at least a learning lesson for future Contra games by Wayforward, if they ever manage to recover from the overall negative reception of this game. You can pick up the game on PS5/PS4, Steam (PC), and Nintendo Switch, but from the sound of it the only solid version of the game is the PC version and definitely do not spend full $40 on it, a deep discount of $10-$15 would be my recommendation. Awesome thumbnail made by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Is This Game Underrated? No.03:00 The Graphics Are A Problem05:00 3D Camera is not Being Utilized Well07:00 Revival Games Have a Duty to Maintain Quality08:45 Too Much Effort Spent on Contra's Story (Bad Use of Resources)11:50 The Curse of Western Developer Fan fiction Design13:20 The Aspect Ratio Issue is HUGE16:30 Homing Weapons BREAK this Game's Level Design17:50 Developers: STOP BALANCING GAMES AROUND SPEEDRUNNING19:55 The Game's Design ENCOURAGES Lame Play, That's a Problem22:45 The Auto scrolling Stages are EASY, BORING, AND TOO LONG25:30 Weapon Swapping Glitch BREAKS Boss Fights (So Easy)28:20 This Game Feels Unfinished, it's Bland and Easy30:10 Lack of a Real Scoring System is a HUGE Missed Opportunity32:00 STOP Locking High Difficulty Modes Behind Grinding.33:45 Final Thoughts#contra, #konami, #shootemup
Gunvein 1cc Expert Developer Commentary, Pattern Analysis and Discussion | Behind the Bullets The Electric Underground 2024-03-14 | Gunvein Expert Developer Commentary, Pattern Analysis and 1cc Discussion | Behind the Bullets. Not your average 1cc video. Today I am joined by Shmup Dev and friend of the channel @boghogstg to discuss my 1cc of the game's expert mode and to go in depth on the inspiration and philosophy behind the game's ship, level, and pattern design. I wanted to create a video that not only discusses ideas for game design, but also shows practical examples of the concepts on screen. Boghog is really fun to talk to generally, and it was cool to hear him discuss how he balanced and put together the elements of the game. I do hope shmup fans and action game fans generally tune in for this conversation, because we discuss not only how a shmup (bullet hell) can be influenced by games within its own genre, like Dodonpachi, Battle Garegga, or Touhou, but also how other action games, like Devil May Cry, inspired other elements of the boss fights and general game play.I'm hopeful that if this format of video connects with you all, I can continue to do it for other games that I play through and enjoy. I said it in the video but I'll also repeat it here that if you are fan of shmups, or are interested in trying them out for the first time, Gunvein is an excellent starting point and it has a great blend of teaching the player the fundamentals of bullet hell dodging, while also teaching classic shoot em' up resource management, which is a tricky needle to thread in terms of game design. And if you have already played Gunvein and achieved the intense 1cc, I highly encourage you all to keep playing and go for the expert mode clear, which is extremely fun to practice and one of my fav expert clears I've done on the channel. Gunvein is available on Steam (PC), and that's my favorite version of the game. But there is also a solid Nintendo Switch Port and hopefully someday we will get a PS4/PS5 release from NG Dev.Awesome thumbnail made by @boghogSTG Fan art for thumb by: twitter.com/aurahackHere is the LINK to the Streamed Run: youtu.be/G8vraIh7qJI?t=1876Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Welcome Developer, Boghog! Introducing Gunvein Expert Mode00:06:00 Stage 1, Don't Make a Tutorial Stage00:13:28 Stage 2, Add in Dynamic Enemy Design with a Dash of Memorization00:25:45 Stage 3, Embrace Chaotic Patterns, Start Tricking the Player With Timing Shifts00:39:25 Stage 4, Activate Bullet Density and Enemy Snowballing!00:50:42 Stage 5, Aggression is the ONLY Defense, Healthy RNG is Replay-ability00:56:20 Final Bosses - Character Action Boss Design01:03:10 EXPERT 1CC! Final Thoughts and Celebrations#Gunvein, #shmup, #shootemup
Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection is NOT Clunky or Outdated | Review The Electric Underground 2024-03-06 | Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is NOT "Clunky" or "Outdated" | Review. This game is the rare example of a revival of a series that is not only faithful to the original difficulty and design of the previous games, but actually even pushes the difficulty concept even further. I remember this game being notorious upon release, with a lot of reviews calling it "Clunky" or "Outdated" (in so many words). The discussion around this game's difficulty has been an interesting one, because a lot of more experienced players do seem to appreciate how ruthless the game is, but not even the positive reviews of the game seem able to justify why it's style of design is good, beyond just being difficult. It is funny how many salty reviews this game has managed to generate, if you are bored one day, just go through and read some of this stuff on steam. My favorite quote in a negative review reads: "The best way I can describe playing this game is like going on a date with someone who thinks embracing and acknowledging their toxic personality traits instead of changing or fixing them somehow makes it cute and quirky." Not only is that a funny way of describing the game (you all know I enjoy dating analogies), but it also does poetically describe what good difficulty design looks like. Great difficulty is a game that is fundamentally challenging and pushes on the weaknesses of the player's move-set, but is also so fun and compelling that you cannot walk away until you win. As much as I enjoy this game though, and as impressed as I am with a lot of its more hardcore choices, it isn't perfect either. There are some aspects of this game's design (like bad RNG, an overly wide aspect ratio, and the need to item farm) that I think could have been improved. Still though, the fact that the game is so uncompromising with most aspects of its design, like the player movement, shows that someone, somewhere, in Capcom can still appreciate the style of games that got Capcom their legacy reputation as top tier game designers in the first place. Sadly, I do wish the game's graphics and music were more impressive, they're not bad but they're meh overall, but I suspect that Capcom were really limited with the budget of this game, considering it probably didn't sell well overall. The all time peak of the game on steam is only 257 players, versus Mega Man 11 which had 1,605.Right now you can get the game on Steam, PS4/PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. That being said, I strongly recommend the PC version and advise against the Switch Version, since the PC has the least lag and the Switch has the most. And in a game this demanding, input lag is the last thing you need to deal with. As always, awesome thumbnail created by @boghogstg, he also has some fun clips that he contributed to this review. Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 "Clunky Controls" is a Cliche03:00 Player Expression Needs LIMITATIONS, not just options08:00 GOOD Difficulty Attacks the Player's Limitations11:50 BAD RNG Vs. GOOD RNG15:50 The Aspect Ratio Issue - 16:9 is Too Wide Un-scaled19:30 The Game Needs an Arcade Mode - Boghog's No Death Journey23:30 Graphics and Closing Thoughts#ghostsngoblinsresurrection, #megaman, #bullethell
Tekken 8 Dodges Critique with DLC Shop. | Lets Talk About It The Electric Underground 2024-03-01 | Tekken 8 Dodges Critique with DLC Shop. | Let's Talk About It. Just when I thought I was out, Namco pulled me back in. Today is the maiden voyage of a new series I'm trying called "How to Feel" where I talk about trending gaming topics that I find interesting and I tell you how to feel about them (because the strength of the internet is doing your thinking for you). As long as I have been around on Youtube, this discussion of DLC and micro-transactions in games has been an issue that has been beaten to death, and yet there isn't a very nuanced understanding of the dynamics at play. In the case of Tekken 8, Namco pulled some EA-tier release strats by launching the game without any DLC or Micro-transactions, and then after the reviews of the game were completed, just went ahead and popped in a whole shop system. Not cool. But beyond saying not cool, what else is there to be said on this subject because it leaves fans of the game in this weird cognitive dissonance of wanting to continue to play the game, but feeling vaguely wronged. This then leads us to rationalize with ourselves and others that the DLC stuff is fine or whatever. It's a tricky mental position to be in, absolutely. Luckily, for the Tekken 8 fans out there, you don't have to feel conflicted anymore, because today's video will relieve you of this burden and tell you how to feel. Amazing thumbnail, as always, made by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#tekken8, #fightinggames, #howtofeel
2D Devil May Cry, or MUGEN? Slave Zero X Review The Electric Underground 2024-02-27 | 2D Devil May Cry, or MUGEN? Slave Zero X Review. This is an interesting game. Love it or hate it, you have to admit it's interesting. Slave Zero X is a follow up to an obscure Dreamcast mech game that even I have never heard of, but instead of being mech-based combat, it is going with a 2D side scrolling beat em' up style. Except, instead of being belt scrolling, like Final Fight or Alien Vs. Predator, it has adopted a fixed plane perspective like a fighting game, but with 3D backgrounds. The look and the concept are intriguing. In terms of the gameplay, Slave Zero X can best be described as a mix between Guilty Gear XX, Devil May Cry, and Strider (funny enough, all of these references are openly cited on the game's Steam page, which I respect), all games that I am a fan of and I am sure fans of this channel enjoy. Add in the Sega Saturn early 3D look to the backgrounds and lush and blood sprite art of the character and enemy design, and this is the type of game that is directly aimed at this channel's aesthetic tastes. On paper than, Slave Zero X is the type of game that I partricuarly am inclined to enjoy. The question with this game however, and many ambitious indie games like it, is if it has the design chops to actually pull off such an ambitious blend of gameplay styles and genres. Because if the game is done correctly, I think it might be described as a 2D version of Devil May Cry, or a Guilty Gear style beat em' up... But if done poorly, then it could be a product of MUGEN madness where it has some cool ideas, but doesn't actually impliment them or balance them well. The results in this game's case are rather complicated, hence why I have a 40 minute review discussing the game's design ha. And I will say, even if you are not inclined towards this game, I still think it makes for a fantastic conversation piece on action game design as a whole. Right now the game is availible on Steam and GOG and I generally prefer GOG over Steam, but this is a case where you probably will want to hold out on picking up the GOG version until it has some patches and stuff like that (unless you don't mind patching GOG games). The game is also availble on PS5/PS4 and Xbox, but it sound like the Switch version has been delayed (I can only assume because of performance optimization). Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Art used in the thumbnail by: teoft.newgrounds.com/artPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#slavezerox, #devilmaycry3, #guiltygearxx
STOP LEARNING BACKWARDS, Tutorial on the Fundamentals of Tekken 8 (and Fighting Games Generally) The Electric Underground 2024-02-18 | STOP LEARNING BACKWARDS, Tutorial on the Fundamentals of Tekken 8 (and Fighting Games Generally). There are a lot of Tekken and fighting game tutorials online these days. However, in their rush to help new players get a win online as soon as possible, I think a lot of tutorials have lost sight of the importance of teaching new players how to view and analyze the mechanics of the game's core design as a whole, in favor of "bread and butter" good enough style lessons. When watching many tutorials, a lot of them will break down the technical aspects of game's design like the move types and different movement options, but very few will take the next step of explaining how these mechanics relate to each other, especially in the context of the game as a whole. In today's video, I explain my method of learning a new fighting game which puts an emphasis of learning the core fundamental mechanics of the game's "neutral" with an emphasis on Position Advantage and Frame Advantage. Rather than sending new players off to endure the tedium of learning combos in training mode, I recommend that new players start off by analyzing matches of the character they want to play, and then noting what moves and tactics that character uses to get hits in the first place. I also explain the CRITICAL importance of frame data, and how every action on screen needs to be evaluated by the metrics of frame data --- but also how the on paper stats of frame data doesn't ever paint the full picture of how good a move is, as neither push back distance nor the size and shape of the hitbox are accounted for. Tekken is a game of analog, real space hitbox interaction, even during it's sidestep system. This means that some of the hard and fast rules of Virtua Fighter don't always apply to the game and why it's very important to read something like a sidestepping chart with skepticism. Especially because of how powerful and important sidewalking is in the game, which is rarely discussed. There are dozens of sidestepping tutorials out there, but none of them I have seen have been able to explain the meta of using short bursts of sidewalking to pull the enemy off axis.Also with respect to the concept of frame advantage, I explain why being aware of what the frame data is vital to success, even when it's not enough to get a guaranteed punish. Understanding the nuances of move properties on your own is vital to growth as a player. So will this video help you get fast wins the second you buy the game, no it will not. But what it will do is set you on the right path, as a new Tekken 8 player, so that you don't fall into that all to familiar scrub sand trap of just rinsing and repeating high risk mix ups and gimmicky frame traps, both of which only work on fellow new players and are effectively shut down by players who understand the fundamentals of the game.Right now you can get Tekken 8 on Steam (PC), PS5, and Xbox Series X with cross play.Amazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTGPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 The Danger of the Scrub Sandtrap04:17 Don't Learn Combos First!10:00 Learning to Win Properly Matters, Don't Abuse Scrub Tactics.13:08 Position Advantage is Key!15:08 How the 3D Space of Tekken Works!18:45 How Sidestepping Works (In-Depth Guide)26:30 Learn Frame Advantage NOW! Not Later.29:36 How Move Types and Frame Data are Balanced33:32 PRESS Your Frame Advantage, Don't Just Think of Punishes37:32 Invest in Long Term Wins with Short Term Losses. That's How You Learn Correctly.#tekken8, #tutorial, #sidestepguide
Tekken 8 is the Best Modern Tekken (If They Dont Blow It) The Electric Underground 2024-02-09 | Tekken 8 is the Best Modern Tekken (If They Don't Blow It). It's been nearly a decade since the release of Tekken 7, and I must say I have been pretty skeptical about Tekken 8 up to this point. The graphics of the trailers have looked fantastic, of course, but the Alpha really had me concerned because of how weak the backdash movement of the game was and how spammy the heat mechanic felt at the time. Since the alphas, however, Namco have definitely been improving the fundamentals of the game play and I have been pleasantly surprised (to say the least) by the results! One interesting aspect of Tekken 8's design that I have picked up on, that I haven't seen discussed elsewhere, is how much more Tekken 8 feels like Virtua Fighter than any other game in the series. This direction makes a lot of sense and I think Harada's love of Virtua Fighter is especially apparent these days. Tekken has developed an interesting meta with the way the korean backdash mixes in with sidewalking and mid pokes. I think this style of play is very fun and best shown in Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, since that game has such powerful movement and limited juggles. As Tekken has shifted to a slower more combo focused combat system, however, the game has been struggling with its identity as a combat system, which is why the modern games keep adding in more and more mechanics like armor moves, rage arts, etc. However, I think with Tekken 8, the Tekken team has been able to bring more balance to their core combat system by reducing the effectiveness of long range pokes, buffing throws, and increasing the power of the side step system. By making these changes, (I think inspired by VF5), Tekken now has a much more legitimate rush down game that doesn't rely so much on spamming safe strings over and over (though tekken is still a much more spammy series than VF). I think this shift in direction is really refreshing. It's not perfect, of course, as I think heat and rage are mostly just commercial mechanical inclusions, rather than meaningful design, but if they can keep the heat system properly contained I don't mind it too much. The should have tossed the rage arts though. The truely revolutionary features of Tekken 8, however, is not it's core combat, but rather its insanely robust and well-developed single player content, online features, and most interestingly of all DYNAMICALLY LEARNING AI. But You'll have to watch the vid for more details on that :-)Right now Tekken 8 is on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Steam (PC). Of course the PC version is the best way to play, as with all modern fighting games, but the console releases seem solid as well and it's really cool that you can do crossplay without having to make some stupid account like Capcom ID bull. Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 The Successful Sequel Catch-2207:43 The Virtua Fighter Influenced Aggression15:50 Old School Vs Modern Tekken19:12 The Heat System Could be Dangerous for Balance22:40 Get Rid of Rage26:51 Tekken 8 has Gold Standard Graphics, Modes, and Performance32:30 Arcade Quest Is Cute, But It's all About Super Ghost Battle36:37 AI Learning Player Ghosts are Revolutionary41:05 Don't Sleep On the Replay Feature#tekken8, #streetfighter6, #virtuafighter5ultimateshowdown
Passion Against Reason: A Shmup Documentary The Electric Underground 2024-01-31 | Passion Against Reason: A Shmup Documentary. This documentary has been years in the making. Shmups are a unique and special genre because they are very respected on paper, but so underappreciated in practice. In this documentary, I travel to Spain and attend the Mikado event to meet up with my fellow shmup fanatics to play the games together and discuss our shared passion. This documentary is more than just a document of my trip however, as it is also a summation and exploration of what make the genre so different and important in terms of game design. Over the past six years on the channel, I have discussed this genre in depth and this documentary is my summation of these thoughts in a way that I hope can connect with not only my fellow shmup fans, but also people less familiar with the genre. A lot of the core principals of shmup design are not only foriegn to the wider gaming world, but also contrary to the mainstream thought on what good game design is. One of my goals with this documentary is to show that the design principals of shoot em' ups, birthed in arcades, are extremely valuable to understand and carry into the future. Arcades are pretty much dead, there is no getting around that sad reality, but that doesn't mean the ideas and philosophy of arcade game design cannot live on and take root in a new environment. The title of the documentary is Passion Against Reason because if you only view STG or bullet hell as commercial products, then they have no reason to continue existing. They do not match up with general trends or tastes at all and they make no money. In fact, they spit in the face of mainstream popularity in every way they can. However, I do not view arcade games as products. I see them as art, aggressive and brutal art, and what I think is beautiful about these games is that they are able to bring together a massive variety of players from around the world and different backgrounds. I think the reason why the shmup fanbase is so eclectic and global is because the appeal of the games is not rooted in any particular culture, but instead in universal and abstract design principals, very much like Chess. If you are a fan of CAVE, Touhou, Raizing, Konami, Capcom, Toaplan, Taito, Treasure, Psikyo, SNK, and many more old school and bullet hell games, this documentary for you. If you are a fighting game player or speedrunner, this documentary is for you. If you are a hardcore shmup fan, this documentary is for you. And if you are curious about the genre, but find yourself struggling to get past the wall of difficulty, this documentary is definitely for you. *Also I made a small mistake on the text overlay, Errpo is from Finland not the Netherlands**Here is Bonus Footage of the Uncut Interviews with the Players* youtu.be/vmjFlhpQ_McAmazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Prologue - Being a Fan of Shmups Makes No Sense.00:15:30 Chapter 1 - A Child of the Arcade00:28:57 Chapter 2 - Shmups are FUNDAMENTAL Action Games00:35:30 Chapter 3 - Difficulty PURIFIES Game Design00:42:20 Chapter 4 - Autoscrolling is Perfect Pace00:58:20 Chapter 5 - Scoring is MEANINGFUL Replay-ability01:15:20 Chapter 6 - Rebirth, Shmups in a Post-Arcade Future01:36:50 Epilogue - Final Word of Advice From Friends#shmup, #bullethell , #documentary
Parry Combat Done Right! (Mostly), Metal Gear Rising Review The Electric Underground 2024-01-06 | Parry Combat Done Right! (Mostly), Metal Gear Rising Review. This game is exactly what the doctor ordered ha. Once upon a time, I was a pretty big fan of the parry mechanic and really enjoyed how it worked in games like Street Fighter 3, Third Strike and Fight n' Rage. In the past few years though, since Sekiro came out basically, I do not connect with the direction the mechanic has gone in where, instead of complimenting the fundamentals of melee combat (spacing and hitbox interaction), the parry has just become a button prompt to over-ride the melee combat. The result is that yes, combat has become more accessible since what you need to do is dead obvious (just time the button press), but what we have lost is the nuances of melee combat and it's depth and replayability. Ironically, with overpowered parry combat, the better you get at the game and learn all the enemy patterns, the less engaging the game becomes. It's like knowing the trick to always solve the rubik's cube. You are punished for being good ha. Metal Gear Rising: Revengence, however, does not fall into this sandpit. Since it was released back in 2013, before the current accessible parry trend, Platinum approached the mechanic with more originality and manged to balance it into the core combat of the game without completely negating the fundamentals of spacing and hitboxes. The game, even a decade later, is impressive in how fun and layered the combat mechanics are. The more you learn the game, the more you realize how much is possible without parrying at all, which I really appreciate. In this review, I cover a lot of topics around character action mechanics and balance, but if there is one central lesson that Metal Gear Rising can teach us, it's that a developer can make a concept like a parry work, but it needs to be balanced with the core fundamentals of the gameplay in mind, rather than just being tossed into an already existing system *cough Resident Evil 4 Remake* and then balanced by meter management. Because when I think action game combat, I think knife durability. Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 What is Fundamental Melee Combat?02:54 Parries Invert Melee Combat06:17 Modern Action Games are Removing Spacing11:18 Metal Gear Rising Is a Parry Focused Game that proceeds current trends.13:00 The Directional Input Parry is BRILLIANT18:34 There are VIABLE alternatives to the Parry25:00 I love this game's style and Blade Mode27:39 Zandatsu is Lame and repetitive33:13 The Campaign is the Best Platinum has Made38:24 I Love to S-Rank Grind (though Arcade mode would be nice)42:00 Overall Thoughts#residentevil4remake, #metalgearrising, #sekiro
Top 5 Flops and Favs of 2023 (Video Games) The Electric Underground 2023-12-28 | Top 5 Flops and Favs of 2023 (Video Games). This year has been a while ride, with plenty of highlights and low lights. In today's video I give my personal picks for the top five flops and favs of the year. And what I mean by "flops" are not objective metrics like sales, critical reception, or likes on Twitter. I mean how much a game has personally disappointed me in comparison to my expectations and hopes for the game prior to launch -- the most deadly metric of all! This is why, even though there are a lot of games that I think were meh or yuck this year, like Final Fantasy 16 or Super Mario RPG Remake, if my personal expectations were low to begin with, that would disqualify them from being a "flop" in this list's eyes. Even if they are bad or worse games from the five I have selected. Similarly, when I went through and selected this year's favorites for the list, I went with what games I personally connected to and gravitated towards, rather than this being a more serious focused effort of ranking games based on their overall quality. In short, this vid is for fun and neat way to round out my thoughts for the year in preparation for 2024, which should shape up to be a massive year for the channel (I am hoping.) I think this list will be a fun time because it will not match up at all with the typical Game Awards, Game of the Year, type of lists that youtubers compile when they select their top picks for the year. No Nintendo selection this year, for some reason I just didn't think Super Mario Wonder was very good, nor did I expect it to be. It is a real shame that we didn't get more shmups or beat em' ups this year though, filling out my fav list was actually a lot trickier than filling out my flops list, because I didn't connect with as many new games this year. Hopefully we'll get more arcade focused stuff in 2024 though.Awesome thumbnail made by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 The Criteria00:50 Flop 502:23 Flop 403:35 Flop 305:00 Flop 206:05 Flop 108:40 Favorite 509:40 Favorite 411:00 Favorite 312:32 Favorite 215:00 Favorite 1#gameawards2023, #shmup, #tearsofthekingdom
THIS is a Masterpiece. DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Re:Incarnation Review (Nintendo Switch, PS4) The Electric Underground 2023-12-17 | THIS is a Masterpiece. DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Re:Incarnation Review (Nintendo Switch, PS4). I've waited years for this moment and it has finally arrived. DoDonPachi DaiOujOu has finally received a proper port from the masters themselves, M2 Shottriggers. This is not an ordinary release. This isn't just a rom slapped on a laggy emulator shipped out with no features or reason to buy other than collecting a game you've been emulating for years. Unlike other devs, M2 not only compete with the performance of unlicensed emulation, but they also add in meaningful features that you simply cannot get with unlicensed emulation, or even with original hardware. They are the gold standard and they absolutely do not disappoint with this release. For those new to the genre, Dodonpachi DaiOuJou is arguably the greatest shmup ever made. I would say that it is, but the top 5 of the genre are stiff competition, so it's at least very safe in that tier. In this review I not only sing to the choir of the genre, who are probably pretty familiar with DOJ, but I really try to explain for newer players or outsiders to the genre what makes this game a real masterpiece (and not just the flavor of the month), it's interesting overlaps with the anime masterpiece Ghost in the Shell (1995), and why it's influence and design continue to endure over the years. This review is massive and covers topics like the game's striking visuals, iconic music, awesome cyberpunk aesthetic, enemy design, background design, color pallet, survival balance, difficulty curve, scoring system, snowballing, boss battles, input lag on PS4/PS5 and Nintendo Switch, training features, leader boards, board variants (White Label, Black Label, Grey Label), dynamic difficulty (rank), gadgets, art, and take an in depth look at the new arrange modes, and much more!If you want to get this game, which I strongly recommend, you can get it on the Japanese eshop or PSN. It's on Nintendo Switch and PS4/PS5, though I strongly recommend the PS4/PS5 version for the lower input lag, extra save states, and more competitive leader boards. Amazing thumbnail made by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]My Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUndergroundWebsite Archive:web.archive.org/web/20201220111832/http://electricunderground.io👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#bullethell, #shmup, #shootemup
Gana Blade is an Excellent Working Mans Shmup The Electric Underground 2023-12-09 | Gana Blade is an Excellent Working Man's Shmup. And what I mean by this analogy is that, even though the game isn't doing anything particularly new or innovative, it is still very well made and pays close attention to the small details that a lot of other indie shmups struggle with. It's reliable and well made, but not particularly flashy. Gana Blade has tight pace, fun bullet patterns, challenging but lenient difficulty, and a full array of modes and stages. It is the quintessential *solid* release, though not without some big oversights like the lack of an online leader board or tate rotation (this trend of removing tate must be stopped).This year, 2023, has been pretty slim on new shmup releases and so I was really excited to try out this new Toaplan / Compile, inspired shmup. If this release snuck under your radar, I don't blame you, it snuck under mine as well. If you are a fan of Toaplan, PC Engine, Compile, and that manic era of shmups that had a good deal of tight dodging, but also some hard memo sections (like Gana Blade's fire stage), then this release is worth paying attention to. It finds a really nice balance between having you memo your route, but then also giving you enough advanced warning (because of the background layer) to prepare yourself and react. The boss fights are generally excellent as well and I dig it's sort of NES Final Fantasy sprite style. I just wish it integrated it's pilot characters into the gameplay a bit more, but this is a common problem across the genre generally.As of right now you can get Gana Blade on Steam only, and it is absolutely worth the humble price of $5. Even if you don't plan on spending hundreds of hours mastering its scoring system, it's still a really fun 1cc for the average to above average skill level player. I had a fun time with it and it's sort of breezy cool style. Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#shmup, #shootemup, #bullethell
Physical Video Game Preservation Makes No Sense, VG are Naturally Digital The Electric Underground 2023-11-29 | "Physical" Video Game Preservation Makes No Sense, VG are Naturally Digital. I love game cartridges and game discs as much as anyone else, but I think gamers in their enjoyment of the aesthetics of these formats have started to become blind to the fundamental nature of what a video game is. With the recent news about stores starting to phase out DVD and Blu Ray sales, there has been a wave of talk about the need to "buy physical" and "physically" preserving games. This whole notion sounds romantic, but also cuts against the fundamental nature of what a video game is (hint: digital code / electronic automation). So as cool as the ultra expensive game carts and Sega Saturn discs you buy are, they are not any more "physical" than a hard drive filled with iso and rom files.In this video, I also discuss my thoughts on what I would consider a true analog format which is printed media whether it is books, manga, or visual art. I go over why this type of media has a more tangible and real difference between its physical vs digital versions and why I think these formats have been able to buck the digitization trend, versus games which are now up to 90% digital sales. I also discuss my thoughts on game manuals and the physical printed media included in a lot of these physical releases and how, in my opinion, it is more of a selling point in many cases than the actual game discs (printed booklets are truly analog after all).Awesome and slightly troll thumbnail created by @boghogSTGPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#videogamecollection, #videogamepreservation, #segasaturn
Resident Evil 5 OWNS Remake 4! The Electric Underground 2023-11-17 | Resident Evil 5 OWNS Remake 4! The sequel to my *cough* somewhat controversial review of Resident Evil 4 Remake has arrived! Today I am talking about my newfound love of Resident Evil 5 and how much this game absolutely owns Remake 4. After my review of Remake 4, I decided it would be interesting to continue on in the series and see how the fantastic beat em' up style action of Resident Evil 4 OG has evolved through the series. Many comments of my Remake review were dismissive that my appreciation for the original game's combat and design was only rooted in NOSTALGIA, but I think Resident Evil 5 and my love for it's design obliterates this claim (though my original video's arguments were very clear about this anyway). What I expected coming into Resident Evil 5 was a solid but watered-down version of Resi 4, as that was my initial impression of the game the one time I played it on the Xbox 360. I thought it was fun and good, but was disappointment in the shift to a faster enemy pace and the lack of Leon's massive roundhouse (and of course the whole co-op AI). Little did I know that if I was more open minded towards Resident Evil 5's combat shifts, would I discover that the game is CERTAINLY my 2nd fav in the series and really not far behind OG 4 because of how fantastic some of the updated to the combat system of the game are. I didn't appreciate them a decade ago, but I appreciate them now. What's interesting about 5 and Remake 4 are sibling games in that both of them are trying to accomplish the same goal: to live up to and hopefully exceed the original Resident Evil 4. I don't think either games manage to do so, but Resident Evil 5 came damn close and frankly stands on its own as an amazing beat em' up / character action game. Meanwhile Remake 4 is just a mediocre skin graft of Resident Evil 4's iconic IP onto a mediocre Last of Us inspired 3rd person shooter with gunsway, movement inertia, weak melee hitboxes, tanky enemies, and lazy level design (the graphics look generic and lame too).If you want to play Resident Evil 5, YOU ARE IN LUCK because the game has many fantastic ports. I'd skip the 360 and PS3 versions and either get the PC Gold version (which is amazing and filled with incredible mods and performance) or even grab the Xbox 1 and PS4/PS5 versions which have Mercs mode unlocked at the start and also looks and plays well. Honestly, the Nintendo Switch version is a little choppy, but I have been playing the crap out of it in handheld mode and thank Capcom the mercs mode is unlocked right away as well.Amazing Thumbnail created by: @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#residentevil4remake, #residentevil5, #residentevil5remake
Radiant Silvergun Steam Review - IS IT WORTH IT?!?! The Electric Underground 2023-11-07 | Radiant Silvergun Steam Review - IS IT WORTH IT?!?! The PC port of Radiant Silvergun by Livewire has arrived! They decided to stealth drop it last week, so if you haven't heard about the new release, you're not alone ha. In today's review I finish up my saga of covering the various Silvergun ports beginning with the Sega Saturn, then the Xbox 360, then the Nintendo Switch (with the Xbox One mixed in as well), and finally now on the PC (Steam). Not to give too much of the review away in the video description ha, but this version of Silvergun is essentially the exact same game as the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, in terms of content and features. The the main question for the Steam port is going to come down to it's performance, which to this point has been best on either the Sega Saturn or Xbox 360. If you haven't played Radiant Silvergun before, I HIGHLY recommend this game, as it is one of my favorite shmups (easy top 5) and one of the best shmups ever made outright. It's chaining system is truly innovative and brilliant (it's got an RPG leveling system, but good), and it's level design, graphics, music, and background work are still at the top of the genre, all these years later. If you like Ikaruga, you should play Radiant Silvergun. If you don't like Ikaruga, you should play Radiant Silvergun. This game is such a fantastic fusion between the precise and careful routing of old school shmups but then mixed in with great bullet hell patterns and hit boxes and an AWESOME Sword. Seriously, the sword mechanic of this game is incredible. This game is Treasure at it's finest (along with Sin and Punishment). This review is for the steam version, but the game is also on Sega Saturn, Xbox 360, Xbox one, and Nintendo Switch.If you want a full review of Silvergun as a game, check out this vid: youtu.be/PaB7jNkg7y4Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#bullethell , #shmup, #shootemup
20 Greatest Shmup Soundtracks! Ft. Iain Cook of Chvrches The Electric Underground 2023-10-31 | 20 Greatest Shmup Soundtracks! Ft. Iain Cook of Chvrches. This video is a BEAST! Today I am joined by fellow shmup player and rock star (no big deal) Iain Cook of Chvrches! The task is to discuss and evaluate the 20 greatest/most popular shmup soundtracks (ost) and discuss what makes a shmup ost good, why the genre is fill with so much great music, how sound and music compliment visual styles, how the songs are composed, the game play purposes of music, chiptunes versus studio recordings, Playstation era 3D vs today's grotesque pixar 3D, and many more topics. Also these selections were voted on by a group of around 600 shmup players, so if you are mad about some of the placements, you have only yourself to blame (I kid). One fun tradition we also included in our discussion was to go over the boss music of each ost and see how each game either defined the tradition of intense and terrifying final boss music (panic inducing, as Iain describes it), or subverts that expectation with a more low key or surreal final boss tune. You want a rock star guest -- check. You want ultimate levels of shoot em' up nerd action -- check. You want hot takes to get the comment section cooking -- check. If you want to check out Iain's band, Chvrches, here is the link to their website and new album:chvrch.eschvrches.manheadmerch.com/products/screen-violence-cd(The track "Final Girl" has an amazing baseline)Amazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTG . He also helped me with the cool DOJ background that scrolls in the video.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 WE ROCKSTARS NOW! How the Soundtracks were Selected00:05:38 Cho Ren Sha 68k00:18:34 Deathsmiles00:27:39 Einhander00:46:24 Soldier Blade00:53:33 G-Darius01:02:28 MUSHA01:09:20 Lords of Thunder01:14:58 Radiant Silvergun01:27:16 Rayforce01:34:45 Mushihimesama Futari01:43:21 Dodonpachi Ressurection01:53:58 Eschatos01:59:15 Darius Gaiden02:06:16 ZeroRanger02:13:30 Touhou (Windows Era)02:25:08 Mushihimesama02:24:26 Ikaruga02:41:34 Thunder Force 402:47:40 Dodonpachi DaiOuJou02:58:39 Ketsui (Breaking the Bonds of Hell)03:06:10 Battle Garegga#shmup, #videogamemusic, #chvrches
Why Classic Video Games are GONE, The Death Of Arcade Game Design The Electric Underground 2023-10-20 | Why Classic Video Games are GONE, Death Of Arcade Game Design. Every channel should have a manifesto and this is mine. Today I discuss what I think are the most pressing and important issues with video game design and why "classic" games, as we describe them, are gone. And when I say "classic" I don't just mean 16-bit graphics and chiptunes, I mean that classic design philosophy that many games that we love, including PS2 era games, were created with. This philosophy was born and bred in the arcades, which was the perfect venue to encourage challenging, innovative, and dense video game design. However, with the loss of the arcade and the dominance of the home console market, we have seen game design shift in obvious and subtle ways to HEAVILY favor passive choose-your-own-adventure game design. In fact, the modern game design philosophy is so prevalent that most critics and online pundits truly believe that arcade design philosophy is objectively out of date, like ancient cave painting. I COULD NO DISAGREE MORE.There is a lot of talk about art in gaming today, how The Last of Us or whatever is artistic because its story rips off The Road by Cormac Mcarthy and mixes it with zombie movies. But in my view, art is about the artist making choices. Art is about expression of the artist, NOT the reader. So with the arcade design philosophy, we see a much more bold and assertive (and my opinion) artistic style of game design where the way the mechanics are crafted and balanced sends a message to the player just as clearly as words on a page. In modern game design, however, modern games want to be everything and nothing at the same time. They want to be a "sandbox" for the players to fiddle around in. Sandboxes can be fun, but they are not compelling. Modern game design is all about off loading the burden of the artist onto the player and handing the player a few toys to play with. In other words, modern game design is particularly crafted towards children. In terms of game design for adults however, who can understand mechanical structure and can even work towards subverting structure, we are getting further and further away from that compelling style of video game design to cater towards literal children, or adults with the maturity of children.The 5 main concepts I discuss in this vid are: 1. Difficulty Curve, 2. Gameplay Density, 3. Arcades Financially Allowed for Innovative Mechanical Design, 4. The Loss of Scoring System, 5. The loss of timers to FORCE the player to act.Amazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUndergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 If You Use the Term "Quarter Muncher," You should be SHOT... in the leg.01:26 Reason 1: The GOLDEN Arcade Difficulty Curve is Gone, Now Everything is EASY04:03 Today's Market LITERALLY Caters to Unskilled PLayers06:28 Reason 2: Gameplay Density is GONE, S T R E T C H E D Out Content.09:50 Reason 3: The Arcade ALLOWED Innovation for Game Mechanics12:50 Reason 4: We've LOST GOOD Scoring Systems (Speedrunning is Not Better or a Replacement)15:00 Imagine if Devil May Cry 3 Had a Good Scoring System ...18:00 Yes, Resi 4 Mercs is LIT, and this is why.18:40 Reason 5: Timers Need to Come Back, Modern Action Games Have No Teeth22:12 Games need to FORCE the Player to Engage, NO MORE play at your own pace garbage.#arcade, #gamedesign, #residentevil4remake
A Step Forward! Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown Review (Calm Down Tekken Bros) The Electric Underground 2023-10-13 | A Step Forward! Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown Review (Calm Down Tekken Bros). Poor Virtua Fighter, the series makes a healthy step forward and it gets absolutely steam rolled by the bratty Tekken players. I'm not one to be against harsh critique (far from it), but I find it ironic that the Tekken players get all riled up and aggressive with VF5, a series they don't play or care about, but can't seem to bring themselves to take that same critical energy and apply it to Tekken (the series that pays their bills). This is one reason why I take the reviews and opinions of community pundits with a very heavy dose of skepticism. Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate isn't the magic mythical bullet to make Virtua Fighter a series play for millions of dollars in Saudi Arabia, but it is is actually a very healthy move for the series and is setting the foundation for Virtua Fighter 6, just like Tekken Revolution did. So it is really funny that Tekken players complain that VF should copy Tekken's road map to popularity, and don't even recognize what Tekken did to get there. In this review, I explain the differences between Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate compared to Final Showdown (the previous version) and how I think all the changes that have been made are GOOD and SMART. It is a shame that we lost some really cool content along the way like Special Sparring and some of the customization options, but I don't think this was an intentional ommision and instead just a result of such a tight development budget. I also discuss the netcode of the game in depth because even though it is delay based, that doesn't make it automattically garbage like Street Fighter 4's netcode. Not all netcode is the same and this game does take some cool steps to try to make the delay based netcode as good as possible. So it is shame that it isn't rollback and I fully expect we will see rollback in VF6 when it comes out, but in the meantime it seems unfair that Tekken and Guilty Gear got free passes with their prior releases, but VF is automatically dismissed.There is so much to say about this game that I cover in the video, but if you interested in it, definetly pick it up on the PS5 rather than on PS4 or PS4 Pro because it will have faster load times and netspeeds on the PS5, which makes a big difference. And luckily, despite all the negativity towards the game on launch, VF5 Ultimate has proven itself and I think has been fairly successful (by VF standards). So I think today, more than ever, it is much more realistic to expect to see a proper Virtua Fighter 6.Amazing thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 THIS GAME IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!02:26 Ultimate Showdown is NOT a Remaster04:20 Just Releasing VF6 Would Have Been a Disaster07:10 VF5 Ultimate is BEAUTIFUL09:04 VF5 Fighting System is Fundimental and Amazing11:44 30 Bucks and On Sale Frequently12:45 Netplay is Delay-Based, But Very Solid (Input Buffer)16:45 The User Interface is Clean and Forward-Thinking (No More Clunky Menus)19:10 Ultimate is SADLY Slim on Single Player Modes, But Tutorials are Solid22:00 Sounds tracks and Sound Effects are Great, Screw Dubstep24:00 FINALLY! VF HAS HITSPARKS!26:20 Final Conclusion: I Love This Game So MUCH #virtuafighter5ultimateshowdown, #virtuafighter6, #tekken8
Does PS5 Add Input Lag to PS4 Games? (Backwards Compatibility) The Electric Underground 2023-10-07 | Does PS5 Add Input Lag to PS4 Games? (Backwards Compatibility). Surprisingly, I have not seen a video or complete breakdown of this question yet, but I think it's very important information (a make or break question for the console actually). As awesome as it is that the PS5 has such strong backwards compatibility for the insanely deep (and GOAT) PS4 library, how well does that fleet of games perform on PS5. If you watch Digital Foundry and all those types of channels, I'm sure they'll cover the load times and frame rates, which are important. But I think even more important is the simple question of input lag, which is not tied to better processors and higher resolutions. In fact, until recently, we've seen a gradual increase in the amount of input lag on console games (remember Tekken 7 had 8 frames of lag on launch). Thankfully that trend is finally starting to reverse and so now the question is if the PS5 is able to maintain the PS4 levels of input lag and outright replace the console, or if it has a secret Achilles heel that no one is discussing? You'll have to watch the video to find out. Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#tekken8, #inputlag, #ps5
Encourage Creativity XENOTILT Pinball Shmup Developer Interview The Electric Underground 2023-10-04 | "Encourage Creativity" XENOTILT Pinball Developer Shmup Interview. Today I am joined by WIZNWAR, the developer of the much loved shmup pinball hybrid, Demon's Tilt, to discuss his actual sequel, XENOTILT! This discussion is not just a bunch of PR however, we also get into a meaty discussions about game mechanics, DLC, game vs simulation, scoring system design, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation (a game design model I am highly skeptical of), context sensitivity, and how to design a compelling leader board that doesn't just hide ignored in a menu that three players ever use. We also talk about the struggles of marketing a niche hardcore game and how to use Steam as a platform to do so. Overall, WIZNWAR makes game that I not only like and respect, but also have a lot of great insight into arcade game design and how to naturally build a compelling set of systems to keep players engaged and coming back. Xenotilt is currently in early access on Steam, so check that out, and I'm willing to bet it's going to get a wider release on other platforms in the future. So if you are a fan of pinball, shmups, arcade games, or just fun gameplay dense design, generally, be sure to check this bad boy out. Steam link: store.steampowered.com/app/2008980/XENOTILT_HOSTILE_PINBALL_ACTIONTwitter link: twitter.com/XENOTILTSoundtrack for game (and background music for video) is by ec2151 ! Follow the XenoTilt composer and contact for commissions here!soundcloud.com/ec2151ec2151.bandcamp.comPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 A Sequel to an INDIE GAME?! Madness08:00 New Mechanics That Naturally Build on Core Design14:00 Game Design is greater than Simulation Design19:00 Screen Filling Bosses are HYPE21:30 Pixel Art is Freedom24:00 Raiden Toothpaste Lasers28:00 Scoring is More than Chopping Wood31:00 Marketing XENOTILT at PAX and on Steam35:40 Siri: How Do You Make a Sequel to a Hidden Gem?38:30 Extrinsic Game Design Discussion41:30 Acknowledge the Player, Don't MANIPULATE the Player45:00 SHOVE the Leader board in the Players' Faces, Don't segregate it.50:00 What is a Hidden Gem?#xenotilt, #shmup, #pinball
Steam Shmup Fest is Absurd! 30 Deep Cut Recommendations From Hardcore Fans The Electric Underground 2023-09-28 | Steam Shmup Fest is Absurd! 30 Deep Cut Recommendations. Steam is running this big event for my favorite genre, shmups (shoot em' ups)... but there is one little problem, most of the games featured and promoted are NOT SHMUPS LOL. This is a perfect example of what I talked about in my shmup definition video, where genre definitions don't matter... until they do. And so, to try to offer some guidance and also actually give some spotlight to some fantastic steam shmups that don't get much attention, I have created this list (with the help of Boghog and M.Knight) of 30 deep cut shmup recommendations. And what I mean by "deep cut" are shmups that I don't talk about as much on the channel and shmups that are really good (quality is required to be on the list), but are not the common names everyone sees like Ikaruga, Treasure, CAVE, RAIZING, Psikyo, ect. Even though I love those shmups as well. So basically if you are wondering hey why isn't Crimzon Clover or ZeroRanger on this list, it's not because I don't recommend them (of course I do), but rather because I have recommended them many many times before ha. Same with CAVE. Also I am AWARE that not all the games listed are actually on sale right now, but just wishlist them because I also want this video to be relevant in the future ha, so I included choices that are not on sale just for this Shmup Fest event.Here is the link to my genre definition video: youtu.be/PqQOUVhakb4Amazing thumbnail created by the master, @boghogstgGunvein store.steampowered.com/app/2025840/GunveinCastle of Shikigami 2 store.steampowered.com/app/1556650/Castle_of_Shikigami_2Psyvariar Delta store.steampowered.com/app/998990/Psyvariar_DeltaCOTTOn Rock'n'Roll store.steampowered.com/app/1364760/COTTOn_RocknRoll_SUPERLATIVE_NIGHT_DREAMSHellsinker. store.steampowered.com/app/1067720/HellsinkerSophstar store.steampowered.com/app/1410440/SophstarSora store.steampowered.com/app/390730/SoraALLTYNEX Trilogy store.steampowered.com/app/283820/KAMUIUniverse http://www.esc-j.net/stg/stgdu/upload.php?gal=0RefRain - prism memories - store.steampowered.com/app/435970/RefRain__prism_memoriesASSAULT SHELL store.steampowered.com/app/1432970/ASSAULT_SHELLDemonizer store.steampowered.com/app/1091390/Demonizer∀kashicverse -Malicious Wake- store.steampowered.com/app/1225610/kashicverse_Malicious_WakeAndro Dunos II store.steampowered.com/app/1856900/Andro_Dunos_II东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere store.steampowered.com/app/1365750/__Blue_devil_in_theBelvedereJUDGEMENT SILVERSWORD - Resurrection - store.steampowered.com/app/278510/JUDGEMENT_SILVERSWORD__ResurrectionSATAZIUS store.steampowered.com/app/203990/SATAZIUSGRAND CROSS: ReNOVATION store.steampowered.com/app/1808900/GRAND_CROSS_ReNOVATIONNeko Navy store.steampowered.com/app/592270/Neko_NavyHazelnut Hex chunderfins.itch.io/hazelnut-hexBLUE WISH DESIRE store.steampowered.com/app/1794300/BLUE_WISH_DESIREDeztopia store.steampowered.com/app/1178290/DezatopiaREVOLVER360 RE:ACTOR store.steampowered.com/app/313400/REVOLVER360_REACTORLike Dreamer store.steampowered.com/app/1867740/Like_DreamerSuper XYX store.steampowered.com/app/654500/Super_XYXSisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire store.steampowered.com/app/1133300/Sisters_Royale_Five_Sisters_Under_FireDead End City store.steampowered.com/app/1880840/Dead_End_CityStrania - The Stella Machina - store.steampowered.com/app/407380/Strania__The_Stella_MachinaThe Adventures of Ten and Till store.steampowered.com/app/1225130/The_Adventures_of_Ten_and_TillSchildmaid MX store.steampowered.com/app/2154760/Schildmaid_MXTrouble Witches Origin store.steampowered.com/app/460630/Trouble_Witches_Origin__Episode1_Daughters_of_AmalgamPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#shmup, #steam, #bullethell
American Arcade Stick is UNDERRATED! The Electric Underground 2023-09-24 | American Arcade Stick is UNDERRATED! For as long as I can remember, American arcade sticks (especially HAPP) have been a bit of a laughing stock among the arcade lever world. Rarely, if ever, are American sticks recommended to new players getting into fighting games, shoot em' ups (shmups), or arcade games generally. In fact, as the years have gone on and the manufacturing of Japanese levers like the Sanwa JLF or even the Hori Hayabusa, have become incredibly dominant, recommending an American lever feels even more silly because they do not fit in 99% of cases out on the market right now. From what I've observed, in order to be interested in American sticks, you need to be a seasoned lever hipster (such as myself), a very old school player (like John Choi), or a cheap arcade owner who has no interest in maintaining his machines at all. In all fairness, I think the negative reputation for American stick is well-earned, because of how poorly ran and maintained American arcades are generally. If the stick isn't cheap and without any accuracy or feel, then it's broken and non-functioning. We talk about barcades and the revival of the American arcade, but how about instead of just buying fleets of broken machines that eat the customer's quarters, why not actually fix the machines people want to play? (but that's a rant for another video). In today's video, I was lucky enough to be sent a MAZ stick by a fan of the channel, Scanline City (who makes and sells custom sticks), which came equipped with the IL Lorenzo Stick and Convex American Buttons! From what I understand, the Lorenzo is among the better American levers (and it shows) and I absolutely love spring powered American buttons (they can take a beating). So I went ahead and put this lever through all the input tests that I use to try out other levers, and I was pleasently surprised with how well the stick performed and how reliable the inputs were (though there were a few weak points, of course). If you are interested in grabbing the MAZ stick, or the NEO complete build, definetely check out Scanline's website. He has excellent customer service as well, which is a requirement for me to recommend anything these days ha. scanlinecity.com/masbuildIf you are wanting to get into arcade sticks at an entry level, you can never go wrong with buying a used hori stick on ebay and then customizing it, as I explain in this vid: youtu.be/31aIbVEwjksAwesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Why USA Stick is a Laughing Stock03:30 USA Stick vs. Japanes vs. Korean07:35 Why American Stick is Hard to Obtain09:00 Reviewing The MAZ Arcade Stick by Scanline City12:38 Input Tests: Tekken 7 (and What will be Tekken 8)16:30 Input Tests: Guilty Gear XX/Strive18:25 Input Tests: King of Fighters 98/Street Fighter 620:45 Input Tests: Shoot Em' Ups (shmups)21:45 Overall Thoughts#arcadestick, #streetfighter6, #tekken8
Mediocrity is HARD to Critique: One Piece Review The Electric Underground 2023-09-16 | Mediocrity is HARD to Critique: One Piece Live Action Review. This Netflix series is the greatest masterpiece ever made and a testament to the human spirit that will endure for decades... or it's a fun but flawed watch with a lot of issues that is currently basking in the glory of low expectations, you decide. A large trend I've noticed in the review space as of late, is that the mass audience leads the internet discussion much more than in the past. It used to be you would go to internet critics for interesting and risky thoughts, but now all film/tv critique has devolved into a game of parsing though trending media and finding ways to tie it back into popular political/social topics that you are either for or against. Critics and broadcasters are free to do what they want, but I personally am bored of this approach, but it seems like an inexhaustible source of discussion for most people. I bring this up, because I've noticed this environment has created a very interesting phenomenon, where a typical mediocre show, like One Piece: Netflix Edition, suddenly takes on this massive significance because it's some kind of cultural bellwether or whatever. This is what media critique has become and lost in this endless food fight is the part of the review where people seriously analyze and compare the compositional elements of a show, which in time is much more important because social trends come and go, but the performance actually captured is what endures. On top of that, as a critic it is much easier and quicker to simply pick through media and then parrot back analysis that you know the audience will agree with. Tell the people what they want to hear. So, annoyed by all this, I have decided to do my own review of One Piece Netflix to discuss the elements of the show that I think are important to talk about: the writing, the pacing, the production, the adaptation from source material, the Mugen-level costume design, the lifeless camerawork, the awkward blocking, the terrible child acting, and the stilted but potentially promising main cast. I also think it's important to remind viewers that just because I find something mediocre, doesn't mean I want it immediately cancelled and all of the people involved thrown in prison.Amazing thumbnail created by: @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Why It's Hard to do "Mid" Reviews04:35 The Character Introductions are Needlessly Confusing08:40 You Don't Need to ALWAYS Use Cold Opens 10:10 Don't Forget to Establish the Characters12:00 The Production is MUGEN13:30 Visual TONE MATTERS! It Ties Together the Story15:20 Don't Just JUMP in Tone, Set it Up.17:20 Actor Review: Luffy18:20 Actor Review: Zoro19:50 Actor Review: Sanji (Best Actor)20:50 Actor Review: Nami (2nd Best)21:46 Supporting Cast Review23:45 Actor Blocking is a Problem, Grabby D. Luffy25:20 The Camera Man is On Special-K27:16 Anime RELIES on Visuals to Tell Story28:45 Overall Thoughts#onepiece, #onepieceliveaction, #Wednesdaydance
Robotech Battlecry is BETTER Than It SHOULD Be. The Electric Underground 2023-09-09 | Robotech Battlecry is BETTER Than It SHOULD Be. Following up the mech sensation that is Armored Core 6 (in terms of popularity), I have decided to discuss one of my favorite mech games that I have played way more than I should, Robotech Battlecry. Battlecry is a mildly popular PS2/Gamecube era action game from a now dead American Developer. And while I do NOT think this game is a MASTERPIECE (if only), I do think that it has a surprisingly cool amount of overlooked strengths that I think are interesting to highlight when it comes to game discussion. Some of these strengths are its limited (in a good way) camera system. The way you can use mech animation to track enemy movement. The controls (when properly re-binded), and the secret sauce of completely unrestrained transformations and movement, both of which are very fast. And then, funny enough, the ability to turn off weapon cooldowns with a cheat code. This all combines to make a fun core combat moveset. Many of these decisions, I am quite sure, are a combination of enthusiasm and beginner's luck. This is a case that I mentioned to BogHog in our Game Critique is Dead discussion. That being said, this game is not without some serious weaknesses, that I don't think have been properly explained in the past. So, in addition to talking about what I think makes the game fun to play, I dig into core issues that I hope other promising action games in the future can hopefully avoid. Funny enough, even though Battlecry is not taken that seriously as an action game, many action games that are supposedly also *perfect* share these same issues, which I look forward to getting into in future vids.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Beginner's Luck Can Happen in Game Design03:50 Limited Camera Systems CAN BE GOOD Folks!07:30 The Transforming Controls ARE DMC Style Switcher!12:30 Manual Aim being Restricted to Fighter Mode is GENUIS (And Probably Luck)14:00 Cheat Codes CAN REMOVE Design Issues15:20 Controls ARE GOOD (Just Need to be Rebound)16:40 The Biggest Issue of All Character ACTION Games19:00 The Boss Design is Surprisingly Clever At Times20:00 The Level Pace is Generally Fast (Though Backtracking is Lame)22:30 A Bloody Palace Mode is the Missing Ingredient23:27 Final Thoughts#robotech, #macross, #armoredcore6
Armored Core VI is Underwhelming (But Solid) The Electric Underground 2023-08-31 | Armored Core VI is Underwhelming (But Solid). The highly anticipated follow up to the niche Mech combat series, Armored Core, has finally arrived! The last entry from the series, Armored Core V: Verdict Day, came out a decade ago and already, because of the insane success of current day FromSoftware, ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON, is outselling its predecessor (by a massive margin) and is exponentially more relevant. By all external metrics, sales, critic scores, YouTube and Twitch coverage, Steam Charts, Armored Core 6 is the new height of the series. And while I do think Fires of Rubicon is a solid game (I'd rate it around an 8 out of 10), I find it to be underwhelming. In today's review I am going to discuss why this is, but a large part of the reason is because I think current day's FromSoftware's Dark Souls based formula of design, which Armored Core 6 is clearly a product of, compared to its predecessors, has both its strengths and its drawbacks. However, because Dark Souls has become such an influential series that has essentially retrained the entire gaming public to understand its fundamental design (which is mostly a good thing), I think most reviews aren't going to be concerned with, or even recognize, some of the aspects of hardcore Mech combat that the series had previously explored that have been lost in translation. I don't want to spoil my review too much in the description, but today I talk about areas of this game's design that I think didn't need to be changed into action RPG mechanics and how, even though I find the game to be a solid effort, I think FromSoft were overly restrictive and cautious with the mechanics and overall design of the game. For better and for worse, this is a more simplified take on the Armored Core design of the past. Also I do think that it's sad how little content there is out there around the older Armor Core games, it's shocking how niche they actually are.Right now you can get ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON on PC (Steam), PS5, PS4, and Xbox. Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 Old FromSoft were UNDERVALUED07:00 Armored Core 6 is EXACTLY What I Expected (For Better and Worse)12:14 The New Simplified Camera System Removes the Boost and Traction Meta of combat17:40 Circle Strafing IS HERE! When in Doubt, Circle Strafe21:00 Jumping has been Simplified to Mechassault, No More Fast Fall and Goodbye Wall Jumps25:00 Armored Core 6 Now Has WEAPON COOL DOWN?! Whhhy FromSoft, Why?!32:10 Melee is Clunky and Highly Encouraged (Natural Vs. Statistical Balance)37:10 Ammo Counts PLUS Weapon Cool downs is OVERKILL (Or Should I Say Underkill)38:40 The Stages and Enemy Pace is Too Slow41:30 Boss Fights are the HIGHLIGHT, but could be more compelling with a more technical move set for the player43:17 Conclusion and Final Thoughts#armoredcore, #armoredcore6, #ign
Wanted: Dead SUPERPLAY w/ Commentary! NO DEATH Japanese Hard Mode+ 1cc The Electric Underground 2023-08-25 | Wanted: Dead SUPERPLAY w/ Commentary! NO DEATH Japanese Hard Mode+ Long Play 1cc. I LOVE THIS GAME, there is no game like Wanted: Dead. Ever since it released and I did my initial review, I have been playing it consistently to get THIS RUN. A Japanese Hard Mode+ No Death 1cc. In today's video, I not only go over all the strategies I have developed for the game over the past few months, but I also discuss my thoughts on the game in depth and describe how it plays once you understand its mechanics and meta. Really, do not think of Wanted: Dead as a peer to Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry. In actuality, I would describe this game as a 3D Metal Slug. It truly is a Run and Gun at heart and when you activate Japanese Hard mode it truly becomes that with all the crazy death traps and one shot kills. THIS IS NOT a segmented run, by the way. I do use editing to trim down the vid time, but this was all played in one run without breaks, a true 1cc experience. If you want to check out the original stream of me getting the clear, here is the link:youtube.com/live/5bBUMKYcmX8Right now you can pickup Wanted: Dead on Steam (PC), PS4/PS5, and Xbox One or Xbox Series X. I ended up getting the game on PC (for future mods) as well as PS4 Pro, and I can say that this game will not be coming to Switch not only due to its content, but also there is no way the Switch can handle this game hardware wise without exploding ha.This run was played on PS5, and I think PS5 is probably the best platform for the game, unless you have an amazingly powerful pc.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Stage 100:15:47 Stage 1 Boss (Important Strats!)00:17:17 Stage 200:28:43 Stage 2 Boss00:31:00 Stage 300:43:42 Stage 3 Boss00:45:17 Stage 4 (My Fav Stage)01:00:00 Stage 4 Boss (Walls of Fire)01:01:55 Stage 5 Part 101:21:10 Stage 5 Part 2 (Hellish Health Glitch)01:31:48 Final BOSS (The Run Killer)#wanteddead, #ninjagaiden, #ign
Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 3) The Electric Underground 2023-08-21 | Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 3). It's finally here! Shmup Slam 6, is a fully live 2 day event of nonstop shmup action! For those passionate about the shoot em' up genre, and other related genres like run n' gun, light gun, and maybe even a bit of beat em up, Shmup slam 6 is going to be a fantastic time. So if you love stg, bullet hell, danmaku, shooters, whatever you like to call the genre, you are going to have a great time! We have a fantastic line up of CAVE, Treasure, Touhou, Capcom, and much more awesome shmup studios featured! Here is the Saturday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/satschedHere is the Sunday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/sunschedPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Game: Touhou Imperishable Night /// Player: Mr. Skelly Bones /// Commentary: Player00:42:12 Game: Gaiapolis /// Player: Kiwi /// Commentary: Baf + Ec2151#shmup, #shootemups, #shmupslam
Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 2) The Electric Underground 2023-08-21 | Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 1). It's finally here! Shmup Slam 6, is a fully live 2 day event of nonstop shmup action! For those passionate about the shoot em' up genre, and other related genres like run n' gun, light gun, and maybe even a bit of beat em up, Shmup slam 6 is going to be a fantastic time. So if you love stg, bullet hell, danmaku, shooters, whatever you like to call the genre, you are going to have a great time! We have a fantastic line up of CAVE, Treasure, Touhou, Capcom, and much more awesome shmup studios featured! Here is the Saturday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/satschedHere is the Sunday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/sunschedPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Stream Start00:07:20 Game: Radirgy //// RadianceAlesta //// Commentary: M. Knight00:54:26 Game: Galaga '88 PCE //// Etrem //// Commentary: Gameboy Guru01:31:10 Game: Lightening Force //// GameBoy Guru //// Commentary: Etrem02:21:10 Game: Rolling Gunner //// Rezardi //// Commentary: Player + Pearl + Big Malone + Wabby Legs03:12:15 Game: Giga Wing 2 //// ec2151 //// Commentary: Marus04:03:00 Game: Gradius Gaiden Co-Op //// GhoulsAreFree and Golem //// Commentary: Docviper04:51:30 Game: Change Air Blade //// Imbord3rlin3 //// Commentary: The Dirty Screech05:14:00 Game: eXceed 3rd Jade Penetrate Black Package //// silentblackcat (she/her) //// Commentary: Softdrink05:56:50 Game: Radiant Silvergun //// Mark MSX //// Commentary: Player06:44:44 Game: Bullet Hell Monday Black //// Xavier //// Commentary: Mark MSX#shmup, #shootemups, #shmupslam
Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 1) The Electric Underground 2023-08-21 | Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 2 (Part 1). It's finally here! Shmup Slam 6, is a fully live 2 day event of nonstop shmup action! For those passionate about the shoot em' up genre, and other related genres like run n' gun, light gun, and maybe even a bit of beat em up, Shmup slam 6 is going to be a fantastic time. So if you love stg, bullet hell, danmaku, shooters, whatever you like to call the genre, you are going to have a great time! We have a fantastic line up of CAVE, Treasure, Touhou, Capcom, and much more awesome shmup studios featured! Here is the Saturday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/satschedHere is the Sunday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/sunschedPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Stream Start00:03:20 Game: Tsukihime no Shiro (Melty Blood x Shikigami) //// EmperorIng360 | Mishi | Rezardi | M.Knight //// Commentary: Players00:42:08 Game: Macross Advanced //// RiffMason //// Commentary: Player01:30:00 Game: Sanvein //// M.Knight //// Commentary: Player02:26:51 Game: Contra: Shattered Soldier //// copypasterCPS //// Commentary: Aquas03:22:30 Game: Touhou 12 - Undefined Fantastic Object //// AwfullyFawfully //// Commentary: BluePlasmaSpark04:29:18 Game: Judgement Silversword //// SFKhoa //// Commentary: colour_thief | EeroKurkisuo05:04:23 Game: Blue Revolver //// Jermanator //// Commentary: Danbo | Softdrink06:02:18 Game: Crisis Wing //// machomanmo + TheHeadyBear VS Ghouls and Golem //// Commentary: pieslice (Dev) | Spellcxster06:52:20 Game: Touhou 13: Ten Desires //// Anna says hi | HIMkoto //// Commentary: Players07:42:40 Game: Lunatic Death | Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Fan-Film by Heiner#shmup, #shootemups, #shmupslam
Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 1 (Part 2) The Electric Underground 2023-08-20 | Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 1 (Part 1). It's finally here! Shmup Slam 6, is a fully live 2 day event of nonstop shmup action! For those passionate about the shoot em' up genre, and other related genres like run n' gun, light gun, and maybe even a bit of beat em up, Shmup slam 6 is going to be a fantastic time. So if you love stg, bullet hell, danmaku, shooters, whatever you like to call the genre, you are going to have a great time! We have a fantastic line up of CAVE, Treasure, Touhou, Capcom, and much more awesome shmup studios featured! Here is the Saturday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/satschedHere is the Sunday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/sunschedSaturday is day 1, and the featured games are:1. Gradius2. Magical Amber3. Pilot Kids4. Turbo Force (sick car shmup)5. Batsugun6. Giga Wing Generations7. Dariusburst ACEX+8. Like Dreamer9. Donpachi10. Graze Counter GM11. The House of the Dead III12. Raystorm13. Rayforce14. Sin and Punishment15. Sispri Gauntlet16. Super Spacefortress Macross17. Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara 1.018. Ikaruga19. Radiant SilvergunPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Start Stream00:06:00 Game: Graze Counter GM //// Player: RagnarokAdvent //// Commentary:Player00:31:34 Game: The House of the Dead III //// Player: MSD/AGE | RadiantAnsel //// Commentary:player01:16:026 Game: Like Dreamer //// Player: the dirty screech //// Commentary:Mark MSX02:14:30 Game: Rayforce //// Player: ColonelFatso //// Commentary: Jaimers03:12:13 Game: Sin and Punishment //// Player: BenSPR //// Commentary:Player | Mark MSX04:05:40 Game: Talk to Chat //// Player: Mark MSX //// Commentary: ----04:49:47 Game: Sispri Gauntlet //// Player: Pearl //// Commentary:Morsalty06:01:30 Game: Super Spacefortress Macross //// Player: KyoKusagani ////Commentary: Player06:53:40 Game: Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara 1.0 //// Player: Aquas //// Commentary:Softdrink08:33:40 Game: Ikaruga //// Player: Dr. Tan //// Commentary: Softdrink09:08:00 Game: Mushi Futari (Ultra) //// Player: hsM //// Commentary:Softdrink09:55:44 Game: Mech Blaze //// Player: Dingo //// Commentary:Player#shmup, #shootemups, #shmupslam
Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 1 (Part 1) The Electric Underground 2023-08-19 | Shmup Slam 6 | Ultimate Live Shmup Marathon | Day 1 (Part 1). It's finally here! Shmup Slam 6, is a fully live 2 day event of nonstop shmup action! For those passionate about the shoot em' up genre, and other related genres like run n' gun, light gun, and maybe even a bit of beat em up, Shmup slam 6 is going to be a fantastic time. So if you love stg, bullet hell, danmaku, shooters, whatever you like to call the genre, you are going to have a great time! We have a fantastic line up of CAVE, Treasure, Touhou, Capcom, and much more awesome shmup studios featured! Here is the Saturday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/satschedHere is the Sunday schedule: horaro.org/slam6/sunschedSaturday is day 1, and the featured games are:1. Gradius2. Magical Amber3. Pilot Kids4. Turbo Force (sick car shmup)5. Batsugun6. Giga Wing Generations7. Dariusburst ACEX+8. Like Dreamer9. Donpachi10. Graze Counter GM11. The House of the Dead III12. Raystorm13. Rayforce14. Sin and Punishment15. Sispri Gauntlet16. Super Spacefortress Macross17. Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara 1.018. Ikaruga19. Radiant SilvergunPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUndergroundTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Start stream00:02:56 Game: Gradius //// Player: Prickly Angler | Hausu //// Commentary:ReFKey00:36:30 Game: Magical Amber //// Player: Mishi | Rezardi | TH3VOID //// Commentary:Players01:12:50 Game: Pilot Kids //// Player: Jaimers //// Commentary:EmperorIng36001:44:47 Game: Turbo Force //// Player: EeroKurkisuo //// Commentary:Player02:13:20 Game: Batsugun //// Player: Meriscan //// Commentary:Jaimers02:48:20 Game: Giga Wing Generations //// Player: Third_strike //// Commentary:Pearl | Emperoring03:21:20 Game: Dariusburst ACEX+ //// Player: docviper //// Commentary:Prickly Angler03:49:30 Game: Raystorm //// Player: Chinopolis | CPS //// Commentary:Jaimers04:54:33 Game: Donpachi //// Player: Succ //// Commentary:Softdrink#shmup, #shootemups, #shmupslam
The Shmup Character Issue | Caladrius Blaze (and More!) The Electric Underground 2023-08-11 | The Shmup Character Issue | Caladrius Blaze (and More!). HOT GIRLS. SEXY BABES. BUFF BROS. COOL DUDES. Shmups (shoot em' ups) are filled with iconic and interesting characters ... sort of. Judging by the box art of many games, including the game that inspired today's video, Caladrius Blaze, shmups are jammed with compelling characters and designs. HOWEVER, there is one really big problem with character representation within the genre (and I don't mean in the Eurogamer anti-Dead or Alive sense), which is that the characters ... aren't actually in the games in a meaningful way. Sure the game will reference the characters on the attract mode or maybe in th end credits, but for the most part think how many games you have bought that had cool characters on front and then generic ships in the actual gameplay. That's just a part of the problem however. Even if the games do try to add more character presence like Caladrius Blaze for example, that presence usually boils down to simple PNG images that pop up as you play or at best animated talking profile pictures (I'm thinking of you Star Fox). Some games like Deathsmiles, Esp. Ra. De., and Touhou do take it a step further by actually including the character sprites within the gameplay, but even in these cases it still feels under developed because of how limited the view and animation of the sprites are and how generally zoomed out the player perspective is. You'll get to know the back of the character's head really well, but that's about it. There are more topics and ideas on the subject that I discuss in the video, but I' don't want to spoil the whole thing in the description ha. If you are interested in Caladrius Blaze, you can pick it up on Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC), Xbox 360, PS4/PS5, and even PS3.Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#shmup, #shootemups, #touhou
Are Fighting Games Improving? EVO 2023 Extensive Discussion with Quash (Guilty Gear XX Player) The Electric Underground 2023-08-07 | Are Fighting Games Improving? EVO 2023 Extensive Discussion with Quash (Guilty Gear XX Player). In today's epic video, Quash and I discuss the past, present, and future of fighting games, leading up to our thoughts on EVO 2023. And for the first time in a long time, I'm actually interested and excited to watch it this year. As of late I have been playing a lot more Tekken and Virtua Fighter, but I'm also interested in a lot of games being played. We go over our thoughts an avalanche of topics, such as: The decline and future of 3D fighting games, Sales vs Tournament entries, Steam Charts vs Tournament entries, the homogenization of game mechanics, the importance of netcode for upcoming pro players, sluggish UI Design, the issues with online Matchmaking, the function of rank modes and why they need fixed, Differences in perception in JP and NA scenes, is the EVO gladiator format still the best, or should they start to look more into leagues? The Final Year of Tekken 7, should Marvel happen every year, the sleeping giant that is the Street Fighter IP, the uncertain fate of Project L, the importance of graphical presentation, my love and concern for Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive, and so much more.The games and tournaments we discussed are:Street Fighter 6 - 7k entrantsGuilty Gear -Strive- 2.4k entrantsMortal Kombat 11: Ultimate - 449 entrantsTekken 7 - 1.5k entrantsThe King of Fighters XV - 666 entrantsMelty Blood: Type Lumina - 554 entrantsDragon Ball FighterZ - 838 entrantsUltimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 - 1.3k entrantsPatreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 IS EVO'S COMPLETELY OPEN BRACKET FORMAT FAIR TO PLAYERS? SPECTACLE VS INTEGRITY00:30:00 SHOULD FGC USE AN ELO RANKING SYSTEM FOR SEEDING TOURNAMENTS?00:49:00 HOW DOES EVO SELECT THE GAMES BEING PLAYED (AND MONEY DEF IS A FACTOR)01:07:00 THE TRAGIC DECLINE OF 3D FIGHTERS (WE WANT THEM BACK!)01:22:35 MARKETING IS LIFE OR DEATH AND 3D FAILED AT MARKETING01:45:15 THE HOMOGENIZATION OF FIGHTING GAME DESIGN1:58:18 PROJECT L IS NOT THE MAGIC BULLET02:05:35 STOP WASTING TIME! FIGHTING GAME INTERFACE DISCUSSION02:17:35 SHOULD ONLINE MATCHES BE RANK ONLY?! THE ISSUE OF THE RANK META GAME02:35:20 GRAPHICS AND VISUALS MATTER A.L.O.T.02:46:00 MELTY BLOOD TYPE LUMINA (SOLID BUT I MISS ACTRESS AGAIN)02:58:25 DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ (BRING BACK DBZ BUDOKAI)03:08:10 MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 (SHOULD IT BE MARVEL 2?)03:34:30 MORTAL KOMBAT 11 (THE GREAT BLOCK BUTTON DEBATE)04:01:10 KING OF FIGHTERS 15 (THE GHOST OF KOF 2002 LIVES)04:08:55 GUILTY GEAR STRIVE (GUILTY GEAR STREET FIGHTER EDITION)04:30:00 TEKKEN 7 (EVERYONE STAYED HOME TO WRITE TEKKEN 8 POETRY)04:43:32 STREET FIGHTER 6 (THE SLEEPING GIANT IS REAL/WILL WE SEE MODERN CONTROLS)05:16:30 HOT TAKES! QUASH: HITBOX WON'T TAKE OVER05:31:35 HOT TAKES! MARK: NO ONE WILL ACTUALLY PLAY VF6 WHEN IT COMES OUT, TOO FUNDAMENTAL#evo2023, #streetfighter6, #tekken8
Shmups VS Speedrunning, Natural Vs. Fan-Made Meta | Ft. @neoxaquas The Electric Underground 2023-08-03 | Shmups VS Speedrunning, Natural Vs. Fan-Made Meta | Ft. @neoxaquas . Today's topic has been a subject that has fascinated me for a long time, the difference between shmup scoreplay meta and speedrunning time meta. What's interesting is that for a long time, I've heard speedrunners talk about scoreplay in the tone of an outdated style of competitive design. Like if you watch the history of speedrunning video by Karl Jobst, he describes score play as essentially the ooze from which the glory of speedrunning was born. This makes some sense if you only look at speedrunning from their community perspective. However, over the years I have become more skeptical of community / fan made meta (see my discussion of the subject with the Crimson Blur about Melee) and in today's video I am joined by Aquas who is the perfect guest on the topic as he has world records in both speedrunning and shmup score play (a rare accomplishment!). We cover a variety of fun topics, including his world record progression in Pink Sweets, and the heart of the conversation for me is what are the strengths and weaknesses of fan-made meta, like speedrunning, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of natural built in meta like scoreplay. In the end, I find that I greatly prefer the natural meta of scoreplay (and fighting game tournament play) because it is less arbitrary and prone to manipulation from fellow players and outside forces (besides the developer). However, this doesn't mean that I don't think speedrunning in itself isn't a cool idea, and I even offer what I think is the best solution for the issue in the form of what M2 Shottriggers have been doing with their shmup ports. Imagine if Nintendo actually put some care into their wave of ports and re-releases, and included speedrunning modes and leader boards in their ports. Also I love that Aquas brought up how heavily nostalgia plays into a speedrun game's popularity, because there are tons of speedruns that I think could be fascinating (Dead to Rights Super Cop), but sadly the non-nostalgic games tend to be extremely under-explored. That being said, there are also issues that can rise up from relying solely on the natural meta of a game, like Battle Garegga and its infinite milk, so again I think this is where having robust ports with patches really smooths out a lot of issues, other wise competitive score play is going to rely very heavily on replay analysis and community leader boards and we've seen enough "I GOT A CHEATED RUN PAST THE MODS!" vids for a lifetime.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 STG Weekly is BACK!00:09:21 Twitch Speedrunning Vs Shmup Viewership00:17:00 Speedrunning is Fan-Made Meta, Shmups are Natural Meta00:23:16 Fan-Made Meta is Interesting, But UNSTABLE00:27:03 The Doubled Edged Leaderboard Issue00:29:50 Run "Categories" Are Arbitrary and Rely on Concensus00:34:20 Mark's Solution - Build the Meta into the Port00:36:30 What Determines Speedrun Popularity? 00:42:00 Aquas Joins Team Pink Sweets00:48:00 Pink Sweets World Record Progression00:58:39 CHAD MODE Limited Lives01:02:42 Aquas Plans for the Future#speedrun, #shootemups #shmup
Tekken 8 is a SPAMMERS Paradise! (Until Movement is Buffed) The Electric Underground 2023-07-25 | NOT A REVIEW! THIS IS DEV FEEDBACK. Tekken 8 is a SPAMMERS Paradise! (Until Movement is Buffed). I'm a 3D fighting game player and despite some issues with Tekken 7's combo length and weaker movement, I still ended up enjoying the game and feel Namco struck a very delicate balance with 3D vs 2D style design in that entry in the series. However, coming into Tekken 8, I think Namco have gone too far in trying to further appease the linear player base of the series (who I understand are probably the majority of fans) and are making the 3D fighting elements of the series, like side stepping, side walking, and backdash canceling, even more risky and inaccessible to newer players. Why sidestep when you have a pile of armor moves? Further compounding this issue is the creation of the heat system, which I find intrusive in many ways. Firstly, you now get another get out of jail free attack with heat smash (if rage arts weren't enough) and now a lot of moves that were previously linear pokes (like Demon's Paw) not only seem to track better than they once did, but will also FADC cancel into a dash in mix up (I really wonder where Namco came up with this idea). Between the meter and the heavy emphasis on poking moves being able to be canceled into combos, Namco is continuing to push further towards a 2D style of game play, especially for lower level players. And while I'm sure I'll get a pile of comments saying how it's not a big deal for top level players, top level players aren't the end point of a game's design. A fighting game should be designed to encourage fundamental play at all levels of the meta, by rewarding even lower level players for at least trying to engage in mechanics like sidestep. As of right now though, the second a budding player decides to try to start stepping, he is going to be obliterated for the slightest mistake - so most players will be scared and just stick to playing linear. This over-emphasis on linear play and move spamming among mid and low level players was Tekken 7's biggest flaw and Tekken 8 has taken that flaw and super charged it even more (not to mention the heat system literally rewards you for spamming via chip damage).If Namco insist on having us play using this lame heat system (which has constant cut scene interruptions btw, I hate that GG Strive crap), they should at least give the 3D players decent movement and stepping to combat all the spammers who spend all day every day learning their hop kick setups and heat to rage art combos. Awesome thumbnail by @boghogSTG Awesome Nina by: twitter.com/zomayuan/status/1623359621753864193Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 The TWO Types of Tekken Players03:00 Tekken is a LAME When Played as a 2D game...06:00 The PRISON of 2D Gameplay and Risk + Reward in Tekken 7/808:42 Tekken 8's Big Design DECISION, More Linear or More 3D?10:00 Tekken 7 Vs Tekken 8 Sidestep and Backdash Analysis11:20 Great, Tekken Has FADC Cancels ... I'm so Proud12:15 Heat Literally Encourages Spamming, It's Written in the Tutorial13:18 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Top Players Are Not the Metric For Game Balance!14:30 "Aggressive Play" Can Be LAME when done wrong.16:00 Heat Smash + Rage Art | Comeback Mechanic Ultimate Climax17:11 Will I Play Tekken 8? Yes, Because I Have No Viable 3D Alternative18:20 Has Namco Lost Confidence in 3D Fighting? It looks like it.#tekken8, #tekken7, #guiltygearstrive
Final Fantasy XVI is an INSULT to RPG Fans, and I DIG IT! The Electric Underground 2023-07-14 | Final Fantasy XVI is an INSULT to RPG Fans, and I DIG IT! Hell has frozen over. Today I am talking about a Final Fantasy game on the channel, FF16, which has made a very interesting decision to swap out its usual semi-turn based party combat, into a single character real time Devil May Cry / Bayonetta style combat system. Naturally, being a big fan of character action games and discussing combat systems generally, I felt compelled to try this game and and share my thoughts on whether or not the combat system of the game is legit or not. Funny enough, as odd as this game may be seeing as how it is cutting against its original audience of RPG players, I actually found that a lot of what I have to say about this game ties very nicely into the themes I have been discussing on the channel as of late when it comes to precriptive combat, special move (summons) balance, the importance of pace, level design, enemy design, hitstun, super armor, and strong graphical presentation. One review that this game ties into heavily is my review of Bayonetta 3. In many ways, FF16 and Bayo 3 are sister games, both of them have essentially arrived at the same comprimise of blending real time action with RPG elements. Both games are trying to capture eachother's audiences. What makes FF16 more interesting to me personally, however, is that it is cutting against the usual trend of moving towards RPG design, by being an already established RPG that is moving towards character action design. So that even though a lot of the elements of this game are similiar to Bayo 3, the tone of this shift I find more interesting, as character action is a less marketable genre than RPG in terms of sales. Final Fantasy 15, for example, is sitting at a total of 10 million sales currently, while Bayo 3 is at a mere 1 million sales, and let's not forget that the original Bayo sold so poorly that Nintendo had to buy the IP to keep it going (which ended up hurting the franchise quality wise imo). One other core question I bring up in this video is the question of what is the role of gameplay in RPG in the first place? What is proper RPG combat? Is it turn based? Does it matter? Does the gameplay of RPGs exist to support the story, or does the story exist to support the gameplay? This is a key discussion of design that I'd love to hear about the genre. Though I personally believe that all games, even RPG, are meant to be game design first story second, but of course I'm much more interested in game design than games as a story telling medium.As of right now Final Fantasy XVI is a PS5 exclusive, but later on I understand it will be released on other consoles and PC. As for if I recommend the game or not, or if I think it's GAME OF THE YEAR as every game that releases is hailed, you'll have to tune in to find out ;-)Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUndergroundTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00 All Games Genres Are Merging05:40 Prescriptive Combat Design Vs Fundamental Combat Design09:00 FF16 Has a Strong Foundation of Combat ... So Far So Good17:00 Mechanics Are NOT ENOUGH, Action Games Need Strong Enemy and Level Design19:00 Bayonetta 3 Vs Final Fantasy XVI22:00 Is Gameplay or Story Top Priority in RPG?25:00 FF16 Abandons Open World Design ... THANK YOU!29:50 Enemy Design: Don't Make Sandbags33:00 The Biggest Issue with FF16 Combat is Balance, NOT Depth37:19 I APPRECIATE The CHAD Mature Presentation (No More Children Games Please)39:00 The Arcade Mode is a good IDEA, But Design is Not Successful42:25 Final Thoughts and Conclusion on FF16#finalfantasy, #finalfantasy16, #finalfantasy7remake
FINALLY QUALITY! Rayz Arcade Chronology (Rayforce Collection) Review! The Electric Underground 2023-07-05 | FINALLY QUALITY! Ray'z Arcade Chronology (Rayforce Collection) Review! One of the best shmup (shoot em' up) releases of 2023 nearly snuck under my radar! Ray'z Arcade Chronology is a collection of the excellent Rayforce series: Rayforce (Layer Section), RayStorm, and RayCrisis! A lot of us are familiar with Rayforce, it being an arcade classic, but many players, including myself, are less familiar with RayStorm and RayCrisis, which were originally ported to the PS1 and were during that early 3D era of the genre where devs were doing a lot of interesting stuff with dynamic backgrounds and sprite scaling! In today's review, however, I am not so much concerned with the quality of the game themselves, as they have already proved themselves are very strong entries into the genre (hence being in a collection in the first place). Instead, what I really want to investigate is how the games have been ported and if this collection is respectful to the source material, especially when compared to unofficial emulation. There are a lot of game collections out there that look promising on the surface, like the TMNT Cowabunga Collection, or Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha, or the MegaMan X Collection, but when you actually analyze the performance of these games, especially with input lag, the final result is an awful mess.What makes this situation even more confusing is that recently Rayforce had another port by City Connection called Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute, which was laggy and lame. And then on top of that there is another collection coming out called RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection - which is actually just an incomplete version of this collection. So overall, if you want to get the heart of what is quality and what is not, this review shall be your guide. As of right now the Ray'z Arcade Chronoloyg is available on Nintendo Switch and PS4/PS5. Sadly both PC (Steam) and Xbox got the shaft.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#rayforce, #shmup, #shootemups
The Crimson Blur, Has Smash Melee Sabotaged Itself? The Electric Underground 2023-06-30 | The Crimson Blur, Has Smash Melee Sabotaged Itself?This is a FANTASTIC Conversation, even if you aren't plugged into Melee we discuss a lot of relevant topics about game design and competitive integrity. In today's episode, @TheCrimsonBlur and I talk about the current state of Super Smash Bros Melee and have an open conversation about many of my thoughts and critiques of how things are going in competitive Smash right now. I have followed Melee for over a decade now and in this time I think the scene has become increasingly insular and unable to see some of its decisions and ideas from an outside perspective, so I think if you are a fan of Melee or not this conversation is going to be a breath of fresh air outside the usual talking points that you hear repeated on Twitter and on streams over and over. We cover a lot of subjects, but some of the main topics are: Who is Melee's REAL father? As I feel Sakurai is heavily over-creddited for the creation of what we love about Smash 64 and Melee. The nature of Melee as being a community made meta, rather than a natural meta, and how this leads to a lot of more radical decisions when it comes to rule sets (even going so far as to modify the game itself). I talk about the current culture of smash, that obsesses over the e-celeb aspects of its players and personalities, but largely ignores the actual tournament organizers and people who support the scene's infrastructure. Of course we touch on the Nintendo vs Melee community controversy and I share my thoughts on how the community should study Nintendo's motivations more, rather than always relying on social media and fan backlash to protect itself (which I do not believe will work forever). We talk about the recent ruleset changes to ban wobbling and add edge grab limits, and how I feel that these rule changes are reactionary and targeted, rather than being a fair case of assessing outliers in a ruleset. Then there is the sanctioned cheating that is occurring in the ruleset in terms of allowing macros and input processing in the Smash Box as well as the Goomwave. I explain my philosophy behind genuine hardware mods (physical mods) vs cheating mods (introduction of electronics and input processing) and remind the world that Blur, many years ago, predicted these issues but was ignored.Follow Blur at: twitter.com/OXY_CrimsonAwesome thumbnail by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground00:00:00 Men of Taste Meet At Last!00:03:00 CRTs Must Be Protected!00:13:40 Melee is now a PC GAME00:18:30 Sakurai Is NOT Melee's ONLY FATHER!00:25:00 Melee is NOT an ACCIDENT! (Inspired by Virtua Fighter 3)00:31:00 Melee and 64 Are DISTINCT from the Rest of Smash 00:39:00 Modern Smash is Competitive... With Supervision00:44:00 The Nintendo Option Select, They Don't Actually Have to Support Their Games00:50:00 Nintendo SAVED GAMES ... If You Ignore Arcades ...00:55:00 Nintendo Vs Melee Community - Understand Your Enemy01:04:30 Nintendo Vs Melee Community - Beware the Middle Man01:12:24 Nintendo Vs Melee Community - The TRUE Heart of the Conflict01:19:00 The Smash TO Brain Drain ... I'd Take the Check01:26:00 The Benefits and Dangers of a New Indie Melee01:31:00 Nintendo is Playing the Long Game, Slow Suffocation of Resources01:36:00 Content Creators Can Support the Scene ... But Is that Sustainable?01:47:00 Nintendo Want an Inside Man (Panda Example)01:56:30 Don't Count on the Masses to Support Homebrew Scene (They Will Turn On You Eventually)02:04:00 I Want Melee Closer to FGC and Away from New Smash (No More Kids)02:09:00 Discussing Melee Ruleset - WHO MAKES THE RULES?!02:16:00 The Tension of Rulesets, VISION VS CONCENSUS02:23:00 LET'S BE REAL: The Smash Box is Legal MACROS02:30:00 UCF Was a False Promise, So Now We Have Software and Hardware Mods02:34:00 Blur PREDICTED the GoomWave, But No One Listened 02:40:00 The Modded Controller Arms Race is Sanctioned Cheating02:46:00 UCF is Community Mod Over Game - Vanilla Melee Vs New Melee02:51:00 Melee Caters Ruleset to TARGET the Art of War (Sharp Meta)03:03:00 "Fun" is Too Subjective For a Ruleset, There is no LIMITING Principal03:07:00 Since Melee is a Democracy, it Requires Extensive ORGANIZED Voting03:11:44 Don't Be Tricked by Marketing, the Smash Box is NOT the Hitbox (For The Most Part)03:19:00 I Don't Care About Dev Intent, I Care About Game Integrity (There is a Key Difference)03:26:42 Blur's Final Thoughts (Follow Him, This Was a GREAT EP!)#supersmashbros, #ssbm, #smashbox
Revenge On X-Play! Castle of Shikigami Review The Electric Underground 2023-06-23 | Revenge On X-Play! Castle of Shikigami Review. Long ago Castle of Shikigami (Mobile Light Force 2) received a 1/5 score on X-Play. What is interesting about this review is that even though X-Play were clearly a trash TV show with joke reviews, this score seems to have stuck to the game's reputation, at least on wikipedia. What I find particularly interesting about the X-Play review, is that the show never seemed the need to explain why the score was so low, other than the graphics, being "Japanese" and the notorious "lasting only 30 minutes." A lot of these critiques could, of course, apply the genre of shmups generally. I think it was a classic case of judging a game by its cover, due to the silly western Mobile Light Force 2 cover that seemed to by trying to trick the player into thinking they were buying an action game. Overall, Shikigami is a very unique and interesting bullet-hell (danmaku) shmup. It is possibly the first shoot em' up to have a visible hitbox and it clearly was an inspiration for the Touhou series. What sets Shiki apart is it's aggressive grazing and speedkilling scoring system (outside of some crazy boss milking of course). The goal of today's review is to take a fair look at this game and point out what I think are it's strengths, and also it's weaknesses that I hope are improved upon in the later games in the series. As of right now the game is available on Steam, but beware the steam port (while decent performance wise) does seem a bit buggy. Also it sadly doesn't have the delightful voice acting that we see in Shikigami 2. Shiki 1 is also available on PS2 under the title "Mobile Light Force 2."Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#shmup, #shootemups, #xplay
Is Street Fighter 6 Actually Good? (Extensive Review) The Electric Underground 2023-06-13 | In the world of extreme hype and low expectations, it can be extremely difficult to gauge the actual quality of a game. ESPECIALLY Fighting Games, because they are both propped up by passive game journalists who have no actual ability to analyze them (like IGN) and FGC community figureheads, who understand the games better, but have a conflict of interest that pushes them to look for the positive. In today's review, it is my goal to try to present an informed and impartial look at Street Fighter 6 as a game, rather than as a basis for social interaction. This review has easily been the most massive and complicated review I have undertaken. Street Fighter 6 is the M. Night Shyamalan of fighting games. There are so many interesting (and sometimes strange) design decisions going on in this game that I found that it took an insane amount of time and discussion to describe what is going on with the game's design and why. This extensive review covers it all: The World Tour Mode, the single player content, the enemy ai, the practice mode options, the replay system, the Capcom ID requirement (lame), the battle hub, the arcade games, Final Fight, the new Drive System, the new super bar, parry, MODERN CONTROLS, character customization, character costumes, aesthetics, input lag, how the meta compares to older Street Fighter games, and the looming specter of Tekken 8.Amazing Thumbnail by @boghogSTG Thumbnail Cammy art by: twitter.com/SirKnightbot/status/1666831440112173057Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH00:00:00 Why Reliable Fighting Game Reviews Are Hard to Find00:08:20 SIGN UP NOWWWW! CAPCOM ACOUNT LOCKOUT00:12:30 World Tour Mode Is a HOT MESS00:25:30 Meaningful Vs. Empty Content00:33:24 World Tour Wants to Be a Beat Em' Up So BAD!00:38:15 Arcade Mode and Good CPU AI Helps You Learn :-)00:44:37 Why Street Fighter 6 Needs Ghost Battle Mode00:47:16 Based Practice Mode and Combo Trials00:49:00 FINAL FIGHT! And PS4 WITHOUT V-SYNC?!!00:51:00 Don't Sleep on The Top Secret Replay System00:53:24 Final Thoughts On Singleplayer Content00:56:30 The Drive System Follows Up SF4 Focus System00:59:50 After 30 Years... Devs Discover Starting Round with Meter01:02:50 Street Fighter Rediscovers Supers01:05:20 Drive Parry is Royal Guard ;-)01:08:30 Drive Dash cuts out the Middle Man (sorry shotos)01:11:25 MODERN CONTROLS! MODERN CONTROLS! MODERN CONTROLS!01:16:20 I Didn't Know I was Practicing for SF6...01:21:35 RIP Supers01:25:34 Are "Modern" Controls Brilliant, or Bad?01:32:45 Final Thoughts and Aesthetics (I'm Exhausted)#streetfighter6, #review, #moderncontrols,
RETURN OF THE LAG! BATSUGUN Saturn Tribute Review The Electric Underground 2023-06-03 | RETURN OF THE LAG! BATSUGUN Saturn Tribute Boosted Review. The Saga of City Connection Sega Saturn Ports of shmups (shoot em' ups) continues. When it comes to shmup ports, City Connection are absolutely hit and miss. Sometimes they can put together a fairly solid port, like the Deathsmiles 1 and 2 package, but then other times they can release absolute abominations like the Cotton 2 Saturn Tribute (with 11 frames of input lag). Since my initial review of that release, there has been a lot of talk of City Connection patching the lag (down to 9 frames, which is still absurd) and today we get to see how far they have come along when it comes to the input lag on their "Zebra Engine." As I point out in today's review though, porting an already slightly laggy port from a console with notoriously laggy emulation (especially on low end hardware) seems like the worst way to go about releasing a new version of Batsugun, especially since emulation for the arcade version is so solid to begin with. But they have spent all this time working on this Zebra engine, so of course they need to continue to use it, even if it sucks. The tale of the Saturn Tribue releases is a classic example of sunk cost fallacy because doing a port of the Saturn version of Batsugun makes no sense to begin with. Compare this to livewire, who did a port of the Sega Saturn game, Radiant Silvergun. However, rather than basing their port on the Saturn Original, they used the xbox 360 version which is a frame laggier, but certainly better than 3 frames laggier. If it feels like I am beating a dead horse with these Saturn Tribute ports reviews, that's because I am. At this point I think this will be my last review of these City Connection Saturn ports and in the future I'd just approach them with heavy skepticism.As of right now this game is on PC (steam), Nintendo Switch, and PS4/PS5. Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#shmup, #shootemup, #batsugun
The Tragedy Of Fighting Games. The Electric Underground 2023-05-26 | The Tragedy Of Fighting Games. Perhaps a spicy video, but I think it's important to keep it real (sometimes). Today I am talking about one of my favorite video game genres of all time, fighting games. Fighting games are in my top three alongside shmups and beat em' ups. I have been playing fighting games in a competitive and then semi-competitive since around 2010 or so, so I've been around and plugged into the genre for a long time. Today I am discussing what I like to call the tragedy of fighting games, in that no matter how good a fighting game is, no matter how much the player base loves that individual game, all fighting games are doomed to an early appointment with the grim reaper. Even games that have longstanding player bases like Super Smash Bros Melee and Street Fighter 3, Third Strike (or even Street Fighter 2, Super Turbo) cannot continue onward into future generations and be played in a full competitive manner. What I mean is that just being able to match make in a game every now and then is not good enough. In reality most fighting games are only intensely explored and played during a five year window or so, and then that game is put aside for the next iteration of the series. What I find tragic about this though, in the literal sense of the word, is that this fate is inescapable from what I have observed. No matter what approach a developer or fan base take, the end of the game being played at full capacity seems fated. I go into specific detail of why this is in the video. So this video is not meant to be a critique or warning against the genre, but rather a somber celebration of what makes the genre so special and also, ultimately, tragic. I thought it would be fun to discuss this video in light of the upcoming releases of Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6. At this point I am fully planning on playing Tekken 8 unless it is some kind of abomination, and my interest in the Street Fighter franchise as it is currently being made is gone. But I think I will review and discuss both games here on the channel as I think that will be interesting, as fighting game reviews from impartial experienced players are rather rare. I also am really into Guilty Gear XX Accent Core right now as well as DOA, so I plan on doing some vids about those games in the future as wellThumbnail made by me this time! Though @boghogSTG still helped with advice on how to touch it up.Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH||MY ESSAY ON MELEE'S POPULARITY||As promised here is my little essay on Melee's popularity. So if you ask melee players – maybe not so much now but def up to 2022 – most melee players firmly believe that the game will be played very far into the future. That melee is the one exception to the rule and that it will not fall into the fighting game graveyard. Why exactly this is, melee players rarely spell out, but it's usually based on the idea that the game is extremely great and unique (which I fully believe as a massive melee player myself). That being said though, there are actually many amazing and truly great and unique fighting games that have fallen into the graveyard, such as Soul Caliber 2, Dead or Alive 4, Guilty Gear XX, and pretty much all of the Virtua Fighter Series. In my opinion, quality of gameplay helps extend the life of a fighting game, but it will not stop it from crashing. That being said, melee is absolutely a unique case and has bucked the trend more successfully than any other game. The reason for this though has to do much more with perfect timing, being associated with the most powerful gaming franchises of all time, and an extremely powerful social network developed around the game.Also Nintendo accidentally helped melee a bunch by fumbling with the Smash series so much. To begin with, since the follow up game to Melee, Smash Brawl, was so truly bad that even casual players noticed how dumbed down and lame it was (and yes I know the sales of the game are very high, but it can be argued that those high sales are due to the legacy that Melee setup, just like how Star Wars Ep 1 had a massive box office), Nintendo for many years did not offer a valid alternative to Melee. [Due to word limit, Essay Continued on this google doc: docs.google.com/document/d/1x6st6G71DdnyaFc5rEwk-Fj7CPUzqjD-YMtf91pSJiY/edit?usp=sharing ] #streetfighter6, #tekken8, #guiltygearstrive
Best Beginner Shmup to Learn, Touhou 8 Imperishable Night! | Touhou Quest The Electric Underground 2023-05-20 | Best Beginner Shmup to Learn, Touhou 8 Imperishable Night! | Touhou Quest. Getting better at shmups (shoot em' ups) is a challenging and sometimes frustrating process. One reason for that is that older shmups tend to challenge your memorization of that specific game more than the fundamentals of dodging. Touhou on the other hand, especially Touhou 8, is a fantastic series to help you learn the genre because the design and challenge of the game is all about testing your fundimental dodging skills. Skills that you can practice and then apply to all shmups, not just bullet hell danmaku or CAVE games. What makes Touhou 8 specifically good at this is its really strong mix of fundimental dodging patterns, as well as a few puzzle ish patterns that secretly teach you fundimental concepts of reading and dodging complex patterns. On top of that IN has a very steady and helpful difficulty curve and difficulty options that start at complete beginner and end at super player, not many shmups have this variety of well made challenge. Then you add in the wide accessibility, the large variety of quality of life features (especially if you download from the shrine), the rock solid replay system, and the large wealth of information about the game, and you have a winning recipe. I know a lot of old school players tend to shy away from touhou because of the visual style and character design, but putting that aside it's almost always the case that the strongest players we see actively playing today often have their roots in the Touhou series and scene, and that's because of how the games are designed and played. The cherry on top of all this goodness though is the spell card practice mode. I never realized how good this mode is until I grinded it for this hard mode 1cc that I show in the video. The spell card mode is just as fun as playing the full runs and its very fast and dense in terms of gameplay. It also doesn't have load times or have the soundtrack restart, so it feels less janky than pure save state practice. It's like save state practice but properly built into the game. Sadly touhou remains on the pc only, but someday I would love to see the main touhou games, especially imperishable night, ported to ps4, ps5, nintendo switch, and xbox. Awesome thumbnail created by @boghogSTG Patreonpatreon.com/electricunderground[$2 tier = Monthly Game Review Vote, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast][$5 tier = Double Monthly Game Review Vote, By Name Shout-out, Name in Credits, Exclusive Monthly Podcast]Website: theelectricundergr.wixsite.com/the-electric-undergrMy Discord Stream Server:discord.gg/EeqSDryGeaElectric Reddit: reddit.com/r/ElectricUnderground👕Official Shirt!👕amzn.to/2XghV9JTwitch:twitch.tv/the_electric_undergroundSTG Revision 2020 Discord:discord.gg/snRueeH#touhou, #shmup, #shootemup,
