Sol Cresta

Still haven't played it yet. Watched a few of videos but a lot I don't understand in the mechanics yet.

See the description. Mentions barrel roll, shields, and using the formation slowdown to dodge. See the formation dodge in this video.

There's also command shots. I guess those are the shots in different directions.

Some nice game play tips here.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1575640/view/5254017618798009772

Picked this up, gonna check it out in the next few days.

Fun so far, lots of mechanics. I can try to answer any questions.

Any observations of interest?

I don't have any specific questions right now. Just trying to get used to switch formations and general gameplay.

The time slow is as useful for dodging as it is for formations, you have a lot of time for it so use liberally.

Most of the formations seem pretty good, horizontal line especially. Phoenix is amazing if you can unlock it (get all others).

Death by crushing is extremely brutal, removes all shields and ships. Avoid at all costs.

When you are by yourself the spin (formation button, uses 1 bar) has iframes, essential for surviving.

If you need more lives you can start from the beginning, stages 1-4 aren't too bad so you can build a stockpile. Stage select is very good for practice though, I'll need it for 7.

Scoring gives more lives ("next extend" at the top). I think the scoring system is basically just killing lots of things quickly, not too sure on this though. Secret bonuses give a bunch of points too, no idea what triggers them.

>death by crushing
What is this exactly? Hitting at obstacle?

>kill lots of things quickly
That'll keep I posted explains the scoring mechanics.

>Secret bonuses give a bunch of points too, no idea what triggers them.
I read something about hidden pathways.

>crushing
Squished between the gates or the edge of the screen. I think you can touch the sides of stuff and be okay.

>scoring
I'll take a look.

Just got Normal 1cc, I actually have stuff to say now.

The formations are insanely strong, great damage + range + defense. Horizontal line is good general-purpose. I don't use the L beam that much but it probably has utility somewhere since you can set it up in 4 directions.

Phoenix is absurd, if you are having trouble with certain sections then try to get it beforehand. Good for any boss/midboss and the stage 7 laser hallway.

Use slowmo to dodge, it is expected of you. The electricity beam between your ships deletes most bullets, make use of this to clear out nasty patterns. (Also applies to formation)

Absolutely recommend reading the article Birdman posted, playing for score doesn't hurt your survivability that much and can net you at least 3 extra extends. Caravan mode is a good way to practice this and is super fun in its own right.

One weird trick is that you can carry a formation chip from the end of one level into the next. Juggle it for a while and watch the HUD, then pick it up once you see your formations reset. This makes certain beginning sections a lot smoother.

This game is actually kinda glitchy, I've had one trigger multiple times that gets you stuck in slowmo until you lose a ship, and another that prevents your ships from following you in slowmo. Very odd.

I'll try for a Hard 1cc, from what I saw the patterns are a lot meatier.

>Just got Normal 1cc
I can barely get past stage 2 without getting destroyed.

>glitches
Read a report of becoming invincible with one ship left.

This is in my backlog and I want to give it a go. Anyone besides HotPocket ever try this one out?

I know some users on Twitter the played it like Heather and Ziad afaik and they really loved it.

Played this for a bit last night, seems really interesting and unique. Kind of weird how talk around this game is non-existent considering Platinum’s involvement.

IIRC there were some major launch issues. Pair that with it being a true arcade game with a hefty price tag and 'story dlc' and you already lose 90% of your audience to be frank. Some shmup veterans also didn't like it immediately iirc, so it had a rough start. Here's a review by the shmup guy, he sometimes does freelance work for NintendoLife: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/sol-cresta

I have had major indifferences with the guy in the past, as well as Tai, but he does seem to know his shit about shmups so a lot of people listened I think.

Also just to close off: I don't think Platinum's name is the instant-buy it used to be for many people (sadly).

I know next to nothing about shmups aside from a few Cave games I had on the 360, but so far I'm finding this pretty fantastic. This thing just oozes mechanics and is lot of fun to go back into and see what you can do to get through sections more efficiently.

There seems to be a huge hatred of the game's graphics which I can kind of understand, but it doesn't come anywhere close to dragging the game down.

Saw a comment on a video review that said something like "who the hell wants to be doing shoryukens while playing a shmup?". I could maybe understand that question if this game had the screen full of bullets constantly but I'm not seeing the issue.

Holy shit this game is so good. Best thing I've played in a while.