Batsugun

I was setting up a dedicated arcade machine and I remembered… oh yeah. Batsugun was ported.

I’ve long been a fan of this Bullet Hell Grandaddy. It’s yet another hard-as-balls Toaplan shooter but what really makes it shine is how ridiculous and OP your weapons become after upgrades. Filling the screen with swathes of lasers doesn’t do much for visibility unfortunately but it’s intensely satisfying.

The port provides a more balanced Special mode, but the game repeats 1-stage shorter on subsequent loops, so the full Special game is 14 stages. Each loop adds an element of difficulty.

Original mode is so difficult quarter-feeding makes me question my life. Special mode is definitely easier, but by the second or third loop I’m good. I still prefer shorter shmup experiences (Gunbird 2, which I evidently never made a post for, is just abour right IMO) so I can’t imagine ever getting through all 14 even quarter-feeding.

I like this port, though. I’ll be picking up Grind Stormer and the Truxtons at some point because I prefer ports to emulation.

Anyway, setting up an arcade emulator had me digging around a bit and I learned the 8BitDo M30 has become something of a shmupdom darling because of the D-pad. I bought an SN30 a while ago and honestly hate it, it makes my hands cramp and it quickly becomes uncomfortable to play, but for $30 I figured I’d give it a shot to replace my old and busted XBOX 360 controller and my Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, which are feeling a little goosey these days. I like it so far and it’s easier to break out than my stick, which always feels a bit like a production.