Post by Cheez

Posted: 6/27/2004 10:08 PM

Post subject: Metal Storm

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Blechy

Former player

Joined: 6/27/2004
Posts: 550
Location: New York

I'm thinking of doing a time attack sooner or later, and after perusing my list of games, I think metal storm would be a very entertaining game to do(and I haven't seen any posts about it). Is anybody familiar with this game? Any idea how long it is? It does not seem like a game with apparent bugs, but if anyone knows of any, please inform me. edit: additionally, most menu selections(ie Sound) in famtasia crash the emulator, so I would be using VirtuaNES, though I'd have to figure out how to make it run in slow motion. But I'll try to figure it out.

Posted: 6/27/2004 11:55 PM

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Rupert

Joined: 4/27/2004
Posts: 13

I fiddled with the game a month or two ago, but my movie isn't anywhere near submittable (extra shots, non-optimized movement, used the S weapon instead of the P, etc). I also found out that there's a hard mode at the end accessible via password and I didn't feel like going through it again. Here's what I did if you want some ideas or just to see what the game is like. I used the japanese version because I like the colors better and some levels have slight differences which make it harder (ie: one level has lasers at the top and bottom of the screen so you can't loop jump), possibly some other things I missed.

Posted: 6/28/2004 3:49 AM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

I toyed around with this game a bit too, only went as far as the second level, I was using the game to learn how to do recording with famtasia. It works perfectly for me in famtasia, so you must have a bad rom or something. Anyways, the game has 7 stages, then there's expert mode. I suggest if you do the time attack, you do it on expert mode, so there's more "wow" to it. 7SL-5RR!-WVV is the expert mode password if you don't have it. -Cheez

Posted: 6/30/2004 5:25 AM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

Okay, I decided to run this on expert mode, and I must say, this is one of the hardest games I've ever seen. I finished it in 15:46. The level 6 boss takes like 2 minutes to kill since there's no easy way to do it, and you have to fight every boss twice, so that boss is like 25% of the movie. I found a faster way to kill the level 3 boss after I got to him the second time, but I don't know if I really want to run this game again. I did figure out some bugs that work to your advantage, and I use them quite a few times. If you have the Gravity Fireball, and hit jump at the *exact* same time you hit the ground, you can either hop or instantly flip back without ever coming out of the fireball, which comes in really handy. http://abharrie.misterdotnet.com/MetlStm.zip -Cheez

Posted: 1/5/2005 9:57 AM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

After seeing the latest run I thought I would give this a try. Really fun for sure. I used the password at the end of Haze Rever's run so I start out with power gun. Expert mode is where it's at for sure, but it will result in a longer run. I've done two and a half stages and wow, the level of difficulty is insane. I don't know how much gravity fireball would help, the power gun is definitely better in some situations, particularly if you are precise enough to stay right next to the boss. I show off by killing as few enemies as possible and making some tight squeezes. This looks really impressive in places, though sometimes the slowdown is painful. I think I was faster than Haze Rever on 2-2 with the flipping gates and green squeezing things. One little glitch when entering the password is that the letters displayed aren't necessarily what is going to be put in. But after I figured it out and was able to put the password in really fast. Oh, and I haven't missed a shot so far. :) It's actually pretty tough to pull off. I'd really like to see Cheez's run for comparison but the link is broken. http://home.comcast.net/~f_amoroso/Metal_Storm-TheAxeManv0.1.fcm

Posted: 1/7/2005 7:46 AM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

Well, I was really just going for kicks and testing, so I thought I'd see how few enemies I could kill. I continued this run up until the rematch with all the bosses, using only power gun as my item. Next I'll do the same with only gravity fireball. Then I'll know for sure what is best where. The final result will use this information to decide when to switch. One more thing, I need to figure out which bosses are affected by kamikaze attacks. I know it's effective on boss 4 but useless on 5. Boss 6 can only be gunned. Already I can say pretty confidently that from stage 6 on will be all power gun. I haven't seen Cheez's run, but he reported two minutes for boss 6 which is about twice as long as it took me, a time difference which dwarfs any other points. Gravity fireball can save quite a bit of time in stage 5, so it's likely to be used through there. In earlier levels the difference will be more subtle, hence the testing. In general, gravity fireball would be faster through the levels as it would minimize any need to stop forward movement, while power gun will kill most bosses faster. As a bonus I've discovered the secret to jumping off of spikes. This is an impressive and useful glitch and makes boss 5 much faster. One thing I want some input on is whether or not it will be allowable to start with a powerup. I am leaning towards doing this, and it will of course either be gravity fireball or power gun. Obviously it gives an advantage, but the code has to be used anyway, and it's not a really that big of a deal. If you had beaten the game in normal and went on to expert you would have your weapon starting out. Just something to think about.

Posted: 1/7/2005 7:47 PM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

The reason I took so long on Boss 6, was because I used the gravity fireball for pretty much the whole game. I started with the P-gun, but only because the only password I found for expert mode started me that way, so I thought you were supposed to start with it. I knew my run was really sub-optimal, it was just fun. Especially a lot of the crazy stuff I pulled on Stage 5. I'd really like to see your run with the gravity fireball to see how you do that stage. -Cheez

Posted: 1/7/2005 9:35 PM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

Ah, after starting a run with gravity fireball I see why Cheez and others rave about it. Though it's hard to use when playing normally it's totally sweet in a timeattack! I've only finished the first level, but it's clearly better than having power gun, even on the boss. I decided I would be a fireball the whole level and play tag with enemies. I'm able kill almost all of them even though I never fire a shot or slow down. I'm certain fireball will be faster through level 2 though maybe not on that boss. Level 3 will definitely be fireball and it will do well on that boss as well. Level 4 will look more impressive with power gun and the bosses will probably be about the same. Testing will reveal more. My guess is that level 4 will be about the same either way but the deciding factor will be ensuring that I have fireball at the start of level 5. Level 5 will be all fireball, I think it will do fine on that boss as well. Then in 6 I will switch to power gun for the rest of the game. So here's my guess as to what the final run will look like: Start out with fireball. Maybe switch for a little while in level 4 but switch back before 5. Pick up power gun in 6 to finish things up.

Posted: 1/7/2005 10:10 PM

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unclejed

Joined: 12/1/2004
Posts: 13

I'm certain fireball will be faster through level 2 though maybe not on that boss.

You are going to want the 'P' upgrade for that. Actually, the fireball isn't going to save you much, if any, time in stage 2.

My guess is that level 4 will be about the same either way

The fireball is faster for both bosses, and looks more impressive (watch my new run).

Level 5 will be all fireball, I think it will do fine on that boss as well.

Even if the 'P' gun is faster on the stage 5 boss, it won't be by much, and the fireball on the boss looks great.

Posted: 1/8/2005 1:05 AM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

You are going to want the 'P' upgrade for that. Actually, the fireball isn't going to save you much, if any, time in stage 2.

From the normal mode it seems like this might be the case. However expert mode has more enemies which take more hits, forcing spots where you have to stop movement. In some places it's not possible to kill enemies with power gun without stopping. In addition, the slowdown can become profound in this game with too many enemies, especially if they shoot (see the test run I posted earlier.) Finally, items are very sparse in expert mode, particularly gravity fireball. I'll be sure to consider everything, but it just seems like all the factors point to fireballing through to the last possible P pickup (this is in level 6 on expert.) This may make the run more entertaining since it will show different strategies on the second fight with each boss. Update: Finished level 2 using fireball. It did help as I was able to kill just as many enemies in the level, keeping things moving smoothly. It's also faster on the boss, though definitely harder to use. Gravity fireball rules! I don't doubt now that boss 6 is the only reason to ever use anything else. I am somewhat unsure about the 4-1 subboss as it moves very fast in expert mode and will be hard to tag. The run I'm doing now is going very well, I'm going to finish and submit it ASAP.

Posted: 1/8/2005 5:52 PM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

I just did a normal mode run in 11:43. I'm not going to submit it, because it's only normal mode, but it shows some tricks you may or may not know for some parts. I may later feel inclined to do an expert mode run, but I'll want to get the password from you that starts me with the gravity fireball. http://abharrie.misterdotnet.com/cheez-MetlStm.zip -Cheez

Posted: 1/8/2005 7:41 PM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

Nice job Cheez, you may have gotten all you can out of normal mode. I think I've figured out just about all the tricks you use. I love your boss 5 kill the second time around, I may try to do a jump through the lasers if I can. My method is to jump off of those spikes under him, it works even without fireball. Also, I think boss 2 is faster with fireball in expert mode but probably not normal due to more hits for each cannon.

Posted: 1/10/2005 7:30 PM

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unclejed

Joined: 12/1/2004
Posts: 13

To those that want it but don't have it: HW1-DDZ0-28B Expert mode with fireball and armor

Posted: 1/10/2005 7:57 PM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

I am up to boss 6, so this run will be done as soon as I can beat him and all the bosses again. I used a password that gave fireball but not armor. It doesn't matter anyway, the armor is less useful in expert mode. I do use it to finish 4-1 subboss earlier, but there are a couple good spots to pick it up before this. It might also be necessary in the second fight vs boss 3 as I don't know if it's possible to reach the safe spot without getting hit. By the way, using gravity fireball I finish some of the bosses faster than any run I've seen yet despite the fact that they take more hits in expert mode. It's too bad I have to switch for boss 6.

Posted: 1/11/2005 10:49 AM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

Well, I've started my own run on Expert mode now with the password unclejed gave. I won't use the armor until the level 4 sub-boss, and I'll collect it before then, just so it wouldn't make a difference whether I started with it or not. There's no other spot you need the armor. The first run I did I never grabbed the armor at all and never got hit. So far I'm only through the first stage, but I think it's going really well so far. Though I'd still like the password to start on expert mode with just the fireball, to see if it's a faster password to input. It took me a while to realize the control was different here. I was used to pressing Up+Jump to gravity flip, now I suddenly have to press Down+Jump to do it, though it will be a lot more convenient for times when I need to jump and fire upwards (5th boss second time around)

Posted: 1/12/2005 3:42 PM

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unclejed

Joined: 12/1/2004
Posts: 13

If you want to go nuts with it, feel free to beat the game several times in a row, you'll notice the password changes more often than not, depending on score, armor, and weapon. I liked that code because most of the entries were on the first line, and it was pretty efficent to enter. But experimentation will be called for if a 'perfect' run is to be achieved.

Posted: 1/14/2005 6:28 AM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

The reason I want the same password as Axeman, is so our runs are on equal footing. I don't want one of our runs to be faster than the other *only* because of a better password

Posted: 1/14/2005 5:42 PM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

Since we are both starting about now, perhaps we should nail down exactly what password to use. I'll do some experimentation, I think I can find one a little faster than the one I used.

Posted: 1/14/2005 7:06 PM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

I'm just sticking with the one you already used, I'm already at level 3, so I don't really want to restart yet again

Posted: 1/18/2005 10:08 AM

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Blechy

Former player

Joined: 6/27/2004
Posts: 550
Location: New York

Here's Cheez's run from awhile ago: http://www.thezorz.com/agile/cheezmetalstorm.fmv It's done with the Japanese version, Juuryoku Soukou.

Posted: 1/18/2005 4:16 PM

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Cheez

Former player

Joined: 6/21/2004
Posts: 72
Location: Michigan, USA

I hate to tell you, but that isn't my run...I don't even have the Japanese version of the rom. My original run was done on the US version, and I put in a password for expert mode and started with the P-Gun.

Posted: 1/18/2005 6:51 PM

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Blechy

Former player

Joined: 6/27/2004
Posts: 550
Location: New York

Oops, sorry. Turns out that's Rupert's run, who posted it in this thread.

Posted: 1/19/2005 5:01 AM

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TheAxeMan

Ambassador, Experienced player (709)

Joined: 7/17/2004
Posts: 985
Location: The FLOATING CASTLE

Ok, I downloaded the jap rom and watched this run. While the run itself was poor, I noticed only superficial differences between the two versions. In my opinion the robot doesn't really look better in white. The sound is probably better in the jap version. There was some difference in enemy layout, the normal jap mode seemed closer to the USA expert mode, but otherwise all the levels were the same. Perhaps I'll check the jap expert mode, but probably not. Most interestingly, there was some kanji text that appears during the final fight. I can't read it (as an American I barely even know English) but I'd be interested to know what they are talking about. The ending is an excellent specimen of Engrish.

Posted: 1/19/2005 5:29 AM

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