SOTM January 2021 - Ghost Pilots and Fixeight

egg_sanwich

Windjammers Wonder
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Welcome to the first SOTM of 2021!

Much to everyone’s chagrin, Neo Geo (un)favorite Ghost Pilots has tied for top spot along with Toaplan’s 1992 overhead run n gun Fixeight.

Ghost Pilots - Neo Geo/Switch/PS4/XB1

Fly upwards and destroy the enemy in this military style shooter. Check out the above by review by NG.com’s own Neo Alec, and then post up your high scores. There are no region differences that I know of, and feel free to use auto fire to save your poor poor hands.

Please post your scores in the following format:
name - score - stage - platform- autofire y/n

BBH - 1,233,600 - 6? - MAME - No
egg_sanwich - 899,300 - 4? - MVS - Yes
KP - 626,100 - ? - Y - Mister
Neo Alec - 506,900 - stage 3 - MVS - yes
ShootTheCore - 505300 - 3 - AES - Y
gusmoney - 456,800 - 3 - MiSTer - Y
c0nn0r - 383,300 - St 3 - MiSTer - N
Dogg - 279,500 - 2 - MVS - N
GMEGBLN - 266,000 - 2 - Mister - Y
NERDtendo - 75,800 - St1 - MVS - N


Fixeight - PCB/MAME

60490601.jpg


One of Toaplan’s few games to not receive an official port, Fixeight is nevertheless still very playable on MAME. With built in auto-fire and 8 characters to choose from, there’s lots to love about this one. If using MAME, please use the Japanese rom set, as other versions are considered easier.

Please post your scores in the following format:
name - score - stage - character - region

Japan
BBH - 827,220 - 65 - Lucy Pamela - MAME - No
GMEGBLN - 532,840 - Cull Horn - 33 - MAME - JP

Other/unknown region
egg_sanwich - 1,754,280 - Cull Horn - 117 - PCB - USA
Dogg - 604,370 - 43 - Remlias L'Angelo - ?
ShootTheCore - 502,240 - 36 - Cull-horn - PCB - SEA
 
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Neodogg

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pOzR2QA.jpg


Dogg - 156,100 - 1 - Mini - N
 
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Neo Alec

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Oh wow. Hmm, maybe I'll give this a shot this time. Enjoy, everyone, I guess.
 

egg_sanwich

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https://imgur.com/a/b8CTqpZ

Dogg - 156,100 - 2 - Mini - N

Neodogg is on the board! Wow, playing on the mini is an impressive feat.

Oh wow. Hmm, maybe I'll give this a shot this time. Enjoy, everyone, I guess.

That's sort of what I'm thinking about Ghost Pilots. I think we can all agree it's not the strongest shooter in the Neo library (ok, it sucks), but this is an opportunity to spend a bit of time playing an otherwise overlooked title in the Neo catalogue. Would love to see a Neo Alec score on the board!
 

Gremlin

Hi, I'm Gmegbln
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20210104_023015-screen.png

GMEGBLN - 266,000 - 2 - Mister - Y

Something about this game irritates me. I had a score of 370-something but didn't know how to screengrab, and it doesn't save scores I guess? I'm not sure I'll grind this one out heh.

One thing I noticed that nobody would give a shit about: someone at SNK must have really liked the weird dolly flamethrower idea on the Stage 1 Tank boss, because the first boss of SNK's pre-NeoGeo shooter Chopper I has the same thing going on. except it's on a train instead. Chopper I is also painfully mediocre, but I think it's still a better game than Ghost Pilots

tank.jpg
 

ShootTheCore

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Here’s my initial scores for both games.

Ghost Pilots
ShootTheCore - 505300 - 3 - AES - Y

FixEight
ShootTheCore - 400590 - Cull Horn - 30 - PCB

B5BD7807-7B41-428E-B4B2-7F9E34037D16.jpeg
AEA0ADC2-E92C-43B7-8D6E-3A3CA22B5B87.jpeg
 
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Neodogg

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so the mini is not the best way to play this horrible game, no surprise. I through it in the cab and made it to stage 2. The other planes that try to collide are quite annoying! I also corrected my previous entry's level...

mFyFVJV.jpg


Dogg - 279,500 - 2 - MVS - N
 

egg_sanwich

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so the mini is not the best way to play this horrible game, no surprise. I through it in the cab and made it to stage 2. The other planes that try to collide are quite annoying! I also corrected my previous entry's level...

mFyFVJV.jpg


Dogg - 279,500 - 2 - MVS - N

Nice one, Dogg! Haha I was surprised to see you playing on the mini, that's just asking for carpal tunnel. And yeah the levels are super long, those are just midbosses.

Heads up everyone, autofire is an available cheat within the unibios so feel free to turn that on.

Updating scores now...
 

egg_sanwich

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View attachment 58781

GMEGBLN - 266,000 - 2 - Mister - Y

Something about this game irritates me. I had a score of 370-something but didn't know how to screengrab, and it doesn't save scores I guess? I'm not sure I'll grind this one out heh.

Nice score! Ahh I did the same thing with Fixeight the other day and didn't capture my best :( Month is still early...

Here’s my initial scores for both games.

FixEight
ShootTheCore - 400590 - Cull Horn - 30 - PCB

Great starting score! C. Horn is my favorite choice and one of the strongest. The forward/backward shot is great for crowd control, and his special shot just obliterates bosses.

What region is your PCB?
 

egg_sanwich

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Posting some starter scores...

egg_sanwich - 292,400 - St 2 - MVS - Y
4c035738cf37cd7d818c8d85ba256ebf.jpg


egg_sanwich - 385,280 - St 3 - PCB - USA
bd00cf8d19de0c34a2b644474e356d9c.jpg
 
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Gremlin

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Fixeight:

fix.png

GMEGBLN - 527,410- 3 - MAME - USA

I like this game a lot. The pixel art is gorgeous, especially the special effects and the destruction of larger enemies. The pastel color palette is certainly a choice, it's a little strange but it definitely stands out. Too bad about the music, it's baffling how unremarkable it is from Toaplan, especially compared to its predecessor Outzone. It feels unfinished at parts, but this (and Outzone) are definitely PCBs I want to own someday

(Note: Completely glossed over US being easier in the OP, I did find it surprisingly easy :lolz: Will play JP going forward)

Ghost Pilots:

shit.jpg

I have a virtual Memory Card enabled on Mister, and when I start a credit in Ghost Pilots it asks me if I want to load my game. I'd hit A and it would bring me into the game with 0 score and the water takeoff as usual so I assumed the feature wasn't working correctly or something, but after 30 minutes of playing it today and wondering why it felt more obnoxious than usual I realized it was loading my progress from a previous playthough and it was starting at a later level, and I hadn't noticed 'cause everything looked exactly the same and the enemy planes were identical. I'm sorry, I fucking despise Ghost Pilots, this game reeks. It annihilates my patience and apparently I'm physically unable to recognize and remember the patterns, it's like trying to remember the face of every ant that crawls over your walkway. If it was just the lack of variety I think it'd just be a mediocre game, but on top of that the levels are so long and you move so slow that I think Ghost Pilots is objectively bad. I genuinely want to hear your takes, I'd like to know why it has its fans in the same way I want to know why Charles Manson got marriage proposals in the mail. Maybe I just stink?? I'm not playing this game anymore, I tried guys :lolz:

The only nice things I can say about it is that the intro and logo are cool, and in stage 2 when you swing behind the large planes that come up from the bottom of the screen and plug bullets into them, they take your bullets and slowly build flame then drop a bit before exploding. The combination of player action, good audio choices and strong visual feedback are weirdly immersive, it sorta does make you feel like a WW2 pilot gunning down a target oddly enough.
 
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c0nn0r

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A3C5C091-2B0D-4AA1-8D27-135E7B2A576A.jpeg

c0nn0r - 383,300 - St 3 - MiSTer - N

I like this game! It’s one of those slow-moving, challenging shooters along the lines of 1942. Yah, I get blown up a lot, but I always want to keep going. The sound is nice, as are the graphics.

Is it my favourite shooter? No, but it is fun to play on Neo Geo.

I’d like to try this one in 2-player. Seems like it would be extra fun in this mode.
 

Kid Panda

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2a4b3a09c876f4c0559417104196f48c.jpg



KP - 626,100 - ? - Y - Mister

I’m not sure what to think about this game, it’s much like gradius in that you die, you just get punished. Bosses are lopsided, first boss alone soaks two bombs like it’s nothing, and stage layout is weird.

There’s a lot to like here, but unfortunately there also some to hate. I don’t know if it’s just me, but plane movement doesn’t seem fluid while you are shooting. Maybe it’s the rapid fire in unibios?

Not worth what it sells for on AES.
 

Gremlin

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Fixeight: Switched over to JP, it's definitely harder - you get a lot less time to waste. On my last run I accumulated a ton more points on the stage 2 boss than usual with Horn's special weapon, not sure why (prev. run was 491,710 and I croaked at the same spot)

fixeight.png

GMEGBLN - 532,840 - Cull Horn - 33 - MAME - JP
 

egg_sanwich

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Glad to see some action on the score board! I’m away from my computer at the moment but will update scores soon.

Ghost Pilots, a lot of interesting opinions out there. I agree, I fucking hated after the first couple credits. It’s hard as nails, recovery is nigh impossible, and the slow ass ship just gets swamped so quickly.

... but the more I play it, the more I like it. It has so much going for it as you spend more time immersed. The intro and title screen are epic, the soundtrack is surprisingly polished with clear samples, and there is a lot more graphical detail in the backgrounds that I first thought. The big ass bosses are quite imaginative and fill the entire screen, but once you learn the patterns become very manageable. Branching paths are a basic but welcome addition. And if you can remain powered up it makes up for the slow ship by giving you a wider shot range.

Despite seeming slow and sluggish at first, the enemy waves become relentless later on, adding a lot of energy to this game. Later levels skip the bs of the mid boss making for shorter and more manageable stages. Is the game long? Absofuckinglutely, but isn’t that the point of playing games? You know, to play them?

It’s not my favorite on the Neo, but it’s not as much shit as everyone makes it out to be.

I can see how a 1cc would be possible but I’m not sure I have the patience to see it through. We’ll see.

95b8be4fd624ed5617b9b54a52d39ec7.jpg
 

Kid Panda

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A 1cc with world of long plays cheating takes an hour with ghost pilots.
 

ebinsugewa

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ghost pilots is my desert island game.












as in i would literally move to a desert island to avoid playing it
 

Neodogg

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Fix8 - I’ve never played this game before and I don’t know why? I’m having a blast playing this! I’ve only got it my Pandora so I don’t know what region it is...

8Zpj5lG.jpg


Dogg - 604,370 - 43 - Remlias L'Angelo - ?

I started out as Lucy Pamela since I liked that her special could shoot through walls which was advantageous in certain spots. I switched to L’Angelo because I like his reflection shot and I especially like his homing special shot that zips through things like Yondu’s arrow in Guardian of the Galaxy.

I swore I was done buying pcb’s but I may have to pick this one up...
 
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egg_sanwich

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Hell yea Dogg, get some!

Definitely try out Cull Horn (Mike Tyson) if you haven't yet. His two way shot is great for crowd control and his special weapon is just devastating.

Found a groove on Ghost Pilots. I think I can make it to the second stage select, which would effectively be the halfway point on this marathon. Time will tell...

egg_sanwich - 899,300 - 4? - MVS - Yes

ef385c5a011567f7ffa67c6de344422a.jpg
 
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Neodogg

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Thanks, I tried using C Horny from all the recommendations from other people but I don't like his B shot nor the special. It's too short of a reach. I do like the A short cause you can just stand and spin around to control the area. At times I wonder if it would make the game better or worse if it used rotary sticks like Ikari Warriors? I'll give him a couple more tries, maybe I'm not getting enough power ups...
 

egg_sanwich

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His B shot is total garbage, avoid at all costs. His special shot explodes on impact, creating a large blast radius that makes up for the short range. If you can control your pacing to limit the enemies on screen, the special shot will easily mow through anything. Especially bosses.

Can’t say I’ve ever had the opportunity to use rotary sticks. What a deprived life I’ve lived.
 

Kid Panda

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I dunno if I’m doing something wrong, but how is everyone scoring so high on fixeight? Am I missing something? I can’t get past the moving platforms on stage 3. But everyone else is crushing it. :(
 
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