Arte muito bonita, gameplay muito gostosinha. A mecânica da dupla, podendo escolher um tiro alternativo, é muito boa. E um final bem gratificante. Gostei bastante desse
Cave never misses with the art (this time the theme is Steampunk WWII Dogfighting), but there's something about horizontal shmupping that feels like it doesn't suit their design philosophy. It's good, I just don't feel very comfortable playing it, if that makes sense.
Feel weirdly conflicted on this, in that I don't really have any problems with it on any level but it just feels like it's missing something to really put it over the top for me. Aesthetically gorgeous and plays well enough but I just didnt really gel with is as I think I wanted to. From a casual play of a few bullet hell type shmups I think it might just be that I'm not as hot on them as more traditional ones. Will probably end up coming back to this as I play more to reassess this cuz at the moment I'm stumped.
Genre: Bullet hell shoot em up with children! | Released: 2001 | Platform: Arcade, Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One (it’s part of the Capcom Arcade collection)| Developer: CAVE | Publisher: Capcom | Language: English | Length: 30-60 minutes | Difficulty: Hard to Very Hard | Do I Need To Play Anything First: Nope | Accessibility Options: Zilch | Monetization: Part of DLC for collections | Microtransaction: IF you are playing on a real machine (somehow) preparer to spend A LOT of quarters. Otherwise free play is the only way | Gambling Elements: None | Content Warning: Very mild cartoon violence | Parenting Guide: Look, this is a very very hard game, but it has lots of colours and flashing lights. Younger players may grow frustrated | How Did You Play It: Via MAME | Did you need a guide: No… But on my second playthrough I looked up a tutorial and learned a few mechanics that would have been nice to know | Mods: None
Is It Good: Yes
Back of the Box: Weeeeeeee! BANG BANG! BOOOOOM! Video Game are FUN!
Progear is wonderful animated, has a really bubbly artstyle (which is needed due to the child warfare angle, ‘cause otherwise the implications are horrific), and is HARD. I loved the sprite work, soundtrack, and overall had a great time. A lesser known Capcom classic, definingly worth a spin for those looking to try a bullet hell shooter for the first time.
There is a great push and pull mechanic the rewards careful planning, and enough context for an exciting romp. This video made me want to play it.
https://youtu.be/bL-euOdbOXQ
Is It Good: Yes
Back of the Box: Weeeeeeee! BANG BANG! BOOOOOM! Video Game are FUN!
Progear is wonderful animated, has a really bubbly artstyle (which is needed due to the child warfare angle, ‘cause otherwise the implications are horrific), and is HARD. I loved the sprite work, soundtrack, and overall had a great time. A lesser known Capcom classic, definingly worth a spin for those looking to try a bullet hell shooter for the first time.
There is a great push and pull mechanic the rewards careful planning, and enough context for an exciting romp. This video made me want to play it.
https://youtu.be/bL-euOdbOXQ
Few things feel better than weaving your way through enemy bullets, tapping the shoot button to clear the screen of enemies so they turn into jewels, then holding down and releasing the shoot button just a second later to pull them all in. Still super bad at these games, but they’re such a blast. $2 on modern platforms in the Capcom Arcade collection, you will not beat this bargain.
Beautiful game. Really great bullet hell.
Peak bullet hell. I love this game so damn much. Words can not describe how FUN this game is. It encourages you to go for big scores. Nothing feels better than destroying a wave of enemies and seeing jewels fly everywhere. It's just a beautiful game that pushes the CPS-2 to the max.
Has an interesting and fun score mechanic. I found it frustrating until I learned the unfocused shot does more damage than the focused shot, after which everything started to make sense. It's currently not among my personal favorites but it's still great, and I could see myself liking it more after spending more time with it.
Playing this game via Shmuparch was like re-experiencing it for the first time. R-Type Final may have been the first traditional shmup I played, but THIS is the one that got me hooked on the genre.
Even if you don't wanna mess around with Retroarch's fucking awful UI and rom scanning tools, I implore everyone to check out the Capcom Stadium version - minor lag notwithstanding. It's literally two fucking dollars.
Even if you don't wanna mess around with Retroarch's fucking awful UI and rom scanning tools, I implore everyone to check out the Capcom Stadium version - minor lag notwithstanding. It's literally two fucking dollars.
Germans when you say dick instead of das Cummerpissen.
Divertido e variado, gostei bastante
For my money, CAVE have 4 standout titles. Ketsui, Dodonpachi DaiOuJou, Mushi Futari and Progear. The former 3 are incredibly tightly designed, traditional-ish bullet hells. Progear, on the other hand, is more of an experimental mess of cool shit put in a development hell washing machine, that somehow came out as a rad tie-dye T-shirt.
Because Progear, both by the standards of the day and even now, is an almost unique bullet hell. It's horizontal for one, something rare to see for this kind of shmup in the first place, but the true difference comes in it's heavy focus on it's core bullet cancelling mechanic.
Essentially, when bullets are caught up in enemy explosions, they're deleted in Progear. The more bullets you delete in one explosion gives you more points, and then the ability to switch shot type and cause bullets cancelling to cancel other bullets themselves, turning them into precious jewel point items instead - all for huge scoring benefit. It's a frankly, unintuitive, weird system that is awkward as hell to explain and get your head around - especially without the flyers in the original arcade kits that explain it, and without paying attention to the attract mode demos - but when it clicks, dear lord does it click.
CAVE are specialists at making satisfying scoring systems, but Progear's "Jeweling" goes further than any of their others, forming the whole basis for playing the game at any decent level - cancelling huge waves of bullets to gain screenspace to move into, timing enemy kills, streaming enemies to make lines of bullets that lead to full screen cancels. It has such a fantastic flow to it, and gives the game a really unique edge.
This system, along with CAVE experimenting with the weird and wonderful horizontal realm, also leads to Progear having some of my favourite bullet patterns of any STG. Progear's bullets are often fired in weird trajectories and acceleration - partially so they cover up the enemies that fire them for a period - and often behave like snooker balls hit with backspin. Its a totally unique style of bullet pattern for bullet hell, and I am personally a huge fan of it. It all adds up to a system with a great balance of Micro and Macro dodging, where control of the screenspace is a huge factor.
And all of this is contained within a fantastic steampunk setting from frequent CAVE collaborator Junya Inoue. Without getting too into it, it's essentially a lot like a doomer version of Ghibli's Castle in the Sky, and whilst obviously there's only so much you can do with that in a 20 minute long STG, the whole thing provides a great melancholic vibe (gotta love a game that starts with mass infanticide), a fantastic aesthetic that contrasts well with all the bullet rain, and establishes a feeling of desperation that works well with the game system. Inoue in general is one of those artists that gets so into the aesthetic they create that manages to impart a feel of a larger, realised world even in the tiny amount of content in the game itself, and its a huge contributor to why I like this game so much.
The failings of Progear are there - as I said before, it's messy. The scoring system ive been gushing about so much kinda falls apart when played for world records due to it's absurdly powerful max bomb bonus. The rough development cycle with the underpowered Hardware also really shows in the final product - the arcade version of the soundtrack uses crunchy kinda awful samples that make half the songs sound kinda shite, there's a lot of sprite reuse (particularly in the final level), and the slowdown, a hallmark of CAVE's shooters, is incredibly severe. It's still arguably the best looking game on the CPS2 (the same hardware that powers Street Fighter 2), but its pretty obvious CAVE were hamstrung by some combination of Capcom and their Hardware. It's telling they didn't work together again and Capcom were intent on keeping Progear in their Vaults for the better part of 20 years.
And it's a real shame they did. Progear has become one of their least well known games partially due to a complete lack of porting, revisons/arrange modes or a successor. That leaves Progear as CAVE's most unique masterpiece. There's a scant one game that feels like it - Battle Traverse. And for me, one of the kindest things I can say about that game is that it reminds me of Progear. I wish more did.
If you want to try out the game, I reccomend MAME, where it runs very accurately - despite being a CPS2 game, Final Burn Alpha doesnt work well for it - You will also need a rom for QSound. You're best off playing the JP version, as the American release cuts out some voice acting and makes some questionable gameplay changes - it is easier, but that can be adjusted in the service mode of the JP version regardless. And make sure you flip the setting that binds FULL AUTO to button 3 - it will save your fingers. Enjoy!
Because Progear, both by the standards of the day and even now, is an almost unique bullet hell. It's horizontal for one, something rare to see for this kind of shmup in the first place, but the true difference comes in it's heavy focus on it's core bullet cancelling mechanic.
Essentially, when bullets are caught up in enemy explosions, they're deleted in Progear. The more bullets you delete in one explosion gives you more points, and then the ability to switch shot type and cause bullets cancelling to cancel other bullets themselves, turning them into precious jewel point items instead - all for huge scoring benefit. It's a frankly, unintuitive, weird system that is awkward as hell to explain and get your head around - especially without the flyers in the original arcade kits that explain it, and without paying attention to the attract mode demos - but when it clicks, dear lord does it click.
CAVE are specialists at making satisfying scoring systems, but Progear's "Jeweling" goes further than any of their others, forming the whole basis for playing the game at any decent level - cancelling huge waves of bullets to gain screenspace to move into, timing enemy kills, streaming enemies to make lines of bullets that lead to full screen cancels. It has such a fantastic flow to it, and gives the game a really unique edge.
This system, along with CAVE experimenting with the weird and wonderful horizontal realm, also leads to Progear having some of my favourite bullet patterns of any STG. Progear's bullets are often fired in weird trajectories and acceleration - partially so they cover up the enemies that fire them for a period - and often behave like snooker balls hit with backspin. Its a totally unique style of bullet pattern for bullet hell, and I am personally a huge fan of it. It all adds up to a system with a great balance of Micro and Macro dodging, where control of the screenspace is a huge factor.
And all of this is contained within a fantastic steampunk setting from frequent CAVE collaborator Junya Inoue. Without getting too into it, it's essentially a lot like a doomer version of Ghibli's Castle in the Sky, and whilst obviously there's only so much you can do with that in a 20 minute long STG, the whole thing provides a great melancholic vibe (gotta love a game that starts with mass infanticide), a fantastic aesthetic that contrasts well with all the bullet rain, and establishes a feeling of desperation that works well with the game system. Inoue in general is one of those artists that gets so into the aesthetic they create that manages to impart a feel of a larger, realised world even in the tiny amount of content in the game itself, and its a huge contributor to why I like this game so much.
The failings of Progear are there - as I said before, it's messy. The scoring system ive been gushing about so much kinda falls apart when played for world records due to it's absurdly powerful max bomb bonus. The rough development cycle with the underpowered Hardware also really shows in the final product - the arcade version of the soundtrack uses crunchy kinda awful samples that make half the songs sound kinda shite, there's a lot of sprite reuse (particularly in the final level), and the slowdown, a hallmark of CAVE's shooters, is incredibly severe. It's still arguably the best looking game on the CPS2 (the same hardware that powers Street Fighter 2), but its pretty obvious CAVE were hamstrung by some combination of Capcom and their Hardware. It's telling they didn't work together again and Capcom were intent on keeping Progear in their Vaults for the better part of 20 years.
And it's a real shame they did. Progear has become one of their least well known games partially due to a complete lack of porting, revisons/arrange modes or a successor. That leaves Progear as CAVE's most unique masterpiece. There's a scant one game that feels like it - Battle Traverse. And for me, one of the kindest things I can say about that game is that it reminds me of Progear. I wish more did.
If you want to try out the game, I reccomend MAME, where it runs very accurately - despite being a CPS2 game, Final Burn Alpha doesnt work well for it - You will also need a rom for QSound. You're best off playing the JP version, as the American release cuts out some voice acting and makes some questionable gameplay changes - it is easier, but that can be adjusted in the service mode of the JP version regardless. And make sure you flip the setting that binds FULL AUTO to button 3 - it will save your fingers. Enjoy!
As hard as is it beautiful. Love the art and world made for the game.
Dual shooting mechanic is interesting, still need to learn how to crowd control properly.
(Played on Capcom Arcade Stadium on PC)
Dual shooting mechanic is interesting, still need to learn how to crowd control properly.
(Played on Capcom Arcade Stadium on PC)
The bullets come horizontally instead of vertically. That’s about all what I can remember of Progear tbh. Shame the volume is so low on the Capcom Arcade Stadium port, barely could hear anything while playing.
Great stuff here. Sidescroller with a lot of fun looking stages, bosses, and characters. Nice music/gameplay as well.
too hard for my stupid ass
They shoulda called THIS game Geometry Wars!! (what with the geometric patterns of bullets and the Great War aesthetic…)
ANYWAY, hell of a bullet hell here. I like my shooters like I like my women: horizontal!
…I’ll see myself out…
ANYWAY, hell of a bullet hell here. I like my shooters like I like my women: horizontal!
…I’ll see myself out…
If these kids are pros what have I been doing with my life?
Good game!
Recomended by Cold_Comfort on this list
I'll be the first one to admit I suck at shmups, but this was a really fun experience.
The art style carried the game really hard for me. Pretty cute in some aspects but with really good readability with the enemies.
it also feels really good whenever you are the one feeling the screen with bullets, like taking the fight back to them instead of constantly dodging and barely scrapping by. The only thing I can really take against is that I can't remember a single song on the soundtrack save for the looping scream of children at the end of your run.
Overall a pretty fun experience that's really easy to emulate unless you're as dumb as me and need to get someone to help you get it running. Runs like a dream in shmupmame tho
I'll be the first one to admit I suck at shmups, but this was a really fun experience.
The art style carried the game really hard for me. Pretty cute in some aspects but with really good readability with the enemies.
it also feels really good whenever you are the one feeling the screen with bullets, like taking the fight back to them instead of constantly dodging and barely scrapping by. The only thing I can really take against is that I can't remember a single song on the soundtrack save for the looping scream of children at the end of your run.
Overall a pretty fun experience that's really easy to emulate unless you're as dumb as me and need to get someone to help you get it running. Runs like a dream in shmupmame tho
I can tell there's an underrated Cave classic in here, but fuck ME I find dodging the patterns whilst scrolling horizontally incredibly difficult. I think horizontal Shmups are harder in general, but Jesus Christ I feel like an absolute idiot playing this sometimes. Still, cool designs, fun music. I know this is a good game I just can't play it.
Massively entertaining horizontal shmup. It has a beautiful artstyle inspired by (it seems) Miyazaki’s ‘Castle In the Sky,’ a wonderfully satisfying scoring system, and gameplay that never fails to delight even after 30+ hours of play. The bosses are spectacular little shooter-puzzles, and (IMO) feel a lot fairer than in some of Cave’s previous offerings.
The attention to detail in environments is just absurd, considering you can barely take your eyes off the action for even a second to appreciate them.
Overall, I love it. It could be a 5, but the power-up system feels a little shallow, and I can’t help but think there should be one more pilot thrown in for a little more diversity in play style.
UPDATE: 8/23/21 - Probably put around 50-100 more hours into this to get a 1CC, which I did today (fuck yes). Every time I started it up I was excited to play--it never got old. And I'm STILL excited to keep going for higher scores. Changing this one the 5 it deserves.
The attention to detail in environments is just absurd, considering you can barely take your eyes off the action for even a second to appreciate them.
Overall, I love it. It could be a 5, but the power-up system feels a little shallow, and I can’t help but think there should be one more pilot thrown in for a little more diversity in play style.
UPDATE: 8/23/21 - Probably put around 50-100 more hours into this to get a 1CC, which I did today (fuck yes). Every time I started it up I was excited to play--it never got old. And I'm STILL excited to keep going for higher scores. Changing this one the 5 it deserves.
Horizontal plane and steampunk style shoot em up. Two pilots with different shot types and plane speed, three gunners to choose from with their own shot types. Tapping fire shoots your pilot's attack, holding fires a stream of the gunner's attack while slowing your ship and locking onto enemies. Bombs and destroying enemies can cancel enemy shots. Scoring system relies on shifting between firing types. Great stage, enemy, boss, and background design. Music starts of decent then becomes completely forgettable.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1346801742382415877
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1346801742382415877