Bullet Hell Games: Help and Discussion

[Durxom]

Ok, so just to get things started.
For those who do not know. Bullet Hell games are basically akin to your old fashion shoot'em ups, where you fly around in/as your vehicle/person and shoot at enemies coming down at you and collect upgrades and fight bosses, but now with an added kick. Instead of just having to deal with the enemy units and their bullets(which can get tense at times), you have to deal more with bullets....lots of bullets...so any bullets of different shades that you might go cross-eyed.

~An example of a bullet hell game in action~​

[hr]
With that said and out of the way, now onto the help and discussion. I haven't played many bullet hell games before(only 1, a Touhou game but I can't remember which), but I went and finally found and picked up Castle of Shikigami 3 for the Wii today, after hearing some good things about it.

Now I know I'm not that good at them (I only was able to beat Easy Mode, and even that took some luck), but it really looks and sounds like something I want to get into. So, to the people who have played these types of games here on the Escapist, what are some beginner tips and hints you can give out to someone new to the genre?

Also, for added discussion value, for those who have played these types of games, what was your favorite series/game and why?

And for those who haven't even tried them out or heard of them before, does this sound like something you would want to go out and try?

 

[Grygor]

First tip, and probably the most important thing: get a good grasp on your hitbox (the region that actually registers collisions with enemy projectiles). In bullet hell games, the player's hitbox is significantly smaller that the onscreen graphic indicates. The game will feel much harder that it really is if you're trying to keep the whole character away from enemy projectiles instead of just the very small part of it that actually takes damage.

 

[ward.]

Some advice for touhou games in general; (you probably started with perfect cherry blossom, as it's recommended for beginners) don't play it on easy mode.

Easy mode essentially sets you up to never improve which will make the game take longer and kill your enthusiasm for it.

 

[Durxom]

-snip-

-snip-

Thank you both for the information....I can't believe I didn't think of that hitbox thing..especially with all the fighting games I play x-x

Well, the game I got seems to have tons of modes, but so far I've just been trying to do the best I can in Normal. As for the Touhou question...I believe the game I played was.... -checks Wikipedia-....The Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil?...I think

 

[Tallim]

First tip, and probably the most important thing: get a good grasp on your hitbox (the region that actually registers collisions with enemy projectiles). In bullet hell games, the player's hitbox is significantly smaller that the onscreen graphic indicates. The game will feel much harder that it really is if you're trying to keep the whole character away from enemy projectiles instead of just the very small part of it that actually takes damage.

This. Especially in Touhou games where the hitbox is in general the tiny square in the middle of the character. You can get away with a lot because of that. I got absolutely obsessed with playing Shoot The Bullet at one point. That was a crazy game.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Don't continue ever. If you lose all your lives just turn off the game. Otherwise you'll never get better.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Since you you're playing Shiki 3 I might also suggest commiting suicide a few times at the start for more bombs. HT MAX is just ridiculous for getting good scores.

 

[Nutcase]

Don't continue ever. If you lose all your lives just turn off the game. Otherwise you'll never get better.

Seconded. This is the one thing a beginner actually needs to know.

I own a good number of shoot'em ups including a couple of Touhous (which I haven't had the time to play). I strongly prefer Cave games.

 

[s0m3th1ng]

Anyone remember one where one of the upgrades had you shooting banana-shaped projectiles?

 

[ModReap]

1.keep your eyes on the ship, and the bullets near the ship.
2.memorize patterns.

That's all I got for tips. Love love love bullet hell games .

 

[Durxom]

Just would like to thank everyone again for all of the tips. =]
Some of these are pretty simple and I can't believe that I didn't think of some of them myself, but ya...

Still haven't gotten past that one part that I got stuck, but I'll get there. Though some of the patterns hurt my eyes after a while x-x need to work on focus..