Shapeshifter

[Mishran]

Made a few attempts at playing this game in the past and more recently in the past couple day. Call it pathetic, but I've pretty much given up on the real system and resorted to emulation and save states. The game is really good and most of the gameplay; fighting, movement, bosses, etc. hasn't been too difficult to figure out. The controls seem nice and tight. The bosses patterns and how to beat them so far hasn't been a problem to figure out. The jumping portions of the game seems to be where the real deal breaker lies. So far I've come across two areas where these jumping sections are, one being the cliffs and the other in the mines.

The cliffs were fun trying to get through being that your required to use the panther. It's a longer length sprite which makes the need to position your jumps more important. Make a jump and attempt to land smack in the middle of the next spot. If your off by a fraction of an inch (i.e. if one of the panther's paws hang off the edge), you slip off and most likely off the screen and you lose a life. The process wouldn't be so tedious if you weren't so limited on lives and it is too early in the game to burn through too many.

The mine is the next area that has given me some trouble and where I am at now. Has a pit right in the middle of the lower part of the shaft and boulders falling at a constant pace. Slip or get hit by a rock in mid-jump and into the pit you go. You have to jump from elevator to elevator while avoiding the rocks. I wagered that the golem was necessary for this section, but it moves so slow and its jump range is so short, I can't make it to one of the elevators.

Another point of interest is the temple where the Seeker boss is. First I entered as a human, got called names by the bitch on the throne and killed by her fireball. Second time I chanced the panther. The bitch mention about a cat entering and that its a good sign. I get control back and a couple seconds later she kills me anyway because I wasn't the "man-beast". Ok, two lives down and I figure now that I may have to change from cat to man. Made me crack a smile when i saw her get smashed by the two stone paws...bitch. So, I'm supposed to lose two lives to find out the proper technique to deal with her? Where was I told what to do and by who?

Game is fun, but fairly challenging due to the lack of info on what to do next. Your just supposed to know. Should I be consulting the annoying voice of the fortune teller in the first town? Is their something my dumb ass is missing? Why does this post contain several hundred words? Anyone have some advise on how to handle this game? Or do I just fucking suck? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

[turboswimbz]

Made a few attempts at playing this game in the past and more recently in the past couple day. Call it pathetic, but I've pretty much given up on the real system and resorted to emulation and save states. The game is really good and most of the gameplay; fighting, movement, bosses, etc. hasn't been too difficult to figure out. The controls seem nice and tight. The bosses patterns and how to beat them so far hasn't been a problem to figure out. The jumping portions of the game seems to be where the real deal breaker lies. So far I've come across two areas where these jumping sections are, one being the cliffs and the other in the mines.

The cliffs were fun trying to get through being that your required to use the panther. It's a longer length sprite which makes the need to position your jumps more important. Make a jump and attempt to land smack in the middle of the next spot. If your off by a fraction of an inch (i.e. if one of the panther's paws hang off the edge), you slip off and most likely off the screen and you lose a life. The process wouldn't be so tedious if you weren't so limited on lives and it is too early in the game to burn through too many.

The mine is the next area that has given me some trouble and where I am at now. Has a pit right in the middle of the lower part of the shaft and boulders falling at a constant pace. Slip or get hit by a rock in mid-jump and into the pit you go. You have to jump from elevator to elevator while avoiding the rocks. I wagered that the golem was necessary for this section, but it moves so slow and its jump range is so short, I can't make it to one of the elevators.

Another point of interest is the temple where the Seeker boss is. First I entered as a human, got called names by the bitch on the throne and killed by her fireball. Second time I chanced the panther. The bitch mention about a cat entering and that its a good sign. I get control back and a couple seconds later she kills me anyway because I wasn't the "man-beast". Ok, two lives down and I figure now that I may have to change from cat to man. Made me crack a smile when i saw her get smashed by the two stone paws...bitch. So, I'm supposed to lose two lives to find out the proper technique to deal with her? Where was I told what to do and by who?

Game is fun, but fairly challenging due to the lack of info on what to do next. Your just supposed to know. Should I be consulting the annoying voice of the fortune teller in the first town? Is their something my dumb ass is missing? Why does this post contain several hundred words? Anyone have some advise on how to handle this game? Or do I just fucking suck? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

DO what I Did and seek the advice of the best guide available: Theoldrover .    but seriously in several spots the only thing I could do is memorize everything and jump just right and hope for the best.   I still havn't finished this sucker yet, although I was close to finishing, I lost my save. oh well.

[CrackTiger]

This might be the second best guide available-

http://www.gamefaqs.com/turbocd/563793-shapeshifter-makai-eiyuuden/faqs


Platforming, fighting, etc is pretty forward once you figure out how the game plays, no different than many "classic" games like NES Ninja Gaiden. In Ninja Gaiden, it would be natural to assume that you use your sword to damage enemies. Instead, if an enemy reaches even the tip of your sword, they take no damage, but you do.

In Shapeshifter, the Shadow Cat doesn't float off edges, supported by its back feet. If your front feet go off the edge of a cliff, you fall down. Once you figure this out, the platforming itself isn't too difficult. You'll have to also figure out how each new form and weapon plays.

After finishing a play through to write the walkthrough, I played through the game again in Magic Engine to take screen shots of the bosses for the map on my site. I was surprised to find that I didn't die once (without cheating), simply because I understood how everything plays.

[Mishran]

I've completed it with magic engine last night and went back to the real system to give it a real go. I've been practicing with the panther jumping and can make it across the cliffs without falling now almost every time. Just killed the seeker and am gonna try to make it back to town to save before continuing. I'm making full use of that eclipse healing too.

[esteban]

STATUS: Mishran, I love your initial post because it inspires me to try Shapeshifter again. I only acquired this game in the last few years and have been curious about it since it was released. 

CrackTiger has held a torch for Shapeshifter and Night Creatures over the years...I don't know how I would view these games otherwise (limited time makes me less likely to futz around in Night Creatures unless I have Faith it will be worthwhile...

[Mishran]

Made it past the evil furnace and getting ready to head to the moon. Many restarts and reloads, but progressing slowly. Dumbass me pressed the load button instead of save out of impulse after beating the Seeker, so I had to start over from the previous save.

[Mishran]

Did what I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do. As of 1:46AM EST on June 8, 2013 I finished this mother fucker on real hardware. Took many resets and reloads, but I can finally put it to rest. All the times I attempted and failed in the past, I finally did it. Wish I could say I was able to tear through it like BT without dying, but I'm no hardcore gamer and this 34 year old body doesn't have the reflexes it used too.

Wish I could post picture proof (took a pic of the end screen, system, etc.), but my only means of Internet is my iPhone currently and I can't seem to post pics that aren't ginormous in size as I can't figure out how to resize in Image Shack on this damn phone.

Well, it's time for my old fogey victory nap, I'm fucking beat.

[esteban]

Did what I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do. As of 1:46AM EST on June 8, 2013 I finished this mother fucker on real hardware. Took many resets and reloads, but I can finally put it to rest. All the times I attempted and failed in the past, I finally did it. Wish I could say I was able to tear through it like BT without dying, but I'm no hardcore gamer and this 34 year old body doesn't have the reflexes it used too.

Wish I could post picture proof (took a pic of the end screen, system, etc.), but my only means of Internet is my iPhone currently and I can't seem to post pics that aren't ginormous in size as I can't figure out how to resize in Image Shack on this damn phone.

Well, it's time for my old fogey victory nap, I'm fucking beat.

Congrats on accomplishing this with real hardware. 

ASIDE: There are a bunch of apps that can resize a photo (amongst other things) for you.

Folks seem to like Photogene, but I really haven't used it much.

ALSO: Sometimes resizing is just an extra feature thrown into an app (an FTP app, for example, throws it in the toolbox). I use FTPontheGO, but I'm not sure the algorithm to resize photos is optimal...a dedicated photo app like Photogene might make more sense.

[roflmao]

Congrats, Mishran!  It sounds like I'd never have the patience to finish it.  I do love the overall look of the game (from what I've played) and the smoooooth parallax scrolling is impressive.

[Mishran]

/imagendla.jpg

This is the best I could do, hopefully it suffices. I thought it seemed fitting since it shows him in his victory pose. I had to use my handy spare 13" since my little girl was occupying my big screen.

I used a simple free resizer and seems to do ok, but if the image is still too large I can reduce it or remove it.

Congrats, Mishran!  It sounds like I'd never have the patience to finish it.  I do love the overall look of the game (from what I've played) and the smoooooth parallax scrolling is impressive.

Yes, the game looks great and has a lot of extra animation in it you'd never really expect to see in a game like this. The panther blinking when you stand still, hair blowing in the wind, the dragon's chest compressing when you shoot showing what looks like its rib cage under the skin, etc. Parallax is definitely impressive. A lot of effort was put into this game and it shows. The slipping off ledges seems more like a feature than a flaw, adding extra challenge to the game.

Patience is key with this game. If your like me, you'll find yourself waiting on the healing eclipse to come many times over before finishing the game, but it's a great help in tight spots. It's worth taking the effort to play through it as it bring a great feeling of satisfaction when you see those credits rolling. Most important thing is to SAVE and do it often. After each boss fight, after collecting some gems for the transformation, collecting gold for weapons and armor, picking up power up orbs for you different forms, etc.

Frustrating and fun at the same time, I'm glad I decided to take another shot at it on real hardware. Helped that I had an idea what I was doing after playing through it in ME first. Thanks for the congrats guy. Makes the effort even more satisfying.

[RuninRuder]

The slipping off ledges seems more like a feature than a flaw, adding extra challenge to the game.

Yes, the programmers of the game intended for it to play the way it does so that it would be a true challenge.  I love how it plays.  Interestingly enough, the producer of the game didn't.

Here's an article that contains interviews with a couple of guys involved in the making of the game and some info on the SS design doc:

pcengine-fx.com/reviews/duomazov/2010/03/lords-of-turbo-pantheon-icoms-dave.html

[allyourblood]

Congratulations, Mishran! I love the feeling you get when you finally stomp a game; even better when it's a game you've been playing for months (years, decades) and you finally beat it. Great job!

[Mishran]

I just read the article. Manages to give you more appreciation for the game as well as the "what if" of what might have been. Thanks a lot for pointing it out. Pretty cool that you guys were able to locate and converse with a couple of the folks behind the game.

[Psycho Punch]

Wait a minute, Gary Gygax was a satanist? Isn't that just general bullshit rumors because of religious zealots and their opinions about RPGs? If it's true, wow.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is that I thought Dangerous Journeys was a TTi project, not NEC USA.

[roflmao]

Great read.  Thanks for sharing it!

Sad to hear they canned Dangerous Journeys because of their impression of Gygax.

[esteban]

OK, I NEED HELP: who here has the demos/songs from Shapeshifter...

If you'd like to hear the original version of "Slipping into Nowhere," demos that show how the song evolved, and the incredible 2010 remake, you can download them at http://sites.google.com/site/zipnickyouth/

I thought I saved this, but I can't find it on my computer. Thanks in advance. 

[tggodfrey]

I really enjoyed this game.  Sure it has it tough points but I found it wasnt nearly as hard as I remembered it when it came out.

I would play through every boss using whatever continues i needed then i would restart and complete the boss with no lives lost, biggest trick i found was hiding in the towns waiting for the equinox to refill the life meter.  It really wasnt hard at all.  I did find the timing of the Moon a bit tricky.