Armed Formation F

[Sinistron]

Wondering what people think about this game...

I personally think it's underrated- everything I've read on it is negative.
Here's some of my thoughts-

1) It's tough- but not in a way that makes me not want to play it- more so in a way that makes me want to go home- pop it in and get a little further.  It's definitely fun.

2) the chip music is GREAT.  Love the music on stage 1 and it starts to take on an Iremish feel in following levels.

3) Speaking of Irem- stage three really feels like it would've been right at home in Image Fight. 

4) The levels are long- but rewarding.  It seems like a new weapon is introduced each level- I'm only on level four at the moment and haven't seen a new weapon on this level yet- but level 1 has side sweeping beams and then a laser weapon is introduced, level two introduces homing missiles, and then powerful diagonal beams which continue into stage 3- each weapon gets powered up three times- unless your previous weapon was powered at full- then the new one is automatically strong.

5) I read on vgden that the ship is too slow and half your time is spent looking for speed-ups- I don't find this to be the case at all.  Speed-ups come fairly often- and I've found that getting more than ONE can prove hazardous- very easy to slam right into a wall if you're quicker than that.

6) No continues! I like it! 

7) The levels don't seem mindless at all- they're structured quite nice- and there's little surprises- take the level one boss for instance- I've alway fought him from the bottom of the screen- and he can prove tricky- from this angle you have to smother his spread shots with a forward projected option pod and then move along with him to keep it up- but it doesn't always work so smoothly- if he gets that shot through it can throw you off and you just might smash into the rock trying to avoid a corner shot...  however- I found out just last night that if you fight this boss from above- that his entire attack is different.  Gone are the spread shots- instead he shoots these weak little slugs at you and you can destroy them easily by turning your pods down and blasting away- it's a surefire way to destroy this boss each time.

8- The option pods are really cool if you have the formation f power-ups- you can shoot them far ahead of you or behind you- it's perfect for destroying enemies at a distance in hard to reach spots- and it definitely helps out big time in stage 3.

9) Level 4.  They must have done this on purpose- it'd be an easy board- easier than stage 3- if it wasn't for the goddamn colors.  The background here is done in variations of bright pink- which makes the pink enemy shots hard as hell to discern.  You can see them- but you're mostly straining to- and while doing that you're likely to miss something else happening.

10) as I'm only on level 4 at the moment I'm not sure exactly where this game falls into the canon of hucard verts (rating wise)- but at the moment I'd say somewhere between Final Blaster and Image Fight...

[esteban]

Finally.

I've promoted this game in the past, but folks generally didn't find it as appealing as I did. "Mediocre, at best" was their response, but I thought it had some Toaplan-esque charm to it.

I consider Armed Formation F a challenging game, and it took me quite some time to beat it. I actually still have some notes written somewhere for a FAQ / strategy guide that I was going to write (some of the later bosses--a square computer chip thing?-- has a set pattern of appearing/disappearing, and knowing this pattern makes things much easier).

It's been a long time, but I think there is a parade of bosses at the end of the game--I don't recall if they have new patterns, though.

It was (and probably still is) a cheap HuCard to pick up, which is another appealing aspect when recommending games. Or when giving them as a gift!

I've been catching up on the past few months of posts and I noticed that you were praising Final Blaster. Considering your feelings towards Final Blaster, I'm not surprised that you like Armed Formation F. Personally, I really like old skool shoot-em-ups, so it is hard for me to be objective when it comes to evaluating the Final Blasters and Armed Formation Fs of the world.

If you haven't checked it out already, I suggest you try Mega Zone (Konami, Arcade). It's a fave of mine, and it falls into this "crusty old vertical shoot-em-up" niche that we find ourselves in.

I probably won't ever have the $$$ to buy Terra Cresta HuCard, but I've been really curious about that, as well.

[Sinistron]

I like Terra Cresta II quite a bit- sadly however- it's one of the games that got lost in the mix of a flood of games I bought at the time- so I haven't played it as much as I should- I'll probably get back to it soon- it's got a nice ship formation system and the backgrounds are gorgeous- perhaps the best backgrounds I've seen for a hu vert...

Armed F- Boss rush, eh?  Nice.  Do you happen to remember how many levels there are?

[jboypacman]

Might have to pick this one up sometime and give it a try.

[esteban]

I can't remember the number of levels, but it was at least 6. Wow, that wasn't too helpful! Your welcome.

I was actually trying to find my old notes/notebook, but I remember sketching some things and I can't for the life of me remember why I would be sketching screenshots (probably to figure out patterns for enemies/bosses).

Anyway, they were hilariously horrible renditions of the game.

Might have to pick this one up sometime and give it a try.

Yes, if you are adventurous. And you promise you won't throw your controller when you die, repeatedly, at the same point.

[Sinistron]

And you promise you won't throw your controller when you die, repeatedly, at the same point.

lol- the bit with the steam coming out of the rocks in stage II?

[jboypacman]

I promise not to throw my controller Esteban.