I have yet to beat a Touhou game on Hard or Lunatic, either, not because I can't, but because I don't feel like dedicating the time to a game I've already beaten on Normal, really. And I'm being fully serious here-- Mushi bosses are easier than the stages themselves, no matter what kind of experience you have.
If you're really that convinced that you're a 'newbie', go for ESPGaluda for now. It's much easier and more accessible overall.
As for Mushi: Yes, it's best if you memorize where enemies spawn. It's vital, actually, if you want to keep that number up.
Stage 3: Oh, Stage 3. So simple, yet so hard at the same time. A good 90% of the stage is slowly creeping along the bottom or sides of the screen, and everything will miss you. The last 10% is the challenging part. As for the part near the end of the stage. Hold your autofire button down and stream the enemy bullets while dodging the waves from the giant enemy. It's really hard to explain, but once you see the openings and practice it, it's not so bad.
As for the end of the stage with the 1up: First, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TRACE OPTIONS. THIS IS IMPORTANT AND MAKES THE WHOLE THING EASIER. Formation options may make the part before this piece and the beginning of stage 4 easier, but you'll most likely destroy the core before you get the 1up if you use Formation.
The easy way to get the 1up: Wait in the center of the screen before all of the body parts start to flash. Then fly over to the right (or left, your preference I suppose) and destroy the 4 body parts. Then go over to the other side and destroy the other 4 parts. Then destroy the core. 1up get.
Don't be intimidated by the bullet hell here. To be fully honest, the most dangerous part of this is the larger, straight moving bullets, because you'll fly right into them if you panic. The smaller waves that spawn over and over are all aimed at you, which means a slight tap in a different direction will make them all miss. Just don't stay there too long, or the next wave will aim right at you again.
Always leave yourself an opening. When you do it once or twice, you'll rarely screw it up.
The hard, but stylish way to do it: Start in the center and tap your A button slowly at a steady pace, around 4 times a second. When all of the body parts flash, tap C as fast as you can for as long as you can. This will make your counter skyrocket at an insane pace. I won't explain how this works right now, because it's long and complicated. Then destroy all 4 parts on one side, holding C while tapping A. This destroys them faster. When you've destroyed them all on one side, work your way over to the other quickly while tapping C at a medium pace. This will keep your counter up without dealing too much damage to the core. Once at the other side, destroy all 4 parts, then destroy the core. 1up get.
Focus mode: You can have a pseudo-focus mode when you hold A to get into focus mode, then hold C and tap A quickly. This will keep your options closer, deal extra damage, and you'll enter Focus mode faster this way. Simply hold A down-- you don't even have to let go of C.
Shot types:
S-Power: Narrow and very powerful, and you move stupid fast. I hate this shot type, actually. It's fine in Original, but it's just ridiculous in Maniac and above.
W-Power: Very wide, and you move slowly.
M-Power: A mix of the two. Slightly more powerful and narrow than W-Power, and slightly slower than S-power.
Believe it or not, W-Power is the absolute best scoring shot type in the game, and it's very well-liked. While S- and M-Powers allow you to shoot faster and rack up a counter faster, they do not have the major benefit W-Power gives you, and that is the ability to skyrocket. Skyrocketing is the term used to describe how skilled players can make the counter jump extremely high against midbosses and certain enemies, which in turn allows you to build your score counter to something insanely high. Score-wise, it's by far and away the best shot type in the game-- not to mention the slow movement is a godsend in the the thick bullet hell. However, skyrocketing only matters in Maniac and Ultra modes. Use whatever you want in Original, and use S-Power most of the time in Arrange.
Protip: Don't worry about the yellow gems on the ground. They're worth next to nothing in the long run in Maniac and above. Neither are the gems you get from destroying enemies. In Mushihimesama, your main source of points, believe it or not, are the tiny popcorn enemies you kill by the dozen. See, everything in Mushihimesama has a very low base point value. Because of this, you want your counter to be as high as possible at all times, and you don't want it to drop. You may think one or two popcorn enemies may not be worth anything on their own, and you'd be right-- they aren't. However, when you're killing a constant stream of them at a x30,000+ counter? That adds up, and it adds up
fast. The key to keeping your counter up lies solely on keeping your option-lasers on enemies at all times, and point-blank everything you can, especially big enemies. Sometimes it's better to not directly attack some larger enemies and let your lasers slowly kill them. This will not only boost your counter higher, but it will also keep your counter up while you're waiting for more popcorn swarms to show up.
If your only interest in scoring is to get the two extends, the best advice I can give you is to learn how to get a large counter boost by skyrocketing the stage 2 midboss, and carrying that (and raising it, if you can) through the rest of the stage. No, it is not easy. Yes, you will be very frustrated with it for a while. But it's a skill worth learning.
Here, watch these videos. maco gives a great pattern to follow. Don't be disappointed if you can't even get near his score, because you can't, and neither can I, by normal means. He's using Rapid Fire in these videos, which basically translates to skyrocketing perfection, something only the most dextrous can do by hand.
Stage 2Stage 3That's all I can really say for now. Just keep at it.
I tried looking up some information about Giga Wing 2 just out of curiosity, and I stumbled across its OST on youtube. It's... really awesome, like leagues better than GW1's (even though I also like its music). The atmosphere is also completely different. All the overly dramatic music, celestial imagery, floating warships, it was like Final Fantasy in shmup form or something.
So is it supposed to be any good(GW 2, that is)? I dunno, I might have to think about getting a Dreamcast someday. Gunbird 2, Gigawing 1/2, Mars Matrix, it's just got too much good stuff. I would certainly be more bang for my buck than getting a fucking 360.
But it would also mean I have to abandon my precious keyboard. D:
Oh, hell yes. Giga Wing 2 is really, really good. And if you're planning on getting a Dreamcast, they really aren't that expensive anymore. Mars Matrix is probably one of the most expensive games on your list, and will easily cost more than the system itself. You're better off sticking to MAME for that one and buying a stick for your Dreamcast instead, because Dreamcast controllers suck.
However, the 360, even if you don't go for a Japanese console, has Mushi Futari, Raiden Fighters Aces, Raiden IV, Ikaruga, and Triggerheart Exelica (which is a game I often forget that I fucking ADORE). If it were my call, I'd say go for the 360, because there are games there that you can't play on MAME, where most Dreamcast shmups, you can. Not only that, but Raiden Fighters Aces and Raiden IV are super-cheap and really accessible. Ikaruga and Triggerheart Exelica are XBLA games, $10 a piece. There are a handful of other shmups on XBLA that I might be forgetting too, but let's not forget the massive selection of other arcade games on there too. I may be a huge shmup fan, but I love other arcade games a lot, too
