Yes
I'm looking into running this. I've got the mechanics of the game figured out to my satisfaction for now: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlQn8DYLTR-hdDBuVGZCT0NRTlp0Qzd4eGVyUHQ3MUE#gid=0
There are some very important differences in this game versus its predecessor (besides that it's not as good)
Attack damage is greatly reduced - Your primary attack is throwing cards. While you can increase the fire rate slightly with the D-pad it's 1 damage per card. Upgraded cards don't do more damage. With the first upgrade your firing speed is actually reduced slightly. You get your firing rate back with improved range with the third upgrade. You lose your card upgrades at the end of each stage. The third upgrade is probably going to be necessary to attack certain bosses from certain angles.
Magic Wand - This now does way more damage than the cards and is the best way of dealing damage to stationary enemies
Partners - Pretty much everything that partners do is useless in this game, their attacks, the magic attack. The only exception is the partner bomb attack which is the best thing ever.
Speaking of partner bomb attacks - Each partner has a bomb attack. When you use the bomb attack the partner respawns just over 10 seconds later. This is the only way to do decent damage in this game so you can't afford to miss. Each partner bomb attack does 4 damage every 4 frames. If you try to attack a boss while the bomb is doing damage, the partner bomb attack does less damage. Each partner bomb attack has slightly different range. Rocky's bomb attack is by far the best because his stays on the screen the longest. This makes him the partner of choice. It's also convenient because you can select him from the start.
Difficulty Differences
I'm about to test health, but on hard the boss attacks move faster and they are generally more aggressive. Also certain enemies will fire projectiles at you that ordinarily wouldn't on normal. You don't have health to just throw away in this game and you have to play very defensively on hard.
Lag Management
This game lags ALL THE TIME. It's not always faster to stop and kill enemies, but it's often a very good idea. Just running past things is not the fastest way to go in this game. Lag management is going to require a ton of planning for this game. It even lags with no enemies on the screen.
I finished this game on hard yesterday and I'm working on figuring out the boss AI patterns today.
There are some very important differences in this game versus its predecessor (besides that it's not as good)
Attack damage is greatly reduced - Your primary attack is throwing cards. While you can increase the fire rate slightly with the D-pad it's 1 damage per card. Upgraded cards don't do more damage. With the first upgrade your firing speed is actually reduced slightly. You get your firing rate back with improved range with the third upgrade. You lose your card upgrades at the end of each stage. The third upgrade is probably going to be necessary to attack certain bosses from certain angles.
Magic Wand - This now does way more damage than the cards and is the best way of dealing damage to stationary enemies
Partners - Pretty much everything that partners do is useless in this game, their attacks, the magic attack. The only exception is the partner bomb attack which is the best thing ever.
Speaking of partner bomb attacks - Each partner has a bomb attack. When you use the bomb attack the partner respawns just over 10 seconds later. This is the only way to do decent damage in this game so you can't afford to miss. Each partner bomb attack does 4 damage every 4 frames. If you try to attack a boss while the bomb is doing damage, the partner bomb attack does less damage. Each partner bomb attack has slightly different range. Rocky's bomb attack is by far the best because his stays on the screen the longest. This makes him the partner of choice. It's also convenient because you can select him from the start.
Difficulty Differences
I'm about to test health, but on hard the boss attacks move faster and they are generally more aggressive. Also certain enemies will fire projectiles at you that ordinarily wouldn't on normal. You don't have health to just throw away in this game and you have to play very defensively on hard.
Lag Management
This game lags ALL THE TIME. It's not always faster to stop and kill enemies, but it's often a very good idea. Just running past things is not the fastest way to go in this game. Lag management is going to require a ton of planning for this game. It even lags with no enemies on the screen.
I finished this game on hard yesterday and I'm working on figuring out the boss AI patterns today.
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