Game Discussion: Bullet Soul (JP)

Incomplete Guide to Bulletsoul

  • Al SoureAl Soure309,624
    Posted on 12 April 11 at 09:16, Edited on 17 April 11 at 07:58 by Al Soure
    NOTICE: This post is currently under editing. I'm going to add a few more posts, so I would be grateful if you would hold responding to this post for a while, thanks. smile


    Overview
    Bulletsoul, developed by Tachyonworks and published by 5pb, is a vertical scrolling shoot'em up. The name of Tachyonworks might be unfamiliar even for shoot'em up fans. They did the porting of Ketsui ~Kizuna Jigoku Tachi~ EXTRA to Xbox360, and this is seemingly their first original shoot'em up. Even for their first original work, they did an amazing work here making this a simple but exciting game.

    This guide is going to provide basic information on this game and some common concepts in the game that are bother to cover in each achievement guide. Still I'm not sure whether I would make this guide to completion (as people who've read my Espgaluda guide will easily predict. lol)


    Region Free
    Yes, this game is not region protected, so that you won't need a Japanese Xbox360 console to play.

    It might worth mentioning that some DLC is planned with new playable characters and new achievements. Considering the intention of the publisher to make this game as region free, I suppose the DLC would also be available outside of Japan, but cannot guarantee that.


    Aggressive Playing
    One unique aspect of this game is that it rewards aggressive playing. The enemies shoot a lot of bullets against you, but these bullets can be nullified by destroying the enemy.

    According to the playing manual, by destroying an enemy, all bullets shot by that enemy lose the souls within, and turns pale. Such hollow bullets can't harm you.
    (Well, you know the meaning of the title of this game?)

    So, shoot them before they shoot, is a basic tactics of game. Adding to that, there's another feature to reward aggressive playing, Soul Gage.


    Soul Gauge
    See #1 on the screen shot on p.6 of the playing manual. This is Soul Gauge, showing how aggressive you are playing. Each time you made an aggressive play, the gauge increases. There's a multiplier counter on the top of this gauge, and each time you filled up the Soul Gauge completely, the multiplier increases by one. This multiplier is multiplied on the scores of enemies you destroy. Thus filling up Soul Gauge is essential to make a good score.

    Then what is aggressive play? Your play is considered aggressive when,

    1) You destroyed an enemy in the upper position on the screen. The distance from the top edge of the screen counts here. The nearer you are from the top, the Soul Gauge fills up more quickly. On a rule of thumb, when you are destroying enemies in the upper half of the screen, you can expect a decent increase in the gauge.

    This is a feature giving this game some replay value. Even for the early stages you are quite familiar with, you can still challenge for a more aggressive playing. But be careful about being too aggressive. Fighting in the upper position means you have much less time to deal with enemy bullets or enemies themselves. Knowing enemies' positions and movements first, will be essential for a sound aggressive playing.

    2) You destroyed an enemy in a close distance. Also your shots are more powerful at close range. Of course this comes with a high risk of yourself being defeated, so choose carefully when to make a close ranged attack.


    More Posts
    This ends the introduction of the game. Further posts are available for people who own and are going to play this game. But of course, please take a look anyway if you are interested.

    Detailed Features of the Game
    This section takes a look at some more detailed features of this game's system.

    Controls and Menus
    This section shows the game's controls and menus.

    Achievement Break Down
    This section shows achievements list and divide them into groups.
    We are resting and saving ourselves to be bright - For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball
  • Al SoureAl Soure309,624
    Posted on 12 April 11 at 10:27, Edited on 12 April 11 at 11:39 by Al Soure
    Detailed Features of the Game
    This section is going to have a look at some of the detailed features of this game.


    Game Modes
    The game has two playing modes.

    Normal Mode
    On this mode, you'll play 5 stages in order. Basically the game ends when you finished stage 5, but upon meeting a hard condition, you can proceed to the 2nd loop, playing the 5 stages again in higher difficulty.

    Banchou Mode
    In this mode, you'll try to achieve the highest score within a stage. You select a stage you want to play, then select the character and go!

    Sounds unimpressive? If you just want to play this game from the start to finish, then Banchou mode might not be useful to you. But if you are going to spend some time for the practice to play this game well, then you'll find this mode quite useful.

    Of course, most shoot'em up games provide some sort of training mode for the purpose of practice. The problem of training mode is that in most cases it doesn't count for achievements. Banchou mode is different, it can unlock most achievements. I haven't tested every achievements, but I suspect this mode can unlock all achievements except for a few achievements which are impossible to unlock in Banchou mode to begin with.

    So, if you finished the easier achievements of this game and still want to challenge the harder achievements, I suppose that Banchou mode might become your favorite mode :)

    Basically, the Banchou mode is played under the same rules as the normal mode, but you'll start this mode with your shot fully powered up.

    There is also a training mode, but I doesn't feel a need for it when Banchou mode is available :P


    Stage Award Medals
    This is a more advanced feature of the game. In both normal mode and Banchou mode, your performance will be evaluated. If you played well, medals are awarded. There are three grades of medals, silver, gold and platinum. Getting the platinum requires you to have truly mastered the stage.

    As you might have expected, there are a series of achievements unlocked by earning these medals. Also you have to acquire certain number of medals it you want to proceed to the 2nd loop in the normal mode. Platinum medal gives you 3 points, gold 2 points and silver gives 1 point. You'll need 7 or more points at the end of stage 5 to proceed to the 2nd loop.


    Co-op Play
    The game supports local co-op play with two controllers, but doesn't support online co-op.
    We are resting and saving ourselves to be bright - For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball
  • Al SoureAl Soure309,624
    Posted on 12 April 11 at 12:21
    Controls and Menus
    This section shows the controls of the game and how to navigate the menus.


    Basic Control
    The basic controls of this game is quite simple.

    Movement
    Use left stick or d-pad to move.

    Wide Shot
    Hold down Rapid Fire Button (A button on default) to fire on wide area. You can also repeatedly tap Shot Button to fire wide shot.

    Cross Shot
    Hold down Shot Button (X button on default) to make a concentrated attack on front of you. Your movement speed will come down a bit when you're firing cross shot.

    Bomb
    Press Bomb Button (Y button on default) to drop a bomb. The number of bombs you have is shown on the bomb gauge (see #2 on the screen shot on p.6 of the playing manual).

    You'll get another bomb by picking up a bomb item. These bomb item usually appears before the boss battle on each stage. You can have up to 3 bombs at a time.

    Auto Bomb
    You can choose to use auto bomb feature. While you're using auto bomb feature, a bomb is automatically used when enemy bullets hit you. To turn on auto bomb feature, press Y button on the screen where you choose your character to play. This is a useful feature, but also has some limitations.

    Firstly, the auto bomb feature won't work when an enemy itself hits you. Unfortunately, this happens quite often when you are playing aggressively. Secondly, the Soul Gauge increases at a slower rate when you have auto bomb feature active. So this feature is not intended for a serious playing. Still, it will be useful while you are learning the basics of this game.


    Main Menu
    I suppose the menus are rather easy to navigate, given the English menu items.

    Play Game
    Proceeds to Play Game menu. See the following section.

    Options
    Opens option setting menu. Most are self-explanatory, but some notes might be useful.

    Visual - Type: Rotate the screen.
    Visual - Scale x, Scale y: Adjust the size the game screen is drawn.
    Visual - Portrait: Adjust the brightness the wallpaper is shown.

    Controller: This menu allows you to change the button configuration. Note that the game can hold two settings at the same time. Change Controller - Type to switch between these two settings. This would be useful when you both use a standard controller and an arcade stick (joystick).

    Achievements
    Shows your achievements.

    Storage Change
    As it says.

    Exit
    Go back to the title demo.


    Play Game Menu
    This is where you start your game. You can choose the mode (normal or Banchou) by pressing D-pad right or left. If you see only BulletSoul on the top of the menu, it's normal mode. If there are some Japanese characters, that's the Banchou mode. The menu is mostly the same for both modes.

    Game Start (normal mode only)
    Starts the game and proceeds to character selection.

    Stage Select (Banchou mode only)
    Selects the stage you want to play.

    Training (normal mode only)
    Starts training mode. As I said earlier, I doubt whether this mode will be of some use :P

    Local Ranking
    Sees the local rankings for records you've played on the console.

    Leaderboards
    Access to the online leaderboard. You can use the following buttons to navigate.

    Right / Left bumper: Change character.
    Right / Left trigger: Change stage. Only on Banchou mode leaderboard.
    A-button: If the player has the mark "REPLAY", you can press A-button to download their replay. Please note the replays downloaded from the online leaderboard is NOT stored on your storage device. You have to download them each time you want to watch them.
    X-button: Find your ranking.
    Y-button: Toggle friend filter.
    Start button: See gamercard.
    B-button: Back to previous menu.

    Replay List
    Opens your replay list. You can store up to 100 replays for each of the normal and Banchou mode.

    Back
    Go back to the main menu.


    In-game Pause Menu
    This menu will show when you pressed the start button while playing.

    Resume
    Exit pause menu and resume your play.

    Restart
    Restart the game from the beginning. As far as I know, use of this option doesn't affect achievement unlock. But I'm not sure whether the cumulative counts before restarting are preserved.

    Back to Menu
    Quit the game and go back to main menu. As far as seeing the game, I can only think cumulative counts are discarded when you used this option. So I won't recommend the use of this option unless you really want to quit the game quickly.
    We are resting and saving ourselves to be bright - For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball
  • Das KuhnenDas Kuhnen767,371
    Posted on 13 April 11 at 12:27
    why not submit this as a guide? generally, they're not posted in the forums..
    Volé su asta froma pantalones y algunas aves hecho un nido en ellos.
  • Al SoureAl Soure309,624
    Posted on 17 April 11 at 07:14, Edited on 17 April 11 at 08:26 by Al Soure
    Achievement Break Down
    This section lists the achievements of this game, sorting them into several groups. It might also be useful to check what type of achievements you are still missing.

    It might be worth mentioning that you can also unlock achievements in local co-op play. It seems that many achievements can be also unlocked in co-op. But achievements that have to be done in Banchou mode must be done without co-op, since this mode doesn't support co-op play.


    Storyline Achievements
    These achievements can be unlocked by finishing the normal mode with each of the three characters. Continues are allowed. Please note that some boss might escape if you couldn't defeat it for a long time.
    (17 achievements, 305 gamerscores)

    Bullet Soul (JP)レッドホットスカルThe レッドホットスカル achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsゼンイチでゲームを始める
    (start a game with Zen-ichi)
    Bullet Soul (JP)FA-98 スティンガーThe FA-98 スティンガー achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsユンでゲームを始める
    (start a game with Yun)
    Bullet Soul (JP)タートル10000The タートル10000 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsサダハールでゲームを始める
    (start a game with Sadaharl)
    Bullet Soul (JP)不倶戴天The 不倶戴天 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 24 pointsゼンイチでエンディングをみる
    (finish normal mode with Zen-ichi)
    Bullet Soul (JP)天馬行空The 天馬行空 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 23 pointsユンでエンディングをみる
    (finish normal mode with Yun)
    Bullet Soul (JP)王道楽土The 王道楽土 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 25 pointsサダハールでエンディングをみる
    (finish normal mode with Sadaharl)
    Bullet Soul (JP)キャプテンイーグル撃破The キャプテンイーグル撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points1面中ボスAを撃破する
    (defeat stage 1 mini-boss A)
    Bullet Soul (JP)キャプテンタイタン撃破The キャプテンタイタン撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points1面中ボスBを撃破する
    (defeat stage 1 mini-boss B)
    Bullet Soul (JP)キャプテンフェニックス撃破The キャプテンフェニックス撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 20 points1面ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 1 boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ビッグデカローン撃破The ビッグデカローン撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points2面中ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 2 mini-boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)カイザーナブーン撃破The カイザーナブーン撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 31 points2面ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 2 boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)バギラ撃破The バギラ撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points3面中ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 3 mini-boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ボルボッタ撃破The ボルボッタ撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 43 points3面ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 3 boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)デスマンタ-ラ撃破The デスマンタ-ラ撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points4面中ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 4 mini-boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ブラッディータンポーポ撃破The ブラッディータンポーポ撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 54 points4面ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 4 boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ジェネラルポイズーン撃破The ジェネラルポイズーン撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 points5面中ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 5 mini-boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)メッチャーブレイン撃破The メッチャーブレイン撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 65 points5面ボスを撃破する
    (defeat stage 5 boss)


    Task Achievements
    These achievements requires you to perform some tasks during the play. The difficulties differ with each achievement. Majority of them are quite easy to get, but "100 million in a playthrough" or "lock-on for 30 seconds" have higher TA ratios.
    (10 achievements, 140 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ノーボムクリアThe ノーボムクリア achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 31 pointsボムを使用せずにクリアする
    (no bomb clear)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bomb run out of stock)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ナイスボムThe ナイスボム achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 6 points敵弾に当たる寸前でボムを使用する
    (bombed just in time)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 20 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (10 bonuses within a stage)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 20 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (1000 kills within a stage)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 21 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (speed kill for 70 enemies)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 31 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (10 million bonus for shooting)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 29 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (100 million in a playthrough)
    Bullet Soul (JP)クロスショットの使い手The クロスショットの使い手 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsクロスショットで累計500機撃破する
    (500 kills with cross shot)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ロックの使い手The ロックの使い手 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 7 pointsロックオン可能の機体で1つの対象に30秒ロック攻撃をし続ける
    (lock-on for 30 seconds)


    Bonus Achievements
    This game features many hidden bonuses. Achievements in this section are unlocked by discovering such bonuses. Once you know how it can be unlocked, it's not very difficult to get these hidden bonuses once.
    (8 achievements, 70 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 11 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: destroy in a pair)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 14 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 1 building)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 11 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 2 base split)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 11 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 2 OTSU)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 3 Gunfrog wreck)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 3 Gelge peeling)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 11 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 4 battleship)
    Bullet Soul (JP)Secret AchievementThe Secret Achievement achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 11 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement
    (bonus: stage 5 bridges)


    Cumulative Achievements
    These 2 achievements requires a good number of playthroughs to unlock. The better your play is, the faster you get these.
    (2 achievements, 100 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)稼いだ証The 稼いだ証 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 89 points各種ボーナスを累計で500回獲得する
    (500 bonuses cumulative)
    Bullet Soul (JP)攻めた証The 攻めた証 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 94 points魂ゲージを倍率累計2,000獲得する
    (2,000 mulitplier cumulative)


    Medals Achievements
    At the end of each stage, your play is evaluated and you can get medals if you played well. The achievements in this section are related to these medals. Of these, the first 3 are rather easy to unlock, but to get a platinum medals, you need a good understanding of the game and its stages.
    (4 achievements, 65 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)メダル初獲得The メダル初獲得 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 5 pointsステージクリアのメダルを初獲得する
    (earned your first medal)
    Bullet Soul (JP)シルバーメダル5The シルバーメダル5 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 13 pointsシルバーメダルを5個以上獲得する
    (5 silver medals earned)
    Bullet Soul (JP)ゴールドメダル5The ゴールドメダル5 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 30 pointsゴールドメダル5個以上獲得する
    (5 gold medals earned)
    Bullet Soul (JP)プラチナメダル5The プラチナメダル5 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 54 pointsプラチナメダル5個以上獲得する
    (5 platinum medals earned)


    Banchou Platinum Achievements
    Now these are the advanced level achievements of this game. To unlock them, you need to play Banchou mode and get platinum medal on each stage, showing you have truly mastered that stage. If you want to know how hard they are, just take a look at their ratio (the 5 achievements worth 30 gamescore each, the last is a 0 pointer).
    (6 achievements, 150 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)1面番長The 1面番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 57 points番長モードで1面でプラチナメダル獲得する
    (platinum on Banchou stage 1)
    Bullet Soul (JP)2面番長The 2面番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 58 points番長モードで2面でプラチナメダル獲得する
    (platinum on Banchou stage 2)
    Bullet Soul (JP)3面番長The 3面番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 66 points番長モードで3面でプラチナメダル獲得する
    (platinum on Banchou stage 3)
    Bullet Soul (JP)4面番長The 4面番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 66 points番長モードで4面でプラチナメダル獲得する
    (platinum on Banchou stage 4)
    Bullet Soul (JP)5面番長The 5面番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 67 points番長モードで5面でプラチナメダル獲得する
    (platinum on Banchou stage 5)
    Bullet Soul (JP)プラチナ番長The プラチナ番長 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 0 points番長モードの全てのステージでプラチナメダルを獲得する
    (platinum on all 5 Banchou stages)


    2nd Loop Achievements
    Another group of advanced level achievements. By playing normal mode brilliantly, you might be allowed to play the 2nd loop of this game. These achievements are related to this 2nd loop.
    (3 achievements, 170 gamerscores)
    Bullet Soul (JP)2周目突入The 2周目突入 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 92 points2周目をプレイする
    (proceed to the 2nd loop)
    Bullet Soul (JP)メッチャワール撃破The メッチャワール撃破 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 231 points真ボスを撃破する
    (defeat the True Final Boss)
    Bullet Soul (JP)弾魂The 弾魂 achievement in Bullet Soul (JP) worth 0 pointsノーコンティニューで2周クリアする
    (1cc 2 loops)
    We are resting and saving ourselves to be bright - For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball
  • wBRYwBRY750,975
    Posted on 23 April 12 at 03:20
    Nice guide thanks
  • cooorpsecooorpse797,351
    Posted on 13 August 12 at 17:44
    Nice guide! Just wondering who Version B would help.
  • Al SoureAl Soure309,624
    Posted on 14 August 12 at 14:38
    Thanks! This guide was written well before the Version B, so missing reference to that. In short, Version B makes most of the achievements much easier smile
    We are resting and saving ourselves to be bright - For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball
  • Removed Gamer

    Removed Gamer

    Posted on 08 March 14 at 17:44
    Great guide!
    There are all kinds of stupid people that annoy me but what annoys me most is a lazy argument/Hitch
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