Game: Do Don Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou

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Game: Do Don Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou
Platform: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Cave
Publisher: Arika

Author: Slateman ([email protected])
Version: 1.1
Date: 15th September, 2003

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INTRO / OVERVIEW
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DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou is the 4th chapter in the Don Pachi series. The
Dai-Ou-Jou suffix translates to "Peaceful Death" from what I am told, and
of course the rest is "Angry Bee Boss". According to the Shmup forums,
the title may also be slang meaning, "War" or "Warfare" or even "Gun Fight",
all of which would be relevant with the content of the game.

Since this game will likely never see a US release, this FAQ is based on the
Japanese version of the game. In addition, this covers the PS2 port of
the arcade game and does not cover the Black Label version released later
in arcades. I've never seen that version.

Just a FYI, I am in no way an excellent DDP3 player. I die a lot, can't
chain entire stages and certainly cannot one-credit any shmup. However,
the gameplay in the DDP series is my favorite and my lack of skill doesn't
mean I can't enjoy the game. Currently, my high score is around 18 million
and my max chain somewhere around 500. I know many people can destroy
those numbers, so there's no need to email me your high scores. Check
the forums for such discussions.

VERY IMPORTANT:
There are a number of excellent resources on the web covering this game,
though some are in Japanese. In particular though, I have utilized the
assistance of the following sources in creating this document. Therefore,
I take little credit for some of the content herein. Please visit these
other sites for more info. They've done a great job.

Beepreying http://www.shmups.com/beepreying
Aphrodite's Capture Guide http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~inu/daioujyou/
Shmups Forum dynamic5.gamespy.com/%7Eshmups/shmupsforum/
Turn.To/Vertical http://turn.to/Vertical
Babelfish (to translate) http://babelfish.altavista.com/
Bee Storm (my small DDP site) http://www.slateman.net/beestorm/

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GAME HISTORY
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Don Pachi Arcade, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn
DoDon Pachi Arcade, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn
DoDon Pachi 2: Bee Storm Arcade (developed by IGS, not Cave)
DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou Arcade, Sony Playstation 2

Don Puchi Cellular Phone
DoDon Puchi Cellular Phone
Don Pin Cellular Phone (Pinball Game)

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SHIPS AND DOLLS
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You have a choice between 2 Ships and 3 Dolls before beginning a game. Each
combination provides a different type of game by altering your speed, laser
power, bomb quantity, etc. Here are the full details.

SHIP TYPE
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A Ship = Narrow normal shot, Faster ship
B Ship = Wide normal shot, Slower ship

DOLL TYPE
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SHOTIA (Shot Type)
Normal Shot = Wide / Strong
Laser = Weak
Speed (w/ laser) = Very Slow
Shot Decrease = 1 Level
Laser Decrease = Minimum
Bomb Start = 3 Bombs
Max Bombs = 6 Bombs

LEINYAN (Laser Type)
Normal Shot = Narrow / Weak
Laser = Strong
Speed (w/ laser) = Slow
Shot Decrease = Minimum
Laser Decrease = 1 Level
Bomb Start = 2 Bombs
Max Bombs = 4 Bombs

EXY (Expert Type)
Normal Shot = ? / Strong
Laser = Strong
Speed (w/ laser) = ?
Shot Decrease = 1 Level
Laser Decrease = 1 Level
Bomb Start = 1 Bomb
Max Bombs = 2 Bombs

What this all means:
Normal Shot = The width and strength of your normal bullets.
Laser = Strength while using the laser
Speed (w/ laser) = All dolls lose speed when using the laser.
Shot Decrease = When you die, the level your regular shot decreases.
Laser Decrease = When you die, the level your laser shot decreases.
Bombs = Number of bombs you start with & the max you can carry

This is a lot of information to consider and therefore you really should
simply test out ships and dolls to find out which suits you better. Many
players seem to base their ship selection on the Shot/Laser Decrease attribute.
By dying with Leinyan, your Shot Power goes down to zero and you will need to
collect Power-Ups to regain your shot power whereas Shotia loses more Laser
Power. Exy players only decrease one Shot & Laser level when dying.

On the other hand, novice players may prefer using a doll that allows more
bombs. Exy may prove better when dealing w/ lost Shot/Laser Power, but Bombs
may help save your life in tough situations and Exy can only carry 2.

Finally, speed plays a large role when I'm playing, as Shotia will become
VERY slow while applying the laser and that's something I have issues with.

Ultimately part of the fun of the game is experimenting and finding your own
style of play. All 6 combinations have their own pluses and minuses.

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CHAINS
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Chaining in DDP3 follows the general guidelines found in prior DDP games.

In the upper left hand corner of the screen you will find the GP (Get Point)
Meter. Your goal is to keep this meter filled at all times. There are 2 ways
in which you can accomplish this:

1. Causing Explosions
2. Keeping your laser on an enemy

Each enemy you destroy fills up the GP meter a set amount. After that
explosion, the meter will slowly decrease. When the meter empties, your combo
ends. How quickly this happens depends on how much the meter is filled by
each specific enemy, but ultimately you have a brief window to keep your combo
going.

In addition to simply destroying enemies, you can keep your GP Meter filled by
maintaining laser contact with an enemy. By doing so the meter will fill up a
small amount but will stay at that level for the duration of the laser contact.
Once that enemy is destroyed however, move on quickly! Since the GP Meter is
only filled up a small amount when applying the laser, it will decrease very
quickly after the explosion.

Note that some enemies require more firepower and therefore just shooting them
will not keep your meter filled. This is why I say that causing explosions is
how to keep your meter filled. Simply shooting them (non-laser) will make you
lose the chain. So, either cause constant explosions or keep your laser
on an enemy or location (i.e. the walls in level 5) and the chain will
continue.

When using Hypers (more info on Hypers below), the level of GP meter energy
awarded during laser contact is increased, and meter decay in general *seems*
to be slowed.

Finally, by using a Hyper, your GP meter will fill up entirely as if you had
just destroyed an enemy. This can help to maintain your combo for those brief
areas where no enemies are. Apparently Stage 4 has an area like this where
you cannot chain the entire level without the use of a Hyper.

Many thanks to Mode 7 of the Shmups forum for additional info regarding the
GP meter.

It has also been mentioned that dying does not necessarily mean you will
lose your chain. This is true during Boss battles in particular where
your combo will simply count down if you die/lose contact.

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HYPERS
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Hypers are an interesting addition to the gameplay engine and offer several
pros/cons. First off though, there is a vertical gauge next to the GP meter
in the upper left hand corner. This is your Hyper Gauge. Fill this up and an
icon will float from the top of the screen. You can collect and store up to 5
of these.

When you have a Hyper stored, you cannot use a Bomb. By pressing the bomb
button you will unleash the Hyper. You can use the Hyper until the meter
runs out, or you can cancel it with a bomb.

PROS:
----

1. Hit count will increase rapidly as does point totals
2. A very brief invincibility window (more if fighting a boss)
3. Obviously, your shot & laser power increase tremendously, perhaps up to
+25% laser/shot power per Hyper item used!

CONS:
----

1. Speed & Quantity of enemy bullets increase drastically.
2. When Hyper runs out, quantity returns to normal but speed remains (*)

* Bullet speed will remain elevated until

A) You use a bomb
B) You lose a life

Increasing Your Hyper Meter
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There are 3 ways to fill up your Hyper Gauge. They are as follows:

1. Continuing Combo Hit Total
2. Collecting Bee Icons when your combo is above 20 hits
3. Applying the laser to enemies.

It is suggested that you should not use Hypers during boss battles after
level 2 as the difficulty does not warrant the reward. In addition,
several expert players have stated that it is better to use no more than
one Hyper at a time.

When your hyper gauge becomes filled, all the bullets on-screen will disappear
and will be drawn to you. During a boss battle however, the Hyper icon will
not float on the screen at this point. I believe that by using a bomb in
this situation, you can release the Hyper icon.

In addition, Bee Icons fill up your Hyper Gauge less when you have a Hyper
activated.

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BEE ICONS
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As with prior titles, each stage contains 10 hidden Bee Icons. In order
to reveal these, you will need to use your laser over the region in which
they are hidden. These may be seen flickering on their own, or when a
bullet of your passes through the area.

Collecting these icons are not only beneficial to your score, but as
mentioned above, they help raise your Hyper Meter (when your combo is over
20 hits). In addition, for those looking to access the 2nd loop, you will
need to collect all 10 icons on at least 3 stages, without dying. More on
this below (FAQ question # 2)

The points offered by these icons has changed from earlier games. I am
told that the formula is as follows:

1,000 x # of Combo Hits

By collecting all 10, you will get a large X2 multiplier which then makes it

1,000 x # of combo Hits x 2

However you cannot die in the middle, you must collect all 10 with one life.

Finally, if you can collect all the icons in a level, the next level will yield
more points. Every subsequent stage will add 1,000 points to this formula.

2,000 x # of combo hits (then 3,000 then 4,000, etc)

If you can manage to collect every bee on every stage and make it through to
level 5 of the 2nd loop, you will be receiving 10,000 points per bee.

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BASIC FAQS
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1. How Do You Access the 2nd Loop?

To enter the second round, satisfy one of these conditions:

1. Die less than two times.
2. Use the bomb less than three times.
3. Get a bee item perfect game in three of the five stages.

Bee Item Perfect Game = collecting all 10 Bee Icons throughout a
stage without dying.

After the final boss is defeated you are presented with a message
asking you whether or not you want to continue on to the 2nd loop.

Left Option = YES
Right Option = NO

The 2nd loop is the same as the first, but FASTER and with an
obscene amount of bullets. Like prior games, if you can make it
to the end without losing too many lives, you'll be 'treated' to
an additional final boss. Beat all of this and get yourself the
True Ending

The GP meter depletes slower than the first loop thereby assisting
in keeping your combo going.

2. Why Does My PS2 Freeze Up While Loading Death Label?

If you are running the game with a swap technique (Swap Magic,
GameShark, Action Replay, etc.), there's a chance that you may
encounter problems. From what I've seen, the Death Label portion
of the game is actually a separate .exe file and sometimes this may
cause your PS2 to hang on a black screen.

Suggestion: Get your PS2 modded or stop playing copied games.

3. What is the difference in Display Options?

You are presented with several video options when playing DDP3.

Lever Set:

Yoko - This is normal TV viewing
Tate - This is for those who wish to flip their TVs on it's side
(this can be dangerous, please see the following for more info:)
http://turn.to/Vertical

Monitor Mode:

Yoko Anti Normal TV viewing
Yoko Normal TV viewing - Crisper yet more pixelly
Tate Hosei Flipped TV mode
Tate Flipped TV mode - Crisper, stretched more vertically

Monitor Type:

4:3 Normal TV mode, but is stretched from the arcade original
16:9 Arcade version but is much narrower on a TV

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Game Modes
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The following are the modes and menus found in the PS2 port of this game.
Don't know why you might want this listed, but the Simulation mode has a TON
of options.

Does anyone know what the 'Rank' part of Simulation Setting is?

Arcade Mode
Game Start
No Bullet Mode
Game Option
Difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard)
Ship Stock (1-5 Ships)
Extend (50/100 mil, 5/20 mil, none)
Vibration (on, off)
Default
Replay Save (on/off)

Simulation
Setting
Player Setting
Difficulty
Player Type (A,B)
Doll Type (Shotia, Leinyan, Exy)
Ship Stock (1-99/Free)
Extend (10/30, 50/100, 5/20, none)
Simulation Setting
Start Point (Stage First, Boss)
Death (Off, On)
Rank (Default, ???)
Max Bomb (Default, 2, 3, 4)
Stock Bomb (Default, 1, 2, Maximum)
Hyper (Off, On)
Hyper Time (0%-100%)
Hyper Stock (1-5)
Hyper Gauge (0-500%)
Default
Parameter Setting
Maxi Level (1-3)
Maxi Bomb Count (1-10)
Hyper Count (0-15)
Laser Level (0-4)
Shot Level (0-4)
Powerup Item (0-8)
Default
Setting Load
Stage Select (1-1...1-5 / 2-1.....2-5)
Replay (if you have on memory card)
Super Replay (1-1...1-5 / 2-1.....2-5)

The Stage Select and Super Replay sections give you the option to play/view the
2nd loop. Very cool.

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LEGAL STUFF
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This FAQ is copyright (c) 2003-2005, Trevor Esposito ([email protected])
DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou is copyright (c) 2003, Cave
DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou is trademark of Cave.

You may not distribute this for profit. You may not edit or alter the contents
herein without the permission of the author.

Currently, this FAQ may only be hosted at GameFAQs.com.

The most current version of this FAQ can always be found here:

http://www.slateman.net/faqs/

Hope the FAQ was useful in some form.

Good luck and have fun!

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