Psyvariar 2 サイヴァリア2 - Kei (Shooting Type) - ALL+TLB - 81.108.800pts - Level 489

Beating the Psyvariar 2 TLB is one thing, but beating it while also getting a pretty high score is something else! After that previous no TLB clear, I played more runs and unlocked Gluon to practice it. While I could have simply fulfilled the conditions to trigger it and then beaten it in survival mode, it was too tempting to extract some scoring juices out of it. And for good reason too : the fight is very lucrative.
So I got to work, tried to learn the Gluon fight, saw how to deal with each of the patterns I wanted to tackle, and devised a plan for consistency not only through this fight but also through the rest of the game. What an intense end of the year it was, with all the practice, the runs, the strategizing to avoid early deaths and ensure most runs make it to TLB, etc. I used to think no extends is mega strict but over time I was able to be consistent enough thanks to many tricks and set-ups through the early game. My main tools to tackle these kinds of hard goals are an analytic mindset, an obsessive love of the game, replays, recordings and resources, as well as time for runs and practice. They were all put to the test quite intensively since I kept playing and playing, aiming to get my score goal of 80mil before the end of the year.
I actually managed to get some clears and my first TLB clear run was even a full no-death one! • Psyvariar 2 Kei 69mil
But I knew there was more scoring potential in my route and kept wanting for more, so I didn't publically announce those clears yet and just kept playing. Gotta get more points, more , more, more! Maybe 80mil right before 2024 could be a thing??
Sadly...the miracle never happen [sic] My very last 2023 run was actually doing great on Gluon but died at the very end. It is funny to me that this is the second time I spend the end of a year unsuccessfully grinding a graze-based shmup with stingy lives and a score-based TLB. Said first game being DDP 2 Bee Storm. Now that would be one hella weird tradition to keep lol.
There were many dead runs and squandered opportunities, but at the same time, I kept fine-tuning my understanding of the boss fight and knew a good score would happen. It was just a matter of time. Most of the runs can make it to TLB and it doesn't take long to get there. Doing "just one more run" was always very tempting. I also wrote a document to explain my strats and reasoning on the TLB fight alone : drive.google.c...
In this run, the early game was more or less fine except for two very random deaths in Area 3 and Boss 4. Stage 3 especially was kinda upsetting because I have a specific route for that middle section but I messed up that red ball destruction and then died oops.
Still, I had to 1-life the TLB to make the best of it score-wise anyways so it didn't spell the end of the run. And man did that TLB fight go well! It's hard to pinpoint exactly what was right since there's so many runs in my fingers that everything kinda blends together, but the supergraze on the blue ring spam was pretty good overall, and of course not dying. The TLB fight and the micrododging involved at times really made me realize the PS2 emulation was laggier than I thought oops. So that made some of those tricky phase 2 dodges a bit harder to pull off.
The more the fight went on, the more tense I was. Despite having encountered these scenarios a whole lot these last few weeks, it was impossible not to feel a little nervous when the current attempt could be the one. I thankfully kept my nerves in check enough to not die or panic, and I managed to finish off the boss after the third ring supergraze attack. As I was on my last life, I didn't try my hand on the last two attacks as the ~1 mil they would give was not worth ruining the whole run for it.
As there is variance in the amount of graze gotten during the blue ring spam depending on how well I positionned myself, I wasn't really sure the score would beat 80mil. I was keeping my expectations in check before the results screen, thinking that oh well it likely won't be 80mil, but something close-ish.
And then that 81mil score pops up in the top left corner : Hell yeah! Awesome! I haven't been this hyped for a personal score in a while lol. What a fun journey this was. There were lots of frustration and annoyance but playing was always fun thanks to the very cool mechanics and awesome music. I definitely had a blast, and will likely try Yuhei some time in the future. Maybe not riiiight away but clearly something I want to mess with sooner or later.
As for Kei, her overall score potential is still definitely ahead of my run, with the current record being around 120mil. But for now, 80mil is good enough and still pretty damn high and challenging to get and beat. I would have to skip less boss milks to get further and some of those sound recipe for restart-hell lol.
#shmup #STG
Played on PCSX2 1.2.1, recorded with OBS Studio

[@emperorIng360]

Incredible fight with Gluon... I'm speechless!

[@M_Knight_Jul]

Thanks a lot! So many attempts to get it right and with enough buzz to nail a 80+ mil score, but it was worth it!

[@jamesiewalters2360]

Wait; am I nuts or can gluon evolve too? Because I remember watching another playthrough, and this form looks different from that one....

[@MrTrizeal]

Magnifique ! Superbe combat contre Gluon (avec cette musique mythique ) Bravo pour cette performance !

[@M_Knight_Jul]

Merci beaucoup! Ouais le thème de Gluon est fantastique, clairement la meilleure musique de la série (et y a de la concurrence!)

[@kramerius2219]

level up

[@M_Knight_Jul]

Gotta love those level ups!

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

I wish Psyvariar got that "kuru kuru" voice when grazing.

[@M_Knight_Jul]

Hahaha, yeah this is not the same cutesy vibe as Cotton RnR. You can get a robotic "level up!" but that's it