History VideoGame / BattleGaregga

A UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn port was released exclusively in Japan in 1998, which adds a few new features. An UpdatedRerelease by Creator/{{M2}} as part of the ''M2 [=ShotTriggers=]'' series of ports and in celebration of the game's 20th anniversary, ''Battle Garegga Rev.2016'', was released on December 15, 2016 on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in Japan and on October 4, 2017 in the rest of the world, and globally on UsefulNotes/XboxOne on September 29, 2017.

See also ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider'', the SpiritualSuccessor to this game.

On the surface, ''Battle Garegga'' seems like an ordinary military-themed shooter. You pilot one of four different ships, shoot down enemies, upgrade your main shot with items, and have up to four {{Attack Drone}}s that fire alongside of ship and which can be configured into multiple formation types. However, the main highlight of this game amogst shmup enthusiasts is its [[DynamicDifficulty "rank"]] system. As you play, the game's rank increases, and the game gets more difficult, with enemies firing faster and denser attacks and items dropping faster. Furthermore, nearly every single action by the player influences the rank, mainly firing their weapons and collecting items, and the only way to reduce rank is to die. Without managing rank deliberately and carefully, ''Garegga'' easily becomes one of the hardest shmups in arcades. On top of that, the game's scoring system is more in-depth than it seems; certain bosses and their parts award more points if defeated with certain types of weapons, collecting medals without missing them awards increasing points making them one of the main sources of score, and firing {{Smart Bomb}}s at the scenery can uncover treasure troves of items. Scoring well in this game is necessary, as [[EveryTenThousandPoints points award extra lives]]...so that the player can [[ViolationOfCommonSense suicide them to keep the game's rank at a level managable to them]]. Finally, the game is known for its gritty, low-contrast color style, being [[RealIsBrown realistically brown]], with even the bullets often being low-brightness gray or olive-colored. Because of all this, ''Garegga'' has been called a masterpiece of shmup design, a heaping pile of FakeDifficulty, and everything in between.

* DeathOrGloryAttack: Normally, the big bomb pickup (which grants a full bomb instead of 1/40 of it) is meant to be used as an incentive to continue. However, if you're close enough to the next [[EveryTenThousandPoints point-based 1-up]], you can [[ViolationOfCommonSense deliberately]] [[SuicideAttack burn your last life]] and use the sharpnel or a pre-deployed Gain or Bornham bomb to destroy enemies before the continue prompt (or GameOver, if continues are turned off) shows up to propel yourself past the extra life threshold and use your newly-earned life to pick up the bomb item on the same credit. This ''is'' a [[DifficultButAwesome very difficult]] technique however.

* DifficultyByRegion: In addition to the larger number of points required to [[EveryTenThousandPoints extend]], [[DynamicDifficulty rank]] (see below) increases at different rates depending on the region as well as the difficulty setting (U.S. "hard" is harder than Japan's "very hard", by the way). However, turning the extends off (which isn't possible in the Japan revision) will clamp rank to "manageable" and won't raise very much even if you collect everything and max out the autofire rate. Averted in ''Rev.2016'', which is standardized across all regions to be based on the Japanese version.

* EveryTenThousandPoints: By default, you get an extra life every one million points.

* MercyMode: The game's [[DynamicDifficulty rank]] drops when -- and ''only'' when -- you die. As such, it is very important to [[ScoringPoints score]] well to [[EveryTenThousandPoints earn those extra lives]], as you need them to keep the rank from reaching monstrous levels.

* VictoryFakeout: Just when you think [[FinalBoss Glow Squid]] is defeated, complete with the background music fading out amidst the destruction, the cockpit detaches itself from the fuselage and starts to chaotically bounce all over the screen while spewing projectiles everywhere in a last-ditch attempt to stop you, while the music starts back up. It repeats this same feat when fought as a BonusBoss in ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider''.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Overlaps with DynamicDifficulty. You ''have'' to die in order to keep the game to a manageable level, otherwise the last two stages turn into sheer bullet vomit. In other words, you ''die regularly so you don't die too much later''. Not just that, you're encouraged to keep your life count low, as the rank decrease is greater if you due with fewer lives. On a smaller scale, you also need to skip powerup items routinely to avoid spiking the rank too much.

* VictoryFakeout: Just when you think [[FinalBoss Glow Squid]] is deafeated, complete with the background music fading out amidst the destruction, the cockpit detatches itself from the fuselage and starts to choatically bounce all over the screen while spewing projectiles everyone in a last-ditch attempt to stop you, while the music starts back up. It repeats this same feat when fought as a BonusBoss in ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider''.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Overlaps with DynamicDifficulty. You ''have'' to die in order to keep the game to a manageable level, otherwise the last two stages turn into sheer bullet vomit. In other words, you ''die regularly so you don't die too much later''. On a smaller scale, you also need to skip powerup items routinely to avoid spiking the rank too much.

* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Many enemies have a minimum range at which they will fire at you. Exploiting this trope is quietly discouraged, as "sealing" enemy bullets is one of many ways to raise the game's [[DynamicDifficulty rank]].

* ArrangeMode: The M2 Shottriggers UpdatedRerelease ''Rev. 2016'' has the Premium arrange, which swaps stages 2 and 3, includes an auto-bomb feature, and a new max rank mode. This new max rank mode is entered by having at least 2000 point medals, and not dying, auto-bombing, or missing a medal, and, once entered, raises the rank to 100%, increases item drop rate, magnetizes all medals to your ship, raises score constantly throughout the stage, occasionally floods the stage with enemies, and, if the ship is at max shot or option power, drops a medal where shot and option power-ups would be. Rank is locked to a fixed amount per stage and rapid fire is locked at 15 Hz. The same port also has a custom mode that lets you tweak various game parameters, including adjusting the fine details of the rank system, making it a fixed amount per stage, [[NintendoHard fixing the rank to 100%]], or turning it off completely.

* ArrangeMode: The M2 Shottriggers UpdatedRerelease ''Rev. 2016'' has the Premium arrange, which swaps stages 2 and 3, includes an auto-bomb feature, and a new max rank mode. This new max rank mode is entered by having at least 2000 point medals, and not dying, auto-bombing, or missing a medal, and, once entered, raises the rank to 100%, increases item drop rate, magnetizes all medals to your ship, raises score constantly throughout the stage, occasionally floods the stage with enemies, and, if the ship is at max shot or option power, drops a medal where shot and option power-ups would be. The same port also has a custom mode that lets you tweak various game parameters, including adjusting the fine details of the rank system, making it a fixed amount per stage, [[NintendoHard fixing the rank to 100%]], or turning it off completely.

* VictoryFakeout: Just when you think [[FinalBoss Glow Squid]] is deafeated, complete with the background music fading out amidst the ChainReactionDestruction, the cockpit detatches itself from the fuselage and starts to choatically bounce all over the screen while spewing projectiles everyone in a last-ditch attempt to stop you, while the music starts back up. It repeats this same feat when fought as a BonusBoss in ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider''.

* DeathIsTheOnlyOption: Dying is the only way to lower the [[DynamicDifficulty rank]], and doing so multple times over the first five stages is necessary to keep the game from becoming UnwinnableByMistake in Stage 6.

* DynamicDifficulty: The Rank system determines how hard the game is. Firing and powering up the main weapon, as well as picking up various items, will increase your rank. The only way to decrease your rank is by dying. Thus, players are "forced" to keep themselves powered down, conserve shots, and die on purpose in order to keep the last few stages of the game playable. Notably, the variable used for rank in this game actually ''decreases'' in value as the game gets ''harder''. \\

The ''Rev.2016'' ports allow the player to, as part of custom game modes, shut off the rank, fix it to stage-specific amounts, or, [[NintendoHard if you hate yourself]], lock it at 100%.

The ''Rev.2016'' ports allow the player to, as part of custom game modes, shut off the rank.

On the surface, ''Battle Garegga'' seems like an ordinary military-themed shooter. You pilot one of four different ships, shoot down enemies, upgrade your main shot with items, and have up to four {{Attack Drone}}s that fire alongside of ship and which can be configured into multiple formation types. However, the main highlight of this game amogst shmup enthusiasts is its [[DynamicDifficulty "rank"]] system. As you play, the game's rank increases, and the game gets more difficult, with enemies firing faster and denser attacks and items dropping faster. Furthermore, nearly every single action by the player influences the rank, mainly firing their weapons and collecting items, and the only way to reduce rank is to die. Without managing rank deliberately and carefully, ''Garegga'' easily becomes one of the hardest shmups in arcades. On top of that, the game's scoring system is more in-depth than it seems; certain bosses and their parts award more points if defeated with certain types of weapons, collecting medals without missing them awards increasing points making them one of the main sources of score, and firing {{Smart Bomb}}s at the scenery can uncover treasure troves of items. Scoring well in this game is necessary, as [[EveryTenThousandPoints points award extra lives]]...so that the player can [[ViolationOfCommonSense suicide them to keep the game's rank at a level managable to them]]. Because of all this, ''Garegga'' has been called a masterpiece of shmup design, a heaping pile of FakeDifficulty, and everything in between.

A UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn port was released exclusively in Japan in 1998, which is [[ArcadePerfectPort arcade-perfect]] and adds a few new features. An UpdatedRerelease by Creator/{{M2}} as part of the ''M2 [=ShotTriggers=]'' series of ports, ''Battle Garegga Rev.2016'', was released on December 15, 2016 on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in Japan and on October 4, 2017 in the rest of the world, and globally on UsefulNotes/XboxOne on September 29, 2017.

* UpdatedRerelease: ''Rev.2016'' is a port that adds a slew of new features not found in the arcade version or even the earlier Saturn port.

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A UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn port was released exclusively in Japan in 1998, which is [[ArcadePerfectPort arcade-perfect]] and adds a few new features. An UpdatedRerelease by M2 as part of the ''M2 [=ShotTriggers=]'' series of ports, ''Battle Garegga Rev.2016'', was released on December 15, 2016 on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in Japan and on October 4, 2017 in the rest of the world, and globally on UsefulNotes/XboxOne on September 29, 2017.

On the surface, ''Battle Garegga'' seems like an ordinary military-themed shooter. You pilot one of four different ships, shoot down enemies, upgrade your main shot with items, and have up to four {{Attack Drone}}s that fire alongside of ship and which can be configured into multiple formation types. However, the main highlight of this game amogst shmup enthusiasts is its [[DynamicDifficulty "rank"]] system. As you play, the game's rank increases, and the game gets more difficult, with enemies firing faster and denser attacks and items dropping faster. Furthermore, nearly every single action by the player influences the rank, mainly firing their weapons and collecting items, and the only way to reduce rank is to die. Without managing rank deliberately and carefully, ''Garegga'' easily becomes one of the hardest shmups in arcades. On top of that, the game's scoring system is more in-depth than it seems; certain bosses and their parts award more points if defeated with certain types of weapons, collecting medals without missing them awards increasing points making them one of the main sources of score, and firing {{Smart Bomb}}s at the scenery can uncover treasure troves of items. Scoring well in this game is necessary, as [[EveryTenThousandPoints points award extra lives]]...so that the player can [[ViolationOfCommonSense suicide them to keep the game's rank at a level managable to them]].

** The turret wall midboss in Stage 6, from a purely gameplay standpoint. Whether the player will be able to defeat it hinges not only on their skills but whether they effectively managed rank in the first five stages.

* ClimaxBoss: Black Heart, the last boss you face before entering the enemy base. Also the longest for many players.

A UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn port was released in 1998, which is [[ArcadePerfectPort arcade-perfect]] and adds a few new features. An UpdatedRerelease by M2 as part of the ''M2 [=ShotTriggers=]'' series of ports, ''Battle Garegga Rev.2016'', was released on December 15, 2016 on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in Japan and on October 4, 2017 in the rest of the world, and globally on UsefulNotes/XboxOne on September 29, 2017.

* FakeDifficulty: RealIsBrown is applied not only to the enemies and backdrops, but the ''bullets'' as well. A common complaint by new players as a result is that the bullets are practically invisible sometimes.