1CC 1-ALL Gunbird (PS4)

1CC 1-ALL Gunbird (PS4)



About Gunbird
  • Game title : Gunbird
  • Type of shooter : Manic 
  • Platforms : Arcade, PS1, Saturn, PS2, PS4, Steam, Switch
  • Release year : 1994 (Arcade)
  • Developer : Psikyo


Interestings tidbits about Gunbird

Gunbird is a manic shooter, released in 1994 and developed by Psikyo. Psikyo games are strictly speaking not a bullethell game (it lacks a reduced hitbox and doesnt nearly have the amount of bullets). Psikyo games are infamous for the fast bullet speed. These can sometime be impossible to dodge on reflex, and neccesitate memorization. Gunbird has a very charming and almost cutesy graphics, but its not a cute'em up. Don''t be fooled. this is not an easy game.

This game has been released on many platforms over time and they are all different. Sadly, many have issues, even the Arcade version itself. Let me give you some of the details.


  • Arcade PCB : has already 4 frames of input lag. Which is alot in PCB terms. Most have 2 frames of lag.
  • PS1 version : In terms of gameplay this could have been a good version, sadly it isnt. That is because,unlike the Saturn version, it has no TATE option. This makes this port fun but not well suited for serious play. The reason why this could have been a good version is because the input lag feels so low, i'd estimate it to be 2 frames (if anyone out here has any more information about this please let me know in the comments). The PS1 version isn a direct port like the Saturn version.Because of  differences in bullet behaviour  and AI i suspect this is a remade engine.
  • Saturn version : An arcade perfect port of the Arcade version, TATE included. The only thing it lacks is a training mode, otherwise perfect.
  • PS2 version : Instead of taking the PS1 version and improving it with TATE (which they did) they somehow ended up adding tons of input lag to this version. It does feature a training mode and higher quality music.
  • PS4/Steam : Based on the PS1 version. This port lacks a trainingsmode. The input lag is not as good as the PS1 version but not as bad as the PS2 version. It does feel closer to the PS2 version than the PS1 version (in terms of lag).
  • Switch version : Like the PS4/Steam release but even far worse in terms of input lag.

The game features 7 stages. They are short and centre on boss encounters. The game has a second loop, which is unlocked by beating the game on Rank 4 or higher (for the console versions). The difficulty settings are : 

  • Monkey (Rank 1)
  • Baby (Rank 2)
  • Very Easy (Rank 3)
  • Easy (Rank 4)
  • Normal (Rank 5)
  • Hard (Rank 6)
  • Very hard (Rank 7). 

Rank 1 to 3 are only available on the console ports, and offer a gradual increase in the difficulty by adding bulletspeed and or density. The gap from Rank 3 to 4 however is huge and at the same time going from Rank 4 to 5 is very minor. I haven't ever seen someone play this game on Rank 6 or 7.

My experience with Gunbird

The first version of  Gunbird i got was the Special Edition Gunbird for the PS2, in september 2023, around which i got into STG's for the first time. 



I was drawn to the game beacuse of its beautiful anime easthethics, the charming characters and the great soundtrack. I had no concept of what input lag meant at the time so i did not realize at all how bad the input lag actually was. I just considered it as being part of the game and chalked up my ineffectivity with it to my lack of experience and or skill. I played by creditfeeding and had a fun time with it. Sometime later when i was adding STG;s to my PS1 X-Station i also added the Japanese version of Gunbird. (The western version was renamed to Mobile Light Force and all cutscenes were removed from it). When i played this version, i was amazed by how responsive it felt. I suddenly could consistently make the craziest dodges and i experienced what input lag meant. I did some runs on Yoko mode (4:3) and got 1CC's on the Rank 2 and 3 mode.

A few months past and i got more and more into STG's to the point i decided to TATE one of my CRT's and connect one of my Saturn to it. After realizing that the PS2 port was actually pretty much terrible, i bought the Saturn version on disc (as im a huge fan of physical games and original hardware), to be able to enjoy the original TATE version with hopefully much lower input lag. Sadly my Saturn is  being modded in Germany at that moment so i had to buy the Psikyo Collection for the PS4 to be abe to play in TATE, or settle for emulation. I ended up doing both, because the PS4 just doesnt feel responsive enough compared to the PS1 version. I now have put alot of time in all the versions i have available and learned every inch of the game. Im even learning how to play the second loop stages, but its too early to tell if i could make it least to stage 2-4 (But i will give it my all).

My thoughts on the game are, to no surpise, very positive. The cute Marion in a game that is hard as nails yet so charming is just a very good time. I especially grew to love the Saturn / Arcade version more and more to the point i now like it the most. One  reason is just that the shot sound in the console versions doesn't feel as satisfying as in the Arcade / Saturn version.


My playthrough of Gunbird

So this ist he commentary on the video of my last run. Its on Rank 4 (1 below arcade default), but there is almost no difference between Rank 4 and 5. This is also just a preliminary video, i practiced alot on the arcade version and also did the routing for Rank 5 on PS4 and it is almost totally identical except for some minor tweaks in the early stages.

Rank 4 on the console versions is almost like a troll difficulty (we know for a fact Psikyo is no stranger to trolling, as seen in their choice of names for the lowest difficulties (Monkey and Baby), thats why it still gives access to the 2nd loop, because it basically is Rank 5, like a dip switch setting on an Arcade cab.

I just went with Rank 4 to ease off on the pressure, and get used to playing while recording like a psychological trick. Yes Rank 4 is slightly less easier, but it so close it could be considered just different instead of easier.

PS4 Gunbird 1-ALL(2-1) 1CC(2LC) Rank 4 Marion - YouTube




The game is set on Rank 4 which is basically almost the same as Rank 5 (arcade default), routing and execution wise. Game was practiced alot on the arcade version aswell, but i went for Rank 4 on this video because its my first 1CC and i still need to learn how to deal with the pressure of recording.

The plan wasn't to 1 Life Clear (although i did practice it like that) but i almost achieved that except for one mistake on the stage 7 midboss. The second loop wasnt practiced at all and came as a surprise and at that point i was more concerned with whether or not the recording went well.

I will now do runs on the Arcade / Saturn version and the 2nd loop. Im hoping to make it to stage 2-4 (Stage 4 of the second loop), which isn't easy because Piskyo is known for very hard second loops

Enjoy the video and all the cheesy point blank strategies and deadzones. For what its worth, i can do all the sections on pure dodging, i just wanted it to be as consistent as possible (who know ill use this route to learn the second loop or at least a few stages). 


Personal Notes on my Playthrough of Gunbird 

I started out pretty casually, and got more and more interested in playing the game to the fullest. This was my first 1CC attempt and i developed as a player during my time preparing and practising for it. Before Gunbird i had a hoarding mentality and a no bomb policy, trying to save up every resource for uuhm whenever i would need them. And i didnt need them anyways because i could do everything by dodging it. But at a point i realized that it would be better  to use bombs in a different way and plan them in at strategic points, the ones that caused most of my runs to be reset (because of early life loss.) Doing this made my runs much more consistent because i noticed that under pressure i was being inconsistent. Im hoping with more experience this will improve.

At some point in learning the game, i got stuck at the 6th stage, specfically the first section with the red eggs. I couldnt find a consistent way of doing this without wasting resources. I tried every possible way of streaming the bullets and pointblanking the bullet generators. I spent almost 3 weeks on it. At that point i got a little burned out on the game. I decided to look up some video's from expert players.

To my surpise i found out that Aktane got hit there almost immediately and even Jaimers lost a life there. Knowing i wasnt the only one that seemed to have troule with this section i double downed on it and did my best to come up with a semi reliable way to do things and in case it wouldnt work just bomb it. I had to find another section in the game where i could improve to free up a bomb. After discovering this i felt much better and got motivated to play the game again. All in all, a very satsifying conclusion.


Thank you for reading this post, bye !!


About me :

"Hi, i'm AnimegirlSTG, i heart shooty shooty pew pew games !"

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/animegirlstg/profilecard/?igsh=MW04Yzd

YouTube : https://youtu.be/25RTf4miNZE?si=hTkXzn85hz_CAMhA





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