[Classic] Shmuppy Love

So - it used to be that back in the day you couldn't go 2 or 3 games without seeing a new shmup released (especially during the days of the TurboGfrax-16). Nowadays shmups are few and far between with many arguing that there's really not much else you can do with the genre that hasn't already been done with it.

Do you agree? And on a tangent note, what was the best (and worst) shmup you've ever played?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Does this fall into the same subject?

http://www.gamingforce.com/forums/ge...-shooters.html

I'm actually asking since I'm not sure. Plus this thread might degenerate into "Ikaruga" "Yeah, I like Ikaruga too."

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But wait, Qwarky, wasn't there some kinda rule saying "no reviving threads that were dead for 3 or 4 months and older"?

Well, at least, I thought that was a rule.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

In before Elixir.

The worst shooter I've ever played is Ibara for PS2. Battle Garegga was such an amazing and fun game, and then they have to turn around and make an animu bullshit sequel which looks terrible in yoko and is only playable in tate.

I mean, I wouldn't mind Ibara if the bullets were actually visible and you weren't guaranteed to die on bosses if you didn't have any full bombs. Seriously some of the bullets in Ibara are so transparent I'm surprised they even managed to get through testing.

Runner up is Mars Matrix, which I just plain don't like.

The best I've played is probably Dodonpachi Daioujou or Ikaruga. Daioujou is a game that still looks amazing, puts you on the edge of your seat after years of playing it, and the exact same thing could be said of Ikaruga. I haven't single credited these games and probably never will (only Mushi and Dodonpachi so far) but I really enjoy their style.

How ya doing, buddy?

I admittedly played only a few shooters in my lifetime, but one game that got me totally addicted was Space Megaforce for the SNES. There was apparently something about that game that made me keep coming back for more.

It wasn't until recently when I found out the game was made by Toho, the same studio that created Godzilla. Awesome.






How ya doing, buddy?

My favorite would have to be Robo Aleste. Number one, it's just plain fun to play. Two, it's very difficult. Three, the anime-style cutscenes are awesome. Four, the story is actually interesting. And finally, five, the soundtrack is easily one of the best in any video game, ever.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by SimDaddyGT

But wait, Qwarky, wasn't there some kinda rule saying "no reviving threads that were dead for 3 or 4 months and older"?

Well, at least, I thought that was a rule.

Since this thread seems somewhat underway, I won't raise a fuss.

The rule is mostly for people who revive actually-dead-and-rightly-so threads with "I agree "

FELIPE NO

Best would probably be Lords of Thunder. It has everything I want in a shooter: tight controls, killer music, killer graphix, depth (shops, armors, coin collecting) no one-hit kills and it's just a fun game to throw on for a half hour at a time. I love both Gradius V and Ikaruga, but I don't think either compares to LoT (although I admit I haven't gotten "used" to Ikaruga fully yet).

Special mention for Twinkle Star Sprites: La Pettite Princess. I played this at Otakon for literally hours on end and it's amazing...in multi-player. Even managed a decent win streak with limited knowledge against some fairly experienced players. A fighter-shmup is such a great idea. If I had a way to play this on a regular basis, it would probably be my favorite game from this generation. Yeah, I'd probably buy a PS3 if it had this game online...

Worst...I'm not as well schooled as most people here in the art of shmups, but I did pick up Chaos Field and haven't gone back to it. Everything about it is so...lackluster. It's just basically a boss-rush mode.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Star Soldier for the NES is the first shump I ever played/owned. It's actually pretty tricky, because when you get better, the enemies get harder faster. Enemies just come in preset waves, so everytime you kill off a wave, the next one starts up. In later levels, the idea of leaving some enemies behind gets really hard when they start firing homing shots.

I've played Mushihimesama, and obviously find it very hard. Half of the bullet curtains I dodge in that are due to luck.

I don't know if I have a favorite shump. I enjoy a lot of them, and wish to try more. It's too bad they aren't as popular anymore.

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Best shmups ever would be Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga. Why lie. End of topic.
Gradius 5 ps2 is also nice. Then again, it's also made by Treasure.

Really, are there companies which still make shmups worth playing nowadays? Back then on the Saturn we had awesome shooters on a monthly basis, now we have Sims expansions packs coming out monthly.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ikaruga is not necessarily the best shmup in my opinion. Sure, you can absorb the bullets and beams, but it changes the secondary point of shmups, which is dodging ammo like crazy (primary being destroy, destroy, DESTROY!!!). Of course, dodging bullets only can get slightly dull, so absorbing can be fun at times.

Of course, dodging bullets in ESPGaluda never gets boring, especially since I can turn the bullets into major score... if there are a lot on the screen when going into Kakusei Mode, or whatever it's called. Frankly, I find ESPGaluda to be the best shmup for me, not just because of the whole bullet-to-point thing, but because it has awesome trance music, which happens to be my primary genre of music.

Of course, I can't forget about the famous Strikers 1945 series. I can still remember all those times I would put 2 bucks into the machine and beat it. The music was not very catchy, but I've heard worse in a shmup.

Also, who could forget RayStorm and RayCrisis on the PSone? Those were insanely awesome shmups that didn't get a lotta props, and I don't know why. Sure, they're no ESPGaluda with bullet-to-point or Ikaruga with bullet-absorption, but they had sweet graphics and even better gameplay. And yes, they were challenging.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by SimDaddyGT

Ikaruga is not necessarily the best shmup in my opinion. Sure, you can absorb the bullets and beams, but it changes the secondary point of shmups, which is dodging ammo like crazy (primary being destroy, destroy, DESTROY!!!). Of course, dodging bullets only can get slightly dull, so absorbing can be fun at times.

You make it sound like the absorbation thing is just a gimmick in Ikaruga. It's a vital part of gameplay, not a gimmick - you are even encouraged to absorb bullets because they charge up your super bar. In fact you can even get a special "Bullet Eater" rank if you pass a stage without killing anything. The levels themselves are designed in such a complex way that you just can't beat the game without dodging one color constantly.

Ikaruga is not the best for the absorbation gimmick, but because the gameplay is so well designed that at higher levels, Ikaruga is literally art. Every level is methodically, almost mechanically perfect in regards of the Combo system, and the polarity switch feature makes gameplay incredibly complex, requiring tenfolds better reflexes then an average bullet hell shooter (you are paying attention to only white colors bullets as they can hurt you... oh heres a white bullet wall, cant dodge gotta change... SHIT DIDNT PAY ATTENTION TO THE SEA OF BLACKS SWARMING OVER MY SHIP).

And the two final battles are more epic then anything in any other shooter I ever witnessed.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

I admittedly played only a few shooters in my lifetime, but one game that got me totally addicted was Space Megaforce for the SNES. There was apparently something about that game that made me keep coming back for more.

It wasn't until recently when I found out the game was made by Toho, the same studio that created Godzilla. Awesome.

AKA Super Aleste and part of Compile's legendary series. Just like Robo Aleste and what might be my personal favorite shmup, Musha Aleste:



That one has a quality about it that kept me hooked to the end. Gate of Thunder is also awesome. And Thunderforce IV. There are many good shmups to choose from.

The worst? I don't know. BlaZeon is pretty weak aside from the cool gimmick of turning your ship into a mecha. Hellfire looks nice but is insanely difficult.

I was speaking idiomatically.