Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

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BareKnuckleRoo
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Even if you can't swap in between levels, Ginga Force restricting Score Attack mode to 3 preset shot types instead of allowing a 4th custom category (where you can pick from your unlocked weapons) is a definite disappointment. Gradius V becomes a lot more fun when Weapon Edit (custom loadout) mode becomes available, and its score attack doesn't disallow the use of Weapon Edit.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by pilot53 »

Iridion gba
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To Far Away Times
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by To Far Away Times »

Been playing a bit of Darius Force/Super Nova recently.

I've been out of stuff to play so I settled on this one. I mostly play on my hacked 3DS and 16 bit and below emulation works quite well for that purpose. I explored the middle route for a potential 1CC but I've settled on the lower route since the bosses are easier and there is one less stage. I'm not a fan of the swarming from all sides type of level design and how the shield works but there's some good in here as well. Stage layouts are generally well made with great environmental obstacles (except for the swarming enemies from all sides stuff) and the challenge is pretty solid. I just need to learn the stages a bit better and come up with some more strategies.

Does anyone know how the shield works? It seems so inconsistent. I'm either taking multiple hits on certain attacks or shield pick ups don't always refill the shield completely.

The ship with the spread lazers also seems to not be able to upgrade its shield? I can't quite figure it out.
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EmperorIng
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by EmperorIng »

It might work as it does in all darius games: shields have set 'health' on activation (three hits) and collecting another pickup will add health to the shield based on your level (iirc green=1, silver=2, gold=3). So if your green shield is down to 1 hit left, and you pick up a shield powerup, you'll only gain 1 hit. Whereas if you let yourself lose the shield, and pick up the shield pickup then, you will gain 3 hits instead of only one! This is a technique darius players use to give them a little extra cushion.
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Rastan78
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Rastan78 »

And don't bother any more once you get the silver shield. If you tank your shield you'll just break even.

In general, if you do tank it on purpose and then die in that brief moment before the next blue pickup it's gonna feel like a real kick in the jimmy.
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To Far Away Times
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by To Far Away Times »

That's good to know. I do sometimes sacrifice the shield to get more hits but its nice to see more detail on it and why that works the way it does.

Also, can some attacks hit you multiple times or take multiple hit points away from the shield? I swear some attacks just melt through shields. But maybe that is just not knowing how many hits are left on the shield?
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Recently cleared Rolling Gunner's Expert mode (with a horrendous score, full rank control in effect for the sake of survival). Working on improving scores in the other mode, would especially like to get a TRUE ALL clear of Original on the board that beats my old score. Already got a run of Novice that's broken my previous score to submit thanks to aggressive pointblanking. There's several boss phases that can be milked for lots of points, I need to incorporate some of these strategies in runs. Novice and Casual I don't think are dense enough to properly do the milk but we'll see!

Wish more people had access to this. Not sure why a digital release hasn't been made available yet, but physical copies are still being sold at least at AkibaHobby (as per RollingGunner's official website).
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Jonst
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

esprade still. The clear is in sight though, as usual it's just making into the final boss fight with enough resources. I'm making it to the end of the game consistently, hopefully i can pull this off soon!
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Dawn111 »

I've finally been playing Ether Vapor Remaster again, and it's still one of the most gorgeous shmups I've played. I'll be uploading my replay on my YouTube channel.
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Sengoku Strider
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Blazing Star is sucking me in, away from all the other stuff I've been chipping away at. Its difficulty is in that perfect sweet spot for "just one more game." It might become my new main thing. Well, one of them (I'll never be a one game at a time guy). It still blows me away that they pulled this off on the Neo Geo. Easily up there with Mark of the Wolves for some of the most impressive visuals on the system.
Jonst wrote:esprade still. The clear is in sight though, as usual it's just making into the final boss fight with enough resources. I'm making it to the end of the game consistently, hopefully i can pull this off soon!
Nice, that game gets pretty punishing toward the end. Stage 5 is about as far as I can get, even on 3 continues.
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Jonst
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Jonst »

^ Thanks man! ... yeah, i never thought i would ever be able to handle stage 4 and above but with constant play i noticed vast improvements in a fairly short time, so figured i'd carry on. It wasn't long before i was making the final boss, it helps thst the game is so much fun!
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To Far Away Times
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by To Far Away Times »

Sengoku Strider wrote:Blazing Star is sucking me in, away from all the other stuff I've been chipping away at. Its difficulty is in that perfect sweet spot for "just one more game." It might become my new main thing. Well, one of them (I'll never be a one game at a time guy). It still blows me away that they pulled this off on the Neo Geo. Easily up there with Mark of the Wolves for some of the most impressive visuals on the system.
Blazing Star is a great game. One thing that helps with that game is that it is extremely static. Things always appear in the same place and move the same way, except for aimed shots that can be manipulated.

I had two boss strategies where I could park in a corner or along a wall and defeat the boss with no effort (and that's without the R-Type ship.)

I also love the ability to use an R-Type style ship in a non R-Type style game. Though I think its actually harder with that ship becuase its firepower is really low, and the final boss is a real pain, so you really want the extra firepower there.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sturmvogel Prime »

Recently playing Ginga Force and Dariusburst EX Another Chronicle in the PS4, two of the best shmups of the console, especially Dariusburst EX which I think it is the definitive Darius experience.
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Sengoku Strider
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

To Far Away Times wrote:Blazing Star is a great game. One thing that helps with that game is that it is extremely static. Things always appear in the same place and move the same way, except for aimed shots that can be manipulated.

I had two boss strategies where I could park in a corner or along a wall and defeat the boss with no effort (and that's without the R-Type ship.)

I also love the ability to use an R-Type style ship in a non R-Type style game. Though I think its actually harder with that ship becuase its firepower is really low, and the final boss is a real pain, so you really want the extra firepower there.
I've been using that ship extensively because, y'know, R-Type, Pulstar, they're cool. But I did notice that the overwhelming majority of high scores were done with the green spread shot ship. Having watched a super play that obliterated my best score by the beginning of stage 2, I can understand why.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Flobeamer1922 »

Truxton. 3-ALL or bust.
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AZA
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by AZA »

been playing some Blazing Lazers. did you know it is possible to change the difficulty mode? the higher levels are insane.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

AZA wrote:been playing some Blazing Lazers. did you know it is possible to change the difficulty mode? the higher levels are insane.
All time great. Legendary game.
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AZA
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by AZA »

Sengoku Strider wrote:
AZA wrote:been playing some Blazing Lazers. did you know it is possible to change the difficulty mode? the higher levels are insane.
All time great. Legendary game.

yeah blazing lazers is timeless. it has that kind of pick up and play quality where often i find myself playing it while trying to decide what game i should play lol
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Bawa
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Bawa »

Started going through the freewares I had but never really played. BWR, Eden's Aegis, Eden's Edge.
Got my 1cc on all and loved them. Can't wait for the Blue Desire one x.x is developing.
Now I gotta go back to failing at my quest for Touhou 1cc.
I suck at these games but I do enjoy them.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by durias »

Steredenn on Switch
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by durias »

Sisters Royal on Switch
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Next up in the effusive praise pipeline is Vasara 2. This game has grown on me so much. It’s the Switch version so the latency’s not the greatest, but switching to a .5 ms vertical monitor helped immensely. Feels like a different game. It seems like there’s so much going on in it in terms of systems, and the sound design is flat-out eargasmic. Flinging 100 swords per second into someone probably shouldn’t sound this pleasurable.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by M.Knight »

Sengoku Strider wrote:[...]the sound design is flat-out eargasmic. Flinging 100 swords per second into someone probably shouldn’t sound this pleasurable.
Yes, so much this
One of the main reasons the game is so fun are the sound effects when using your sword attacks. They feel appropriately brutal and powerful. It really is a good example of how sound design in a shmup (or any game, really) is pretty important and can elevate a game all by itself.


Myself I'm mostly playing Hellsinker right now. I didn't click with it at all when I tried it some time ago but seeing it at Shmup Slam for the second time convinced me to try it again, and with the proper tips I was able to progress and really come to enjoy it.

I would argue that the first stage (in its "Behind" version, which can be replaced with a better alternative after some runs) is actually pretty bad and was the #1 reason I disliked the game back then. The invincible brown coffins so early in the game really give you a sense of confusion and meh since there's not muh you can do in this section and as such the game mechanics and weaponry appears as much more complex than it actually is. However, when you unlock the "Lead" stages (to replace the first three stages by cooler ones in the future runs) and the 4th character, it's a blast to play. Kagura-D is just so frantic with her fast movement, close-range blade attack and big laser blast.

Also the music is fantastic. Bosses like the Rusted Dragon, Apostles of the Seed or Perpetual Calendar are even more enjoyable to fight thanks to the audio.
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G3n3raL86
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by G3n3raL86 »

Trouble Witches Origin (Steam) and i'm having a blast. Great change of pace after all of my vertical shmups, plus it's full of fluffy stuff and kawaii:3
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by monstercloset »

Picked up Ketsui on PSN and Blue Revolver on Steam. I haven't had a ton of time to play shmups the last few months so I'm hoping to push Crimzon Clover hard and pick up a 1CC of Arcade Original
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

I haven't really played any shooters since the summer. When White Vanilla came out I went back to Zero Ranger and finally put that puppy to bed. What a game!

Bought R Type Dimensions on Steam. Played it a lot as a kid on the SMS, low and behold I made it back to stage 6 on a credit. Not my first credit mind you, but after an hour or so..I would say a 1 CC is certainly do able. Though I say that a lot - get far in a game (stage 5 Ketsui/Battle Traverse) and move on to something else. So lets see if I stick with it.

I sort of dig the newer graphics, and would probably use them if you could use them with the original ost. The new ost sounds like it belongs in a Cave game. Doesn't fit at all.

Only played a credit of two.

Played a little bit of Crisis Wing too, made it back to stage 5 and put a few runs in caravan mode.

EDIT - R Type stage 7 towards the end. Crisis Wing still stage 5, some routing and less stupid deaths on 4 would be a start. crashed into TWO of the stationary green carriers trying to point blank; ). Stage 4 is definitely a Tatsujin/Truxton 2 homage - it goes on and on and on...
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Stevens
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

Crisis Wing

Made the stage 6 boss.

Some sloppy play through stages 3 and 4 hurt me overall, but was able to recover (which is pretty merciful here) and finish 4 strong.

Felt good to finally get through stage 5. Stage 6 isn't too bad - the boss starts to amp it up though.

I would also like to mention the ost. In general it is really really good. Stand outs are stages 2, 3, and 6. 1 and 5 are also pretty good. Boss music is also great and fits well.

It sounds like a Mega Drive ost.

Anyone else giving this one time?
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leodash
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by leodash »

Stevens wrote:Crisis Wing

-snip-

Anyone else giving this one time?
Last time I tried, the blinking bullets are too much for me because I am slightly photosensitive. The game felt good to play though.
Last edited by leodash on Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by dmk1198 »

Cuphead it's awesome

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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by dmk1198 »

dmk1198 wrote:Cuphead it's awesome

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But I'm struggling lol it's tuff

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