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 »

Calling it weird is extremely generous.

I haven't had the chance to try the FDS version but I may dip my toes into it at some point.
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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 »

Playing a bit of Razion Ex lately. Pretty solid game. Graphics and music are good. Gameplay is solid, and the charge shot mechanic and scoring is simple but well designed and fun. But even though everything is good about it, it feels like it should maybe be a little better than it is? It's entertaining enough that I'll play through to the 1CC, but for as good as some of the components are, you'd think it'd be one of the marquee shooter titles, but it's not quite there. I can't quite put my finger on it.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by velo »

Sengoku Strider wrote:I've had Thunder Force III for JP Mega Drive sitting on my shelf for a while, I hadn't given it a go because I figured it was essentially a slightly dialled back version of AC. Man was I surprised when I loaded up Planet Hydra expecting to cruise, only to get slapped around for a couple of credits until I had the layout down. No sever on the first stage? No 1up? The boss isn't a pushover who goes down in 3 seconds even with your basic weapon? I have to dodge? This is the only instance I can think of off the top of my head of a console version being tougher than the arcade, and somehow the console version was first.

Anyway, I'm glad. Like everyone else on Earth I 1CCed AC, and I really loved it. I'm glad there's another challenge here. I do miss the improved audio in AC though; the soundtrack's not bad here, but in AC it rips.
Stage 1 is a rude awakening but overall I feel TF3 is easier, on default difficulty at least, although I'm not sure exactly why. I think it might be more generous with extends and the later levels might be less intense, but I haven't compared back-to-back... I played it after AC and breezed through despite the two alt levels murdering me a good dozen times. The devs might have tried to give AC a more typical arcade balance, where the first level is basically free and then it ramps up.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by third_strike »

No much time left to play in next days, then I am messing around with R-type Leo. Things gets pretty wild after stage 4 and I can't past of stage 5 even by heavy credit feed.
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BareKnuckleRoo
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Leo's a tough game. The International version is a bit easier to get into at first because it controls better, so give that a whirl if you haven't. International ver is the better balanced one I find because compared to the JP version:

• The gunpod is more responsive and launches faster. The JP version requires you to hold the button briefly, and it seems to spin up briefly before it actually shoots out.

• The 2 button layout lets you fire forward while the gunpods are active. If the gunpods fail to target something in front of you immediately, you always have a basic stream of shots.

• There's no checkpoints. This makes the last level which has some giant mechs that love to collide into you slightly more manageable since it's not suddenly a hardcore memorize or die game (toughest part of the game imo).
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MOSQUITO FIGHTER
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by MOSQUITO FIGHTER »

Got arcade archives Gradius 3. Forgot how tough arcade Gradius 3 is. The bubble stage goes on for so long.
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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 »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:Leo's a tough game. The International version is a bit easier to get into at first because it controls better, so give that a whirl if you haven't. International ver is the better balanced one I find because compared to the JP version:

• The gunpod is more responsive and launches faster. The JP version requires you to hold the button briefly, and it seems to spin up briefly before it actually shoots out.

• The 2 button layout lets you fire forward while the gunpods are active. If the gunpods fail to target something in front of you immediately, you always have a basic stream of shots.

• There's no checkpoints. This makes the last level which has some giant mechs that love to collide into you slightly more manageable since it's not suddenly a hardcore memorize or die game (toughest part of the game imo).
There aren't many times I'd recommend a later International version over an original Japanese one, but this is one of those cases. Nearly every change in the International version is for the better. Leo's hard, but its super static so enough routing and repetition will see you through it. The stage 5 boss is completely ridiculous without routing and then trivial once you know the pattern.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

To Far Away Times wrote:There aren't many times I'd recommend a later International version over an original Japanese one, but this is one of those cases. Nearly every change in the International version is for the better.
What other games would you say have a non-Japanese release as the better one due to gameplay changes? I'm struggling to think of any. I can think of plenty where the JP version is clearly better balanced (there's a TON of Konami games with awful changes which make them worse than their JP releases), but not the other way around aside from Leo.

Fortunately in Leo's case, the enemies and bosses are the same between both versions, so if you can 1CC International, doing the no-checkpoint JP version isn't overwhelmingly harder.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BrianC »

Kid-Niki? That one adds checkpoints, but I'm not sure if it changes anything with the bosses or enemy patterns. Trying to make it more "hip" was not an improvement, though.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by To Far Away Times »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:
To Far Away Times wrote:There aren't many times I'd recommend a later International version over an original Japanese one, but this is one of those cases. Nearly every change in the International version is for the better.
What other games would you say have a non-Japanese release as the better one due to gameplay changes? I'm struggling to think of any. I can think of plenty where the JP version is clearly better balanced (there's a TON of Konami games with awful changes which make them worse than their JP releases), but not the other way around aside from Leo.

Fortunately in Leo's case, the enemies and bosses are the same between both versions, so if you can 1CC International, doing the no-checkpoint JP version isn't overwhelmingly harder.
I kinda like getting bombs back at the end of each stage in DonPachi, but that probably isn't better balanced.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by third_strike »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:Leo's a tough game. The International version is a bit easier to get into at first because it controls better, so give that a whirl if you haven't. International ver is the better balanced one I find because compared to the JP version:

• The gunpod is more responsive and launches faster. The JP version requires you to hold the button briefly, and it seems to spin up briefly before it actually shoots out.

• The 2 button layout lets you fire forward while the gunpods are active. If the gunpods fail to target something in front of you immediately, you always have a basic stream of shots.

• There's no checkpoints. This makes the last level which has some giant mechs that love to collide into you slightly more manageable since it's not suddenly a hardcore memorize or die game (toughest part of the game imo).
I think it's almost a consensus that the world's version is better shapped. I would like to concentrate my efforts on the Japanese version, that's why I prefer not to taste the forbidden fruit (international version), so as not to run the risk of not being able to go back.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BIL »

third_strike wrote:I would like to concentrate my efforts on the Japanese version, that's why I prefer not to taste the forbidden fruit (international version), so as not to run the risk of not being able to go back.
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Cool + Hardcore :cool:
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by pegboy »

BareKnuckleRoo wrote:
To Far Away Times wrote:There aren't many times I'd recommend a later International version over an original Japanese one, but this is one of those cases. Nearly every change in the International version is for the better.
What other games would you say have a non-Japanese release as the better one due to gameplay changes?
The first raiden doesn't have checkpoints in the US version.
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Mykaizer
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Mykaizer »

Dodonpachi on the Saturn

Game is hard as hell (duh.)

https://i.imgur.com/hc8TYVr.jpg
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Stevens »

Crisis Wing and ZerOranger :)

Two of my favorite shooters.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Myketosis wrote:Dodonpachi on the Saturn

Game is hard as hell (duh.)

https://i.imgur.com/hc8TYVr.jpg
People knock it, but it's the version for tru shmup souljaz.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Mykaizer »

Playing the Saturn mode on very easy seems like the best way to approach this game at the moment.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Myketosis wrote:Playing the Saturn mode on very easy seems like the best way to approach this game at the moment.
I almost agree...except it forces you to fight Hibachi at the end no matter what, which is a really weird way to cap off an "easy" mode (which even before that is still harder than most games ever get). There are also a couple of technical differences wit the Saturn port; it has no slowdown, which makes certain sections quote tough. It also runs slightly faster than the arcade, meaning things will come at you quicker. And the needle bullets the enemies shoot at you are a couple of pixels thicker, which can make a few scenarios tough to squeeze through. All of these add up to a version that's generally not accepted for score play.

On the other hand, these differences make clearing that version a badge of honour imo. Plus, Saturn mode has the extra opening stage with a fourth song!
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Except the fourth song's just a remix (a good one mind you) of St1 from Donpachi. I do really dig the aesthetic of the Saturn exclusive DDP stage. The city engulfed in magma really sets the tone of the extent of the destruction the Donpachi wars have had (DDP's true ending states that global warming and overpopulation were fixed by the sheer number of deaths that happened, oof). The arcade version of DDP never really shows us any residential or populated areas that have been destroyed, so the Saturn stage sets the tone of the game nicely.

Also, Hibachi's been toned down a lot. Not sure if the Saturn version loops at all, but if there's a separate Loop 1 Hibachi vs Loop 2 Hibachi, Loop 1 Hibachi looks pretty manageable except for maybe its final attack. So it's mean, but not exceptionally mean I guess.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by third_strike »

Trying to play Sengoku Ace. Never played a Psikyo game before, then I am pretty scared about all amount of random elements in this game. The game seems very far from my skills level too, sometimes it hit me so bad which I pray to get out. Then I will need upgrade to survive.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by EmperorIng »

third_strike wrote:Trying to play Sengoku Ace. Never played a Psikyo game before, then I am pretty scared about all amount of random elements in this game. The game seems very far from my skills level too, sometimes it hit me so bad which I pray to get out. Then I will need upgrade to survive.
Sengoku Ace can be heavily memorized which mitigates the randomness quite a bit. All of the late-game bosses have safespots or simple maneuvers that let you easily dodge their attacks. If you don't mind using a few bombs you can hopefully clear the first loop relatively quickly. The second loop also does not yet feature Psikyo's standard revenge bullets from enemies, so you can hopefully memorized that as well with some savestate use.

But as a first psikyo game it can be intimidating! I think Aine is the best character for survival, Jane comes in at possibly second (if you point-blank enemies).
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by third_strike »

Really the characters seem very strong at point-blank range, but weak in a far distance, this plus the low speed make hard cover a great amount of screen. Gameplay aside, the game is really beautiful.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by DMC »

Super Fantasy Zone. Lovely boss theme signed by professor Kodaka.
Lovely drum fill-in as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bInFm0WXnw0
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Mykaizer »

Layer Section.

This was actually one of the reasons to get a Sega Saturn in the first place. That and Darius Gaiden. Mainly because of the beautiful two-dimensional pixelated artwork.(Also knowing that the Saturn in general dominates the 2d stuff in a sense). I guess I had the problem of not wanting enough and actually went on a buying spree for more saturn stuff. As a result, I never gave these games the time they deserved.(Although good challenging shooters require a decent amount of time :P)

I remember discovering about Layer Section from exploring more about the history of RayStorm (or probably while also trying to see if RayStorm was on MAME).
My first experience with RayStorm was from a Playstation demo disc (Vol4?) which was one of my first vivid console shooter experiences (sadly none on the Sega Genesis but actually there was some from the Atari 5200). That and Raiden Project were my two sought after shooters for the longest time. Actually thinking now, it was Raiden Fighters from the arcades that really piqued my shooter/stg/shmup cravings. Although it is sort of hazy which shooter(s) actually had the most profound effect(s) on me. Perhaps it's just an amalgamation of all those kinds of games to put it simply. But because I was never able to get the full version of RayStorm when younger, it always seemed like a special game. I must have played the demo countless times. (then again I only had small amount of PS1 games). Looking now while owning RayStorm and beating it, it really is almost or slightly above average. Layer Section is the better game.

Finally I'm going deep into Layer Section Aka Gunforce aka Galactic Attack. Currently trying to beat it on default settings. Can now get to the last boss with relative ease but with not enough lives left over to last long. I'm slowly chipping away at it. Good thing the music is pretty much timeless as well as the gameplay(the balance seems to be on point). A masterpiece of a game.

Over the years I've come to appreciate shooters more and more. The learning process is pretty satisfying(duh), as you guys may already know, hence why this site even exists.(and for a number of other reasons) :D It's pretty funny the motivations behind what gets me to play a video game now-a-days. I don't really want to be entertained but I guess the fun comes from the challenge. Getting better to make progress from learning in a game makes for the best kinds of video games. Maybe that's why the shmup genre is so good. :D
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BIL »

Myketosis wrote:Layer Section Aka Gunforce aka Galactic Attack. Currently trying to beat it on default settings. Can now get to the last boss with relative ease but with not enough lives left over to last long. I'm slowly chipping away at it. Good thing the music is pretty much timeless as well as the gameplay(the balance seems to be on point). A masterpiece of a game.
*Layer Section aka Gunlock aka Galactic Attack aka Rayforce Image (there actually is a Gunforce, it's the Irem run/gun whose sequel largely prefigured Metal Slug)

Agreed, it's one of the genre's great evergreens, and a classic Saturn killer app, by any name. Image
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sturmvogel Prime »

Gearshifters. That has to be the WORST shmup of 2020's

The damn game has a lot of fatal flaws which makes it almost unplayable.
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BIL
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by BIL »

Revisiting Task Force Harrier after a weekend with its superb spiritual sequel Gunnail. And I AINT BELIEVE IT :shock:

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LOOK HOW THEY DONE MUH FRIEND PVT HARBL MCDAVID (;`w´;)
Spoiler
Image


Turned my lil homie into chicken & macroni, he needed them i-frame flips 2 survive on this hellish battlefield Image

The [high altitude / air-to-air rockets] VS [low altitude / air-to-ground Xevious] is charming, but ultimately a little reductive, opposite Gunnail's balls-out Raidenesques. Still, the meaty Option-driven firepower, pitch-perfect ship speed and intricately detailed earth n' gunmetal (tiny pixel doods!) all stand out likewise. I also like the locked horizontal pan... Gunnail's a very minor offender, in the classic "surprise bitch!" sniper tank T-Bone of Toaplan/Raiden legend, but I have to admit I like not dealing with it at all. Interesting pairing, particularly from an epochal standpoint - the Toaplanesque pre- and post-Raiden.
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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 »

Played a bit of Einhander last night and had some good credits. Hoping it sticks this time around. Tried playing with the Mk. 3 ship and that works alot better for me. Double machinegun plus one gunpod makes this game play a lot more traditionally. Also playing on the RG351 handheld is a real gamechanger with full speed PS1 support and savestates.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by NuclearPotato »

Needed a break from my constant hori addiction, so I've picked Batsugun Special back up and have began to properly learn it with a goal of getting at least a 2-ALL on it before moving on to something else. I've already managed to get myself as far as the 4th stage boss on one credit, so I feel like the 1-ALL at least isn't too far off. I've also been playing a lot of Space Invaders recently, and am hilariously trash at it, only rarely managing to get past the first wave.
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Re: Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Been on a major 16-bit kick lately, going back at SFC Gradius III.

I'm doing alright so far, but Perikles camped himself at the top of the hi score board with a 17-all counter stop. Yeesh.
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