hi alll totally knew to both this forum and shmups i'm afraid! (please be gentle with me )
iat the minute i'm aquiring quite a bit of sega stuff including a master system, megadrive and the dreamcast. also have an xbox but it seems to be gathering a bit of dust at the minute
played one of my first real shmups the other day in the form of ikaruga on the gc and to say i was blown away is an understatement. i know this isn't paticularly cheap or available on the dreamcast, so was wondering if anyone could give me a lowdown on where i should start for some reasonably priced shmups for the systems i have.
however as i'm a newb with the genre i need something that's challenging but not impossible, and this is where independant research has failed as it is really hard to initially get a clear idea of a games merits when ithe price and difficulty is observed.
if anyone could make some suggestions i would be greatfull to say the least. thanks for your time
hmm i can only tell ya about the DC really. Not a great deal in the U.K scheme of things, you got:
Gunbird 2 by Psikyo which is fairly unforgiving but shouldnt set you back a packet.
Gigawing by Capcom which again is fairly unforgiving especially in later levels but once you've mastered the reflect system it becomes a lot easier. again you should get this for cheap
Erm...you got Rez too which is a classic but not your normal shmup, is even considered by some not to be a 'proper' shooter.
I guess you got Cannon Spike and Bangai-o too while we're on a boarderliner theme (i.e. not your 'normal shoot em up per se)
There is also a plethora of DC Jap/U.S games that never made it to these fair shores. look for reviews of the following:
Zero Gunner 2 (def recommended)
Mars Matrix
Gigawing 2
Shikigami No Shiro 2
Psyvariar 2
Border Down
and thats all i can think of off the top of my head. Check here for a full(ish) list of shmups for all consoles: http://www.shmups.com/
check out the xenocide files.
Shmups wouldn't be fun if they were easy, so I'll just ignore your request for merciful shooters.
For the DC, you'll definitely want Mars Matrix. Mars Matrix is my favorite for the DC and the eBay asking price for the American version is very low. Ikaruga is really not that expensive and can be had for $30-40, and with the DC version you get VGA output, a must for Iky. Gunbird 2 is great also, but you might not like it because of the difficulty.
Mega Drive- Thunder Force III (easy), Thunder Force IV (good challenge after you can safely beat TF3, and the best 16-bit shooter)
Saturn- Darius Gaiden, Layer Section/Galactic Attack
DC- Giga Wing 2, Zero Gunner 2, Mars Matrix, Gunbird 2 (first two are about the easiest you're going to find on DC, but still pretty hard - latter two even harder, but fantastic)
thanks for the help i'll definately check some of those out when i can find them. just want to clarify the difficulty thing i love hard games and yet am a total amature at shmups making my quest for a more simple game and innitiation. after a few........ BRING ON THE CHALLENGE hehe
Not to boast or anything, but I wrote an article for my site (link's in my sig) about the best Genesis and Sega CD shmups. your mileage may vary but I hope it helps!
Id say my favorite Genesis shooter is Thunderforce 3, but there are so many out there for that system. I was actually thinking of picking up a DC just to play the few we have in the states Gunbird 2, Mars Matrix, Giga Wing 1 & 2.
Master System: Power Strike and Power Strike II are absolute must-haves. Neither of them is easy, though. Especially part one is brutal. But they both are among the best 8-bit shmups ever. While you're at it, get the Master System version of R-Type, too. Beautiful conversion, that one.
If you want an easy shmup for your SMS, get Sagaia. It can be completed fairly easily, just be aware that every other home conversion of the game is better, though. And Astro Warrior is probably the second-easiest shmup I've ever played (the easiest one would be Aleste GG), but it's very short and, let's be honest, not very good.
Mega Drive: Thunder Force III and Musha Aleste are both rather easy to 1CC and both are excellent shmups no collection should be without. If you have a Sega CD, add Keio Flying Squadron to the lot.
Arrow Flash and Zero Wing are both nothing special gameplay-wise, but finely crafted games nonetheless. Good fun if you don't necessarily expect to be impressed by a game. Zero Wing picks up quite a bit in the last two stages, which makes the game easily accesible while still presenting a decent challenge.
Gynoug (Wings of Wor) is IMO another must-have, whose difficulty level is somewhere in the mid range. Same goes for Elemental Master. Hellfire is another wonderful shmup for the system (some changes make the MD version more playable than the arcade original), but that one's rock hard.
Personally, I'm not much of a fan of Thunder Force IV due to its invisi-bullets and its length, but a lot of people do love it and it's certainly not a bad game to pick up. I have mixed feelings about Gaiares. It's quite original, but it can be very frustrating, mostly due to its questionable hit detection.
Dreamcast: Well, the Dreamcast's shmup library is very small and not one of the games is easy by any means. For starters, I'd still recommend Gunbird 2. It'll kick your butt, but at the same time it will always give you the feeling it's your fault, so I never felt the game to be frustrating. Ikaruga is a beautiful piece of art, but it's too "special" for its own good. If it happens to meet your taste in video games it'll be an instant favourite of yours, but if it doesn't stike a nerve, you'll probably not care for it (while still appreciating how well-made the game is).
You asked for Master System, Mega Drive and Dreamcast specifically. Do you want some Saturn recommendations, too?
I'm also one of those people who like Bio-Hazard Battle. It's not very complicated, and it's pretty short, but it's a lot of fun. It gets really fast paced and it has a really unique theme/style. I love the music. It can be found online for really cheap.
I really like Thunder Force IV. everything about it comes together really well. It's hard to explain what's so good about it, but either way i think it'd be a great addition to your genesis library. It's definately one of my favorites. I think it can be found online for really cheap as well. i think it's like 7 bucks on ebgames.com. maybe even cheaper.
BUHA wrote:I'm also one of those people who like Bio-Hazard Battle. It's not very complicated, and it's pretty short, but it's a lot of fun. It gets really fast paced and it has a really unique theme/style. I love the music. It can be found online for really cheap.
I really like Thunder Force IV. everything about it comes together really well. It's hard to explain what's so good about it, but either way i think it'd be a great addition to your genesis library. It's definately one of my favorites. I think it can be found online for really cheap as well. i think it's like 7 bucks on ebgames.com. maybe even cheaper.
Yeah, I just bought Lightening Force/Thunder Force IV from them. It was $5.99. They also have Elemental Master for the same price. I almost got it, but I decided on Thunder Force IV Genesis (I decided on it since I love the other TF games I have played), Trouble Shooter Genesis, Dragon Spirit NES, and Atomic Punk GB instead (wanted to keep the amount under 30 dollars).
I will get Elemental Master eventually. I tried it out and it's sweet from what I played. However, despite how much I liked what I played, my instinct tells me that I will like TFIV better.
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hehe
