The Self-Introduction Thread

Rozyrg · Post by **Rozyrg** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:57 pm

Lurked here awhile too... at least since Starbase 299 disappeared I think.

I mostly prefer shooters of the 16-bit era, Truxton being my all-time favorite.

Stuff like Dezaemon/Blast Works are my current obsession, though. They perfectly combine my passions for art/drawing and wasting time with videogames.

Some of my BW crap (and my friends' too)

WarBovine · Post by **WarBovine** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:42 am

Hello everyone.

Like everyone else on this thread, I've been a long time lurker that finally decided to start posting. Ikaruga was the first shooter I really got and made me appreciate things like chaining and 1cc's. I still tend to prefer memorizers like R-Type or Image Fight.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:31 am

hi i'm captain ahar. i love shmups. just found the site even though i've been playing arcade games for years.

been playing gradius, progear no arashi, and thunder cross. no verts because i don't feel like rotating my mame monitor.

what's up everyone.

Midnight Milkshake · Post by **Midnight Milkshake** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:47 am

Hi to everyone!, as many, I'been lurking around for years, and now decided to register. I played many shooters when I was a brat and loved Toaplan stuff (Outzone, Zero Wing, Truxton/Tatsujin), but left the genre with the 32/64 era

.Returned with Dreamcast and Giga Wing, now I'm into all that Cave thing, spending loads of money in useless things like pillows, mousepads, calendars, etc

; and just started to collect PCBs with a Dogyuun board.

effenzo · Post by **effenzo** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:44 pm

hi everyone. ive always enjoyed playing shmups ever since i played G-Darius on the Playstation years ago but i never knew there were so many games and variants in the genre till recently. i really enjoy the bullet curtain touhou games and have recently been introduced to cute-em-ups and crazy games like parodius. im really joining this forum so i can find out more about other games in the genre and id like to know about some of the good japanese ones as well, so far im not too fussed if the games are vertical or horizontal scrolling, just as long as its fun

stolari · Post by **stolari** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:08 pm

Hello everybody

Just saying hi after lurking around the site for a while. I'm really new to shmups, never really liked them when I was a kid but have really got into them recently. I really enjoy Battle Garegga and Dodonpachi - so would have to name those as my favourites - though being new to the scene means there are LOADS of games to catch up on. At the moment I seem to have no hope of 1ccing anything but you never know!

corbie · Post by **corbie** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:16 am

I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a reviewer for wiiware-world.com and vc-reviews.com and I've been visiting this site for years but never signed up. I'm not sure why, maybe just the anti-social side of me.

I've been a shooter fan since 1988 when I first played R-Type on my best friend's Sega Master System. I now own about 40 game consoles and two arcade cabinets and I have shooters running out my ears. I look forward to talking with you guys and I've already received a ton of help just in the few posts I've already made. Great forum!

Oh and I also just launched my Bullet Hell site which you can find below in my sig. I'll be adding new reviews all the time.

CptRansom · Post by **CptRansom** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:03 pm

Sturmvogel Prime · Post by **Sturmvogel Prime** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:08 am

I forgot to introduce myself.

Hi everybody, i'm 23, live in Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas.
I started playing shmups in the 90's when Raiden hit the arcades.

Here's my some of my favorite shmups:
Thunder Force V
Triggerheart Exelica
Blazing Star
Raiden III
Raiden II
Psyvariar 2
Thunder Force VI

Super Dan · Post by **Super Dan** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:18 am

I used to post on this board (and one that preceded it, if I remember correctly) so long ago that it feels like another life. For some reason, I lost my interest in arcade games four or five years ago, but I'm thinking about getting back into the old hobby again.

I never did get around to buying an arcade cabinet - something I might have to rectify in the near future.

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:54 am

I never did introduce myself, even though I joined almost a year ago.

Necronopticous (aka that guy who just 2-ALL'd Strikers 1945 III) told me to join.

I just turned 19, and I live in northern Indiana. I've been playing video games and stuff since I was 2 or 3 on the good old NES (which I still have, in perfect working condition), so they've always been a passion of mine. I recently got off of my RPG kick of a few years, and I only really play shmups and puzzle-type games (and that occasional game of Halo 3).

I've always had an interest in arcade games, but shmups really grabbed my attention when I saw some clips of someone playing Mushihimesama on YouTube. After I expressed my interest, Necronopticous sent me some CAVE shmups for MAME, but they were too hard for me (damn things still like to piss me off). I eventually downloaded Perfect Cherry Blossom, which was a little more accomodating to a newbie like myself. After spending most of last year playing Touhou shmups, I branched out a bit more last fall and started playing more MAME stuff, and eventually started collecting console shmups as well.

My (current) favorites are:
Perfect Cherry Blossom (among the other Touhou titles, this one stands out the most to me)
Mushihimesama
ESPGaluda
Radirgy
Triggerheart Exelica
Twinkle Star Sprites (and similar games like Touhou 3 and 9)
Flame Zapper Kotsujin
Gunbird 2

Admittedly, I suck at all of them, but I still love playing and getting better at them all the time.

Malc74 · Post by **Malc74** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:37 pm

Hello all. Been lurking here for the longest time, so I figured I might as well register. I recognise a few names from various other forums I visit.
Anyway, I'm purely an amateur shmupper - no PCB's or imports for me (I'd love to, but I'm sure my wife and my bank manager would have some serious words about it!), so I have to make do with MAME and whatever commercial shmups stagger over here (really looking forward to Raiden Fighters Aces).

Hmm, enough wibble. Hello!

Sinnoh Chestnut · Post by **Sinnoh Chestnut** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:24 pm

Hey guys. Long-time lurker who finally decided to join.

I've played shooters for several years, but I didn't really become a fan until I stayed in Japan for a few months in '05. I played my first Cave shmup (Ibara) and start collecting Saturn games. Good times!

Unfortunately, even after years of playing, I'm comically unskilled. I'd practice more, but honestly it's hard to stay dedicated to things when no one around you shares the same interests!

I prefer to play games on my TV or the arcade, but I do use MAME to play the harder-to-acquire shmups. The games I play currently are Layer Section (SS), Soukyuugurentai (SS), Castle of Shikigami 3 (Wii), Blazing Lazers (VC), the Touhou games (PC), and Progear (MAME).

A small goal of mine, like many fans, is to 1CC a Cave game.

totheteeth · Post by **totheteeth** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:56 pm

Found this forum about a week or two ago and decided to join. I'm 18, been playing video games since before I can remember. I'd been playing the Touhou games for awhile without really looking into anything else. I recently decided to go more in-depth with this genre, and this seems like a good place to do that. I'm absolutely awful at these games, but oh well. Currently playing Cho Ren Sha, Blue Wish Resurrection, Donpachi, and Ikaruga.

Post by **spadgy** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:15 pm

totheteeth wrote:Found this forum about a week or two ago and decided to join. I'm 18, been playing video games since before I can remember. I'd been playing the Touhou games for awhile without really looking into anything else. I recently decided to go more in-depth with this genre, and this seems like a good place to do that. I'm absolutely awful at these games, but oh well. Currently playing Cho Ren Sha, Blue Wish Resurrection, Donpachi, and Ikaruga.

Welcome! I started awful, but I getting there. Stick with it and stick around!

Little Nemo · Post by **Little Nemo** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:22 pm

Hello. I've been lurking this forum since the beginning of 2009, after a resolution to bother with the more social areas of the internet. I think it's time to join, if only to post once or twice ever!

Considering shmups, I don't have a particular preference over any certain one, though I'm sure I can conjure up a list of games that I probably wouldn't want to play for a while! No one likes everything, or at least I've never heard about it.

I actually don't play very many games outside of emulation. Of the last generation of consoles, I just have a Gamecube and a Game Boy Advance. I have none of the newer consoles except for a Nintendo DS. Oh well, at least there's tons to play in MAME, right?

Well, there's my problem. I've heard that the older versions of MAME have problems with some games that work fine in newer ones (as well as new games of course), but I've also heard newer versions of MAME are plagued with problems all over!

I'll make a new thread about this, so that this topic doesn't get clogged up with this matter.

saucykobold · Post by **saucykobold** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:04 am

Greetings. Like several others here, I'm a long-time lurker.

I enjoy twitch shooters as much as the next person, but I tend to gravitate towards memorizers. Accordingly, I'm a big Irem fan. I also love the first three Raiden games (these reward memorization more than good reflexes, imo).

Among non-shmups, I spend a lot of time with sprite-based first person shooters, the Crusader series, and Castlevanias with sequential stages. I also have a thing for really old computer role-playing games.

At the moment, I'm playing Metal Slug 3 and Image Fight II.

indutrial · Post by **indutrial** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:26 am

Hello.

I'm another long-time lurker. I got into shooters as a child, playing hours of Life Force, Gradius III, Super R-Type, and UN Squadron. During high school, college, and the past 3 years, I had pretty much stopped playing most video games, though I occasionally played through an RPG or adventure game on the PS2 or Gamecube. I got back into shooters when I watched Screwattack.com's top-ten 2-D shooters video and realized how many titles I'd missed out on since my gaming heyday with the SNES. This was quickly remedied by about $100 worth of used stuff found on Amazon and through garage sales (the best find being my $20 Dreamcast, which came with Ikaruga and Border Down). Downloading MAME didn't hurt none either. I re-discovered old favorites and a few newer favorites I'd never heard of before (such as Xexex and Salamander II).

The worst thing I've discovered is that I'm really shit at this kind of gaming. I'm currently frustrating the hell out of myself just trying to conquer the MAME versions of Gradius, Gradius II, and R-Type. I'm even worse at games like Ikaruga and Dodonpachi.

My main interest in gaming has often been the artistic side of the games themselves. I'm a musician/composer by trade and I'm currently assembling a book of Konami themes from over the years. So, even if I can't beat the bubble stage on Gradius III (arcade), I can at least play the bass line or melody for 'Aqua Illusion.' I find myself spending far more time goofing around with game music than playing the actual games.

I'm currently playing a lot of the original Gradius (arcade) and transcribing the music for Axelay.

worstplayer · Post by **worstplayer** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:15 am

indutrial wrote:Hello.

I'm another long-time lurker. I got into shooters as a child, playing hours of Life Force, Gradius III, Super R-Type, and UN Squadron. During high school, college, and the past 3 years, I had pretty much stopped playing most video games, though I occasionally played through an RPG or adventure game on the PS2 or Gamecube. I got back into shooters when I watched Screwattack.com's top-ten 2-D shooters video and realized how many titles I'd missed out on since my gaming heyday with the SNES. This was quickly remedied by about $100 worth of used stuff found on Amazon and through garage sales (the best find being my $20 Dreamcast, which came with Ikaruga and Border Down). Downloading MAME didn't hurt none either. I re-discovered old favorites and a few newer favorites I'd never heard of before (such as Xexex and Salamander II).

The worst thing I've discovered is that I'm really shit at this kind of gaming. I'm currently frustrating the hell out of myself just trying to conquer the MAME versions of Gradius, Gradius II, and R-Type. I'm even worse at games like Ikaruga and Dodonpachi.

My main interest in gaming has often been the artistic side of the games themselves. I'm a musician/composer by trade and I'm currently assembling a book of Konami themes from over the years. So, even if I can't beat the bubble stage on Gradius III (arcade), I can at least play the bass line or melody for 'Aqua Illusion.' I find myself spending far more time goofing around with game music than playing the actual games.

I'm currently playing a lot of the original Gradius (arcade) and transcribing the music for Axelay.

Excellent. Maybe you could add something to our STG covers album

And don't worry about your skills. As you can see on me, not being able to dominate highscore tables doesn't make shmups any less fun.

0ccamsRazor · Post by **0ccamsRazor** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:16 am

I'm yet another lurker that's been around since about last year.

I was introduced to the genre by Warning Forever and Touhou, later on moving to MAME and what it can offer. I've yet to accomplish anything aside from clearing Touhou PCB Extra, but that doesn't really matter to me.

I haven't been to any of the arcades here in SoCal that offer shmups yet, and I plan to do so sometime in the future.

I've been playing shmups on and off for quite a while now; I find myself playing just whatever interests me outside of shmups. Right now I'm focused on 1CCing Dodonpachi.

scottbpm · Post by **scottbpm** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:37 am

Hi all, been lurking about here for ages, time to say hi!
I live in Scotland & have been playing shmups since Phoenix on the 2600, have recently picked up a Supergrafx.
My top games would have to be Tatsujin (PCE), Zanac Neo (Ps1), Granada (Megadrive), and the Star Soldier series.
Cheers, Scott.

steveovig · Post by **steveovig** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:14 pm

I'm not really new or anything. I had just assumed I had already posted in this thread but going through it tells me otherwise.

I'm Steve, almost 25, from Youngstown, OH. Currently I'm a Junior majoring in History at YSU but I'm in the process of transferring over to Mount Union College to study Japanese in a double major. I've been shmupping since 2002 and I've 1CCed around 8 shooters. My favorite shooter is easily Strikers II, of which I only own the US version. I've never 1CCed it but it was the first shmup I really got into back in 02. I can get to Level 1-5 currently on Strikers.

I also like 2D platformers and Arcade ports and nothing really else except for a few oddities. I love the Katamari franchise! Also, I've been married since 2006 and I love it. I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Social Anxiety but I swear I'm not too much of a freak or anything. I love to work out and I used to weightlift but not anymore. I also love Shetland Sheepdogs and French history but not at the same time. I consider myself a wrestling analyst and house hundreds of DVDs and VHS tapes full of wrestling. I'm also poor but hopefully not for the rest of my life. I would love to get a job in Japan for a few years after college, with my wife, and continue my language studies there and possibly go to Grad school at some point in my life.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:20 pm

Greetings and welcome to all new humanoids to shmup.org!

twalden · Post by **twalden** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:02 am

Hi, I've been playing shmups for a long time. Like since Galaxian was new and shit. My shmup tastes are pretty well rounded, from old school to new stuff.

I've lurked on this board mainly for the useful strategy section. Finally decided to join last year when there was a FS thread in the trading station I couldn't pass up

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:22 pm

indutrial wrote:(the best find being my $20 Dreamcast, which came with Ikaruga and Border Down)

That right there, is one helluva combo deal, especially at a lowly garage sale. The DC Border Down game, alone, goes for a pretty penny on the secondary market -- even moreso with the DC BD LE bundled set (only 3,000 copies of the BD LE set were produced). I bought my DC console new and along the way, eventually bought the DC ports of Ikaruga and Border Down new...paid way more than that measly twenty, of course. Quite a steal at that price indeed. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

RGC · Post by **RGC** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:42 pm

Welcome Dave.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:45 pm

we should probably explain your avatar for the non UK people....

indutrial · Post by **indutrial** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:02 am

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:
indutrial wrote:(the best find being my $20 Dreamcast, which came with Ikaruga and Border Down)
That right there, is one helluva combo deal, especially at a lowly garage sale. The DC Border Down game, alone, goes for a pretty penny on the secondary market -- even moreso with the DC BD LE bundled set (only 3,000 copies of the BD LE set were produced). I bought my DC console new and along the way, eventually bought the DC ports of Ikaruga and Border Down new...paid way more than that measly twenty, of course. Quite a steal at that price indeed. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I remember barely being able to hold up my own jaw when I saw what the $20 price tag entailed. I had actually taken the initiative to intercept the Dreamcast, which was mentioned on a craigslist ad for an upcoming garage sale. The old woman must of thought I was insane, arranging to come by on my lunch hour to shop out a fucking video game console her grown son abandoned in the garage. I did my best to hide my brimming delight in the fact that the advertised Dreamcast was afloat inside a giant microwave-oven box full of Dreamcast paraphernalia, including the aforementioned shmup treasures. If I ever decide to dump a crapload of cash on some pricy rare classic (like Radiant Silvergun) or Japanese Cave title, this can be my justification.

Battletoad · Post by **Battletoad** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:54 am

Hello all. I´m Mark, 22, from Germany.
I´ve also known this website and forum for more than a year and now decided to join.

I owned a Sega Master System as a child and got back into retrogaming at the beginning of 2007 where I bought a SNES. About half a year later I got Axelay which was the first shmup I played at all (and an awesome one as well). This game got me really interested in the genre, especially because I already liked hard games before (like Battletoads on the NES

). So when I then also had a Mega Drive I purchased and enjoyed Thunder Force III and IV.

In early 2008 I also got a Dreamcast... not because of the shmups actually, but I discovered then how many good ones the console actually has. Could add Giga Wing 2, Mars Matrix, Gunbird 2 and Ikaruga to my collection. I still am no master of these bullet hell shooters, but not so bad either

Would also like to buy Zero Gunner 2, Under Defeat and Border Down, but they´re just really expensive

Not to forget, I also played a few shooters on Mame, especially DoDonPachi and Guwange.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:08 am

I feel like I should finally post here. I've never been too forthcoming with "introduce yourself" threads, but this topic just keeps popping up, heh.

I signed up right around the time I moved overseas for uni, and haven't been able to post nearly as much on the score / strategy forums as I'd like. Now that I'm done with school, I'm hopefully going to have the time and equipment to do just that. Enjoyed my time here so far, though! This is a good forum with some great people on it.