Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

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professor ganson
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by professor ganson »

Not a big fan of console shooters, but the list looks even more sad without Zanac. Can't really see anything on the list that I want to play again soon.
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MathU
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by MathU »

BrianC wrote:Spriggan Mark 2 was PCE CD. Wasn't the SNES one Spriggan Powered?
Whoops, my bad haven't played it in a while. The point is there's like three Spriggan games and you should all be more specific when you mention them.
Of course, that's just an opinion.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Ed Oscuro »

BrianC wrote:
MathU wrote:You people should really be more specific when you mention Spriggin anyway. Seirei Senshi Spriggan is a cool game, but Spriggan Mark 2 for the SNES is a massive turd.
Spriggan Mark 2 was PCE CD. Wasn't the SNES one Spriggan Powered?

Edit: Just checked. The SNES one is Spriggan Powered. Not surprised that the SNES one probably sucks since Micronics designed it, rather than Compile. I heard Mark 2 PCE is decent, but not as good as the first. Interesting that it's one of the few hori games from Compile.
There's a Spriggan for PC-E CD (Super CD-ROM^2 I think) other than Mark II. It is the one referred to. Not gonna bother with Mark II anytime soon. I probably should give Spriggan PC-E CD another chance though. It's right here on the shelf next to me, in fact...below Gungage, Medal of Honor, and the third Samurai Spirits + RAM pack for Saturn, eh...
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Shatterhand »

blackoak wrote:Shocked that Gun Nac is in the top 20. Really? Ahead of Zanac? I should have voted... :?
Yeah, didn't get it either.
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BrianC
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by BrianC »

MathU wrote:
BrianC wrote:Spriggan Mark 2 was PCE CD. Wasn't the SNES one Spriggan Powered?
Whoops, my bad haven't played it in a while. The point is there's like three Spriggan games and you should all be more specific when you mention them.
I don't think it matters too much since it's safe bet that "Spriggan" is referring to the first PCE game on a top ten list like this.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by evil_ash_xero »

Yeah, I've never seen Spriggan Mark 2 being referred to as Spriggan. I actually didn't realize that Spriggan had a longer name, until I bought the disc. For the record, in my voting, I gave the entire name. 8)
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by louisg »

I feel like this thread should be clipped to the top of the forums like the top 25 of all time is. It's a pretty decent list of games to try for newcomers. And, it's something we can point to when people start asking if there are any easier shmups around here (I've noticed a few dupe threads along these lines).
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by chronicdog »

Amazing that they never made a sequel to Einhander, or at the VERY least an HD update for PS3/360. That game really holds up in terms of play, but dont play it on an HDTV, a 20" SDTV is ideal.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by R79 »

Good to see Super Aleste on there. Wonderful way to kill half an hour, with excellent 16bit sound and visuals. Don't think I've ever got past the stage where all the decaying spaceships are spraying out shrapnel everywhere, very tricky to navigate!
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professor ganson
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by professor ganson »

blackoak wrote:Shocked that Gun Nac is in the top 20. Really? Ahead of Zanac? I should have voted... :?
Gun Nac is fun if you turn up the difficulty level, but it's not Zanac. I should have voted as well. Zanac rules!
professor ganson wrote:Not a big fan of console shooters, but the list looks even more sad without Zanac. Can't really see anything on the list that I want to play again soon.
That was a lame comment. There's nothing wrong with console shooters.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Zanac is not a console exclusive shmup. I believe the MSX version predates Famicom one.

Glad to see Zanac Neo and Sonic Wings Special made it.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by professor ganson »

Obiwanshinobi wrote:Zanac is not a console exclusive shmup. I believe the MSX version predates Famicom one.

Glad to see Zanac Neo and Sonic Wings Special made it.
Never thought of that! I was thinking of console exclusives as non-arcade releases peculiar to one console. But strictly speaking, that's too narrow.

Someone here told me once that Sonic Wings Special had an arcade release but I guess that's mistaken.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by BIL »

SWS didn't have an arcade release, but Sonic Wings Limited did (arcade exclusive, to be specific). Similar "greatest hits" concept but not the same game.
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professor ganson
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by professor ganson »

BIL wrote:SWS didn't have an arcade release, but Sonic Wings Limited did (arcade exclusive, to be specific). Similar "greatest hits" concept but not the same game.
Ok, that all makes sense now.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by FerociousSwan »

I'm surprised Bullet Soul was even present with all the hate it gets!
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by DMC »

Bump!

Can't we do another one of these console-exclusive polls this year. Long time since the last one and would be interesting to see how well the more recent releases would do. Maybe increase the size of the lists from 10 to maybe 15 or even 20?

I'm just hoping someone volunteers to organize such thing. :)
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by dmk1198 »

DMC wrote:Bump!

Can't we do another one of these console-exclusive polls this year. Long time since the last one and would be interesting to see how well the more recent releases would do. Maybe increase the size of the lists from 10 to maybe 15 or even 20?

I'm just hoping someone volunteers to organize such thing. :)
I nominate DMC ;-)

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To Far Away Times
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by To Far Away Times »

A worthy bump, I've never seen this list before.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Sengoku Strider »

My question would be, aside from a shuffling of the order, what would even change? What console exclusive shooters have there been in the last decade? Just about everything debuts on PC now.

All I can think of offhand is some of the ShotTriggers stuff.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by To Far Away Times »

Sengoku Strider wrote:My question would be, aside from a shuffling of the order, what would even change? What console exclusive shooters have there been in the last decade? Just about everything debuts on PC now.

All I can think of offhand is some of the ShotTriggers stuff.
For this forum, when I hear console exclusive I pretty much think "Didn't have an arcade release," so PC games or games with PC ports like R-Type Final 2, Space Invaders Extreme, Cho Ren Sha 68K feel like they should qualify.

Arcade releases seem to be the major difference to me anyway. Non-arcade releases can be designed differently since the machine doesn't have to kick you off as fast as possible. A game like Cho Ren Sha 68K probably couldn't be released as an arcade game because it has frequent shields and therefore doesn't kill you fast enough.

Or Space Invaders Extreme is primarily score focused, with survival not really being all that hard and extra lives are plentiful if you focus on that.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Sengoku Strider »

To Far Away Times wrote: For this forum, when I hear console exclusive I pretty much think "Didn't have an arcade release," so PC games or games with PC ports like R-Type Final 2, Space Invaders Extreme, Cho Ren Sha 68K feel like they should qualify.

Arcade releases seem to be the major difference to me anyway. Non-arcade releases can be designed differently since the machine doesn't have to kick you off as fast as possible. A game like Cho Ren Sha 68K probably couldn't be released as an arcade game because it has frequent shields and therefore doesn't kill you fast enough.

Or Space Invaders Extreme is primarily score focused, with survival not really being all that hard and extra lives are plentiful if you focus on that.
Have there been any arcade shmups released in the last decade, aside from EXA-Arcadia stuff and SDOJ back in 2012? It seems like kind of an odd place to make the divide in this day & age.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by To Far Away Times »

Sengoku Strider wrote:
To Far Away Times wrote: For this forum, when I hear console exclusive I pretty much think "Didn't have an arcade release," so PC games or games with PC ports like R-Type Final 2, Space Invaders Extreme, Cho Ren Sha 68K feel like they should qualify.

Arcade releases seem to be the major difference to me anyway. Non-arcade releases can be designed differently since the machine doesn't have to kick you off as fast as possible. A game like Cho Ren Sha 68K probably couldn't be released as an arcade game because it has frequent shields and therefore doesn't kill you fast enough.

Or Space Invaders Extreme is primarily score focused, with survival not really being all that hard and extra lives are plentiful if you focus on that.
Have there been any arcade shmups released in the last decade, aside from EXA-Arcadia stuff and SDOJ back in 2012? It seems like kind of an odd place to make the divide in this day & age.
There really hasn't been much. Crimzon Clover maybe?
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by DMC »

I agree the distinctions between console/arcade/home computer gaming has mostly faded away. But the ordinary top 25 is very dominated by arcade, so I think it is still fun to explore lists by various consoles or home computers as well.
Also, I still think there are general differences in the styles & cultures of arcade vs console gaming making them difficult to compare. For instance, in arcade games you paid per credit for each run whereas with console gaming you paid for the whole game and all its "contents". This obviously shaped the two, and I think it makes sense to treat them separately.

Nimitz excluded PC games in his poll, but I think a game like R-Type Final 2 (released on consoles and PC, but not arcade) should be eligible here. So maybe simply games that did not debut on Arcade.
But I also feel vintage home computer games (eg., C64) belong to a separate list, but I'm not sure.
dmk1198 wrote:
DMC wrote:I'm just hoping someone volunteers to organize such thing. :)
I nominate DMC ;-)
If you gotta get something done these days, you have to do it yourself, huh? :wink:
Maybe I will later, but still hopes someone better suited takes the bait.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Shatterhand »

There are different users nowadays too.

Also those lists are usually more about exposition than actually being the best game.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by blazinglazers69 »

I love a lot of those games. Surprised Soldier Blade isn't top 5 though. It's a fantastic console shooter. Killer soundtrack. Also happy to see Space Megaforce up there. Easily one of the very best on the SNES from a technical perspective. The mode 7 special effect in the second level is great. Also the wavy background in the cave level. Compile really did wonders with the SNES for that one. I also love the funky astro-lounge ost.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by BulletMagnet »

blazinglazers69 wrote:The mode 7 special effect in the second level is great. Also the wavy background in the cave level. Compile really did wonders with the SNES for that one.
And minimal slowdown, on top of that!
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Gamer707b »

Yea, I would love to see an updated list. I've played quite a bit of console shooters and just something about them I find charming. And yes, R-type Final 2 should be included.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by blazinglazers69 »

BulletMagnet wrote:
blazinglazers69 wrote:The mode 7 special effect in the second level is great. Also the wavy background in the cave level. Compile really did wonders with the SNES for that one.
And minimal slowdown, on top of that!
Yep! The game is a tad drab looking compared to their other stuff like MUSHA. I wonder if Compile used a smaller color pallet somehow to manage all those moving sprites on the SNES? I don't much about programming, but it's so impressive technically.

Yeah, Compile is great. I know this board is arcade-centric, but as someone who's only gotten into them the last few years, I find Compile shooters very fun. I think there's a lot of range in difficulty for video games in between a comfy JRPG and a perfect S++ Ikaruga clear. If Compile games fall more in the middle of those two, I'm still happy. It's ok for a game to take 10 hours of practice to clear instead of 50-100.

And although Gun*Nac may not be the hardest game, it IS one of the most polished on the NES. Zanac might be a better game, but Gun*Nac has a much better presentation and for some people that matters a lot.
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by Marc »

No Gynoug? For shame..... :-(
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Re: Top 10 Console Exclusive Shmups of All Time - Results

Post by DMC »

So where to draw the line for the new poll?

Suggested criterion 1 for eligible games: "games that were NOT originally released as arcade games"?
This would exclude arcade ports and arranged modes, but include PC doujins and vintage computer games like C64. OK?

maybe to make it more console-oriented add to, criterion 2 for eligible games: "games that were originally released as video game console games (not only as PC/vintage game computers".

so, for example,
R-type Final 2 is eligible because it was originally released on Ps4, Switch etc and NOT arcade.
PC doujins like Blue Wish Resurrection and vintage computer games like Zynaps would be out.

I think this would be fair, because these broad categories probably attract different crowds, and it would be unfair to the vintage computer games if most of the voters are console players like PC Engine/Mega Drive/Switch/etc.
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