Why don't you try hard?

[Bananamatic]

if you don't have a single shmup where you can close your eyes and imagine playing the entire game 100% in your head, post here and tell me why

or tell me which game it is

let's have a gameplay discussion thread

[Special World]

because I want to play all the games all the time

I played a lot of Mars Matrix and Ikaruga back in the day tho

[Shepardus]

The first five stages of Battle Bakraid.

Cho Ren Sha 68k, the first loop at least. Maybe someday I'll actually try playing the first stage blindfolded.

Maybe Battle Garegga up until the turret wall.

[ACSeraph]

Because I'm too busy posting on System11

[Eaglet]

I've done this a couple of times when nothing else required my attention when i was routing Garegga.
Thought i was the only one who'd done that honestly.

[Stevens]

Under Defeat. Both loops are ingrained in my mind.

You're all surprised I know

[Bananamatic]

Under Defeat. Both loops are ingrained in my mind.

You're all surprised I know

you know that you could probably skip novice expert and go straight into arcade if you did the same for sdoj

[Lord Satori]

I'm lazy.

[Squire Grooktook]

My favorite games have extra enemy waves based on killing enemies fast enough and rng bullets/zako spawn points.

I think my hands know every part of CRS68K, but I'm not sure my mind does.

[CloudyMusic]

garegga. i like it it's a good game

In some attempt to be constructive, I'll say that I eventually decided that it was a lot more fun to be good (or, you know, work towards trying to be good) at one game at a time, rather than mediocre at a dozen. It's really fun to delve into the little intricacies of a game to the extent that you only can once you're completely familiar with it. Watching yourself actually make good progress is also extremely rewarding. Maybe that'll speak to someone here and help motivate them to focus on a single game.

[Doctor Butler]

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu

I know, sorry.

[ACSeraph]

I think in general the more effort I put into a clear the more likely it is I still remember how to do it.

Obviously Caladrius is something I could clear in my sleep at this point, and my route is very exact in my head. Additionally, Darius Extra Z', Darius Gaiden V, and Triggerheart Excelica are all completely fossilized in my head.

A lot of the easier but not quite blind games I cleared after a few tries and prompty forgot. They would require a refresher to get back into. And a few of the more difficult ones I didn"t stick with for long after the initial clears and score runs so I unfortunately forgot certain segments and routes. Stuff like Infinite Burst, which I have a very high score in, I wouldn't be able to clear decently well if I were to play this evening. Even some stuff I played heavily like Darius II would almost certainly have tricky stuff I've forgotten about. To that end I tend to write mini-guides using the notepad in iOS for particularly memo-intensive games that I may want to come back to eventually. It's nice to be able to randomly find a Gradius 1 cab and be able to consult my 1cc notes before throwing a credit at it.

[pegboy]

The only game where I truly feel like I can say this for would be Gradius V, I can pretty much clear the first loop without even thinking at this point because I've played it so damn much. I've definitely put more time into that game than any other shmup, that's for sure.

Even though I posted a run clearing the 5th loop, I still feel like could do even better than that, but the fucking time commitment to doing those types of runs is just obscene (1 hour and change per loop), and I'm pretty sure that's why more people haven't attempted it.

[SMC]

The problem is I imagine dying too

[copy-paster]

All Gradius games, Crisis Force, Metal Black, and Progear.

[Blinge]

Because I'm too busy posting on System11

The problem is I imagine dying too

I've never tried to do an entirely mental run of Ikaruga, but at this point I'm sure I could. I've been putting the hours in this month.

Heh actually at my old shitty job I used to mentally recite my speed run route of Silent Hill 2, I couldn't really afford to auto pilot entirely like that so usually I ended up just sat staring into space for half hour periods here and there.

[blackoak]

I was getting there with Guardian Force, but I stopped playing in March and the forgetting is well underway.

[CStarFlare]

Overwhelming choice of things to play is probably my excuse, though I could probably do OK at Harmful Park blindfolded.

[STG4WD]

When I recently cleared DFK, I got my route locked in using the iphone version while I was on my way in and out of work. It was a great kind of sketchpad for ideas, and later a great way of rehearsing for runs without the hassle of ship speed restrictions.

I had the run down in my head by the time I cleared it.

I think once you really lock a route in, the game comes down to just a few spots where you know things are gonna get tight no matter what you do. You can't think your way through them, you just have to fly it out. Running through those bits in your head doesn't give you the buzz of actually getting through them live

[trap15]

I know all of Thunder Dragon 2 by heart, at this point. The only game worth loving.

[STG4WD]

Interesting thread, btw...

[ATTRACTS]

Batsugun. I spent nearly all of last summer playing it daily in a heated scoring challenge with a few buddies of mine. I can paint pictures of every level from memory.

[Blinge]

I had stuff I need to do today.. but I just drilled Ikaruga stage 3 for nearly 2 hours. Christ, I barely noticed..
A++ rank tho.. If only I didn't choke in full runs.

[Strikers1945guy]

I try moderately hard. But only at a select few games. And Ibara being #1 I know my PLANNED route but being a raizing game when shit hits the fan my plan goes out the window and I've got to adapt to the situation at hand.

Also I've seen Chempop say it before but he's right, the people with the biggest collections are usually the worst players. Coincidence?

[Special World]

Well I mean, if you inly have one game you'll play the shit out of that game, you know? I cherished games a lot more when I only had enough money to buy two games a year.

[Noid]

Jamestown. I can play that game on Legendary in my sleep.

[cave hermit]

I suppose Xii Stag/zeal.

Of course, I still need to work on getting my nerves under control so I can actually 1CC without choking. I've come very close a few times, but panic led to stupid mistakes.

However I've only played seriously using auto wiggle, and I like to bomb bosses to death before they can do anything, so my experience might be a bit more simplified than Fujino intended.

I really haven't mastered any shmups besides that because I like to jump around and try different games in a short period of time.

[KAI]

Every single Milestone game and Ibara

[Smokey]

There's a very good reason I don't try hard, at least not anymore.

You see, when I was young, I got very hardcore into ESP Ra.De. It was all that was on my mind when doing school work, home chores, practicing t-ball; it even invaded my dreams. When I had free time, I was playing ESP Ra.De. at the arcade, trying to get a better score (the scoreboards were already dominated by me).

Now, there's nothing weird about autistic kids such as myself getting obsessed with something to the point it gets in the way of daily life. That's what my parents said to me. They thought it was harmless and let me develop my obsession - my addiction. If only they knew how foolish it was to allow me to continue.

I started getting illusions of grandeur, I wanted more than just the best score in my local arcade. I wanted the WORLD RECORD, despite not knowing what it was. I hadn't gotten past 40 million points, so that was my next goal. I practiced and practiced, skipping school, staying up past my curfew. The arcade was my new home. I smelled like shit, I lost so much weight, I looked like a wrinkly foreskin. ESP Ra.De. was as important as AIR at this point in my life.

It finally happened. I got 40 million. I was so happy. I could've died and gone to hell, and had enough happiness to comfort me for eternity.

Then, I woke up. I woke up strapped to a hospital bed, nearly drugged into a stupor. According to the doctor, I had a sudden outburst of anger, and slammed a kid's head through the arcade cabinet's monitor. He said I was experiencing a "psychotic episode", and was to stay in the hospital so they could observe and find the best way to treat me. It was decided I should be prescribed a medication; Zyprexa.

After countless weeks, I was given the okay to leave. I was eager to get my life back on track, get back to school, see my friends again. I had no desire to play ESP Ra.De. I just wanted to live my life to its fullest.

Every now and then, I still hear the repetitive boss theme in the distance, merely a faint memory. To this day, I'm still not sure if I reached 40 million.

You ask why I don't try hard? That's why.

[juonryu2nd]

I wasn't born proficient. Forgive me, Donpachi guy