Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

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komatik
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Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

I'm pretty new to the shmup world, having only really started less than a month ago. I've been mousing around for a bit, grabbing games somewhat at random trying to get a feel for stuff. So far I've discovered three things:
  1. For whatever reason, I just can't seem to get into horizontal games. I can look at them on a technical level and say "this game is well made" but something about the aesthetic always leaves me empty.
  2. I really really dislike the bullet-hell/bullet-maze genre where the enemies spew a hundred bajillion projectiles at you in geometric patterns.
  3. Having a simple two button "gun+bomb" scheme isn't really my style. I kinda like games that provide you with a bunch of different weapons up front and let you figure out where and when to use them.
So far I've been playing Daioh (USA mode) which I really like, but I want to have more than one game in my library. I've checked out various Top XYZ threads and websites but it seems the bullet-hell genre is all the rage these days so that consumes effectively all the entries, and what's left is slim pickings where it's hard to find something I enjoy.

Is there anything out there that might be worth me looking at? For now I'd strongly prefer stuff that's free (ie; SNES/MAME roms or whatever) since I don't want to throw any money down on something until I have a better idea of what interests me.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

Honestly it's hard for me to think of anything that fits all your criteria (most of the old arcade games don't give you a wide variety of weapons at once, and most of the newer games that do are also bullet-heavy, and Gradius, which I think is worth noting for its situational weapon customization, is horizontal). I'll focus on the "bunch of different weapons up front" aspect since that's the most interesting distinction, with "non-bullet-hell" as second priority.

I was about to suggest Radiant Silvergun, but then I remembered you had already started a thread about that.

Maybe PAWARUMI would be to your liking? Note that I haven't actually played the game myself, and it may be a bit bullet-heavy for your liking.

Hellsinker is rather heavy on the bullets, but not as much as a CAVE or Touhou game. It's notable here for its wide variety of characters with some of the most unique arsenals I've seen in a shmup.

Hellsinker was also one of the inspirations for Akashicverse -Malicious Wake-, which as a very wide arsenal (mostly activated using fighting-game-like key sequences). It does go totally crazy with the bullets, but it's unique enough that I had to mention it despite that.

Which horizontal games have you checked out? There's a fairly wide variety of them, so it's a bit of a sweeping statement to say that you can't get into them in general.

Cambria Sword is a horizontal game, but has a crapton of weapons that you can swap in and out of using items that appear, and picking the appropriate weapons is a major part of playing the game effectively. It is a bit bullet-heavy at times, but I wouldn't really call it bullet hell either.

There's also Astebreed, which is a mix of vertical, horizontal, and 3D (is that the right term?) shooter, bearing wide/narrow shots, melee, lock-on attacks, and some special charge-based attacks. Also generally classified as bullet hell though.
Last edited by Shepardus on Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:51 am, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by pegboy »

Check out the games by Compile:
Super Aleste/Space Megaforce (my personal favorite)
MUSHA
Zanac
Blazing Lazers
Star Soldier games (Soldier Blade, Super Star Soldier)
Gun Nac
etc

I'd also highly recommend Salamander 2, even though only 2 of the stages are vertical. It's fantastic.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Mettsen »

Only played Blazing Lazers out of that list. Wasn't too crazy about it, but it's playable. I might check some of the other ones too, come to think of it.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Drop requirement #3 and you'll have a lot to enjoy. Otherwise :?:
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Shepardus wrote:(most of the old arcade games don't give you a wide variety of weapons at once,
OmegaFlareX wrote:Drop requirement #3 and you'll have a lot to enjoy.
The multibutton thing isn't hard requirement, just the direction I lean in. How do I explain it.... it's kinda like Super Mario Bros. SMB1 on the NES only has two buttons. And it works- the game is certainly complete and playable, but there isn't really anything to figure out because it's so simple. You pretty much know exactly what you have to do for everything the instant you see it and it's just an issue of honing your timing. I kinda want something a little more complicated than that, something where you have to try different techniques, something more than just "line up with bad guy and hold gun button".

I'm not too picky about how the game goes about this exactly. It doesn't have to have multiple buttons. I figured the most common way of dealing with it is making some enemies stronger or weaker to different weapons, but if instead it was some situation where you had to bounce shots off a floating mirror or whatever that could work too. I guess I just want SOME kind of nominal puzzle/strategy element where everything isn't immediately obvious.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Shepardus wrote:Which horizontal games have you checked out? There's a fairly wide variety of them, so it's a bit of a sweeping statement to say that you can't get into them in general.
Ahh..... honestly I don't remember. It was pretty much a week's worth of:

- see someone mention a game with a name I've seen several times before
- think "eh, why not"
- google, download
- play for 5-10 minutes
- "this one just doesn't do it for me either"
- delete

The only horizontal I know for sure is Zero Wing for Genesis/MD because I still have it. Although honestly that's only because of its connection to the "All your base" meme, I thought the gameplay itself was super boring. I'd have to go through my browser history, they all kinda blended together for me. I feel like I tried at least one of the R-TYPE games at one point. It's entirely possible that there were some otherwise good ones in there that just have a not-so-good first couple levels and I was too tired/judgy, so I'm willing to give anything a second shot.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Kollision »

if you have the chance try Shienryu Explosion
the only problem for you is that it's on the Japanese PS2
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

komatik wrote:I'm not too picky about how the game goes about this exactly. It doesn't have to have multiple buttons. I figured the most common way of dealing with it is making some enemies stronger or weaker to different weapons, but if instead it was some situation where you had to bounce shots off a floating mirror or whatever that could work too. I guess I just want SOME kind of nominal puzzle/strategy element where everything isn't immediately obvious.
Maybe try Image Fight, that and other Irem games (R-Type included) are known for special weapons/mechanics that you have to figure out how to use effectively. Image Fight is one of Irem's few vertical shooters; for horizontal games, they've got R-Type, Gun Hohki (Mystic Riders), Dragon Breed, X-Multiply...

Xexex is not by Irem (it's by Konami), but shares certain traits with Irem games (the central gimmick is essentially a combination of R-Type and X-Multiply). It's horizontally scrolling but sounds like you might enjoy it.
Last edited by Shepardus on Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by donluca »

komatik wrote:It was pretty much a week's worth of:

- see someone mention a game with a name I've seen several times before
- think "eh, why not"
- google, download
- play for 5-10 minutes
- "this one just doesn't do it for me either"
- delete
IMHO, there's your problem.

No shmup is going to feel good in a single run time frame.
To really start appreciate any kind of shmup you have to put in some time to properly understand the mechanics underlying it.

There are a lot of shmups I didn't like at first and after some time I really got into. You gotta give it some time.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

donluca wrote:No shmup is going to feel good in a single run time frame.
Well, they can feel good (Crimzon Clover?) but in general, the first time play is very different from more experienced play. Many of my current favorites have been slow burners for me. The entire subgenre of non-bullet-hell horizontal games as a whole was something it took me a while to warm up to. With older games especially you may not even get a chance to get powered up and really play anything at all unless you know what you're doing. And it's pretty much a given for games with "SOME kind of nominal puzzle/strategy element where everything isn't immediately obvious."
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Shepardus wrote:With older games especially you may not even get a chance to get powered up
donluca wrote:You gotta give it some time.
I guess I didn't do a good job of explaining. My problem with horizontal games is really more a question of raw aesthetic- just something about the literal direction you're facing (go right as opposed to go up) somehow doesn't click for me, like it was too close to being a platformer or something. The issue here is not the way the game plays but the way it feels- the way it looks, the way the ship moves, etc. It's kinda like hearing a song in a style you don't like (rap/country/whatever), it's a gut reaction thing you experience immediately. Although in my case it's more lack of reaction since the games don't give me whatever I need to form an emotional connection and I feel like I'm just pressing buttons for the sake of pressing buttons. I dunno, maybe part of me subconsciously expects shmups to be like FPSs in that I'm facing "forward" and the left/right asymmetry of horizontal games is throwing me off? It's hard for me to pin it down.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Well one hori series does give you a bunch of weapons to switch out on the fly - Thunder Force. TFV (at least the PS1 version) even lets you map them all to separate buttons. I just didn't mention it earlier because it's a hori.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by WelshMegalodon »

komatik wrote:The multibutton thing isn't hard requirement, just the direction I lean in. How do I explain it.... it's kinda like Super Mario Bros. SMB1 on the NES only has two buttons. And it works- the game is certainly complete and playable, but there isn't really anything to figure out because it's so simple. You pretty much know exactly what you have to do for everything the instant you see it and it's just an issue of honing your timing. I kinda want something a little more complicated than that, something where you have to try different techniques, something more than just "line up with bad guy and hold gun button".
Someone hasn't played Capcom's Alien vs. Predator. (I mean, it isn't a shooter, but still.)
komatik wrote:I'm not too picky about how the game goes about this exactly. It doesn't have to have multiple buttons. I figured the most common way of dealing with it is making some enemies stronger or weaker to different weapons, but if instead it was some situation where you had to bounce shots off a floating mirror or whatever that could work too. I guess I just want SOME kind of nominal puzzle/strategy element where everything isn't immediately obvious.
You may like Pop'n TwinBee and TwinBee Yahho!!. They fit all your requirements and exude the usual TwinBee charm while being more forgiving than Detana!!.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

WelshMegalodon wrote:
komatik wrote:I'm not too picky about how the game goes about this exactly. It doesn't have to have multiple buttons. I figured the most common way of dealing with it is making some enemies stronger or weaker to different weapons, but if instead it was some situation where you had to bounce shots off a floating mirror or whatever that could work too. I guess I just want SOME kind of nominal puzzle/strategy element where everything isn't immediately obvious.
You may like Pop'n TwinBee and TwinBee Yahho!!. They fit all your requirements and exude the usual TwinBee charm while being more forgiving than Detana!!.
I was debating whether to mention these, i.e. whether they were actually fitting for the thread or if it's just me thinking of TwinBee in every thread, but if you're mentioning it then it can't just be me.

The shooting's not all that complex once you get powered up (it's got a system where you have one attack for ground targets and another for air like Xevious, and the air attack can be charged), but powering up and refreshing powerups that you lose (e.g. shields) is an involved process thanks to the bell system. You shoot the bells to cycle their colors and different colors represent different powerups, so you need to be careful about how you juggle the bells to get the powerups you need. It takes some... getting used to, but I like it a lot. Pop'n TwinBee and TwinBee Yahho! are a little easier to pick up than the earlier games (by which I mean you can actually get somewhere without an impeccable plan for the initial powerup sequence), but I think they're all worth a try. Pop'n TwinBee also adds a melee attack to your arsenal, and TwinBee Yahho! lets you replace your arms with other weapons obtained from items dropped by ground enemies (not a big part of the game, but it's there). Also all the TwinBee games have special co-op interactions, if you can find someone to co-op with or you're willing to double-play.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

(this post got garbled somehow)
Last edited by komatik on Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

Pop'n TwinBee is an SFC/SNES original. Rainbow Bell Adventures is as well but it's a platformer, not a shmup. TwinBee Yahho! is arcade-original but was also ported to Playstation, Saturn, and PSP. The original TwinBee and Detana! TwinBee are the other arcade games in the series, and each have ports to various systems, but there are also a bunch of original console TwinBee games (e.g. several of them for Famicom, and the PC Engine port of Detana! is substantially different from the arcade version). Wikipedia should be accurate for this.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Can someone help me confirm platforms for these suggestions? There are a lot of ports, releases, and remakes these days and Wikipedia isn't always helpful in explaining who's who and doesn't even have entries for half these titles anyway.


> PAWARUMI
This appears to be cross platform and on Steam? Looks like it's $13 though.

> Hellsinker
This was like... a Japanese-exclusive PC game, that someone made a pay-for english patch for, but you can't buy the patch anymore......?

> Akashicverse
Also appears to be Japanese exclusive. I think I found the developer's website but I'm not sure.

> Cambria Sword
Another Japanese title I can't find any info on.

> Astebreed
Appears to be Steam/Windows and $20

> Super Aleste/Space Megaforce
SNES title apparently. Looks to be an original (as opposed to a port of an arcade title)?

> MUSHA
Genesis/MD original?

> Zanac
Looks like this was originally an MSX/NES game that got rereleased/reworked a few times.

> Blazing Lazers, Soldier Blade, Super Star Soldier
These were PC-Engine exclusives?

> Gun Nac
Another NES original it seems.

> Image Fight
This was apparently an arcade that got a crappy NES port?

> Gun Hohki (Mystic Riders)
These may or may not be the same game. I can find very little info.

> Dragon Breed
Wikipedia implies this was an arcade that got ported to a bunch of obsolete desktop OSs, but I can't find much about it.

> X-Multiply
Wikipedia says arcade ported to PS/Saturn

> Crimson Clover
I can only find "Crimzon Clover: World Ignition" which I'm not sure is the same thing. However this does not turn me on.

> TFV
I'm assuming this is Thunder Force V for the Saturn? I can't get Saturn emulation working well, were the earlier SNES/Genesis games any good?

> twinbee
It looks like "pop'n" was ported to the SNES? At least, I have a master archive of every SNES game ever made and there's "Pop'n Twinbee" and "Pop'n Twinbee - Rainbow Bell Adventures" in there but not the others. SNES is nice since it means I don't have to screw around with MAME but not if it's a crappy port.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Shepardus wrote:Wikipedia should be accurate for this.
OK thanks that helps, I missed that Wikipedia page for some reason.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Also, side question:
What's the deal with shmups and bees? Is there an inside joke I'm missing?
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

PAWARUMI: Yes, on Steam but also on itch.io. Homepage here.
HellSinker: I don't remember the English patch being a paid product. I think this is what I used but it's been a long time... The game can be obtained from the developer here.
Akashicverse: Game's homepage is here. The demo can be downloaded from there, but I honestly don't know at this point where the full version is available (probably various doujin shops...).
Cambria Sword: Game's homepage is here, buy (or download the demo) from DLsite here.
Astebreed: Steam/Windows and PS4, PC version is also on Playism.
Image Fight: Arcade original; not sure about ports
Mahou Keibitai Gun Hohki/Mystic Riders: Yes, they're the same game, Mystic Riders is just the English title. Arcade-only.
Dragon Breed: Arcade original
X-Multiply: Arcade original, don't know about ports...
Crimzon Clover: Yes, Crimzon Clover: World Ignition is talking about the same thing. Or, more accurately, Crimzon Clover is the name of the original doujin release, which got modified and released in arcades through NESiCAxLive, and that version made its way back to PC as World Ignition. One of the top bullet hells out there, but yeah, you asked for non-bullet-hell. If not for that I would have also mentioned ring^-27 (also available on DLsite), which has a nifty system where you latch onto enemies to get their weapons.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Btw, there's a series of vertical MAME/arcade games based in WWII where you pilot a P-38 Lightning, they all have names based around a year in the 1940s. I tried 1943 Battle for Midway and Strikers 1945 II; neither really did it for me but I thought the idea has some potential. Are there any good ones in the series I might want to check out?
Last edited by komatik on Thu Mar 14, 2019 3:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by trap15 »

Definitely check out 19XX. Maybe also check out Strikers 1945 II and III, they're not really that different in base game style, but maybe one will tick something. If 1943 almost did it for you, the improved version 1943 Kai might be just the bump you need.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Ack, guess my typo edit wasn't fast enough. I tried 1945 II... it was "eh". I can't stand they way they implemented the weapon chargeup mechanic (every 3 seconds "shwing!!" and my gun would stop firing, usually right before an enemy crashed into me), and I thought the backgrounds were too busy (tough to make out what was going on, kept getting killed by stuff I didn't see). Liked the idea, not so hot on the implementation. I can't remember what I thought of Midway, IIRC it was kinda boring maybe, I'll look at it again and refresh my memory.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by Shepardus »

To make things clear, the Strikers 1945 series is separate from the 19XX series. "1945k III" is also separate from either series, if you ever come across that. Capcom's 19XX series goes (in order of release): 1942, 1943, 1943 Kai, 1941, 19XX, 1944: The Loop Master (actually developed by Raizing/8ing for Capcom).
komatik wrote:I can't stand they way they implemented the weapon chargeup mechanic (every 3 seconds "shwing!!" and my gun would stop firing, usually right before an enemy crashed into me)
You need to tap the fire button to shoot, and hold the button for charge shot. It may be helpful to set up a separate rapid-fire button if you dislike tapping.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by llaoyllakcuf »

Slap Fight/Alcon is an older shooter from the '80s that has a few different weapon options you can alternate between to deal with certain enemy types & bosses, as well as uncovering hidden score items. Also has a couple of neat secrets that aren't easy to figure out.

The sequel V-Five is really good too, a bit more modern and straightforward shooting action, but still has a little strategy with the selectable weapons/shield. Note that Grindstormer is the version of this game that replaces all the options with bombs instead. The soundtrack kicks ass btw :mrgreen:

I mainly recommend the arcade versions, though the Genesis/Megadrive ports aren't too bad. Slap Fight MD has a special mode that's worth a try, features an awesome remixed BGM as well.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by komatik »

Shepardus wrote:To make things clear, the Strikers 1945 series is separate from the 19XX series. "1945k III" is also separate from either series, if you ever come across that. Capcom's 19XX series goes (in order of release): 1942, 1943, 1943 Kai, 1941, 19XX, 1944: The Loop Master (actually developed by Raizing/8ing for Capcom).
Wait, I'm confused. What do you mean "separate series"? Like a spinoff/sequel? Or are there two companies and one is a ripoff?
Shepardus wrote:You need to tap the fire button to shoot, and hold the button for charge shot.
Yeah I figured that out but it doesn't matter. Aggravating the arthritis in my fingers by rapid mashing a button for half an hour or screwing around with yet another piece of external software just to make a game playable is a non-starter.
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Re: Any good not-bullet-hell vertical games?

Post by OmegaFlareX »

komatik wrote:> TFV
I'm assuming this is Thunder Force V for the Saturn? I can't get Saturn emulation working well, were the earlier SNES/Genesis games any good?
Yes, but there's also a PS1 version, try that. Yes, all 3 of the MD/Genny Thunderforces are worth playing, but don't bother with the SNES one.
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