shmups.system11.org

THIS POST IS CURRENTLY UNDER MINOR CONSTRUCTION/IN TWEAKING PHASES

PLAYLISTS
Click an image to explore Bullet Heaven by year.

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 1

RUN: 2009-2010
EPISODES:22+19

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 2

RUN: 2010-2011
EPISODES:20

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 3

RUN: 2011-2012
EPISODES:16+4

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 4

RUN: 2012-2013
EPISODES:27+10

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 5

RUN: 2013-2014
EPISODES:27+6

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 6

RUN: 2014-2015
EPISODES:23+7

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 7

RUN: 2015-2016
EPISODES:23+19

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 8

RUN: 2016-2017
EPISODES:28

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 9

RUN: 2017-2018
EPISODES:37

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES X

RUN: 2018-2019
EPISODES:32+3

BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 11

RUN: 2019-2020
EPISODES:31

BULLET HEAVEN STG CHRONICLE: THE SHMUPS OF SEGA DREAMCAST

RUN: 2018-PRESENT
EPISODES:7 (ONGOING)

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You can also find a complete list of every single episode of Bullet Heaven to date here. It was compiled and curated by this awesome guy, and it even features all kinds of trivia, factoids and more that we weren't even really aware of!

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BULLET HEAVEN SERIES 12

Click a link to go to a Series 12 episode.

Bullet Heaven #281 - Ibara (PS2)
Bullet Heaven #282 - Ginga Force (PS4)
Bullet Heaven #283 - Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion (Switch)
Bullet Heaven #284 - Guns of Mercy Rangers Edition (Switch)
Bullet Heaven #285 - Ketsui Deathtiny: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi (PS4)
Bullet Heaven #286 - Super Psy Penguin (PC)
Bullet Heaven #287 - Freedom Finger (Switch)
Bullet Heaven #288 - Gun-Nac (NES) NEW

About Bullet Heaven
Launched on October 6, 2009, Bullet Heaven is currently the world's longest-running web-show focused on shooting games and perhaps even of any single videogame genre. With over 280 mainline episodes and a general count of over 300 features related to it, Bullet Heaven is also one of the most extensive and diverse collections of STG-themed video review content in general. Though the format has evolved considerably over the last 11 years, one thing has never changed: we love shooting games and sharing content about them.

About the crew

Ed「イートレム」Tremblay
The visionary behind the entire series. Creates all visual elements, music and scripts. Records and edits all footage and sound. Tries to conduct social media management as best he can. Formerly known as "Ser Flash," Ed has cast off his vengeful persona in an effort to humanize himself and more personally connect to his audience. Has no preference between YOKO and TATE shooters. Loves UN Squadron, Air Zonk, Eschatos, Mushi Futari and Rolling Gunner.
Active: 2009-Present
Arcade initials: ETR

Daeruna
Ed's wife and co-host. Contributes to co-op footage. Assists with editing scripts. Daeruna is notoriously leery of shooting games. However, she offers incredible insight as to the newbie-friendliness of various STGs. Due to her shortage of confidence, she tends to dislike them, but she's better than she thinks! A few STGs still click with her though, and she has a penchant for run-n-gunners. Mostly plays Final Fantasy XIV. Enjoys Ikaruga, Bullet Soul, Aces of the Luftwaffe Squadron and Bullet Hell Monday.
Active: 2011-Present
Arcade initials: DAE

Notes of import
-Bullet Heaven was not originally supposed to be a review show, hence why the first two series are less review-y and more bloggy.
-Series 1 in particular is super rough, but that's normal for a fledgling series. It gets much better.
-We seem to have garnered a reputation for saying that most of the games we cover are "solid." There's a reason for this! Bullet Heaven was a series that was meant to showcase our favorite titles and games that interested us the most. So, naturally, they will typically be good to great! We've all seen the exceptions, though
-We only play officially released console and PC shooters on original or FPGA-based hardware that accepts the media in question whenever possible. We're not trying to be elitist, we just feel that resorting to emulation cheapens the experience. How you feel about ROMs and ISOs is totally up to you. We do use the SSDS3, but we still buy all of the games we play on it and convert them from disc to SD ourselves.
-A full list here would be nice, but with over 300 videos and counting, it's a bit unrealistic. The format above will save space in very convenient ways.
-We are aware that there is plenty of errata, and it is usually addressed in the comments.
-We respect that opinions may not align with our analyses. Our statements should never be thought of as "definitive." As they say, "different strokes for different folks."
-Finally, we strongly believe that personal opinions in genuine conversation and observation are generally neither right nor wrong. As such, outside of established data (sales figures, release numbers, number of players, stages, ect.) attacking someone or suggesting that they are wrong for how they interpret factors such as visual aesthetic, whether they enjoy certain music or sound, or even how a game feels is the only time we'll consider a statement or opinion definitively "wrong". No one can speak for anyone else's experiences!

Ground rules
-If you have feedback, it is welcome!
-If you leave feedback, be courteous!
-Suggestions for coverage are also welcome, though we often end up with many obligations before an outside suggestion can be explored.
-Don't be a troll. We're all here to have fun.
-Be kind to others and respect their thoughts and opinions.

Great to have you back, man!

Love the series! Glad to see you guys here. Do you think you'll cover the new ESP Ra De Psi release in Season 12?

My previous departure was... not handeled well. I have a lot to make up for, and I hope to make amends with anyone I had issues with here, whether actual or percieved. I'm not hiding behind a vengeful persona anymore. I'm the real thing again.



We have the limited edition on PS4, so it is very possible. For whatever reason, we just never got around to it in Series 11.

Big fan of the show, thank you for putting in so much work!

Glad to see SMP/BH back in action! Looking forward to more reviews, as always.

Studio Mudprints - Awesome. Your reviews are top notch. You are very knowledgeable and professional. I frequently watch random reviews strictly for entertainment purposes, and I know if a game gets a good score from you that it's worth playing (assuming it's a style of shooter I like). I'm even looking forward to your Ginga Force review even though I've already played the hell out of it. Keep up the great work.

I watch 1 or 2 of these every day.

Everything about these are great, its exactly the way a shmup review show should be.

You also don't talk all over the whole thing and let it breathe a bit, really its A+ narration.

Love the production values and music too.

I've watched a ton of these vids, you've covered so much stuff by now that almost any time I want to look something up, you've done a video on it.

Random feedback:

I personally tend to find your videos at around 10 mins easier to stick with to the end than the longer ones, unless there's a reason a topic really requires a deep dive. Generally, I've gotten the info I'm looking for before things hit the 20 minute mark.

I'm not sure that length is a must as a reviewable category in this genre, though I do appreciate that you understand what that actually means here. But I kind of feel less is more in shmup length, and more often than not the amount of time you're likely to spend with one is more of an end product of difficulty + scoring depth than much to do with the amount of digital real estate or structured tasks in the game, as with other genres.

Also, what are you doing your music on? Are you mixing & mastering it yourself? You're getting a really clean mix out of it.

you really deserve more views.

Thanks for the feedback. I've been wondering and, to a point, struggling with how to consistently get the video length down while appeasing the "but what about" and the "you 'forgot'" crowds. the series always has to keep a new player to the genre in mind. It's not impossible though, and the longer ones are typically those with many/particularly intricate mechanics, multiple arrange modes that shake things up with regards to how the game is played/scored or all of the above.



This is something I've wondered about myself, but then again, there are often very big misconceptions with newer/ignorant players that playing a shooting game by credit-burning through it in a half hour is an indicator of its value or that a game that "only" has 6-10 stages is short, sometimes going as far as breaking down the game's cost by stage (like $6 a stage or whatever the case may actually be). We know that these kinds of games are typically meant to be practiced, refined, and mastered in order to truly get to its intended goal, but the aforementioned may well not. I think as such, it's still a very important criteria when bringing in new players, especially those that might have stayed away because of the misconceptions regarding how long these games truly end up being.



I've been using FL Studio for 10 years Purchasing the software gives the user lifetime free updates for the tier purchased. It's currently in Ver.20.7.2. FL20 introduced a very cool module called FLEX that can produce some excellent sounds, especially if you want a great 80's or 90's edge. But for that retrogame edge, 3osc does the job well, as it supports a number of different retro waveforms and the ability to manually implement a reasonable chorus effect and LFO to add depth to what otherwise would be a basic square wave/sawtooth/sinewave, ect. Up to three different waveforms can even be combined. My only gripe is that it sounds slightly different than in FL12, which irks me a little, as one piece I did in particular ended up sounding off as a result of the version upgrade.

Mastering is robust as well, as I use a mastering module called Maximus. I believe Maximus is included in the Signature bundle, which is what I purchased.
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I hope to have it done very soon. I'm a week behind due to various personal issues, but I got a good chunk of the footage we're using last night.



Thank you for the kind words. There's always room to improve. And if we have viewers watching 1 or 2 every day? That's a win



It might happen some day, and we may see that big jump in subs with our expanded content outside of Bullet Heaven, but for now it's not so bad; we can still interact with every viewer!

Hardcore Mecha is a shmup, right?

Will there ever be another scramble? (obviously not during Covid.)

No, it's a run-n-gun/brawler with some awesome shmups sequences in it. Still a worthy title to cover though.



The era of Scramble is long over, unfortunately. The venue we used is also long-gone

I've caught a few of your videos. Good, informative stuff.

Oh! Really nice to see you around here!
Really love this series. Great content with great presentation!

Thanks, and hey, super cool to see support from the undead! I like your presentation as well!



Thanks, I used to hang around here under my old name a very long time ago, but things didn't go so well. Trying to fix all that.

I'm always trying to improve the series and other productions as well, and I've made a few important changes, mostly behind the scenes. Some are subtle, others are not. I hope you continue enjoying our new content.

I love your Videos! I also really dig the alternative Soundtrack you did for Ghostblade HD!

Don't get why people don't approve of run and guns as shmups...

I'm of the opinion that they're close enough to warrant covering on the show. Same deal with 3D shooters like Star Fox and Night Striker.

But as always, people can be more or less accepting based on how they feel about it. No bigs.

And I saw you cover a bit of Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. That’s a rail shooter too, like Star Fox and Night Striker. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair also feels like the black sheep of the Wonder Boy franchise. Because while the series is platforming, that is shooting. Looks like a run and gun game in the style of Contra, but cuter.

And with a shmup phase in the last half of every stage to boot.



Thanks. I don't think much about Ghost Blade HD anymore. I'm not really proud of that work. A new indie shooter may or may not be coming up with my work in it. Some of my best.

If you're looking for something that's purposefully styled to resemble a shmup, but is technically a run 'n gun, might I recommend the very high quality REDPULSE?

It's a highly competent "pay what you like" indie release that got shilled here by the dev and I fell in love with it immediately. The enemy attacks are slow, danmaku-styled attacks, but it's a run 'n gun with a super floaty jump, a small size hitbox in the center of your sprite, a quick-drop mechanic, special attacks that also function as defense, and a Mega Man X/Vanquish-style dash that encourages you to speed through stages. There's a scoring multiplier from chaining enemy kills together as rapidly as possible so it's a game that encourages speedrunning for score, without punishing newer players who want to play it while advancing more conservatively at a slower pace.

This does sound pretty great. If not for a full review (we have a lot of huge plans for upcoming special blocks) I'll definitely give it a go on our livestream.

In Bullet Heaven related news, we got this thingie in! I'll never be able to afford a PC Engine LT, but this is can be the next best thing. it'll be featured and tested in a new episode of Random Play.



Only thing is, I'll need to take the SSDS3 off of our CoreGrafx II. That's the bad news.

The good news is, we have a CoreGrafx I inbound in the mail and only a few days out, so no bigs. I will need matching controllers though. That can wait.

What would be the first game you guys would play on this?

It was brought to my attention that my latest post was borked. I think I have it fixed now.

That thing gives me flash backs of the screen addon for PS1.

I missed out on that thing all those years ago. May still bite the bullet sooner rather than later, maybe get a Japanese combo unit. Iunno.

I'm glad you enjoyed Ginga Force. Not enough people are playing it on the PS4. I know Rising Force Games have been trying to get people to review it. I've watched some other's reviews and they just play a few levels without knowing what they're doing then give the game a negative review. The game is really fun so I hope your review brings in more players. Bonus: I spotted my PSN in your video.