The Top 25 WORST shmups

[TransatlanticFoe]

I assume with SMS Aleste, Speccy R-Type and Aero Blasters that we have some troll answers already.

Strike Force Hydra (GBA) is honestly one of the worst games I've ever played and one of the very few games I've ever returned. Astonishing that this got a full retail release when it's such a low rent hacked together sack of shit.

[StudioMudprints]

Worst-ever: Deep Blue, without a second thought.

That second thought leads me to D-Force, a very, very close second.

[EmperorIng]

I can be convinced to list Slap Fight on the oi-me-speccy instead

[Marc]

Dude, I'm convinced you're just here to shit in my cornflakes now

Slap Fight isn't bad at all for the time. More of a cover than a conversion, but still smooth and playable enough. And before you even go there, Flying Shark on the Speccy was amazing.

BAD Spectrum shooters? I remember a Side Arms rip-off - Sidewize maybe - that wasn't brilliant. The Nemesis conversion was beyond poor (and sold with mocked up, non existant screen shots), Salamander was pretty crappy as well. 1941.... oh dear.

[Flashman]

Sky force reloaded/anniversary

Hate the grind

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Second that, there is no skill at all to those games, it's just how many times you are prepared to play the levels over and over. Very irritating, childish, story too.

Sine Mora has got to be up there too.

[dmk1198]

Worst-ever: Deep Blue, without a second thought.

That second thought leads me to D-Force, a very, very close second.

Is that Darius force? Nova force on
SNES? I like that

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[StudioMudprints]

Worst-ever: Deep Blue, without a second thought.

That second thought leads me to D-Force, a very, very close second.

Is that Darius force? Nova force on
SNES? I like that

Super Nova (aka Darius Force) by Taito is good. D-Force (aka Dimension Force) by Asmik is boiling dumpster juice.

[professor ganson]

[10] [Xevious: Fardraut Densetsu]

Ha, I'm probably going to include this in my top 25. I get that it's kinda broken, but it's a super fun game, imo. I haven't really played a Xevious game that I didn't like.

[EmperorIng]

I'm referring to the pce version fwiw
The game just expects you to get random shield pickups to get through the 14 minute final level

It's ok before that point.

[professor ganson]

I'm referring to the pce version fwiw
The game just expects you to get random shield pickups to get through the 14 minute final level

It's ok before that point.

Yeah, that's the broken part. But I still love it!

[RadiantAnsel]

In my situation, I have the "THEY ARE ACTUALLY BAD", and the "Why the f*ck people likes these!?" sort of thing.

In the Actually bad, does anyone remember Arbalester? Because that's literally the worst thing I have tried in a long time.

In the second tier, is always and it's ALWAYS GOING TO BE Mushihimesama Futari, seriously this game is incredibly boring, scoring is boring, atmosphere is boring, hell you can counterstop the game extremely early on, outside of the patterns (That can only be properly seen on PCBs), nothing on the game stands out, at all.



as for R-Type on the ZX Spectrum...
R-Type on the Speccy doesn't deserve being on this list, while yes, the Speccy nowadays looks "funny" in how it should play, R-Type is often considered as the ***BEST*** conversion on the console, it's the only one not using a single color pallete, tries to replicate the arcade layout as much as possible, everything is downright there (I should tell you some of the levels on MOST arcade games aren't even there, MakaiMura only has 2 and it loops, yeah, have fun with that).

So, for that system in particular, I dare to say doesn't deserve to be in any "worst of" list, rather a "best of", because they legit tried, and hard, real hard to even make it possible, more considering it's not even the 128k version of the console, but 48k.

[vol.2]

The shmups on the Action 52 cart for NES could take up all 25 spots, but that's not really fair, so maybe just one slot for the whole terrible cart?

[To Far Away Times]

If Futari is on a worst shmups list then this whole genre is a dumpster fire.

That game has something for everyone. Want a good scoring system? You got it. Want a good survival challenge? You got it. Want a raiden style game? You got it. Want a bullet hell? You got it. And all of it is done at absolute top tier quality with best in class stage design and fantastic production values.

[buggle]

i mean i really side-eyed "well its easy to find some absolute piles, lets do a thread about most overrated instead" because the latter is incredibly personal and basically impossible to do anything about but argue. while really crappy junk games are 1) pretty objectively bad 2) fun to learn about in a shock and horror kind of way. id "enjoy" learning about the worst games ive never heard of before but i really would not enjoy people staking out the classics they do or dont like and making arguments about it. i can see that anywhere on the internet.

[sethsez]

I always assume with topics like this that the implied modifier is "...that actually tried and/or had something resembling a professional production and release."

Yes, obviously there's an endless pit of indie shmups that are godawful my-first-game attempts, but nobody expects those to be good. It's not interesting to list them, but that doesn't mean the topic is fundamentally flawed or that we need to shift over to overrated games instead (especially since that word is basically just an invitation for everyone to be tedious contrarians). Just as it's implied that "worst movie" doesn't actually include the time you accidentally activated your phone's camera in your pocket and recorded 50 minutes of black with the sound of muffled walking, "worst shmup" doesn't include all the interchangeable stuff churned out endlessly on Steam and Android (barring the ones that actually make a legitimate effort, have some clear talent or budget, and still fail horribly).

The Room cost six million dollars and was shown in a theater. Deep Blue got a multi-region physical release and was sold for full-game prices. That gives them a galling legitimacy they absolutely don't deserve.

[Herr Schatten]

I always assume with topics like this that the implied modifier is "...that actually tried and/or had something resembling a professional production and release."

(...)

The Room cost six million dollars and was shown in a theater. Deep Blue got a multi-region physical release and was sold for full-game prices. That gives them a galling legitimacy they absolutely don't deserve.

These criteria seem reasonable, but you'll still be left with hundreds of 8- or 16-bit homecomputer shmups that despite being released internationally and often even having a somewhat professional approach to them are no better than those horrible indie releases that clutter steam. I find it really hard where to draw a line, so that the number of eligible titles gets small enough to make an attempt at an ordered list feasable.

[dingsbums]

I cant believe that nobody mentioned Crescent Galaxy yet .

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

X2:MBDF is monitoring this thread.

All part of the fun though. I have mad respect for the guy that rolls in and says Project X was actually great and I could beat it in one life.

[FRO]

Earth Defense, aka The Earth Defend, is an unlicensed Genesis/Mega Drive shooter from Realtec has to be a contender for the worst shmups. Totally vanilla, spongy enemies, flat & lifeless environments, uninspired design, forgettable music, annoying sound, and the game's core gimmick is okay, but not well implemented. All in all, it's a mess. Kind of fun to play in a memetic sort of way, but it's objectively bad.

[RadiantAnsel]

If Futari is on a worst shmups list then this whole genre is a dumpster fire.

That game has something for everyone. Want a good scoring system? You got it. Want a good survival challenge? You got it. Want a raiden style game? You got it. Want a bullet hell? You got it. And all of it is done at absolute top tier quality with best in class stage design and fantastic production values.

That's the most fanboy comment I've read in a while

[BrianC]

I cant believe that nobody mentioned Crescent Galaxy yet .

If Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy doesn't make #1, this list is null and void

[pegboy]

How about "Destroyer", an unlicensed NES shmup that is just about the worst thing I've ever played. It's also one of the hardest shmups I've ever played in my life and It would be likely be easier to clear Mushi Futari Ultra or DOJ WL 2-ALL than this pile of shit game if you devoted the time to it.

Why is it so hard? Death does not come from bullets, but from small, impossible to hit enemies swarming the screen in strange patterns at lightning speed and colliding into you. Someone would literally have to memorize all the safe areas for each wave of enemies to even stand a chance. And did I mention you can only shoot 1 bullet on the screen at a time? Good luck hitting anything with that shitty attack. I dare someone to even try and beat the first level, good fucking luck.

[Marc]

If Futari is on a worst shmups list then this whole genre is a dumpster fire.

That game has something for everyone. Want a good scoring system? You got it. Want a good survival challenge? You got it. Want a raiden style game? You got it. Want a bullet hell? You got it. And all of it is done at absolute top tier quality with best in class stage design and fantastic production values.

That's the most fanboy comment I've read in a while

It's true though. There's nothing at all about Futari that would merit it being anywhere near a 'worst of' post.

[Despatche]

Every time someone tries to ask this question, about any genre, anywhere on the internet, it always plays out the same. You've got meme pick after meme pick in the name of "shitposting", and eventually you get someone saying something along the lines "genuinely bad games aren't all that interesting to list, how about a 'most overrated' topic instead?". This completely defeats the purpose of ever asking any sort of questions about anything, because it just leads to yet more meme picks.

There are games that people think are fantastic but are not great at all. There are games that are genuinely great but basically noone is willing to recognize them. Very few people are willing to agree on what games either of these groups actually contain. Case in point, it is extremely reasonable to call Ikaruga both overrated and underrated due to the sheer amount of worship and hatred thrown at it. I believe I have said this before.

Pollux, Futari, Sine Mora (yes), 1942 Joint Strike, Pawarumi, and so on should not be anywhere near a thread like this. Come on people, you know better.

Or maybe you don't! A very special fuck you to Jonpachi, who thought it'd be funny to put down Rym 9000 (a great game very similar to Guxt) and then put down Sengoku Cannon right after that. This is like someone putting down Gunspike and then putting down XDR in the same post. Just... why? What is even the purpose of shitposting anymore?

...

Yes, I swear I'm getting to the rest of the threads. I don't feel like doing anything right now, I'm sorry. I will try to get to it tomorrow, somehow, maybe.

[Rastan78]

How about "Destroyer", an unlicensed NES shmup that is just about the worst thing I've ever played. It's also one of the hardest shmups I've ever played in my life and It would be likely be easier to clear Mushi Futari Ultra or DOJ WL 2-ALL than this pile of shit game if you devoted the time to it.

Why is it so hard? Death does not come from bullets, but from small, impossible to hit enemies swarming the screen in strange patterns at lightning speed and colliding into you. Someone would literally have to memorize all the safe areas for each wave of enemies to even stand a chance. And did I mention you can only shoot 1 bullet on the screen at a time? Good luck hitting anything with that shitty attack. I dare someone to even try and beat the first level, good fucking luck.

I was curious to learn more about this game, but I couldn't find any video or screenshots. Apparently it was made by Taiwanese bootleg company called NTDEC. They were even using Nintendo's logo on their cartridges to make them appear legitimate. In the early 90s some of their employees were arrested and the ensuing legal battle with Nintendo did not exactly go so well for NTDEC.

[Sengoku Strider]

I was curious to learn more about this game, but I couldn't find any video or screenshots. Apparently it was made by Taiwanese bootleg company called NTDEC. They were even using Nintendo's logo on their cartridges to make them appear legitimate. In the early 90s some of their employees were arrested and the ensuing legal battle with Nintendo did not exactly go so well for NTDEC.

Ooh, an outlaw game.

[Rastan78]

PROSECUTEDT TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE JAM

[el_rika]

If Futari is on a worst shmups list then this whole genre is a dumpster fire.

That game has something for everyone. Want a good scoring system? You got it. Want a good survival challenge? You got it. Want a raiden style game? You got it. Want a bullet hell? You got it. And all of it is done at absolute top tier quality with best in class stage design and fantastic production values.

That's the most fanboy comment I've read in a while

Objectively speaking, Futari is one of the best games ever created, not only best shmups. The sheer variery and finesse that game presents in every single pixel and frame, is outstanding by the highest standards.
Subjectively, you can hate it for a million reasons, but that is about the person, not the game.

[Rastan78]

Objectively speaking, (insert one's own opinion here).

Subjectively speaking, (insert opinion of others here).

[Udderdude]

Top 25 WORST threads on shmupsfarm.