Best horizontal shmup

[orange]

gradius gaiden and radiant silvergradius

[Koa Zo]

How the heck has Border Down not been mentioned yet?!?!!

That should have been the first, and only, answer.

[boss0033]

Sorry for the delay. I am just interested in pcb's. Also, those vert. shmups that bill mentioned (stv boards and cpsII boards), those are vert. shmups that will still play vert. without rotation on a tv correct?

[Mortificator]

That's right. You should definitely try Giga Wing in particular.

Great taste in games ITT... I think all my favorite horis have been mentioned.

[BIL]

Sorry for the delay. I am just interested in pcb's. Also, those vert. shmups that bill mentioned (stv boards and cpsII boards), those are vert. shmups that will still play vert. without rotation on a tv correct?

Yep - each is designed specifically for horizontal screens.

[Zweihander]

Kind of hard to pick and choose, so... I'll go by their platforms. The following would get my votes:

NES -- Over Horizon, Life Force
SNES -- R-Type III, Blazeon
Genesis -- Gley Lancer, Gaiares, Thunder Force IV
Saturn -- Darius Gaiden, Hyperduel
PS1 -- G. Darius, R-Type Delta, Gunners Heaven, Gradius Gaiden
Dreamcast -- Border Down
PS2 -- Gradius V

Not going to bother listing arcade-only shmups since there are no good arcades around here, I don't use MAME often enough, and I'd probably get called out by some of the elitists for saying things like "R-Type" or "Metal Black" when they could likely think of a dozen things better.

[CIT]

Guys, I think he's asking specifically for arcade shooters...

I'd recommend:

G Darius
Darius Gaiden
Blazing Star
Death Smiles
Xexex
R-Type
Last Resort
Pulstar

[Sturmvogel Prime]

PlayStation
- Thunder Force V: Perfect System
- Gradius Gaiden
- Einhander

SNES
- Axelay
- U.N. Squadron
- R-Type III: The Third Lightning
- Super R-Type
- Gradius III

Sega Genesis
- Thunder Force IV
- Thunder Force III

NES
- Gradius II
- Gradius
- Salamander

Arcade
- Blazing Star
- U.N. Squadron
- Pulstar

[Obiwanshinobi]

You can't go wrong with Mystic Riders (Gun Hohki). Moreover, if you do not wish to turn your TV on side, Neo Geo is way to go as no game for that system runs on a vertically oriented screen (even vertically scrolling ones: Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings 2&3, Strikers 1945 Plus, Twinkle Star Sprites, Alpha Mission II).

[Bloodreign]

Gradius 1-4
R-Type 1, 2, and Leo
Thunderforce AC
Darius 1,2, Gaiden, and G Darius
Xexex
Progear
Eco Fighters (dare I say it)
Air Buster
Parodius
Gokujou Parodius
Sexy Parodius
Thunder Cross 1 and 2 preferably the Japanese versions with stage order
Metal Black
X-Multiply
In the Hunt
Dragon Breed
Insector X
Chuuka Taisen
Salamander 1 and 2
Mr. Heli

I don't care if someone disagrees, these are ones I like.

[Iaspis]

R-Type series, good ol' Silkworm and yeah, Thunder Cross 1 & 2.

[Zweihander]

Parodius
Gokujou Parodius
Sexy Parodius

Forgot all about this shit. Shame on me. Good stuff. The rest of your list, too, but I had to point out Parodius. Just all-around great shit.

[ROBOTRON]

R-Type series
Thunderforce series
Gradius Series

[saucykobold]

Xexex

It should be noted that the Japanese version of Xexex is the only one worth playing. The World version has a neutered weapon system, a life bar, and no checkpoints.

[clp]

LAST RESORT
gradius gaiden
border down
Thunderforce iv

[gabrielesquaratti]

for me (selecting from games that i actually own)

thunder force 3/4

hyper duel

eliminate down(just a repro XD cause the real thing cost 600 euros now!!!)

gley lancer (again,repro)

gradius 2

x multiply

[gabrielesquaratti]

ah! i forgot to mention

r-type 3 for the snes.amazing game

[EmperorIng]

That's one heck of a bump. You can use the edit button for your posts as well.

Five years later though, we can all conclude that the best horizontals are Darius Gaiden and Gradius V. Former = best bosses; latter = best stages.

Very honorable mentions go to R-Type Delta and Thunder Force IV.

[amdiggywhut]

Since it got bumped and all...

I got Darius Gaiden for the Saturn in the mail yesterday & spent all night with it. I close my eyes and see brightly colored mechanical fish staring at me.

[BazookaBen]

What is considered the best horizontal shmup? I want to purchase my first shmup but run all my pcb's off my SG and 36 inch crt which cannot rotate.

Yeah you can, just put some sorth of cloth under it. Lift with your legs, flex your core, and gently rotate it onto it's side, with the lower left corner sliding along with the cloth. Cloth reduces friction and prevents scratching of the table/stand.

[EmperorIng]

I got Darius Gaiden for the Saturn in the mail yesterday & spent all night with it. I close my eyes and see brightly colored mechanical fish staring at me.

Never forget:


You can check the score thread for some tips!

[ACSeraph]

Five years later though, we can all conclude that the best horizontals are Darius Gaiden and Gradius V. Former = best bosses; latter = best stages.

+10

[God]

...really? There's a good Darius game?! The whole idea seems strange.

I keep give the series chance after chance. 1&2 are shitty and there's a couple on the snes that are shitty. On the other hand, Gaiden is the one I've spent least amount of time with and it seems to be the one everyone likes...

It's just really unexpected to see people talking about the spacefish game and Gradius 5 together. I might have to give it another whirl. : /

[ACSeraph]

...really? There's a good Darius game?! The whole idea seems strange.

ಠ_ಠ

...

...

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[Pretas]

I can understand someone not liking the Darius series. Repetitive, often bland stages without much topography, bosses with inflated HP counts and attack patterns that can easily overwhelm, devastating power downs on death in the earlier games, aesthetic and musical choices that will not be to everyone's taste.

[replayme]

Gradius V

Einhänder

R-Type Delta

End thread.

Although Einhander comes first. Then Gradius V. Followed in last place by R-Type Delta.

[silvergunner]

Hey, what about "Akai Katana" Shin-Mode.Excellent & fun !!!

[blufang]

If u have a psp, get Gradius Collection. You get Gradius I, II, III, IV, and Gaiden (which many feel is the best of the series).

[Captain]

Einhander forever changed how horizontal shmups should look like in my mind.

It is perfection of all of the hori's signature traits.

Gradius gaiden and R-type delta are tied for second place.

I won't mention games that play like verticals and are horizontal here.

[Some-Mist]

I'm a huge Progear fanboy, so that'd be my vote.