What is the hardest SHMUP you`ve ever played?

[Hagane]

Stop paying him attention, it's obvious that he's a troll and any sensible advice you give him is in vain. He'll still believe that Deathsmiles is something only a superhuman can clear, after putting 1000 hours of practice time.

[Vyxx]

Ibara second loop.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

Ibara second loop.

Is there a video of this somewhere?

[xris]

Last Hope - brutal, but it's the difficulty that keeps me coming back.

[MintyTheCat]

For me, and this is my Experience solely:

1. Image-Fight - is damned HARD!!!! It drives me insane! The Arcade Version is evil fashioned into a PCB. The PCE Version is hard but at least fair.

There are very few Shmups that I find hard to go anywhere near to but Image-Fight stands out every Time - it could be me though

[CID]

Surprised to see anyone mention P-47 Aces, it's one of the easiest shooters I've played. It only gets tricky around the final stage, but Black Widow + killing shit fast + tap dodging is extremely effective. Sort of like a much easier Psikyo game.

This.

[Plasmo]

Last Hope - brutal, but it's the difficulty that keeps me coming back.

Last Hope's difficulty is completely overrated. The game isn't harder than any of your usual horis. Pulstar or Blazing Star are probably already more difficult. Memorization is everything.

[MintyTheCat]

Last Hope - brutal, but it's the difficulty that keeps me coming back.

Last Hope's difficulty is completely overrated. The game isn't harder than any of your usual horis. Pulstar or Blazing Star are probably already more difficult. Memorization is everything.

R-Type 2 gets pretty difficult as the Levels go on - Last-Hope is barely in the same League.

[Mortificator]

Man, do I hate stage 5 of R-Type II. It has a tougher final boss than the original game as well.

[KitesAreFun]

Stop paying him attention, it's obvious that he's a troll and any sensible advice you give him is in vain. He'll still believe that Deathsmiles is something only a superhuman can clear, after putting 1000 hours of practice time.

I think you're being a little hard on the guy. A cursory glance of DFK looks quite a bit more intense than previous outings in the series, and if one doesn't understand the firepower and how the game mechanics work in DFK, then the game can seem and look impossible. I'm currently trying to 1cc DFK in power mode, Raiden IV, AK (slash mode), Chronoblast and Deathsmiles. Just to get a sense of difficulty I hopped on DDP for a few plays to compare it to DFK. DDP is much harder.

[KitesAreFun]

Last Hope - brutal, but it's the difficulty that keeps me coming back.

Last Hope's difficulty is completely overrated. The game isn't harder than any of your usual horis. Pulstar or Blazing Star are probably already more difficult. Memorization is everything.

I'm currently debating in my mind if Raiden IV isn't the same thing. In other words much more emphasis on memorization than on visual reaction.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I think you're being a little hard on the guy.

You're new so you can be forgiven this, but DTP does this sort of thing all the time. Really.

Shmups, they're impossible!

[KitesAreFun]

I think you're being a little hard on the guy.

You're new so you can be forgiven this, but DTP does this sort of thing all the time. Really.

Shmups, they're impossible!

heh

DOH!

[DrTrouserPlank]

I think you're being a little hard on the guy.

You're new so you can be forgiven this, but DTP does this sort of thing all the time. Really.

Shmups, they're impossible!

heh

DOH!

Brings back bad memories of all the time I wasted trying to clear that stupid game. Granted that I had to re-learn most of what I had forgotten when I had my second attempt at clearing it, so who knows how much time I really spent learning and re-learning when it is all broken down, but it had to be at least 40 hours.. probably more.. All I know is I spent ages trying, I never cleared it and videos like that are useful for reminding me why I shouldn't bother trying any time soon.

In any case, once I've learnt a game once and taken a long break, I find re-learning it even more irritating that learning it the first time. You can't remember lots of bits, your dodging sucks and you make all the same mistakes you made the first time, and the improvement process is just as agonisingly slow. I haven't got the patience for it anymore. I'm surprised I was able to put up with it so long in the first place.

[KAI]

Ketsui Back Label.
Pinksweets at 3am.

[MintyTheCat]

Man, do I hate stage 5 of R-Type II. It has a tougher final boss than the original game as well.

I agree - after a while it loses its 'Fun' and becomes too extreme for me

[MintyTheCat]

Stop paying him attention, it's obvious that he's a troll and any sensible advice you give him is in vain. He'll still believe that Deathsmiles is something only a superhuman can clear, after putting 1000 hours of practice time.

I think you're being a little hard on the guy. A cursory glance of DFK looks quite a bit more intense than previous outings in the series, and if one doesn't understand the firepower and how the game mechanics work in DFK, then the game can seem and look impossible. I'm currently trying to 1cc DFK in power mode, Raiden IV, AK (slash mode), Chronoblast and Deathsmiles. Just to get a sense of difficulty I hopped on DDP for a few plays to compare it to DDK. DDP is much harder.

I haven't played DDK myself but I was over int eh UK last Year and managed to play saidoujyou dodonpachi at Replay in Manchester. I managed to get to the third or fourth Level on my first sitting - so is it that hard?

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

A cursory glance of DFK looks quite a bit more intense than previous outings in the series, and if one doesn't understand the firepower and how the game mechanics work in DFK, then the game can seem and look impossible.

What makes bomb and strong on DFK 1.5 easy is the millions of bombs you get. The 1-ALL is one of the easiest Cave clears ever. The mechanics only seem that way briefly too.

Stop paying him attention, it's obvious that he's a troll and any sensible advice you give him is in vain. He'll still believe that Deathsmiles is something only a superhuman can clear, after putting 1000 hours of practice time.

I think you're being a little hard on the guy. A cursory glance of DFK looks quite a bit more intense than previous outings in the series, and if one doesn't understand the firepower and how the game mechanics work in DFK, then the game can seem and look impossible. I'm currently trying to 1cc DFK in power mode, Raiden IV, AK (slash mode), Chronoblast and Deathsmiles. Just to get a sense of difficulty I hopped on DDP for a few plays to compare it to DDK. DDP is much harder.

I haven't played DDK myself but I was over int eh UK last Year and managed to play saidoujyou dodonpachi at Replay in Manchester. I managed to get to the third or fourth Level on my first sitting - so is it that hard?

I don't know what DDK is, DFK? SDOJ is very hard to clear. The 4th stage is when the difficulty jacks up. One sitting with the game is not enough for you to judge the difficulty. Not in a way worth anyone paying attention to anyway. But if you made it to stage 4 on your first sitting yeah that is pretty good. Stage 3 is no joke.

[KitesAreFun]

I don't know what DDK is, DFK? SDOJ is very hard to clear. The 4th stage is when the difficulty jacks up. One sitting with the game is not enough for you to judge the difficulty. Not in a way worth anyone paying attention to anyway. But if you made it to stage 4 on your first sitting yeah that is pretty good. Stage 3 is no joke.

I was in error. My acronym was wrong. DDK was meant as being DFK.

[MintyTheCat]

I don't know what DDK is, DFK? SDOJ is very hard to clear. The 4th stage is when the difficulty jacks up. One sitting with the game is not enough for you to judge the difficulty. Not in a way worth anyone paying attention to anyway. But if you made it to stage 4 on your first sitting yeah that is pretty good. Stage 3 is no joke.

I was in error. My acronym was wrong. DDK was meant as being DFK.

Indeed: dodonpachi dai fukkatsu: dai means 'Big' in Japanese or at least it can mean that: e.g. daigakko for High-School - if I have not forgotten
I suppose we should have official Acronyms but then People would know I was living in Germany then if I thought that was important

I have played SDOJ in London a few Times - it is hard going. I forget where I got to - maybe level 3 or 4. The new one seems a lot easier than SDOJ to me.

The one I played at last Year's Replay in Manchester was the new one dodonpachi saidaioujou. It was ok to play but didn't feel hard going. I own dai fukattsu too but haven't played it yet as I do not own the PCB or a 360

Anyone worked out what the Names of the DDP Games mean? My Girlfriend once told me that the Name DDP is associated with Gun-Fire and Gangsters - no Idea.

[Ed Oscuro]

daigakkU for High-School - if I have not forgotten

Just a little ka, ki, ku, ke, ko mixup, pretty close though

[Paradigm]

Actually it's gakkou, so he was right apart from it being a long vowel sound. High School is koukou though.

[-S.L-]

Futari Ultra.

It's not even fun.

[MintyTheCat]

Actually it's gakkou, so he was right apart from it being a long vowel sound. High School is koukou though.

Cheers, you two - it has been about 13 Years since I studied any Japanese. I can still read and write hiragana and recognise some kanji but I have had to concentrate on German these last few Years - and then there's that retardation that comes from getting older

I recall daigakkou (da,i,ga,(tsu), ko,u) but I would not trust my Memory at all but it improves with a couple of Pimms

[Nasirosuchus]

I never thought that shmups were was impossible as what DrTrouserPlank is implying, but there was certainly a time when I wondered how in the hell anyone could ever 1CC these games much less get a no miss.

I remember when I first made a serious effort to get into the genre back in 2006. Espgaluda. Mushihime-sama, Dodonpachi, Chaos Field, TriZeal, the Touhou games, the Metal Slug games. I was much more into fighting games, adventure, hack & slash, third-person shooters, oldschool platformers, puzzle games, and RPG's back then so my shmup play was on and off and I never really made the progress that I wanted. I was being destroyed and I definitely thought that it was necessary to have super powers and radioactive unicorn blood to clear any of these games. After retiring from fighting games in early 2009, I stuck with those other genres for a while until I decided to put the bulk of my effort into shmups in late 2010. I got my first 1CC in early 2011 which was Perfect Cherry Blossom. I went on to 1CC 6 games that year, 3 in 2012, and I just got Metal Slug 5 recently. I just started playing Mushihime-sama again and I find that the game is far easier than what it was when I was playing back in 2006. I used to struggle to get past the second level without having to bomb spam. Just a few days ago I got all the way to the 5th level and I can no-miss, no-bomb up until the 3rd level boss.

The most important thing is practice. Another key is playing games that you actually like instead of just playing to get the 1CC. The Cave games that aren't Death Smiles and Futari Black Label can still be a bitch but even they get easier over time. I still have trouble with the last level of Espgaluda and have yet to 1CC it but I can easily get to it whereas I used to struggle with the second level boss a few years ago. I remember needing 30 credits to finish the Metal Slug games and now I've 1CC'ed two of them and I'm on the verge of another. Some of it is memorization and some of it is just understanding the game that you're playing. If you put the effort in, you'll clearly be able to see that you're better today than you were a several months ago.

[EmperorIng]

For me, it is both Gradius III and DaiOuJou.

Between those two? Gradius III wins - not even Cave is that brutal.

[Mania23]

For me, it is both Gradius III and DaiOuJou.

Between those two? Gradius III wins - not even Cave is that brutal.

Gradius III is a bitch when it comes to difficulty. That game is INSANELY hard!!!

[SMC]

The cube rush is so stupid

[Strikers1945guy]

Ibara or Pink Sweets Harder modes.

God I wish that PS player Galford released his DVD. I used to have a video of Stage 3 harder mode and the game looks absolutely nuts, and he's killing it.

[kennyrh]

Hands down . . .Defender. Nothing else is in the same ballpark.

All those buttons . . . . . .