Wich is your Favorite Compile Shooter and Why

[PowerofElsydeon]

Im determined to beat every one on the Compile Catalog
So im interested in knowing wich is your favourite and your least favourite So pls give your own opinions and memories because if you re reading this you probably apreciate the unik philosophy of the Developers
And don t Forget to me tell wich ones you have or haven t played so far

[pegboy]

Haven't played all (most) of them but of the one's I've played Space Megaforce (Super Aleste)* is far and away the best. I've also played Gun Nac, MUSHA, and Blazing Lasers and Super Aleste is much better than these.

*-I've only really played it on the hardest setting (wild difficulty), so that the game was actually a challenge.

[Perikles]

I still need to check Super Aleste's higher difficulty setting, but as of now it's Dennin Aleste. Since I'm a lazy bum I'm just going to quote myself:

Yet to play Zanac (will amend that shortly! ), but as of now: Dennin Aleste by far. You actually have to move around, dodge and play carefully in order to clear this one, what a concept. Excellent presentation as always, helps over the somewhat dragging third stage that it supports the heavy, inexorable feel of the train as though it were a living organism. Some truly excellent boss fights, the penultimate boss is one of the most dastardly foes I've encountered in a 16-bit shooter. Every weapon has defined uses and limitations thanks to the stage layout and enemy design. Dennin Aleste feels like a real game, a lot of the other 16-bit Compile games are moreso technical demonstrations. I tend to like them (Sylphia's mythological theme completely won me over, for example), but it'd be great if there were at least the illusion of challenge (see Battle Mania Daiginjou as a prime example for that; ludicrously easy game, yet it keeps you busy all the time).

And Kidou Soukou Dion is better than almost every Compile game even though it's a cheeky clone and you all know it.

[KAI]

Dejavuuuuuuu.

[pegboy]

I actually own that one (Robo Aleste) but have never played it. I've had it for years just never got around to playing it, now I need to actually hook up that damn sega CD monstrosity and play it.

[Squire Grooktook]

Super Aleste/Space Megaforce on the highest difficulties.

It's an utter hell of manic dodging and intense environmental hazards backed up by hella flashy weaponry.

[PowerofElsydeon]

My Personal Favourite (And I dare say the best) is Aleste 2 for a huge variety of reasons
1)It is one of the games that use Zanac A.I. System
2)This game puts árcade shooters to shame due to its badass arsenal 6 balanced weapons able to be powered up 6 times it barelly possible to believe this game was made on the limited MSX2
3)It has a very interesting storyline and I it made me wish the aleste series actually had a cronology knowing we are talking about shooters that aspect is quite an achievement
4)Having a MSX2 and not Playing Aleste 2 is like having an Nes and not playing Super Mario Bros
5)Ellinor Waisen is a badass heroine because she destroyed an entire armada of evil aliens and saved humanity by shooting everything in sight and dodging a milion bullets and she has a tomboish appearance wich something extremely rare even for modern games
(I Admiss I like Tomboys )
6)If you ve played the original aleste and then play aleste 2 is like comparing Super Mario Bros to Super Mario Bros 3 (the original was cool but the sequel overpowers the predecessor)
7)Finally im talking about a 8 bit game going on pair with Compile 16 bit entries like if the MSX2 had no limits
(Even if the aleste series were all made on a perfect system id pick Aleste 2)

[Squire Grooktook]

5)Ellinor Waisen is a badass heroine because she destroyed an entire armada of evil aliens and saved humanity by shooting everything in sight and dodging a milion bullets and she has a tomboish appearance wich something extremely rare even for modern games
(I Admiss I like Tomboys )

I too greatly admire the spunky-short hair look.

[Herr Schatten]

My favourite is not on the list, sadly. (Power Strike II SMS - not only a good game, but also a technical marvel.) From the ones selectable, it's probably Zanac (NES).

[R2-2D]

Where's Zanac Neo?

[PowerofElsydeon]

Sorry Zanac Neo and Power Strike 2 are not on the list due to not being able to have more than 10 options for the pool I left the more obscure out out I ve test drived zanac neo and I it looks awesome to me but I havent tried Aleste Gaiden Power Strike 2 and the GameGear Games
Sorry for Milestone fans I haven t gave that trilogy trilogy a try so I don t know if they will fell like Compile or just Another Bullet hell with Cell Shading
And I hope you re not asking for the Guardian Legend because that Gem is just 50% about shooting
Well Im Sorry for Sega CD fans I believe Robo Aleste is a great game but its also my least favorite 16 bit Compile Game due to the following Reasons
1)The Weaponry is disapointing for a Compile Game because there are 4 weapons available (red;green;blue and yelow)the red and green ones are not usefull at all (I just try to avoid them in every of my playtrough) while the Yelow one is by far the strongest because it s a homing orb wich packs a wallop but due to its automatic nature it s not fully accurate and when it fails you should be expecting cheap deaths
So not only is the arsenal below other compile games but also its unbalanced nature leads you to clunky gameplay

2)In most Compile Games when you have your weapons on its apex level you feel like you rule the world by filling the screen with exploding enemies in this case you always feel like you re destroying one at a time

3)The Bullets can be hard to see at times due to not contrasting enough with the background(Especially on the Stage 3 Boss)

4)The Cd soundtrack is good but in my opinion it is inferior to the other 16 bit games in the department of music and it goes like this MUSHA>SpaceMegaforce>Springgan>Blazing Lasers>Robo Aleste

5)Since this was the Last 16 bit Game released by the developers (Blazing Lasers-89;MUSHA-90;Springgan-91;Space Megaforce-April-92;Robo Aleste-Nov-92)so it s Suposed to be Great Departure to the 5th gen and be Better or at least on pair the rest
I believe it s great game on his own rigth it just didnt fufill my expectations

6)Some of you say this the only compile game with real dodging and real chalenge on the default settings but that doesn t quite cut it because you probably didn t gave a chance to the other games on harder settings

[GSK]

Milestone was made up of new-school Compile guys, the ones who were still at the company after the big exodus, and their games don't really have the same Compile vibe in the way that games like Mahou Daisakusen clearly do.

[cj iwakura]

MUSHA and it's not even close.
(I haven't played most of them)

[Perikles]

1)The Weaponry is disapointing for a Compile Game because there are 4 weapons available (red;green;blue and yelow)the red and green ones are not usefull at all (I just try to avoid them in every of my playtrough) while the Yelow one is by far the strongest because it s a homing orb wich packs a wallop but due to its automatic nature it s not fully accurate and when it fails you should be expecting cheap deaths
So not only is the arsenal below other compile games but also its unbalanced nature leads you to clunky gameplay

That's simply not true. The green weapon covers a lot of space and allows for some interesting strategies (you can purposefully leave it at level 1 in order to dish out more damage in a restricted area, for example), the red weapon is extremely useful in the mines, but also a generally viable weapon due to its coverage and fairly good damage output. You can use every single weapon at your disposal even though certain weapons are better at specific spots. The balancing is a lot better than in most other Compile games where you get an abundance of second-rate or flat-out useless weapons.

6)Some of you say this the only compile game with real dodging and real chalenge on the default settings but that doesn t quite cut it because you probably didn t gave a chance to the other games on harder settings

Not every Compile game gets that much more interesting on higher difficulty settings, Super Aleste is moreso the exception than the rule. Spriggan Mark 2 for example gets even worse since the euro-shmuppy nature of it starts to really "shine". Musha isn't that much different at all on Hard, same is true for Sylphia, etc. Out of all the Compile games I played Dennin is the only one to have the guts of killing you in one hit no matter how much you're powered up. That makes for a very welcome change of pace.


The rest of your enumeration is moreso subjective (I personally think that the soundtrack is great in Dennin Aleste and I never got the feeling that you're not controlling an almighty mechanoid capable of destroying phalanxes of enemies), I'll candidly admit that it feels quite different from other Compile games, though. That's the exact reason why I love it so much, honestly.

[Bydobasher]

I've played through each of the 10 games on the poll, and I prefer Space Megaforce and MUSHA. However, Power Strike II (SMS) is at least as good, maybe better. And The Guardian Legend might be my favourite -- though of course it's very different since it's only half shmup.

[Squire Grooktook]

I will always be sad that even Euroshmups have their niche, but a charming and inventive little fusion of genres like The Guardian Legend was never explored beyond 1 or 2 other games that attempted the same.

[Bydobasher]

Yes, agreed. Oh well, at least Zanac met Zelda that one time....

[Xyga]

Nth Compile thread, ok why not ? Voted MUSHA again.
Its not a 'great shmup' technically speaking, but if you look beyond what it's not and see what it is, you can only be in love with that game.
Unless you hate medieval Japan, mecha, metal, and well-made nervous sprite-heavy 90's goodness...of course.
(if you do you deserve the feet-licking goat torture)

[PowerofElsydeon]

1)The Weaponry is disapointing for a Compile Game because there are 4 weapons available (red;green;blue and yelow)the red and green ones are not usefull at all (I just try to avoid them in every of my playtrough) while the Yelow one is by far the strongest because it s a homing orb wich packs a wallop but due to its automatic nature it s not fully accurate and when it fails you should be expecting cheap deaths
So not only is the arsenal below other compile games but also its unbalanced nature leads you to clunky gameplay

That's simply not true. The green weapon covers a lot of space and allows for some interesting strategies (you can purposefully leave it at level 1 in order to dish out more damage in a restricted area, for example), the red weapon is extremely useful in the mines, but also a generally viable weapon due to its coverage and fairly good damage output. You can use every single weapon at your disposal even though certain weapons are better at specific spots. The balancing is a lot better than in most other Compile games where you get an abundance of second-rate or flat-out useless weapons.

Ok maybe the arsenal isn t that bad but it is still not Compile level because I can hardly remember a second rate or flat out weapon in their games

I beat this gem avoiding the red and green ones plus even if you defend they re not that bad the arsenal is still yelow>blue>red>green
So even if you defend green and red are worth something it is still not balanced because those two are not on pair with the yellow and blue

And the bullets are tricky to see at times due blending with backgrounds and the blue laser transperency effects wich is not relative it is completely obvious by me and a lazy flaw like that is suposed to be a bad thing

Ok I admiss I prefer fast paced and Catchy music instead of the more epic and steady soundtrack this game has but we are all gamers I believe we share mostly the same opinion

Oh and if you like the frustration of die out of nowhere to reset into misery why not playing(or at least testing)Zanac Aleste and Aleste 2 those games never fell unfair and have their own aproach to hardcore gamers due to the fantastic A.I. plus they push the MSX to the limits so they are on pair with the 16 bit Games

Anyway thanks for your opinion You know what I think about Robo Aleste and I Know yours

Have Merry Holidays!

[trap15]

Ok maybe the arsenal isn t that bad but it is still not Compile level because I can hardly remember a second rate or flat out weapon in their games

Err, what? Compile is well-known for games that have a single good weapon with the remaining 7 weapons or so being useless garbage.

[Squire Grooktook]

Compile did Rude Breaker too, right?

I wonder how people would rank that one compared to the others.

[PowerofElsydeon]

Omg I ve never heard about Rude Breaker until now due to its obscure hardware it looks good I want to try it but I don t have a (tricky) PC 98 and I doubt emulation will get me far sorry so im unable to compare it to the previous gems but thanks anyway!

About this

Err, what? Compile is well-known for games that have a single good weapon with the remaining 7 weapons or so being useless garbage

I admiss that in Space Megaforce I believe the lasers are the most superior (tough that is relative) out of the 8 but the other 7 are still worth my atencion so mastering the game with the other weapons gives me replay value
The Same goes for the rest of their games I played so far
Except for MUSHA wich has only 3 weapons but that philosofy stands for quality over quantity as I feel I like a god amongst man when im turning every enemy into explosions and carelessly switching between the trio
Lets not Forget about Springgan wich there is no word that can descrive it just see for yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb5q0mXmIo4
I assume that your comment is aimed at Robo Aleste and Blazing Lasers cause both of them had 2 usefull weapons and the remaining 2 being nearly useless
So what kind of Compile Game has a good weapon and 7 undesirable ones

[Squire Grooktook]

I'm not actually sure what the best weapon in Super Aleste is, since I'm not good enough to 1cc it on the hardest difficulty, and most of the weapons seem viable to me.

That being said, BOS has a lot of no miss runs of Super Aleste on the hardest difficulty. He sometimes does it restricting himself to one weapon. But in the ones where he doesn't specify a restriction, I see him use the Charge weapon the most, due to it's Recca-esque shielding/bomba effect. I'd be willing to bet that that's the best one overall, feels that way to me too when I play it.

[PowerofElsydeon]

Im surprised no one picked Blazing Lasers I tought that one was extremly popular

After all its one of the most influencial beasts ever

Being one of the pc engine debut titles along with R Type helped to make the console stand out as a shump dedicated powerhouse rigth at the begining

It was co developed (sort of) by Compile and Hudson and was the 16 bit debut for both powerhouses and logically became a role model for the Star Soldier Trilogy and Compile future titles (most especialy Space Megaforce)

Lets not Forget this Title popularised the Caravan style

Even if you re talking about this game on his own rigth it s still as awesome as everyone and everything it popularised even tough it s not my favorite or second favourite From the moment I press the start button and start my 1 hour run I can t put it down even If realize I left my Oven on

[reversi]

I completely agree with PowerofElsydeon.
Aleste 2 all the way. It was my reason to get a MSX2. It is just brilliant.

My top 5:

1.Aleste 2
2.Zanac
3.Aleste
4.Power Strike 2
5. Musha Aleste

I haven't played Spriggan yet. I need to get that CD extension some time....

[Deadliar]

I'm gonna say Megaforce, with MUSHA right behind it.

My reasoning is polish, basically. Most Compile shmups are good, but Megaforce is really smooth and balanced well. MUSHA is more hardcore and METAL game for BAD DUDES. (channeling my inner Bil there, how'd I do?) But as much as I like playing it, Megaforce just feels like more work was put into it. Also, replayability with that huge weapon system.

[d0s]

blazing lazers and spriggan for me. I think these guys really did their best work on PCE (maybe most technically impressive within given limitations on MSX2) but some of their titles on other systems got more notoriety for being on more common systems and getting insanely expensive so more people ended up playing them. I very luckily had a TG16 as a kid and Blazing Lazers was the first vert I owned at home, left a huge impression on me. I don't think Compile games are great for adults actually, the kinda simple gameplay becomes really apparent but as a kid they're awesome STG training wheels with very nicely designed worlds and cool weapon systems to play around with

[crazyrexz]

finished robo aleste and MUSHA years ago. they re decent and pretty hard to beat. very happy to beat it. want play gun nac if i had a spare times

[PooshhMao]

Super Aleste, hands down.