16-Bit Shooter Difficulty Ranking

[Perikles]

Here's what I came up with after some consideration. A few notes on how to interpret/classify this list:

- This is by no means an end-all be-all, objective list that claims any sort of scientific accuracy. I've cleared every game that is listed there, but I might have had an easier time with some games you might find harder or vice versa. A 2 point game could probably just as well be a 1 point game or perhaps a 3 point game. Almost everyone should be able to agree that a 3 point game is considerably easier to clear than a 9 point game, however.

- Speaking of the points: 1 is obviously the easiest, 10 is the hardest. Since there are some impressively accurate arcade ports in there (Gradius II, R-Type, Side Arms, Xevious for example) it should give you a general tendency on how they stack up with arcade games. A 10 would roughly translate to a 20-24 on the Japanese wiki (I'd argue that the hardest games on this list are about as hard (if not harder) as the arcade Raiden with autofire which is listed with 24 points).

- My crucial criterion for the ranking is how easy/hard it is to clear the game on the default settings (unless it starts on Easy, I specify the difficulty setting in this case). Internal autofire (even if it is set off by default) is always on, in case of the PCE even external autofire. I notice the usage of external autofire for the few MD games where it matters. I'll notice the region whenever it is important (mostly for the MD Toaplan games). When a game lucratively rewards you for playing it on one life I'm probably going to rate the difficulty of a 1LC instead, but I'll make sure to include the rating for a regular 1CC, too.

- I do include several hybrids and, of course, multi-directional shooters. No fixed vertical shooters outside of Galaga '88, though. I also don't care for those bundle cartridges like Action 52 or Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits (and yes, this also allows me to skip the SFC Star Force, thank heavens ). Also no rail shooters – I do actually like these, I'm awful at them, unfortunately, don't know what the hell I'm doing.

- The second loop of both Detana!! TwinBee and Pop'n TwinBee is completely ridiculous, much harder than everything else on this list. Grind Stormer's second loop is also extremely difficult.

Hopefully I didn't forget any game, I'll look over it later. Please note if you miss anything or find shameful spelling errors!

1:

Spoiler

Ai Cho Aniki (if you abuse the hilarious invincibility mode; +1 if used sparsely)
Battle Mania/Trouble Shooter
Battle Mania Daiginjou
Coryoon
Daioh Gale
Final Soldier
Magic Girl
Power Gate
Psychic Storm
Star Parodier
Sylphia

2:

Spoiler

Adventurous Boy
Arrow Flash
CD Denjin - Rockabilly Tengoku/Super Air Zonk: Rockabilly Paradise
Dangerous Seed
Darius Alpha
Darius Twin
Flying Hero: Bugyuru no Daibouken
Gadget Twins
Gleylancer
God Panic
Hawk F-123
Heavy Unit (MD)
Märchen Adventure Cotton 100%
Mega SWIV
Ordyne
Override (+1 for 2-ALL and more)
Raiden Densetsu/Raiden Trad (SFC)
Rock-On (after figuring out how the hell to proceed in the stages)
Slap Fight
Slap Fight Special
Spriggan Mark 2 - Re-Terraform Project
Super Aleste/Space Megaforce
Super Fantasy Zone
Tenseiryu: Saint Dragon
Terraforming/Syd Mead's Terraforming
Thunderbolt II
Winds of Thunder/Lords of Thunder (both PCE CD & MCD/SCD; the latter is a tad bit easier but not enough to rectify a different rating; +1 for Super difficulty on the MCD; -1 if you spam bombs)

3:

Spoiler

1943 Kai
Atomic Robo-Kid Special
Axelay
Choujikuu Yousai Macross 2036
Cotton - Fantastic Night Dreams
Crying/Bio-Hazard Battle (with external autofire (or by playing the US version that comes with autofire by default))
Curse
Dead Moon
Divine Sealing
Elemental Master (+1 for Mania)
Fire Mustang
Gate of Thunder (1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC)
God Panic (2 loops)
Gradius
Gradius III
Gunhed/Blazing Lazers
Hana Tahka Daka!? (good ending, -1 for the lesser ending)
Heavy Unit (PCE)
Hellfire (MD, Easy)
Insector X
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius
Kiki Kaikai: Tsukiyozoushi/Pocky & Rocky 2
Koutetsu Teikoku/Empire of Steel (NMNB; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Musha Aleste
PC Denjin - Punkic Cyborgs/Air Zonk
Pop'n TwinBee (if played at least somewhat for score; -1 if played for survival)
Rayxanber III
Rendering Ranger R²
Salamander (Beginner; +1 for Expert)
Seirei Senshi Spriggan
Soldier Blade
Super Star Soldier
Super SWIV/Firepower 2000
Thunder Force III (1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Thunder Spirits (1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Toilet Kids
Toy Shop Boys (subsequent loops don't add anything as they're identical to the first one with the exception of the omitted final stage which is the only one that puts up a fight)
Uchuu no Kishi: Tekkaman Blade
Verytex
W-Ring: The Double Rings
XDR – X-Dazedly-Ray

4:

Spoiler

Avenger
BioMetal
Cho Aniki
Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie
Darius II/Sagaia (1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Darius Force/Super Nova (route ending with O zone, -1 for N & L)
Daisenpuu (PCE)
Daisenpuu Custom
Down Load
Fantasy Zone
Forgotten Worlds (MD)
Gokujou Parodius (including Special stage; +2 if you beat the Special stage with a character that is not Dracula-kun or Soitsu; -1 for not beating the Special stage)
Gynoug/Wings of Wor (Normal difficulty in case of Wings of Wor)
Hani in the Sky
Heavy Unit (PCE, 2-ALL)
Hellfire S (Normal)
Kiaidan 00 (perhaps one more point if played for score)
Koutetsu Teikoku/Empire of Steel (Hard, NMNB; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Magical Chase (if played at least somewhat for score; -1 if played for survival)
Nexzr
Paranoia/Psychosis
Phalanx (Normal, 1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC)
Phelios (Advanced Course)
Salamander (Beginner, 2 loops)
Same! Same! Same!/Fire Shark (MD, Normal)
Senjou no Ookami II/Mercs (Original mode)
Slap Fight (4 loops)
Strike Gunner S.T.G (Normal/2)
Super Airwolf/Crossfire
Super E.D.F./Earth Defense Force (note that the US version is slightly more difficult, it's also the one I'm familiar with; I doubt that the SFC version is a whole point easier, though)
Super Fantasy Zone (2 loops)
Super R-Type (Normal)
Terra Cresta II
Thunder Force II
Twinkle Tale
Uchuu Senkan Gomora/Bio-Ship Paladin (with external autofire; probably +2 or +3 without it)
Xevious (Fardraut mode)
Zero Wing (MD, Normal)

5:

Spoiler

Area 88/U.N. Squadron
Atomic Robo-Kid (Normal; no external autofire, -1 with it)
Axelay (2 loops)
Bari-Arm/Android Assault
Barunba
Bouken Danshaku Don: The Lost Sun-Heart
Cosmo Gang: The Video (no external autofire)
Crying/Bio-Hazard Battle (Hard; with external autofire (or by playing the US version that comes with autofire by default))
Daisenpuu/Twin Hawk (MD, Easy)
Darius Plus
Deep Blue
Detana!! TwinBee (if played at least somewhat for score, ranking can go up to 10 when played with a great score in mind; -1 or -2 if just played for survival)
Down Load 2
Earth Defense/The Earth Defend
Forgotten Worlds (PCE; using what is probably an unintended safespot against the final boss; +4 or +5 if you play against that guy normally, I've no idea how you're supposed to outlast him in this version)
Gaiares
Galaga '88/Galaga '90 (ending in the fourth dimension; -1 for any other dimension)
Gradius (2 loops)
Gradius II
Gradius III (2 loops)
Gynoug/Wings of Wor (2 loops; Normal difficulty in case of Wings of Wor)
Hellfire (MD, Hard)
Kiki Kaikai: Nazo no Kuro Manto/Pocky & Rocky
Kyuukyoku Tiger (PCE)
L-Dis
Mr. Heli no Daibouken (Normal Mode)
Parodius Da! (PCE)
Psycho Chaser
R-Type III: The Third Lightning (Shadow Force)
Rabio Lepus Special
Rayxanber III (Maniac)
(Hyper Dyne) Side Arms (Special; both the regular game and the Before Christ mode)
Slap Fight Special (4 loops)
Sol-Deace & Sol-Feace
Sonic Wings/Aero Fighters (+2 if you use a character that is not Rabio)
Super Darius
Super Darius II
Uzu Geobukseon/Keobukseon
Viewpoint
W-Ring: The Double Rings (2 loops)
XDR - X-Dazedly-Ray (2 loops)
Xenon 2 Megablast
Xevious (Arcade mode)
Zero Wing (PCE)

6:

Spoiler

BlaZeon
Burning Angels
Cotton - Fantastic Night Dreams (2 loops)
Cyber Core (1LC; -2 for a regular 1CC)
Darwin 4081 (Normal)
Dimension Force/D-Force
Dragon Saber
Eliminate Down (1LC; -2 for a regular 1CC)
Final Blaster
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (+4 for a NMNB with an advanced score; this is by far and most the most interesting 16-bit game as far as scoring is concerned, and hard to pull off, too)
Gokuraku! Chuka Taisen
Hellfire (MD, Easy, 3 loops)
Image Fight II
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius (2 loops)
Keio Yuugekitai/Keio Flying Squadron
Kidou Soukou Dion/Imperium (-1 for the US version Imperium)
Master of Weapon (Normal)
Mr. Heli no Daibouken (Arcade Mode)
P-47 - The Freedom Fighter
Parodius Da! (SFC)
R-Type (Complete CD)
Raiden (PCE)
Salamander (Beginner, 3 loops/Expert, 2 loops)
Same! Same! Same!/Fire Shark (MD, Normal, 2 loops)
Senjou no Ookami II/Mercs (Arcade mode)
Silpheed
Slap Fight (8+ loops)
Super Fantasy Zone (3 loops)
Super Raiden (mostly due to the new final stages; +2 for every subsequent loop)
Task Force Harrier EX
Thunder Force IV (1LC; -1 for a regular 1CC; note that the US Lightening Force has an easier Gargoylediver fight)
Undeadline (1LC)
Vapor Trail (Hard)
Whip Rush (1LC; -2 for a regular 1CC; external autofire makes it a tad bit easier, but not enough to warrant a different rating)

7:

Spoiler

Axelay (3 loops)
Daisenpuu/Twin Hawk (MD, Hard)
Dennin Aleste/Robo Aleste
Dragon Spirit (mostly due to that darn final stage & boss)
Gradius (3 loops)
Granada (Normal)
Kiki Kaikai
Kyuukyoku Tiger/Twin Cobra (MD)
Raiden Densetsu/Raiden Trad (MD, Normal; +3 for beating the Special Stage - thanks a lot for your brilliant video, pegboy! )
Super R-Type (Normal, 2 loops)
Tatsujin (PCE)
V-V
Violent Soldier
Zero Wing (MD, Normal, 2 loops)

8:

Spoiler

Acrobat Mission
Gradius III (3 loops)
Grind Stormer
Hellfire (MD, Easy, 6 loops/Hard, 2 loops)
Kyuukyoku Tiger (PCE, 2 loops)
Image Fight (Leader Class)
Salamander (Beginner, 4 loops/Expert, 3 loops)
Same! Same! Same!/Fire Shark (MD, Normal, 3 loops)
Spriggan Powered
Steam-Heart's
Super Fantasy Zone (4 loops)
Tatsujin/Truxton (MD; I know most people think that the PCE version is harder, but the final stage is much, much more challenging on the MD)
Undeadline (Crazy, 1LC)

9:

Spoiler

Aero Blasters/Air Buster (MD)
Gradius III (4+ loops)
Kyuukyoku Tiger/Twin Cobra (MD, 2 loops)
Metamor Jupiter (Expert)
R-Type III: The Third Lightning (2 loops, Shadow Force)
Rayxanber II
Slap Fight Special (8+ loops)
V-V (2 loops)
Zero Wing (MD, Normal, 3 loops)

10:

Spoiler

Aero Blasters/Air Buster (PCE; good luck beating the second loop in that one)
Battle Squadron (with external autofire, don't even try to play this game without it, heck, don't play this game, period)
Gradius (4+ loops)
Gradius II (2 loops)
Legion (longer route; the shorter route is even harder since the ridiculous stage with all the almost-instant laser beams is the penultimate one here which means that you have to survive the final stage with almost no resources)
Salamander (Expert, 4+ loops)

[ProjectAKo]

Since I credit fed through some of these, I had a much different time. Gunhed final stage is a real bitch if you die at all Was much harder than nexzr. For sapphire I had to study the final stage with savestates... fuck all that noise.

[Xyga]

V-V MD is no joke yeah, it's seriously frustrating, I like Fire Shark better because for some reason I don't get mad when I lose.

[pegboy]

Very cool, I'm glad you put this together! I wonder if Kollison will comment? I know he has done a lot of these as well and I think the two of you probably have the most knowledge of anyone on this topic. I can pretty much only comment of some of the harder difficulty settings on the SNES games.

The only thing I might change would be to scale the point values similarly to the Japanese wiki so that they are easily comparable. Great job though, this is an awesome resource for the community and deserves to be highlighted on the forum.

[MathU]

I'm probably biased because I mastered it long before the others, but I really don't feel that R-Type III is as difficult as the first two games or Super R-Type. You also almost need to specify the Force Device setting for its listing too, because the difference in difficulty between Cyclone Force and Round Force is pretty significant.

I'm not very familiar with the 16-bit console ports of Image Fight either, but defeating its ridiculous second loop is above most if not all of the rest of these in difficulty. Does the PC Engine port feature the second loop? (Though I guess if the console ports feature autofire that changes things. Autofire really trivializes Image Fight.)

Also no Funny Mode listing for SNES Phalanx? Come on, that thing is the bee's knees.

[LordHypnos]

Hey, thanks for compiling this! Very interesting stuff.

[Skykid]

Need to throw Winds of Thunder on 1

[MintyTheCat]

I'm not very familiar with the 16-bit console ports of Image Fight either, but defeating its ridiculous second loop is above most if not all of the rest of these in difficulty. Does the PC Engine port feature the second loop? (Though I guess if the console ports feature autofire that changes things. Autofire really trivializes Image Fight.)

Also no Funny Mode listing for SNES Phalanx? Come on, that thing is the bee's knees.

The PCE port is 'fair' - the Saturn port is unbelievably hard - it is nasty
Not sure if it has the second-loop but I remember getting very far into the game a few years back.

[Perikles]

The only thing I might change would be to scale the point values similarly to the Japanese wiki so that they are easily comparable.

I thought about that, but it's hard to find good benchmarks. If, for example, we agree that a Sand Scorpion 1-ALL with autofire is 14 points then I'd argue that a lot of 16-bit shooters are easily above that threshold. If, on the other hand, the arcade Dragon Spirit with autofire is a mere 6 points most of the games would not even get 4 or 5 points. What should I pick as guidelines?

I'm probably biased because I mastered it long before the others, but I really don't feel that R-Type III is as difficult as the first two games or Super R-Type. You also almost need to specify the Force Device setting for its listing too, because the difference in difficulty between Cyclone Force and Round Force is pretty significant.

I agree that the first two arcade R-Types are harder (especially their respective second loop), but I personally don't think that it is easier than Super. Super is much worse on recovery and overall somewhat erratic (wonky hit detection, unreliable slowdowns), but there's no part in Super that is as hard as the scarabaeus onslaught in III. Or the second loop's lava maze. Just my personal feeling, of course.
You're certainly right about the Force Device, though! I only got the 2-ALL with the Shadow Force while I always failed right before the end when playing with the Round Force. Will add that to the list!

Does the PC Engine port feature the second loop?

No, it doesn't. It's also hard for entirely different reasons than those that make the arcade game tough (see below).

Also no Funny Mode listing for SNES Phalanx? Come on, that thing is the bee's knees.

Haven't played it on that difficulty setting, so I can't comment on it, unfortunately.

Need to throw Winds of Thunder on 1

That's certainly a fair consideration given the fact that you can bomb every boss into oblivion. I was thinking of conserving gems for score when I listed it, but I'll add that remark, too!

The PCE port is 'fair' - the Saturn port is unbelievably hard - it is nasty
Not sure if it has the second-loop but I remember getting very far into the game a few years back.

Quite the contrary. The PCE version has some unimaginably frustrating sections later in the game simply because the hitbox of your ship is humongous. Take the penultimate stage as the perfect example; right before the boss there's a section where a row of huge battleships comes from behind: it's a simple task in the arcade version to just align oneself with the ships in a way that they get constantly damaged by the pods while they will be missing you the entire time. This is exponentially harder in the PCE version because the screen is comparatively so small that you cannot destroy the battleships before they get too close. It's infuriating. The first loop of the arcade Image Fight (with autofire and without Penalty Area) is considerably easier than the PCE version on Leader class. PCE Image Fight does not loop - I like to think that they intentionally cut the second loop as it would be almost inconceivable in a few spots.

[Rupert H]

Of the games I've done from this list, it all seems to be well ranked...

And then I saw Image Fight II at number six. Do you know something about this game that I don't? It crucifies me.

[pegboy]

I thought about that, but it's hard to find good benchmarks. If, for example, we agree that a Sand Scorpion 1-ALL with autofire is 14 points then I'd argue that a lot of 16-bit shooters are easily above that threshold. If, on the other hand, the arcade Dragon Spirit with autofire is a mere 6 points most of the games would not even get 4 or 5 points. What should I pick as guidelines?

I would use Gradius 1 arcade as the baseline, which is rated at a 10 in that Japanese wiki (which seems very solid to me). I'd probably rate the NES version of Gradius in the range of a 6 on that Japanese wiki. I think you basically just take the values you already have defined and multiple each by 2~2.5 or so. I'm sure the hardest one you have on there is still probably around a 25?

The hardest 16-bit shmup I've ever completed was Super-R Type on Hard (2 loops), which I'd rate in the ~25 range or so. Honestly I'd have to try to 2-ALL the arcade version of R-Type to see how it stacks up but my guess is it's comparable. Not really sure if we should delve into adding higher difficulty modes although it is done in that Japanese wiki for a few games (Ikaruga comes to mind, also several Cave games have multiple modes).

[Kollision]

This is a well-rounded list, I'd only maybe move some games up and down by 1, maybe 2 points.

Having never really cared for easier settings on games, I can't say anything about those.
Addind multiple loops from endless games to the mix sounds odd to me. I'd rather stick to having them listed in their harder settings. 2-loop-only games like God Panic, Gynoug and the R-Types are fine to have though.

also some impressions from the old (or not so old ) days....
Raiden Trad SNES at 2 is too low, either that or I was playing drunk when I tried it
Same Same Same should be higher, Twin Hawk lower, I'd even trade their places

[Perikles]

Of the games I've done from this list, it all seems to be well ranked...

And then I saw Image Fight II at number six. Do you know something about this game that I don't? It crucifies me.

Image Fight II starts out fairly difficult (perhaps even too difficult, the first two boss fights are among the hardest in the game), but it never gets that much harder, it stays like that for pretty much the entire game (mid-game might be a tad bit easier than the beginning and the final stages). Several bosses are weak against a specific weapon and will die almost immediately if you use it against them. Checkpoint recovery is very reasonable in my opinion, you'll always get something well-suited for the level/boss which helps out quite a bit considering that extends are given out in regular intervals. The ship is still as huge as it is in the first PCE Image Fight, the hitbox is substantially smaller, however. I'd say Image Fight II is about as hard as the first loop of the arcade Image Fight or the first loop of R-Type: fairly tough at first, but not overwhelmingly difficult with a bit of practice.

I would use Gradius 1 arcade as the baseline, which is rated at a 10 in that Japanese wiki (which seems very solid to me). I'd probably rate the NES version of Gradius in the range of a 6 on that Japanese wiki. I think you basically just take the values you already have defined and multiple each by 2~2.5 or so. I'm sure the hardest one you have on there is still probably around a 25?

I checked a few entries, that seems to be a pretty good multiplier for the most parts, yes. The Gradius II 2-ALL is probably moreso a 30 (it's about as difficult as the arcade Gradius II, I'd put it somewhere between a R-Type 2-ALL and a R-Type II 2-ALL now that I actually cleared all of these) while the absolute easiest games like Coryoon are most likely still a 1, but by and large that's fairly accurate.

Not really sure if we should delve into adding higher difficulty modes although it is done in that Japanese wiki for a few games (Ikaruga comes to mind, also several Cave games have multiple modes).

Addind multiple loops from endless games to the mix sounds odd to me.

Can't hurt to add a few more things to the bunch, more information is always better than less information. Speaking of which: also added Rayxanber III on Maniac difficulty (5 points).

Same Same Same should be higher, Twin Hawk lower, I'd even trade their places

Wow, you really think so? I have no problems with the first loop of Same! Same! Same! whatsoever, but Daisenpuu MD on Hard took me quite a while to beat, the final stage is pretty damn tough. I'm really glad for the replies, though, it's great for potential readers to see how players differ on certain games, since, as I stated above: more information is always better.

[Austin]

Super R-Type (Normal, two loops) seems redundant. Completing Normal just loops the game on Hard (which you can pick in the options to start with that difficulty). Hard mode loops into the unlockable Pro mode, so maybe that's what you meant? Pro is pretty tough, for sure.

[Skykid]

Need to throw Winds of Thunder on 1

That's certainly a fair consideration given the fact that you can bomb every boss into oblivion. I was thinking of conserving gems for score when I listed it, but I'll add that remark, too!

Well you put it on 2. I suggested 1 because I 1cc'd WoT on my second try and first proper attempt (the first run was just getting a feel for weapon purchases and stuff you could purchase). Maybe I was lucky, but I recall not deviating too much on weapon choices and not spending a lot of unnecessary cash between stages, which left me with a nice pot of gold to just buy all the best shields and offensive extras for the last couple of stages. On a pure survival basis the game is a cakewalk, but the only aspect in contention is the version. I played the MCD rather than PCE and have no idea how much harder (if any) the latter is.

Cool game either way though.

[CStarFlare]

I still haven't cleared WoT. I've always conserved gems for score, though.

Raiden Trad SNES at 2 is too low, either that or I was playing drunk when I tried it

Raiden Trad gets much easier when you realize that pointblank+rapid tapping takes things down FAST. IIRC some bosses don't even get to shoot.

[Perikles]

Super R-Type (Normal, two loops) seems redundant. Completing Normal just loops the game on Hard (which you can pick in the options to start with that difficulty).

I'd say that it is considerably harder to play it on Normal and then on Hard than to just play the first loop on Hard. One might argue that you gain extra lives by playing Normal first, but you still have to make it through, of course. Since the game isn't all that short there's a good chance your concentration dwindled when you reached the final stages in the second loop, I know it happened to me a few times.

I'm also not entirely sure, but I think that the game is slightly more difficult when you play Hard as the second loop instead of the first one. I practiced the second loop by playing it on Hard and noticed that the first boss died quite a bit faster whenever I would play Hard as the first loop. Maybe that's only my imagination, though (or it has to do with rank? You start with the missiles from the first loop, maybe that boosts his health?).

Reply with quote

But I added a note regarding the bombs.

I played the MCD rather than PCE and have no idea how much harder (if any) the latter is.

In the MCD the melee attack is significantly stronger, even bosses won't survive more than a few seconds. It's probably not that huge an issue, since the game is really easy to begin with (and you're certainly right that it might as well be on 1 either way), but it's there. There's a bigger difference on higher difficulty settings, though: on the PCE you have to deal with suicide bullets whereas the MCD only gets harder in general terms (more aggressive enemies).

Raiden Trad gets much easier when you realize that pointblank+rapid tapping takes things down FAST. IIRC some bosses don't even get to shoot.

Exactly. The first boss even dies before he gets on-screen.

[Skykid]

Well Perikles, I must say I'm impressed with your general shmup knowledge.

[BIL]

Holy fuggin LOL @ PCE Image Fight. I get the feeling this'd be a great game to play with a bunch of other 80s STG fans (Leader difficulty). It's so trivially mean-spirited, yet never outright sledgehammers you off the machine, making the whole thing feel almost self-parodic (especially with the endearingly stubby PCE aesthetic). Love how stage 7's tank convoy/jet squadron/asteroid rain plays out.

shumper: "My red options and seeker missiles sure are efficiently keeping the onslaught at bay!"
zako heli: "ROOM SERVICE MOTHERFUCKER"

I must have it. Absolutely love Irem's PCE ports, even when they're a bit bent. Not that I'm complaining, but in the spirit of the "dream hacks" thread - I do think this would be quite lovable with Image Fight II's slimmer hitbox and dedicated Pod button. Bigbox keeps it irredeemably in marmitey memoriser hatefuck territory, and Pod input feels shoddy even in the AC version. WTF was Irem's problem with the third JAMMA button, I wonder.

The first loop of the arcade Image Fight (with autofire and without Penalty Area) is considerably easier than the PCE version on Leader class. PCE Image Fight does not loop - I like to think that they intentionally cut the second loop as it would be almost inconceivable in a few spots.

I definitely get that impression too - Leader alone is packed to the seams. I'm a little afraid to try out the upper difficulties actually.

*a zako heli IN SPACE - YEEEA BOYEEE

[Austin]

Super R-Type (Normal, two loops) seems redundant. Completing Normal just loops the game on Hard (which you can pick in the options to start with that difficulty).

I'd say that it is considerably harder to play it on Normal and then on Hard than to just play the first loop on Hard. One might argue that you gain extra lives by playing Normal first, but you still have to make it through, of course. Since the game isn't all that short there's a good chance your concentration dwindled when you reached the final stages in the second loop, I know it happened to me a few times.

I'm also not entirely sure, but I think that the game is slightly more difficult when you play Hard as the second loop instead of the first one. I practiced the second loop by playing it on Hard and noticed that the first boss died quite a bit faster whenever I would play Hard as the first loop. Maybe that's only my imagination, though (or it has to do with rank? You start with the missiles from the first loop, maybe that boosts his health?).

I guess my point was that there is a harder loop after Hard mode itself, so to truly define the difficulty of the game (particularly with how high you ranked it up on the list), it would make more sense to list it with the Hard -> Pro mode loop. I agree with its placement when it comes to Pro mode.

As far as Hard being harder when being playing as a second loop, I think that just might be up to the player's endurance and their familiarity with the game. I have played through the game many times in both situations (starting fresh, or a continuation as a loop), and I don't think there's a difference at all.

As far as your statement about extra lives, they are kind of moot in this game unless you are specifically going for a 1CC. You always start at the beginning of a level, so it doesn't matter much from a gameplay perspective if you run out of lives or not. You have infinite continues and always restart at the same spot when you die regardless.

[Perikles]

I guess my point was that there is a harder loop after Hard mode itself, so to truly define the difficulty of the game (particularly with how high you ranked it up on the list), it would make more sense to list it with the Hard -> Pro mode loop. I agree with its placement when it comes to Pro mode.

I'm aware of the higher difficulty setting including Pro, but since I haven't played it myself I can't add it to the list with good conscience. There are a few 16-bit games where the highest difficulty changes things up in interesting ways (I'm thinking of Strike Gunner S.T.G's lightning-fast bullets or Kiaidan 00's voluminous clouds of suicide bullets), but I'm usually not that interested to test out every difficulty setting, I'm pretty content with the defaults (or the next highest setting if the game starts on Easy by default).

As far as your statement about extra lives, they are kind of moot in this game unless you are specifically going for a 1CC.

Why, that's the point of this list, though. I'm (subjectively) ranking 16-bit shooters by their 1CC difficulty (or sometimes 1LC/multiple loops/etc.), not by the time and effort it takes to get to the end with however many credits the respective game grants you.



I also added three more things to the list:
- Made an annotation for multiple loops in Super Raiden (+2 for each)
- Added Mr. Heli no Daibouken's Arcade Mode (6/10; you need to figure out how to control rank, though, otherwise it's a lot more difficult)
- Amended the Cotton 2-ALL (6/10)

[Austin]

I'm aware of the higher difficulty setting including Pro, but since I haven't played it myself I can't add it to the list with good conscience. There are a few 16-bit games where the highest difficulty changes things up in interesting ways (I'm thinking of Strike Gunner S.T.G's lightning-fast bullets or Kiaidan 00's voluminous clouds of suicide bullets), but I'm usually not that interested to test out every difficulty setting, I'm pretty content with the defaults (or the next highest setting if the game starts on Easy by default).

Yeah, I'm about the same and am pretty satisfied with playing on the default skill levels myself, although there are a few games I will crank it up (good catch on S.T.G., those bullets are crazy fast on the hardest mode).

As far as your statement about extra lives, they are kind of moot in this game unless you are specifically going for a 1CC.

Why, that's the point of this list, though. I'm (subjectively) ranking 16-bit shooters by their 1CC difficulty (or sometimes 1LC/multiple loops/etc.), not by the time and effort it takes to get to the end with however many credits the respective game grants you.

Haha, fair enough!

[Perikles]

Adjusted the ninth stage/special stage in MD Raiden as +3 instead of the facetious +4 it had before. I also mentioned it in the post, but I emphatically want to thank pegboy for his ingenious solutions, I never would've mustered the patience to beat it on my own, I merely copied his approach and sloppily bombed more for my execution was lacking as always. I mused about giving it perhaps "just" a +2, but seeing that you have to do it in an extremely meticulous manner or die right away (without any chance of recovery) I thought that the highest number is still appropriate. You also have to do it after an already tough game which doesn't help things.

[Bydobasher]

Perikles, you are the most accomplished console shmupper I've come across . . . I've played most of those games and finished many, though often with multiple credits -- and I almost never have patience for multiple loops.

I definitely agree Rayxanber II is a 9 though. When I think of difficult shmups from that era, I think of this one first. Never been able to beat it, even with 100 credits....

[_rm_]

I've cleared every game that is listed there

[BIL]

Hey Perikles, do you have any experience with Aldynes (SuperGrafx)? I put some hours on it yesterday, for a shaky credit-feed into the loop. Was pleasantly surprised*. I wouldn't know where to start ranking this stuff tbh (not enough experience), but its first loop definitely feels in line with R-Type Delta's "Irem Lite." The first four stages are decent enough, but the latter three's intensity and complexity explode through the roof. The typical console STG roof, certainly. More Rayxanber II than III.

Only two complaints, the first stylistic and the second more endemic to Irem/ex-Irem. Former: st4 looks awful. I'm sure there's some admirable technique going on, but it's just awkward to look at. No contrast, compounded by an overly busy background. Shame, as when the game looks good it really shines. Latter: a late boss is a blatant "magic pixel" safepotter. To be expected... but its attack is an instakill cock-slap of such brazenness, Psikyo would weep in heaven. And it punts you back some ways. Not quite a Ninja Spirit-style faceplant from grace at the buzzer, but close. 3:

Also, ala Image Fight, some control niggles. I would've preferred the Option button switch between the three modes with some visual confirmation ala Musha. Tapping the button to toggle between roaming and focus / holding it to enable orbit can feel dicey at the tightest spots. The awesome "charge bayonet" / Force stand-in would've been comfier as a passive charger too.

Overall though, I'd recommend this to 16bit-loving Irem fans for sure. Certainly the ruggedest shooter I've seen Hudson publish; they really went all-out in pursuit of a marquee Irem-esque for their new machine. Ala Gate+Winds, I find a distinct bygone charm in that largesse... it's a solid shooter, but also exactly the sort EGM would've hyperventilated over with cries of "SIZZLING PLASMA BEAMZ" and "EERIE BOSS CREATURES MENACE YOUR SCREEN."

SGX is an obscure platform, needless to say, but Ootake seems to run it fine for me.

*or mercifully surprised - picked up a copy on a hunch. These things *usually* go in my favour. ;3

[Perikles]

I have no experience with Aldynes and 1941: Counter Attack, unfortunately; I wanted to play all the 16-bit games on original hardware, but I only own a PC Engine Duo-R. Same with the 32X, Kolibri and Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 didn't strike me as exceptional (as far as the quality is concerned, they sure are out of the norm!) enough to rectify the add-on. Your instructive analysis piqued my interest, though, I might try to check it out via more unconventional means.

[Perikles]

I added a handful of entries to the list:

- PCE Heavy Unit, 2-ALL (4/10)
- Xevious, Fardraut mode (4/10)
- Cosmo Gang: The Video (5/10)
- Gradius, 4+ loops (10/10)
- Salamander, Expert, 4+ loops (10/10)

The last two entries transcend the rating by a point or so, just like the Gradius II 2-ALL. Same would apply for a 2-ALL of the HuCard R-Type, by the way: I haven't done that since it's essentially identical to the arcade version, but that's also quite a bit more demanding than the rest of the list.


Since this post is going to bump the topic I might as well segue into a tangent: I've also cleared most of the arcade games that received 16-bit ports by now. And I do have to say that I'm overall pretty impressed by the conversions. To be fortright about it, there are some horrendous ports out there. SFC Raiden, BlaZeon and Saint Dragon downright butcher the core and essence of the original game without offering anything worthwhile as compensation. But several conversions (and especially those from Capcom, Konami, Namco, Taito and Toaplan) are either stunningly faithful (given the circumstances, of course) or convincing in other manners. I might create a topic on that at some point (I would clear all of the arcade games first, of course), but just to give a few selected examples that might not be immediately apparent:

- The MD Insector X is flat-out the best version of the game. The gameplay is identical (and a little bit reminiscent of a Darius game), but there's simply no denying that the dark, gritty atmosphere along with some lurid monster sprites turn the somewhat bare-bones game into something much more compelling.

- The PCE port of Formation Armed F took some hits in the audio-visual department compared to the original arcade game, but it's also quite a bit more difficult due to the reduced space. It's not incredibly frustrating like the Image Fight port, however, it feels in fact moreso like a carefully crafted Irem game than Image Fight itself. Again, not a spectacular game in and of itself, but a commendable effort as far as the porting job is concerned.

- The SFC Sonic Wings is in a similar situation. It's slightly harder (for non-Rabio characters) due to the smaller screen, but most importantly, it doesn't have the worst soundtrack in existence! For that reason alone I would prefer this one (make sure to grab the SFC port as the SNES port does not loop).

[BIL]

But several conversions (and especially those from Capcom, Konami, Namco, Taito and Toaplan) are either stunningly faithful (given the circumstances, of course) or convincing in other manners. I might create a topic on that at some point (I would clear all of the arcade games first, of course)

Would love that. You are after all our #1 man in the field of 16-bit port archaeology.

[EmperorIng]

And all of Heavy Unit's 4 points of difficulty are in its first 30 seconds!

Some of the Taito remakes/ports are really impressive (Chuka Taisen, Kiki KaiKai); I never gave much thought to the MD Insector X but I might look at it in Kega; I kinda agree that the sci-fi look benefits an otherwise ho-hum game.