Hardest. Shooters. Ever.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:16 pm

theevilfunkster wrote:NES life force, its like the arcade salamander/life force on loop 2. never finished it without cheating

I wondered about that. I always hear people say that Salamander isn't that hard and I always thought they were full of shit because I've only played the NES version (Life Force).

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:48 pm

I remember Legendary Wings (both arcade and NES) being extremely hard.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:21 pm

tehkao wrote:Viewpoint is pretty effin hard too. Has anyone been able to beat this game or even *gasp* 1-cc it? I couldn't even get past stage 4.

About three versions of the forum ago, one of the members could SLC Viewpoint at MVS settings.

Don't know what happened to him, though.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:10 pm

Hmm

Hellfire and Border Down ain't that hard, just serious memorization required, Hellifire last stage is insane killing the standard mid bosses is incredibly hard with a standard ship.

Hardest shmup for me? I'd say mars matrix by far I just cannot get near 1 lifeing stage 6 god dam flower........ If i could do it I'd have those backgrounds unlocked inside a week.

FatalError · Post by **FatalError** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:01 pm

Ugh. Rezon.

I hate the shooters where the ship is so slow, it's almost impossible NOT to get hit.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:15 pm

I'm suprised nobody mentioned Gradius V that much, having played it recently I think the difficulty of the game, regardless of Multiples and even the difficulty set at Very Easy, is virtually insane, especially the Boss Endurance parts of the stages.

Not to mention the 2nd Loops with their Option Thief and Exploding Suicide Bullets(Treasure was thinking of Ikaruga when they added that I think).

Devilsheep · Post by **Devilsheep** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:42 pm

For me, it's Ikaruga and Mars Matrix.

Mars Matrix I can understand because they give you that reflect power for a reason, but most people are too stubborn to use it. Thus, they are massacred.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:31 pm

Blade wrote:I'm suprised nobody mentioned Gradius V that much, having played it recently I think the difficulty of the game, regardless of Multiples and even the difficulty set at Very Easy, is virtually insane, especially the Boss Endurance parts of the stages.

Not to mention the 2nd Loops with their Option Thief and Exploding Suicide Bullets(Treasure was thinking of Ikaruga when they added that I think).

...

GV is one of the easier Gradius out there IMO. Option Hunter and suicide bullets can be found everywhere in GII, III, IV and Gaiden too.

Frogacuda · Post by **Frogacuda** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:12 am

Image Fight is defiately the champ for me. But Kyokuku Tiger II and Gradius 3 still frustrate me to no end. Stuff like R-Type and Viewpoint I find get alot easier with time.

marril159 · Post by **marril159** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:27 am

Wow. Lifeforce for NES is one of the few shmups I can 1CC. I'd be able to finish it with 1 Life if it weren't for those stupid pipes at the end (I can never remember the sequence correctly >.<)

Super R-Type is stupidly hard since you have to start the entire level over if you die. My patience runs thin once I'm playing the orange labyrinth level multiple times...

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 5:58 am

Rezon: This one will give you a thousand "Rezons" to curse, out R-Typing the game that clearly inspired it. The ship is mighty slow for certain.

Super Zaxxon (and the Atari 8-bit version of the original Zaxxon): The crazy scrolling speed in this one makes it so. Oddly, the Atari 8-bit version of the original Zaxxon also scrolls at this rate.

Dangun Feveron I actually find harder than Ketsui. DF may have fewer bullets but they are quite fast.

[quote=zinger]The MD versions of Kyuukyoku Tiger (with new, fancy, mean AI)[/quote]
You're not the only one who feels this way about MD Kyuukyoku Tiger. I had been fairly good at Twin Cobra when I bought this on MD, and started hitting brick walls with this version. Even the easiest setting here makes the arcade defaults look like a complete cakewalk.

Giga Wing isn't that tough once you figure out when to use/hold the RF. I won't deny that the real endgame boss is a prick- though I plan to grease that fucker sometime, but I do plan on resorting to Force Bombs especially when he first shows up (getting "Independence Dayed" by the laser-firing medallions is not fun).

5parrowhawk · Post by **5parrowhawk** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:51 am

Galmedes is probably the hardest. Anyone else tried it?

hikarutilmitt · Post by **hikarutilmitt** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:23 pm

marril159 wrote:Super R-Type is stupidly hard since you have to start the entire level over if you die. My patience runs thin once I'm playing the orange labyrinth level multiple times...

Then do what I do and don't die.

All narcissism aside, Gradius III arcade is a terror. I honestly feel that it's the hardest game ever, shmup or not. It's unforgiving like most Gradius games and has a high difficulty and enemy/bulelt count to boot. It's actually the only Gradius I've played with frequency that I can't beat or at least come close to finishing.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:32 am

Konami seems to like butchering World Versions of anything.

Xexex Japan dosen't have a life meter: If you get hit, you die and is sent to the previous checkpoint(A la Gradius)... The bullets move much slower, and there are more weapons.

I remember someone on this board who says that the only game he 1CCed was Hellfire(Genesis), and that was a 1LC!

adam76 · Post by **adam76** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:49 am

You're not the only one who feels this way about MD Kyuukyoku Tiger. I had been fairly good at Twin Cobra when I bought this on MD, and started hitting brick walls with this version. Even the easiest setting here makes the arcade defaults look like a complete cakewalk.

Totally agree! Dunno if i remember rightly but i seem to recall my copy had a default setting of hard!

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:16 am

For me It has to be Gradius onthe Nes, I hate those rocks on level one

Riggy · Post by **Riggy** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:33 am

Gotta be Ikaruga , that polarity changing really mashes my brain!

Devilsheep · Post by **Devilsheep** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:50 am

Riggy wrote:Gotta be Ikaruga , that polarity changing really mashes my brain!

I'd agree, but a good deal of practice can make all the difference.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:59 am

SheSaidDutch wrote:For me It has to be Gradius onthe Nes, I hate those rocks on level one

That part is actually harder in other versions of the game.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 4:00 pm

BrianC wrote:
SheSaidDutch wrote:For me It has to be Gradius onthe Nes, I hate those rocks on level one
That part is actually harder in other versions of the game.

I'm so not playing the other versions then

Thats why I love/Hate Gradius Its hard yet fair

Memorization Shooters I'm not too good at

BUHA · Post by **BUHA** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:48 pm

Just my 2 cents, but I find the stupid volcano on the NES to be a lot harder than the mame version.

The original R-Type is damn near impossible if you ask me. It's just so unfair that when you die you come back as the slowest thing in the universe.

gs68 · Post by **gs68** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:59 pm

popawell wrote:
landshark wrote:Raiden 1 - I just cannot do good at this game. Gradius III (JP-ARC) - Level 2 hates me. Level 3's end boss hates me even more (never beat him).
Gradius 3 (arcade version) is just ridiculosly hard. If you see my review you can see why its so hard. In every level (except the fire one) there is a way to get around a bullet storm completley unscaved. But level 6 is just insane. Oh yeah there is a very easy way to beat the level 3 boss. Get the 2 front cores red, then dash out of his big lasers and use your options to finish off the center core. Thats how I did it.

You could pull your ship all the way back during the bouncing lasers.

ARCADIA · Post by **ARCADIA** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 11:04 am

Argus and Hacha Mecha Fighter (Arcade)

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 11:24 am

Super Mega C wrote:Undead Line.

That game wil own your ass, and anything by Psyko with the levels cranked up.

Wow, it took almost two full pages before someone metioned this game. This is the still the game that I break out with DDPDOJ for friends that are not shmup players just to show them what a REALLY hard game looks like. The MD version will leave you bloody.

ill6 · Post by **ill6** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:58 pm

DDP DOJ, Image Fight, Viewpoint and Last Resort frustrate the fuck out of me but they are all quality games and I return now and again and try and have another go.

Ghost Pilots is the one that I find hard to the point of never playing again cos its dull as dogshit and very frustrating.

Bydo Dragon · Post by **Bydo Dragon** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 1:22 pm

I second Zaxxon. Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned E.D.F. That game is pretty manageable...up until the final boss, which is quite possibly one of the most difficult bosses I've ever taken on.

Tatsujin/Truxton is pretty difficult, as well.

FatalError · Post by **FatalError** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:51 pm

After playing Gradius III on MAME, I can see why people find it so difficult (I've only ever played the SNES version).

Darius Gaiden and Super Nova are difficult to the point of unfair. I played Darius Gaiden again recently, and just the sheer amount of bullet spam and bosses that take a hojillion hits makes this game ever so hard. I can probably safely say that I doubt anyone has 1cc'd this game.

I don't know what it is about Super Nova, but damned if I can't make it past the third stage, and of course when you die, you lose everything, and get sent back deveral screens. Painful.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:54 pm

Darius Gaiden was really the first horzi shooter i played, and i hated it. after really loving Gradius in a big way, and getting into R-type, and others, i still hate it. i like Curse, by the way. Darius is a bore, as far as i am concerned. cool theme though. and you gotta love those boss names.

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:53 am

Not a shmup, but Smash TV.

Right thread this time.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:35 pm

The followup to Smash TV, Total Carnage is also very hard, but it has autoscrolling, so it might be a shmup.