Rate yourself at shmups!

[neorichieb1971]

Just post a number and comment if you wish.. Would be interesting to see how you rate yourself.


I am number 3, passionate. I am certainly better than any non shmupper out there, but I cannot put claim to any outstanding feats like some of you can.

Please answer honestly, if your name does reflect/appear on the high score forums it classifies your entry as obsolete.

I think this should be a sticky. But I will let the rest of you decide.

[Ord]

Erm... i'm half way between average and passionate. I don't really use bombs at the first sign of trouble and i certainly don't usually get to level 5 on 1 credit.
So i just marked myself as being average.

[Ghegs]

Put myself down as someone who can handle himself. I got about 20 1CC's under my belt, but it's mostly ones that are considered rather easy - Gradius Gaiden, Thunder Force V, Shiki 2, quite a few PCE shmups (Nexzr, Gate Of Thunder, Soldier Blade, etc). Some of those, like TFV, I did on harder-than-default difficulties, though. Sometimes I feel I'm still lacking that 1CC that would move me up from "someone who likes to play shmups" to "shmupper".

[Ganelon]

The 2nd one. I tend to do really well and 1CC quite a few classic shooters but get slaughtered by manic shooters that don't slow down since my reaction times aren't the fastest.

[iatneH]

What Ord said.

I rarely use bombs, and I'll make it to Stage 4 on 1 credit without using bombs... or maybe one... I'll usually die trying to squeeze out of a situation thinking that I can do it without using a bomb...

[Skyline]

For me, it's always the 4th Stage that screws me the fuck over. Whether it be Mars Matrix, Espgaluda, Thunder Force V, Raystorm, or whatever...Stage 4 = byebye credit.

I think for a few weeks at a time, I'm going to start playing for survival, as opposed to always score-whoring all the time. Just to see if it's worth it.

[japtor]

Please answer honestly, if your name does reflect/appear on the high score forums it classifies your entry as obsolete.

if im understanding this sentence correctly (which im not really sure i am), isnt this a bit subjective?

and what 'level 5' are we talkin about here, some games have 5 levels, some 8, some more/less, etc, so just looking for a bit of clarification.

i put passionate. ive been on the brink of 1cc'ing strikers 1999 (final form of boss) and ikaruga (3 seconds away), otherwise can just get decently far in others (ketsui - level 5 midboss, esprade - level 5 boss, dangun - uh somewhere in level 4 w/uopoko, etc). gunbird 2 is kicking my ass right now, but ive gotten to level 5 a few times now since i got the pcb, rarely got past 4 in the arcade before, if even there.

For me, it's always the 4th Stage that screws me the fuck over. Whether it be Mars Matrix, Espgaluda, Thunder Force V, Raystorm, or whatever...Stage 4 = byebye credit.

I think for a few weeks at a time, I'm going to start playing for survival, as opposed to always score-whoring all the time. Just to see if it's worth it.

4 destroys me on ketsui. when i survive 4 i pretty much get a new high if ive been scoring decently. course the times i do get past 4, usually 5 decimates me. i play for survival for the most part after beating the mid boss of 3. i barely played for score in ddp, cept maybe trying to chain all of level 1. past that i cant keep chains and just stay alive.

[Ganelon]

if your name does reflect/appear on the high score forums it classifies your entry as obsolete.

Didn't even notice that. If that's supposed to mean score defines how well we play then I can't play worth jack. Never had the motivation to play for score. Hell, I don't even go after points when I'm completely safe; never got into the habit I guess.

But why rank your poll based on 1CC's rather than score? Not everybody who 1CC's and 1LC's games plays for score, ya know. Or maybe I'm the only exception here...

[neorichieb1971]

Its just a caption and not to be taken literally.

Consider it 1-5 with 1 being the best and 5 being "Beginner".

The 6th option was for people that are just browsing for example, which would eliminate 99% of people coming to a dedicated board like this one but I thought I would put it in there. I know alot of people only keep games for 2 weeks before they offload them.


I was just wondering what percentage of people that come here are actually guru's and which are just fans of the genre.

Your right though, many games have a few levels and some have lots. But in either case, if you can get to level 5 on 1 credit that usually means your pretty bad ass at shmups.

[black mariah]

I'm average mostly because I tend NOT to use bombs when I probably should. I try to dodge out of everything no matter how stupid the situation and end up taking a lot of bad hits.

[CMoon]

Definitely needs to be a 'get up to level 4 without using continues' option here. Most shmups with practice can be brought up to level 4.

[Ord]

Definitely needs to be a 'get up to level 4 without using continues' option here. Most shmups with practice can be brought up to level 4.

Agreed.

[sffan]

Definitely needs to be a 'get up to level 4 without using continues' option here. Most shmups with practice can be brought up to level 4.

This is about where I am on most shmups I play.

I didn't vote yet.

[Frogacuda]

I can 1cc a few games, but not many. Most shmups I eat it at around the level 4 boss, so I chose average.

[jp]

I don't know. I would say Option 2: "I got a few 1CCs", but thats mostly because I haven't played that many shmups (mostly due to lack of PC-Engine)... and those 1CCs are the likes of Radiant Silvergun, Batsugun, Metal Black, and Souky.



*rubs chin*

[dboeren]

I guess I'm typical for the board, because I too usually get to level 4 or so.

I have the same problem as black mariah, I really don't like using bombs. I kind of view them as being a cop-out, which is an attitude I need to beat. I want to be able to view them as a budgeted resource like BDoria does in his Strikers 1945 Ii guides.

[BulletMagnet]

Consider it 1-5 with 1 being the best and 5 being "Beginner".

If you're using this scale I'd probably be somewhere around a 4...I've been shmupping for a little while now and am definitely better than what I used to be, but I still lag a ways behind most players here. Then again, I'm a fairly casual player of most anything, shmups included, so I really don't aspire to become a "pro" or whatever you might call it...just playing the games for fun and getting a little better a bit at a time.

[professor ganson]

Erm... i'm half way between average and passionate. I don't really use bombs at the first sign of trouble and i certainly don't usually get to level 5 on 1 credit.
So i just marked myself as being average.

You describe me exactly, Ord. I will mark myself as average.

[TVG]

i can get on 5th stage in most cave/psikyo and other shmups, so ive put myself there.
its not that great either, just slightly above average player due to extended play, but nowhere near as good as some members here like DEL, twitch, rando, mrmonkeyman etc.. and much less talking about the japanese dudes that do superplay (godlike)

[Minzoku]

I try...

I don't use bombs, because I keep forgetting I have them? [That was half of my Shikigami run the other night...]

[raiden]

my skills vary quite a bit, depending on the game. Reached real phase 2 in Raiden Fighters Jet within 2 weeks of getting the game, but I just can´t get a hold on games like Guwange or Dragon Blaze. In Strikers 1945 II, I´m simply building on experience, not talented at all, but I just played it often enough to reach stage 7 regularly. In Dodonpachi, I don´t have problems reaching stage 6, but I still can´t do a perfect chain even in stage 1 only.
I can only 1cc easy games, the last one was Battle Bakraid on normal, and before that things like Thunderforce 5.

[Kaspal]

lately im not as good as i used to be, since im not playin ANYTHINg like b4 ... but i manage to get some 1CC in some games when i get to play them for awhile (i mean, accomodatin to teh game, and then tryin to beat it!)... i wish i was better, but since im not playn mucha lately, i cannot get better this way... heheh... thats it ...

[alpha5099]

Hmm, I put down Passionate, but I was pretty torn. Several of the descriptions apply. I do have a few 1CCs. Five, I think. But I think I do fairly well at some shmups, I can get moderately far in a few. I don't know if that's what is meant by level 5, or if level 5 is a reference to the recent norm of five-leveled games, meaning the last level. In which case there aren't many I can make to the last level that I haven't 1CC'd. I think Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius is the only.

If it weren't for the descriptions of each category, I probably would've put down Average. I suck pretty hard on a good many shmups, but I can do well at some too. I miss my Number 1 spot on Thunder Force V for the Saturn, I should start up another high score thread just so I could once again reign supreme. Until one of the Godlies decides to play for score and ruins my life.

[captain ahar]

i would log myself under Passionate. no 1CCs yet, but to be honest I play far too many games, to get to that level. I have thought about buckling down and choosing maybe 3 games to focus on (for some variety), but it hasn't worked in the past. I always end up pulling out other games because I "feel" like playing something else. I've come close to completing (1CC) a few:

examples are Castle Shikigami 2 (PS2), MUSHA (GEN), and Blazing Lazers (TG16).

[icepick]

I'm also with Ord, iatneH, Skyline and others. Average, it seems, is not when one uses bombs liberally... but, moreso when one forgets that they have bombs, or simply thinks that they're way more smooth than they actually are. Taking chances is fun, I tell you! Bombs are free to go hang out in the lounge, as far as I'm concerned.

So, I haven't voted yet, either.

I think for a few weeks at a time, I'm going to start playing for survival, as opposed to always score-whoring all the time. Just to see if it's worth it.

I'm personally only now getting to the stage where I note how scoring is both the savior and bane of survival. On the one hand, lives and bombs are rewards for scoring well (right?), but on the other hand, one usually needs to take chances to obtain such scores. Obvious I know, but, I myself have been focusing on survival up until now, so, I'm now doing the exact mirror of you (switching to scoring)... We can compare findings.

[Dylan1CC]

My benchmark? Well, I haven't lived up to my username's tag yet ( ) but I can consistently beat the cloud/boss alley stage on Garegga on one credit. Once I get to the next stage though, the initial cannon batteries and heavy fighters usually smoke me before I can get any farther. The crazy thing is, about 4 1/2 years ago when I TATE'ed my TV for the first time with the game, not only did I beat the boss alley on 1 credit, I got all the way past the cannon batteries and well into the factory where the giant, rotating lazer cannons take shots at you. But then IIRC I was thinking to myself "Hhhhhh, giant hand drawn lazers. Neeaat" and died by a small bullet shortly after that part.

So I'm "passionate/5th stage + on one credit."

[ED-057]

I'm probably also between the passionate and average levels. Since two other posters said they voted themselves average I decided to round mine up and go with passionate

I can 1CC old-skool console shmups but I suck with arcade-style controls (although that NES Advantage does work well for 1943 at least). I also tend to rack up a lot of continues in manic shooters although I haven't played them that much, I'm kind of behind the times as far as that goes.

I played RSG on a big screen at a LAN party and managed to impress an audience by weaving through the volley of crystal-looking things from the last boss for a while. Of course, I later went on to die OVER and OVER AGAIN from his other attacks

[japtor]

I'm personally only now getting to the stage where I note how scoring is both the savior and bane of survival. On the one hand, lives and bombs are rewards for scoring well (right?), but on the other hand, one usually needs to take chances to obtain such scores. Obvious I know, but, I myself have been focusing on survival up until now, so, I'm now doing the exact mirror of you (switching to scoring)... We can compare findings.

lives are usually rewards for scoring well, while bombs are usually fixed handouts (other than funky 'bomb' systems like esprade). in ketsui, after scoring decently in the first 2-3 levels, playing for survival at that point will probably be enough to get you the 2 point level 1ups. gotta earn the other 2 with the other fun level 3 and 5 requirements. hell of a risk/reward system, bomb and lose the 1up and end level points, or risk it and possibly lose a life and however many bombs and the points. i can manage it decently enough there, but once im in a situation i know im likely to die i bomb.

and on a 1-5, i would put myself at 4, 5 being the guys on the high score forum that get the all clear. in games i consider myself good at, it seems like im usually the guy between them and the others. i would consider the crazy japanese guys that get ridiculous scores to be at 6.

[Acid King]

I said passionate. I've never 1 cc'ed a game mostly because I've never really dedicated myself to the task. A few weeks ago I busted out TFV which I hadn't played in well over 6 months and got to tthe 6th level on one life. That's how it is with most of my shooters. I play them enough to get deep in to them, I just never finish them off.

[Blade]

If anything, there needs to be more teamwork-based shmupping involved, I think. Sure it's probably easy enough to get through on 1 credit with enough practice, but when you've got a 2nd player to up the difficulty...

I of course can't say anything about 1 credit, since I tend to be crazy and play games like Thunderforce IV and harder. But still I like the idea of losing a lot since it teaches me more about the game and improves my skill.