Favorite stages

icycalm · Post by **icycalm** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 9:55 pm

It occured to me that I really really like Stage 4 in Mushihime-sama. It's the beautiful music and the distinct water theme of the stage, and even the pacing of the bullet patterns... it has a relaxing effect on me. I just came off playing that level in practice mode (maniac) for almost 2 hours straight. It's just so much better than any other stage in that game.

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 10:00 pm

The whipped cream + strawberries stage in Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius! It's totally sick

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:07 am

Loop 2 stage 7 in Gradius Gaiden.

Nothing even came close.

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:52 am

Stage 1 of R-Type.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:34 am

American Level Gunbird2
1st level of Giga Wing
Train level Gunsmoke
The style of the hole game Xevieos
Level 5-1 ShikiGami No shiro2

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:39 am

I think my favourite level is the one in parodius where the yellow birds are flying around and that crazy fast paced tune starts playing.

I think from personal experience I have to like the music to really like the level.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:03 am

Stage 1 Einhander. Great mood-setter.
The blizzard level in Strikers 1945, with the bells ringing in the beginning of the level. Although I'd say it's topped by the train stage in S1945 II. And speaking of Psikyo train stages, that'd be my favorite in Gunbird as well.
Level 2, Gradius V. For months I kept yelling "DUDE! It's me -- from the future!". One of my favorite levels in any shooter, ever.
Level 2 of Gaiares; dropping from the sky, and the music was amazing.
Level 2 in Battle Garegga; music has a lot to do with my love for this stage.
Level 3 in Rayforce; very mellow stage.
Bubble level in Gradius IV, my favorite bubble level in any Gradius.
Level 3 in RSG; best boss battles in the whole game.
Level 2 in Axelay, if only for that music (everytime I play it, the music's stuck in my head the next day) and the ED-209 boss.

Man, really weird how many of my favorite levels in shmups are either 2 or 3. Kinda disappointing to think they peak so early for me.

ccovell · Post by **ccovell** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:09 am

The Dark City stage in Gate of Thunder; it's just thrilling.
The wall-busting vertical boss chase in In the Hunt.
The 3rd stage of Magical Chase in the clouds.
The final (factory) stage in Spriggan.
er... the final stages in many games are just awesome, basically.

ghibli99 · Post by **ghibli99** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:05 am

I love the crystal stage in Gradius Gaiden. The music absolutely rocks, and watching all of your lasers refract through the crystals for the first time is an image that stays with you from that moment forward.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:27 am

Cloud level in Zanac Neo, and Germany in Strikers 1945. Many others, but I must go to sleep.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:44 am

stage 3 (hard) of psyvariar 2
basically all of raiden fighters jet's stages
battle garegga stage 1
batrider stage 5

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:18 am

Border Down, stage 5: Zipping right alongside the orbital tower makes for one nice view. This stage's BGM "Snow Fox" goes quite well with it.

Darius Gaiden, Zone H: This is how R-Type Final should've done the warping effects in stage 5 (Dimension 26)- ONLY to the backgrounds and not everything else.

Darius Gaiden, Zone V boss "Risk Storage": One of the attacks has the boss shooting out what looks like a bunch of... TINKERTOYS?

Battle Garegga, Cloud stage: Love that BGM. This stage is one that I find aesthetically pleasing in general with a slightly dark atmosphere and plenty of large planes to take down.

Ketsui, stage 3: This is where things start heating up a little. Taking apart the large carrier midboss bit by bit for the 1-Up is part of the fun. Again, great BGM.

Ibara, stage 2: Plenty of chances to rock the 10,000 point medals assuming that you don't die at the wrong spot.

Limbrooke · Post by **Limbrooke** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:19 am

Twin Hawk initiate. I honestly can't recall being so happy when hearing a single tune compared to the prelude piece during the formation prior to engagement.

I guess Stage 4D in Radiant Silvergun is also a favourite.
Notables:
-Airport - Battle Garegga
-Stage 2 - Gradius V (I concur with the '...there is a space-time anomoly forming..." line by the future VicViper)
-Training Raiden DX
-ESP RA.DE Ending
-Progear Final Level

Even though I've never played it, Stage 1 Ketsui is a real treat to watch, and the music suits well.

Macaw · Post by **Macaw** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:40 am

The last stage in Axelay. Awesomely suspenseful.

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:27 am

stage 8 in fire shark for the whole naval battle where the big submarines pop up and pretty much kill or be killed. bullet spams avoided with the reward or about 7 or 8 bombs.

stage 2 in ikaruga for the whole box section and the middle part where you don't even have to shoot and can get everyone by using the bomb and recharging it, as well as keeping the chain going. meticulous planning perfection.

the opening stage 1 in psyvariar revision with the rush of enemies and bullets, a perfect introduction to the play mechanics and even after all this time i can still see room for buzz and level improvement.

any stage in gynoug for the crazy bosses, especially the big train with a face and the boat with two faces.

Xargon · Post by **Xargon** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:42 am

Gradius V, stage 4. I don't know is it my favourite of all shmups, but it's absolutely the best stage of that game. All the other stages of Gradius V... I don't know, they are boring and they all looks pretty same. 4th is almost the only different one and the boss is nice too.

Oh and hi everyone.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:43 am

Oh, welcome to the forums, Xargon.

Actually I love stage 2 and especially 3 of mushihimesama more. I love the sounds of the 80's so for me, the synth melody is just quality. Plus all those hundreds of bugs trying to swarm you, just pure non-stop action.

Other stages:

Ketsui Stage 1: Love the look of the citiy and the music. The way the plane flies in through the clouds and then your heli departing from it, along with the music, love it!

Gradius V stage 1 : Can't ever get bored of playing this stage.

Thunderforce IV Desert stage: Love the stage music and the sand blizzard effects.

Dodonpachi stage 4: Love those vehicles passing by at the beginning, the whole stage is pure non-stop action.

Gynoug stage 7?: That stage where you're inside the body, one of the best looking stages ever imo.

Gradius Gaiden stage 7: Formidable guardians stage, again I love the sounds of the 80's so the music here does it for me.

Border Down Stage 3: Nice music along with nice action happening in the background. The boss music on this stage is my favourite too.

Under Defeat stage 5: Beautiful intro, nice music, great looking stage, graphics are just incredible. Altogether a masterpiece I think.

SteevTee · Post by **SteevTee** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:04 pm

Gradius V, stage 6, with all the green goo gushing out all over the place, when the whole play area starts to rotate, and just when you're expecting a load of bosses, the frickin screen scrolls backwards. Damn hard mind you.

Gradius IV, stage 4 or 5 (the lava one): Also cool when all the scenery starts flowing about and lush fiery colours.

R-Type, stage 3 and the big mothership.

R-Type Delta, stage 4: Great vertical scrolling stage with nice music.

Soukyugurentai, stage 2 when you're flying over the earth, quality music too.

Ikaruga, stage 3 with the cubes shooting black/white lasers.

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:20 pm

Many fantastic stages mentioned already, but here's another:

Harmful Park, stage 2 - Great, toe-tapping music, and eye-scorchingly beautiful graphics. Plus, the bit with the wedding in the chapel is hysterical.

and I love just about every stage in Batsugun, but ya'll knew I was gonna say that...

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:37 pm

Halloween Park and Animal Park, both in Harmful Park. the wedding chapel, frankenstein giving me the finger, monkeys... oh the fun.

the level of Kamui that always tears me apart (mostly for the boss though)

Gradius Gaiden, the moai stage. nothing compares to finally getting here, taking out a blue head, and getting thwacked by the lasers for the first time (i never knew they existed until the moment of impact

)

Battle Garegga's factory. scenery destruction heaven.

lots of more stuff.

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:21 pm

Oooh, great thread!

I really like the "Illegal Mission" stage from Battle Bakraid. I have to give Axelay another mention, too. Level 3 has some of the finest and most appropriate music Souji Taro's ever written (as does the already-lauded 2nd level)*, as well a lovely boss.

Another fave is Gradius V's level 6. Even though it takes a while to get to grips with, I just love the art direction (particularly at the entrance to the facility), and the soundtrack as a whole really started to grow on me at that point.

[edit: oops, I didn't see that this has already been mentioned too!]

I'll post some more as they come to me...

*I'm a really big fan of all those early 90s Konami composers - Oodachi, Yaganisawa, etc.

icycalm · Post by **icycalm** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:00 pm

Since no one has even mentioned this game yet... it's impossible for me to pick between the 3rd and 4th Stages of Espgaluda. They are both brilliant.

Also, the Zero Space stage in Psyvariar Medium Unit. I think it's Stage 4B. Best boss in the game.

mice · Post by **mice** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:09 pm

- First level in Metal Black. That carrier leaves me breathtaken each time.
- And as Dale says, the second level of Gun.Smoke. There's something about locomotives and Roy Knife sets the scene perfectly.
- First level in ThunderCross (jp), orange stones couled with green background gets me going, and the boss is just awesome as is the music.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:09 pm

Stage 5 of Guwange where you go through that narrow walkway gap while being bombarded above and below by enemies and the only way to defend is with your spirit creature.

Stage 2-1 of Ikaruga, there's just something about a high-speed dogfight through a city I just love.

Stage 3.5 (Hidden) of R-Type Final, Music is awesome, lighting is awesome and luminescent, plus you get to fight the R-13 cerberus.

Stage FA of R-Type Final, everything leading up to the confrontation and the sexual halucination in the back...just awesome to me. Even the water surface ripples.

Stage 3 Boss Rush of Gradius V, I hadn't experienced a Boss Rush in a shmup before, and it was quite interesting.

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:45 pm

Wow. I have so many favorites, but these come to mind first...

1st stage in Border Down
4th stage in Under Defeat
Chapter 2 & 5 in Ikaruga
1st stage in Thunder Force V
1st stage in Psyvariar II
4th stage in Layer Section
2nd stage in R-Type Delta
6th stage in Gradius Gaiden

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:29 pm

The second to last level of Twinbee Yahoo, the one with the huge waves of crazy toys that come down from the top of the screen like a curtain. It's very colorful and very fun.

ahnslaught · Post by **ahnslaught** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:37 pm

I love the third stage of progear, though I've yet to beat it. I love the constant gemming that you have to do - it really gets my fingers in a rhythm throughout the stage and feels great seeing tons of stuff go on

crithit5000 · Post by **crithit5000** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:47 pm

Stage 4 of Giga Wing Generations is currently blowing my mind. Great music and insane bullet patterns.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:20 pm

Battle Garegga - Stages 1 to 5

Layer Section - Stages 2 to 7

Gynoug - Stage 4
Border Down - Stage 3 (Green Border)
Progear no Arashi - Stage 3

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:29 pm

Batsugun Stage 4

Gunbird 2 Stage 4

Ibara Stage 4

Armed Police Batrider Stages 6 and 7

Dragon Blaze Stage 5