Rare/obscure Genesis/MD shmups

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:32 pm

I just realized there's a lot of obscure MD shmups out there that I've never bothered with for some reason. What do people think of these games? Are they worth checking out?

Master of Weapon
Verytex
Slap Fight
Eliminate Down
Fire Mustang (?)
Monster Lair
Task Force Harrier EX
Dangerous Seed

I know there's a lot more than I'm missing...

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:41 am

Eliminate Down is an excellent shooter in terms of graphics, music, difficulty, and style.

Monster Lair is fairly fun in a Keio Flying Squadron style but it's predominantly a run 'n gun sidescroller (making no sense in the Wonderboy universe). Too easy and a bit boring IMO.

As for the other games, I either haven't played at all or not long enough to have had an impression.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:48 am

Ganelon wrote: Monster Lair is fairly fun in a Keio Flying Squadron style but it's predominantly a run 'n gun sidescroller (making no sense in the Wonderboy universe). Too easy and a bit boring IMO.

Isn't the Genesis version of Monster Lair also the weaker version of the game compared to the arcade and TG-16 versions?

Slap Fight is a port of a game that was released in the US in arcades and on C64 as Alcon. The Mega Drive version is actually two games in one with a brand new game named Slap Fight MD added. It's a great game, but it's very rare and I personally don't think it's worth over 100 dollars.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:56 am

Actually, the Genesis version plays similarly to the arcade version. Only major difference I noticed is that the sprites have been modified so the main hero looks a bit cuter, more like the Monster World style. The PCE version, which I haven't played, is supposed to be nearly identical to the arcade version.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:00 am

Ganelon wrote:Actually, the Genesis version plays similarly to the arcade version. Only major difference I noticed is that the sprites have been modified so the main hero looks a bit cuter, more like the Monster World style. The PCE version, which I haven't played, is supposed to be nearly identical to the arcade version.

oh ok. So it's only weaker graphically, but the gameplay is the same. Still, I like the arcade and PCE sprites much better. The strange thing about the TG-16 CD Wonderboy III: Monster Lair is that it actually made it to the system without major sprite alterations like most of the other Wonderboy games.

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:32 am

Wow, just saw the shmup review for Eliminate Down, this game looks unbelievably good. Can't believe this game went unnoticed by so many people....

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:37 am

Great; play it to see if you enjoy it. I'd say it's not that unnoticed though since it still garners top dollar in price.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:30 am

Eliminate Down goes for a small fortune. I can't believe a MD game can always fetch upwards of $200.

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 6:07 am

Eliminate Down is top quality. I agree with Ganelon: it is most definitely NOT overlooked. There must have been a dozen threads about this and the excellent GleyLancer on the old board. I only wish that these games were overlooked so I could actually afford them.

Task Force Harrier Ex is pretty fun, IIRC. I own it, but it's been years since I played it. I might have to rectify that situation tonight.

As far as Master of Weapon is concerned, I think there's a reason why it's obscure. I popped it in my Genny a couple of weeks ago, and it was pretty underwhelming. Still, for the measly four dollars I paid for it, it fits in nicely with Arrow Flash and the other mediocre "rainy day" shmups I own.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 6:24 am

There's also Gley Lancer (very good ThunderForce III-ish), and sort of bland Hentai shmup Divine Sealine.

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:06 am

Ganelon wrote:Monster Lair is fairly fun in a Keio Flying Squadron style but it's predominantly a run 'n gun sidescroller (making no sense in the Wonderboy universe). Too easy and a bit boring IMO.

I never thought it really felt like a run'n'gun. Since you can't stop the scrolling and you can only shoot to the right, the first half of each level plays more like Moon Patrol (or Silkworm with the jeep). Very shmuppy, IMO. And the second half of each level is a perfectly ordinary shmup stage. All in all, it's the shmuppiest non-shmup I can think of.

As for not fitting in the Wonderboy universe: I think it fits there alright, it just has nothing in common with the Monsterworld spinoff series (whose entries irritatingly have all been labeled Wonderboy games in the west). But if you look at the original Wonderboy (or Adventure Island, if you prefer that), you'll see many elements of the gameplay re-appear in Monster Lair: The fruit that replenish the slowly depleting lifebar is only one of them. Monster Lair is (gameplay-wise) a perfectly logical successor to the first WB game, much closer to it than the Monsterworld series ever was. (Although it's not quite as close as the Adventure Island sequels are.)

That said, it is a bit easy and repetitive and I would always prefer any title of the Monsterworld series to it, but still Monster Lair means lots of fun. I can wholeheartedly recommend any version of it. It's a rainy-day almost-a-shmup that I really like to play once in a while.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:10 am

Eliminate Down is very good, shame it's a collector's piece. I'd say it's not $200+ dollars good, though; far better shmups out there especially considering price. Fire Shark pwns it, along with elemental master, the Thunderforce-i, you get the idea.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:33 am

Master of Weapon - weird
Verytex - great
Slap Fight - great
Eliminate Down - great
Fire Mustang (?) - bad
Monster Lair - okayish
Task Force Harrier EX - depressing
Dangerous Seed - pretty good

black mariah · Post by **black mariah** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:07 am

Fire Mustang bad?!?? FREAKING CRAZY WEIRD PERSON! Fire Mustang is easily my favorite Genesis shmup. Yes, the graphics blow. The music is fmeh at best. But dammit it's speedy and I can actually dodge shit.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:37 am

black mariah wrote:Fire Mustang bad?!?? FREAKING CRAZY WEIRD PERSON! Fire Mustang is easily my favorite Genesis shmup. Yes, the graphics blow. The music is fmeh at best. But dammit it's speedy and I can actually dodge shit.

That's not very convincing. Yes, the background scrolls fast but the gameplay is still slow as hell. It's also extremely repetative. But, you know, each to its own

black mariah · Post by **black mariah** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:29 am

zinger wrote: That's not very convincing. Yes, the background scrolls fast but the gameplay is still slow as hell. It's also extremely repetative. But, you know, each to its own

The gameplay's slow? What Fire Mustang are you playing? The one I'm playing is middle of the road for a hori shmup (faster than R-Type, slower than Blazing Star). Of course it's repetitive... IT'S A SHMUP! There's only so much you can do with "Move around and shoot shit"

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:02 am

It's a shame that Slap Fight also sells for quite a bit. As far as Toaplan ports, I think that Truxton and Fire Shark are better choices since they don't sell for nearly as much and play great. There is also Grindstormer, which has the V-5 version of that game with it that plays like sort of like a more maniac Alcon/Slap Fight. Grindstormer sells for pretty cheap too.

gigadrive32 · Post by **gigadrive32** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:38 am

black mariah wrote:Fire Mustang bad?!?? FREAKING CRAZY WEIRD PERSON! Fire Mustang is easily my favorite Genesis shmup. Yes, the graphics blow. The music is fmeh at best. But dammit it's speedy and I can actually dodge shit.

cool! glad you like Fire Mustang. you probably know, but in case you don't, it is based on the arcade game called USAAF Mustang. did you see my recent thread on both games ?

http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic ... ht=mustang

before I made that thread, I was pretty darn surprised when I did a search on the forum for both Fire Mustang and USAAF Mustang, and it came up with NOTHING.

rib · Post by **rib** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:05 pm

i must agree with zinger as far as i played the games:

Master of Weapon - weird, yes and bad, its so silly fast but in the same time simple and gets boring fast

Verytex - great, in my opinion one of the best megadrive shmups, very underestimated

Task Force Harrier EX - depressing, well its a good game if you like games with classic war themes and graphic, the colors are a bit to grey, above average, can be exiting but later frustrating.

Dangerous Seed - pretty good, yes nice enemy patterns fitting with fast speed, the backgrounds are really bad sometimes but it had a nice skill and cool bosses.

nullstar · Post by **nullstar** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:35 pm

BrianC wrote:It's a shame that Slap Fight also sells for quite a bit. As far as Toaplan ports, [SNIP] There is also Grindstormer, which has the V-5 version of that game with it that plays like sort of like a more maniac Alcon/Slap Fight. Grindstormer sells for pretty cheap too.

So V5 is the proper sequel to Slap Fight, then? I can't never keep straight which has the Slap Fight/Gradius-style power-up system and which uses weapon icons to switch. It's a great game either way (albeit they play differently). Unfortunatly the copy I paid $3 for at GameStop don't work...but at least I don't have to feel guilty if I emulate it.

And I echo the sentiment on Eliminate Down -- top 5 on the MD for sure. Very reminiscent of ThunderForce III and IV, but it may even do more graphically. I'd pay $50 for a used copy in good condition, which is probably why I'll never own one. I don't care for Gley Lancer quite so much, but it's a contender for the MD top 5, too. Same problem of going price vs. what I'm willing to pay -- but I'd be willing to pay even less.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:02 pm

nullstar wrote:So V5 is the proper sequel to Slap Fight, then? I can't never keep straight which has the Slap Fight/Gradius-style power-up system and which uses weapon icons to switch.

V5 uses the Gradius/Alcon style power bar and Grindstormer uses the weapon icons. I don't know if I would call V5 a sequel to Slap Fight, though. I'm not sure if there is anything official reguarding that matter.

EastEndDestroyer · Post by **EastEndDestroyer** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:18 am

May I suggest Steel Empire.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:59 am

Verytex and Dangerous Seed are both pretty crappy, IMO. I'm looking to get rid of them.