Unpopular opinion / Hot take thread - get it off your chest!

[Obiwanshinobi]

DOJ sucks

Donpachi series is overrated and boring!

Eh, the first game isn't to me, neither is Ketsui, thus not all is bad after all.

[Jonpachi]

DOJ sucks

I spent a LOT of hours playing DOJ, maybe over 500, and for a long while I would have said it was my favorite game of all time. Yet, as I've gone back to it over the years, I've come to view it as basically vertical R Type. It's all about incredibly strict rote memorization of routes, and I have a really hard time playing it today. It's both a masterpiece and something I can't see myself investing time in anymore.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Just ignore the scoring system. Just trying to survive is a blast.

[SnotShot]

-Shmups didn't really start getting good until the 90's.

-Most shmups are just way too hard, I can't be bothered to spend all the time needed to get good enough to beat them on default difficulty, thank goodness for novice modes.

-I consider Qute the best shmup developer of the past decade. Eschatos, Ginga Force, and Natsuki Chronicle, are more fun and interesting than anything being made by anybody else. We'll see if M2 can deliver the goods with their upcoming original games.

[To Far Away Times]

I love DOJ. Maybe not as much as the average forum goer, (I don't have it ranked as high as the yearly polls), but its a great game. I can see the argument for it being the best bullet hell game. And yeah, Jonpachi's quote about it being a "vertical R-Type" is spot on. I love that sort of routing and puzzle gameplay, but understandably, its not for everyone. DOJ doesn't have too bad of a penalty for dying and it has numerous bombs to get you out of bad situations, but you still can't wing it like DDP. I had to have tight routes down for levels 3 and 4 and a decent plan for level 5 before I could 1CC it.

[trap15]

hot take: I thought this was the hot take thread, not the "try to explain away the hot takes" thread. Otherwise I have a lot of posting to do because this thread sucks ass.

[Flobeamer1922]

Ketsui is the weakest of the Cave PGM shmups.

Each subsequent DonPachi game (except for Bee Storm) was weaker than the previous.

[el_rika]

All shmups should have a laser/focus mechanic.

Cave 3rd gen >>>...>>>> the rest

[mintshly]

Horizontal is the future because 16:9 is the standard.

[ShmupJunkie]

When I tell someone shooters are my favorite games and they say “oh I love Call of Duty “ I want to punch them in the nuts

[o.pwuaioc]

When I tell someone shooters are my favorite games and they say “oh I love Call of Duty “ I want to punch them in the nuts

This is neither an unpopular opinion nor a hot take.

[ShmupJunkie]

When I tell someone shooters are my favorite games and they say “oh I love Call of Duty “ I want to punch them in the nuts

This is neither an unpopular opinion nor a hot take.

Happy to know I’m in good company here then.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

All shmups should have a laser/focus mechanic.

Cave 3rd gen >>>...>>>> the rest

Shot/Laser is inferior to instant Focus mechanics. The main downside of Shot/Laser is you can't get the slower, precise movement of Laser without actually firing, so if there's something you don't want to kill for scoring reasons, you have to plan your movements around the weapon firing or the faster Shot speed. I prefer Focus mechanics for this reason so your movement speed control is separate from the firing (whether or not you have an alternate weapon when firing in Focus mode). Also, a lot of CAVE games did not have instant speed transition, usually for scoring reasons (DFK is one that does have instant speed transition into laser if holding Rapid then pressing Shot).

I'm also not crazy about gear shift speed selectors, especially 3 or 4 speed gear shifts. I panic trying to figure out and memorize what speed to use where. Having a fixed "fast and low" speed that you toggle instantly with a Focus button feels more natural.

[heli]

When I tell someone shooters are my favorite games and they say “oh I love Call of Duty “ I want to punch them in the nuts

You can friendly tell them that a gamepad is not suited for 3D-gameplay.
There is 4 directions to move, it is perfect for 2D, the 3D games all not working good with gamepad, you are handicapped.

Call of duty ?, what version, what number, i lost count, they always mean the latest version somehow.
There are milljon call of duty games.

I play those games from a time when most call of duty players were not born yet.

[Plasmo]

Ketsui is the weakest of the Cave PGM shmups.

Each subsequent DonPachi game (except for Bee Storm) was weaker than the previous.

Godlike hot takes.

100%

[davyK]

CAVE Easy Modes aren't *that* bad.

If they gave futari easy mode the option to disable auto-bombing it would have been a great way to get into the game.

Correct. Novice Futari is a walkover because of the auto bomb. Having that as an option would give a stepping stone to the normal games. Novice is too easy for me but I haven't done better than level 4 on Original 1.5


I don't like auto bombing generally. I know it's a big part of DFK and some modes but it feels cheap to me.

[ZPScissors]

Kyukyoku Tiger and Tatsujin are ok. But that's about all I can say about them.

Also I really don't like R-Type. Any of them.

And suicide bullets how I've seen them in... basically every shmup they're implemented in, are really lazy and a horrible way to increase a game's difficulty.

[copy-paster]

I am not fan of suicide bullets too, even though I got a 2-ALL clear of Salamander 2. This game somehow encourages me to 2-ALL it for idk the reason.

[strawpoll-legend]

• 1. As previously mentioned in this thread, 3D rendered objects usually look cooler than sprites. Even outdated 3D models, which are arguably the coolest looking of all.
  
  2. Some old games, like Galaga, still hold up today.
  
  3. The Sin and Punishment games are kinda boring, and the controls are hard to get used to.
  
  4. "Anime girls" in shmups should be celebrated, not derided.
  
  5. Milestone games (the ones they actually developed, I haven't played newer ones) are very good. This may not be an "unpopular opinion," since tons of people like their games, but it seems to be a divisive issue on this forum, so I might as well throw it out.
  
  6. Run and guns should be considered shmups.

[mintshly]

• 1. As previously mentioned in this thread, 3D rendered objects usually look cooler than sprites. Even outdated 3D models, which are arguably the coolest looking of all.
  
  4. "Anime girls" in shmups should be celebrated, not derided.
  
  6. Run and guns should be considered shmups.

Completely agree, great takes

[copy-paster]

Run and gun are already shmups, why would there are Metal Slug 8 thread in Shmups chat. IMO DDP Daioujou has one of best usage of anime girls.

[bottino]

I really don't care for multiple loops, and making the player clear the game twice in order to properly beat it is bullshit. Give me a normal and expert tour-de-force instead.

4. "Anime girls" in shmups should be celebrated, not derided.

Like in Touhou or Deathsmiles....?

[endali]

If you are a grown man, and you are unironically into "anime girls", then you are a fucking loser.

[el_rika]

I really don't care for multiple loops, and making the player clear the game twice in order to properly beat it is bullshit. Give me a normal and expert tour-de-force instead.

Is there a single shmup-er on this planet that wouldn't agree with this?

[Ghegs]

Run and gun are already shmups, why would there are Metal Slug 8 thread in Shmups chat

Because people start unbelievable whinefests whenever we move them to Off Topic.

My unpopular opinion is that run 'n guns are not shmups. Gravity and/or forced scrolling makes a crucial difference!

[donluca]

I am not fan of suicide bullets too,

Oh right, I almost forgot about this.

Fuck suicide/revenge bullets.

[trap15]

Run'n'guns are extremely not shmups, they're way way closer to platformer/action games than shmups.

[o.pwuaioc]

Run and gun are already shmups, why would there are Metal Slug 8 thread in Shmups chat

Because people start unbelievable whinefests whenever we move them to Off Topic.

My unpopular opinion is that run 'n guns are not shmups. Gravity and/or forced scrolling makes a crucial difference!

Is Defender a shmup? I'd classify something like Commando or Ikari Warriors as a shmup even if it's not forced scrolling, but Contra or Metal Slug are platformers with shooting elements. Otherwise Super Mario Bros is a could be a shmup, too.

[heli]

Contra shattered soldier and Neo Contra are SHMUPS i like them very much.
Especially shattered soldier, one of the best games ( for the first levels, the later levels i throw the gamepad away )
Run n gun is shmup if it shoots like contra ss, no gun reload and excellent audio, i wish for more of the same quality.

[endali]

Jamestown+ is butt

Sky force is butt

Any vertical shooter in a hori aspect ratio is butt