The Self-Introduction Thread

[BloodHawk]

Hello everyone!

I have been visiting the site for a while, I figured I would finally register and actually contribute

I have been casually into shmups since the NES days, but the first game to really get me more interested in the genre was Radiant Silvergun on Saturn. Since then I have pretty much had shmup ADD and love trying new ones, but I find it hard to commit to one enough to 2-ALL. Bullet Hells seem to interest me the most lately.

Since I don't have my old consoles anymore, I primarily play on PC, but occasionally I hop on the PS4 for the M2 Shotriggers releases or the Switch for other misc. titles.

[heatimusZ4]

Greetings!

The name is heatimusZ4, Age 19 currently.
I like shmups (SNES & NES ones mostly), memes, romhacks, famitracker, the newgrounds audio portal for having great shmup remixes and Gradius II as a favourite pick from the franchise. The forum caught my attention in 2019 and so I decided to hop in and see what can i do in here.

Thank you for reading.~

[nagi541]

Hello! i'm Nagi-541. i have been in the world of STG since Thunder Force V and R-Type Delta, eventhough my STG gaming skill isn't good, anyway, nice to meet you!

[Sengoku Strider]

Hey all, just signed up. I've been playing STGs since my parents got me the wrong console for Christmas and I got to spend some quality time with Asteroids, Defender & Solaris on the Atari 2600. Also had a friend around the corner who had cracked versions of every Amiga game under the sun, some good memories of Blood Money, Xenon II & R-Type with that incredible Chris Hulsbeck soundtrack. I did eventually get around to owning my own NES & SNES. Zanac, Gyruss & Life Force on the NES, Gradius III, Axelay, Pocky & Rocky, UN Squadron, Super R-Type (hey, I liked it) & the godly Space Mega Force (maybe my favourite of all time) on SNES. A game which I sold, and have forever regretted.

Luckily I got to make up for the Atari mixup when some parents of small kids got a Turbografx-16 from a friend, and traded it to me for my NES and its more kid-friendly games. Aw yeah, Blazing freaking Lazers, Super Star Soldier, Ordyne & Side Arms (wouldn't get to Soldier Blade & the Thunder twins until years later on the Virtual Console). Went PSX for the 32-bit gen, which was pretty shmup-bereft in the West, so I was pretty much out of the genre until I got sick of the crummy textures & shifty shakey polygons & moved up to the incredible Sega Dreamcast on 9/9/99. Giga Wing 1&2, Mars Matrix, Rez, Bangai-O, etc. etc.

Though TBH, grinding myself numb to unlock the BG Graphic option in Mars Matrix burned me out on the genre for a while. Aside from the PSP Gradius Collection (Gradius Gaiden, w00!) and a couple of other odds & ends I didn't spend much time with STGs. Until I got to move to Japan, where I could spend my time off in game centres & finally play all those Cave games I'd only read about on hardcore message boards. I quickly realized trying to master Dai Ou Jou would make me broke, so I stuck with Deathsmiles, which was way more my speed. When I eventually moved back I got GundeadliGne on the PS3, but it just wasn't the same. And now it's delisted :/

I did get a Saturn while I was over there with 50 random games (mostly kusoge) for like $80, but no shmups outside Panzer Dragoon, if you want to include that. Japanese stores knew exactly how much those STGs were worth (and charged like double that). Sadly, I couldn't fit Mt. Kusoge into my luggage on the return, so I entrusted it to a friend to hold on to until I came back...who ended up storing it in his parents' basement out in the sticks and I never saw it again. Or maybe he sold it for beer money, I dunno, his wife had him on a tight allowance (it's just how things work in that country, wifey controls the purse strings). Either way, I didn't know a lot about latency and didn't understand just what I had in my hands back then...regret :/

Fortunately Wii's Virtual Console was a gold mine, getting me access to stuff like Gley Lancer, Gates of Thunder & Last Resort. That's continued with the Wii U, with Lords of Thunder, Soldier Blade, Final Soldier, Air Zonk, R-Type, Pocky & Rocky with Becky, and Nano Assault Neo which I love to bits.

But the real reason I'm here is the Switch. I know it's brought a ton of attention & players back to the genre, and TBH it has me way more into them than I ever was in the past. R-Type Dimensions EX was one of the first things I got for the system, and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect remake, they got everything exactly right. I've played the SEGA AGES release of Thunder Force AC to death. Spent several hours banging my head against Ikaruga (can't believe, Dreamcast super fan that I was, that I never imported this back in the day. I had no idea it was this good). Cheered many a rando in Raiden V. Gradius & OG Star Soldier on the Nintendo Switch Online NES. Spent 99 cents on the Vasara Collection and damn those games are hard. I'm paying Sega's rent stocking up on the Panzer Dragoon Remake, SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone & Thunder Force IV (just officially change the name in the West already, Lightening Force is such a dumb name) and Bio Hazard Battle on the Genesis Collection. Hours of Galaga in the Namco Museum Collection (HD rumble in this game is so subtle but satisfying! Best version of this game I've ever played!).

But my true love here is Psikyo. Their games have a mix of personality, mechanics and difficulty that hits my sweet spot. Dragon Blaze, Strikers 1945, Gunbird 2, and especially Tengai/Sengoku Blade, these are the games that I know I'm going to sink myself into the most. They're just so enjoyable to pick up & play...

...which brings me to the last point on this odyssey. I found this forum searching top shmups & ending up on this forum's top 25 thread. Every Cave/proto Cave & Treasure game under the sun, some thing called Thunder Dragon, but not a single Psikyo game made the cut? What's up with that?

[o.pwuaioc]

...which brings me to the last point on this odyssey. I found this forum searching top shmups & ending up on this forum's top 25 thread. Every Cave/proto Cave & Treasure game under the sun, some thing called Thunder Dragon, but not a single Psikyo game made the cut? What's up with that?

Tell me about it! Strikers II is one of my favorites of all time. There's a major bullet hell bias here, though there are a lot of us manic/classic shooter lovers here, too.

[ashiteru73]

Hi,

I'm 17 and i'm a HUGE Touhou fan. Touhou has been life for me since I first discovered it 3 years ago. After messing around in a gameplay discussion subreddit, I stumbled the word "shmups" and after a bit of googling, I realised. Holy! other vertical shooter exist!.

After that, I tried out a lots of other shmups. Some i like( gradius 3 [snes] [already 1CC!], raiden [psx] [trying to clear]), other i don't( dodonpachi [arcade] , U.N. Squadron [snes]). Hopefully, i will clear more games and trying to high score.

Also, here my Touhou 1 cc clear:
All main touhou games 1CC lunatic minus UFO and DDC.
Shoot the bullet: All cleared.
Impossible spell card: All cleared( 80% captured).

[provato]

Hello, I've just registered here in order to be able to participate mainly in hardware discussions.
I'm a M.D. in profession, with an electronics degree from a private school also, and I am really fascinated by old CRT technology and retro gaming.
Recently my finances are going well, and I started buying consoles I wish I had as a little boy, as my family wasn't the richest around to afford original video game consoles... Instead I had an atariclone, a famiclone, a x486 IBM PC, and a ps1 in late 1998. But I had friends with real consoles to play at their places, soldering & computer skills and love for studying/reading that made me a popular console-modder in my hometown.
Currently playing (with my 3-year-old son): Lost Vikings (Mega Drive)
Currently playing (with my wife): Wheel of Fortune (Wii) - Lame, I know... but girls are weird!
Currently modding: playstation (scph-7502)
Future gaming plans: Buy and mod all mainstream consoles up to 7th generation, buy a decent sony PVM or BVM, build a custom piece of furniture for console & CRT monitor housing, play more with my son, expand the gaming horizons of my wife...
I wish you all health in these difficult times, and happy, constructive chatting here on the forum

[Ju4nM3n4]

Hi everyone! I've joined literally 5 minutes ago.
The thing is that I've been redirected to this forum from REDDIT: r/crtgaming because I have a problem with my Sony Trinitron TV.

In Reddit, some users told me that you guys had way more knowledge than them, and that maybe you could guide me troubleshooting my TV.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge, and I'm looking forward to learn a lot from you.

Just a question, if I may ask... is there a dedicated forum to post CRT Troubleshooting / Repair Questions?

[BulletMagnet]

Just a question, if I may ask... is there a dedicated forum to post CRT Troubleshooting / Repair Questions?

Have a look around the "Hardware" subforum and I'm sure you'll find something useful.

[willinliv]

Hi, new here, even as a lurker. Been looking at reading some of the threads though (although not for long). What brings me here is that I have a ZX81 that I bought a PVM for, a little Sony 9042QM (question to follow). And whilst I'm at it I've plugged the PVM into my Retropie setup and so far very pleased with the results. My favourite games are by Llamasoft and puzzle games be Jonathan Blow (really enjoyed Braid, and still working my way through Witness).

Thanks for a useful space! Will

[Hornet]

Hello everyone.

I've been a lurker here on and off since 2006 when I was still a university student (time sure flies lol). It actually feels kinda weird to finally post here! I got into shmups with the NES version of Gradius and the arcade version of R-Type. Although I enjoy both types, I generally prefer classic shmups over danmaku. Outside of traditional STG I also like arena shooters and run n gun games. I'm also one of these weird people who love gravity shooters, like Gravitar and Thrust, with Sub-Terrania on the Mega Drive being my absolute favorite game in this type. When it comes to gaming in general, I have a deep love for the 8bit/16bit eras and I find myself returning to those generations more than all the other generations combined.

I'm currently working my way through Final Blaster for the PC Engine.

[laurabuzz]

I'm also one of these weird people who love gravity shooters, like Gravitar and Thrust, with Sub-Terrania on the Mega Drive being my absolute favorite game in this type.

Oh wow, I had no idea more games like Lunar Lander existed... Sub-Terrania looks awesome :O
I would love to see your highscores for some Gravity Shooters!

[pr0fesseur]

Hello all,
Im Pr0fesseur
I am working on a new bullet spawn system built from the ground up in Unreal Engine.

Waiting for my post to be approved in development so keep an eye out for my upcoming posts and let me know what you think!

[troyoy]

Hello everyone, I just got turned on to this site a few days ago, first post. I am 50 with a bad memory so I cant really tell you what old school shmups I played, dont remember. Except for that the R-type series was my favorite in the arcade and still is. I am an xbox achievement chaser or was. I got into the Japanese and Pal xbox 360 about 6-7 years ago. Bought a ton of games back then and still own them. But now I am trying to complete my JP 360 Shmup collection. Prices are at an all time high and so is shipping from Japan. I fell in love with deathsmiles when I first saw it on the 360 and it was one of the few released on the USA 360. Then I heard if I bought a Japanese 360 there were way more games like that never released in the USA that I could play. I wont bore you with list of about 30 JP shootem up bullet hell shmups that I own. A lot of these games as of now go for about $80-150 usd new/used. I recently could only find a few of the titles new and hated to even open them. I would like to buy even more sealed copies and just save them for a unused collection. I keep playing and trying to get better, some of these games are very hard. Most of these games have different bullets on screen and you need to learn if you absorb, avoid etc. Trying to get all of the achievements in these games is a great challenge and way to tell how good you are getting.
Thanks for listening, Troy

[Lazy-Assed Prophet]

Hello! One of the most nostalgia times of my life was living in the late 80s and 90s with Arcade cabinets. They were everywhere! Every time I touch a joystick, it's like time traveling back in time, I love using an arcade stick and I try to use it with every game I play, For example, I just bought Streets of Rage 4 and there's nothing like playing a new game on stick! I bought a mayflash f500 and modded it with Sanwa, Seimitsu, Crown with buttons. My favorite configuration is is a seimitsu ls-40 with a crown purple battop. I use a balltop for fighters and battops for shmups and beatemups or any console type game. I'm here because SHMUPS are part of the arcade stick experience. My favorite shmup to play right now is Caladrius Blaze! I'm happy to be here!

[nassekova]

Hi!

I am 35 year old retrogamer from Finland! Recently have been discovering some great shmups and playing them a lot. Joined here to get some tips and do some business! Mainly looking for a Espgaluda 2 full/partial kit right now!

[Sinisteve]

Don’t know why it’s taken me so long to join here but better late than never...

Always like a good shooter old and new.
Some of my favourites are 1942, Time Pilot and of course Sinistar
Been playing a lot of Prehistoric Isle 2 and Ghost Pilots recently

[NMS]

Hi

I took a huge break (10 years) from shmups but decided to come back recently. My favorites are vertical scrolling old-school games such as the Raiden series, Flying Shark, Twin Cobra, Truxton I/II, though I also enjoy different games such as Time Pilot.

Nice to meet you

[benstylus]

I haven't logged in here in well over a decade - right around the time I moved from California to Kentucky. Glad to see the site still doing well.

I'll be popping in more regularly - bookmarking the forum on my tablet now.

Anyway, I still play shmups, and the pandemic has given me slightly more free time to do that. So I thought I'd better come back home to the forums here and reintroduce myself.

First shmup I played was probably Space Invaders for Atari 2600. Newest, probably Sisters Royale on Switch.

Favorite shmups? Twinklestar Sprites is probably still my number one after all these years, followed by Mushihimesama and Dangun Feveron.

Least favorite? Probably Space Invaders again. I respect it for helping pioneer the genre, but even amongst other arcade ports to the 2600, there were much more exciting ones, such as Phoenix, Megamania, and Centipede.

So that's me and I'll see you around

[EmperorIng]

Always good to see an old regular pop back in! I run the scoreboard topic for Sisters Royale so I hope you add a score there. The game is quite competitive, relatively speaking, and the member iconoclast currently holds the world record in the game. It's a lot of fun so you have good taste.

[minion]

Hello all - long time shmup fan (called them 'shooters' until fps came along and stole the moniker), just recently joined. Got into them back in arcades in the 90s heyday of the genre, but been recently learning more about the ones that never made it out of Japan. Side-scrolling and memorization-based is my sweet spot, and not super into bullet-hell, although I am a fan of Treasure's forays into that subgenre (RS, Ikaruga). Top five would probably be TF3, BM Daiginjo, Air Zonk, and Gates/Lords of Thunder.

Anyway, cool to find a community also into the genre. Cheers.

[UD2]

Howdy, long time listener, first time caller. I've been a pretty casual shmup player for a while and decided to make an account here after getting a 1LC on Out Zone and deciding to go for more

Right now, my favorite games in the genre are Out Zone (I know people argue if it's even a shmup, but it's just so much fun) and V-V (currently working on a 1CC, stage 5 checkpoint are killing me).

Nice to meet you all

[Yoshinoya]

Hello all, Im Yoshinoya living currently in Amsterdam.
I've been loving Shmups for a very long time and finally signed up to this awesome place.

Started with R-type back in the day and my first big Shmup loves were Area 88/U.N. Squadron and Super Aleste Snes.
Currently playing and loving, Dragon Blaze, ESP Ra.De. Psi, Caladrius Blaze, Crimzon Clover World Ignition and re-discovering Battle Garegga

Hopefully can find the time to go deeper on scoring runs, but damn i love those Shmups!

nice to meet you all! よろしくお願いします!

[LordGamevoin]

Greetings, fellow pilots/gravity-defying floaters! Just a few days ago, I had discovered... That SHMUPs rock! (or would it be better to refer to them differently?)

Over my life, I've certainly tasted a few random vertical shootans, but in the end I've usually discarded them to the realms of flash games and "Touhou", thinking nothing of their silly and seemingly unfair emphasis on dying mercilessly in the face of some ridiculous bullet patterns... But whoa, I've been missing out! The sheer atmosphere, that rush of focus you get as you push to a new stage is incomparable: awesome soundtracks abound, too!

That was revealed to me when I decided to try ZeroRanger on a whim: I think I'm at the final boss of the final and fourth stage - really looking forward to what comes next! What would you recommend to try out? I love 'story-based' games, or those that permeate with a strong theme and atmosphere, and great music would be a major boon! I'm hoping to try out Hellsinker and Sine Mora at some time, but what would you recommend as similarly true paragons of the genre?

[Ice Beam]

I love 'story-based' games, or those that permeate with a strong theme and atmosphere, and great music would be a major boon! I'm hoping to try out Hellsinker and Sine Mora at some time, but what would you recommend as similarly true paragons of the genre?

Hellsinker is extraordinarily obtuse in gameplay and scoring, though people who master it consider it to be a great game. It's beyond me at the moment, though.
Sine Mora isn't very good.

Going by Steam releases, Deathsmiles certainly has a lot of atmosphere and can be considered 'story-based'. This thread may be helpful:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=67291

[arcangelnew]

Hi everyone, wondering if this post will get posted, I tried 2 times to post on the RGB mod section but hasn´t been published since 2 days ago.

[jamespaterson]

Hi All! I am a shmup enthusiast from Oxford, UK. I have been playing shmups in various forms since my childhood, amongst other games as well. Probably my formative game being the 8 bit ZX Spectrum version of R-Type. I am solo "spare time" developing my own shmup which I will share some details on in the development forum in due course. Cheers!

[TropicalBits]

Hi Guys, I’m Saúl from Costa Rica.

Trying to get better at shmups and trying to getting some original hardware

Cheers

[qjkxbmwvz]

Hello, readers.
(There: variety achieved.)

The first shmup that I remember owning was Project S-11 for GBC. I remember putting a fair bit of time into that, although it really wasn't the best of games. I can only imagine how much I would've played Lightening Force had I known about it - or Thunder Force V or Battle Garegga (though I didn't own a Saturn back then).

[Codiene]

Ageing gamer, newish to the forum.

I used to lurk around here a long while back but had to stop retro gaming as life got in the way for a long time.

I sold of a lot of my ‘retro’ collection, that I’d owned most of from new, about a decade ago (From the NES onwards to the PS2 inc the obscure stuff like virtual boy and the slightly harder to come by stuff PC Engine Neo Geo AES etc).

Always been fond of playing shooters but mainly horizontal titles save for a few on the PC Engine like final Blaster, final soldier Gunhed and an obscure one called toilet kids.

I recently found my old Saturn packed up that I thought had gone long ago but I’ve discovered it’s not powering up unfortunately so the happy surprise was short lived. I cannot remember if it powered up back when I packed it away it might have been why it never got sold.

I’ve built arcade joysticks in the past and converted controllers to run on the AES when I couldn’t afford Neo joysticks so fairly comfortable with wiring stuff up and modding things. My main focus was on fighting games before everything was sold off.

Anyway I’m looking for a cheap and convenient way of getting back into arcade gaming but focusing on playing vertical shooters that I didn’t really get a chance to play in the arcades much. My main interest is in starting out with vertical shooters from mid 90’s into early 00’s. Cave 68000 and CPS2 stuff mainly. Although maybe just a little past this hardware up to Ketsui.

I have a spare HPLP2065 monitor that I picked up free that I can setup vertically. I’ll have to run any outputs to DVI though as they are the only inputs on the monitor, I didn’t realise this before I picked it up.

What in peoples experience are the best cheap options for an easy start. Ideally I’d like something that I can set up and not have to spend ages tinkering with things all the time, if it can be avoided. But have a selection of games from the period to try out. The intention is to consolise whatever the chosen option is so it can sit safely under the monitor as I’ll want to play the games with my kids.

Multi-game boards?
I’ve seen some with a reasonable selection of vertical shooters on them. Elf 412 is most easily available for me.

Retropi
Can it handle the 68000 and CPS 2 games we’ll enough.


PC and Mame / console emulation
My experience about 7 years ago with this wasn’t great. I missed having the retro consoles so I played around with it for a few weeks got some stuff to work but other stuff was awful. Haven’t tried since.

Other options for a single unit setup?

I’m sure these questions will have been asked many times before over the years but if there are up to date or current threads discussing this that are worth reading happy to be pointed in their direction to read up there.

Any help from people who have looked into things before is always greatly appreciated.

Thanks