How many levels in a Shmup?

[Terramax]

Just curious to know how many levels people prefer in their shmups, along with how long each stage is?

I notice I seem to enjoy shmups with 5 stages, all at about 5-7 levels long. I tend to find a 6th stage (including final boss only stages) to make the games feel like they're dragging just a bit. In other words, around 25-30 minutes per session, total.

Of course, you have shmups that have you playing for well over an hours, so I suspect others here are off different opinions?

[Creamy Goodness]

6 is generally my max. This is why I have a love/hate relationship with Compile games. Their games usually have great gameplay, but so many of their games way outstay their welcome.

[MathU]

It depends on how long the levels are of course, but I usually feel short changed when only given five. Shorter levels are almost always better because they provide more opportunities for a quick break and more exciting boss battles. I generally appreciate more levels and more bosses until a game reaches the 50-60 minute mark and managing a single-credit clear becomes exhausting like in Gradius III and Metal Slug 3 (prepare for 80+ minutes if you're playing for score)... But then there are a few hour-long experiences like Hellsinker that completely earn their length and don't feel exhausting.

[donluca]

I personally prefer to have 5 stages to beat (plus TLB eventually, either after the LB or in its own short stage).

6 is stretching it and only if they are pretty short.

[evil_ash_xero]

6 is good, on average. 5 if you go all out on the last stage, or something like that (Mushi Futari).

If it's an old school style hori, you can do a couple more. Take the Thunder Force games, for example.

[trap15]

Always 8.

[DMC]

7 is perfect and the confidence interval ranges from 5-8. Anything else and I begin to lose confidence on the developer.

I would like more Epilogue stages like the last one in Twinbee Yahho. Easy and accompanied by some triumphant music.
No difficult boss, just some bonus items and a few enemies so that you can still die if you're nervous (i.e., the last hurdle).

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

7. 8 seems like too much, 6 is not enough.

[Gamer707b]

5 for me will do it. Perfect length. Recently playing Crimson Clover reminded me of that.

[heli]

The longest game i know is raiden V, it take an hour and a half ?
No fun in playing rayden V, its a good game for the rest, exept unplayable loading times in boss mode.
I prefer short games.

Now you know why some games have route-select.

[schleichfahrt]

Always 8.

If they're Psikyo length stages, this.

[Rastan78]

For arcade games that are good to play for score I like 30 mins or so. 6 or 7 shorter levels is great. I don't mind when games have boss or checkpoint milking as long at it doesn't turn a 25 min playthrough into 90 minutes.

If it's a more laid back console type shmup like a Compile game or something you're likely to play for pure enjoyment and not score, I actually don't mind at all when those stretch on for an hour or so.

I also think it can be cool when levels aren't all the same length.

[Sengoku Strider]

The longest game i know is raiden V, it take an hour and a half ?
No fun in playing rayden V, its a good game for the rest, exept unplayable loading times in boss mode.
I prefer short games.

Now you know why some games have route-select.

Raiden V is like the patient zero for this conversation.

On the one hand, it highlights why this question doesn't have one answer. It was clearly designed as a console experience, a vert shmup for a standard living room yoko 16:9 hdtv setup. Tons of story, attempts at 3D spectacle, and a length with multiple run-time stretching routes more in line with the expectations of the home consumer than the arcade operator.

On the other hand the game is still frickin' hard, and that run time makes it a pain to get good at. What it needed to rescue it - aside from a script that wasn't written by deer - was a ShotTriggers style challenge mode that really breaks the game open. And let the routes be their own experiences, rather than branches from the same old early easy stage.

Also, somebody gag that woman who passive-aggressively criticizes me at the end of every stage when I miss a single zako. "It seems your destruction rate was low. I know there's nothing wrong with the plane." LADY SHUT UP I JUST KILLED 800 THINGS

...anyway. Point being, it's not whether or not a game is X stages or minutes long. It's whether that length makes it a drag, or whether it's implemented in a manner that's not going to burn the player out.

[cocoron]

I think everything in between 25 - 45 minutes to clear a game works for me.
But 5 levels should be the minimum.

[NAVVARR]

8 seems right to me- for me Rtype was just Shmup perfection.

As a veteran Shmup fan, I used to play Rtype in the old smokey amusement arcades back in the day- in particular The Big Apple in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street.

That game was just so special for its time, pure perfection, 10p a go and I'd play it for an hour, each time getting that one bit further, learning it and mastering it.

8 distinct levels of pure Shmup perfection- even now when I think back to those days I yearn for a Shmup that gives me that feeling that Rtype game me years ago.

[Sengoku Strider]

8 seems right to me- for me Rtype was just Shmup perfection.

As a veteran Shmup fan, I used to play Rtype in the old smokey amusement arcades back in the day- in particular The Big Apple in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street.

That game was just so special for its time, pure perfection, 10p a go and I'd play it for an hour, each time getting that one bit further, learning it and mastering it.

8 distinct levels of pure Shmup perfection- even now when I think back to those days I yearn for a Shmup that gives me that feeling that Rtype game me years ago.

Have you given R-Type Final 2 a shot yet?

Also, Pulstar if you've never taken it for a spin. That game to me makes a case for being the truest R-Type follow-up.

[NAVVARR]

Yes, I've been playing Rtype Final 2 over and over, fully up to date with it.

It's pretty good, some great levels in there but it's a bit of a rollercoaster in terms of quality in my opinion.

I've unlocked everything and played all the remakes of the old levels and I'm not hugely drawn back to it- will wait foe more content for the moment.


Pulstar is very good, I agree, very Rtype like, and a worthy (non) successor. I've player it right through, although not for a while and maybe I'll load up my Neo Geo and have a shot.

XMultiply is also a very nice shooter- Irem were behind X Multiply, it's also one I used to play in the arcades back in the day and I managed to complete it as well- only 7 levels mind, but again, a widely diverse bunch of levels.

[bcass]

Four to five stages, with the duration sweet-spot being around 15 mins for me.

[heli]

15 to 30 minute i say.
Levels minimum 5.

[Blinge]

Raiden V is like the patient zero for this conversation.

Is there an arcade mode that skips all that story stuff?

If not, I'd probs have 0 interest

[copy-paster]

IMO length is what matters than stage count, sometimes one stage looks like it consists of two stages. For shmups 15-30 minutes is my preferrable length. Console exclusive shmups tend to go with 40-50 minutes which is fine.

[Sengoku Strider]

Raiden V is like the patient zero for this conversation.

Is there an arcade mode that skips all that story stuff?

If not, I'd probs have 0 interest

Unless it's a secret unlock somehow, I don't believe there is, no. The only modes available are Story, Boss Rush, and...actually that's it.