Beast cheap shooter

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:38 am

As just about everyone knows, shmups often hold their value, and then some. It's probably due to the fact that they're nitche, and made in small print runs. Anyways, throw out your respect to the best shmup you can get for little economic pain.

I just popped in Layer Section for the Saturn. This is like a 300 yen game at most, and is great.

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:50 am

Gradius V
Mars Matrix (DC)
Gunbird 2 (DC)
Ikaruga (GC)
Darius Gaiden
R-Type Final
Gradius 3 & 4
G-Darius
R-Type Delta
Raystorm
Gradius Gaiden
Shienryu
Mobile Light Force 2

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 1:12 am

Lots of older games are cheap. Here are some I recommend:

Nemesis (Gameboy)
Truxton (Genesis)
Fire Shark (Genesis)
Thunder Force III (Genesis)
Lightening Force (Genesis)
Gradius (NES)
Life Force (NES)
Dragon Spirit (NES)
Zanac (NES)

black mariah · Post by **black mariah** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 1:34 am

Also on the DC, Giga Wing can be picked up for way cheap sometimes. I got mine for about $10 after shipping.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:15 am

tehkao wrote:Gradius V
Mars Matrix (DC)
Gunbird 2 (DC)
Ikaruga (GC)

How much do these run? I only know of their JPN counterparts... none of which are cheap. Gunbird 2 probably the cheapst at 2000 yen online, which would probably disqualify it. Not expensive though.

Gigawing

Yeah -- I scored mine for about 900 yen just before moving. Gigawing 2 on the other hand...

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:17 am

I picked up my copy of Gunbird 2 US for about 15$ used...that was a couple of years ago though, not sure if it's risen much since then or not. Mars Matrix is, in my experience, more in the 20-30$ range, IIRC...the other two I'm not sure about.

Post by **system11** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:40 am

For the PC, I'm playing one of them right now - the Shanghai Alice shooting games are all very cheap - $17 each, and you can probably find them much cheaper.

Utterly beautiful games they are, too:

The Bullet Dodger · Post by **The Bullet Dodger** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:42 am

The cheapest good shmup I own has got to be Mobile Light Force for the PSX. I decided to take a look at it despite the horrible cover. I Bought it for $2.99 brand new at EB Games. And then I found out it's really a Gunbird port. A fairly decent port at that.

Shit, I've seen the Saturn port going for $10-30 on eBay.

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:07 am

BulletMagnet wrote:I picked up my copy of Gunbird 2 US for about 15$ used...that was a couple of years ago though, not sure if it's risen much since then or not. Mars Matrix is, in my experience, more in the 20-30$ range, IIRC...the other two I'm not sure about.

I'm not bragging, but I got GunBird 2 used for about the same price; it and GigaWing are probably the most abundant and cheapest DC shmups.

I've been meaning to get Mars Matrix and GigaWing 2 for a long time now. I check eBay every so often. It seems to me that both have slowly been going up in price. GW2 in particular.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:26 am

Yeah, GW2 tends to be a ways more expensive than the first, in my experience copies can go for 40 bucks or more...be patient though, because I was and eventually snagged one for less than 20, in nice condition too.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:35 am

Currently, Giga Wing 2 can definitely be found for $20 in excellent condition if you pick the right one.

Anyway, US PS Thunder Force V, Sol Divide, and Xevious 3D/G+ are also cheap. Obviously, Castle Shikigami 2 as well. Also, Saturn Darius II, JP Raiden Project, and any Arcade Hits title (Sonic Wings Special, Soukyugurentai, Wolf Fang, Raiden DX).

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:40 am

R-Type Final
Silpheed 2
Sanvein
Gradius V

Those would all be my picks.

stoneroses · Post by **stoneroses** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:02 am

Gekioh Shooting King

Under $5 and worth every penny. The gameplay is dead on, period. Some here have educated me that it is a port of Shineru I think it is called in Japan. If you like games like Gunbird and Raiden then you owe yourself to seek this rather common and cheap game. Highly recomended!

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:09 am

stoneroses wrote:Gekioh Shooting King

Under $5 and worth every penny. The gameplay is dead on, period. Some here have educated me that it is a port of Shineru I think it is called in Japan. If you like games like Gunbird and Raiden then you owe yourself to seek this rather common and cheap game. Highly recomended!

I keep hearing that it's a port of Shenryu, but there is also a Japanese version of Gekioh.

TVG · Post by **TVG** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:11 am

is US mars matrix really that cheap? because the jp version goes around 70-80 euros in paris (which is around 90 USD)
that sucks.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:24 am

BrianC wrote:I keep hearing that it's a port of Shenryu, but there is also a Japanese version of Gekioh.

It is indeed a port of Shienryu, which includes a few extra "bonus" modes (some are just silly, others are fairly different to try), but lacks the ability to save scores or adjust settings (though 3 of the "modes" are easy-normal-hard). I'm not sure if the Japanese version includes the same sort of stuff or not, but both are definitely Shienryu ports. And imho, definitely worth the 5-10 bucks you'll hafta pay for the US one.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:34 am

BulletMagnet wrote:
BrianC wrote:I keep hearing that it's a port of Shenryu, but there is also a Japanese version of Gekioh.
It is indeed a port of Shienryu, which includes a few extra "bonus" modes (some are just silly, others are fairly different to try), but lacks the ability to save scores or adjust settings (though 3 of the "modes" are easy-normal-hard). I'm not sure if the Japanese version includes the same sort of stuff or not, but both are definitely Shienryu ports. And imho, definitely worth the 5-10 bucks you'll hafta pay for the US one.

Thanks for the info. It sounds pretty cool.

More cheap but good shooters:
Project S-11 GBC
Iridion II GBA
Konami Arcade Advance (has three shooters in it) GBA
Gradius Galaxies GBA
Xevious 3D + G for PSX
The Guardian Legend (hybrid game, but extremely good) for NES

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:50 am

The Guardian Legend (hybrid game, but extremely good) for NES

Hmm, this game deserves a thread all by itself...

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:03 am

Mars Matrix US retailed for $19.99... not sure waht it will run now. THe DC version retailed for 4800 yen I believe. Where are you guys getting Gradius V cheap, or is that a budget title in the US?

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:48 am

I got a used copy of Gradius V from EB for $29.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:08 am

Yeah, me too, used copy of Gradius V for $30 CDN. It was in great condition too! Which kind of makes me sad in a way... It's good that I managed to get myself a copy, but sad that there was someone out there who couldn't appreciate the game enough to want to keep it.

"Don't worry, you have a good home now, I will take care of you..."

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:47 am

BulletMagnet wrote:It is indeed a port of Shienryu, which includes a few extra "bonus" modes (some are just silly, others are fairly different to try), but lacks the ability to save scores or adjust settings (though 3 of the "modes" are easy-normal-hard). I'm not sure if the Japanese version includes the same sort of stuff or not, but both are definitely Shienryu ports. And imho, definitely worth the 5-10 bucks you'll hafta pay for the US one.

Yep. The Japanese PSX version Gekioh has all of the same extra features as the US version.

As far as the straight-up Shienryu game is concerned, the only real differences between the Saturn and PSX ports, besides high score saving, are less slowdown and a Tate mode.

Back on topic...the US ver. of Gradius III + IV goes for pretty cheap in the shops.

zimeon · Post by **zimeon** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:54 am

If we're talking cheap games, there are a lot of $0 shmups for the PC. Just check shootthecore.

Otherwise, I will say nothing more than repeat what Bloodflower said. The Shanghai Alice games for the PC cost 1000 yen ($10) bought on Comic Market and 1500 yen ($15) in the shops. That is the complete opposite of a ripoff. That's basically giving them away.

Post by **Ghegs** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:13 am

PCE has plenty of good shooters that are pretty cheap. Side Arms forever, baby.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 1:48 pm

tehkao wrote:
The Guardian Legend (hybrid game, but extremely good) for NES
Hmm, this game deserves a thread all by itself...

I heavily disagree.

My entire shooter collection (something like 30 - 40 games) actually consists of all shooters I got for under $30. Most of them were under $10 actually.

There are good cheap shooters too numerous to mention on the NES and Genesis. On the Saturn I have Layer Section ($15), Twinbee Deluxe Pack ($15), Darius Gaiden ($15), Kingdom Grandprix ($25), Fantasy Zone ($20), In The Hunt ($10).

Accutron · Post by **Accutron** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:34 pm

Some more good words about Shienryu...the Gekioh localization is pretty good and costs next to nothing. I can't really think of anything else that compares, quality vs. price, on a newer system. It's a very tight little game. No TATE though.

Since money may be involved, I'll just say that Silpheed: TLP is ass, through and through. I can't hardly believe how many positive things I've seen said about this game on here recently...must be a changing of the guard. I don't even think it should be properly called a shmup, as dodging is at best optional, and your hitbox is the size of a dinner plate

Its appeal lasts about as long as it takes you to say "ooh that's pretty".

I got a new, sealed copy of Gunbird 2 and a NIB standard DC controller for $13 about a year ago. It was a 'my girlfriend kicked me out and now she's dumping my shit on ebay for super low prices' sale

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:48 pm

Psyvariar Complete. Retails for about £10 in the UK. Full 60hz option and the fantastic Psyvariar Revision. Bargain!

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:34 pm

Ord wrote:Psyvariar Complete. Retails for about £10 in the UK. Full 60hz option and the fantastic Psyvariar Revision. Bargain!

The Japanese version seems to be tougher to find though...I'm seeing it going for 60 bucks in online stores, more than you'd pay for just buying Medium Unit and Revision separately.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:27 pm

jp dc Gunbird 2-$15
complete MUSHA-$8
Gradius III SNES-$4

note: these are probably not traditionally cheap, just my experience

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:36 pm

Gradius V - $30. Best money you can spend for your PS2 in terms of a shooter.