Good training shmup

simian · Post by **simian** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:25 pm

Baby steps. If I--er--a friend wanted to play a REALLY easy shmup, y'know, just to train up their abilities, what would you recommend?

I--he--is thinking no more than two bullets on the screen at the time. Or something along those lines.

So, yeah ... what's an easygoing shooter to play? Horizontal or vertical, my friend doesn't really care.

raiden · Post by **raiden** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:37 pm

Shienryu Explosion and Silpheed 2: The Lost Planet are probably the easiest shmups I´ve played. An alternative would be older Psikyo console releases (before Gunbird collection) on monkey difficulty. Or, taken to the extreme, you can play Raiden DX and DDP3 in a special mode without any bullets at all.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:42 pm

Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:31 pm

mannerbot wrote:Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou.

That's just evil.

Offhand I'd recommend Space Megaforce (aka Super Aleste) for the SNES, it's one of the few games (perhaps the only one) I can consistently 1CC on "Normal" mode. Of course, you could also just take any shmup with a difficulty adjuster and turn it down to an easier difficulty level. Your name is "simian" after all, so "Monkey" ought to be a perfect fit.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:36 pm

mannerbot wrote:Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou.

I take it this is a joke? I haven't yet gotten the game, but I thought it was supposed to be pretty hard core. Am I wrong?

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:37 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:
mannerbot wrote:Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou.

That's just evil.

I suppose BulletMagnet just answered my question (while I was writing it).

AWJ · Post by **AWJ** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:10 pm

I've been playing Thunder Cross II in MAME lately. It's remarkably easy and, well, laid-back for an arcade shooter, while having a nice variety of weapons and an interesting gimmick in the form of adjustable Options (the second button expands or contracts the spacing between them and your ship). I don't think there are any console versions of it, though.

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:07 pm

Ditto for Space Megaforce/Super Aleste. I think I 1-CCed that game on my 2nd or 3rd try.

Phelios on Genny has a nice easy learning curve. It's pretty forgiving in the beginning and gets a bit harder later. Anyways it gives you life points and that always makes a game easier.

I think Arrow Flash on the Genesis is pretty easy too. I'm not too sure, since I never bothered wasting time beating it.

Other shmups I thought were easy (at least initially):
Super Star Soldier
Layer Section
Sokyugurentai
V.V (Grind Stormer)

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:22 pm

IIRC, Super Aleste is mainly easy due to powerful weapons, not lack of challenge. Also, the difficulty can only be adjusted to make the game harder. The options to the left of normal are actually hard modes where enemies leave bullets behind.

As far as easy shmups go, I heard Tale Spin for the NES is pretty easy. I played some of it and I liked what I have played.

Post by **system11** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:24 pm

raiden wrote:Shienryu Explosion and Silpheed 2: The Lost Planet are probably the easiest shmups I´ve played. An alternative would be older Psikyo console releases (before Gunbird collection) on monkey difficulty. Or, taken to the extreme, you can play Raiden DX and DDP3 in a special mode without any bullets at all.

Actually SE isn't that easy when you put it to hard mode (and make sure it's the Japanese version, as the US and Euro versions were made hugely easier), but it's a good way to train.

Don't get discouraged if you're finding shmups difficult, many are. Most of the more vocal people here with regards to difficulty, and certainly many of those participating in the score threads, are very good at them and no use as a benchmark.

Play to enjoy. See the shmups main website for my Shienryu Explosion review.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:15 pm

Probably all the shmups I've 1cc'd...

Fire Shark on Genesis (default is easy)
Batsugun special edition (default for first loop is easy)
Psyvariar revision (game auto ranks, so if you play like a pussy, it will be really easy).
Gekirindan and Gun Fontier on Saturn.

The problem with Shienryu explosions and Silpheed:TLP is that not only are the games somewhat easy, they are also...for me...incredibly boring. I never 1cc'd explosions because I got too bored by it to put any serious time into the game.

If you are working on shmup training, you should download rrootage and work on that. Yes, it can get wicked hard, but you can keep playing easy levels. Some really nice patterns there...

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

not to tell you your business, but "practicing" with an easy shmup doesn't seem like "practicing" to me.

I am consistently amazed at what a few rounds of DDOJ do for my vertical skills.

Thunder Force II was pretty easy.
Phelios was also.
The first few levels iof Salamander II.
Souky if you REALLY manage your rank (don't kill anything).

Can't think of others, although I typically avoid playing easy things (i can have a quick temper, and deaths feel like a big deal when i am "going the way of the Monkey", so to speak)

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:41 pm

As far as training for manic shmups, I'd reccomend Espgaluda. The patterns in that game are a bit more spread out than most, and I found myself becoming better at pattern recognition by playing this game.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:08 pm

There are PC freeware games that are just bullet patterns that are designed specifically for training.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:56 pm

Well, if you're really going for baby steps, sure, go for the shooters mentioned. But if you really want to train yourself, you may as well play shooters that exemplify their style of difficulty.

R-Type will teach you how to memorize stages so that you know what to expect before reaching there. Good lesson for any traditional shooter.

Batsugun special edition will give you an introductory course to the workings of a manic shmup while making it easy along the way.

Master Psyvariar 2 stage by stage and you'll know how to handle the bullet patterns used by the bosses of many modern shooter.

Play Battle Garegga with default "real bullets" and you'll probably quickly become attuned to concentrating on the screen since one careless glance will mean an invisible bullet through your plane.

Dai-ou-jou allows you to choose any stage you want so it's great to pick a stage apart and keep at it until you can 1LC that particular stage. It's particularly mean so you'll get great practice developing your reactions, knowing what part of the screen to eyeball, and detecting holes between the bullets.

Basically, I'd advocate lengthy practice of exemplary shooters above lengthy playing of easy shooters to help you train for whatever future shooter you might try. But if you just need an ego boost for now, then definitely go for the easier games. Remember, it's all a matter of practice really. Good luck!

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:39 pm

rRootage.

Yeah, the bullet patterns are very complex, but you can see your hitbox and the hitboxes of all the bullets, which makes this a perfect game for training bullet dodging since there's no guesswork at all.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:46 pm

You can also eventually unlock an option like that for Radiant Silvergun.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:09 pm

I consider myself a fellow n00b in Shmupping, and I cut my teeth a few times on Donpachi and Dondonpachi as well as Ikaruga. Actually, I think you tend to learn shmupping faster the more difficult the shmup is. Infinite Credits helps too if you want to practice a certain spot.

Although I will NOT recommend Vasara or Vasara 2 as the Final Stages of that game are so ruthless....they take you back to the beginning of the last stage no matter how many Credits you chunk in...you get 3 lives...that's it.

But then again I'm a n00b so don't take my full advice.

Darkcomet72 · Post by **Darkcomet72** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:10 pm

sethsez wrote:rRootage.

Yeah, the bullet patterns are very complex, but you can see your hitbox and the hitboxes of all the bullets, which makes this a perfect game for training bullet dodging since there's no guesswork at all.

The problem with R-rootage is, even with the complex and beautiful patterns, they're not much fun to dodge. After all, the Random stages are generated by a machine! C'mon, where's the love?

Post by **system11** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:15 pm

I seem to be advocating these a lot lately, but thinking about it - the Shanghai Alice trio of shooters (PC, homegrown but not free) are perfect - the default difficulty is very manageable, and there are harder settings to punish the skilled. There's bullets -everywhere-, almost hypnotic.

straight · Post by **straight** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 4:18 am

I'll add another vote for rRootage because it starts really easy and gets harder very gradually. Plus the different modes offer practice with bullet grazing, Ikaruga-style color switching, shield timing, and resisting the urge to use your bomb

.

But I think the Kenta Cho shmup that most noticably improved my dodging skills is Parsec47. Play that for a while and even DoDonpachi seems kinda slow and sedate.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:39 am

Gradius 1.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:56 am

Harmful park on PS1 is the easiest shooter Ive played, 1cc on the first go.

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 6:58 am

I think Cho Ren Sha is a good shooter to get that first ALL. It has a loop, but with some practice it's really not that difficult. Also Batsugun (Original) and Armed Police Batrider Normal Course.

black mariah · Post by **black mariah** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:11 am

I'll go old school and say 1942/1943. They're good shmup intros all around. Not too easy, not too hard.

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:01 am

Easy shmups, eh? Let's see...

There are some greatly accessible shmups for Mega Drive/Genesis:
Musha Aleste and Thunder Force III are both pretty easy. Arrow Flash is easy if you decide to not beat the bosses properly, but just flash them to death. Zero Wing starts out very easy, but gets a lot harder during the last two stages. Phelios is quite manageable overall, except if you want to beat that last boss, because he's a real pain to beat. Talk about balancing a game badly.

The easiest shmup I've ever played must be GG Aleste, though. I finished it on my first try. Great game nonetheless. (Admittedly, both Transbot and Astro Warrior for the Master System are easier, but unfortunately they aren't very good.)

Post by **Ghegs** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:22 am

I think Thunder Force V is a pretty good "first shmup". It was my first 1CC and I think I had put about 7 hours in by then. It's not as easy as some of the others here, but it's not overly hard either. Just the right type of challenging in my opinion.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:27 am

ThunderFource 3 and 4 I cant get anywhere in those shooters

PCE

Soldier Blade
Super Star Soldier
GunHed(Blazing Lasers)
Final Soldier

Snes

Space MegaForce

I find onthe default these are at just the right difficulty myself.

but then what someone else finds easy someone else finds hard

As with me and the ThunderForce Series*But I'm not that good at Hori Shooters*

Post by **Shatterhand** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:57 am

Does Astro Warrior OR Transbot has an ending?

I always get bored in the middle of Transbot, and turn off the game.

With Astro Warrior, I think I got into a 3rd loop or 4th loop... the game then begun to get real nasty.

I second Aleste GG. I also finished that in my 1st go.
Finished Aleste GG 2 in my 2nd go
Finished Soldier Blade (PC Engine) in my 4th go (Still it's an AWESOME shmup)

Post by **Icarus** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:51 pm

Dangun Feveron.

It's not easy by any stretch, but if you can learn to master it, then every other game you play after it will feel like it's in slow motion.