post what you beleve is the most overrated shmup

[Stevens]

Not Mars Matrix. Go play Mars Matrix.

I think that the arcade version with ONLY 1 button is the stupidest and most convoluted artificial layer of difficulty added to a game .

I won't argue with you here. The home version having rapid pierce mappable to a separate button was way better. You had to learn it though - going from rapid pierce to shield was a few frames slower than using the 1 button route. That said it was still better.

[XoPachi]

Mars Matrix isn't like other games with no autofire where you have to mash so rapidly to get a steady stream of fire. So I never thought it was much of a concern that it didn't have autofire in arcades.
The buffers on all the different actions were also really generous so I've never slipped up when I wanted the shotgun, reflect, or just to machinegun things. It's not a lot to think about at all really. I've only ever played the arcade version and get decently far. I'd of course prefer the actions be split up, but if anything I find the single button design to be highly accessible.

[blazinglazers69]

Kyuukyoku Tiger is officially the definitive version of the game and that's the one the devs want you to play.

Originally in the overseas versions you didn't return to a checkpoint when you died, and simultaneous play was a must. The players at that time in America were always playing in a somewhat drunken fashion, not making strategies or plans.

The shooting game I envisioned is over when you don't return to a checkpoint after a miss because you are no longer creating a pattern.

There's always a recovery pattern in the games I make. Even if your weapons go to zero, you can always recover.

It's also way better than Twin Cobra.

Remember, kids: don't play like an American drunkard. Do play Kyuukyoku Tiger instead of Twin Cobra.

Is the PC Engine version of KT good compared to the arcade version or is it toned down a lot? It seems easier than the evil MD Twin Cobra version on Hard mode.

[Steven]

Kyuukyoku Tiger is officially the definitive version of the game and that's the one the devs want you to play.

Originally in the overseas versions you didn't return to a checkpoint when you died, and simultaneous play was a must. The players at that time in America were always playing in a somewhat drunken fashion, not making strategies or plans.

The shooting game I envisioned is over when you don't return to a checkpoint after a miss because you are no longer creating a pattern.

There's always a recovery pattern in the games I make. Even if your weapons go to zero, you can always recover.

It's also way better than Twin Cobra.

Remember, kids: don't play like an American drunkard. Do play Kyuukyoku Tiger instead of Twin Cobra.

Is the PC Engine version of KT good compared to the arcade version or is it toned down a lot? It seems easier than the evil MD Twin Cobra version on Hard mode.

It's okay, I guess. The MD version is more accurate than the PC Engine version in places, oddly. The big advantage of the PC Engine version over the Mega Drive is that the Mega Drive completely butchered Good Figure and I don't particularly like MD Over the Sea, either. MD Tsugaru, however...

[XoPachi]

Never been able to get in Psikyo STG's. The Strikers games in particular do nothing for me and the presentation has never pulled me in.

[To Far Away Times]

One of my long term goals is to get a clear in Strikers 1945.

I know it's not a very well designed game but if you had asked 12 year old me what a shmup was, I'd have probably said Strikers 1945.

Psikyo games have needlessly frustrating elements and are memo heavy in all the wrong ways, but I always liked the presentation. Not the music so much, but the visuals and sound effects. With save state grinding you can kinda mitigate some of the cheapness. But there is a reason you really don't see games with Psikyo style design today.

[Lemnear]

Kyuukyoku Tiger is officially the definitive version of the game and that's the one the devs want you to play.

It's also way better than Twin Cobra.

Remember, kids: don't play like an American drunkard. Do play Kyuukyoku Tiger instead of Twin Cobra.

Is the PC Engine version of KT good compared to the arcade version or is it toned down a lot? It seems easier than the evil MD Twin Cobra version on Hard mode.

The big advantage of the PC Engine version over the Mega Drive is that the Mega Drive completely butchered Good Figure

**Deletes MD Version**
Good Figure is one of the best BGM i ever heard...is one of the few that sometimes respawns in my mind randomly.
It gives emotional depth to the game, is sad, is nostalgic, sound like an hard and long fight under the sunset.
The other BGM in the game are not at this level and sounds a bit silly .

Never been able to get in Psikyo STG's. The Strikers games in particular do nothing for me and the presentation has never pulled me in.

Ouh no

Spoiler

One of my long term goals is to get a clear in Strikers 1945.

I know it's not a very well designed game but if you had asked 12 year old me what a shmup was, I'd have probably said Strikers 1945.

Psikyo games have needlessly frustrating elements and are memo heavy in all the wrong ways, but I always liked the presentation. Not the music so much, but the visuals and sound effects. With save state grinding you can kinda mitigate some of the cheapness. But there is a reason you really don't see games with Psikyo style design today.

Psikyo games were my training ground, i've picked theme based on the not so annual poll, and a lot of them are rated very high, i'm sure that they will fall with the next votation in January.
I agree, there's a reason if no one makes games like that nowadays.

PS: for me Aero Fighters 2 is far way harder than Strikers 1945...i've beaten Strikers 1945 II (1CC) at the first 2 difficulty levels (Monkey, then Child, then one day i will become an adult again ) , meanwhile i never CCied Aero Fighters 2, even on Level-1 difficulty!
it encapsulate all the stuff you said...

[Steven]

Is the PC Engine version of KT good compared to the arcade version or is it toned down a lot? It seems easier than the evil MD Twin Cobra version on Hard mode.

The big advantage of the PC Engine version over the Mega Drive is that the Mega Drive completely butchered Good Figure

**Deletes MD Version**
Good Figure is one of the best BGM i ever heard...is one of the few that sometimes respawns in my mind randomly.
It gives emotional depth to the game, is sad, is nostalgic, sound like an hard and long fight under the sunset.
The other BGM in the game are not at this level and sounds a bit silly .

Nah, Break a Leg!, Tsugaru, and Our Life are just as good as Good Figure. I didn't really understand what Uemura was going for with Tsugaru for a while, but then I saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ1TDeJIrAg

Yes, the guitar dude is Uemura himself, and that is his Youtube channel. I can only imagine that this is what he always intended for Tsugaru to sound like but was held back by technical limitations due to the hardware that he had to work with.

I also REALLY like Affection, the name entry music. I always let it play in full every time I hear it because it's too good to not listen to.

[Lander]

The little two-note bass coda 17 seconds into Break A Leg! is so good. Lines up just about with the moment you gain control, which is powerful stuff. Get Ready!

Good Figure has a certain something about it. A sense of melancholy, or perhaps longing - shivers material for sure. The PCE rendition is quite nice too.
Though if you want ruination, look no further than the dread FM Towns version and its cheesy Touhou trumpets; the backing rock organ is trying its damndest to save the piece, but to no avail.

I feel like Tsugaru and Our Life in particular have a very signature Toaplan sound, evoking Zero Wing and Slap Fight respectively when piped through an FM chip.
Quite different to hear the former by way of a real guitar, complete with soulful opener!

I wonder, have U-Brand done any more of the KT soundtrack? I see bits of Dogyuun and other Toaplan on their channel, but searching in japanese is proving a tall order

[Steven]

I wonder, have U-Brand done any more of the KT soundtrack? I see bits of Dogyuun and other Toaplan on their channel, but searching in japanese is proving a tall order

Here's solo live Tsugaru + Break a Leg!: https://youtu.be/_3oyqo4_qk4?si=JfH2axlHroqZA7Ua&t=3330

[neorichieb1971]

Although I own a few Treasure games, I find them gimmicky. I don't want to think how to shoot, I just want to shoot.

Overrated Shmups? I bought Musha Genesis for $50 back when I was in the states around 2001. I've put an hour or two on it. I thought it was categorized as one of those rare expensive games that plays like shit. But after watching many many reviews it scores highly across the board. I'd rather play Hellfire, Parodious, Gradius, Blazing star etc than Musha.

[Vexorg]

Most overrated for me: Batrider. Maybe if it had easier to understand menus it would be more playable, but for me it's mostly just confusing.

[BrianC]

Mega Drive completely butchered Good Figure

What the heck happened here? They took a song that was already FM and did it mostly in PCM.

[AZA]

Ikaruga. Far from the ‘‘best ever’’ that so many folk say.

[Steven]

Mega Drive completely butchered Good Figure

What the heck happened here? They took a song that was already FM and did it mostly in PCM.

Isn't it terrible? Mega Drive Tsugaru is really really good, but even that can't make up for Good Figure being ruined and Over The Sea being not so great.

[maximus_prime]

Most overrated for me: Batrider. Maybe if it had easier to understand menus it would be more playable, but for me it's mostly just confusing.

It’s funny how everyone’s tastes differ so wildly within a genre that is sorta straightforward. I find batrider to be sort of underrated, as compared to garegga, which gets all the love and the top spot on the most recent all time list. I prefer batrider and feel it’s more approachable, easier to see the bullets, less punishing on rank, etc.

[Lemnear]

Most overrated for me: Batrider. Maybe if it had easier to understand menus it would be more playable, but for me it's mostly just confusing.

It’s funny how everyone’s tastes differ so wildly within a genre that is sorta straightforward. I find batrider to be sort of underrated, as compared to garegga, which gets all the love and the top spot on the most recent all time list. I prefer batrider and feel it’s more approachable, easier to see the bullets, less punishing on rank, etc.

Funny that a lot of people dislikes Psikyo games but there are even 2 of them in the TOP 25 and 1 in Honourable Mention...same for Ikaruga, it's always been in Top 10 since its release .

Same for Perikles list. I found some of the harder games easy and some of the easier ones really hard.

[To Far Away Times]

Most overrated for me: Batrider. Maybe if it had easier to understand menus it would be more playable, but for me it's mostly just confusing.

It’s funny how everyone’s tastes differ so wildly within a genre that is sorta straightforward. I find batrider to be sort of underrated, as compared to garegga, which gets all the love and the top spot on the most recent all time list. I prefer batrider and feel it’s more approachable, easier to see the bullets, less punishing on rank, etc.

Here is my hottest of takes:

Each game in the Yagawa's "Bat" trilogy is better than the previous one.