Shmups keep my consoles alive

[gavin19]

I've been playing games since I first got my Spectrum +2 back in 87/88. Since then I've gone through a Master System, Snes, Jaguar, Saturn (x3), PSX, N64, Dreamcast (x3), PS2 (x2), Gamecube (x2), Xbox (x2) and various handhelds.
Being from a 2D gaming backround I started to lose interest in gaming towards the late 90s when 2D classics were shunned in favour of 3D epics. Nonetheless, I stuck with gaming in general trying out genres that I hadn't previously bothered with eg. RPGs, in an attempt to re-kindle my passion for gaming. Along the way I did enjoy some great games like GTA3 (yes!), FF X, Jade Empire etc, but none really inspired me the way that Mario Kart or Zelda or Tomb Raider had done. Maybe it was just nostalgia but I didn't feel the same magnetism towards these more recent games.
Then around 18 months ago I was fiddling about looking for a couple of old arcade games I used to play in my local club. They were Rygar, Double Dragon and R-Type. It was then that I stumbled upon Mame and then consequently Mameox for the Xbox which breathed new life into gaming for me. I had always a big admiration for anything that Capcom had released and so I sought out any CPS1/2 games that I could. Sure it was fantastic to be able to play some old favourites like SF2, Marvel, Final Fight etc but it was a few other games that grabbed my attention more than most. Namely Mars Matrix, Dimahoo, Gigawing and Progear. When I played MM I remembered it instantly because I had bought it for Dreamcast a few years before but it was just a casual purchase and I had forgotten all about it.
Anyway, it was then that I found the genre that I had been looking for.. shmups. I could play for 10 minutes and be totally gripped or equally sit for hours replaying the same levels over and over without a hint of boredom. It was a feeling I hadn't had for probably 10 years. When I started digging deeper I found this forum and strategies, superplays etc which enabled me to get much much more out of these games than I knew was possible. That's about it really and thanks to those who keep this place alive despite the fact that shmups are (undeservedly) a niche genre

[neorichieb1971]

Niche or forgotten?

Or both!


Shmups have their place in videogame history. They would be alive again if someone would actually make some that were 1CC'able with the same amount of hours it takes to beat something like Ico or Resident evil.

I let my friend borrow Gradius 5 and he said it was the hardest game he'd ever played . That kind of difficulty setting isn't approachable for most people. I think the industry (shmup genre specifically) makes games so hard for superplay spin offs and such. I know I will never beat these games, it would be cool to have a few kiddy versions out there for newcomers. Even for me

[Icarus]

Kiddy versions?
Like Star Parodia?
There's more bullets in the first stage of Ibara than there is in the whole of that game.

Honestly, shmups are one of the few genres that give you immediate dividends on your hard work invested. And unlike Ico or Resident Evil, they have a lot more replay value.

Personally I'd prefer to have shmups as they are now - a small, niche genre - than a genre that is popular by the masses. There's a lot more 'variety' (and I use that term loosely) now, and I wonder, if shmups ever became mainstream, would we be seeing softco's make FIFA/Madden style rehash after rehash after rehash...

God, I hope not.

[iatneH]

Not this again... games that we enjoy keep our consoles in action. Our preferred games just happen to be shooters.

The guy next door could just as well say strip mahjong games keep his consoles alive.

[GaijinPunch]

Electricity keeps my consoles alive.

[DC906270]

blind luck keeps mine alive

[gavin19]

The guy next door could just as well say strip mahjong games keep his consoles alive.

I am partial to strip mahjong games it's just I was too embarrassed to admit it

[Alpolio]

A can of air keeps mine alive.