Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[mycophobia]

havent ppl learned to stop trying to talk dr trouser plank off the ledge yet? it's futile. lol

anyways im playing Hishouzame, but with 50k extend only. mentally it changes my goals from "get 10,000,000 eventually" to "how far can i get on 3 lives plus the one score extend and the two possible 1up planes" which is a more fun approach for me at this point in my life. i guess.

989k at 2-3 is my current best with these settings and even a 1-all is far from a guarantee right now

[mycophobia]

Well I took Toaplan 4 on Evercade for a spin yesterday, shmup wise I'm underwhelmed. Grind Stormer is.... yeah. Pig ugly, the music counts as actual assault against my ears, and there are long stretches with pretty much nothing happening. It feels like a half-finished Cave proto.

Doyguun - meh. Why does the tractor beam point out of my ass? Why are two of four weapons almost identical? Why are there (almost) no SFX? What's going on? Why does this, again, feel as though it was rushed out? Not for me this one. Cool bosses though, I guess.

yeah the 4 collection seems like a bunch of leftovers (nes sky shark???). real quality in the first three though. i don't have an evercade but they seem neat and i'm glad they exist

[Steven]

Why would you even play Grind Stormer instead of V-V though? V-V is way better. Yeah, Grind Stormer is harder, but harder isn't better except for when it is, and this isn't one of those cases.

Dogyuun!! wasn't rushed, though, at least as far as I know. It had probably the longest development period of any released Toaplan game at about 2 years. I believe most of that was just Hayashi Miho doing art genius things all by herself, as I think like 90% of the art in that game was all her, but I haven't really asked her about this game that much... or ever, now that I think about it. I suppose it's possible that they did rush the programming and design, especially given the weirdly un-Toaplan-like design oversights and glitches, but probably not the art, and they had a long time to work on it.

There are a bunch of other artists listed in the credits, notably Iwabuchi Koetsu and Joker Jun, making it Joker Jun's debut work and first published game, and I know exactly what both of those two awesome dudes did for this game, but Hayashi-san carried that game's art almost entirely by herself and the art and music themselves carry the game far more than the gameplay does. It's really her masterpiece more than it is anything else, and since she is recognized by other Toaplan staff as being the best artist to ever work at Toaplan, it's worth playing the game just for her incredible graphics and Uemura-san's music, even if the gameplay is not that great.

anyways im playing Hishouzame, but with 50k extend only. mentally it changes my goals from "get 10,000,000 eventually" to "how far can i get on 3 lives plus the one score extend and the two possible 1up planes" which is a more fun approach for me at this point in my life. i guess.

989k at 2-3 is my current best with these settings and even a 1-all is far from a guarantee right now

You think 50,000 only is better/more fun than standard? I mentioned before that Mikado has it set up like this, and it felt really wrong playing it this way, but I kind of want to try it like this at home now. Mikado had really weird autofire settings, which did not help. I'm not sure why they decided to have 15Hz and 30Hz auto on Hishouzame, but that's what they decided. Might as well just use the manual shot button because it's way better than 15Hz for the stages.

Probably going to play on PS5 for the first time in a long time instead of PCB though. It's FUCKING COLD in the room with my cabinet because it's exposed to outside air due to a vent that I can't close and it has no air conditioning, so it's impossible to keep the room warm in winter and equally impossible for it to not turn into a sauna in summer.

[mycophobia]

You think 50,000 only is better/more fun than standard? I mentioned before that Mikado has it set up like this, and it felt really wrong playing it this way, but I kind of want to try it like this at home now.

it's more that it lets me "have it both ways" so to speak, in that there is, for my purposes, effectively infinite scoring potential in that the game loops endlessly, but credits will be necessarily relatively short and thrilling because i'll never be at a point where i can die more than 6 times. like I said in the high score thread, I can't exactly articulate why I'm playing with this setting but it goes something like that.

like if I'm ever at the point where I can score 10mil with 6 lives it'll feel like a very satisfying achievement rather than something that will just inevitably happen (like how Tatsujin 10mil felt for me), and also would presumably come at a time that I am utterly done with the game because I would have been playing it for so long.

[Gamer707b]

After playing bullet hells, specifically Esparade, for so long, I am happy to go back to the classic stuff. Got Super Star Soldier on the PC-Engine as a B-Day present a week ago and I had a go today. Miss the 16-bit classics. Love the look and overall style. Also, they copied a lot of the gameplay from Compile, which is a good thing.

I gotta get into the Star Soldier series at some point, I'm really curious to do so!! Only played the first game in passing after playing a fair deal of the endlessly charming Star Parodier!!
You are so right, it's very Compile coded. That speed don't lie

I guess it's better late than never. I've always wanted to play the Soldier games, but didn't have a PC-Engine till only a year ago. So far, I'm really liking what I've played with Super Star Soldier, so I'm pretty pumped on checking out the other two games. When you say you've played the first game. Do you mean Star Soldier on NES?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I tried my hand at playing Eden's Edge, one of the X.X games I'd downloaded a while back but hadn't had the chance to really properly sit down with. I feel like it's a fair bit tougher than Eden's Aegis or BWR; I've found how to get the item extend in it and both score extends, but the bullet patterns are quite speedy and complex at times. My current best is making it to the TLB fight on the normal difficulty.

[To Far Away Times]

I tried my hand at playing Eden's Edge, one of the X.X games I'd downloaded a while back but hadn't had the chance to really properly sit down with. I feel like it's a fair bit tougher than Eden's Aegis or BWR; I've found how to get the item extend in it and both score extends, but the bullet patterns are quite speedy and complex at times. My current best is making it to the TLB fight on the normal difficulty.

Those X.X games are rad. BWR is probably my favorite of the bunch but they’re all pretty solid.

[Jack Emerson]

I just started my winter vacation, and picked up Ghost Blade HD today. I just finished my first run, and it is pretty fun so far. Playing it in tandem with Gunvein.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

After playing bullet hells, specifically Esparade, for so long, I am happy to go back to the classic stuff. Got Super Star Soldier on the PC-Engine as a B-Day present a week ago and I had a go today. Miss the 16-bit classics. Love the look and overall style. Also, they copied a lot of the gameplay from Compile, which is a good thing.

I gotta get into the Star Soldier series at some point, I'm really curious to do so!! Only played the first game in passing after playing a fair deal of the endlessly charming Star Parodier!!
You are so right, it's very Compile coded. That speed don't lie

I guess it's better late than never. I've always wanted to play the Soldier games, but didn't have a PC-Engine till only a year ago. So far, I'm really liking what I've played with Super Star Soldier, so I'm pretty pumped on checking out the other two games. When you say you've played the first game. Do you mean Star Soldier on NES?

If you pick up a Krikzz Turbo Everdrive Pro flash cart (the Stone Age Gamer site sells them in the USA) for use with both PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 consoles, you can play all the CD-Rom2, Super CD-Rom2 and Arcade CD-Rom2 based stgs including Arcade CD-Rom2 based Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, Gates of Thunder, Winds of Thunder/Lords of Thunder, Star Parodier/Fanasty Star Soldier, etc, without the need for a CD-Rom2 Interface add-on nor the Super CD-Rom2 Interface add-on either. How cool is that? You can play 'em on the awesome and impressive NEC PC Engine GT/Turbo Express handhelds (with caps replaced & a bigger RGB-based screen upgrade as obligatory mods) as well for truly portable gaming "on the go."

Yes, the other PCE stgs of Final Soldier and Soldier Blade are worthy of one's PCE/TG-16 gaming stash alrighty -- the caravan portions of Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade are ace as well. The legendary 9-stage endowed PCE/TG-16 Gunhed/Blazing Lazers stg along with Gunhed Special Version (caravan) stgs are great also.

With easily over a 100 different stgs on the PCE gaming platform, you're bound to find a few favorites to really delve and "sink your teeth" into -- the recent lost prototype PCE stg of Dinoforce circa 1990 from publisher PCEworks is worth a spin. They have Dinoforce as a free rom d/l listed on their website to play on either a Turbo Everdrive v2.5 or Turbo Everdrive Pro flash cart setup.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[mycophobia]

ive set aside the dad shmups for now and am back on DDP. got my first 50 mil first loop the other day, which was exciting. just carry that max bonus up to the 1-4 boss and clear the rest and it's in the bag. if i can figure out how to consistently do the glitch then i could even carry it through some of 1-5 for more big points

[AkitaRonin]

I haven't been playing STGs, since I'm currently very invested in DRPGs (Mary Skelter is sick, even if I could do without the creepy Purge minigame), but I wanted to pop up here quickly. Sorry for slightly taking the conversation off-topic, but:

I wish a wonderful New Year night for anyone seeing this. Hope you peeps eat a lot of delicious food and stuff.
2024 has not been a great year for me, but the highlight of it was finally getting addicted to the STG genre and diving deep into this endless pool. I literally never got so into a genre I had to actually enter a forum to talk more about it, so yeah, it's been a lot of fun. If anything, thanks 2024 for really showing me the magic of shooting and dodging relentless overwhelming odds

Hopefully I'll see you all next year around here (:

I guess it's better late than never. I've always wanted to play the Soldier games, but didn't have a PC-Engine till only a year ago. So far, I'm really liking what I've played with Super Star Soldier, so I'm pretty pumped on checking out the other two games. When you say you've played the first game. Do you mean Star Soldier on NES?

Honestly, I didn't even know there was a first game on NES!!! Actually Wikipedia says to me there are even 2 games prior to the PC Engine, damn
I thought the series was exclusive to the PC Engine until you told me. Now I gotta check it out
The one I played was Super Star Soldier, on the wonderful PC Engine!!

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I genuinely love your passion for this console I just found out it's so wonderful this year. Cheers, mate!

[Quips]

Howdy all; I've usually got a few STGs on the go I'm playing casually. Most recently it's been SDOJ as well as the Telenet Shooting Collection on Switch (Gaiares, Psychic Storm). They're all too hard for me but I love 'em anyways.

[Kiken]

Back to working on a 1CC of Shikigami No Shiro (maining Koutarou). Already managed to eclipse my older high score so I've certainly improved. I think the real obstacle for me with this game is stage 5... it's such a marathon.

[To Far Away Times]

Got started on R-Type Final 3 Evolved and sunk a good five hours into it today. Having fun learning stages and unlocking ships. Got up to stage four so far on normal/no continues, and did a credit feed on the easiest difficulty to unlock some ships.

[mycophobia]

just barely broke 80mil in dodonpachi today after going for the 2-3 bullet cancels. feelin pretty good

[Lemnear]

Not exactly "now", but I gave space to a few old games, let's say older than the average SHMUPS I usually play.

Gradius [NES]
Gradius Gaiden [PSX]
G-Darius [PSX]
Twin Cobra [NES]
Harmful Park [PSX]
Gyruss [NES]
Star Force Mega Force [NES]
Defender II [NES]
The Last Starfighter [NES]
Double Strike [NES]
Xevious [NES]
Dragon Spirit [NES]
Gaiares [MD/GEN]
Rezon [ARC]
Fantasy Zone

Aaand:
City-Connection <3

[locoBro1196]

Howdy all; I've usually got a few STGs on the go I'm playing casually. Most recently it's been SDOJ as well as the Telenet Shooting Collection on Switch (Gaiares, Psychic Storm). They're all too hard for me but I love 'em anyways.

I love the Telenet Shooting Collection, even got it in physical edition. It "forced" me to try some shmups I'd never have thought of trying otherwise, i.e. Psychic Storm and Avenger. I've already 1cc'ed those but Gaiares is way above my skill level (and patience) right now. Granada feels a bit off in that collection and I very much prefer the X68000 version rather than the Megadrive port the publisher (Edita) chose to go with.

Right now I'm revisiting Razion EX for the Switch, love that game, I didn't manage the 1cc back in the day when it first came out but now I'm aiming for that.

[mycophobia]

i have EJECTED dodonpachi and replaced it with hishouzame (50k only extend setting). i yearned for the simplicity of fast sparse bullets and indefinite survival scoring

[mycophobia]

the game hopping continues. ive slotted out hishou for batrider, in light of my recent musings in this thread about scoring systems that are fairly simple in concept just risky to execute. currently trying out different characters in normal mode. i am going to have fun with a shmup, damn it

[DrTrouserPlank]

Yeah this Ketsui shit is total nonsense. Absolute bullshit.

No amount of practice is going to make any difference to this shit. It's absurd to even try clearing this in 1 credit. It's not even remotely close to being possible.

[mycophobia]

Yeah this Ketsui shit is total nonsense. Absolute bullshit.

No amount of practice is going to make any difference to this shit. It's absurd to even try clearing this in 1 credit. It's not even remotely close to being possible.

dont you ever get tired of this schtick. you've been doing it for almost 15 years now

[Klatrymadon]

I've never been a huge admirer of Hudson/Compile-style STGs, but I'm currently hooked on Super Star Shooter Classic, a Steam re-release of an old X68000 doujin caravanner. It's one stage with a 2-minute mode and a 5-minute mode, and does absolutely nothing that Super Star Soldier hadn't already done (it uses the same enemy types, shot type, secret bonuses, even visual stylings for the most part), but it's a hoot.

(I wondered why the music sounded so familiar, and then I discovered there was a homebrew version of it knocking around on the Wii some 15 years ago, which I almost certainly would have checked out.)

[PillowWillow]

Currently trying to learn and hopefully 1CC ZeroRanger, my first real attempt at getting into shmups. It's going great. System Erasure is quite an interesting developer.

Another game I'm enjoying is Blue Revolver, more casually for now than ZeroRanger, but still.

I'll also trying Angels at Dusk soon enough. The art is, to me, so off-putting that it loops back around to being intriguing and beautiful.

[To Far Away Times]

Yeah this Ketsui shit is total nonsense. Absolute bullshit.

No amount of practice is going to make any difference to this shit. It's absurd to even try clearing this in 1 credit. It's not even remotely close to being possible.

Ketsui is balls hard but it’s not impossible. I could probably do it if I was really dedicated. I like the game, but I guess I never got obsessed with it like some other games. For me, when it comes to Ketsui, it’s almost like the challenge is the draw, rather than the game itself, if that makes sense.

I was able to get up to the beginning of stage 5 on one credit with some practice. Stage 5 is a big jump in difficulty though. I’m pretty good at making routes and finding strategies, but Ketsui’s got some hard patterns. You need the routes but also the dexterity, and getting the execution consistently is tough which can be a little frustrating.

[DrTrouserPlank]

I think even if Cave's games stopped getting more difficult after stage 3 and stayed around the average difficulty of stage 3 for another 2 stages, it would still be very difficult to clear them. Doing 3 stage 3's back to back would still be hard consistently with so few lives.

[Steven]

So just don't play CAVE games. There's always Thunder Force III or whatever.

[To Far Away Times]

I think even if Cave's games stopped getting more difficult after stage 3 and stayed around the average difficulty of stage 3 for another 2 stages, it would still be very difficult to clear them. Doing 3 stage 3's back to back would still be hard consistently with so few lives.

There’s always Mushi Futari Black Label original mode, where the hardest section in the game is the second half of stage 3, the rest of the game is easier than that, IMO.

[BIL]

Yeah this Ketsui shit is total nonsense. Absolute bullshit.

No amount of practice is going to make any difference to this shit. It's absurd to even try clearing this in 1 credit. It's not even remotely close to being possible.

DTP, what do you think of the international cohort who clear these games live, sometimes for large crowds? Are they metal men with hydraulic hogs, garbed in lab-grown meat? Or perhaps holograms, ala the moon landings, or Michael Jackson's sex tape?

Personally, I always assumed they were just really fuckin good at STGs; even ones designed to press champions. Just like the super-talented and/or disciplined guys who take top honours in other contests. Being a silver spoon twat whose other pastimes involve boats and big, justifiably angry animals, I have seen fellow mediocre (yet sincere!) performers buttfucked or even killed chasing big game - and thought "It's a good job Dragon Blaze can't break a dozy cunt's leg in half like a matchstick - it'd be even less popular!"

No matter the pursuit, HARDCORE is no joke. True prestige is neither sought nor awarded lightly!
YOU CAN'T FUCK WITH THESE GAMES, BOY™ (■｀w´■)

I would suggest trying lower-impact stuff, at least to start out. Zero Gunner 2's 1ALL shouldn't beat you up too badly. If you are ok with console/PC, Kamui is an eminent Rayforce x Soukyuugurentai tribute with a smooth curve, credible scoring, and fierily cathartic action. Nexzr is another reliable crossover favourite, toughening PCE Soldier with IREMesque rigour. All three are accessible yet highly substantial affairs! I don't like that sweet shit boy! Well sometimes I do! But when gunning for the top, you should start from a level you are comfy with. Don't jump straight into the Breakfast Of Champions, blowing your arsehole apart like a worn-out old tyre!

More generally: way BITD, when you were playing Under Defeat, it sounded like you were over-emphasising rote memo. Routing is generally important, at minimum; often utterly critical, depending on the STG. But you described UD's 1ALL as a carnival wire game for cyborgs that fucks you in the mouth for being 0.001 planck units off-route! A TrouserPlanckian ordeal, if you will! Error recovery, contingency, and even improvisation are also things you should develop, in STGs that allow them; UD most definitely does. I was looking out the window at my MILFy neighbour and planning to crack one off when I got a shitty 1ALL, in X-million years BC. Now she's dead, and I can't keep it up without blasting the Rodney King arrest video on my phone! :[

Apologies if I'm mis-remembering your UD attempts; it was a very long time ago, is what I'm saying there! Well it's late old friend, so I'm going to do a running fuck off to bed. Here's to tomorrow's success!

EDIT:

I was able to get up to the beginning of stage 5 on one credit with some practice. Stage 5 is a big jump in difficulty though. I’m pretty good at making routes and finding strategies, but Ketsui’s got some hard patterns. You need the routes but also the dexterity, and getting the execution consistently is tough which can be a little frustrating.

Aha! Well said, as noted by Futobishi and SYO in above INH Superplay DVD interviews. Plasmo's recent Special Demonstrations: Donpachi Type C WR is another great example of grace under pressure DTP should watch!

[AkitaRonin]

Currently trying to learn and hopefully 1CC ZeroRanger, my first real attempt at getting into shmups. It's going great. System Erasure is quite an interesting developer.

Another game I'm enjoying is Blue Revolver, more casually for now than ZeroRanger, but still.

I'll also trying Angels at Dusk soon enough. The art is, to me, so off-putting that it loops back around to being intriguing and beautiful.

How is it going? I was trying as well, ZeroRanger is very fun and intriguing. I just had this great run when I was ganked by my mother coming to my house and holy crap, it just snowballed into disaster. I got so disappointed I still haven't jump back into the game haha

Also, hell yeah Blue Revolver!!! Still have to get my normal difficulty 1cc, but man, what a fun game!

dont you ever get tired of this schtick. you've been doing it for almost 15 years now

Oh, so it is going since the beginning?
Well, that is one fascination character study

[sumdumgoy]

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