Oppressive Shmups?

Axon · Post by **Axon** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:52 pm

Are there any shmups that give off an oppressive atmosphere? Kind of like something that fits with Lords of Thunder's there is no way you're going to live music. I don't mean a shmup that is just hard, but its atmosphere also gives off that feeling, maybe something gloomy and dark. Sorry for my confusing descriptions.

fl0w · Post by **fl0w** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:04 pm

Battle Garegga, extreme military madness

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:04 pm

Gynoug on the Sega Megadrive gave me that feeling. The creature designs in it are very dark and visceral and the levels feel like you are descending into the bowels of hell.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:26 pm

I'd also put DDP DOJ into that category...and like Garegga, it lives up to its image, heh heh.

FRO · Post by **FRO** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:08 pm

Abadox on NES is oppressive both difficulty-wise & atmospherically. To paraphrase Han Solo, "Flying into the belly of a planet-size alien is not my idea of courage...more like suicide."

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:10 pm

R-Type can be put into this category. Stage 7 is a rundown city with some rather slow, somber BGM. Throw in the bosses Double Keradops and Gomander in the first two stages, the original huge mothership boss in stage 3, as well as some more alien environments, and it's gloomy and dark enough.

No_not_like_Quake · Post by **No_not_like_Quake** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:31 pm

I only played it on MAME and think it's just a proto-type but Chimera Beast felt oppressive. Really dark atmosphere and weird music. Also, aren't you fighting an Earth like planet in that game? The last stage with all the rockets is chaotic. You're a pretty weird beast to begin with in this game and your mission doesn't seem to be the most benevolent one.

Post by **system11** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:55 pm

Dragon Breed.

As for Chimera Beast, yeah it's a proto, but you can check the mame source and find a megasys board with the matching crypt chip - then burn Chimera Beast roms to play it. From memory it also needs the PAL from Rod Land, or the layer priorities are wrong.

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:08 pm

Ikaruga, of course.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:04 pm

Garegga was springing to me mind, too. I think that the music does quite a good job too, "Stab and Stomp" is one of my favourite pieces of video game music. It has a nice mix of harmonic, even funky melodies and monotone, disharmonic synths. And the planes shoot giant NAILS. Rings of explosions and tons of debris are great, too.

Metal Black is post-apocalyptic, too, but I never played that one very much.

Most games by Irem are also quite dark and twisted. Or Last Resort for the Neo-Geo. When you say "oppressive" I think of a dystopian regime or something. So those may be fitting.

Post by **Icarus** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:11 pm

Garegga is oppressive? °_O

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Ibara yet. Sharp industrial design; massive, forboding, spike-laden bosses, explosions everywhere, shrapnel everywhere, bullets everywhere. A marvel to watch, a bastard to play. ^_^

Another vote for Metal Black. That game is just... twisted. Also Gun Frontier, brilliant game with a very dark atmosphere.

What's the name of that Super Famicom beta game, vertical scrolling, such poor gameplay design that it is impossible to play? I find that quite oppressive myself.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:12 pm

There are a couple of stages of R-Type Final that are like that.

Stage 2 Last Resort.

Underwater stage R-Type Delta.

Dunno of any ENTIRE games like that though.

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:14 pm

@Icarus
Strike Gunner maybe? -_-

and another vote for garegga.stage 6 in particular...

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 12:03 am

I'd also put DDP DOJ into that category

As dark and oppressive as li'l chubby tanks and choppers can be.

There's nothing bright and cheerful about its difficulty, though. The game likes to kick you in the nuts.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:18 am

Icarus wrote:Garegga is oppressive? °_O

At least Ibara gave you a couple of lingerie models to look at. And easily visible outlines on the bullets.

howmuchkeefe wrote:As dark and oppressive as li'l chubby tanks and choppers can be.

Cute li'l chubby oppressors are the worst...when's the last time you had to babysit or substitute teach? At least in DOJ you can blow them up without guilt...in real life, even if THEY break something, it's YOUR fault (and your paycheck).

thesuperkillerxxx · Post by **thesuperkillerxxx** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:13 am

Icarus wrote:Garegga is oppressive? °_O

In terms of gritty realism, shit yes!

I have not seen a better representation of a pseudo-ww2 style in any game I have ever played.

Ibara? Ruined by pre-rendered backgrounds... Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the style of it, but nothing beats the pixel art of Battle Garegga. absolute perfection.

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:33 am

Bio-Hazard Battle for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive fits this description well. It starts off rather light hearted as you decend onto the mutant bug infested Earth. The first two Stages have light hearted, upbeat music that is admittedly, pretty catchy. Then things start to change when you encounter your first boss fight in Stage 2. It's a pitifully easy encounter, but the boss music is just so menacing sounding that it gives you an idea of what's to come.

Stage 3 starts the opressive feel with you being in a dark, heavily bug infested jungle. The music is is a little eerie and the larger enemies start to become more prevelant. Stage 4 takes a turn for the worst, and is by far the most opressive stage in the game (which makes the game rather anti-climatic in this perspective). The music is booming, and very dreary, with a horror movie sound to it. The enemy designs also get pretty nasty. Worms dropping out of mountains of fecal matter? The boss of the stage is pretty nastly looking too when you blow his armor off with charged shots.

Stage 5 gets a little lighter, but brings back that eerie feeling of stage 3. The music is simple but fitting as you explore a dark, vast sea of water.

Then things get light hearted again in Stage 6, which is actually the coolest stage in the game IMO. Although the music is upbeat and lighthearted (same track as stage 2), the giant battleship you tear during the whole stage can be a bit gruousome to look at, especially since the whole thing is infested with a large, organic creature.

Stage 7 is actually kind of forgetable, except for the extreme difficulty. That's all that the stage really has going for it. The boss has three forms, but even he has the same cool, but overdone boss music featured in all the stages previous to it.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:53 am

Now you see why I gave it away? It gives me the creeps. *shudders*

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:01 am

- Dodonpachi Daioujou
- Under Defeat
- Gun Frontier
- Battle Garegga
- R-Type
- Pulstar
- Metal Black

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:50 am

X-Multiply, bunch of n00bs!

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:13 am

Haha, I was just about to say that myself. Really ace Lovecraftian art direction and (often) darkly mysterious music. Gotta love it!

RoninBuddha · Post by **RoninBuddha** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:11 pm

blazting star = prerendered 3d on the neo = pukes.

but seriosuly, ship designs, levels, bosses, ridiculous amounts of black shading and white highlights... and final boss..

blazing star.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:28 pm

Xexyz wrote:Bio-Hazard Battle for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive fits this description well.

I was hoping someone would say this one. The music is what really makes the mood for me.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:38 pm

Quite a few R-Type stages have a rather oppressive feel to them, especially in Delta and in Final.

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:41 pm

I'd say Mars Matrix. It's oppressive looking, oppressive sounding, oppressively difficult, and I'm pretty sure that your pilot is fighting to oppress the Martians.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:16 pm

Blazing Star and Mars Matrix are too energetic and colorful to really feel oppresive to me...

Air Raid always felt kinda grim to me.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:24 pm

Randorama wrote:X-Multiply, bunch of n00bs!

If that is the Irem shmup that came out shortly after R-Type or R-Type 2 with those tentacle pod, then yes. One of the coolest pod weapons ever. Tentacles. Sweet.

Axon · Post by **Axon** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:10 pm

Thank you all, I'll be sure to check some out.

Thinimus · Post by **Thinimus** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:19 pm

Radiant Silvergun!

I mean, you end up blowing up "God" in the end even after he/it/stone-like has unloaded every kind of weapon it could come up with.

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:03 pm

Strike Gunner STG. the arcade version. The SNES version had a much different feel (and much better gameplay, for that matter) from the arcade version. The arcade version just felt horridly oppresive the further you got.