Do I need to buy any more PSX Shooters?

[CIT]

Today I was going through my PSX shooters and determined I've got pretty much everything on that platform that's worthwhile. However, there's a couple I'm not sure about. Maybe some of you shmuppers would like to comment about them :

Airgrave - Really don't know anything about it, but on the other hand you also don't hear people screaming about how awesome is it. I'm tempted to check it out, but I have the feeling it will probably suck.

Bokandesuyo - I'm not a big fan of Bokan to Ippatsu. Supposedly this one is much improved though?

Gaia Seed - I like Mega Drive shooters, and this is basically that kind of game. Just not sure about the value/money ratio.

Game Tengoku 2 - Game Tengoku is great, so I'll probably pick the sequel up, unless three or more people warn me not to.

Gatchaman: The Shooting - ???

Geppy-X - Lots of cutscenes, little shooting, is what I hear. Plus it's expensive... -_-'

Kyuiin - This game looks fun. Does it play fun?

Stahlfeder - Supposedly a poor man's Strikers '45?

Two Ten Kaku - The consensus seems to be that it really sucks, but it has 2D graphics, so I find myself mysteriously attracted to it. ^^

X2 - People seem to love the graphics and loathe the gameplay...

[professor ganson]

I actually like Gaia Seed well enough. I like it best of the things I've played on your list. I know that Ghegs thinks it's too easy-- too generous in allowing for recharging health-- but I don't think it's dull/boring. Pretty lively and nice graphics.
From what I've heard Gatchaman is too easy and dull.
As you say, Two ten kaku is supposed to be terrible. I've heard it's the worst shooter for the system.
I was surprisingly indifferent to Kyuiin. I like cute 'em ups, but this one left me cold right at the start. I probably didn't give it a fair chance, though.

[neorichieb1971]

Kyuiin is the only one I would recommend.

Maybe X2 as well.


Twotentaku is very budget like, it has the strangest FMV's, no parrallax what so ever.

[Damocles]

Bokan Desuyo - Easy. Long. Boring. Interested idea but poorly implemented.

Gaia Seed - Easy. Short. Check that...really friggin easy. If you buy it, by it as a collector.

Gatchaman: The Shooting - Easy. Actually a really good game. Really damn easy, but somewhat enjoyable.

Geppy-X - Not too terribly difficult. Long and bloated.

Stahlfeder - Yep, pretty much a poor knock-off of Strikers. Easy on default settings. Mildly interesting ships, though. Overall not very good.

Two Ten Kaku - Same story as Stahlfeder. Not as easy, but not terribly hard. Yeah...damn weird cut-scenes. What the hell...you get to blow up Buddha.

X2 - Your mileage may vary. Supposedly you become God later in the game with all the weapons. I don't personally know, since I found it to be a floaty mess of a game and havn't looked into it.

The reason no one talks about Airgrave is that it's probably not worth talking about, and not very popular. No idea since I havn't played it...just a guess.

There ya go, my two cents.

[Shatterhand]

I'll give my opinion on the only 2 games on this list that I know

Game Tengoku 2 - Isn't half as good as its prequel. The levels aren't as insipired, and the structure of the game just doesn't make ane sense at all (You basically pick one from 5 levels, play it, and when it ends, the game also ends, and you get a hi-score for that level. There's no "sequential levels" gameplay, or at least I didn't find it). The original is like dozens of times better, and if you own it, I really wouldn't waste time with this.

X2 - Yeah, great graphics, poor gameplay. Too hard up until level 4, when your weapons gets ridiculous powered up, so you destroy everything in less than on second. Levels are bland, design is uninspired (Maybe except for a couple of areas), most of the time you only fight one kind of enemy per time.. it's just not worthy IMO, unless you can get it for free or very, very, very cheap. The graphics are awesome though.

[BulletMagnet]

Here are my thoughts on the ones I have played...

Bokandesuyo - I'm one of the few who actually liked the original, so keep that in mind...same basic idea and presentation as the first, but with a few new elements added (a "super bomb" that charges up if you leave a "regular" one alone long enough, a "normal" and longer "special" game, etc.) and others subtracted (no more combo points for bombing enemies, thanks to the super bomb). Basically, if you liked the first this one's got the same charms...if the prequel wasn't your thing, this one likely won't change your mind too much.

Game Tengoku 2 - The 3-D "upgrade" of doom strikes again. As was said, stages can only be played one at a time, and the graphics haven't aged well to say the least. Still at least some of the old humor survives, plus a new Rayforce-esque lock-on, and an odd feature which lets a second player use a GunCon to pick off enemies (haven't tried it). Lots more fan-service unlockables, but not as much gameplay as the first, and it wasn't all that deep to begin with.

Gatchaman: The Shooting - Very easy on defaults (even for me, I 1CCed it on my first try), though it becomes a LOT harder if you switch it to "one-hit-kill" mode, in which getting hit once ends your whole game. Not bad while it lasts, if you can find it cheap it's not too bad...

Kyuiin - Interesting concepts at work, execution not as good as it should be. Mixed-bag presentation, and a scoring system which encourages "non-shooting" gameplay (though it's pretty much optional). To score the most off of enemies you have to get them at close range, which is quite risky (especially later on) because your hitbox is pretty big...also, you can take two hits per life, but get hit once and much of your offensive power is kaput, unless you can last long enough to find a repair item. A nice novelty, but be prepared for some frustration.

Two Ten Kaku - Not awful, but thoroughly mediocre, and not overly challenging. I got it cheap and don't regret it too much, but this one shouldn't be near the top of your list.

[sideshow]

Game Tengoku 2 is about 60 dollars on the net. I do want this game but dont know if the cash price is worth it. If anybody has it and wants to trade then let me know.

[Neon]

These are the only ones you don't have? Just curious.

[CIT]

Nope, some I own on other systems (like Darius Gaiden and Soukyuugurentai), some I used to own but sold cuz they sucked (like Coaniki or Philosoma), and Raiden DX is still missing too.

[SAM]

I don't got those PSOne games you on your list too.

But I think if you got...

Toaplan Shooting Collection
ZanacXZanac
DP & DDP

And all those...
Strikers
Gradius
Parodius
Salamandar
R-Type
Cotton
Raiden
Ray Series

IMO That's pretty much all you need to have.

[The Coop]

Einhander. You need Einhander.


Oh, and The Raiden Project, Gradius Gaiden and Raiden DX. Raystorm and Raycrisis would be good to grab too. In The Hunt as well.

[CIT]

I don't got those PSOne games you on your list too.

But I think if you got...

Toaplan Shooting Collection
ZanacXZanac
DP & DDP

And all those...
Strikers
Gradius
Parodius
Salamandar
R-Type
Cotton
Raiden
Ray Series

IMO That's pretty much all you need to have.

Einhander. You need Einhander.


Oh, and The Raiden Project, Gradius Gaiden and Raiden DX. Raystorm and Raycrisis would be good to grab too. In The Hunt as well.

Well, I actually have all those you guys mentioned (except for Raiden DX), so I have all the must-haves down. Now I'm just wondering about those don't-need-to-haves. ^^

[Turrican]

CIT, do you have Tempest X3 and Internal Section? I recommend them.

By the way, I actually liked Bokan to Ippatsu a little bit more than Bokandesuyoo - so yeah, you can skip it if the first one didn't grab you at all.

And I'd still say a japanese X2 could be the best purchase among the ones you listed above.

[Ceph]

Gatchaman: The Shooting - Easy. Actually a really good game. Really damn easy, but somewhat enjoyable.

The only shmup I ever 1cc'd on the very first try. A bit Repetitive and short. Didn't like it much. Inexpensive game.

Gaia Seed - I like Mega Drive shooters, and this is basically that kind of game. Just not sure about the value/money ratio.

Nice enough, but probably not worth the insane prices it goes for. Supposedly it's the rarest PSX shmup, though.

Kyuiin - This game looks fun. Does it play fun?

Enjoyable game. It starts out really easy but becomes pretty difficult later on. Very hard to find, took me forever to score a copy (which is strange considering there even is a greatest hits reprint).

Stahlfeder - Supposedly a poor man's Strikers '45?

More like a poor man's Raiden IIRC. I haven't played it since I bought it almost 7 years ago; I need to try it out again some time.


From your list Kyuiin and Gaia Seed are the best games in my opinion.

EDIT: I 1-life-completed Gatchaman the first time I played it

[DC906270]

Gaia Seed is ok game-wise, kind of like a cheap MD shmup (not as good as the better MD games) even if it was on MD it would still be an average game. maybe its similar to sol-feace on mega CD presentation/goodness wise. Oh, and the game is stupidly easy, like 1cc on your 1st/2nd go. you can get hit multiple times, so basically multiply the 3 lives by X. AND THE LIFE BAR RECHARGES - this was not one of the better ideas for the game, and is the reason why the game is too stupidly easy, like too easy to even bother playing as there is no challenge AT ALL

[SAM]

CIT, have you consider the followings?

Harmful Park
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Viewpoint

[Ceph]

CIT, have you consider the followings?

Harmful Park
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Viewpoint

Let me take a wild guess. You have those already. So do I and probably so does he.

[SAM]

CIT, have you consider the followings?

Harmful Park
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Viewpoint

Let me take a wild guess. You have those already. So do I and probably so does he.

Well, I don't have Viewpoint...

[Ceph]

CIT, have you consider the followings?

Harmful Park
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Viewpoint

Let me take a wild guess. You have those already. So do I and probably so does he.

Well, I don't have Viewpoint...

Well, I don't have it for PSX either, but I have the Neo Geo CD version. There's no point in buying an inferior version.

[professor ganson]

Speaking of minor PSX games, I strongly recommend Xevious 3D/G+. Worth it for the tate version of Xevious alone! Excellent package overall. A bit hard to find, but not terribly expensive.

[BrianC]

Geppy-X - Not too terribly difficult. Long and bloated.

Is it irregular too?

I second Xevious 3D+G. IMO, it's a must have for any Xevious fan. It also has one of the only home versions of Xevious Arrangement.

[SAM]

Well, I don't have it for PSX either, but I have the Neo Geo CD version. There's no point in buying an inferior version.

The PSX version is inferior?!

I thought it got a much shorter loading time (reading disc) than the Neo Geo CD version. I always thought the only superior version is the Neo Geo Cart...

[professor ganson]

The Neo Geo CD version is quite nice. I've heard the PSX version is crap.

[CIT]

CIT, have you consider the followings?

Harmful Park
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Viewpoint

Yup, I already have Harmful Park, and I have Viewpoint for Neo Geo CD.

I actually don't have Image Fight/X-Multiply yet, but I want to get it for Saturn, since not all Arcade Gears games were released on PSX.

The PSX version is inferior?!

I thought it got a much shorter loading time (reading disc) than the Neo Geo CD version. I always thought the only superior version is the Neo Geo Cart...

Mainly what's wrong with the PSX version, is that the graphics were redone. Everything was given this shiny, metallic look. Sounds cool in theory, but actually it really, really sucks.

The Neo Geo CD version only has loading times when you boot up the game (20sec or so), after that no more loading! I also prefer the CD version's remastered soundtrack over the cart's chip sounds. IMO Viewpoint and Last Resort are the best games you can get for Neo Geo CD.

CIT, do you have Tempest X3 and Internal Section? I recommend them.

By the way, I actually liked Bokan to Ippatsu a little bit more than Bokandesuyoo - so yeah, you can skip it if the first one didn't grab you at all.

And I'd still say a japanese X2 could be the best purchase among the ones you listed above.

Tempest is good, yeh.

I don't know about Internal Section though. I haven't really heard that many good things about it. Should probably give it a try sometime.

Overall though, I'm not such a huge fan of rail shmups.

Speaking of Bokan To Ippatsu, I want to sell my copy now. If anybody wants it, please PM me. ^^

[professor ganson]

I actually don't have Image Fight/X-Multiply yet, but I want to get it for Saturn, since not all Arcade Gears games were released on PSX.

Does the Saturn version allow one to change button assignments, as the PS1 version does? I found the default assignment for Saturn awkward. The PS1 version is great-- one of my favorites for the system along with the Raidens, Zanac Neo, Harmful Park and a few others. A must-own, imho, but pricey.