Shmups in constant rotation

jp · Post by jp » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:55 pm

The other day I was playing Batsugun and got to thinking about what all shmups I play the most. Rather, the ones that ALWAYS have me coming back, regardless of my mood or what I feel like playing and despite how much I've already played it that month (because I rarely play any one shmup for longer than 3-4 days at a time before taking a month break from it or so). For me, that list is as follows:

Blast Wind - Its easy (well, when its not on the highest difficulty and/or you're playing as the red ship) yes. But thats why I love it. Its a game I can sit down and 1CC and STILL have a great time despite not being too challenged (though the 1LC is a bit tricky at times).

Batsugun - Primarily Special Edition version. I honestly do not believe a better shmup exists.

Game Tengoku - So many modes. So funny. So fun to play. Yay!

Hyper Duel - Just an amazing game. I'm very annoyed that I haven't 1CC'd Saturn Mode yet though.

Nexzr - If I had a PC-Engine Duo still anyways. That game was sheer awesome. Similar in easiness to Blast Wind... but still kick ass!

Star Parodier - I love shmups that give me a shit ton of extends.

And thats all I can think of. And no, Radiant Silvergun does not make that list. I only play it... every 3 months or so. Much like PDSaga its just a game that completely engrosses me and when I'm playing it I prefer to not have anything else going on. Its really not something I can just pick up and play like the stuff I listed (at least not to me anyways).

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:13 am

Raiden Fighters and Battle Garegga.

I give one or both a credit during an entire session.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:28 am

None! The only games that come remotely close are Thunder Force 3 and Strikers 1945 II. Not so much in constant rotation as just satisfying for a game or two (and probably just more frequent than the usual 4-6 month breaks).

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:46 am

Probably DDP and shiki 2. Both are kind of easy and can be played without really switching the ol' brain on.

I've been meaning to go back to esprade recently, but it's been so long the idea of re-learning most of the game isn't too appealing. I used to constantly be drawn back to it when I first discovered shmups.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:57 am

ehh...Warning Forever...I don't know why.

jp · Post by jp » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:32 am

Pirate1019 wrote:ehh...Warning Forever...I don't know why.

Oh God yes. Anytime I'm bored at work or sitting at the PC at home with nothing to do Warning Forever gets booted up fairly quickly!!!

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:52 am

I think it's only the 'Boss Only' approach that makes it so appealing. I play it on my computer in Computer Science instead of working.

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:03 am

Batsugun (Saturn) <- I kinda agree with JP on that this might be the finest manic shmup ever made.
Blast Wind (Saturn)
Hyper Duel (Saturn)
Giga Wing (DC)
Zero Gunner 2 (DC)
Strikers 1945 II (PS)

I always come back to these for a quick fix. I honestly cannot go one single month without playing them.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:18 am

Just been playing my two PCBs, Ibara and Espgaluda II. These are probably the only shmups I'll play seriously the rest of the year. I play Mushi, Zero Gunner 2, and Border Down now and then as well.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:25 am

Shiki II. I get to a new level. Then I quit for a while. I'm not really in a hurry to finish this game, but I suppose that's the eventual goal. But even if I reach this goal, I hope I'll keep finding it worthwhile to return.

Post by **Icarus** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:56 am

Garegga has always been in my rotation since I bought the game many years ago, and will never leave the rotation. Batrider has become a bit of a fixture lately, as the tournament has given me a greater appreciation of the design of the game, and my main target is to conquer Advanced Mode with a team at some point. Brave Blade and Ibara as well, to a lesser extent.

For stuff I occasionally come back to, Hyper Duel is an amazing game, one of my all-time faves, and I can never get bored of it. Soukyugurentai also. Occasionally the Parodii, just for some goofy entertainment.

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 4:37 am

Einhander is one of those games I can't seem to quit playing once I get started. it has a bit of childhood sentiment for me because I played it all those years ago as a demo.

G-Type, that sadistic freeware game, has been my main focus right now. I swear to god I'm going to beat hard mode on it one of these days.

And despite the fact it's a "hentai" shooter, I come back to Genocide Circuit 2 every now and then. it's actually very good, and graphic usage for it is incredible. the guy who made it obviously had to do alot of work to get it to look good with such a limited graphic set, but he did one hell of a good job.

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:19 pm

fire shark is perfect for that spare hour here and there as i know i can 1cc the megadrive version with ease but i always die and lose my bomb stock screwing up my score.

gunbird will always be a favourite of mine and when i go for a psikyo, i usually revisit this to remind myself that i can cope with the tight patterns if i just give it some time.

i also think that bangioh is going to be entering this category soon. I've been playing it a lot recently, so far about half way through, and my scores regularly suck so i think i'll be revisiting and score maxing. I love the fact that you can choose any level any time.

FRO · Post by **FRO** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:45 pm

Pirate1019 wrote:I think it's only the 'Boss Only' approach that makes it so appealing. I play it on my computer in Computer Science instead of working.

I know it's a bit OT, but let me give you a word of warning: Tyrian & shmup emulation is why I didn't finish college. I got so wrapped up in the beginnings of the emu scene that I didn't make enough time for my studies. Granted, I discovered that computer science (at least the program I was in) was not for me, but if that's what you really want, I encourage you to study.

thesuperkillerxxx · Post by **thesuperkillerxxx** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Fire Shark Genesis
Raiden Project
Armed Police Batrider

ummmmm......

Limbrooke · Post by **Limbrooke** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:40 pm

Raiden DX used to be a game that was in my rotation every couple of months but lately has slipped off the radar.
Maybe Slap Fight comes a distant 2nd.
Ah, better yet Gradius 3 & 4.

Pirate1019 · Post by **Pirate1019** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:35 am

FRO wrote:
Pirate1019 wrote:I think it's only the 'Boss Only' approach that makes it so appealing. I play it on my computer in Computer Science instead of working.
I know it's a bit OT, but let me give you a word of warning: Tyrian & shmup emulation is why I didn't finish college. I got so wrapped up in the beginnings of the emu scene that I didn't make enough time for my studies. Granted, I discovered that computer science (at least the program I was in) was not for me, but if that's what you really want, I encourage you to study.

Don't get me wrong. I play all of my freeware shmups in computer science when I'm done with all of the work. In fact I got caught today, but my teacher couldn't write me up because I was done with everything in the class. (The class is tiered into different levels based on speed, experience, and your math level. I'm at the top of the top tier.) Besides, since I'm only in 10th grade we are only learning Basic, which sucks.

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:29 am

These days?

About once a week:

Pulstar
Blast Wind
Zero Gunner 2
Giga Wing 2

About once a month:

Batsugun
Battle Garegga
Donpachi
Spriggan
Strikers 1945

EDIT: I should point out that I enjoy the games in the second category more than the ones in the first. I guess it's like not wanting to scarf steak and good wine every night of the week, for fear of making those things mundane.

jp · Post by jp » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:02 am

Its nice to see that Blast Wind is finally getting its due around here. Such a good game.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:09 am

Gunbird2, If you ask me today what's the game you feel most like playing I'd tell you Gunbird2 if you asked me two years ago today I'd tell you Gunbird2
even when I'm burnt out on games their's a little part of me wanting to play Gunbird2.

What's funny is it's not even in my top ten games of all time.(But it is in top twenty)This Shiki2 and Vulgus are the only three shmups I consistantly crave
but because I've been busy lately I have'nt been giving them much attention.

scrilla4rella · Post by **scrilla4rella** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:43 am

Yup, the Saturn shooters definatly is on top when is comes to games that I consistantly play.

Batsugun
Gun Frontier
Battle Garrega
Gunbird

Lately I have been busting out Sengoku Blade for Saturn a lot. I still can't beat it yet

but I do like to show it to a lot of my friends that are not really into shooters or games in general. It always gets a good reaction from the Japanese and Art majors.

When I do have my PC-engine hooked a couple credits of Soldier Blade, Tiger Heli, and Spriggan is a must

Gungriffon Geona · Post by **Gungriffon Geona** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:02 am

allow me to add Zanac Neo to my list. I think I'll definitely be coming back to it alot. (just like I did with Zanac a few years ago until it accidentally got sold in a garage sale.)

Kaiser · Post by **Kaiser** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:08 am

Battle Bakraid,Battle Garrega,Armed police batrider those games maybe are hard 1CC but always they're coming back

Star Force because it was first shmup i've ever played heh this is never boring for me

eight · Post by **eight** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:22 am

These are the ones I hate playing beyond a certain stage due to their difficulty but still I love 'em and play them regularly from time to time:

Blazing Star
Pulstar
Gradius V
Ikaruga

And those I just love to play over and over again and which I always try to to 1CC (although I fail in most of the cases) because they are so much fun:

Gunbird 2
Thunderforce IV
Armed Police Batrider
Guwange
Choaniki (Saturn)
DoDonPachi
Dimahoo

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:58 pm

I play the NES version of Xevious pretty often. I also find myself booting up the Konami MSX Collection semi-frequently. Knightmare, Sky Jaguar, and Pippol are all good plus I can switch games without swapping out the disk.

There was a time when I swore by Twinbee Yahho! and played it every week for a year or so but I'm over it now.

Alske · Post by **Alske** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:18 am

Hmm... I appear to have quite different tastes from the average response: Giga Wing 2 and ESP Galuda are the two shooters I come back to most frequenty.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:59 am

The one I ALWAYS can pop in is soukyugurentai hands down. I love that game and I didn't even realize it until this year. It hit me that I always have fun with it and play it all the time since I bought it. Keep in mind I bought this the week it came out from NCSX (also got Hyper Duel when it came out from them)....

Others... thats hard to say

Dodonpachi
Hyper Duel
Garegga
TF5