Proof that I'm the worst shmup player of all time.

[Limbrooke]

$.02

Maybe it's just me, but I think a game like Twin Cobra or Fire Shark teaches aimed shot dodging just as well as anything I've encountered. Raiden has enough going on that you might not notice the shots heading for you; in the beginning stage of TC there's enough tanks (and only tanks or turrets) on screen at times that you can't miss what's happening.

Even in the first stage, Raiden tends to throw helos at you too so you'll be focused on taking those out (what you should do is just get below them while firing, and focus on shots coming from the far reaches of the screen while you take out the smaller swarming ships).

Also, regarding all of these games.
Raiden, Twin Cobra, & Fire Shark. Use Player 2 ship for a nice change.

[thesuperkillerxxx]

seeing you playing reminds me of playing raiden last time, those fast yellow bullets, some of the most annoying/hard dodgeable/visible bullets i remember in a shmup. one of the main reasons why i stopped playing the game, because after a while all the fun had become pure anger.

I feel better getting blown away by a very fast Raiden bullet than a bogus bullet i dodged 3 times on some Cave game.

Do not get me wrong, I like cave, but give me the fast bullets everytime. IMO much more realistic/hectic. I feel it gets the point across better.

[atro_city]

Well, I didn't expect this topic to turn into a discussion of Raiden...I was just using it as an example. All the other shmups I've tried treat me the same.

For example, after 5 or 6 tries, I gave up on trying to 1cc Bakraid's training mode (and this was with easy difficulty and 4 lives). I normally wouldn't whine about it much, but there's something about getting owned by a mode that's not supposed to own you that gets my blood boiling.

I honestly don't know why I expected shmups to be any different, I just suck at video games in general. So much that playing them is an exercise in pain and frustration. I can't aim worth a damn in FPS's, fighter games don't even give me a chance, puzzle games are too complicated and strategy-oriented for my stupid ass, and platformers just plain hate me. No wonder I stuck to RPGs for so long...they were the only genre that wouldn't hand my ass to me first thing.

Anyway, sorry for wasting everyone's time on this. I just stumbled upon the whole manic shmup scene a few months ago when I watched some superplays on Youtube...hell, that was more fun that playing the games themselves (even the non-manic ones). I guess that's what I should do...stop being a little bitch about everything and just watch someone who actually knows what he's doing.

Again, sorry.

[Arvandor]

Holy crap, you sound EXACTLY like a friend of mine... Uncanny.

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em? I was awful at shooters for a very long time and still loved 'em (heck, even now I barely consider myself mediocre). If they truly are just excersizes in pain and frustration, find a game that's more fun, and stick with it and its kin ^_^

[BulletMagnet]

For example, after 5 or 6 tries, I gave up on trying to 1cc Bakraid's training mode

For this particular game, I'd actually recommend going right ahead to Normal mode and skipping Training...to this day I've managed to 1CC Normal, but still can't clear Training, for one simple reason, namely the screwed up autobomb. On Training, the autobomb goes off if a shot gets even close to your hitbox, even if it doesn't actually hit you: as a result, the game ends up wasting your bombs on situations you could have survived without them, and have none left over spots where you actually could use them. At least that's how I viewed it anyways...give it a try and you may be surprised how well you do when you're the one actually in control of what's going on. And practice of course.

And as for the Raiden thing, the whole "few fast" versus "many slow" bullets thing doesn't really stop there...there's also the hitbox size and ship speed to take into consideration, among other things, so it really needs to be judged on a game-by-game basis (and personal taste, of course).

[Arznei]

This is the truth and needs to be repeated multiple times:

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

[Sonic R]

This is the truth and needs to be repeated multiple times:

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

If you're having fun, who cares how bad you suck at 'em?

[Mills]

Bloody hell Atro_city, what skill difficulty are you playing this game on? that is certainly not normal/default skill level. enemy bullets on the 1st stage are fast, enemy fighters dive bomb and attack immediately on screen. the game was never that hard in the arcade. You know you can postion your ship directly above the 1st stage bosses, providing you destroy the enemy tanks quickly. change the difficulty setting. i never encountered that level of enemy attack until 3rd and 4th loop. just not worth playing a shump at that level when game gets progressively worst on each loop. i wouldnt play Raiden at that level, and neither should you.