Besides DC, What System Would you recommend?

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:22 pm

I tried a search and didn't get any hits.

I'm pretty new to the shmup scene but i've come to love it. I am getting a cab to house a Dreamcast in and by it will be an old 36" TV. I was thinking about putting a console there but don't know what I would want there.

Any suggestions on which system has the best shooters? I was looking into getting a saturn but don't know if it was good for shooters. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:38 pm

Oh ps1? I never thought of that. What would u say though between Saturn and PS1?

Atamosk · Post by **Atamosk** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:48 pm

Perhaps needless to say but your probably better off with a PS2 instead of PS1 considering some of the great games released on it.
Gradius V, Psyvariar, DoDonPachi
To name a few.

PS2 > Saturn > PS1

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:49 pm

Atamosk wrote:Perhaps needless to say but your probably better off with a PS2 instead of PS1 considering some of the great games released on it.

There are one or two PS1 shmups which don't play properly on a PS2, but regardless, a PS2 which can play Japan-region games is a great buy if you want to do some shmupping: it and the Saturn are my two personal favorite shmup systems.

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:56 pm

Yeah one of the reasons that the ps2 wasn't in discussion was I have to mod it to play the japanese games. My PS2 is like 1st Gen so that would mean i have to buy a ps2 outright to mod it. Also, I have my ps2 upstairs on a widescreen so i wanted to keep it there. The tv i want to use for shooters is really old with only composite and rv inputs.

Anyway thanks for the input guys. I might look into a ps1 to do that old swap thing. And buying one will be what like 20 bucks.

thechop · Post by **thechop** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:59 pm

I think you'll find the Sega Saturn is pretty much your best bet, the list of games is pretty endless when it comes to shooters

Vertical Scrolling
GAME COMPANY INFORMATION
Arcade Gears: Gun Frontier Xing
Batsugun (review 1)
Batsugun (review 2) Banpresto (Toaplan original) The original manic shmup? Some seriously HUGE firepower and incredibly difficult gameplay...
Battle Garegga Raizing/Eighting 1988, fantastic superdetailed WWII shootie, cunningly crafted gameplay
Blastwind Tecnosoft Rare vertscroller with some split path gameplay. very manic and typical Technosoft...
Bokan To Ippatsu Doronboo Kanpekiban Banpresto
Capcom Generation 1: 194X Capcom Slightly measly pack of the WW2 shootemup series... where's 1941 and 19XX I want to know!!
Capcom Generation 3 Capcom
Detana! Twinbee - Yahoo Deluxe Pack Konami Pack of the Twinbees and Twinbee Yahoo, the hard to find arcade game...
Donpachi Atlus Fantastic manic vert scroller by Cave. Three hundred bullets a second!
Dodonpachi Atlus Excellent sequel to the above, even more manic than the first!
Game Paradise Jaleco 1997, very clever tour-de-force shooter set in an arcade
Gekirindan Taito Timetravel based vert scroller. Quite decent for a rainy day...
Guardian Force Success Very nifty tank shooter with weapons utilising the rotating turret
Gunbird Psikyo Very good semi-cute em up, lots of gameplay and top difficulty
Kingdom Grandprix, aka Shippu Mahou Daisakusen Raizing/Eighting 1994, brilliant little racing - shmup crossbreed!
Kyukyoku Tiger 2 Plus Naxat Soft Excellent early helicopter based Raiden em up
Rayforce (review 1)
Rayforce (review 2) Taito Best out of the trilogy, excellent manic vert scroller. (aka Galactic Attack & Layer Section)
Layer Section II, aka Raystorm Taito Slightly poorer [but still great] sequel to the above, done in polygons.
Planet Joker Naxat Soft
Radiant Silvergun Treasure The most AWESOME vert scroller ever created. A work of genius, and a must have!
Shienryu Warashi Typical vertscoller, not too bad but not too good either...
Skull Fang Data East 1997, unofficial sequel to Vapor Trail
Sonic Wings Special Mediaquest 1996
Soukyugerentai, aka Terra Diver Electronic Arts (developed by Eighting/Raizing ) The second best shmup on the Saturn. unfeasibly hard, excellent weapon system, and now so hard to find it's not funny.
Space Invaders Taito No introductions needed for this one.
Steam Hearts TGL "Slightly watered down in sexuality" version of the very rare hentai shooter on PCE CD...
Strikers 1945 Atlus (developed by Psikyo) World War 2 based shmup with lots of mecha (okay...)
Strikers 1945 II Atlus (developed by Psikyo) Sequel to the above, with more mecha and better gameplay...
Terra Cresta 3D Nichibutsu 1997, bleurgh
Twinkle Star Sprites ADK Brill puzzle inspired shmup. Attack you opponent by wasting chains of baddies!

Horizontal Scrolling
GAME TITLE COMPANY INFORMATION
Arcade Gears: 3 Wonders Xing
Cho Aniki Kyukyoku Otokonogyakushu (errr... just Choaniki) NCS/MASAYA Butchbloke shooter, carried on from the PCE CD series. Ack...
Cotton 2 Success Sequel of the SNES Cotton, still starring that really cute witch
Cotton Boomerang Success
Darius II Taito 1996, a sequel to Darius, not really worth it unless you're a big fan or a collector
Darius Gaiden Taito 1995, super cheap Darius, but has pretty graphics
Fantasy Zone Sega The original super cute horizontal scroller
Gokujyou Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack Konami Twinpack of Paro and Ultimate Paro, very rare now, and highly recommended...
Gradius Deluxe Konami 1996, nice two pack of Gradius and Gradius 2 Gofer
Hyper Duel Technosoft Technosoft's second arcade game, improved Macross mechanics with classic Thunderforce gameplay
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius Konami Much imporoved version of the third in the series, original on SNES
Kaitei Daisensou (aka In The Hunt) Imagineer (Irem original) Saturn version of the arcade original
Macross: Do You Remember Love? Bandai A shmup made off the famous anime series...
Metal Black Ving, original by Taito 1996, apparent sequel to Gun Frontier, even though they have nothing in common...
Sengoku Blade Psikyo Sequel to the arcade Sengoku Ace, horizontal scrolling
Sexy Parodius (psx review) Konami Fourth in the series, very cute cartoon women abundant here. Also PSX version...
Sol Divide Psikyo Shmup where you're a human character, quite poor game
Super Dimension Fortress Macross Bandai Visual Another shmup made from the famous anime...
Thunderforce Gold Pack 1 Technosoft Stuffed to the brim with Thunderforce 2 and Thunderforce 3. Worth hunting down!
Thunderforce Gold Pack 2 Technosoft Jam packed with Thunderforce AC and Thunderforce 4 - the best out of the two, and rare as hell!
Thunderforce V Technosoft Fifth in the series, made a trip into 3D and kicks lots of ass! Also on PSX as Thunderforce 5 Perfect System, the poorer cousin...

Other Shmups
GAME TITLE COMPANY INFORMATION
Arcade Gears: Image Fight and X-Multiply Xing Really sought after duo pack of Irem arcade games X-Multiply and Image Fight
Dezaemon 2 Athena Awesome create-a-shmup game! REQUIRES a Saturn backup cartridge.
Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack Konami Huge pack of classic Konami MSX shooties
Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus Konami Salamander, Salamander 2 and Lifeforce in one. Worth having for Sala 2 alone!
Tempest 2000 Atari (?) Super trippy vector shootie

Pinched from the shmups.com xenocide files btw

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:06 pm

SunocoLoco wrote:Yeah one of the reasons that the ps2 wasn't in discussion was I have to mod it to play the japanese games.

You could also just buy a Japanese one.

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:12 pm

Holy! Thanks thechop! I think I want the saturn now. Finding these games would be pretty hard though

Bulletmagnet - I feel like it's a waste to buy another ps2 when i already have one. I also think i can get the saturn from my friend that's not using his.

thechop · Post by **thechop** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:18 pm

Most are pretty freely available but others are pretty rare or expensive,quite scary looking at the list that i have almost all of those and even scarier that its took probably the best part of ten years accumulating them on and off

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:27 pm

I would imagine. But i like that collecting aspect of it. I'm gonna try to find some now. I can't thank you enough. That list is very very helpful.

thechop · Post by **thechop** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:41 pm

Another plus point for the Saturn is that (in my experience)the console i purchased on the release day in the UK is still going strong 12 years later and has never refused to read or boot a disc in all that time so i reckon they are a pretty sturdy investment(i've never even had to clean the laser lens!!)Had it chipped to play all region games and a 50/60 hz switch fitted aswell when my warranty ran out after 12 months and the old dog just keeps on going

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:42 pm

I remember that you didn't need anything but the Ram to play any region. You have to chip the saturn too?

thechop · Post by **thechop** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:52 pm

No you can get a cart to play all regions ,but you cannot use games which use the 1mb or 4mb cartridge,such as Metal Slug/X-men vs Streetfighter etc as the saturn has only one cart slot (which the cheat cart will be filling.) but this shouldn't be a problem for shoot em ups as i am not aware of any which use a 1mb or 4mb cart

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:58 pm

thechop wrote:No you can get a cart to play all regions ,but you cannot use games which use the 1mb or 4mb cartridge,such as Metal Slug/X-men vs Streetfighter etc as the saturn has only one cart slot (which the cheat cart will be filling.)

To attempt to clarify (correct me if I'm wrong here), there are carts out there which both enable all regions and have a 1/4 mb cart in them, but it only works for games which use a "general-purpose" RAM cart, as opposed to those which need a specific cart with information for that specific game (IIRC one of the KoF games has a setup like that...not sure about the entire list though).

but this shouldn't be a problem for shoot em ups as i am not aware of any which use a 1mb or 4mb cart

Technically Cotton 2 can use either one for some minor enhancements, but plays fine without it.

thechop · Post by **thechop** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:06 pm

Yes, your almost certainly right that there are carts which incorporate the 1 or 4 mb use into the cheat cart. I cannot confirm this though as having mine chipped early on thankfully i never have had to use the cheat cart method.Thanks for bringing this to my/our attention

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:25 pm

yeah i remember something like that. I do have the US version of those fighting games so i don't think it should be that big of a problem for me.

I do want the White saturn though but that goes for as much as a ps2.

grahf · Post by **grahf** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:22 pm

You NEED a PC Engine Duo.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:32 pm

grahf wrote:You NEED a PC Engine Duo.

PCE is of my favorites, too. More expensive than the other consoles, though. Especially the games - for some strange reason all the best ones seem to be rare

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:39 pm

Is the PCE Turbo Graphix CD? I dont know much about the PC Engine.

grahf · Post by **grahf** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:48 am

Yes, turbografx = pc engine. The hucard games are not compatible without an adapter or modifications, but the cd games are region free. I recommend getting a PC Engine over a turbografx, due to the fact that the TG had very few releases (and they tend to fetch more $$).

There are also a ton of revisions of the PCE + CD addons and Duos, so its a little tricky for first time buyers. Your best bet is the Duo, or Duo-R. Those will play 99% of everything. Pick up an arcade card, and you can play the other 1%. Check this link out for a more in-depth comparison:
http://pcenginefx.com/main/nec_compatibility_guide.html

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:16 pm

My vote goes to PC-Engine Duo also.

I had very little interest in a Duo beside Spriggan, but after seeing a Duo-R plus 10 games for $120.00 I dove right in.
Turns out Spriggan (awesome game that it is) doesn't even hold up in my top 10 Duo games (depending upon what day of the week you might ask me).
Excellent, excellent, excellent system! (besides the ultra-short controller cables)

dial911 · Post by **dial911** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:00 pm

Saturn.

Ayanami · Post by **Ayanami** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:36 pm

Japanese Saturn First, Japanese Playstation 2 second.

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:54 pm

Yeah i pretty much decided on the saturn. I don't think I want a PCE at all from just looking at prices.

My basement is officially becoming my game room. I just bought a new astro city to house the DC! I can't wait!

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:09 pm

Saturn
Import PS2 (which is just like owning import ps1 & ps2)

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:22 pm

SunocoLoco wrote:Yeah i pretty much decided on the saturn. I don't think I want a PCE at all from just looking at prices.

My basement is officially becoming my game room. I just bought a new astro city to house the DC! I can't wait!

I think you make the best choice. Saturn offers more arcade style games. PC Engine/Turbo is more offering old style console type of shooties.

Asherdude · Post by **Asherdude** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:36 am

SunocoLoco wrote:Yeah i pretty much decided on the saturn. I don't think I want a PCE at all from just looking at prices.

My basement is officially becoming my game room. I just bought a new astro city to house the DC! I can't wait!

If you have a Wii, Hudson Soft has started porting their PCE titles over to it. Last friday, I downloaded Soldier Blade and Super Star Soldier. So this weekend, I've been in shmupers heaven!

I want to kick myself sometimes for not getting a PCE back in 1992 when they were only $99 at Toys-r-Us.

Nakano · Post by **Nakano** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:44 am

thechop wrote:Another plus point for the Saturn is that (in my experience)the console i purchased on the release day in the UK is still going strong 12 years later and has never refused to read or boot a disc in all that time so i reckon they are a pretty sturdy investment(i've never even had to clean the laser lens!!)Had it chipped to play all region games and a 50/60 hz switch fitted aswell when my warranty ran out after 12 months and the old dog just keeps on going

That is certainly true, I still have mine too + now alot of the games are much cheaper than before.

SunocoLoco · Post by **SunocoLoco** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:20 pm

Asherdude wrote:If you have a Wii, Hudson Soft has started porting their PCE titles over to it. Last friday, I downloaded Soldier Blade and Super Star Soldier. So this weekend, I've been in shmupers heaven!

I want to kick myself sometimes for not getting a PCE back in 1992 when they were only $99 at Toys-r-Us.

Actually i do have the wii and haven't touched it since i beat zelda. I did however buy a modchip for it and don't know if it will affect the virtual console. i got to look this up. Anyway thanks for the heads up!

firestorm · Post by **firestorm** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:28 pm

Sega Satan has got some nice exlusive games
Radiant Silvergun
battel Garegga
Batsugun
Hyper Duell

but i would recommend
a jp PS2

you can play all the PSX shooter
and PS2