Rob's 91-95 arcade countdown: hidden gem search.

[Turrican]

Wasn't In the Hunt done by the same team who did Metal Slug or something? I know I'd heard that they did some sprite rips straight from some of the Slug games... So... *shrugs*

I might have to give that one a try. I'd probably hate it without auto-fire (I can't stand Metal Slug carpel tunnel BS), but I STILL love Metal Slug a lot =)

Yup, their last game at Irem before they moved to SNK. Cool game!

[Shinichi Chiba]

Wasn't In the Hunt done by the same team who did Metal Slug or something? I know I'd heard that they did some sprite rips straight from some of the Slug games... So... *shrugs*

I might have to give that one a try. I'd probably hate it without auto-fire (I can't stand Metal Slug carpel tunnel BS), but I STILL love Metal Slug a lot =)

Yup, their last game at Irem before they moved to SNK. Cool game!

In the Hunt graphics are amazingly detailed , but it is a little short and easy still awesome though ! Love to see a remake of sorts !

[rtw]

Wasn't In the Hunt done by the same team who did Metal Slug or something? I know I'd heard that they did some sprite rips straight from some of the Slug games... So... *shrugs*

I might have to give that one a try. I'd probably hate it without auto-fire (I can't stand Metal Slug carpel tunnel BS), but I STILL love Metal Slug a lot =)

Yup, their last game at Irem before they moved to SNK. Cool game!

I thought their last game was GeoStorm/GunForce 2 before they moved to Nazca ?

In The Hunt (World) M92-E (c) 1993 Irem Corp
Gunforce 2 (US) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp
Geostorm (Japan) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp

rtw

[shinsage]

great thread, needs more uncomfortable Fighter17 posts tho

also, Last Resort -- top 10? BELIEVE IT

[Rob]

#22 Super-X (NTC, 1994)

With a name like that I was not expecting much, but here is a solid late-Toaplan style game. Except no annoyances like large hitboxes, checkpoints or weapon power issues. This game generously will give you a "super" power up after you die which makes getting back into the game as easy as it should be. The downside: more bullet wobbling.

[Macaw]

#22 Super-X (NTC, 1994)

Has identical score font to R-Shark.

So Dooyong weren't %100 original. Wouldn't be surprised if the code in their games was stolen from other places either.

[Frederik]

What exactly is "bullet-wobbling"?

[Rob]

Your movement changes the speed/direction of bullets. If a bullet is moving left and you move left, it speeds up. Same bullet, move right and it slows down. It's disorienting and makes the game feel sloppy.

[Frederik]

Okay. I know what you mean.

[Jon]

#28 Tatsujin-Oh (Toaplan, 1992)

The game desperately needs a hack that 1) removes check points and 2) takes you down only one notch in power level when you die.

Rob really hits it right on the nail here since Toaplan both knew how to make great games and then kill them off at the same time.

On the other hand, it isn't like Toaplan invented this sort of agony *cough*Gradius*cough*

Couldn't agree more. A beautiful game that I wanted to love. Instead it nearly brought to tears.

[thewestexit]

#28 Tatsujin-Oh (Toaplan, 1992)

The game desperately needs a hack that 1) removes check points and 2) takes you down only one notch in power level when you die.

Rob really hits it right on the nail here since Toaplan both knew how to make great games and then kill them off at the same time.

On the other hand, it isn't like Toaplan invented this sort of agony *cough*Gradius*cough*

Couldn't agree more. A beautiful game that I wanted to love. Instead it nearly brought to tears.

Second that. This game is awesome until you die, then it's just frustrating. Also, I think it has like the longest first level in the history of shooters.

[Rob]

#21 Dogyuun (Toaplan, 1992)

Some of the best looking graphics I've seen in a shooter, again. In this game it is easy to get right back in the game after one power up since that is as much as a weapon powers up... while I want back in less than some other Toaplan games. This game is very similar to Tatsujin-Oh, except the attacks are clunkier. I think the attacks in this game lean more towards what action-platform fans are accustomed to. Tatsujin-Oh is more about bullets, while Dogyuun often kills by comedy bird talon attack, boomerangs or bosses taking up the bottom quarter of the screen.

[Twiddle]

I can't play that game without sound.

[BrianC]

I can't play that game without sound.

Toaplan games need to be played with sound for the full experience, especially since many of them have killer music.

[Turrican]

I thought their last game was GeoStorm/GunForce 2 before they moved to Nazca ?

In The Hunt (World) M92-E (c) 1993 Irem Corp
Gunforce 2 (US) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp
Geostorm (Japan) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp

rtw

You're right, thanks for correction - I didn't even know about Geo Storm

[Jon]

#21 Dogyuun (Toaplan, 1992)

One of the handfull of PCBs that I own. Cool enemy designs and it doesn't frustrate me in the same way some other Toaplan shooters. Good stuff.

[FRO]

Great list so far, Rob, though I disagree w/ a few choices. Kudos for at least recognizing that Mad Shark is one of the better Raiden-clones out there. I actually play that fairly often.

One thing that I'll point out to those who haven't tried Varia Metal yet - the end boss is freaking impossible. I credit-fed to the end of the game just to see it all, & I probably wasted 35 credits while fighting the end boss & never defeated it. What a waste.

[Twiddle]

I thought their last game was GeoStorm/GunForce 2 before they moved to Nazca ?

In The Hunt (World) M92-E (c) 1993 Irem Corp
Gunforce 2 (US) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp
Geostorm (Japan) M92-G (c) 1994 Irem Corp

rtw

You're right, thanks for correction - I didn't even know about Geo Storm

It plays like shit.

[Damocles]

One thing that I'll point out to those who haven't tried Varia Metal yet - the end boss is freaking impossible. I credit-fed to the end of the game just to see it all, & I probably wasted 35 credits while fighting the end boss & never defeated it. What a waste.

Indeed. Horribly easy game until the final boss. It's possible, just hard as hell.

[Rob]

#20 Grid Seeker (Taito, 1992)

Keep the bullet absorbing pods in front of you and all you have to worry about are side shots and missiles, like a chunky Varth. Absorbing bullets fills up four bomb tanks quickly enough that you can use them a dozen or more times a stage. With all of this extra offense the enemies and missiles take longer to destroy. This encourages a more aggressive bombing strategy and presents some potentially obstacle-free stages. This is all enjoyable enough, but one persistent problem is the unchanging boss strategy: stay at the bottom, near the middle. They shoot out enough aimed bullets to refill a few bombs, enough to clear the remaining attacks before the next batch of refilling bullets.

#19 Thunder Cross II (Konami, 1991)

The origin of Gradius V's type 3 options. Not the cool ones you can lock in place, or the ones that allow you to shoot in a full circle, or the ones that circle you (OK, type 4 is the most boring). The ones that are positioned at the top and bottom of your ship. Special ability: you can spread them out. Not so exciting and you can't even do the best thing about type 3, which is aligning them all horizontally with your ship. You wouldn't need that extra power anyways as the bosses are all pretty pitiful. Losing all options in some sections makes me kind of wish for Gradius checkpoints, though. That is not good, but this is a Konami side-scrolling shooter so it's not bad.

[Turrican]

I tried Grid Seeker on TL2 but I really couldn't get much enjoyment from it. Your sprite is too big, the pod system is barebone, the game pace lethargic.

I'm pretty sure there are better games ranked behind this (not to mention Play Girls 2, of course).

[Rob]

I like to overuse the shield.

[Turrican]

I still haven't got a clue about the focus of this chart, Rob.

Why only 73 shmups? Certainly are a tiny fraction of the whole arcade offering. And what defines "Hidden gem"? Stuff like In the Hunt, Tatsujin Oh or Thundercross can't really be considered obscure, can they?

P.S. d'oh, sorry, forgot about your shield fetish.

[Rob]

Why only 73 shmups? Certainly are a tiny fraction of the whole arcade offering. And what defines "Hidden gem"? Stuff like In the Hunt, Tatsujin Oh or Thundercross can't really be considered obscure, can they?

I just checked oxtsu's list again and I left off about 18 games, stuff that is common or popular enough (here). The reason I did that is because I don't want to play most of those games again. Second, to make the list shorter and less predictable. Third, to loosely tie it into the next STGT theme week. Games like Thunder Cross II are being considered in the game selection thread.

I guess you are also asking why I chose 91-95?

[GaijinPunch]

I can't play that game without sound.

Toaplan games need to be played with sound for the full experience, especially since many of them have killer music.

I just popped in V-V after a few years. I forgot how much I hate check points.

[Turrican]

I guess you are also asking why I chose 91-95?

Yeah, since you're so precise with your answers, it would be a crime not to ask that, too. So, why that timeframe?

[Rob]

Well since you asked...

1996 seems to be a cutting off point where half or more of the releases are very well known and of the rest are quite a few things that aren't emulated. So picking a stretch of games that wouldn't be too overwhelming and something that could be covered exhaustively. I considered adding 1990 but the thought of playing even 15 more games was nauseating (seeing Bio-Ship Paladin and another Dooyong title, ).

86-90 is for another time but I think I will be more interested in early to mid 80s arcade games next (including singlescreen) since that stuff is rarely covered and because I'm so sick of 16-bit style shooters.

[BulletMagnet]

Your movement changes the speed/direction of bullets. If a bullet is moving left and you move left, it speeds up. Same bullet, move right and it slows down. It's disorienting and makes the game feel sloppy.

I'm tempted to add this to the glossary...don't think it'd be your first contribution either, Rob.

[Rob]

^"gimmick" first, anything else later!

#18 Rezon (Allumer, 1991)

An R-Type and X-Multiply style game with rotating side pods. They were not messing around with the memorization aspect. This game takes a lot of trial and error, yet doesn't feel as slow and plodding as an R-Type. The level 4 boss is one of the most frustrating things I've ever played and I just had to stop by the level 5 boss. It broke me.


Screen right: do not go down there.

#17 Gekirindan (Taito, 1995)

Above average vert (for its time) with a briefly entertaining time traveling theme and the inescapable stench of DonPachi. The 1942 theme is the only real detour. There really isn't much difference between a few hundred and a few thousand years into the future except for a slight increase in difficulty. Bosses: please do not repeat the same attack a dozen times in a row. I can dodge it. Also, don't retreat to a lower plane that I can't shoot at, especially while repeating those same attacks. This may be the closest Taito got to releasing a 2D Rayforce sequel, but there are no lock-on attacks. I never liked those anyways.

#16 Viper Phase 1 (Seibu Kaihatsu, 1995)

A decent game forever ruined by just thinking about the scoring system for more than one second. Thanks, STGT '07. Terribly slow ship, power up items that power you up as often as they impose a death sentence (do not pick up the laser). I actually like the medal pod element, but that effort means little if you miss a single enemy. Some really tough bosses with very fast bullets are probably the highlight, just like Raiden.

[yojo!]

Which version of Viper Phase 1 did you review ? old or new ?.