newbie-friendly shmups?

Ix · Post by Ix » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:47 am

i'm trying to get a few people into shmups, so i'm looking for fun games that are graphically appealing and aren't too difficult. i'm not a very knowledgeable person myself, so i need to ask you guys for ideas.

any games you might wanna recommend? oh, and it would be great if they can be emulated through MAME.

worstplayer · Post by **worstplayer** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:17 am

PC
Demolition Gunner: Bullet patterns look nearly impossible to dodge, but due to your helicopter's low speed it's actually quite easy, addictive (my first 1cc) but i'm probably only one here who likes DHC's graphical style (mix of low-res and hi-res sprites). Freeware.
Warmachine Overload: Like above, just horizontal and harder. Gotta love user-controlled slowdown.
Jets'n'Guns: Easy (at least original, difficulty goes apeshit in Gold missions), with nice graphics (and best sound i ever heard in any game). Lots of missions, lots of enemies (something like 120+ types

), lots of customizable weapons. BUT there's that goddamn inertia which sucks most fun from it (at least for me, some people like it). Shareware, dirt cheap.
rRootage: Once you play it, there's no way back, it's gateway drug for shmups. Freeware.

MAME
Battle Bakraid. Loads of fun, not insanely hard (at least compared to other Raizing games), but not everyone likes it's graphics.
R-Type Leo: Average difficulty, unlike rest of R-types doesn't require much memorization, beautiful visuals, and catchy music.

That's all i can think of now. I'll add more if i remember.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:21 am

Not the prettiest shmup, but I think Batsugun would be a good introduction to the genre (I hear the MAME version has serious emulation issues though). Most of the prettier shmups you aren't going to find on MAME, like Under Defeat, which would probably be another good introduction to the genre, even if I'm not too fond of the game myself.

Dragon Blaze perhaps? But that game is pretty difficult.

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:43 am

doujins

I h8 dem cuz liek wtf every1 can beat dem only nubz ply this crap omfg

plus leik wat teh hell dey so ez 2 braek

doujinz r 4 nubz klololololololololklksfbhvkjsdvn khsd

Kaiser · Post by **Kaiser** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:19 am

shoe-sama wrote:doujins

I hate them because most are made so that everyone and their grandma can beat them. But yeah they're a good starting point imo.

Usually they're easy to break too. I love watching my score counter go up when I do retarded things that don't require skill.

THEN BEAT RADIO ZONDE OR HELLSINKER U FOOL IF UR THAT GOOD

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:23 am

Blue Wish Resurrection is an extremely accomplished doujin (homemade) shmup that has loads of bullets and an interesting scoring sytem similar to Ketsui, but is noob friendly due to its 4 difficulty settings and auto-bomber feature. It's also free and has great music.

You can find it (and 1000000 others) at Shoot the Core (Google it).

charlie chong · Post by **charlie chong** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:52 am

bakraid and batrider ..ez if your not playing for score and a good entry point i reckon.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:40 am

Gradius, R-type, DonPachi, probably Giagwing will catch their attention. All those shiny medals.

overkill55 · Post by **overkill55** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:56 pm

worstplayer wrote: Jets'n'Guns: best sound i ever heard in any game

Look up Machinae Supremacy, they did the audio and have put out some good 8-bit sounds/metal albums haha

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:24 pm

Kaiser wrote:
shoe-sama wrote:doujins

I hate them because most are made so that everyone and their grandma can beat them. But yeah they're a good starting point imo.

Usually they're easy to break too. I love watching my score counter go up when I do retarded things that don't require skill.
THEN BEAT RADIO ZONDE OR HELLSINKER U FOOL IF UR THAT GOOD

radio zonde iz brokenz and ez lol

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:20 pm

Twinkle Star Sprites.

I think this game is offer a nice introduction for casual players. It is an easy game to learn and challenge to master. The only "catch" is that it is best played and enjoyed with 2 players. Twinkle Star Sprites is a Neo Geo MVS game if you need to seek it.

Master O · Post by **Master O** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:02 pm

Gradius 3 (arcade)

Zeether · Post by **Zeether** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:22 pm

Kyuukyoku Tiger II

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:20 am

Cho Ren Sha 68k might not be a bad starting point (PC, freeware).

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:57 am

Sonic Sisters,anyone can 1CC this one. still a blast to play though.

DirtyMonk · Post by **DirtyMonk** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:54 am

I'd recommend easy console games because they're pretty much made to be beat. I tried introducing some of my friends to Cave games and all it did was intimidate them even more. (It didn't help that I showed them the second loop of DDP: DOJ first).

When I first got Ikaruga, a friend of mine got really excited about it, saying how fun it was, until I told him that he had to chain everything, and then he lost interest in it immediately. So any mention of scoring will draw people away like the plague. Let them blast everything mindlessly.

You'll find a goldmine of easy shooters in this thread:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=16948

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:59 am

Turbografx-16 had tons of easy shmups.

doctorx0079 · Post by **doctorx0079** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:20 am

Neko Shot

LifeForce

Geometry Wars

G-Darius or Raiden III perhaps because of cool graphics

Tyrian

RoboBombo

and I used to know this guy who just loved Area Flat.

Enhasa · Post by **Enhasa** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:44 am

worstplayer wrote:rRootage: Once you play it, there's no way back, it's gateway drug for shmups. Freeware.

This is the absolutely best answer possible. Available on all platforms, free, guaranteed to have a correct difficulty level for you, easy to get into, makes you better at shmups if you're a newb.

Edited for link. Also you can try out all the other Kenta Cho games later.

Sonic R wrote:Twinkle Star Sprites.

I think this game is offer a nice introduction for casual players. It is an easy game to learn and challenge to master. The only "catch" is that it is best played and enjoyed with 2 players. Twinkle Star Sprites is a Neo Geo MVS game if you need to seek it.

I second anyone who recommends TSS.

Perfect intro to competitive shmupping. MAME / Neo Geo / Saturn / Dreamcast / PS2, lots of choices.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:55 pm

worstplayer wrote: rRootage: Once you play it, there's no way back, it's gateway drug for shmups. Freeware.

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:11 pm

rRootage is lame and has too much slowdown LOLOOLOLOLOLOLOCMIOAKSHkjPANCAKE

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:54 pm

i dont find it lame, and it has lil/no slowdown on my PSP... i love it, and its always with me on the go.

shoe-sama · Post by **shoe-sama** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:08 am

Quite a few of the stages have LIEK BULLETZ PATTERNZ that induce intentional slowdown EWWWW NOPLZ

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:21 am

Davey wrote:Cho Ren Sha 68k might not be a bad starting point (PC, freeware).

My brother (from the arcade/2600/5200 era) saw me playing ChoRenSha a few years ago and it actually stopped him in his tracks. He hadn't been interested in videogames for 10-15 years, but he took the time to install that on his computer and got a d-pad controller to use.

Ikaruga is also responsible for rekindling an interest in reflex gaming for two of my friends who had been corrupted and led astray by Final Fantasies and Metal Gears. One hadn't played a shmup since R-type and Lifeforce, and the other played a little Space Megaforce but nothing else ~ they both became die-hard Ikaruga nuts and still play it to this day.

I'll also suggest Strikers 1945 Part 2, or Gunbird 2 with the difficulty turned down.

Ix · Post by Ix » Tue Nov 20, 2007 1:41 am

awesome input guys, i'm definitely going to try these

that thread Dirtymonk linked is awesome.

RiotGrrl · Post by **RiotGrrl** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:54 am

Davey wrote:Cho Ren Sha 68k might not be a bad starting point (PC, freeware).

Perfect answer. This was probably the first shooter I found myself addicted to. There's something about its pacing, and the over sheer fun of it. It's not complex at all (just shooting and bombing), and has a really simple to understand power-up system.

Perfect for a beginner. Even my little sister, who doesn't play shmups, loves this game.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:19 pm

MUSHA Aleste and Super Aleste/Space Megaforce.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:54 pm

MUSHA is insulting, really.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:07 pm

MUSHA is too hard for me. I've never finished it.

rolins · Post by **rolins** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:16 pm

How about Strikers 1945?