What are the best Mega Drive shmups?

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:06 pm

I'm in the mood to play some 16-bit shooters, but i'm not sure what to get.

I've played the Thunderforces, M.U.S.H.A., Gaiares, Hellfire, and Graylancer.

What else am I missing?

Also, i'm much more of the "Saturn and afterwards" kinda player, so nothing too geriatric looking(early titles).

And has anyone ever released a patch for Gaiares that cancels it's "die and restart" thing? It kind of ruins the game for me, since it's so hard.

s/m

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:23 pm

Undead Line (Undeadline) is quite good if you like short and intense levels.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:37 pm

The dudes at EGM seem to love Gaiares, so I'd go with that.

Nah, Musha Aleste is stil lthe best!

subcons · Post by **subcons** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:40 pm

Some would argue it being a true shooter (you control screen movement), but Twinkle Tale always comes to mind when someone mentions the MD.

Awesome little game.

EDIT: Couldn't think of the name, but it came to me: Battle Mania 1 & 2. I dug those, but they may be too goofy for you. Check them out.

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:42 pm

It's not a popular opinion, but I love Steel Empire (aka Empire of Steel), but it might not please your desire to avoid older style shmups...

maxi · Post by **maxi** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:44 pm

Battle Mania 2, Steel Empire, Vapor Trail, and some arcade ports like Twin Cobra, Truxton, View Point and Raiden Trad are also very good.
If you have a Sega CD, I recommend Lords of Thunder, Silpheed and Bari Arm. And in the case of a 32X, Zaxxon Motherbase 2000.

moonblood · Post by **moonblood** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:53 pm

Eliminate Down

Edit: http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=210&title=Genre Spotlight: Shmups Extravaganza!

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:55 pm

spadgy wrote:It's not a popular opinion, but I love Steel Empire (aka Empire of Steel), but it might not please your desire to avoid older style shmups...

I tend to forget that one these days. And it's way better than the GBA port/remake!

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:15 pm

Nuke wrote:
spadgy wrote:It's not a popular opinion, but I love Steel Empire (aka Empire of Steel), but it might not please your desire to avoid older style shmups...
I tend to forget that one these days. And it's way better than the GBA port/remake!

Was one of the first shmups I loved, so it's always held a special place in my heart...

Good luck getting Eliminate Down - it's always painfully expensive too!

henry dark · Post by **henry dark** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:48 pm

Musha is a terrible game, and I have no idea why it garners the praise it does.

The first time I played it, I one lifed it to the last level, bored out of my mind, then when I finally died I came back so underpowered that I lost my remaining lives one after the next.

I thought "I have absolutely no desire to play this ever again".

To answer your question, I'd say Eliminate Down or Gleylancer probably. ED is FIERCELY difficult though.

JoshF · Post by **JoshF** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:04 pm

Slap Fight MD for the exclusive mode.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:35 pm

spadgy wrote:It's not a popular opinion, but I love Steel Empire (aka Empire of Steel), but it might not please your desire to avoid older style shmups...

no matter how easy it was it was my first 1CC so many years ago.

excuse me i think i have something in my eye *tears up*

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:15 pm

henry dark wrote:Musha is a terrible game, and I have no idea why it garners the praise it does.

It's pretty obvious: feudal Japan theme, mechas, metal soundtrack.

Leandro · Post by **Leandro** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:21 pm

good stgs not mentioned yet:

V-5
Twin Hawk
Fire Shark
Elemental Master
Bio Hazard Battle
Gynoug
Verytex

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:35 pm

moonblood wrote: Edit: http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=210&title=Genre Spotlight: Shmups Extravaganza!

Just read this right through - great link - all you need for this thread...

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:50 pm

spadgy wrote:
moonblood wrote: Edit: http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=210&title=Genre Spotlight: Shmups Extravaganza!
Just read this right through - great link - all you need for this thread...

Yeah, that is a really good link. Been fiddling with Battle Mania 2 and Eliminate Down.

s/m

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:11 pm

PHELIOS
Biohazard Battle
Curse

MUSHA is by Compile

Compile = WIN.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:40 pm

I'll second Undeadline.

Big surprise.

Also, Elemental Master if you want something in the same vein, but much easier.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:43 pm

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=12029

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:57 pm

Rob wrote:http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=12029

Thread exists?

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:24 am

Musha is a terrible game, and I have no idea why it garners the praise it does.

The first time I played it, I one lifed it to the last level, bored out of my mind, then when I finally died I came back so underpowered that I lost my remaining lives one after the next.

Same thing happened when I played the game for the first time few years back and hadnt played it in years.

Then watched a nice review of the game on youtube and played it again

Even though I don't like compile games (boring, easy, slow paced). This one is by far my favorite. The levels are WAY shorter and not too repetitive, the soundtrack is awesome and the game can get pretty intense if you play on hard mode with the MUSHA speed at the higher levels( 6-8 ), lastly the intro is great (and a great intro is a sign of a high quality shmup).

Just don't play MUSHA on anything but HARD and its pretty fun. the best shmup on the Genesis/MD with Eliminate Down. Also, lets not foget it was released in 1990. What else was that high-quality in 1990?

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:42 am

nimitz wrote: Also, lets not foget it was released in 1990. What else was that high-quality in 1990?

Thunder Force III
Batman
Elemental Master
Fire Shark
Gaiares
Hellfire
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Strider

Among others

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:57 am

henry dark wrote:Twin Cobra is a terrible game, and I have no idea why it garners the praise it does.

The first time I played it, I one lifed it to the last level, bored out of my mind, then when I finally died I came back so underpowered that I lost my remaining lives one after the next.

THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS

I should try Musha again, though, see what I think of it.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:04 am

nimitz wrote:its pretty fun. the best shmup on the Genesis

Pretty fun is the best the Genesis gets? Really?

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:49 am

M.U.S.H.A.

mmm. delicious paralax....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3l-wmY-L3M

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:15 am

For The Coop,

nothing in your list comes close to the technical prowess of MUSHA. With its blazing speed, great paralax effects, huge amount of very detailed sprites displayed at a time, nice explosions and all of this while keeping the framerate almost constant at all times early in the Sega Genesis/Megadrive lifespan.

Pretty fun is the best the Genesis gets? Really?

Yeah, this is kinda sad really given the huge amount of shmups on the machine. that being said, its got plenty other games that are "ok".

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:22 am

With its blazing speed, great paralax effects, huge amount of very detailed sprites displayed at a time, nice explosions and all of this while keeping the framerate almost constant at all times early in the Sega Genesis/Megadrive lifespan.

Don't forget INTENSE Blast-Em-Up Action, 5 Different Power-Ups, Multitudes of Bogus Baddies to Blast, Twelve Power Levels, 2 Player Co-Op Blasting, Lasers, Big Screen-Filling Bosses, Score Counter, and MuSha might just be the Best Exlodemup on the Genesis!

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:49 am

nimitz wrote: Yeah, this is kinda sad really given the huge amount of shmups on the machine. that being said, its got plenty other games that are "ok".

HAVE YOU GOT YOUR HANDS ON THE 8-MEG FIGHTING POWER OF GAIARES?

But seriously, Thunder Force IV is a lot better than pretty fun or OK.

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:40 am

Well I have to admit, I hate tecnosoft with a passion.

I've "tried" to like TF3 for way too long (years) but theres no way for me to get any enjoyment out of it (gameplay wise).

I havnt played TF4 for more than a few hours. But I have to admit it seems alot better than the rest of the stuff from tecnosoft.

Hewitson · Post by **Hewitson** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:21 am

Zero Wing & Truxton are absolute essentials.