Please recommend some good non-import PS2 shmups

Mischief Maker · Post by **Mischief Maker** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:16 pm

I recently traded some old PS2 games for Taito Legends 2 and found an unexpected gem, with the game including near-perfect ports of Raystorm and G-Darius.

So with the caveat that I do not have and cannot afford a japanese PS2, can anyone suggest some good PS2 shmup carts, especially "Best of" collections with excellent shmups included that may have slipped under my radar?

And yes, I already know about Raiden III, Gradius V, and R-Type Final.

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:24 pm

dragon blaze is a fun vert shooter.

Motorherp · Post by **Motorherp** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:42 pm

Gunbird 1 & 2. You can get both on one disc.

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:56 pm

its worth looking at older ps1 titles too. I've managed to get hold of r type delta, r types and strikers 1945 recently and Im sure there are more out there

edit: oh and the gradius III&IV pack for PS2

MR_Soren · Post by **MR_Soren** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:11 pm

Good:
Castle Shikigami 2 (Shikigami no Shiro 2)
Capcom Classics Collection
Taito Legends

Fair:
Mobile Light Force 2 (Actually Shikigami no Shiro)
Silpheed: The Lost Planet

Also, look at the PS1 games:
Einhander
Thunder Force V
Ray Crisis
Gekioh the Shooting King
Strikers 1945 (Actually Strikers 1945 II)
Mobile Light Force (Actually Gunbird)
R-Types
R-Type Delta

Post by **spadgy** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:34 pm

I'm a big fan of the Pysvariar Complete release, but it seems outside of Japan it only got a PAL release. A great shmup and a different game once you learn buzzing instead of just shooting.

You a PALer mischief?

Also, if you're desperate, it's pretty cheap to get Gigawing Generations, Shienryu Explosion (AKA Steel Dragon EX), Sol Divide, Assaults Suits Valken, Samurai Aces (the Sengoku games)...

EDIT: Oh! And XII Stag, Slipheed...

EDIT 2: Looking about the net I'm amazed how many only got JPN and PAL release. We PAL residents are lucky in some ways...

Mischief Maker · Post by **Mischief Maker** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:32 pm

Alas, no, I am an American. Lord knows why arcade games have died such a horrible death here, considering Defender and Robotron were developed here and were huge hits here. If I were to guess, the blame probably lies at the feet of Atari's lousy business model.

Sadly, shmups are seeming like the most expensive gaming hobby to have stateside. I just got RefleX and while it would have totally been worth the $20 asking price, when shipping doubles the price, the game's shallow scoring system makes that decision seem decidedly more iffy.

Thanks for the suggestions, tho.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:44 pm

Mischief Maker wrote:Alas, no, I am an American.

Yeah, then your selection is limited...there's Gradius 3+4, Gradius 5, Raiden III, the Shikigamis, R-Type Final, Silpheed, the Capcom and Taito collections, and not a heck of a lot else, unless you count the PS1 stuff as well (and even then there are plenty of Japan exclusives). Last generation Europe definitely came out ahead of us in the shmups department.

Square King · Post by **Square King** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:56 pm

I wish there was a way to "switch" among pal, ntsc and jpn on the same console. That'd rock my socks.

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:28 pm

I always wholeheartedly recommend Shikigami no Shiro 2 and it's unfortunately titled predecessor, Mobile Light Force 2. I have no idea why they put a Charlie's Angels-style cover on the first Shikigami, but they did.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:46 pm

*sigh*

Must shmup fans suffer so?

I went the extra mile to buy a japanese PS2 and enjoy not only the import shmups, but fighters as well. Anyway here goes:

Gradius V - excellente'
Silpheed - fair
R-Type final - Good

Look for U.S. PS1 released titles like Einhander and R-Type Delta.

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:49 pm

Mischief Maker wrote: And yes, I already know about ... Gradius V, and R-Type Final

ROBOTRON wrote: Gradius V - excellente'
R-Type final - Good

Never forget.

klausien · Post by **klausien** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:49 pm

My favorite US PS2 shmup is Gradius V. It's simply incredible and is a n absolute must have. Here are my recommendations outside the obvious:

Not a straight up shmup, but for something different, give SkyGunner a go. The controls are a handful at first, but once you get a grasp on things, it is a cool little shmuppy 3D flight game. It can be a little on the uncommon side, but I grabbed a copy at GameStop about 2 weeks ago for $2.99!

I would also recommend Neo Contra. It is all overhead stages, as opposed to Shattered Soldier, and feels much more like a shmup than a run 'n gun. It would have been easier with dual stick controls, but the way it is makes it feel like Contra; which of course is the idea. VERY underrated.

The real meat of the US PS2 market in terms of shmups is found in classic compilations:

The two Capcom Classics Collections are necessary. There is no excuse not to have them. the 194X series, Forgotten Worlds, Varth, UN Squadron, the list goes on and on. Get them.

If you like the older stuff, Atari Anthology has a load of arcade and Atari 2600 stuff (Asteroids!). Activision Anthology also has some nice classics (River Raid!). On the PSOne side, the Atari Anniversary Edition Redux is a collection of mostly vector games that has other classics like Tempest. I would place Intellivision Lives! under the PSOne AAE Redux in terms of desirability, but it does have Astrosmash. Finally, you have the various Namco Museum games that have all kinds of good stuff going on. Galaga Arrangement is a trip. The PSOne Museum games have some other gems such as Dragon Spirit.

Sega Classics Collection has the update of Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier & Alien Syndrome that are shmuppy. It's also worth it for the decent conversion of Virtua Racing.

SNK Classics Vol. 1 isn't the greatest, but it is a way to play Last Resort. It is worth the price even considering the issues it has.

That is a pretty good place to start. As you know, the Japanese market is where it's at. If you have the courage, I would recommend a solderless mod chip. I found it extremely easy to do and it has performed beautifully.

Post by **Ghegs** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:53 am

klausien wrote:The two Capcom Classics Collections are necessary. There is no excuse not to have them. the 194X series, Forgotten Worlds, Varth, UN Squadron, the list goes on and on.

Sadly, UN Squadron is not available in those collections. Hope that it was, I like it.

antares · Post by **antares** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:52 am

As it has not been mentioned yet I assume it's only got a JP and PAL release, but one of the greatest PS2 shmups is Homura!

espibara · Post by **espibara** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:32 am

PAL games for PS2 and PS1

PS2
Gradius V
Steel dragon EX (includes Shienryu and a crappy remake)
SIlpheed
Gradius III and IV
Gigawing Generations (OMG this is fucking awful)
Sol Divide
Psyvariar
Gunbird Collection (includes gunbird 1 and 2)
Strikers 1945 collection (includes 1 and 2)
Homura
Samurai Aces
Tengai
XII Stag
R Type Final
Castle of SHikigami
Dragon Blaze
Raiden III
Also try the capcom and Taito collections as they contain some shooters but not sure if they can be played in tate mode tho.

There are also Metal Slug games and Games like Contra shattered soldier and Neocontra.

PS1
Raiden project (Includes raiden 1 and 2)
Sonic WIngs special
Raystorm
X2
R-Types (inlcudes rtype 1 and 2)
Raycrisis
R Type Delta
G-Darius
Mobile Light force
In the Hunt
Gunner heaven/Rapid Reload (Not a true shooter as its like metal slug)
Strikers 1945 II

Some if not all can be got quite cheap try ebay and play.com.

They are all amixed bag really. The must haves are Raiden project, Gradius V, Dragon Blaze, Raiden III, Gunbird Collection and Homura.

The others are fine shmups but not essential if you find money a bit tight.

Post by **spadgy** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:03 pm

^ Great list for us PALers but Mischief Maker wants tate only and isn't PAL, and I think all the relevant ones were mentioned above.

EDIT: Hang on! espibara - you mention Tengai - that's the other name for Sengoku Blade (AKA Sengoku Ace Episode 2) right? Now I know Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade got a PAL release budled together as Samurai Aces, but was there also a PAL Tengai release?

Mischief Maker · Post by **Mischief Maker** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:01 pm

Thanks for the Castle of Shikigami 2 suggestion! I'd heard of it, but the name made me think it was never released stateside. Plus the box art makes it look like yet another JRPG. I tenatively asked the EB games guy and he said, "Oh yeah, that's been sitting in the bargain bin forever." I paid $6 for a beautiful manic shmup with Twin Seeds DX-style bullet scratching, my favorite kind. Score.

On one hand, the unpopularity of shmups makes the selection available for me very low. On the other hand, that selection that is around is usually dirt cheap.

Could anyone point me toward my legal options for importing Shikigami 3 for the PC?

TLDragoon · Post by **TLDragoon** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:16 pm

A bit pricey but *bing*

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-7s- ... -43-a.html

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:18 pm

TLDragoon wrote:A bit pricey but *bing*

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-7s- ... -43-a.html

Himeyashop.com has Shikigami III for about $20 more. So, relatively, that isn't bad.

But when you consider that Shikigami III for the Nintendo Wii is $20 at most stores, that makes it a much better bargain. If Mischief Maker has a Wii, I would buy it for that system. Hell, every copy sold supports SHMUP releases in the United States, so that's reason enough!

gennss · Post by **gennss** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:25 pm

I got Castle Shikigami 2 for under $10 for us version (voice acting is absolutely pathetic)

As for US shmups.. my experience (little bit) dictates, buy a dreamcast, download bootdisc, sell kidney, buy import games.

The thing is big companies tend to overlook small markets. Shmup's seem niche in the states. (howeve runfortunate) can't find any arcades inside miami, fl anymore ...

elfhentaifan · Post by **elfhentaifan** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:27 pm

Personal Vote is Gigawing Generations.
It looks incredibly ugly but is a lot of fun.

j^aws · Post by **j^aws** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:39 pm

If you haven't picked it up yet, Midway Arcade Treasures (vol. 1) for Stargate (Defender II) and Robotron 2084... (those 2 are my picks on the compilation).

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:36 pm

For Mischief Maker,

For the USA region PSX shmup genre, Sol Divide did get a proper American release but with the usual XSGames treatment of it, it ended up being butchered compared to the original JPN PSX release of the same name.

The original JPN PSX version of Sol Divide has high score saving to memory card for posterity, Original arcade port + mini RPG game bonus.

The XSGames port of Sol Divide did away with saving high scores -- it went out the window. No support for PSX memory cards whatsoever. XSGames was famous for their ability to turn such fine shmup titles for both the PSX and the PS2 into such fucked up ports that it truly is a pleasure to own the genuine Japanese PSX and PS2 ports of the same name.

Fellow shmupper, Kiken, mentioned something about such a budget release of Donpachi and Dodonpachi for the USA PSX from software developer/publisher Agetech (through their A-1 Games budget PSX software lineup with a retail price of $9.99 USD back in the day) but it was axed, thanks to SCEA's no 2-D sprite policy and pushing for such 3-D polygonal ones instead. So be it.

If you can afford to fork over a mere $150.00 USD, that amount could net you a bona-fide Japanese PS2 console to play them PSX and PS2 import titles properly. Good luck on scoring one, Mischief Maker. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 11:21 pm

spadgy wrote:Now I know Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade got a PAL release budled together as Samurai Aces, but was there also a PAL Tengai release?

I'm speaking as an outsider here, but IIRC "Samurai Aces" was just the original Sengoku Ace - it was never bundled with Blade outside of Japan. As far as I know (someone correct me if I goofed!) the Sengoku games were only released individually in PAL territory...though again the US never got either, heh heh.

Post by **spadgy** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:48 pm

Looking about, I think you may be right.

This GameFAQs listing places the PAL Samurai Aces release under the same listing as the JPN double-pack if you follow the link to thedata section, which lead me to believe it was the same as Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 2.

Don't trust GameFAQs I guess!

EDIT:

BulletMagnet wrote: the Sengoku games were only released individually in PAL territory

So the second game (Blade) got an individual PAL release? Was that as Tengai? Can somebody confirm it because I can't find anything on the individual PAL release of the 2nd Sengoku game?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:03 pm

spadgy wrote:So the second game (Blade) got an individual PAL release? Was that as Tengai?

I know that "Tengai" was the name of the English-language arcade release of Sengoku Blade, so that's certainly a possibility, but I can't say for sure. I'm almost positive that Blade got a PAL release on the PS2, though - just not sure under which title, heh heh.

gs68 · Post by **gs68** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:31 am

Mischief Maker wrote:Alas, no, I am an American. Lord knows why arcade games have died such a horrible death here, considering Defender and Robotron were developed here and were huge hits here. If I were to guess, the blame probably lies at the feet of Atari's lousy business model.

Americans don't want short 30-minute romps anymore. They want long, hours-long (and often repetitive) adventures with as much freedom to do whatever as possible.

espibara · Post by **espibara** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:47 am

spadgy wrote:^ Great list for us PALers but Mischief Maker wants tate only and isn't PAL, and I think all the relevant ones were mentioned above.

EDIT: Hang on! espibara - you mention Tengai - that's the other name for Sengoku Blade (AKA Sengoku Ace Episode 2) right? Now I know Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade got a PAL release budled together as Samurai Aces, but was there also a PAL Tengai release?

Yeah I have Tengai and Smaurai aces for my PAL PS2.

I got them from play.com

They were released by 505 games I kept checking their website to see what else they were releasing and Tengai was on there so i preordered it.

Post by **spadgy** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:10 am

Thanks espibara! I couldn't find it listed anywhere, on retail or listing sites, which is really odd.

Play.com is the only place that seems to know it exists as they have it there, still at £10.99 (EDIT: I just spotted Amazon.co.uk have it for half that). I have a friend at 505 who keeps promising me their back catalog, but I've been waiting ages and I only need the Sengoku games and Sol Divide.

Time to open my wallet! Though if I'm going to do that I might just go for the JPN release of Sengoku.