When the game you're focusing on gets too frustrating, or you hit a wall, but you still want to play a shmup (any shmup but "THAT" shmup), what do you play?
I've been focusing on Dodonpachi for ... I don't even know how long now, a year? But when I'm just having one of those off days, I'll either play ESPgaluda or Gunbird 2. Almost anything is fair game; Battle Garegga, Dragon Blaze, Triggerheart Exelica, Mushihimesama, etc, but primarily it's down to ESPgaluda or Gunbird 2 for me.
I was about to say Gunbird 2, too, but then I realized I didn´t even have a real "main shmup" right now (still waiting for my HD Box Pro to arrive so I can finally set up my PS2 in a non-eyekilling way), but R-Type Leo is a funky little shmup with a nice, uplifting soundtrack and satisfying game mechanics.
I dunno. It seems I've been playing Gradius 3 arcade continously for so long now. It's kind of a side project of mine at this point because the walls are set in place. For example the stage 3 boss and the Fire stage, but, I do enjoy playing the first few stages that seem to embody that certain Gradius bliss. Those first few stages are always a rush, and it really feels good to breeze through them after so much practice. It's like flying a kite... a ... Gradius 3 kite.... *cough* *cough* I think it's the music or amazing visuals... look at those sand lions explode!
STG Weekly!, 1cc's, twitch, XBL: DJ Aquazition The in-game papers prove that being the paperboy is actually a position of the greatest importance,
ranking alongside top elected officials for notoriety. -Ed Oscuro
Funny, shmups in general are my relaxation games, to take a break when I don't feel like playing other games. I pop on a shmup for a half hour or so when I'm bored.
"I think Ikaruga is pretty tough. It is like a modern version of Galaga that some Japanese company made."
Actually, I do believe it. Sometimes pitting my "wing-it" skills against DOJ (which I've played very little of) is very exciting, refreshing, and not frustrating like dying repeatedly in easy parts of a game I KNOW I can do better in =)
6 games with nice relaxing music, fun patterns, you can choose difficulty depending on how long you want your credit to last and you play right on your pc screen.
pretty much the perfect shmup when you only have a few minutes or when you want to change the pace.
No memorizing stage patterns, enemy placement, no worrying about which item I missed or how the hell I managed to get killed by the first bullet in the first stage...
Usually DDP, Garegga, and rRootage. Playing the first two can get pretty aggravating if done in close intervals; there's also another factor I'd like to discuss in a different topic. rRootage is simply the ideal solution for a distraction, and I haven't beaten all 160 stages yet, either.
Matskat wrote:This neighborhood USED to be nice...until that family of emulators moved in across the street....
They all are. I don't play shmups "seriously". I enjoy them so therefore I come to them when I need a distraction or want to relax a bit. So I guess my favorites (Raiden DX, Exelica, Psyvariar 2, Soldier Blade) are my distraction shmups.
karous and ibara arrange mode are usually games il relax with as there both easy games to 1cc but if you feel like making it tough and start playing for the score the option is there to do so , unrelated to shmups i love chilling with rez .
PROMETHEUS wrote:I have no distraction shmup, either I force myself to keep playing the main one or I stop playing / play another kind of game.
I tend to alternate between shmups and puzzle games, that seems to work well. Although I rarely play anything seriously enough to really get too burnt out in the first place.
I used to credit feed beat 'em ups to relax, but I haven't done that in a while.
I play Shoot the Bullet when I start to get frustrated with something. It's pretty relaxing since dying isn't really punishing at all and it looks nice. I already beat it so I don't even care if I "win" or not, and since any given level is really short it's easy to pick up and put down anytime.
| My games - http://www.emphatic.se
