Are there any good shmups that sell for rock bottom prices?

mikehaggar · Post by **mikehaggar** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 4:37 pm

Hey guys,

Own a lot of arcade pcbs, but no shmups, as the famous ones (such as DDP, etc.) tend to sell for lots of cash. Are there any good arcade shmups that happen to sell for rock bottom prices (as in, 50 bucks or less)? I want a good intro to the genre, and if I really dig them a lot I may start to get more expensive classics when I have a job, etc. What do you guys think?

Chi_Ryu · Post by **Chi_Ryu** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:04 pm

There's not much for such little cash.

You might be able to find Flying Shark/Sky Shark/Hishou Same for about $50 (it's an oldie, but goodie - one of the Toaplan classics... nothing like modern shooters, though to be honest), or if you have/get a Neo Geo MVS motherboard, Strikers 1945+ goes for around that price, too...

antron · Post by **antron** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:18 pm

watch for a Twin Cobra or Raiden on ebay.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:27 pm

sure, P47 and Thunder Cross are both brilliant games that sell for $30 or less.

armed police Batrider is excellent (maybe even the best shmup ever) and goes for under $100 atleast, id say this is the best intro to shmups and PCBs anyone can get really, very versatile game.

croikle · Post by **croikle** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:52 pm

If you're just looking for an intro, MAME is zero-risk and has many quality games. I can see how you'd want to move up to PCBs eventually, but if you aren't familiar with the genre emulation is a great place to start.

Gwyrgyn Blood · Post by **Gwyrgyn Blood** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:56 pm

Where do you see Batrider for less than $100? I've never seen it sell for less than $160 before.

Batrider is a really good one to start with though, tons of characters to play with, legit difficulty settings so beginners can enjoy it, and tons of depth and stuff to learn for scoring.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:32 pm

You might want to check out the old-school arcade PCBs such as Capcom's HyperDyne Sidearms circa 1986, Slap Fight/Alcon, Konami's A-Jax/Typhoon circa 1987, etc. -- a blast from the past...the 1980's. The USA region Alcon PCB is standard Jamma compatable from the get-go btw as both Sidearms and A-Jax/Typhoon PCBs are as well. ^_~

The older Konami's arcade shmup PCBs of Time Pilot from 1982 and the 1984 release of Time Pilot '84 aren't standard Jamma and have their own unique edge connection interface to deal with (but such a Jamma convertor could be used to play them properly on a Jamma cab or Supergun setup). An external auto-fire PCB hack makes gameplay all the more enjoyable on those two particular Konami arcade shmup classics.

It's possible to buy a Seibu Kaihatsu SP1 cart of Viper Phase 1 U.S.A. for play on the SP1 mobo for a mere $20.00 USD or so. I bought one off of eBay for that cheap-ass price...just gotta be at the right place at the right time for crazy ass deals like that though. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~