Average age of shmup players here and preferred games?

Aquas · Post by **Aquas** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:26 am

21, I have a fondness for the Gradius series and its spinoffs overall. My favorites include Raiden Fighters Jet (so many ships!), Gradius V, Gradius III (snes and arc) U.N. Squadron and Mushihimesama. I prefer a shooting game that gets the adrenaline going with fast twitch based dodging, though I do enjoy strategic placement as well. Gradius V is a great example of this when destroying those turrets that explode bullets in the 2nd loop and on, and with the multiple option styles. I prefer horizontal over vertical, I like avoiding obstacles. I understand now that playing cave games for score is usually an undertaking, and I tend to shy away from those games simply because I don't feel I'm ready, this goes for Ikaruga, as well.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:59 am

22. Previously I would have said I preferred Cave games, but I've been steadily going off them for a while now. Nowadays I like Raizing, Caizing and Psikyo games most of all, with a smattering of Toaplan.

SockPuppetHyren · Post by **SockPuppetHyren** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:25 pm

Age: 22

There aren't that may shooter that I don't like. Though, I do tend to prefer R-type games and most curtain fire games. I also really like Taito's Ray-seires (even RayCrisis).

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:38 pm

I'm 35 and prefer mostly ground based verts. Undead Line and Adventures of Dino Riki are two of my favourites. Guwange must get a mention too even though I don't play it very often. I have to be in a different mood to get into that one, as opposed to the others mentioned which I can get into at any time.

Basically, I like it when a game throws enemies at me non-stop and there are some interaction with the surroundings. I used to think that the ideal vert should be free of obstacles other than the enemies and their bullets and that the ability to move freely over the whole game-area was crucial but that has changed over the course of the last year. Now, I even like the vertically oriented stages in Silver Surfer...

gabe · Post by **gabe** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:39 pm

Sonic R wrote:
kengou wrote:
gabe wrote:I'm 25, and my preferred game is mastering the search function of phpBB:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=3505
Not really the same topic, doesn't give info on the correlation between shmup taste and age, it only gives age.
I agree. This is a fresh discussion and I am monitor the results as I am curious.

Alright, since my smart ass comment has been shot down, and this is turning into a serious thread, I will answer it seriously.

I'm still 25. I generally prefer Japanese vertical shmups... However, I am also interested in any shmup that is quirky, or weird.

It is impossible for me to pick a "favorite" anything... so I won't even try.

clp · Post by **clp** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:16 pm

23 - Raizing , dont like cave apart from yagawas input so basically raizing ,prefer verts to horis , fan of shikigami no shiro and psyvariar series and also milestone . Soundtracks are important to me and i like it to be electronic /rave/ d n b ish. Do not like psyiko games but do love the kinda similar to psyiko vasara series from visco.

RackGaki · Post by **RackGaki** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:28 pm

25

Favorite titles are Ikaruga, Karous, Psyvariar 2, Radilgy and Under Defeat. So I guess you could say I'm into verts. Also like Border Down and Trouble Witches, so horis are fine, just not my preference.

ChurchOfSolipsism · Post by **ChurchOfSolipsism** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:59 pm

27. I mainly play and suck at Cave, Raizing and Psikyo, but I also love some old school horizontals - not too old school, though, R-Type Leo and Pulstar are as old school as it should get.

Post by **Icarus** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:36 pm

I'm an old fart (27yrs and counting) with a preference for Raizing, Seibu Kaihatsu, Toaplan and older games (anything late 80's to late 90's), but will play anything that I find interesting.

beam · Post by **beam** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:47 pm

29 there.
Mainly fond of shmups where you don't need to memorize the whole stages. I used to play Battle Garrega a lot because the rank thing alter most of the credits you play. ie each credit may be different than the previous one even if you try to control the rank. Sadly, I sold it, maybe I should'nt.
Now mostly playing doujins even if I own many systems (md, dc, sat, ps2, sfc, scd etc) :
Hellsinker : the more I play the more I love it.
Solid State Survivor : the best cave like game not made by cave

. (maybe better than most of cave output). Yes memorization is needed, but, when a game of this caliber is made, I don't deny it. To enjoy just don't play with auto shield

.
Flying Red barrel : simple fun with many secrets to uncover. Really fun mechanics, love it despite the "flash like" graphics I generally don't like.

Now due to work, I don't play as much as I'd like. You can't play well when tired

. Even then, life is too short to only play shmups. The older I get the less time I devote to video games. Sad but life is too short too always stay in front of a screen dodging bullets every day. Moreover I'm fond of roguelikes, another timekiller game type.

LSU · Post by **LSU** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:16 pm

I'm 39 years old. Doesn't particularly matter to me how old or new a game is. Obvious stuff like Gradius, Thunder Force, Raiden, Darius, Ray series... Treasure, Cave, Psikyo, Raizing, Taito, G.Rev... it's all good!

Edit: As far as non-shmups go... Robotron 2084, Sinistar, I Robot, Tron, Metal Slugs, Sin & Punishment, id software FPSs, SEGA rail shooters, some of the better 2D platformers (Mario World still amazes me) and the occasional round of Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter or KOF.

TLB · Post by **TLB** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:32 pm

17. I like not being dehydrated from food poisoning, which allows me to enjoy Cave, Psikyo...G.rev (they did Under Defeat, right? Hope I'm not THAT delirious), Treasure/Alfa Systems...in that order. And pretty much everything somewhat recent, as long as it isn't crappy. And put Chaos Field right after Psikyo (I think it's the only Milestone game I've played >.<). Once we go back too far, I start to lose interest, and begin wishing I were playing Psikyo games or something. I can enjoy almost anything; I prefer newer verts, but I could have fun with R-Type. It's just pretty dependent on available time and patience. I took so long on this that I forgot what else I was going to say.

Oh, yeah. I don't particularly like Raizing, but, again, I could enjoy most of their games if ya sat me in front of one. Blowing stuff up is just a lot of fun. I could go through every dev and give my opinions, but I don't feel like it. So here it is.

moonblood · Post by **moonblood** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:02 pm

29. Cave, R-type, megadrive shmups

Fu · Post by Fu » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:01 pm

17, my favorites are Cave and manics, or some old schools like Gradius.

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:12 pm

34 years old, grew up 1cc:ing Taito/Toaplan shmups, now I try to do the same with CAVE games (as they are the current Toaplan as far as I care).

Never played for score until I really tried it with ESPGALUDA, and what a refreshing thing it is. Most old school lovers should try this. Really an eye-opener. It's like falling in love with shumps all over again.

I really love the CAVE games from Ketsui and forward (excluding Ibara). Not so much love for the earlier games I'm afraid, even though I'm never selling my ESP Ra.De. PCB. Raizing games are a bit too dirty for my taste. I like the round bullets.

Emph

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:27 pm

27, Konami and CAVE shmups

astrodan88 · Post by **astrodan88** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:44 am

29: Raizing, Compile, anything on the Mega Drive

Kollision · Post by **Kollision** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:31 am

Hi, I'm 32 years old.

I realized my main interest in gaming was shmups when I decided to start a collection about a year ago. My favorite shmups of all time are Darius II, Zero Wing, Axelay and Thunder Force IV (16-bit FTW!).

My favorite late developer is Takumi (Giga Wings, Mars Matrix). Other favorites are Toaplan, Konami, Taito, Technosoft, G-rev, Psikyo (for Zero Gunner 2), G-rev, Treasure. There are lots more which I still don't know, in a sense I'm still learning a lot about this.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:36 am

I'm 39, and like all kinds of shmups. I especially like cute-em-ups with good gameplay.

Like everyone else I enjoy Psikyo, Raizing, and Cave.

exquisite_torture · Post by **exquisite_torture** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:54 am

I'm 34. I had an MSX as a kid and practically lived in an arcade. I'm not really a fan of scoring systems or modern shooters in general. I still play 'em, and particularly loved Gigawing and Treasure's treatment of Gradius V, but I just prefer straight forward stuff.
I like to play the Gradius/Salamander/Parodius series via MAME and still enjoy playing Tiger Heli, Slap Fight, Fighting Shark etc occasionally, when I can be bothered.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:12 am

26 and i play anything with an interesting score system, mostly danmaku but i enjoy a fair share of oldschool games aswell. (big salamander fan for instance).

not a fan of new games without good scoring systems tho, it just feels sloppy to me to omit such a key element in this day and age where graphics and sound have evolved too much to be the only appealing feature of a game.

bcelmo · Post by **bcelmo** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:57 pm

I`m 25
I love japanese games, 100% bullet hell. The more bullets the better.
Favourite game - Blue Wish Ressurection Plus
Very loved games - all Touhou, Mushihimesama
Loved games - a lot of doujin verts, the rest of Cave games with the exception of Ibara
Ok games - Psikyo, Raizing
I consider BWR+ best example of balance between difficulty and fun
I deeply dislike horis

t0yrobo · Post by **t0yrobo** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:18 pm

I'm 22.
I don't have much of a preference, I really got into shmups with the Dreamcast so i have a soft spot for most of the games on there.

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:02 pm

I'm 18, and I enjoy Cave, Psikyo, and Touhou (and just doujins in general) shmups.

Dragon1952 · Post by **Dragon1952** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:22 pm

56 going on 18! Gradius series, R-Type series, Horis, Verts, Raiden series, Galaga '88, Space Invaders '95, X-Mulitply, Namco, Taito, Irem, Toaplan, Raizing, Cave, Psikyo, Alumer, many - many more!!!

Scrolling, non-scrolling, strategic, bullet hell, transforming, oh just bring it and I will shoot it down!

ChurchOfSolipsism · Post by **ChurchOfSolipsism** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:31 am

beam wrote:29 there.

Solid State Survivor : the best cave like game not made by cave . (maybe better than most of cave output).

Mh let's see... pretty shitty graphics, insanely shitty sound (there was better music in many Gameboy Games, not only did they sound better, they also had better riffs'n shit), as good as no zero new ideas in terms of gameplay mechanics (not sure about scoring, but it didn't look that complex or new - a mixture of Progear and "medalling shmup"?) and only 3 levels. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a neat little game with some very cool bullet patterns and IMHO it's much better balanced than blue wish resurrection (I even prefer it over BWR although I played and enjoyed it quite a lot), but still it can't be compared in terms of overall awesomeness to any of the Cave games.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:43 am

It seems there is some correspondence between the age of the shooters that they enjoy but there are a considerable number of exceptions too...

In any case, I'm 23 and am mostly into older games. Some of the bullet hell games are cool but it mostly seems too abstract. Also, in a bullet hell game you are on the defensive the entire time, shooting is second to dodging. In older games, it is much more about shooting.

I really like the Darius games and a lot of other horizontal games: Sky Kid, Fantasy Zone, Metal Black, Bio-Hazard Battle. But even the vertical games I like tend to be more classic than modern: Xevious, Kingdom Grandprix, Tiger Heli, Twin Cobra.

Taylor · Post by **Taylor** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:28 am

25.

Need Cave Sludge, anything fast destroys me.

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:54 am

ChurchOfSolipsism wrote:
beam wrote:29 there.

Solid State Survivor : the best cave like game not made by cave . (maybe better than most of cave output).
Mh let's see... pretty shitty graphics, insanely shitty sound (there was better music in many Gameboy Games, not only did they sound better, they also had better riffs'n shit), as good as no zero new ideas in terms of gameplay mechanics (not sure about scoring, but it didn't look that complex or new - a mixture of Progear and "medalling shmup"?) and only 3 levels. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a neat little game with some very cool bullet patterns and IMHO it's much better balanced than blue wish resurrection (I even prefer it over BWR although I played and enjoyed it quite a lot), but still it can't be compared in terms of overall awesomeness to any of the Cave games.

Have to agree, this game definitely doesn't out-CAVE CAVE.

In fact quite a few boss shot patterns and enemy movements seem taken right out of CAVE games. The few original shot patterns I saw weren't all that great, although a few were pretty cool. The scoring seemed like a bunch of different CAVE scoring systems stitched together. I'm not entirely sure it works .. it's really easy to keep your hit counter going though.

Don't know why you say it only has 3 levels though, the one I downloaded has 5. Although the 4th level feels like it could have been removed completely and the game would be better for it. The two minibosses and the boss are all exactly the same and have the same shot patterns, except that more shots are fired for each version. Pretty lazy .. level 5 was definitely the best out of the entire game.

And man .. that music. Why even bother bloating your download size with OGG files if it could just as easily be MIDI?

And my joystick didn't work with it for some reason. :/

quizknows · Post by **quizknows** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:02 am

22

I like pretty much any vert shmup, some favorites are espgaluda (even though I suck at it), Homura, Touhou 6, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun, gigawing, and shikigami no shiro 2. as far as horizontal's go i'm really only a fan of Gradius V and Border Down.