The games on my list are either cute, fun, or addictive. Or, in the case of my top 2 (Shiki 2 and Dragon Blaze), just about perfect.
After just 1 credit, I can't see how Death Smiles *won't* be on my list next year. Cute and fun for sure.
Most important addition to my list: Fantasy Zone. It's sometimes hard to decide between the first installment and the best one, so I may change that one next year. Cutest series by far. (Sorry Cotton.) Only Harmful Park is cuter. Too bad that never became a series.
Trizeal could easily get bumped next year. Level 4 is about as fun as shmups get. Too bad the other levels aren't at the same level.
Gunbird 2 is neither cute nor fun, but it's definitely addictive. Once I get over this head cold, I plan on playing again. I know I'll never beat this game, but I'll figure out a way to get my revenge somehow.
If you've known me for any significant period of time, you won't be surprised that these are my top five. I'd have to give a note for each, of course.
[25] [Battle Garegga]
It achieves the oppressing atmosphere Zanac attempted and one of the deepest games I've played, and this is THE game that forced me to understand shooters in more than a "shoot plane, dodge bullet, bomb when things get bad" level. Seriously, after spending some serious time in this game my skill level practically tripled (still pretty crap, though) as it completely changed my method of thinking when playing shooting games. It's not without its annoying elements (hurf da durf boss milking), and people who've been used to looping Raiden or Twin Cobra on their first life and getting the full bomb bonuses will be offended by having to use tactics that are the direct opposite thereof to perform well.
Even with that, though, it's designed well enough that the best, hardest scoring trick in the game was completely unintentional. I'm sure Yagawa is still laughing at that one.
[25] [Raiden Fighters Jet]
After spending half the amount of time I've spent on Garegga on this game, I'd have to say this is Seibu's masterpiece. They've figured out what they've gotten wrong about the previous two Raiden Fighters games and cranked the speed all the way up. The chaining system surprisingly scales very well according to how hard a particular chain is to pull off (big, juicy high scoring chains require near-perfect timing; conversely, lower-scoring chains are proportionally easier to pull off) and actually leaves a lot of freedom for the player to figure out what event chain works for them, and how they can improve on it. The stage path system also reflects how well the game scales to the player's performance.
There's only 3 playable ships though, and everything else is pretty useless when it comes to scoring, but I'm willing to forgive that for a game that rivals Garegga.
[20] [Raiden DX]
This game is fucking hard. Hard in the best ways possible, and even the novice course isn't a walk in the park. The scoring system is also well-put together for an "old school" game--you can choose to hoard bombs for a large end of stage bonus, you could work on getting those 3k/10k/50k medals by risking getting absurdly low point values for them, you can work on boss speedkilling (only possible in the first 3 stages and stage 7), you can hunt 2000 point radars ripped straight out of Varth in the easier courses, and when you finally bite it the game gives you a sizable consolation prize corresponding to how well you did.
[20] [Armed Police Batrider]
This game expands on the offensive bombing concept Garegga played with for a couple minutes total and goes to town with it, giving a 10x bonus for bombing half the targets in the game, sacrificing your bombs for score. You can also get the 10x bonus by using your tickle attack, but that's far slower and requires more memorization.
The problem with this game, though, is the fact that you're now forced to keep your lives at two if you don't want rank to go fucking nuts. Sure, people like this rank system better since it no longer significantly passively increases (survival time is 2 to 4 per frame, shooting a wave is the same amount) but you can't really stock up on lives anymore if you're having trouble with a boss. There's also the annoying part of having to choose one each out of a set of 9, a set of 4, and a set of 5 if you want to see everything the game has to offer as Rob mentioned, AND keep them alive to see their bosses while controlling rank at the same time. Not exactly intuitive or forgiving.
[15] [Raiden Fighters]
It's here because I two-ALLed it. Just kidding. It's actually because it marks the start of Seibu's (sadly short-lived) "stuntman shmup" style where the player has to do silly things that endanger their lives for sweet, sweet bonuses.
Next are the games that I somewhat like very much, but not as much as the first five. This statement is probably unnecessary.
[12] [Ibara]
This is essentially Garegga 2, though there are places where they went wrong -- for example, there's a heavier emphasis on boss milking for score on most bosses, which is a huge no-no for me. However, a big plus is that the game is easier to complete than Garegga, thanks to the hadou cannon (you can use it as a defensive perimeter during stages, or a boss speedkiller) which actually should make it more accessible to a wider audience here, but it doesn't because shmupsforum players are bad.
[9] [AIRRADE AIR]
Best doujin game. As with all doujin games, it's rough around the edges. It has a completely broken replay engine. However, it dares to avoid copying Touhou like every other doujin game did at the time (fast patterns and actual boss attacks? holy crap) and tries to achieve the same complexity in the scoring system.
Supposedly, there are alternate stages hinted by the soundtrack, but I haven't come across them because I play for score, not end of stage rankings. Maybe Icarus can tell me what's going on there if he isn't still completely annoyed at me.
The guy that designed this one is working on TW2, so hopefully that'll fare much better than the first Trouble Witches, which I did not enjoy much if at all. I don't like Fantasy Zone.
[9] [Varth]
Another old-school favorite of mine. Tons of secrets of various annoyance level (most of which I haven't found) and a substantial game bonus [for foregoing collecting options] that eat your bullets. Dodgy hit detection and slow pace for 1/3 of the game loses this game 16 points, though.
Sucks that you have to play the Japan region (hardest due to faster rank + checkpoints) to break 10m (by way of checkpoint milking) though.
Don't pick the laser.
This is where I start liking games by how they look/feel instead of how they play, so sorry if my explanations disappoint from here on out.
[7] [G-Darius]
The only Darius that achieves the epic feel the series strived for. Wonderful bosses, difficulty curve that's actually level, and Outrun-esque "harder stage, better score" design. (down = harder)
Stupid scoring system, though.
[7] [Shock Troopers]
Three lives version. I've always been a fan of man shooter, and this is the best one I've played. Scoring system is weird, though (shoot enemy exactly 12-13 times, randomly chosen items that may or may not harm your score upon meleeing) but that wasn't the aim of this game. This is all about being Rambo and vandalizing the enemy's property.
[7] [Sispri Gauntlet]
This game rips off Shock Troopers and Psyvariar wholesale (the only thing it has in common with Gauntlet are the constantly respawning enemies) and manages to be a pretty cool game as a result. Secret stages are exponentially harder than the stages on the main paths, but slogging through them gets you so much more goodies it's not even funny. This game is also really long, but it doesn't feel that way due to how intense and dense the game is throughout.
[5] [Gradius V]
Treasure's best. Excellent Treasure bosses, and despite the lack of an annoying Moai stage the stage design in 3 through 7 is amazing. 5 and 6 are my favorites, since I love stages where the player is buried in so much shootable crap.
However, you spend about a sixth of the game doing nothing. I didn't like this in Radiant Silvergun (except it was half the game there) and I don't like it here.
This is where I don't really feel like using more than one or two sentences to describe the game. I apologize again.
[5] [Mahou Daisakusen]
MUSHA, only good.
[5] [Twin Cobra]
The first two stages are snore-tacular, but after that you'll begin to see why Seibu ripped this game off so much.
[5] [Aurail]
This is the closest thing I can get to a shoot em up where you are the sniper tank (I've always wanted one of those.) This game is unforgiving and painful, which by default earns it a margin on my list.
[3] [Truxton]
My first real shooting game. Good for nostalgia, mainly.
[3] [Air Gallet]
A great challenge, bringing the Toaplan difficulty to more modern sensibilities. Hit detection is pretty iffy, though.
[3] [Radirgy]
Milestone got it right here, as it actually brings back the Compile-esque "zipping from target to target for points" action I loved out of their games while not actually reducing the difficulty to Compile's level.
Illvelo is probably the true sequel to this game since it looks to be largely the same feel as this, so I should probably check that out sometime.
[3] [Zanac]
Inspired Battle Garegga. That's it.
[3] [Shikigami no Shiro 3]
One of the few danmaku games I can actually stand.
[3] [Dangun Feveron]
Fast bullets are good for my attention span.
Also, proofreading.
so long and tanks for all the spacefish unban shw <Megalixir> now that i know garegga is faggot central i can disregard it entirely
<Megalixir> i'm stuck in a hobby with gays
Twiddle wrote:Sucks that you have to play the Japan region (hardest due to faster rank + checkpoints) to break 10m (by way of checkpoint milking) though.
I don't care if they give 10 million bonus points from the start, I'll pass on the checkpoints. Can't wait to play some more Varth world version.
This year I have been enjoying things that are not "hardcore ultimate polish shooting experience" a lot.
I will add a lot more Section Z style shootings. Side Arms, Special Cybernetic Attack Team (Action in New York), I love youuu
I will add a lot more car shooter games. Aurail (aka "sniper tank: the game), Granada, Borderline, JACKAL.
I will add a lot more non-Guwange "running person" shooters. Outzone, FixEight, Kiki Kaikai (arcade and both Super Famicom titles), Ninja Emaki.
I will add a lot more caravan shooters. Soldier Blade, Nexzr, and Final Star Soldier. Also Winds of Thunder, because this is really a PC-Engine list.
Then I'll add some MSX shooters and MAJOR STRYKER.
Herr Schatten wrote:
- The next two ones are really hard: Musha Aleste and Gate of Thunder are two games I really wanted to keep in my list.
In the end I decided that I'd rather keep Power Strike II instead of Musha Aleste, because the game plays similarly, but it's the greater technical achievement.
GRAPHICSWHORE
I will add a lot more pretty shooters. Nostradamus, Crisis Zone, so on and so forth.
I will add a lot more Java cellphone and mouse-driven games this year. Krod Mandoon: The Rise of Dongalor, Chacker: The Angry Mockingbird, Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Beams When They Roar (this one doesn't really fit), Cave shooters on cell phones.
NES or Arcade version? I love the hell out of the former, and if I were to ever put a manual scroller on my list it'd be that. I want to get into the arcade version for its continuous (I think) map, but the AC Contra aiming lag just kills it for me.
Herr Schatten wrote:
- The next two ones are really hard: Musha Aleste and Gate of Thunder are two games I really wanted to keep in my list.
In the end I decided that I'd rather keep Power Strike II instead of Musha Aleste, because the game plays similarly, but it's the greater technical achievement.
GRAPHICSWHORE
Well, I admit I'm a sucker for pretty Master System games. After all, there are surprisingly few of those, considering that the (video) hardware wasn't too crappy, and it even had a decent colour palette that didn't force you to present your whole game in glorious shades of brown, purple and green exclusively.
See it this way: One of the games had to go, and I enjoyed both the same, so I was left to decide between
a) a Master System game that almost looks like a Mega Drive game
and
b) a Mega Drive game that almost looks like a Mega Drive game.
Twiddle wrote:[Radirgy]
Milestone got it right here, as it actually brings back the Compile-esque "zipping from target to target for points" action I loved out of their games while not actually reducing the difficulty to Compile's level.
I can totally agree with that. It still puzzles me how they could get it so wrong with Karous. I blame misguided love for RSG.
I have a lot of retro games on my list. Things that ports on the 2600 such as galaxian and space invaders.
The other thing I noticed from my list is that some of these games I sat down, played, said it sucked, and played it for at least another couple of weeks. So I was obviously wrong if I was that entertained by it. And even considered going back to some of them, ie: dodonpachi, space invaders, border down.
Triggerheart I've been playing since it came out practically non-stop. Its easy enough for me to get into but challenging enough for me to try to get the secret boss on level 1 and 3!
Shit, I forgot about Sispri Gauntlet and Aurail and I don't feel like editing my list. Well, Aurail I can excuse because of those dumb 3d stages I guess. Never bumping Granada though. NES Jackal is ok but it's way too easy and laggy, and arcade Jackal is clunky. Borderline is just lolbad.
They're decent, but none of that Toaplan shit has anything on Shock Troopers. Just ask BBH, although he hates Garegga so WHAT DOES HE KNOW
lol Gaiapolis
"I think happiness is just being able to loaf without stress."
[10] [Dodonpachi Dai-Oujou]
the best enemy chainer
[10] [Mars Matrix]
the best bullet reflector
[10] [Recca]
so ahead of its time n badass it has to be top
[9] [Armed Police Batrider]
so much crazy content w/ hidden bosses and technical like garegga
[9] [DoDonpachi]
best difficulty curve ever
[9] [ESPGaluda]
most juice in a shmup
[9] [Gradius V]
polished and pretty horizontal really nice for game reviewrs
[9] [Truxton]
best old game
[8] [Border Down]
technical and good music
[8] [Hellsinker]
badass as fuck
[7] [Cho Ren Sha 68K]
just solid all around nothin out of the ordinary just well-done mid-era shmuppin and offensive to no one
[7] [ESPRa.De]
fun scoring system but flawed
[7] [Guwange]
cool design but flawed
[7] [Rayforce]
ditto
[7] [RefleX]
really polished nice game...same deal as cho ren sha except this one is a rayforce ripoff
[7] [Shikigami no Shiro III]
best shiki series with a cool suicide system along w/ all the cool bullet patterns shikigamis always have
[7] [Soldier Blade]
my fav hudson shmup
[7] [Truxton II]
cool classic
[7] [Zen-Ichi]
badass game w/ simple n fun score system kinda like dangun but not as good
[6] [Guxt]
underrated maybe easy as shit but great music and fun
[6] [R-Type]
classic old ass game
[6] [Raiden DX]
ditto
[5] [Dragon Blaze]
only decent psikyo game
<BEOWOOF> my lifes like battle garegga every time i kill man life becomes harder and the only solution to making things easier is killing ymself.
<SCRUNBABBY> my lifes like gwangs
<SCRUNBABBY> cause .. theres lots of wangs
Dandy J wrote:[7] [RefleX]
really polished nice game...same deal as cho ren sha except this one is a rayforce ripoff
You sure you're thinking the right game? From the Siter Skain games RefleX is more like takumi shmup ripoff while Kamui is the rayforce ripoff.
very true still reminds me more of rayforce than anything regardless of the mechanics
<BEOWOOF> my lifes like battle garegga every time i kill man life becomes harder and the only solution to making things easier is killing ymself.
<SCRUNBABBY> my lifes like gwangs
<SCRUNBABBY> cause .. theres lots of wangs
Enhasa wrote:They're decent, but none of that Toaplan shit has anything on Shock Troopers.
Fixeight is a better sequel than 2nd Squad, not just cosmetically, in my (admittedly crazy) opinion. Although Shock Troopers, either version, definitely brings more heated battles.
OutZone and Gundhara both slightly beat Shock Troopers, in my opinion, but it's at least equivalent. Just feels too much like a beat-em-up to me with the coordinated dodging water ballet routines (although that is a nice change of pace, and pulled off much better than SAR did it).
LtC wrote:You sure you're thinking the right game? From the Siter Skain games RefleX is more like takumi shmup ripoff while Kamui is the rayforce ripoff.
Is the shield only used for survival? Looks a lot more like Rayforce.
LtC wrote:You sure you're thinking the right game? From the Siter Skain games RefleX is more like takumi shmup ripoff while Kamui is the rayforce ripoff.
Is the shield only used for survival? Looks a lot more like Rayforce.
nah u use the shield to reflect shots and u get a multiplier for how many enemies you kill at once, so its kinda like rayforce how u have to memorize where and when to activate it so u get max multiplier
<BEOWOOF> my lifes like battle garegga every time i kill man life becomes harder and the only solution to making things easier is killing ymself.
<SCRUNBABBY> my lifes like gwangs
<SCRUNBABBY> cause .. theres lots of wangs
Ed Oscuro wrote:Fixeight is a better sequel than 2nd Squad
2nd Squad sux ass, only talking about the first game.
Aesthetically and with the z-axis + aimed and homing enemy lasers etc, Kamui and Reflex both rip off Rayforce, so not knocking that comparison, but mechanics wise...
Reflex feels closest to Samidare for me rather than Takumi (I know Reflex came out first), due to the way recharging works + how you nullify attacks a lot more than always reflecting. A lot less pushing clumps of bullets into guys than Giga Wing.
Kamui feels closer to Xed (another game that rips off Rayforce aesthetically, and again, I know Kamui came first) than Rayforce to be honest. You setup and wait for the exact moment to trigger rather than locking on with a reticle. Sometimes you mash and that feels more like mashing out the lasers in Ikaruga. I can't figure out what the bullet canceling reminds me of. Radiant Silvergun I guess.
Doujin devs gotta milk the same stuff over and over again for inspiration, either Rayforce, RS/Ikaruga, or Cave. None of these games are as blatant ripoffs as the x.x and other Cavelike doujins though.
"I think happiness is just being able to loaf without stress."
[25] [DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou] - Most badass Cave game I've played. Great atmosphere, the chaining is fun, hypers are cool, explosions good, game is hard. Love it.
[25] [Under Defeat] - A bit of graphics whoring here, but mostly it's just awesome and the soundtrack is crazy-awesome. Also like the atmosphere and alternate universe setting. Great feel to the game, gives me some of the best adrenaline rushes ever.
[25] [Zero Gunner 2] - This was my favorite DC game for a very long time, and for good reason, but I just like to play Under Defeat better. This game has a lot to do with safe spots and stuff, but it's just awesome.
[25] [Gunbird 2] - One of my favorite Psikyo games. Cutesy, yes, silly music, yes, but awesome fun. One of my first DC shmupz.
[20] [Strikers 1945 III] - This needs an explanation?
[20] [Mushihimesama] - One of the coolest games around. Scoring is gax, but it's got a really cool atmosphere. Stage 3!
[20] [Dragon Blaze] - Awesome, hard, different Psikyo game. It'll be a great challenge if I ever want to REALLY dig into it.
[20] [ESPgaluda] - I hate the scoring, and it's really easy, but it really is a good game.
[15] [Chaos Field] - This was my first modern shmup, and the one that got me back into them after, like, ten years (when I wasn't even serious anyway). Love the atmosphere, love the music, love the scoring, love the boss-rush.
[15] [Dangun Feveron] - One of the weirdest, most original, fastest, and fun games around.
[15] [Battle Garegga] - Needs explanation? I'm nowhere near even being competent, but as soon as I find the time, man...
[15] [Viewpoint] - Might have been my first shmup. The music is plain incredible (NEO and GEN). One, two, three-four, hit-it!
[10] [Progear] - Cool game. Different. Not quite one of my favorites, though.
[10] [Dodonpachi] - Looks good, plays well, neat soundtrack. Just not my favorite game.
[5] [Gradius V] - Fun, cool. THIS IS VIC VIPER
[5] [Ikaruga] - Good soundtrack, pretty, but just kind of frustrating.
[5] [Border Down] - Pretty and stuff, but not my thing. Fun, I guess.
[5] [Metal Black] - I like this game a lot, but I don't have the patience for it.
[5] [Strikers 1945] - Strikers rox
[1] [Guwange] - Interesting and original. And weird.
[1] [Donpachi] - Fun-ish until Stage the Fourth. I was like, "Dude, I could 1CC this game pretty quick!" And then, twenty minutes later, 3/4 of the way through the stage, I game overed and said, "F*ck this."
[1] [Battle Bakraid] - Fun game.
[1] [R-Type Leo] - R-Type game I like the best. Great soundtrack.
I'm pretty envious of you guys. I wish I could say that I've played 25 shmups that left any sort of impact on me. Maybe my standards are too high, but I've played tons of shmups and I could count the "good" ones on one hand.
Shumps4Free wrote:I'm pretty envious of you guys. I wish I could say that I've played 25 shmups that left any sort of impact on me. Maybe my standards are too high, but I've played tons of shmups and I could count the "good" ones on one hand.
That's probably true for most people. I could limit all the games I truly enjoy to a few companies. That's why it's nice to have the weighting system when we vote. You could technically give 3 games [25] and the rest of the games [1], if thats what you thought of them.
I can only speak for myself, but there's at least some games that are midly interesting, even if they are flawed.
It's hard around 20th. By then it's picking stuff I might've enjoyed a lot at one point but never want to play again. There are plenty of good games, though.
I guess I'll pitch my hat in next year. I was going to attempt a list for this years, but cramming enough shmups into the remaining hours to come up with a proper top 25 doesn't seem very safe for my sanity, nor the rules for the whole deal. Either way Psikyo will probably dominate my list.
Last edited by Shumps4Free on Wed May 13, 2009 9:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
