helicopter shmups, please?

[TVG]

ok, i got this problem, since ive piloted this "hunter" thing in GTA, i realise how millitary copters are totally awesome and sweet and make me want to flip out.

so im quickly asking, what good heli shmups are there? im talking about millitary "serious" type stuff, not mr. heli and the likes.

all i know are these:

zero gunner 2: i didnt really like the graphics when i played it in the arcade...but i really should buy it and spend some time with it.

tiger heli 1 & 2: i dont know much of those besides that they inspired the creators of raiden, played the first one a bit in mame and it just is kinda...old, but the second one has to be decent at least, since i like raiden.
the crappy thing is that toaplan shooting battle doesnt work on ps2 , there's just no way i can afford a modded ps1 now (i cant afford much of anything ATM, but thats besides the point :p)
so does mame emulate these properly? what about the third one, is it any good?

i know ketsui has sone copters, but they're not really copters.

i hope the new g.rev game makes it to the DC, even if i will not be able to buy it for the next 5 years or something.

[Danny]

Eeerrr... there is a game called Swiv on the PC and Amiga, in that you control either a jeep or a heili', it's a very sweet game so check it out!

Mod Edit: rom links deleted - ZK

[chtimi-CLA]

you're confused on the tiger series, it goes tiger heli, then kyukyoku tiger, then twin cobra, then kyukyoku tiger 2. (old french game magazines used to call the nec port of kyukyoku tiger "tiger heli").
tiger heli looks old unlike twin cobra, but you have to give it a chance, the gameplay is excellent classic gameplay, and it looks and sounds great for a 85 shmup.
there are also twin eagle, mister heli, silkworm, swiv, (do)donpachi b-ship, choplifter, chopper one.

[gundamalpha]

zero gunner is very fun to play (only on arcade though)

[Shatterhand]

And gyrodine.

[Brian]

Mr. Heli.

[cfalcon]

"SWIV" is "Silk Worm In Vertical", Silkworm being an older sidescroller (NES era, I've only played the NES version much).

The US version is "Firepower 2000". In that game, you can choose Heli or Jeep (the Heli ignores crap on the ground and moves fast, the jeep ignores air foes and has a turret to pivot).

I'm not really up on which games star a heli, but I haven't really seen many where the heli is any different than the converted-alien-ship-last-hope-for-humanity that is the more standard fare.


Hey, there's a Heli in DoDonPachi...

[Palmer Eldritch]

you're confused on the tiger series, it goes tiger heli, then kyukyoku tiger, then twin cobra, then kyukyoku tiger 2. (old french game magazines used to call the nec port of kyukyoku tiger "tiger heli").
tiger heli looks old unlike twin cobra, but you have to give it a chance, the gameplay is excellent classic gameplay, and it looks and sounds great for a 85 shmup.
there are also twin eagle, mister heli, silkworm, swiv, (do)donpachi b-ship, choplifter, chopper one.

Kyukyoku Tiger IS Twin Cobra.
The Megadrive version has THE most awesome AI I´ve yet encountered in a shooter.

--Michael

[captain ahar]

you really gotta give ZG2 a swing it really is amazing.

[TVG]

chtimi: by tiger heli i meant the first one, the second being the...well, sequel, and third being the one developped by takumi (?).

thanks guys, i guess here's not much of them, and how i could forget donpachi is beyond me, too bad they didnt include the heli in DOJ

currently im playing gunbird 1 with tetsu, he's quite fun to use.

[Kiken]

Volk in Sonic Wings 2 pilots a helicopter.

Both ships in Prehistoric Isle 2 are helicopters.

[TalkingOctopus]

Ashura Blaster has a helicopter-- link to review: http://www.classicgaming.com/shmups/rev ... index.html

[cfalcon]

Sonic Wings 2? How do you get Volk?

I thought that game was all jets (with babys and dolphins as pilots and whatnot).

[SPACE HARRIER]

Airwolf from the television serie
tum tum tuu tu tum..episode 127 "ATTACK OF THE SHMUP PEOPLE"

Also check out;

Choplifter (arcade/home)
Choplifter III (snes)

[Kiken]

Sonic Wings 2? How do you get Volk?

I thought that game was all jets (with babys and dolphins as pilots and whatnot).

D'OH! Wrong Sonic Wings! Sonic Wings SPECIAL has Volk piloting the helicopter. It's a Ka-50 Hokum!

[Damocles]

Avenger for the PCE-CD. Mediocre methinks, but still a chopper.

[sven666]

i just got a game called Dimension Force for tha SFC, never seen or heard of it before tho.. you play as a helicopter with a war theme.. havent actually played the game yet tho (my snes i kaputt)..

Silkworm has a helicopter too, the game is sweet as hell, plas best on amiga and arcade PCB..

[Zach Keene]

i just got a game called Dimension Force for tha SFC, never seen or heard of it before tho.. you play as a helicopter with a war theme.. havent actually played the game yet tho (my snes i kaputt)..

It's probably better known as D-Force (its NA title), and it's generally not thought very highly of.

[DarkWolf7]

A-JAX. Well, 5/8 of it is a helicopter shmup.

[cfalcon]

Well, there's at least some if you want a heli sprite on the screen. I think there was a game for NES that was a overhead heli shooter, but you also hovered down and people got on your chopper or something.

Was the goal to have some gameplay aspect that was uniquely helicopterish?

D-Force had a heli in it, yes, but I really didn't like that game, so I blocked it from memory

On the bright side, it's inexpensive everywhere...

[Metal Gear Okt]

I see no one has mentioned the green heli from DoDonPachi yet.

[sffan]

I see no one has mentioned the green heli from DoDonPachi yet.

Chtimi did, see above.

[Dartagnan1083]

Super Airwolf/Crossfire for the MegaDrive/Genesis is also worth a look.
Has sort of a learning curve on it though, so hang in there.

[BrianC]

There's Super Cobra, one of the early chopper shmups. BTW, Danny, linking to roms isn't allowed here.

[chtimi-CLA]

Kyukyoku Tiger IS Twin Cobra.
--Michael

no, kyukyoku is the earlier 1P version with checkpoints and a grey heli.
twin cobra is the 2P, colored heli, respawn version.
at least that's what i have always heard.

although it gets more complicated than this, i have an original kyukyoku pcb with twin cobra properties.

[neorichieb1971]

I have more fun shooting down helicopters

[Palmer Eldritch]

no, kyukyoku is the earlier 1P version with checkpoints and a grey heli.
twin cobra is the 2P, colored heli, respawn version.
at least that's what i have always heard.

Essentially they´re both the same, but yes you´re right. I believe the Japanese settled for the 1P version, whereas they threw in the 2P option for the US market.

The confusion surrounding this game is somewhat bigger even. A lot of the homeports of Kyukyoku Tiger is mistakenly referred to as Tiger Heli (which, of course, is the prequel).
This spawned a whole new misconception of the series, as Kyukyoku Tiger II is now often referred to as Tiger Heli II (not Twin Cobra II which it essentially is).

EDIT: The Genesis version of Twin Cobra, although retaining the name, only has the 1P option.
The confusion´s complete.

--Michael

[EddyMRA]

Gekirindan has a helicopter too.

[undamned]

im talking about millitary "serious" type stuff, not mr. heli...

mister heli

Mr. Heli.

That's funny.

the crappy thing is that toaplan shooting battle doesnt work on ps2

What mod chip are you running? I'm running a Magic 5 and shooting battle works on mine.
-ud

[BrianC]

EDIT: The Genesis version of Twin Cobra, although retaining the name, only has the 1P option.
The confusion´s complete.

Actually, it's only called Twin Cobra in the US. If you play the game in Japanese mode, it says Kyokyou Tiger on the on the title screen. The NES version of Twin Cobra is also called Kyokyou Tiger in Japan. Oddly enough, the NES version of Kyokyou Tiger actually has some Twin Cobra elements like instant respawn. It's still 1p only, though.