New to shmups, looking for a recommendation?

[nrook]

Hello! My introduction to the genre came only about two weeks ago, when I downloaded Perfect Cherry Blossom (Touhou). I eventually managed to 1cc the game's Normal difficulty, and the process of doing so has turned me onto the genre; there is little quite as exhilarating as besting a challenge I thought was completely beyond me. As such, I was hoping I could pick the brains of people like you guys, who obviously know what you're talking about!

Thus, I am looking for a second purchase (my first purchase will be actually buying PCB, since I feel guilty pirating a game I play heavily, even if it's difficult to purchase legally). I only want to start playing one other game, so that I can focus on it.

I think I'm looking for a game only moderately different from PCB. If I wanted something very similar, I'd go get another Touhou game; rather, I want a game that will open me up to a wider variety of shmups. (Plus, I hear the Touhou series gets a bad rap here, so sticking with it seems foolish.) However, I don't want something too foreign.

My available systems are fairly limited; I've got a 360, a PS2, a Gamecube, and a DS, all US. I also have a PC, and can emulate if that would be better. (I've got a Playstation 2 controller -> USB adapter, so I can play on a gamepad, although keyboard play has worked well enough for PCB.)

I also don't want something too difficult; finishing the game without throwing credits at it should be at least conceivable.

Of course, you should feel free to ignore all of this if you think I'm being stupid I already own Ikaruga off XBLA (never really got into it), but that's about it. Thank you for your time!

[Kyle]

I'm sure you'll receive a quality response to this, but in the meantime check out this thread (Top 25 Shmups of All Time). It should be a great starting point.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26325

[malc]

hi nrook!

funnily enough, as I was unpacking my boxes after yet another house move, I came across my disks for perfect cherry, imperishable night and mountain of faith - and realised I hadn't played them for ages.

I think, that rather than going into some unknown territory with something you might not like as much, since you have had a bite of the cherry so to speak, have another bite of it with imperishable night. I played pcb first out of them all, and liked it so much I decided to try and buy all of the series, of which I have actually only the 3 mentioned. If you are going to order PCB on CD as an original, you might as well buy one of the others at the same time, if you enjoyed it so much.

Yes, I think they are all very similar in playstyle, and graphics, and audio, but its like cakes. If you liked chocolate cake on a tuesday, you're going to like it for the rest of the week. Maybe after a month you might get sick of the sight of chocolate cake, but until then, gorge yourself on it.

Of course, there's an absolute horde of other shmups to try, whether emulated, on pc, or on consoles, but I like your idea of playing one at a time. Sometimes I wish I hadn't amassed so many of the things - sometimes I can;'t find anything to play because I have so many of them (is it me, or is this crazy talk?)

anyway, welcome to shmupping, and your post has encouraged me to get yet another shmup which I have just realised is out - Subterrenean Animism - in the series.

do check out Bloodflower's review of Imperishable Night by the way:

http://shmups.com/reviews/imperishable/index.html

cheers!!! - malc

[LtC]

Get MAME (arcade emulation). I recommend MAMEUIFX32, first hit on google. Finding ROMs for each game shouldn't be very hard either.
...Open up the 'manufacturer' tab and try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu. These are a good start.

As for other emulation if you want to try; use NullDC for Dreamcast, ePSXe for PSX and PCSX2 (latest beta) for PS2.. aand I forgot what was the best emulator for PC-98.

For PC there aren't many good commercial releases, stuff like Shikigami no Shiro series are worth checking out. Lots of doujin stuff though, Here's a few(with some download links) that I'd recommend trying. Specially try Cho Ren Sha 68K (free), Blue Wish Resurrection (free), Zen-Ichi, Kamui and StellaVanity (latest trial).
Also there's this great site called shoottheco... oh wait. :/

[ncp]

try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu.

This is the best advice you'll get.

Play Dodonpachi.

[neist]

try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu.

This is the best advice you'll get.

Not to sound like a broken record, but if you can't find a type of game you enjoy from the mentioned companies, you have some pretty strange tastes in games. They all have pretty decent Wikipedia entries. Give them a look.

[Matsunaga]

Dodonpachi, it's a great learning experience for beginners.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

There are some great free doujin shmups aswell out there:
Blue Wish Resurrection & BWR Plus. Really great games which borrow heavily off Cave, I prefer BWR as its harder on default. Check out the devolopers other games aswell. X.X Games

Another great freeware developer is ABA Games with titles like Parsec47, Gunroar, Rrootage.
Nomltest FS is a addictive but simple game
Patriot Dark and Marsh copies alot off cave.
G Type mixes R-type and Gradius
Radio Zonde is a very challenging shmup
Demolition Gunner; In Seek and Destroy, great helecoptor shooter
Cho Ren Sha 68k, A good challenging shmup.

For Commercial Doujins you cant go wrong which Kamui by Siter Skain, Its many peoples fav doujin shmup.
Also i recommend you try out Rocking Android they have some titles that are been localized for the USA
Also its worth looking up on Touhou Wiki for english patches for PCB and other touhou.
One of the best shmups for the PC is Raiden 3, (raiden 2 is on PC aswell)
Bike Banditz is a good horizontol also.
Pick up a copy of Taito Legends 2 there are some good shmups among other games. They are emulated but ive seen copies been sold for 3 dollars/pounds on the net. Taito Legends 1 is worth having if you like other 2d classics.

Check out the You tube vid 20 Best Doujin Shmups.

[Gespenst]

You forgot Ether Vapor, Warning Forever, Fraxy (yay), RefleX, Storm Caliber, etc.







oh yeah, Thunder Force, too, especially TFV

[Skykid]

try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu.

This is the best advice you'll get.

Play Dodonpachi.

Agreed, DDP +1

[gray117]

Yeah, mame will be your friend to work out what you like...

... and not exactly a game but I recommend a good ps2 stick will see you right [see if maybe someone can make you one or if you can get a Hori real arcade pro or similar] and get you going into the satisfaction that can be had playing shmups...

I say ps2 because ps1/ps2 imports/catalogue is pretty good and are relatively cheap. There is now a good ps2 adapter for 360 and of course you have a ps2/pc adapter. And good ps2 adpaters exist for more or less everthing now...

From here its a short jump to getting to the games you really develop a taste for.

[nrook]

Alright. So you guys suggest playing a bunch of the Good Games (i.e. those in the top 25) to develop a taste for them, then choosing one that strikes my fancy to focus on?

Sounds good.

I'll have to remember not to credit-feed, too. I definitely continued my way through PCB until I didn't have to, but when googling around I found icycalm's... interesting perspective, which has convinced me to refrain.

I'm going to avoid buying another Touhou game for now, I think, just because it would distract me from trying to get through Hard.

I actually have played a few PC shmups (rRootage, Tumiki Fighters, even a bit of Fraxy although that's more of a toy.) I'll look into more at some point.

Thank you all!

[captpain]

+1 for DDP.

IMHO, it is "the" bullet hell game (Danbo Daxter called it Shmup Required Reading once), and is about the best introduction to arcade shmups you're likely to get. Fire up MAME!

[bucklemyshoe]

I really recommend this http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-a12 ... 0-3np.html (affiliate linked)

Not only will it get you hooked on Cave style of gameplay, it's also very welcoming to new comers.

Not to mention it comes with tons of extras like an arrange mode that lets you use 2 new characters and a bonus super-play dvd within the packaging.

[chempop]

^I've been playing a lot of Galuda recently and I think it is a little on the obscure side to a beginner. Mainly because the player can manipulate the speed of the enemy bullets and the scoring system is fairly intricate. After playing some of CAVE's earlier titles you will definitely want to check it out, but again, it would be complicated to pick up and play new to the genre.

I think these would be the ideal first three to try on MAME

Dodonpachi (early CAVE, you'll love it and it'll introduce you to the mechanics that all CAVE games share)
Strikers 1945 pt 1 or 2 (early Psikyo, meat and potatoes)
Battle Bakraid (not the greatest Raizing game, but definitely the best for beginners)

[Master O]

try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu.

This is the best advice you'll get.

I think you're forgetting something ...

[Ed Oscuro]

Toaplan, Irem, and Hudson / Compile to shake things up.

Actually I like many Namco shooters too (BLASHT AUFF)

[moozooh]

nrook, if Perfect Cherry Blossom was your first bullet hell shmup (I was in literally the same situation as you 2.5 years ago), you will very soon realize that pretty much every arcade game is much harder than PCB's Normal mode. Much harder. I suggest reading through this thread first. But as an opener for arcade bullet hell fun, DoDonPachi and Armed Police Batrider are pretty much unrivaled.

Oh, and don't mind people telling you bad things about Touhou games. A lot of the time they don't even know what they're talking about.

[monkeyman]

I would give another vote for DoDonPachi (or even DonPachi) as a great introduction to the genre.

While I used to love shmups back in the day I never really had the chance (or the money) to keep up with the genre after the megadrive era, until recently. When I came back to the genre I felt a bit of a newcomer since I had missed the whole bullet hell revolution that seemed to occur.

I found both the above to be very accessible games, in that the games lay off the difficulty for the first few stages and increase it at a pretty steady rate so they never get too intimidating or fustrating. They're also fun to play.

I've also found myself coming back to Giga Wing after giving it a brief try a while back. Very colourful and pleasing to the eye, also has the interesting bullet reflection mechanic (which is also in Mars Matrix, but Mars Matrix is hard as hell even by shmup standards). Always worht a look in if you have Mame.

Not sure about Armed Police Batrider, it's a well respected game but personally I can never make out what's going on well enough to survive more than a few seconds. Guess it's all down to taste though.

Either way, if you go through some of the games on the top 25 list I'm sure you'll find something which grabs your attention.

Happy hunting

[ZOM]

Am I too late for my obligatory "go download Blue Wish Resurrection, it's pretty good - it's free!" ?

[Ed Oscuro]

Don't forget Guxt, it's free and it's pretty nice.

[ZOM]

Don't forget Guxt, it's free and it's pretty nice.

Go Pixel

[Gespenst]

Batsugun.





and Layer Section.

[KidQuaalude]

+1 for DoDonPachi (PS1 or MAME)

also another +1 for ESPGaluda on PS2.

[cools]

Armed Police Batrider is a manic, not a bullet hell. It's wildly different from DoDonPachi.

If you're looking for a danmaku (bullet hell) game, then go with DoDonPachi. Don't limit yourself to just this subgenre though

[moozooh]

Manic, right, should have worded that better. Then again, it depends on how much you drive up your rank in Batrider. :)

[lgb]

Alright. So you guys suggest playing a bunch of the Good Games (i.e. those in the top 25) to develop a taste for them, then choosing one that strikes my fancy to focus on?

yes, as well as the honorable mentions

I'm going to avoid buying another Touhou game for now, I think, just because it would distract me from trying to get through Hard.

at least buy subterranean animism, you'll be doing yourself a favor

[Obiwanshinobi]

try out shmups made by CAVE, Raizing, Takumi, Psikyo and Seibu Kaihatsu.

This is the best advice you'll get.

I think you're forgetting something ...