The powerup: a force of evil

[IDA]

Most of the time, powerups are the only help you are going to get in a shmup, but sometimes they seem as a cunning evil plan to destroy you surer than shots: In Darius Gaiden, some last bosses (like Storm Causer) are impossible if you get all the shot powerups, in Souky they increase the rank, in Dodonpachi they almost surely break your chain (this is really, really evil ).

Sometimes you end more afraid of the damn powerups that of the enemies you are supposed to avoid. Or you end crashing in a bullet trying not to get that damn useless weapon. Even in Gradius games, you can lose a preselected shield in the worst possible moment.

So, what are your worst powerup-related nightmares? I'm sure that it is not precisely a minor nag .

[ZOM]

IIRC the bonus stages in Phalanx consist of power up items trying to attack you WITH TENTACLES!

[MathU]

Is Storm Causer really that much easier at lower power? From what I've always been able to tell, rank really only affects bullet size and a couple other things (maybe bullet speed?) in Darius Gaiden. Plus isn't rank usually close to maxed by the time you get to the last stages anyway? I've come to the conclusion that the extra power is almost always worth it. It's just more helpful to beat a boss like Neon Light Illusion or Crusty Hammer as quickly as possible with more power than to make the fight only slightly easier but drag it out more. It's true that lower rank gives the bosses less health, but a penetrating shot (and the homing shot at the highest level) is more valuable on quite a lot of them.

[linko9]

in Dodonpachi they almost surely break your chain (this is really, really evil ).

Yeah, that really used to piss me off a lot. Luckily, it only happens on the first two stages, and once you get used to them, it's rarely a problem. But it was pure evil on Cave's part to make your laser retract completely when you power up.

Then of course there are the games where you spend most of your time avoiding speed ups like crazy.

[NR777]

Then of course there are the games where you spend most of your time avoiding speed ups like crazy.

...like that evil boss fight in R-Type II.

[saucykobold]

Getting the laser in Raiden can be hazardous to your health.

Is Storm Causer really that much easier at lower power?

With the red wave, white bullets, and (drumroll) autofire, Storm Causer will go down in seconds. It'll take a lot longer if you replaced your white bullets with small green waves.

[MathU]

Oh so it's not the rank then that makes it easier. I wouldn't have thought that because eventually Storm Causer goes into an attack mode where it rarely shows its face to you, meaning most of the damage comes from piercing-type weaponry. But the white bullets really are powerful.

Also lol,autofire

[IDA]

To illustrate the Storm Causer point watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1dMULckK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQzhpUK-7sE

The first one is at the supossedly maxed power, the second one with the next-to-last power level (with "white bullets"). Both have autofire!. I can also atest to this after 1ccing the game with Storm Causer, which normally would have been the final boss to avoid.

[MathU]

I see your point. I'll have to try that myself sometime. I don't use autofire though, so I imagine it'll be much harder, since I probably won't be able to destroy it before it moves on to its next attack phase. Last time I beat Storm Causer was with the maxed out large green piercing shot.

[emphatic]

Trying to pick up the Blue weapon changer in Twin Cobra and accidentally getting the Yellow one.

[drunkninja24]

Trying to pick up the Blue weapon changer in Twin Cobra and accidentally getting the Yellow one.

Same kind of thing in Raiden I & II. So annoying.

[Pirate1019]

in Dodonpachi they almost surely break your chain (this is really, really evil ).

Yeah, that really used to piss me off a lot. Luckily, it only happens on the first two stages, and once you get used to them, it's rarely a problem. But it was pure evil on Cave's part to make your laser retract completely when you power up.

Then of course there are the games where you spend most of your time avoiding speed ups like crazy.

It took me a long time to figure that out when I first bought DOJ. That first powerup in Stage 1 always broke my chain while I was attacking that big ship. I felt like a retard when I found out. I obviously don't play a lot of Cave's flagship franchise.

[gameoverDude]

Flying Shark/Fire Shark: Chasing a weapon powerup and running right into a bullet. Sometimes I'd rather have the powerups just fall down the screen Raizing style rather than dance around.

Raiden/Twin Cobra:When the weapon upgrade item changes color, leaving you stuck with the weapon you don't want (just like emphatic says on TC)

Dragon Spirit/Saber: Running from an unwanted powerup or the Power Down item, leading into a bullet which I'd normally have avoided.

[esreveR]

Is it just me, or does chasing after powerups seem to any of you like a hassle in itself?

"Oh shit! My Slave died! Gotta grab another one of those icons before my giant medal disa-NOOO I CRASHED INTO A BOMBER"

[xris]

When continuing I'll avoid max power ups so I don't throw off the game balance. Sometimes there's too many, or it's all sort's of big (Futari).

[emphatic]

Powerups in Psikyo games always stay at the top half of the screen inviting you into deaths cold embrace.

[davyK]

The annoying roulette pickup in Parodius games.....

[Drum]

The annoying roulette pickup in Parodius games.....

This.

And the bells are assholes too, while we're at it.

[The Eidolon]

There's no quicker path for me to an untimely death in Raiden games
than picking up the wrong color powerup by accident. I can never seem
to survive until the next one to switch back if I get the blue laser in an
area where I'm not used to it. (Which, frankly, is all the areas.)

[gameoverDude]

The annoying roulette pickup in Parodius games.....

This.

And the bells are assholes too, while we're at it.

What really sucks is the "OH!" powerdown. If you get that, you lose EVERYTHING. Just sick.

[Moleculoman]

With the shooter I play most often, the "powerups" I get block bullets for me. They are meat shields if you will!

[toaplan_shmupfan]

Reverse powerups (aka power downs) are equally evil.

Examples:

Red "GUN" powerup in Sunsoft's Fester's Quest. Reverse Pow (appears as a yellow/gold "woP") powerup in Capcom's Exed Exes, Reverse "S" powerup in SNK's Last Resort.

Designed to break the usual habit of just collecting any powerup that appears, they tend to lead to a greater chance of a mistake having to deliberately avoid the reverse powerup.

[Ghegs]

Reverse "S" powerup in SNK's Last Resort.

I'd argue this one allows for more tactical gameplay as you can easily speed up your ship for one section and bring it down to a more manageable level for another. It also allows more room for error, when after accidentally picking up a speedup you didn't want (often a death sentence in itself), it's still possible to fix things assuming you live long enough to see the next Z. Can't do that in R-Type or in most shmups with speedups.

But generally speaking I like it when shmups don't have powerups floating around.

[cools]

Trying to pick up the Blue weapon changer in Twin Cobra and accidentally getting the Yellow one.

Same kind of thing in Raiden I & II. So annoying.

I'd be happier if the Raiden ones were red/yellow/blue, rather than red/blue/purple!

[Jeneki]

...like that evil boss fight in R-Type II.

That's the one that I always think of when someone brings up "evil" powerups. Such a creative use of speed ups.

[Mortificator]

One of the bosses in Gokujou and Sexy Parodius is a giant power capsule that shoots tons of regular power capsules at you.

[IDA]

One of the bosses in Gokujou and Sexy Parodius is a giant power capsule that shoots tons of regular power capsules at you.

That part is funny, but not really evil, even if Parodius can pass from one to the other in no time.

[saucykobold]

That part is funny, but not really evil

It's both, imo. Many of those powerups will activate the roulette.

[esreveR]

Trying to pick up the Blue weapon changer in Twin Cobra and accidentally getting the Yellow one.

Same kind of thing in Raiden I & II. So annoying.

I'd be happier if the Raiden ones were red/yellow/blue, rather than red/blue/purple!

Am I the only one who would've found it cool if the Proton Laser in Raiden IV were simply its own powerup? Like, it would be green, yeah, and it would be part of the whole power-up cycle instead of you choosing beforehand what purple did. More conventional that way.

Never played Raiden IV though, so I wouldn't know.

[monkeyman]

Any game where the power ups spin or bounce around the screen lead to too many untimely deaths for my liking.

Half the time I don't even need the power up I'm chasing it's just that they're so damned shiny!!