help catch an old man up!!!

[iluvmonsterz]

about 4 years ago i fell out of the shmups scene but have recently gotten back into it...i only collect console and mvs shmups and i really love character based shmups...soooo anyone wanna help me out with a list of those i should be getting. i ve got nothing on xbox 360..and i am up to mushihimesama on ps2. i have pretty much everything from there on back on all consoles. like i said i really dig the shmups where u control characters in liue of ships so fer sure point me in the direction of those puppies!!! thnx in advance shmups gurus!!

[drunkninja24]

There's Mushihimesama Futari and ESPGaluda II on 360, both of which are region-free and can be played on any system. If you have a Japanese 360, you can also pick up Death Smiles I & II (though the first is coming out in the US in a few weeks, and I'm sure the second will follow eventually).

[Obiwanshinobi]

Do you own Homura for the PS2?

[evil_ash_xero]

Echoing the previous post, Mushihimesama Futari and ESPGaluda II are region free. They'll cost a bit, but they are the bee's knees.

DeathSmiles is coming out VERY soon in the States. It's absolutely worth getting. These are all Cave games.

Other than that, there is Raiden IV and Raiden Fighters Aces(compilation of all RFA games). Ikaruga is on XBLA, and i'm sure you've played that though.

I'm not a Raiden fan, but I did like RFA a bit. IV is more controversial.

But definitely get the Cave games. They're all really good.

[iluvmonsterz]

i have homura and while it fits in with my love of character shmups i was kinda unimpresed with its visual presentation...it seems as developers shift from sprite based to 3d rendered they are either getting lazy or are limited by the format. mushihimesama on ps2 was beautiful and i hope the level of detail remains in the 360 version but it looks as though they r using more "sparse" 3d backgrounds. while playing dragonblaze today i realized how incredibly detailed the game was while newer games are lacking any real detail(dragon blaze is how old?) i was initially hooked on shmups because of the beauty involved with their prsentation(my skill at playing shmups is negligable at best) but after playing several on xbox live lastnight i am left wondering if it hasnt been left by the wayside in favor of "HD" resolution.....dont get me wrong guys i greatly appreciate the recommendations and your time spent..i m just a bit worried that the things that made me fall in love with this genre of gaming may be gone.

[Jeneki]

Other shmups on PS2 with a flying character include Espgaluda, Castle Shikigami 2, Gunbird 2, and Sengoku Ace/Blade. And the Cho Aniki game, if those count.

[iluvmonsterz]

got em all....wish i could get a console version of guwange!!! my all time fave btw!!!

[Dale]

Sweet another Cave fan, welcome aboard.

If your into Mame try playing some Raizing and Psikyo games. Also if you love sprite work you owe it to yourself to try Air Gallet

[iluvmonsterz]

is air gallet arcade/mame only? sounds familiar...

[drunkninja24]

i have homura and while it fits in with my love of character shmups i was kinda unimpresed with its visual presentation...it seems as developers shift from sprite based to 3d rendered they are either getting lazy or are limited by the format. mushihimesama on ps2 was beautiful and i hope the level of detail remains in the 360 version but it looks as though they r using more "sparse" 3d backgrounds. while playing dragonblaze today i realized how incredibly detailed the game was while newer games are lacking any real detail(dragon blaze is how old?) i was initially hooked on shmups because of the beauty involved with their prsentation(my skill at playing shmups is negligable at best) but after playing several on xbox live lastnight i am left wondering if it hasnt been left by the wayside in favor of "HD" resolution.....dont get me wrong guys i greatly appreciate the recommendations and your time spent..i m just a bit worried that the things that made me fall in love with this genre of gaming may be gone.

Mushi Futari is all 2D, just like the original, same with Galuda II. Both look amazing with incredible amounts of detail.

[Obiwanshinobi]

If you really have almost everything for old consoles it's difficult to come up with a recommendation, but Wonder 3 (known as Three Wonders overseas) and Namco Museum vol. 4 for the PSX are worth getting as they contain Chariot and Ordyne. Wonder 3 got ported to the Saturn as well. Just in case you didn't know.

[Dale]

is air gallet arcade/mame only? sounds familiar...

Yep, I could give you a lot of Mame recommendations but I'd start off with Air Gallet, Armed Police Batrider and Gunbird2. Unless your into more modern Cave's style then I'd have to give you some freeware PC recommendations.

[iluvmonsterz]

oh yeah! lemme know what the pc freewares are!! 3 wonders is one of the saturn shmups i am missing along with kyokou tiger...i ll be on the look out for that..i also just realized i am missing the parodious games!!! crap!! may have "lost" em in the move..

[szycag]

You might have known this but Guwange is getting an XBLA port eventually

[TrevHead (TVR)]

There'll be a load of doujin shmups you can import or buy a few localised doujins by rockin android and curious factory all on direct2drive. CRimson clover is a doujin that everyone has there eyes on, hopefully due out later this year. (theres a demo u can DL if u wanna check it out)

And as the others have mentioned theres allways MAME, especially if u can get hold of some up to date roms and play em on the new shmupmame laggless versions.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Every single Parodius shmup got ported to the PSX and Saturn, the very first being Parodius ～Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū～ on Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.3 and Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack. Vol.3 (PSX) is worth getting for Penguin Adventure too. Don't know what other games Ultra Pack (Saturn) contains. Yup, Parodius series originated on the MSX.

CRimson clover is a doujin that everyone has there eyes on, hopefully due out later this year.

He wants playable characters. I think I know which doujin brand is going to be recommended in no time...
La Soeur de Barrage is okay for a freeware game.
P.S. Apparently Ultra Pack contains every game from all three volumes released for PlayStation. Vol. 3 should be cheaper then (and I wouldn't miss MSX ports of arcade games terribly). Parodius and Penguin Adventure are really neat MSX exclusives (well, not exclusives anymore, but not pale shades of arcade classics either).

[iluvmonsterz]

You might have known this but Guwange is getting an XBLA port eventually

fuck yeah!!!!!! i would rather have a sweetass box and instructions but....this ll do!!