So what makes a shmup a maniac shmup?

[esreveR]

I've been wondering this ever since someone described Battle Garegga as a maniac shmup. I wouldn't call a shmup a maniac shmup until it started looking something like DonPachi. I mean, Raiden Fighters isn't a maniac shmup, is it? At least not until the second loop, I mean. c_c

What are your definitions?

[njiska]

Intensity

[crithit5000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYX3gBLKKek

[Sasupoika]

In bullet hell shmups, you micrododge.
In maniac shmups, you macrododge.

[nZero]

Did you mean manic shoot'em up?

Also: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9665

[apple arcade]

I think Garegga defines Manic.

[jepjepjep]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYX3gBLKKek

Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93mNKbuoMF4
17 second mark.

[njiska]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYX3gBLKKek

Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93mNKbuoMF4
17 second mark.

My eye's are hurting just from trying to comprehend that!

[Skykid]

Lots of bullets.

[MathU]

Manic? The speed and intensity of aimed projectiles. Raiden Fighters is definitely a manic shooter. So is the original Raiden.

[mesh control]

Psikyo games.

[esreveR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYX3gBLKKek

I know about that, but usually I judge shmups by their starting rank, not maximum (Or in Garegga's case, technically minimum) rank. I mean, Ibara is definitely a manic shmup, because even on the first stage you're being swarmed with bullets. In Garegga I can usually destroy the tanks before they even fire on the first stage. Maybe judging by minimum rank is wrong, though.

Manic? The speed and intensity of aimed projectiles. Raiden Fighters is definitely a manic shooter. So is the original Raiden.

The original Raiden was a manic shmup? Then what the heck isn't one? Like, Raiden had barely any bullets onscreen usually, and whenever there were, there were plenty of safe spots. Heck, by that standard, you could call In The Hunt a manic shmup, or R-Type, or anything, really.

Psikyo games.

Again, Strikers 1945, save for the third and Plus installments, didn't seem that crazy to me except when fully ranked. Dragon blaze is, of course, a manic shmup (I heard someone call it "maniac", sorry about that). But Zero Gunner (The original) didn't seem all that crazy, and definitely not Space Bomber.

[MathU]

Haven't you ever gotten past stage 5 in Raiden? The game makes it very clear by then that it craves your blood. There are times when there aren't more than maybe 5 projectiles on the screen at once, but they are all fast and they're aimed right at you. You can't just sit in a particular spot like in a lot of bullet hell games and expect to stay alive. You've got to be constantly on the move and stay focused. That's what makes it "manic".

[clp]

Psikyo games.

Again, Strikers 1945, save for the third and Plus installments, didn't seem that crazy to me except when fully ranked.

Maybe try getting to the second loops

[Obiwanshinobi]

You've got to be constantly on the move and stay focused.

Sounds like R-Type.
I don't feel that "lots of bullets" is what makes a shmup manic at all. Neither Pachis nor, say, Shikigami no Shiro II feel manic to me. No, I haven't got terribly far into any (Do)DonPachi, but that's something to do with them not doing the manic thing early on, hece my interest waning.
I'd say when a game challenges my perceptive capabilities (not just dodging skills and memory), that's when it feels manic. Garegga (the Japanese version) fills the bill, so does Ibara. Zanac Special Version is up there as well (seems like a walk in the park when I have my fun weapon of choice powered up to my heart's content, but this feeling of smugness easily shatters into pieces, even though the rank isn't all that aggressive).
Raidens certainly can be manic thanks to all those aimed shots and sneaky snipers (diving for power-ups and medals, as well as recovering after losing a life can be as manic as it gets).

[Subterranean Sun]

Are you seriously looking for a exact definition of "manic shmup"? Well, it dosen't have a definition because it don't need one. Sure, you can actually give it a definition, like "if there is at least 137 bullets on the screen at once, it is a manic shmup". Nobody gives shit, though. The authority won't throw you into jail just because they see you describe Truxton as a manic shmup, so why care?

[cools]

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29029

[ROBOTRON]

Millions of bullets logically. Very different from say, R-Type or Blazing Lazers.

You must be just getting into shmups if u didn't know the diff.

[mjclark]

So does this mean that R-Type Final is a depressive shmup?
And are there any neurotic shmups?
Surely we no longer classify shooting games by their mental health as we used to in the 19th Century. They all have an equal right to be played even if some of them are resistant to medication.

[captpain]

So does this mean that R-Type Final is a depressive shmup?
And are there any neurotic shmups?
Surely we no longer classify shooting games by their mental health as we used to in the 19th Century. They all have an equal right to be played even if some of them are resistant to medication.

Some shmups simply must have the excess humors drained from them. Really, lots of shmups benefit from a proper bleeding.

[phrenzee]

My first thought was Dangun Feveron...

[sikraiken]

DDP's third loop is a manic shmup. It is the definition of manic

[ROBOTRON]

So does this mean that R-Type Final is a depressive shmup?
And are there any neurotic shmups?
Surely we no longer classify shooting games by their mental health as we used to in the 19th Century. They all have an equal right to be played even if some of them are resistant to medication.

Does this mean there is medication for shmup addiction(s)?

Paxil - for mild shmup addiction
Prozac - for extreme shmups addiction

[TrevHead (TVR)]

An addict could cut down to just playing iphone cave "lights" instead of Caves "regular brand"