Things you've heard non-shmuppers/gamers say about shmups

[Estebang]

I've heard the term "space shooter" used a lot to classify shmups, usually in the context of old PC-DOS games. I remember seeing it on internet sites with browser games quite often in the late nineties as well. It seems to apply even if the game doesn't take place in space. The equivalent for fighting games would be "beat-em-ups" (which people in the know generally use to refer to Final Fight-style belt scrollers, not Street Fighter.)

My dad saw me playing Deathsmiles a while ago and he said something about "Space Invaders on its side." Guess that's where the term comes from.

Of course, there's always the obligatory name-dropping of R-Type/Raiden/Life Force whenever the mainstream Western gaming press gets their hands on a shmup, because those are the only shmups they've ever played.

[Ruldra]

A rough translation of what we call the genre around here is 'ship games'.

Other than that, I've heard people saying shmups are boring, repetitive and impossible to beat. And back when I was playing Gradius V, someone saw me reaching stage 7 on a single credit and said I was becoming a japanese.

[mirkvid]

Something about "shumps". I love shoot em umps!

[Estebang]

Other than that, I've heard people saying shmups are boring, repetitive and impossible to beat.

Or more commonly, they give the opposite response: "it's so easy, you can just keep continuing."

Was Under Defeat the last major console shmup to limit credits?

[toaplan_shmupfan]

Too linear, not enough free exploration.

To which I say: So what? I like that a game has a specific start point and a specific ending objective, even if the game loops rather than ends after completing the ending objective, and even if some of them may offer branching paths but still have a linear set of stages.

[KBZ]

Dat Galaga rip off

[mesh control]

After showing a co worker a quick video of futari he pointed out it looks like raiden on crack. My brother calls them flying games.

[The Expanding Man]

Those games with the robots and all those dots.

[mortified_penguin]

... My brother calls them flying games.

Mine calls them 'stupid pew-pew games'. Littlest brother though, got him hooked on Viper Phase 1 and Ibara at an early age so there is still some hope.

[chempop]

My brother got me into the genre back when Lifeforce hit the NES, he was into the Horis for a while up until Gates of Thunder but now he calls anything modern I show him a "dot dodger".

[Kiken]

Was Under Defeat the last major console shmup to limit credits?

Free Play unlocks in UD after several hours of play (important too, as the space between the last E in Free and the P in Play is the center of the screen's X axis).

Radirgy NOA Massive starts at 3 credits and allows the the player to unlock up to 9, but it stops there.

[hzt]

Talking about shmups to my friend he said out of nowhere "It's like juggling, isn't it", which left me rather confused.

Thinking about it he meant either that both involve keeping track of more things than the human brain is supposed to keep track of while they move in complex patterns (he's only seen me play Cave games), or that both are pointlessly difficult and I am weird for liking them.

[Aliquantic]

"Isn't that new game [Ikaruga] exactly like the other one you were playing [Espgaluda II] anyway?"

[Aquas]

"This game is giving me a headache. I can't play anymore." -- My friend as we were playing Futari co-op.

"..." -- silent reply to a less than adequate explanation about STGs

[sirmax]

"Hey cool, an arcade-shooter, lemme try it!" - my father after seeing me playing DoDonPachi.

[Aquas]

Oh I remembered another one.

"I used to play those games when I was younger." Game store owner commenting on me playing Ikaruga, who then showed me Einhander...

"I can see you really like that game, I can tell you will get this game somehow in the future."

Damn, he was right! I also tried Strikers for the first time ever at this store "Flip-a-Game", one of the playstation ports. This was right when I was rediscovering shmups in late '06. Was fun to stop there after work for an hour and play some games. Guy let ya play games a dollar for 15 minutes.

[Kollision]

New-gen gamer, on seeing me play R-Type and dying over and over:
- Where's the save function? Why don't you use it?

My sister-in-law, on watching me playing DDP DOJ:
- This will damage your health. That's not good for your eyes.

My brother, seeing me play Air Zonk:
- Hey, is it Harry Potter you're flying with?

A gamer friend on M.U.S.H.A,:
- That thing looks like a beetle!
(actually I agree with him, that's why I prefer Robo Aleste on character design merits alone)

[Drachenherz]

My Girlfriend:

"Are you playing this boring game again? I don't know how you can stand playing the same game again and again, I could never do this."

I was playing Esp Ra.De. and was dying for the umpteenth time at boss 3... (Shopping mall level)


"Are you playing this stupid game again? How can you stand it, it's always the same!"

I was playing Espgaluda II on the iPad.


"Are you playing these boring repetitive games again? I really wished you'd play less!"

Espgaluda II on the Pad again...


"Now let's see how you can concentrate..." *chomps away at my ear*

Girlfriend as I was playing Espgaluda II on the iPad and still had all lives at Seseri, level Normal, going for the still missing 1cc with Tateha... And yeah, I was pretty much buttraped by seseri afterwards...

[Thjodbjorn]

Talking about shmups to my friend he said out of nowhere "It's like juggling, isn't it", which left me rather confused.

Thinking about it he meant either that both involve keeping track of more things than the human brain is supposed to keep track of while they move in complex patterns (he's only seen me play Cave games), or that both are pointlessly difficult and I am weird for liking them.

I never thought of it that way. I would say it IS an awful lot like juggling. I'm a pretty mediocre juggler, though.

[Vyxx]

I let my younger cousin (he's 17) try Mushi Futari on Ultra. By the middle of stage 1 he must have died 10 times and he just gave up, put the stick on the floor, and told me that there was literally NO way anyone could do that. He said it's impossible, and anyone who "plays these dumb bullet games" has way too much free time

[Drachenherz]

I let my younger cousin (he's 17) try Mushi Futari on Ultra. By the middle of stage 1 he must have died 10 times and he just gave up, put the stick on the floor, and told me that there was literally NO way anyone could do that. He said it's impossible, and anyone who "plays these dumb bullet games" has way too much free time

... and he loves the "Call of Duty"-games, doesn't he?

[KBZ]

tell em to stay salty

I don't get people who have such poor attitudes when they play games.

[szycag]

Damn, don't stick him with Ultra on the first go, no wonder! Unless it's Novice Ultra...

[dunpeal2064]

My gf's brother @ me playing Guwange. "Where are you? I can't even find who you are supposed to be playing. Why is there a string between those people?" lol

Can't blame him though, there is way too much going on in that game. I lose track of my character all the time.

[raigon50]

NONE of my friends play shmups (they are fully aware of Touhou though. Haven't quite figured that one out yet...) and it gets annoying that every time I talk about a shmup, I end up explaining waht they are with "Those games with the little space ship shooting aliens and stuff. Games like Galaga, Gyruss, Gradius, or R-Type". Kinda pisses me off that they all think I'm crazy cause I don't give a care about the newest FPSs...

You can only image what people here Kansas think about shmups. I'm so alone down here.

[Bananamatic]

Never had the balls to show shmups to anyone else personally

My dad seems to like the donpachi series announcers though

[sorhp]

One friend says "man, I don't know how you dodge all them bullets like that"... another friend says "your cheating, all those bullets are hitting you and your not dying, and how can you even see your ship? there's too much to look at" of course all the while I'm only dying on the bosses, and they don't see that I'm doing the levels from memory, then we play Halo and they kick the crap out of me, lol.

[oli_lar]

"Now let's see how you can concentrate..." *chomps away at my ear*

Girlfriend as I was playing Espgaluda II on the iPad and still had all lives at Seseri, level Normal, going for the still missing 1cc with Tateha... And yeah, I was pretty much buttraped by seseri afterwards...

Haha, my girlfriend knows just standing behind me pisses me off while I'm playing. Same as in arcades really, for some reason really bugs me having people watching!

[Taylor]

Though, to be fair, Futari Ultra does mean too much free time.

[KBZ]

I guess the moral of the story is that we seem to feel entitled to have opinions on things we know absolutely nothing about.