Most Underrated Shmup?

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Marc
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Post by Marc »

Some of the bullets patterns (yes, actual patterns to navigate through in a Mega Drive game!) are really well designed and the music fits the game perfectly.
Yep, as you say from the third bos on, it's a different game entirely. Wait 'till you see the fifth round - it's set inside some sort of body, with SNES-style warmping scenery, a superb theme, and some savage bullet sprays.

Music wise, you just gotta let the intro play out. One of the best tunes to ever grace the MD.
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ST Dragon
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Post by ST Dragon »

Border Down - DC - I don't quite understand we people don't like the old school feel of this awesome hori shooter? The level design-layout & some Bosses remind me a lot of Aero Blasters Arcade/PCE/Genesis.

Disposable Hero - AMIGA - Apart from the stupid shop thing, DH has the best arcade quality graphics, animation & music, all done on the basic OCS / ECS 32colour A500! It's unbelievable how they did that (OK, maybe they used 64Half Bright colours)

Carrier Air Wing - Arcades - One of the best hori shooters out there. Excellent gameplay & real life enemy aircrafts, subs, tanks, battle ships etc... This should have been ported to home consoles, preferably SNES, as it's so called pseudo prequel Area 88, was greatly improved from the arcades.

Gaiares - Genesis - This is one of the coolest shooters with the most innovative weapon system around. The ability to absorb & adapt the enemies’ weapons is great. The huge Mecha Bosses are amazing & well animated. I don't know why it doesn't get much attention around here?

Sol Feace - SEGA CD - Great shooter by Wolf Team. 1st time I saw the FMV sequences I was shocked! Great gameplay & music too.
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alpha5099
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Post by alpha5099 »

I'm very glad I'm not the only one who regards Guardian Force so highly. It's definitely one of the Saturn's finest, but it doesn't get much respect. In fact, it pretty much only gets discussed in threads like these. Or "What Saturn Games To Get", where I always mention Guardian Force because everyone's too busy debating Garegga and Silvergun.

Another one I like is Kyuukyoku Tiger II Plus. I wouldn't call it one of my favorites, but it's one of those amazingly playable shmups. It's in the Toaplan/Raiden vein, obviously. Unlike Guardian Force, I probably wouldn't recommend it as a top tier Saturn games. But it's definitely one of the best Saturn shmups to get once you've gotten the AAA titles.

DonPachi gets lots of attention, true, but it's over shadowed by its sequels. Which I think is a damn dirty shame.
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BrianC
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Post by BrianC »

RoninBuddha wrote:well for one, i would like to say that PC-Engine SHMUPS dont get any much praise... Gunhed, Soldier Blade, Tatsujin, Coryoon, Aldynes, Burning Angel and AeroBlasters (imo, much better than the Genesis port, less flicker and better sound)... are examples..

but my fave on the PCE (CD) is the Cho Aniki series... ok, ok ok ok, before you get any ideas... i personally like it a lot... not because of the gameplay which is Good enough imo (esp. Ai Cho Aniki), but because of the Humor, but this humor is not for everybody, but i works for me... especially funny if you understand and appreciate japanese humor/culture... even the oh so GROSS PS1 Cho Aniki: Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko, i liked, becuz of its campyness and oddness..., yet it does get freaky and disturbing at times...
heres a screenshot for teh uninitiated.. hehehe
http://www.classicgaming.com/reviews/ch ... o-ps22.jpg
Umm...Blazing Lazers (the US name for Gunhed) does usually get a lot of praise and so does Soldier Blade. The PCE Tatsujin is much harder to find compared to the Genesis version. The Genesis version is a fine port and can be had for peanuts.
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zinger
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Post by zinger »

ST Dragon wrote:Gaiares - Genesis - This is one of the coolest shooters with the most innovative weapon system around. The ability to absorb & adapt the enemies’ weapons is great. The huge Mecha Bosses are amazing & well animated. I don't know why it doesn't get much attention around here?
Yeah, I love this game.

I'd add Darius Gaiden to the list of underrated shooters. Quite fantastic, really...
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Post by Nuke »

Empire of Steel/Steel Empire - MD
Trek trough the Galaxy on silver wings and play football online.
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alpha5099
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Post by alpha5099 »

I'm just going to throw this out there, I haven't played the game much, but it didn't seem nearly as bad as some people make it out to be: Sol Divide. Just playing Devil's Advocate, but I know there are some people who regard it as an unappreciated gem. (Among them, Recap, who mentioned as such in a thread on GaijinPunch's site; hope he doesn't mind me stealing his game.)
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Stormwatch
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Post by Stormwatch »

Sol-Deace doesn't get the love it deserves...
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Post by dave4shmups »

Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth. Not the best game in the series, but a damn fun game, and one that is MORE then worthy of the Star Soldier name. Don't let this shmup pass you by if you own an N64.
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dave4shmups
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Post by dave4shmups »

Stormwatch wrote:Sol-Deace doesn't get the love it deserves...
Agreed. Very fun shmup, IMO.
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ST Dragon
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Post by ST Dragon »

Sol Feace on the SEGA CD even better. The FMV cut-scenes & intro are awesome. The music was greatly improved from Sol Deace too.

It's nteresting that in the JPN version of Sol Feace, the CD-Audio also has some sfx that adds a lot to the atmposphere of the game.
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Marc
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Post by Marc »

I fire up Gynoug last night cos of this thread... a little sedat until halfway through the third round, but still holds up well.

And the music on the third stage sounds like an out-take from one of the 16-bit Castlevania games IMO, anyone else?
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ST Dragon
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Post by ST Dragon »

Yeah, the 3rd level of Gynoug has a very medieval CastleVania look & the music on that stage is the best in the game imo.
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tehkao
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Post by tehkao »

Air Buster/Aeroblasters is definitely very underrated and overlooked, especially when people discuss 16bit shmups.
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