Realistic SHMUP help request.

[Arwing904]

Hi, Im new to the forum so please forgive me if im posting this in the wrong place! I have been a SHMUP fan since my parents bought me a Sega MegaDrive years ago and have very fond memories of playing Zero Wing and Thunder Force 2, 3 and 4. After a long lapse in gaming (about 8 years) and my new found knowledge of MAME (just installed 0.138) im desperate to get back into the whole SHMUP scene and would really appreciate your game recommendations. Basically, I am a big fan of the Aero Fighters, Strikers and Capcom's 194X series and prefer anything that features "realistic" aircraft such as Carrier Air Wing, UN Squadron and Progear. I would be really greatful if anyone could point me towards some similar games that I may have somehow missed. Thank you in advance for any game suggestions you may have.

[Deca]

Battle Garegga definitely, Bakraid is pretty good as well but kind of an oddball. Batrider also features the Garegga planes, but has a lot of robots and a slightly futuristic setting...what about Giga Wing? Akai Katana kind of fits your criteria as well if you have the means to play it.

I think between the ones you named and these games you've covered most of the games featuring realistic machines. There's always stuff like Flying Shark, but I got the impression you were looking to play stuff a bit newer/more involved than that. It is a great game though, if you haven't played it. Gun Frontier might fit your criteria as well, if you can get past the fact that you're piloting a giant flying 1911.

Man I'm sure I forgot something really obvious and I'm going to be kicking myself when someone else mentions it.

Edit: duh, Under Defeat

[emphatic]

Ketsui.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Sonic Wings Special for either Saturn or PSX (avoid the PAL version). You'd better have a CRT TV you can put on its side (unlike Aero Fighters 2&3, Sonic Wings Special comes with the so called tate mode and is obviously designed with vertical screen orientation in mind).
U.N. Squadron/Area 88 for the SNES (allegedly superior to the arcade original).
Power Strike II for the SMS. To quote Wikipedia:

This was the only original Power Strike game (it isn't a worldwide version of any existing Compile game nor was released in Japan). Unlike the other Power Strike game, it takes place in the 1930s, where the main characters tries to capture aerial pirates. While it plays the same as it predecessor (or any other Aleste game), it also features a charged attack by holding the fire button.

Koutetsu Teikoku/Steel Empire for the MD/Genesis. You might want to overclock the CPU emulation for this one.

For coin-op games, grab this MAME hack. You can unzip it into the very same folder you store "regular" MAMEUIFX32 versions in.

[mesh control]

Power Strike II for the SMS.

Varth
Kyuukyouku Tiger II
Zero Gunner 2

[Sumez]

Air Gallet!!!



And of course, the Raiden Fighters games - RF, RF2 and RF Jet.

[BIL]

Raiden II and DX, Raiden Fighters Jet, Ibara, Battle Garegga, Ketsui and Under Defeat = explosive military machine destruction shooter porn. Propeller / jet engine fighter craft versus tanks, choppers and trains from hell, with shrapnel and burning metal flying all over the damn place. There's nothing like ripping through a small army of bombers at ludicrous speed in RFJ's "Real Battle" stage 1, Quick Shot bonuses stacking up along the way.

edit: Raiden Fighters 1 and 2 have a lot of killer machine designs too... also, although they're more future/sci-fi, Kamui (PC doujin) and Soukyugurentai are two other 100% hardcore mechanical death machine shooters, and great games besides.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Just played a bit of the original Raiden on shmupmame and it has got to be mentioned here. The gameplay and graphics (as realistic as pixel art gets) are already fairly accomplished, and the sound of explosions (the bomb!) is a masterpiece.
Thought about Varth as well, but in terms of the presentation it's one of those Capcom shmups emulating Toaplan shmups and not quite ticking all the boxes. Destroyed aircrafts in Varth just disappear, Gradius way, without all that smoke and junk coming off. Raiden fares better at being more Toaplan than Toaplan itself in this regard.

[TransatlanticFoe]

You should be able to pick up Fire Shark (the sequel to Flying Shark {arcade}) for peanuts on the Mega Drive/Genesis. It's pretty good... just make sure you stick on straight on hard.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Damn whats that old arcade horizontal that has you controlling a WW2 fighter? (IIRC i think the sprites were rather large) And it's not Boogie Wings although the op can add it to his list. While not realistic dont forget to add Steel Empire which is steampunk. And while im adding megadrive horizontals i might aswell namedrop Gynoug / Wings of Wor for its cool graphic style and penis boss

When I think about it, there isnt that many shmups that were realistic, nearlly all are sci-fi themed. I had always thought that for retro classic shooters there were shitloads of realistic shmups made but it only seems so due to most of them been really popular at the time

[Mortificator]

Damn whats that old arcade horizontal that has you controlling a WW2 fighter? (IIRC i think the sprites were rather large)

P-47, or its much-improved sequel, P-47 Aces?

[Blackbird]

Have you played 19XX or 1944: The Loop Master? Both looked pretty good.

Do you like helicopter-based shooting games? You might like Under Defeat, it's got a grittier, more realistic feel to it than a lot of other recent games.

Well, there was Joint Strike, but I heard it wasn't very good...

[stryc9]

Raiden Fighters Aces and Ketsui. Although to be fair, you shouldn't limit yourself to just 'realistically' themed Shmups since none of them are actually realistic in the first place. In the end it doesn't matter if your piloting a jet fighter, a helicopter, a seven year old girl or a piece of recently chewed gum, as long as it has hardcore firepower and a screen shaking bomb then it's all good.

[Arwing904]

Wow, this is amazing!! Thank you so much to everyone for all your SHMUP recommendations. Ill have to try and get hold of an old PS1 and Dreamcast to play some of the classics you've mentioned. Looks like im going to be busy for the next few weeks... Or months! *lol*

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Twin Cobra, which I think is a predecessor to the Raiden series. Twin Hawk for it's neat squadron gimmick. That's all I can think of.

[HeWhoGoverns]

Damn whats that old arcade horizontal that has you controlling a WW2 fighter? (IIRC i think the sprites were rather large)

USAAF Mustang? (Fire Mustang on the Megadrive) I think I'm the only one who enjoys that game....It's so simple its beautiful.



It doesn't have very large sprites though, so probably P-47 Aces, as Mortificator said.

[chempop]

Definitely think about getting a Dreamcast for Under Defeat, although the price seems to have risen a good deal. Also, don't be afraid of games that don't meat your realistic looking criteria, Games like ESPGaluda are epic despite being about transgender fairies