Give me direction.

[saucykobold]

In addition to MAME, you might want to check out some good emulated console stuff like Thunder Force IV, Zanac, and the Super Famicom version of BioMetal.

Tastes vary far and wide, so I can't agree with any of the "buy Company X's games ASAP, you're sure to love 'em" posts. Why take a chance with your money before you know which companies and subgenres suit your interests?

[ebarrett]

you need an arcade stick as much as you need a full cabinet.

I disagree with this 100%.

Playing on a stick compared to keyboard/pad is like night and day. It makes the experience that much more enjoyable, even if it's only aesthetics.

You do realize that you are exactly the kind of person that I more or less despise, don't you? Go lecture Prometheus or Sapz about your aesthetics.

[Casper<3]

you need an arcade stick as much as you need a full cabinet.

I disagree with this 100%.

Playing on a stick compared to keyboard/pad is like night and day. It makes the experience that much more enjoyable, even if it's only aesthetics.

You do realize that you are exactly the kind of person that I more or less despise, don't you? Go lecture Prometheus or Sapz about your aesthetics.

You do realize that there is no possibly way I can read your mind or know what you despise and don't despise don't you? Go be a self righteous prick elsewhere.

This thread needs tiddies.

(No, it doesn't. NSFW image removed /mod)

[-Bridget-]

You need TATE as much as you need scanlines, and you need an arcade stick as much as you need a full cabinet.

Just get MAME and go about trying out at least a couple games from each major developer (Psikyo, IREM, CAVE, Raizing, Toaplan, etc - game styles vary wildly) with whatever controller you're most comfortable with. Some (most?) people here will try to convince you that shmups need some sort of arcane ritual to be fully appreciated, but can you really trust a bunch of scanline fetishists?

I actually agree with this completely.

Alot of players find themselves to be best with a stick, this is true.... but do you NEED one? No.

It's exactly the same as fighting-game pros saying that "if you dont use a stick, you're a scrub", or something like that. .....and then getting absolutely wrecked by me, and I do NOT use a stick for those.

It's just a matter of personal preference, really. You can even use the 360's infamous Dpad of Sorrows, if you'd like, and still do totally fine (which is what I've been doing recently.... mostly due to necessity).

But you dont NEED any specific control method, or whatever, to achieve great feats of skill. It's just that it helps some players.... doesnt help others. Up to the OP to find out for themselves what the case may be here.

[Despatche]

keyboards and pads tend to be better for shmups, and sticks tend to be better for fighting games

[BeruBeru]

The problem is that many players who use a stick in fighting games try to play shmups with the default joystick (the Sanwa JLF, the absolute best choice for fighting games)
but on every cabinet and shmup player's stick who respects himself, you will find a seimitsu LS-32, it provides accuracy similar (even better imo) to a keyboard, and far superior to a dpad due to the stiffness and short throw, it's nothing you can't do with a keyboard, so it's more about comfort, I find it a lot easier to do precise maneuvers with a stick that are hard for me to do on a keyboard for example, also the stiffness prevents me from undesired movements unlike the jlf where I have to hold my hand firmly to increase precision.

[Blackbird]

...and it devolves into another debate about sticks vs other controllers. I love shmups forum <3.

[Subterranean Sun]

You can beat Touhou on lunatic and you still need help "getting into the world of shmups"?

[Siren2011]

Every thread on Shmups forum needs tiddies.

Fixed.

[Casper<3]

You should have seen the tiddies I posted, they were nice.

[Naglfar]

You can beat Touhou on lunatic and you still need help "getting into the world of shmups"?

Almost. Nearly there (goddamn Scarlet Gensokyo). But no, it's more like everything is so spread out that I figured making a thread asking about things would be a much better idea than scouring the internet for hours looking for all the information I want.

You should have seen the tiddies I posted, they were nice.

i saw them, and they were amazing

[Obiwanshinobi]

You should have seen the tiddies I posted, they were nice.

i saw them, and they were amazing

Weren't they modded? Laura Antonelli WTF.

(Art or not, some people visit the site from work or school so no nude pics of any kind.)

[chempop]

You need TATE as much as you need scanlines

I disagree. First of all, I first mentioned Tate because I was talking about Saturn games. In Yoko they are often butchered, reduced sprites, wobble-mode, resulting in enemies shooting at you who aren't even on the screen yet. There are a few exceptions such as Kyukyoku which has a Yoko mode that basically keeps things 1:1.

Mame is a different story because the games are going to be identical in either orientation, but for many console ports on Saturn in particular, Tate is definitely the way to go.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

You need TATE as much as you need scanlines, and you need an arcade stick as much as you need a full cabinet.

Just get MAME and go about trying out at least a couple games from each major developer (Psikyo, IREM, CAVE, Raizing, Toaplan, etc - game styles vary wildly) with whatever controller you're most comfortable with. Some (most?) people here will try to convince you that shmups need some sort of arcane ritual to be fully appreciated, but can you really trust a bunch of scanline fetishists?

While you might not think TATE is worth it others do, especially when playing on a small screen like a PC monitor. To OP I recommend you give TATE a go, just get a Cave vert running on MAME and turn that PC montor on its side (If its a widescreen make sure the image has black borders at the top and bottom) and decide for yourself if you think TATE is worth it, it wont cost you anything unlike joysticks and arcade cabs .

If its a CRT monitor make sure you do it with it swiched off otherwise the colours might bleed. For TATEing TVs you should check up that your model is safe to TATE as there is a chance it might get damaged. A small PC monitor should be fine to TATE. (Note to others, am I right here, or is there certain CRT monitors that you cant TATE?)

[RNGmaster]

Just two facts here:
My top score on Parsec47 with keyboard is 7217850. With a stick (good-quality stick, too) it's 3850730.
I'll just leave that there.

Also, get Kenta Cho's games and some Cave and Psikyo for MAME. You can't beat free, and these happen to be quality products as well.

I was down on Psikyo until I played Dragon Blaze. Get that game. Just get it.

[chempop]

Screen size matters. I usually play on a 21" screen which I thought was ideal, but then I got ahold of one that is larger and I instantly improved. I play crap on my Mame setup which is closer to 17" Tated. That said, some screens are probaby too big, especially if you are sitting directly in front of it.

Keyboard vs pad vs stick really just comes down to personal opinion and what you are used to using. I do think that panic bombing is easier on a stick vs pad because I can't move my thumb to another button as quickly - maybe I have slow thumbs

[moozooh]

If you don't have any playing platforms other than your PC, I'll recommend starting with:
DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Black Label (MAME, Xbox 360)
Armed Police Batrider (MAME, start with Normal mode, proceed to Advanced)
Raiden Fighters Jet (MAME, Xbox 360)
Batsugun Special (MAME)
GigaWing (MAME, Dreamcast)
Crimzon Clover (PC)
Dangun Feveron (MAME)

That should keep you busy for quite a while.
Don't listen to people who say you need something or other to enjoy a game. You'll either enjoy it with whatever you're comfortable with, or not at all.

[Siren2011]

Don't listen to people who say you need something or other to enjoy a game. You'll either enjoy it with whatever you're comfortable with, or not at all.

I didn't want to say anything when the "joystick/no joystick" argument came up, but this made me have to.

Are you aware that the above comment is just a teensy bit offensive? I mean Jeez Louise, this poor guy comes into the forum asking for advice on games and equipment and we gave it to him. I have conflicting emotions right now, as I don't know whether to laugh at this self-indulgent insensitivity, or tell those people off with insults worthy of a ban.

Like it or not, scanlines, joysticks, whateverthefuck have you, all improve the Shoot 'em Up experience. You guys were right about one thing: these things are not necessary. I mean no person is going to die without them while playing their favorite shooters. But damn, when someone is considering buying equipment and needs advice on the best ones, it's kinda fucked up to spit in the faces of those who offer great advice. Just rule of thumb...

[Sapz]

Like it or not, scanlines, joysticks, whateverthefuck have you, all improve the Shoot 'em Up experience.

Personally, I find scanlines distracting and utterly pointless, and I don't really understand why people get worked up about them. What objective advantages do they have, exactly?

[moozooh]

Are you aware that the above comment is just a teensy bit offensive? I mean Jeez Louise, this poor guy comes into the forum asking for advice on games and equipment and we gave it to him. I have conflicting emotions right now, as I don't know whether to laugh at this self-indulgent insensitivity, or tell those people off with insults worthy of a ban.

Like it or not, scanlines, joysticks, whateverthefuck have you, all improve the Shoot 'em Up experience.

Nope, I'm completely oblivious to the certain rules or standards of enjoyment people like you tend to procure out of thin air, all the while honestly believing they work for yourself and other people equally well, ironically representing the self-indulgent insensitivity you're talking about. When I'm asked for equipment, I'm going to advice equipment required to play games; i.e. a console or a computer with certain software. Why in the world would I recommend or even endorse recommendations of things that are subject to personal comfort and convenience when I myself see no point in scanlines, and use a keyboard instead of a joystick whenever I can? Those things don't improve the Shoot 'em Up experience™, whatever it is, for me, and I have no reasons to believe they are bound to improve it for anybody else. Live with it.

[Kollision]

Personally, I find scanlines distracting and utterly pointless, and I don't really understand why people get worked up about them.

QFT

[Siren2011]

Nope, I'm completely oblivious to the certain rules or standards of enjoyment people like you tend to procure out of thin air, all the while honestly believing they work for yourself and other people equally well, ironically representing the self-indulgent insensitivity you're talking about.

The italic part is false (at least about the "equally well" part, because that suggests that subjectivity doesn't exist). Everyone has the right to do whatever the hell they want. I'm just trying to do this dude a favor by informing him that a joystick helps me with inputs better than control pads (on average, the Saturn one is an exception). He might take this advice and apply it to how he plays games.

In fact, no one here is even imposing their morals on other people. Moozooh and company are hallucinating it because they are either sick of dealing with people who do, or they are just plain retarded.

There is nothing "insensitive" about recommending something that coincides with your personal preferences, dummy. What is insensitive are comments like this:

Some (most?) people here will try to convince you that shmups need some sort of arcane ritual to be fully appreciated, but can you really trust a bunch of scanline fetishists?

I can't speak for everyone, but I certainly don't believe that there is a mandatory ethical code you have to abide by or else the player's experience of the game in question will suck. But they make a difference enough to me, maybe not to someone like you-- and this difference in quality is wide enough in my eyes to mention it in this thread. And I don't think I, or Casper, or anyone else deserves to be lambasted for it, either.

Shoot 'em Up experience™

Moozooh the Prick™ Brought to you in part by Shmups Forum, his mother, a junkie, and a broken Trojan, and L'Oreal Shampoo.

What objective advantages do they have, exactly?

None whatsoever, actually. Again, this is all about what is aesthetically pleasing. A universal view of what is "aesthetically good" is non-existent. To speak of what is beautiful with objectivity is as impossible as walking on air. In other words, I don't care if people don't like scanlines. I like them because they look awesome. I'm not looking to crusade the forum with this belief either because it's ultimately pointless and I'm beyond that. But if people are assholes about it, for or against, I take offense.

When I'm asked for equipment, I'm going to advice equipment required to play games; i.e. a console or a computer with certain software.

That is a...*yawn* that's a very touching speech you got there. Good for you.

As for myself, I've got nothing left to add to this thread. Any further insults hurled toward me are not worth dignifying with a response. I've said my piece. Ciao.

[ebarrett]

I figured making a thread asking about things would be a much better idea than scouring the internet for hours looking for all the information I want.

Welcome to shmups forum! Nothing ever goes as expected here. Unless you were expecting widespread mass thread derailment. Which you eventually will come to expect anyway.

Ciao.

The guy who posted tits was a lot more entertaining, tits or gtfo

I'll accept a link with a NSFW tag, that's probably within the rules right

[mrsmiley381]

I got my real start on shmups from Mobile Light Force, AKA butchered Gunbird. From there I played Ikaruga, Border Down, Gradius V, Death Smiles, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I generally play with the default pad for most consoles. For PC I prefer a 360 controller or my arcade stick. It's designed mostly for fighting games so it has a Sanwa stick, but to each his own on that matter. Try a variety of control methods and see what you like.

I might suggest MUSHA. Nothing beats playing the actual cart on a big old Genesis 1, but it's good, it's not too long, and it's classic Compile. Same goes for Zanac. It certainly taught my to do deal with a larger hit box.

[RNGmaster]

Are you aware that the above comment is just a teensy bit offensive? I mean Jeez Louise, this poor guy comes into the forum asking for advice on games and equipment and we gave it to him. I have conflicting emotions right now, as I don't know whether to laugh at this self-indulgent insensitivity, or tell those people off with insults worthy of a ban.

ITT Siren responds to posts that don't exist outside of his head

Also scanlines are totally unnecessary. Don't spend your cash on an SLG3000 or somesuch shit when you can get plenty of challenge and satisfaction out of playing emulated games for free.

[xbl0x180]

You should have seen the tiddies I posted, they were nice.

i saw them, and they were amazing

Weren't they modded? Laura Antonelli WTF.

(Art or not, some people visit the site from work or school so no nude pics of any kind.)

Whoas. Everything that I ever loved is in this thred: Laura Antonelli and vidya games about little spaceships that blow s**t up


I'm a total n00b, probably less of an expert than you, OP:

• I use the default console controller.

• I play using a 27" tube teevee.

• I thought "MAME" was related to that old movie Auntie Mame.

• I love the look and sound of Cave shooters, but most of the time I've spent has been on non-danmaku shoot-'em-ups.

I recommend getting a 360 from Asia/Hong Kong, buying an A/C adapter for your area, and importing the games. I also recommend getting a PSP and importing those games as well (although the Gradius Collection is available here in North America). There are only so many games you can play; the day is still 24 hours. Start with Shooting Love 20XX and Eschatos