TG16/PCE shmups off the beaten path

[louisg]

Since I've been on a PC Engine kick, I'm wondering what PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 shooters there are that I haven't played and which are good. I've been considering W-Ring, Air Zonk, TerraForming, and Ordyne.. are any of those good? Or does anyone here have other recommendations? I've played the hits already: * of Thunder, Nexzr, the Star Soldier games, Star Parodier, Sidearms...

[Sumez]

The first Spriggan game! (vertical one)

[Obiwanshinobi]

GunHed on Hard (here's how you get to play on Hard). Seirei Senshi Spriggan of course. Kiaidan was sort of a looker. Magical Chase (the US version looks better).

[Herr Schatten]

L-Dis. It's frantic. Not the best shmup in the world or even in the PCE's library, but it's definitely different.

[louisg]

Oh I forgot to mention that I had Spriggan.. good game, but maybe a bit of a letdown once you figure out one of two weapon combos that are absolutely unstoppable. It's still a good blast every now and then on the hardest setting though.

I might have to give GunHed another look (I wasn't that impressed with it, but maybe I didn't see far enough in). Kiaidan looks great and seems like it might play pretty well too.. how's the gameplay on it?

L-Dis is promising, and man, it's only about 15 bucks on eBay!

[Sumez]

Oh, GunHed is excellent, it's basically a Star Soldier game, so if you like those, you'll like GunHed!

[Fudoh]

L-Dis is promising

L-Dis is very nice, but *extremely* hard.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Back in 2000, I bought the cool looking Super CD-Rom2 game of Kiaidan 00 not knowing anything about it. This was before the days of Youtube & such on the net. I was surprised at the cool anime opening intro and that cool retro 1970s Japanese robot anime premise type of vibe upon firing it up on my Duo. The catchy theme song is worth listening to (considering that it's presented in Redbook audio format at it's best).

Despite the big hit box, the mecha suit that you control is quite nimble and quick to move around. Sure, there are some cheap shots that the enemies take at you in some of the later stages of K-00. I'm surprised that TTI passed up this K-00 gem, would've been cool to see it get a proper all-English translation for the in-game text and progressive storyline.

The TTI version of Magical Chase is a cool cute' 'em-up despite being one of the very last Hu-Card game titles to be released at the end of 1993. Toys-R-Us did get an alloted shipment of TTI MC to be distributed across the USA. My local TRU store had gotten a few copies in and priced them for a mere $19.99 USD + tax. Quite a steal at that price back in early 1994 indeed. Nowdays, with prices hovering at between $1,400-$1,500+ USD for a super pristine copy of TTI MC set in complete condition, that's just insane.

The TTI version of Air Zonk is awesome with it's high production values from the very first stage to the eventual conclusion. Saw it in the TRU game aisle with the plastic leaflet listing the game briefly. The price tag was a mere $14.99 + tax...chmup change back in 1994 if you were to ask me. I got a TRU paper ticket voucher & proceeded to pay for it. Finally got home to try it out. Whoa, it's like Bonk got hit by lightning and transformed into a bad-ass cyborg out to kick some ass (albeit with the help of some friends). I think that NEC, Red and Hudson Soft wanted to create a "killer app" with AZ and they managed to do so in spades. So much eye candy to behold, especially with parallax scrolling backgrounds in some of the later stages. Fellow shmupper Undamned said in another thread that he thinks that AZ feels like an arcade shmup title despite it being a home console release -- I agree with him on that observation. Yeah, it would've been cool to have seen/played the arcade PCB version of Air Zonk with extra stages, new friends to combine with, new mid-stage & end-stage bosses to contend with & simultaneous two-player capability option to spice things up. Even the ability to combine with both players into different versions of Air Zonk fully powered up (i.e. like when P1 or P2 grabs the Alphabeta transformation icon in Sidearms PCB giving both players two different fully powered mecha suits to play with) opens up new possibilities.

The Super CD-Rom2 version of Super Air Zonk sequel doesn't match the ace gameplay and game mechanics introduced in the Hu-Card version. I was disappointed that Super AZ didn't improve on the gameplay/game mechanics of it's Hu-Card predecessor despite having some excellent BGM presented in full Redbook 44.1kHz audio format for your listening pleasure + all-new stage select option from the get-go at the start of a new shmup gaming session (considering that both AZ & SAZ were done by different dev teams). If SAZ was made by the same dev team that did the Hu-Card version, the goal to create an
AZ shmup sequel that triumphs over the Hu-Card version would've been the goal to settle/aim for on the Super CD-Rom2 format.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[R2-2D]

Nexzr is really nice.

[Sumez]

I don't know why I forgot to mention Ai Cho Aniki. One of my favourite releases for the PCE. Not really a serious or very good shooter, with a very weird life system that kills you over time, but it's seriously hilarious and without a doubt the most homoerotic game I have ever seen. The final boss stands among my favourite video game bosses ever, based on the presentation alone. You'll probably complete this game in the first try.

I don't know if you'd consider the arcade ports, but PCE has some really cool ports of -
Konami: Salamander, Gradius 1+2, Parodius (with an exclusive omake stage)
Irem: R-Type, Mr. Heli, Saint Dragon, Image Fight (Image Fight II is a PCE exclusive though! I remember that as being very good, and obviously very tough)
Toaplan: Daisenpu (Twin Hawk), Kyukyoku Tiger, Tatsujin, Hellfire, Zero Wing
+ probably a crapload that I forgot

I think both Darius Plus and Super Darius are original games only for PCE (one of them might be based on the first Darius). Super Darius II is an "enhanced" version of Darius II.

[mjclark]

Nexzr is really nice.

Yes! Nexzr is no.1 in my top 25 and Spriggan's up there too. They're both Naxat Summer Carnival games as is Alzadick which is superb if you like score attack only games (like Blade Buster).
Nexzr feels like it's come from another planet actually. It's got a one button rapid fire control scheme with no secondary weapon and no bomb but it's so beautifully made that this simplicity turns the gameplay into an exciting and satisfying experience.
A bit like Recca on the NES (another Summer Carnival game) there really is nothing like it!

...this thread just got me playing Burning Angels, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire and Sylphia too. All highly recommended!

[louisg]

Nexzr is really nice.

Yes! Nexzr is no.1 in my top 25 and Spriggan's up there too. They're both Naxat Summer Carnival games as is Alzadick which is superb if you like score attack only games (like Blade Buster).
Nexzr feels like it's come from another planet actually. It's got a one button rapid fire control scheme with no secondary weapon and no bomb but it's so beautifully made that this simplicity turns the gameplay into an exciting and satisfying experience.
A bit like Recca on the NES (another Summer Carnival game) there really is nothing like it!

...this thread just got me playing Burning Angels, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire and Sylphia too. All highly recommended!

Nexzr is amazing. It's the game that caused me to buy a Duo, too. I'd played it at a friend's place, and it was one of the few PCE shooters I tried which I felt was really exceptional. But, it tended to be very expensive on eBay (especially for me at the time since I was a student). Wolfgames was offering it for a sane price, so I sprang on that and then bought a Duo-R. It's a great game that I couldn't put down until I beat it. My only nit-pick is that it's so much easier to cheap out the stage 3 midboss than it is to fight him.. it's to the point that you'd have to be insane to fight him head-on.

I love that it only has one button and no secondary weapons or bomb. It's all skill and dealing with the levels, from start to finish.

Because of the top 25 thread, I started playing Gate of Thunder again; it's so much better than I'd previously given it credit for. The level design and pacing, weapon balance, synching of the music-- all very good.

[Sumez]

Nexzr is STILL damn expensive on eBay :\
It's not even that rare.

I'd love to try it some time.

[louisg]

Nexzr is STILL damn expensive on eBay :\
It's not even that rare.

I'd love to try it some time.

$200?? Holy cow! I got it for about $60. Well, at least *something* I own went up in price

[Sumez]

Well, I think that's a buy it now-price for a sealed copy. But still, I can think of very few 8 bit shooters fetching that kind of prices. It's been on my wish list for years, but to begin with it was a "I'll get it if I find it dirt cheap" kind of wish, but the price just kept on shooting up. I guess it'd have to be one Virtual Console to ever drop in value again.

I'm sure you have other games, you'd be surprised. I just discovered that my European copy of Keio Flying Squadron 2 has gone up in price tenfold since I bought it - which wasn't even that many years ago.

[sunburstbasser]

Super Darius is better than Darius Plus, just because it adds in the arcade music. I believe it also has a boss rush mode, but it requires a 2nd controller to activate. Otherwise, I don't recall it being all that different than the HuCard. Maybe it has more bosses?

Super Darius II is pretty good but it's so zoomed in it can be hard to play. I like it a lot, personally.

If you can afford it, give Coryoon a shot. Doesn't come up on Ebay very often, but it hasn't gotten quite as expensive as some of those other shmups. I like it as much or more than Magical Chase, which is definitely NOT worth $1,000.

[abaxas]

Ordyne is different to the arcade version due to no availability of rotation on the TG.

What about Rabio Lepus Special?

[ZOM]

Definitely Nexzr.

Other than the already mentioned games, I'd say give Aldynes a try, very fun game.

[Sumez]

Aldynes looks amazing, but it's only for the Supergrafx. Seriously, who has a Supergrafx :S

[slk486]

Aldynes looks amazing, but it's only for the Supergrafx. Seriously, who has a Supergrafx :S

Yeah, I wish A bit too limited selection to invest in. IMHO.

[Sonic R]

[…]Seriously, who has a Supergrafx :S

*raises hand*

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Super Darius is better than Darius Plus, just because it adds in the arcade music. I believe it also has a boss rush mode, but it requires a 2nd controller to activate. Otherwise, I don't recall it being all that different than the HuCard. Maybe it has more bosses?

Super Darius II is pretty good but it's so zoomed in it can be hard to play. I like it a lot, personally.

If you can afford it, give Coryoon a shot. Doesn't come up on Ebay very often, but it hasn't gotten quite as expensive as some of those other shmups. I like it as much or more than Magical Chase, which is definitely NOT worth $1,000.

Just trying to source a complete TTI version of MC with factory TTI box doesn't appear very often for sale. If one does, it's all eyes on it to see how much it'll fetch. Sure, the TTI version of MC used to sell on the Turbo Zone Direct site back in the mid to late 1990s.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Specineff]

No love for Final Soldier? Seriously, that game could put some arcade hardware to shame, except in the sound department.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Now if a Super CD-Rom2 version of Soldier Blade from Hudson Soft/Compile was developed/released, I'm sure some new elements such as two-player co-op, FMV intro/cut scenes between stages/eventual conclusion, new stages, new enemies in both small fry, mid-stage/end-stage bosses, etc. would've been expected/implemented. Not to mention all-new Caravan stages for both 2 minute & 5 minute gaming sessions. And of course, the upgraded SB BGM tunes presented in glorious 44.1kHz Redbook audio format.

There was the upcoming Soldier Blade port on the 32-bit powered PC-FX console but it got cancelled. Makes me wonder how the gameplay/ game mechanics of it were like even in it's alpha build?

PC Engine Fan x! ^_~

[richter3456]

Play Rayxanber 2 and 3. The third one is easier then the second. The second one is fairly difficult but I beat it twice so it shouldn't be too bad I guess. A little memorization eliminates the problem. The first one is the hardest and that's only on FM Towns unfortunately.

[louisg]

I'll check out Rayxanber 3.. I've played the second one and yeah, it was impossible.

I just tried Override on emulator.. that one seems really nice (maybe a bit overlooked..?) And I checked out Final Soldier; the expert mode is promising. It doesn't have that horrible restart-the-level system from Super Star Soldier anywhere, does it? (didn't seem to, but...)

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yep, the Data East produced OverRide shmup on Hu-Card format is ace in my book. The later stages are quite a challenge. It helps to have a solid PCE arcade stick (with either Sanwa or Seimitsu joystick) to survive the higher stages.

I use one of those Hori Fighting Stick PC as my choice of PCE arcade stick with it's on-the-fly switching between the traditional 2-button scheme or the more robust 6-button layout that works equally well with the upgraded PCE games that utilize the 3-button scheme (i.e. -- SCD game of Forgotten Worlds has built-in support for both 2, 3 & 6 button endowed PCE gamepads).

The NEC Avenue Pad 3 or the Avenue Pad 6 work wonders for shmupping. The Avenue Pad 6 even has built-in slo-mo option in addition to two levels of adjustable auto-firing rates (the stock PCE gamepads just have adjustable auto-fire capability at best).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[CIT]

I gotta mention Image Fight II in this thread. Just gave this game some quality time, and it's amazing. It's much like the first Image Fight, but with better presentation, pacing, level design, and weapons, and cinematics that are actually pretty cool.

[undamned]

I like Cybercore. Best mushi themed shooter on the console, methinks. I enjoy Orodyne, but as has been mentioned, it is different than the arcade version. Rabio Lepus is fun, but hard, as I recall.

I gotta mention Image Fight II in this thread. Just gave this game some quality time, and it's amazing. It's much like the first Image Fight, but with better presentation, pacing, level design, and weapons, and cinematics that are actually pretty cool.

And I think it supports the rumble chair
-ud

[NZA]

Cho Aniki isn't bad, and it's a lot more conventional shooter than Ai Cho Aniki, LOL.