Shmups that were not worth your money.

[ninn]

Hi fellows!

This thread just came to my mind - maybe you can add your opinion on that topic too. I know you would love to tell that story

Just to be clear: I am not interested in which games are 'generelly' overrated. And it is not about that 1-buck-finders-keeper - It is just about the games you spent too much on, cause you just do not play them.

Enough chitchat, here's the story:

Well .. Some days ago I bought Homura and Radirgy for the ps2. I knew that i would never find those in the wild, so i got them from ebay - roughly the same price, about 30 dollar each I guess. Today, I played them for the first time. While I liked the style and maniac aspects of Homura a lot - Radirgy, on the other hand, was not funny. It instantaneous felt like i would play 'homura' a lot while trying to master it, like I used to play Shikigami - 'radirgy' in contrast felt like, ... you know ... that odd, nameless, trophy thats will sit in my shelf, dusty.

I wish I had bought my annual need of chocolate instead of that copy of Radirgy.

That made me sad. Were those 30 bucks lost? What did I learn (bsiedes the controls of homura and radirgy )?
I learnt that the price of the game will tell me nothing about the replay value it gives to me.


I am pretty sure I will learn a lot more about this situation if you tell me about your games, that were not worth your money.


ninn

[Deca]

I love radilgy! I was disappointed in it at first as well, though. Come back to it after a while and see if your mind changes. For me, I initially was expecting it to be a much more conventional bullet hell shooter. When I came back without expectations and started to focus on the scoring system it became much more fun.

As for shooters that weren't worth the money...honestly the first and only one that pops into my mind is Gundemonium Collection. Fortunately it wasn't my own money spent on that, my friend bought it on his account but it is chilling on my ps3 and has barely been played.

[Bananamatic]

Gunbird 1&2

Good games, but:
ps2 controller is ass
I have no 60hz CRT
Blue discs are loud as hell

I do not regret buying it though. At least I can feel better playing it the TCFC way.
In the end, my dog stole it and decided to chew it.(it survived though)

[Observer]

Oooh, man...

Ok, let's see: Protöthea. As much as I wanted to support a local effort, it just plain sucked. Inertia, enemies firing off screen. And compared to the Wii port, it ended up being decent, just not worth the money I spent back then at all.

Razor2: Hidden Skies. What a big pile of horse steaming poo. Arguably the worst RayStorm rip off I've ever played. Not even worth the $2.50 I paid for it during Steam's summer sale.

Who's That Flying: another sub par horizontal shooter that, while mildly decent, sports some really crude humor and gets repetitive and frustrating as hell with some score goals forcing perfect runs. Anal chaining at its maximum expression and far more brutal than Cloudphobia's system of "don't let enemies escape". Also not even worth the $2 or less that I think I paid for it. Anomaly Warzone Earth (the other "cheap" game I got during some Steam sales) trumped this thing several times.

Touhou 12 ~ UFO: bought it and got a special postcard thingie for pre-ordering it but I was so disappointed by the mechanics (which at first looked fun but, in the long run, proved to be f·"$%$·% frustrating), and how freaking blurry it looked compared to previous entries that it's the only one of the entire series that I didn't 1cc!

Layer Section (the PC port): I was so happy to know that it actually existed, and that I could get it for a mere $5, but I found out what they did with this port (no TATE, impossible to score, dumbed down graphics, barely works on OSes past WinXP) and almost wanted to bang my head against the wall. Lucky I have MAME and the Saturn version... And lucky the disc was redbook audio so I can at least pop that bastard and listen to awesome Zuntata tunes.

[RNGmaster]

Strania. Could not stand it whatsoever.

[manatworks]

Strania. Could not stand it whatsoever.

i don't like the scoring in that one but i like how it looks.

for me is Otomedius G i think , i play Gradius V too much that it makes this game so pale in comparison, still look for a chance to get the new one but didn't manage to do it yet

[mjclark]

Dux: got really hyped about a new DC shooter and wanted to support indie devs (yeah!) but it was not worth £20= The graphics are really nice but gameplay and presentation were truly shit and it had forced continues which properly fucked it up.

Thunder Force VI: £35= for more shit with ridiculous chicken bosses and no replay value.

Soldner-X Himmelsturmer: Got 3 copies of the Limited Edition (with OST and game manual) from Play Asia for £6= and still havn't worked out what to do with them.

I've got sealed copies of all three of those games stashed behind a bookcase along with a Street Fighter Alpha 2 SNES cart in the vague hope that I'll forget about them for five years and then discover that they're worth lots of money

Conversely I thought Strania/Side Vower was worth every penny of £10= and then that made me feel even more cheated by Dux...

[neorichieb1971]

Pretty much all my shmups fit into this category. I can't be bothered to change the game in my cabinet which is currently Viper phase 1 as its quite a good little game. The other PCB's just sit there. I'll gladly put them in one day though.

Sonic wings special on the Saturn I thought was a waste. Played it a couple of times.

[Dave_K.]

Just to be clear: I am not interested in which games are 'generelly' overrated. And it is not about that 1-buck-finders-keeper - It is just about the games you spent too much on, cause you just do not play them.

Wait, so this topic was created to tell everyone you bought Radirgy for $30, and you are complaining that you spent to much on it?

I think you are going to be seriously disappointed in this hobby if you continue.

Oh, and welcome to the shmups forum!

[Casper<3]

I'm not a fan of any Milestone games. I've never spent money on one either.

I know people will not like this answer but I think I paid less than 10$ for Castle Shikigami 2. Didn't enjoy it one bit.

[AntiFritz]

I'm not a fan of any Milestone games. I've never spent money on one either.

I know people will not like this answer but I think I paid less than 10$ for Castle Shikigami 2. Didn't enjoy the dub one bit.

Fixed

[xbl0x180]

I'm not a fan of any Milestone games. I've never spent money on one either.

I know people will not like this answer but I think I paid less than 10$ for Castle Shikigami 2. Didn't enjoy the dub one bit.

Fixed

Hahah

I also bought "Castle Of Shikigami" for less than 10 bucks and that dub was godawful. I think I paid about 75 for a 360 import of Radilgy. It's okay. I haven't played it much, though.

If I were to pick a game that would fit into this category it would be Otomedius G. To add insult to injury, you have to pay to buy the rest of the game as dlc (i.e., there's a level that you have to pay to download). Absolute bollocks. I should've just saved that money and bought something better, like Idolm@ster or some crap

[Casper<3]

I'm not a fan of any Milestone games. I've never spent money on one either.

I know people will not like this answer but I think I paid less than 10$ for Castle Shikigami 2. Didn't enjoy the dub one bit.

Fixed

Hahah

I also bought "Castle Of Shikigami" for less than 10 bucks and that dub was godawful. I think I paid about 75 for a 360 import of Radilgy. It's okay. I haven't played it much, though.

If I were to pick a game that would fit into this category it would be Otomedius G. To add insult to injury, you have to pay to buy the rest of the game as dlc (i.e., there's a level that you have to pay to download). Absolute bollocks. I should've just saved that money and bought something better, like Idolm@ster or some crap

(SNSII/CS2) I have to be honest, I remember the dub being bad but that wasn't my beef. It was the gameplay (and Homura falls in this same catergory to a lesser extent)

So I have Otomedius G, I like it quite a bit. I don't have a real deep background with Konami shooters though. I played Gradius V and hated it. However I also have bought Idolm@ster: Live For You and Idolm@ster 2. I think Otomedius G is a better purchase than Idolm@ster. I barely touch 2, despite wanting to play the game and get in depth with it, I constantly find myself bored and clueless. It's a lot easier to like the idea of Idolm@ster than it is to actually like the Idolm@ster games. ...However despite not understanding Japanese at all, I find both of the Dream Club games pretty fun.

[xbl0x180]

Well, that's only if I were to pick a game to mention in this thread. I still play Otomedius G for a day or two, and shelve it back. Ironically, I've played it more often than Dream Club and Idolm@ster... combined

[dunpeal2064]

Aww, I love Shiki 2, the dubbing is legendary. Takes the engrish that is usually found in shmups to a new level.

Someone is going to hate on me, but I dropped $70 on Espgaluda 2 a while ago, and was not a fan. Its mostly because I love pattern dodging, and the system felt overly-complicated. At some point I will pick it up and try it again, as my tastes grow every day.

[Twiddle]

mass effect 2

[emphatic]

Bullet Soul.

[Drake]

everything on mame

[Emuser]

Aww come on the dub in Shiki 2 is hilariously legendary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDORuIwm ... page#t=80s

[Casper<3]

Aww, I love Shiki 2, the dubbing is legendary. Takes the engrish that is usually found in shmups to a new level.

Someone is going to hate on me, but I dropped $70 on Espgaluda 2 a while ago, and was not a fan. Its mostly because I love pattern dodging, and the system felt overly-complicated. At some point I will pick it up and try it again, as my tastes grow every day.

I happen to have to be that somebody! From an aesthetic standpoint Galuda 2 and DFK are my two favorite shmups. I just get absorbed into Galuda 2's steampunk world and DFK's mecha atmosphere. I think the system in Galuda 2 (not black label or arrange or omake) is really refined and that the gameplay itself is perfectly balanced. It's one of the very few CAVE games I could see my progress bit by bit as I would memorize a little bit more each play through and make it further on one credit again and again.

I can see how the system seems extremely over complicated at first but once you understand it and put it into practice, it all just flows nicely.

[cj iwakura]

Deathsmiles. Felt too chaotic to be fun, sadly. And I was quite hyped for it.

Great music, though.

[Treasurance]

everything on mame

this is so true

[Paradigm]

Fast Striker. It may be NG Dev's best game, but that's not really saying much.

[mjclark]

Fast Striker. It may be NG Dev's best game, but that's not really saying much.

+1.
It's nice to have another DC shooter but the production for the DC version was so sloppy it took the piss- there was an unused energy bar always on screen in one mode and programming calls from the test builds kept appearing in another mode, which is quite insulting to anyone who'd paid in excess of £20= for it.
Having said that, it's a lot of fun and would've been good for £5= on Steam so maybe the iPhone port will do good.
Poor old NG:Dev have a bit of a chequered history on this forum- actually Last Hope Pink Bullets is their best game. If only they'd made that first we'd all be loving it

[burgerkingdiamond]

Bullet Soul.

I think you win.

I so wanted this game to be awesome. It came close but the gameplay is pretty shit. But beautiful presentation, graphics, music (maybe not to everyone, but I like it).

[omenaa]

Psyvariar 2. I only played it a few times.



I like Fast Striker a lot. NG Dev seems to get lot of hate everywhere : (

[dunpeal2064]

Psyvariar 2. I only played it a few times.



I like Fast Striker a lot. NG Dev seems to get lot of hate everywhere : (

I'm with you, I really enoy Fast Striker. I find it more of an homage to the Soldier-era of shmups. They do some unique shit in that game too, and make you move your ship into some obscene places, something that only Radiant Silvergun has made me feel.

However, I can see why people don't like it. Its definitely not a shmup for everyone. Kinda like Psyvariar. I personally like them both.

To add another one, I think Kyukyoku Tiger II is horridly overpriced. I much prefer playing Truxton on the genny, or Tiger Heli on the NES (both of which can be had for under $5)

Gun Frontier and Gekrindan are a little better, but still just don't seem worth their prices on the Sega Saturn (although well worth the price of a Taito Legends 2)

@Casper<3: I really do want to give Espgaluda 2 another try. I bought it at the same time as MMP/PS, and it just sat there. I was just not into slowing/cancelling bullets nearly as much as I was into straight pattern-dodging. Ketsui and DOJ and some of my favorites for this. Scoring systems aside, I just love the patterns. Now that the game has gone down in price though, I owe it to Cave to give it another go.

[Twiddle]

time crisis 4

all 3.75 i spent on that game

[Deca]

To add another one, I think Kyukyoku Tiger II is horridly overpriced.

This is on my list of stuff to get, could you go a little more in depth here? I really enjoy Batsugun, and since Toaplan games only seemed to get better as time went on, I assumed it wouldn't disappoint.

[louisg]

time crisis 4

all 3.75 i spent on that game

Not as bad as the $1 I spent on S.O.S.! I'll never see that dollar again

I'm with you, I really enoy Fast Striker. I find it more of an homage to the Soldier-era of shmups. They do some unique shit in that game too, and make you move your ship into some obscene places, something that only Radiant Silvergun has made me feel.

Yeah, I can't say Fast Striker is really worth the asking price, but it's decent enough. The coding sloppiness is fairly inexcusable though, I agree.

The one I was the most let down by was Karous. I liked what they were trying to do, but the leveling up just seemed more tedious to me than fun. I guess I was expecting something more in the vein of Radilgy.

BTW don't get the Saturn Gun Frontier. The arcade/PS2 one may be hard as nails and feel underpowered most of the time, but the Saturn edition is amazingly easy. If you DO still want to get it, I might want to sell my copy