Shmups that were not worth your money.

[BrianC]

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

No love for ridiculous chicken bosses?

TFVI sounds disappointing, but the ridiculous chicken boss is one reason I love Twinbee Da!!

[TransatlanticFoe]

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

Hang on, so an empty bar and some garbled text are enough to warrant it as a piss take? These are aesthetic mishaps which have absolutely no impact on gameplay at all, so why the hating because of that? It doesn't have dodgy collision detection, a broken scoring system, flicker, slowdown or impossible to see bullets... why the hate based on a couple of things which have no bearing on the game at all?

Yes it should've been picked up in testing... but then plenty of games (which have bigger studios behind them!) ship with worse bugs, so it's a bit pathetic to put a game down based on minor aesthetic glitches!

[Matsunaga]

KOF- Sky Stage.. cost $10 too much

[Bee Cool]

(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)

I was thinking of purchasing Homura in the coming months, what exactly didn't you like about it? Also how was that problem related to Shikigami no Shiro II?

Just curious.

[ave]

XII Stag

And I only paid 5 Euros for a mint JPN version. But it's just... ack!! Wouldn't be so bad actually if the scoresystem didn't push on that annoying shake-your-booty crap.

[Gus]

Bought Ikaruga new when it came out and it pretty much turned me off the entire genre.

[Aliquantic]

Does Rez qualify here? I really struggled to get any sort of enjoyment out of that game and ultimately ended up only playing it twice

[stryc9]

(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)

I was thinking of purchasing Homura in the coming months, what exactly didn't you like about it? Also how was that problem related to Shikigami no Shiro II?

Just curious.

Homura is pretty good, but is let down by poor enemy design, something which irked me about Shiki 2 as well. The copious blood is a let down too as it's rendered green, in every version AFAIK. The scoring is a bit Marmite too.

I was about to put Shiki 2 in this thread anyway. It's the one shooter that I have bought within the past 4 years I just can't gel with - I really don't dig any of the player character shot types, and the music sucks. No issue with grazing, just don't like the way it all hangs together. I can understand why people enjoy it though.

EDIT: Aw yeah and KOF skystage, but thats just a shit game in general.

[mjclark]

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

+1.

Hang on, so an empty bar and some garbled text are enough to warrant it as a piss take? These are aesthetic mishaps which have absolutely no impact on gameplay at all, so why the hating because of that?

Sloppy careless presentation and zero production values on a game which cost over £20= and was hyped to the skies shows a disappointing disregard for the players who bought the game.
If you have lower standards than that, then that's an issue between you and your therapist...

XII Stag
And I only paid 5 Euros for a mint JPN version. But it's just... ack!! Wouldn't be so bad actually if the scoresystem didn't push on that annoying shake-your-booty crap.

I paid 99 pence for the PAL version of XII Stag and it was worth every penny

[Bananamatic]

The copious blood is a let down too as it's rendered green, in every version AFAIK. The scoring is a bit Marmite too.

I just assumed it's some weird substance demons are made of

[xbl0x180]

Does Rez qualify here? I really struggled to get any sort of enjoyment out of that game and ultimately ended up only playing it twice

I love Rez! But, alas, it is a rail-shooter and not a bona fide shoot-'em-up

[mesh control]

Every game that is playable in MAME.

[xbl0x180]

I'll add Strike Witches. The controls are interesting, the characters are alright, the sound fx were also good, but...

1) The music sucks.
2) I don't see much variety in the enemies.
3) There's no variety in the backgrounds either.
4) The animu the game is based on totally blows... even then...
5) They opted to use cheap0 stills rather than actual animated sequences?!

That's way too many things going against it.

[CulDad78]

I anticipate this being wholly unpopular - I hated RECCA.

And also Chaos Field (Dreamcast)

I need to warm up in a game, I need to feel it getting harder as I go - both of those games for me were absolutely insane at the start and my frustration 90 seconds in was at an apex. I played RECCA maybe 15 mins, never beat a level on the first credit and put it away forever.

One day i'll bring them out again and give a go, but I have no desire to do that right now.

[dunpeal2064]

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.

Oh, the game is fine. Pretty nice soundtrack too. It just didn't appeal to me quite enough to warrant its worth.

As a toaplan fan, I'm sure you'd enjoy it. I got cash for it to put towards Batsugun instead (damn do I want that game)

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Playing Batsugun in it's original arcade PCB iteration is quite an experience not to be missed, dunpeal2064. There's always Mame/Mame32 emulation to try out Batsugun if it needed be (but it ain't the same as playing it on a PCB indeed). Is quite expensive to get in it's arcade incarnation nowdays -- there're both original and bootlegged versions of Batsugun PCBs floating out there so it's buyer beware.

Not to mention the Batsugun Special Version variant PCB is worth giving a spin as well with just a single eprom swap & you're good to go.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[NZA]

I'm feeling a little buyer's remorse with Castle of Shikigami 3. I don't hate it, it's just missing something...

[CulDad78]

I'm feeling a little buyer's remorse with Castle of Shikigami 3. I don't hate it, it's just missing something...

The wii game? How can it not be worth at least $10? I got my 10 bucks worth out of it.

[dunpeal2064]

Could be the 360 version. That one runs $50+

Part of me really wants it, but I've been hesitant (no wii)

[cj iwakura]

I'm feeling a little buyer's remorse with Castle of Shikigami 3. I don't hate it, it's just missing something...

Pair up Roger with Mihee and watch their prologue. Pure hilarity.


Also, Reika is the easiest character, so start up with her if you're having a hard time.

[mesh control]

I play my shooting games for the story and characters.
Deathsmiles II is my favorite.

[Mischief Maker]

I paid through the nose for Shikigami no Shiro 3 and was sorely disappointed.

I think the problem was that I already owned Hellsinker. Yes I said it, the Doujin outdid the professional.

[NZA]

Yep, it's the Wii version. It was cheap so I am not too disappointed. The voice acting is so bad, it's almost good, but outside of that, it does feel like there are indie developers doing better games.

And to cj, I will take your advice.

[richter3456]

I'd have to say Dragon Spririt, and Dragon Sabre... both for the TG16. It's just a chore trying to play those games. You have such a gigantic hit-box, and the levels you have to go through are cramped. You have to be spot on to not get hit.

[Gus]

Why all the Shikigami 3 hate? Comparing it to an indie game is idiotic. How many indie games have great 3D graphics, professional voicework, 8 characters with vastly different playstyles, and a deep but accessible scoring system seamlessly integrated into survival play? Well I guess that last thing might explain it if you're some casual who only cares about the 1cc.

[AntiFritz]

Why all the Shikigami 3 hate? Comparing it to an indie game is idiotic. How many indie games have great 3D graphics, professional voicework, 8 characters with vastly different playstyles, and a deep but accessible scoring system seamlessly integrated into survival play? Well I guess that last thing might explain it if you're some casual who only cares about the 1cc.

Yeah i dont get it either.

[dunpeal2064]

I find it really odd that both Shikigami 2 & 3 have popped up multiple times, but no one has mentioned the weakest of the series.

[CulDad78]

I find it really odd that both Shikigami 2 & 3 have popped up multiple times, but no one has mentioned the weakest of the series.

I find them fun, all of them. Unique characters, cute (and sorta chincy) story lines, tons of weapon options - good games that imo don't break the bank by any stretch.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The original Taito G-Card version of Shikigami No Shiro running on the Taito G-Net arcade platform ain't too shabby either...and it's come a long ways in terms of being affordable from, say like, five or six years ago when it used to command a premium price-wise on YAJ, G-Front, etc. As with some arcade shmup PCB titles, their prices may go up or down (due to supply & demand factors on the secondary arcade PCB resellers market). That's a given.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[dunpeal2064]

Oh don't get me wrong, they are all great. I just think 2 was a little more fine-tuned, and I figured it would appeal to more people than 1

Mostly due to this: the port (Mobile Light Force 2) is about as barebones as it gets. Shiki 2, on the other hand, has a fantastic port. Tons of options (more than some Cave games), an unforgettable, and fully-voiced dialog, and a choice for remixed BGM. Its easily the best shmup that you can buy sealed for under $10

I just figured the first one would get a lot more hate due to all of that