Racketboy "Hidden Gem Shmups" Article - Input Needed!

[TrevHead (TVR)]

My shortlist

Cyvern
Trigger Heart Excelica
Soukyugurentai
Gynoug

How about some PCE shmups? The console was almost unknown in Europe back in the day and the games dont get talked about as much as MD & SNES shmups

PC

X.X games STGs Blue wish Resurrection and Eden's Aegis.
ChoRenSha
Kamui
Ether Vapor
EDIT maybe even Crimson Clover considering most of the folk at that site are console gamers
EDIT Zen Ichi & Hellsinker

[mrsmiley381]

I'd throw in votes for ChoRenSha, Trigger Heart Exelica, and rRootage. 19XX gets a vote too, since I own it and I only hear it mentioned every so often. I like rRootage because it can be played in quick bursts and no one seems to mention it, either.

[Drum]

Why is it called the Vic Viper/Warp Rattler? Because the Options trail behind it in a serpent-like fashion, and the iconic front fins are designed to invoke the image of a snake's fangs.

My mind just got blown.
Does this mean there's a Gradius <-> Jungler connection?

[Annoyboy]

Blazing Star (ARC/NEO)
Bokandesuyo (PS1)
Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie (SNES)
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (PS1/SAT)

Not sure if Blazing Star is considered obscure enough for this list, but being a Neo Geo game I don't expect too many people to be familiar with it. Bokandesuyo is usually written off for being based on a popular anime. Same probably goes for SNES Macross. Both Bokandesuyo and Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie have amazing graphical effects for their respective formats. Parodius is a fairly popular series but nobody ever seems to have played Jikkyou Oshaberi (my personal favourite in the series), probably because it never had an arcade release.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Eliminate Down - hefty production values, flawless pacing (as far as I can tell)... My favourite MD shmup.

Sonic Wings Special - up to 26 fighters in that game, including most archetypes present in shmups and some rather unique ones (proto-Zero Gunner strafing chopper for example). It's cheap so great value for your buck there. PAL version should be avoided as it doesn't allow you to save, thus any unlocked content is lost every time you switch off a console.

Hyper Duel - I don't like Thunder Force, but like this one. Possibly the best Macross-like shmup.

Mahou Daisakusen - seems overlooked even by Raizing fans. Pixel art galore and solid gameplay.

Space Bomber - enough said. Reportedly the co-op is rad, but I didn't have any opportutnity to check this out.

Raiden III - not really hidden (the PS2 port is fairly ubiquitous), but I can't overstate how much fun the co-op is. Then there goes Double Mode, if you have what it takes to enjoy it.

Pippols - a computer game from the eighties more playable than some of Konami's own coin-op games of the era. Need I say more? Doesn't feel as dated as your average MSX shmup as the scrolling is pretty smooth and you don't need to mash the fire button like a madman.

Seirei Senshi Spriggan (caravan modes) - well known for a Japan-only PCE CD game, but its caravan modes are something else... No other shmup I've played felt quite like them.

Zanac Special Version - hidden indeed, as a humble part of the Zanac X Zanac compilation. To quote the FAQ:

* Special Version *
A brand new version exclusive to Zanac X Zanac. This one has some differences
in enemy patterns (well, more so than usual anyway , and many subweapons
have different behaviour as well. I especially love the fire-breathing Rio.
Fortress battles also give you extra bonus points for time remaining on
the clock in this mode. On the other hand, this mode has its enemy accuracy
and max on-screen object parameters set higher than the Disk and ROM
versions, meaning it is noticeably more difficult (given equal difficulty
settings).

[Note] In general it seems like the idea behind Special is to make you more
powerful but the enemies more numerous and powerful as well. You seem to get
a lot of stuff in Special, but you also have to deal with lots of enemies.

Arguably the most "manic" version of Zanac.

(I don't think of Dragon Blaze as a hidden shmup. If you have the right mindset to go "hardcore", you'll bound to discover it sooner or later.)

[Stormwatch]

Eliminate Down (MD)
Phalanx (SNES)
Red Zone (MD)
Sol-Deace (MD)

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Downvoting Apidya: If dodgy hit detection, style over substance and nostalgia goggle make for a bad game - then this one should be wiped from the list.

Upvoting Gynoug and Bio Hazard Battle.

X-Multiply and Image Fight are defining shmups, hardly 'hidden gems' unless you're really new to video games.

[Drum]

Downvoting Apidya: If dodgy hit detection, style over substance and nostalgia goggle make for a bad game - then this one should be wiped from the list.

Upvoting Gynoug and Bio Hazard Battle.

X-Multiply and Image Fight are defining shmups, hardly 'hidden gems' unless you're really new to video games.

Apidya has more substance than Gynoug or Bio Hazard Battle in terms of mechanics (though I like both of those games better). That isn't even debateable. Hit detection is fine - mostly.

X-Multiply is not well-known at all.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^I can't get behind that. Bio Hazard's surround weapons really make the game different to anything else and Gynoug's subweapons add an extra layer of strategy to the game (use them or horde them). Apidya's weapons seem like an afterthought to the game itself. There really is no point to using say, spreadshot over that curly thing, for instance.

I dunno. What do you mean by 'mechanics'?

[Ebbo]

Howsabout shmups for PC-98 and x68k? Observer's already bigged up ChoRenSha and,
although maybe a bit too off the beaten track,Flame Zapper Kotsujin and Otaku Dama are truly great shmups which rank alongside anything mentioned here, but which remain largely unplayed due to the obscurity of their native platforms.

I second FZK; considering the time it was made Flame Zapper feels quite ahead of its time for a simple doujin game (very small hitbox and manic bullet patterns), while still drawing lots of inspiration from classics such as Raiden and Truxton. Even medal chaining has very raizingish feel to it.

[RNGmaster]

Radio Zonde is also worth mentioning if you're going to bring up Hellsinker (and please, please do bring up Hellsinker).

Vasara is definitely on there. It might be slow, but it's very well-made and has a great scoring system.

[E. Randy Dupre]

I think this counts as 'hidden', as it's import-only, it's not mentioned in the PSX Hidden Gems article and I barely see anybody here or elsewhere talking about it:

Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius. Preferably the 32-bit version, as it's much more polished than the Super Famicom original and has some significant differences.

- Japan-only.
- The only non-arcade Parodius (bar the MSX one, obviously) and, as a result of being developed for the home consoles, the most balanced of all of the games in the series. The difficulty curve is absolutely perfect in that you get a little bit further in every single time you play and there are no - and I mean *no* - moments of frustration or perceived unfairness.
- Unlockables, again due to the fact that it's a console game.
- The hidden fairies provide a completionist challenge akin to the dogs in Radiant Silvergun (actually, exactly like the dogs in Radiant Silvergun).
- About the only game in the series, besides Da!, which lives up to the 'parody' part of the name, with lots of references to other games and the Parodius series itself.
- An absolute explosion of visual imagination. I can't think of any other game in the genre that casts its net so wide, so successfully. It also contains a seemingly endless supply of small animations that you only notice after repeated plays. The music is of a similarly high standard and wide variety.
- Extra modes.
- The USP of the announcers (which are amusing at first, but can thankfully be switched off, as they become distracting when playing for score/completion).
- The usual Parodius goodness, just lots more of it and far more effectively realised than previously.

The first Psyvariar?

Doesn't seem that popular compared to 2 but it's still great. Amazing OST too.
Also seconding Homura - and even that seems to be played more than Psyvariar around here.

Psyvariar Revision is better than the first in every imaginable way - the levels are better paced, with enemy patterns more suited to the bullet grazing mechanic, it looks nicer and it's just far more satisfying to play. Psyvariar is dull and a bit empty in places, in comparison.

[Bananamatic]

Psyvariar Revision is better than the first in every imaginable way - the levels are better paced, with enemy patterns more suited to the bullet grazing mechanic, it looks nicer and it's just far more satisfying to play. Psyvariar is dull and a bit empty in places, in comparison.

Revision is still the first one...or rather 1.5. I count them as one game

[Bee Cool]

I really have no clue what people consider hidden in an already hidden genre.

Esprade
Pro Gear
Ketsui
Mars Matrix
Dimahoo
Psyvariar 2


It's really hard to say, I mean when I think of these lists I read them to know what games I should check out, but the problem is most people have no idea where to start. In some article will you include Raizing, Cave, Takumi, Psikyo etc. as the big players for shmups? Because I feel that the best of the genre is really going to go unlisted.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

I'd throw in votes for ChoRenSha, Trigger Heart Exelica, and rRootage. 19XX gets a vote too, since I own it and I only hear it mentioned every so often. I like rRootage because it can be played in quick bursts and no one seems to mention it, either.

Imo Nomltest is the best of the "pratice shmups", although rRootage is a good 2nd place due to it been a boss rush

Im having allot of fun with Score Rush atm, although a part of me wishes it was a standard fixed d-pad shooter so I can get used to using the std 360 D-pad

BM if you ever get around to making some more Racketboy Shmup Lists, a list for the smaller scale non aracde shmups would be cool. IE Nomltest, Kento Cho, Space Invaders Extreame, Galaga DX, That other Space invaders game on XBL. Maybe you could think up a sub-genre name to describe them

[stryc9]

The Milestone games, with the exception of Chaos Field. These are great shooters, but not even really popular around here, let alone on the outside.

[Estebang]

GaiaSeed.

Not a great shmup in mechanical terms (Halo regen health ahoy), but it's matched only by Metal Black in psychedelic weirdness. It's obvious that Techno Soleil were massive Taito fans--they may have not had the same development chops, but they sure made a valiant effort at matching their games, and the soundtrack is easily on par with Zuntata. It also pulls the "don't kill the boss" trick earlier than anything else I've seen.

Pretty nice that it's on the US PSN now.

[Dave_K.]

Cyvern The Dragon Weapons
Hyper Duel
and anything from NMK (Rapid Hero, Thunder Dragon 2, Gunnail, Hacha Mecha Fighter, P47 Aces, USAAF Mustang, Macross, Macross II, Black Heart, Zed Blade, Desert War)

[Edmond Dantes]

X-Multiply and Image Fight are defining shmups, hardly 'hidden gems' unless you're really new to video games.

X-Multiply is not well-known at all.

Darn straight. I can see Image Fight being considered "defining" but X-Multiply? A game that was given only limited arcade release and is only available on consoles in a hard-to-find and expensive compilation, and didn't seem to influence the genre much outside of creating the idea of ships-with-tentacles?

Speaking of which, is Image Fight II on the PC Engine a hidden gem? And was there ever an Arcade version of this? (I've heard contradictory reports... some say there was, some say it was a PCE exclusive).

[Moniker]

It strikes me that a ruling should probably be made on whether to include doujins at all. The only series remotely popular enough in public consciousness to compete with commercial releases is Touhou. Basically any other doujin can be considered "hidden." Might be simpler to remove other doujins from consideration, and throw them into the inevitable "Doujins 101" article.

It's really hard to say, I mean when I think of these lists I read them to know what games I should check out, but the problem is most people have no idea where to start. In some article will you include Raizing, Cave, Takumi, Psikyo etc. as the big players for shmups? Because I feel that the best of the genre is really going to go unlisted.

Check here: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/shooters ... oters.html

Having allot of fun with Score Rush atm, although a part of me wishes it was a standard fixed d-pad shooter so I can get used to using the std 360 D-pad

You can use the dpad for movement - you still have to use the right analogue for shooting, though. It's much more precise this way, but obviously not as fluid.

[professor ganson]

Racketboy's kind of a console dude so, first and foremost, I gotta say Gaiares. Great enemy weapon capture system, really good music and graphics for a Genesis cart.

... and dodgy hit detection. Gaiares has a lot of neat ideas, but it doesn't execute them very well. Nostalgia goggles cast aside, this is not really a gem.

I am not comfortable with Xexex being on there. I don't like it and don't think anybody should be allowed to like it.

Same here. Xexex is a terrible game. All it ever really had going for it was that it was technically cutting-edge when it was released. It has aged really badly, though, so all that's left is an inconsistent mess of a game. Dig up the STGT thread from last year for some more arguments against it.

I second the suggestions to include Apidya and Biohazard Battle.

Also, you might want to consider these:
Air Gallet (Arcade)
L-Dis (PCE)
Uridium 2 (Amiga)

EDIT: Oh, and Mr. Heli. Year after year I cannot comprehend that I'm the only one who puts this in his top 25. It's a unique and outstanding game. Definitely a hidden gem.

Interesting post (as usual). Must play Mr. Heli!

Do Thunder Dragon 2 and Trizeal count? Maybe not. Hard to say what's hidden, exactly. I guess the best measure I can think of is: games like the ones in the list in BM's op.

EDIT: I think the following are potentially defeasible rules of thumb.
- No games by major developers like Cave or Psikyo, since their releases are all scrutinized and familiar. This rule might lead to the removal of Xexex on BM's list.
- No games that lacked a proper arcade or console release.

[Observer]

It strikes me that a ruling should probably be made on whether to include doujins at all. The only series remotely popular enough in public consciousness to compete with commercial releases is Touhou. Basically any other doujin can be considered "hidden." Might be simpler to remove other doujins from consideration, and throw them into the inevitable "Doujins 101" article.

I kind of agree with this. Then we can co-operatively put a doujin article and put all the stuff we love and gets ignored here for not being in consoles/arcades. Although I would do mentions to Exception being the exception, pun intended, and getting an arcade port and Trouble Witches "selling out" to XBLA and the arcades, then you have the most notorious XBLIG STGs, like Revolver360 (definitely the highlight, it's fucking awesome and I can't wait for the PC version, which hopefully will have improvements over the original release), the on-LSD WispLisp Array of List, Prismatic Solid and more. Pity a couple of them, like Prismatic Solid, don't have a PC version so I couldn't try 'em despite looking so awesome.

So, yeah, that.

You know what I find to be an underrated gem? Einhänder. It gets name-dropped, but just for the sake of doing that or 'cause it was 3D. They forget of the glorious german taunting, the fact that Blade Runner aesthetics are awesome, the bosses have unexpected attacks and the graphics still resist even today. Plus the plethora of mid-bosses and huge baddies. Plus Thermosphere fucking rocks. Picture any kid of today wouldn't even know Square actually one hell of a nice STG.

[Edmond Dantes]

I am not comfortable with Xexex being on there. I don't like it and don't think anybody should be allowed to like it.

Same here. Xexex is a terrible game. All it ever really had going for it was that it was technically cutting-edge when it was released. It has aged really badly, though, so all that's left is an inconsistent mess of a game. Dig up the STGT thread from last year for some more arguments against it.

I was just reading about this on the Gradius Wiki. It doesn't sound so bad, it has a nice poster and it supposedly borrows X-Multiply's tentacles... is it really as awful as you're making out?

EDIT: Oh, and Mr. Heli. Year after year I cannot comprehend that I'm the only one who puts this in his top 25. It's a unique and outstanding game. Definitely a hidden gem.

This one is all right, I guess. It's got a certain charm but I find that sometimes its a little too hectic. I also don't get why you have an energy bar when touching certain enemies kills you outright anyway.

[Herr Schatten]

I was just reading about this on the Gradius Wiki. It doesn't sound so bad, it has a nice poster and it supposedly borrows X-Multiply's tentacles... is it really as awful as you're making out?

It really is, and I'm pretty sure most participants in STGT2010 will agree with me.

This one is all right, I guess. It's got a certain charm but I find that sometimes its a little too hectic. I also don't get why you have an energy bar when touching certain enemies kills you outright anyway.

Because getting hit by a bullet does not kill you outright. The game makes a distinction between running into enemies and running into bullets. Not a bad thing, IMO.

[Edmond Dantes]

What is "STGT"? And where can I find this thread that was mentioned earlier?

[Observer]

STGT stands for ShooTing Game Tournament. You can search for the threads around the forums. Many games are selected for this yearly competition... and it all usually ends in a bitchfest and people complaining of the selections. Like when we played Dangun Feveron and Thunder Dragon II, heh.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I think the following are potentially defeasible rules of thumb.
- No games by major developers like Cave or Psikyo, since their releases are all scrutinized and familiar.

Not true. Space Bomber is less known than quite a few doujinshi. Zero Gunner is about as well known as the original Thunder Force.

- No games that lacked a proper arcade or console release.

Aren't you just trying to stir the shit up with this one?

Oh, and Mr. Heli. Year after year I cannot comprehend that I'm the only one who puts this in his top 25. It's a unique and outstanding game. Definitely a hidden gem.

Somebody on Eurogamer forum is very fond of this game as well. I intend to play it properly one of these days in search of the kind of fever Baraduke gives me (Fantasy Zone and Atomic Robo-kid don't cut it).

[MathU]

The Milestone games, with the exception of Chaos Field.

I love Chaos Field.


Honestly you could put nearly the entire backlog of Irem shooters that aren't well known on this. They were an amazingly innovative developer that never seems to get appreciated enough outside of R-Type, X-Multiply, and In The Hunt.

[chempop]

stryc9 wrote:
The Milestone games, with the exception of Chaos Field.

I love Chaos Field.

Yeah, Chaos Field is the only Milestone title I enjoyed. I hate Karous, but after watching the 1-sissy, I can honestly say it's one of the worst shmups I've ever played.

Zero Gunner is about as well known as the original Thunder Force.

There was a Thunderforce pt1? LOL

Maybe I haven't played enough hidden gems to contribute anything to this thread. I definitely agree that it's probably best to leave out Doujins, they'll have their own article down the road I imagine.

[MathU]

I hate Karous, but after watching the 1-sissy, I can honestly say it's one of the worst shmups I've ever played.

I really enjoy Karous too. I always find it odd just how divided people seem to be over Milestone's games. In particular, Chaos Field vs. the rest of their shooters.