STG of the Month - May/June 2012 - DonPachi!

[CptRansom]

Started with this post.

I think ShmuppyLove had a great idea with an STG of the Month, and I'm moving on with it. Unfortunately, it's May 19th currently, so it's going to be STG of the Month And A Week Or So this time, but I'll start the others on the 1st. STGT brings the community together nicely, and something a little more often than once a year should hopefully do the same.

So here we go: give me three games that are playable in MAME, any doujins (especially freeware), or any console that is emulated well on PC.

I will review the lists in a couple days and just pick something at random (unless people come to an overwhelming consensus on a game). That will be the game of the month, and I'll start a thread in High Scores for people to post in.

If you don't like the way I'm doing this go fuck yourself feel free to make suggestions and I'll take them into consideration for about 5 seconds before I forget they exist.

This month's game is DONPACHI!

[BarfHappy]

- Scramble (AC)
- Starforce (AC)
- Sexy Parodius (AC... or PSX for lovely otohmia)(^o^)

[Smraedis]

Maybe start it on the 1st of the month, so we already know when the month ends? Should helping others be promoted?

Games:
1943 Kai (AC)
Zanac Neo (PS1)
Einhander (PS1)

Poor choice? Yeah, but these games could do with some more documentation/strategy threads.

[Tokyo-J]

Mars Matrix
Dimahoo
Strikers 1999

[CptRansom]

Maybe start it on the 1st of the month, so we already know when the month ends? Should helping others be promoted?

I didn't feel like waiting until the 1st, honestly. We can start this on Monday, and this "month" will just run a little longer (we'll end Month 1 on June 30th). The world won't end, I promise. =)

Month 2 will start July 1st and then it should be smooth sailing.

I think we should definitely help others. We have STGT for serious competition. I'd like this to be more about bringing the forum together, exploring some more games in depth, and some light competition if people want it.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Darius Force (SFC)
Syvalion (AC)
Eco Fighters (AC)

[Moniker]

Pulling some from Bulletmagnet's WIP Hidden Gems article would be neat-o and probably help him get some feedback.

Maybe..

Harmful Park (PSX/PSN)
Omega Fighter Special (ARC)
Cybattler (ARC)

?

[Eno]

Is there any problem putting a game already suggested?

Einhander (PSX) or Soldier Blade (PCE) if repeating titles isn't allowed
Strikers 1945 II (ARC)
Super Aleste (SNES)

[TrevHead (TVR)]

How about adding Akai Katana since its just released?

[shmuppyLove]

Pulling some from Bulletmagnet's WIP Hidden Gems article would be neat-o and probably help him get some feedback.

Maybe..

Harmful Park (PSX/PSN)
Omega Fighter Special (ARC)
Cybattler (ARC)

?

I was just playing Cybattler today, it's pretty rad and I think a lot of people won't have played it already.

[Ruldra]

Cybattler (ARC)

Came here to suggest this. This "Shooter of the month" event is perfect to bring awareness to some unknown gems around here, or shmups with empty scoreboards. Not much of a point to suggest Cave stuff when the majority of people play them already.

I strongly suggest Cybattler, it's a great game and quite challenging. The final boss is one of the toughest enemies I've ever come across on a shmup.

Also recommending Dragon Breed and Master of Weapon.

[Zaarock]

If multiple mentions of the same games aren't allowed just ignore this post;

Kamui (PC)
Zanac Neo (PS1)
Cybattler (ARC)

[CptRansom]

Multiple mentions are allowed for sure.

I will review the lists in a couple days and just pick something at random (unless people come to an overwhelming consensus on a game).

[moozooh]

Axelay
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou
Ketsui

[Kollision]

Halley's Comet
X-Multiply
Night Raid

[Aliquantic]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but Shrinemaiden ran a shooter of the week for a while that had moderate success, though it seems to have mostly run out of steam now. So it looks like a pretty interesting initiative with a much wider audience!

No specific names from me, but I'd nominate freeware doujin, which you seem to have excluded from your initial criteria (and with doujin unlikely to get into STGT again, it'd be nice to give them a little corner somewhere).

[Vyxx]

Dimahoo
Xexex
Strikers 1945 II

[trap15]

Dimahoo (ARC)
Battle Bakraid (ARC)
Omega Fighter Special ROM Special Mode (ARC)

[Bananamatic]

No specific names from me, but I'd nominate freeware doujin, which you seem to have excluded from your initial criteria (and with doujin unlikely to get into STGT again, it'd be nice to give them a little corner somewhere).

chorensha
now

[CptRansom]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but Shrinemaiden ran a shooter of the week for a while that had moderate success, though it seems to have mostly run out of steam now. So it looks like a pretty interesting initiative with a much wider audience!

No specific names from me, but I'd nominate freeware doujin, which you seem to have excluded from your initial criteria (and with doujin unlikely to get into STGT again, it'd be nice to give them a little corner somewhere).

Shit, I DEFINITELY never meant to exclude doujins! =(

Doujins are totally in, folks. If you want to edit your posts to reflect that, by all means, do so.

I like "of the Month" over "of the Week" because I think it will encourage more casual players to get in and get some results by the end of the month without having to grind save states for hours a day (like many do in STGT). It will also (I'm hoping) promote more strategy talk which is never a bad thing.

I'll edit my OP to include doujins. Thanks for the heads-up, broseph.

EDIT: I also removed the 360 from the list. Yeah, most people have one, I'm sure, but not EVERYONE. I want this to be something that literally anyone can participate in.

[chempop]

Dimahoo
19XX
Strikers 1945 pt2

[Erppo]

Perfect Cherry Blossom
Turbo Force
Battle Bakraid

[Aliquantic]

I'll edit my OP to include doujins. Thanks for the heads-up, broseph.

<Bows>

Eden's Aegis (PC)
Vasara 2 (ARC)
Perfect Cherry Blossom (PC, not freeware but my avatar demands it)

[azinth]

oh god why are so many people unironically nominating Dimahoo D:

V-V
TURBO FORCE
some Touhou game

[RNGmaster]

RadioZonde
Vasara 2
Batsugun Special

[Despatche]

V-V
Donpachi
Dangun Feveron

sry

[shadowbringer]

- Mystic Square
- Varth
- Crimzon Clover

There are a lot of other games I like, but would have a lower chance of winning, and these games listed above sound good enough. I didn't list the Windows Touhou games because 1) I don't like the idea of grazing as much as possible (my memory betrays me often, to the point that stage practice is useless for me, because I would take years to learn even the first stages, and there are some places where I can't realistically execute good enough grazing) and 2) I dislike MoF's faith meter system, it drops every time, and every time I die, I think about the lost scoring potential due to a loss of (1/3 * (current faith - (base starting faith))). And 3) it's extremely difficult for me to try to ignore the scoring systems, so I get frustrated if I'd just try to survive and (as a result of it) think about the points I'd miss because of not grazing (for safety).

[Marc]

Thundercross.

[dunpeal2064]

Dimahoo (ARC)
Vapor trail (ARC)
Gunbird (ARC)

[Blackbird]

May I recommend Giest's game, Trigonometry Wars 4?

- Fun
- Challenging
- Freeware everyone has easy access to
- Deep scoring
- No Ponies
- Range of difficulty levels
- Not played to death

Basically, everyone can easily get into this and compare scores.