Shmups for Beginners?

[Edmond Dantes]

Just thinking, if you were trying to get someone else into shmups... say they needed ones that were good, but not intimidating... which would you name?

I'd probably pick Thunder Force III and Gradius: the Interstellar Assault. Your choice?

[Obscura]

Define "not intimidating". Strikers 1999 isn't really intimidating in that its bullet density is fairly low, but as far as difficulty, I'd put it up above most of Cave's output any day.

Anyways, for "beginner friendly" games, Illyrian's list:
Touhou easy
Touhou normal
Blue Wish Resurrection Plus
Eden's Aegis

I'd add Armed Police Batrider normal course and Deathsmiles to that list. Possibly Batsugun and Sengoku Blade as well (I've never seen its later stages, but its early stages seemed easy enough; that said, the charge shot mechanics are really awkward).

[Acid_Rain]

I don't think it's the difficulty that scares people. In my eyes its the overall theme much more often.

I think it depends a lot on the person you are trying to "persuade".

if the person is a old-school gamer give him/her old-school shmups
if he/she likes little goth girls give him some deathsmiles
if he/she preferes spaceships and lasers try some ddp
if he's/she's a biologist try some futari bl
if he into fantasy let him try some dragon blaze (hmm… perhaps this one is a bit to harsh)
…

I started a "new to the genre" thread a while ago, it can be found here. But the list is only sorted by mentions.

[Obscura]

WTF is Gunbird 2 doing on that list? That game is tough as hell. Easily harder than Dragon Blaze or S1999.

[Acid_Rain]

(Like I said) The list is only sorted by mentions, since I had no idea about shmups at that point.

And yes, Gunbird 2 is a really hard game.

[Obscura]

If they like fantasy, perhaps Mahou Daisakusen? I've never played it, so I don't know how hard it is, but there's a reasonable chance it's easier than Dragon Blaze.

[EmperorIng]

I've had some small degree of success getting a few of my friends on shmups through liberal use of Darius Gaiden and G-Darius - more so Darius Gaiden because it is a simpler game.

I think it's because the game has a relatable aesthetic - "Whoa look at those cuh-razy fish!" - instead of more off-putting loli stuff. In that regard, they really got in to Raiden IV as well.

The difficulty is high, but when you're playing with friends, there's no point in playing for "score" or for 1CCs, because that's meaningless in a multiplayer setting - it becomes strictly about "fun."

So like I said, I think it's good to start with something that has wide appeal, with broad, enjoyable themes. After all, my first two shmups were RayForce and Darius Gaiden!

Though if the question is "what are shmups that aren't hard to get into?"

I'd say:
Thunder Force III
Trouble Shooter
Gun.Smoke
U.N. Squadron
RayStorm
Gradius V
Under Defeat

There are more but those are off the top of my head. Some might wonder Under Defeat or Gradius V. I'd say that while these games are generally difficult, their systems are very simple and easy to grasp, so it's easy for newcomers to jump right in after a playthrough or two.
Heck my roomie and I were able to storm through Under Defeat over the course of a weak, through some serious credit-feeding. While I don't really like to play feeding credits (unless I'm bored), when you're playing with a friend, and especially when credits are shared, it becomes sort of a fun thing in and of itself. And again, both have a very mainstream appeal to them (for different reasons).

[xbl0x180]

I don't think it's the difficulty that scares people. In my eyes its the overall theme much more often.

I think it depends a lot on the person you are trying to "persuade".

if the person is a old-school gamer give him/her old-school shmups
if he/she likes little goth girls give him some deathsmiles
if he/she preferes spaceships and lasers try some ddp
if he's/she's a biologist try some futari bl
if he into fantasy let him try some dragon blaze (hmm… perhaps this one is a bit to harsh)
…

I started a "new to the genre" thread a while ago, it can be found here. But the list is only sorted by mentions.

I also agree that it isn't difficulty as much as the genre of game. Most gamers I know aren't interested in 2D Shoot-'Em-Ups. They don't seem to be attracted to the idea of playing video games for high scores, but, rather, to enjoy a game for story and have others join in. After experiencing FPS games, they see Shoot-'Em-Ups as almost static, repetitive, and short for the gameplay value.

If I could, I'd recommend Super R-Type, Pulstar, a Parodius game, or even Akai Katana Shin on "Slash" mode

[Obscura]

Under Defeat just feels weird, though. That bizarre 3/4ths perspective makes the movement feel unusual, and it makes it hard to read incoming patterns.

I played a few emulated credits of it when I was sampling games figuring out what I wanted to devote time to, and got to the stage 3 boss; it didn't feel that hard, and it wasn't bad, but it sure was bizarre.

[Bananamatic]

Pink Sweets

[Acid_Rain]

I played rRootage a lot in the beginning, cause I loved how everything was narrowed down to geometrical shapes and basic dodging.

[EmperorIng]

Why would someone be attracted to playing for score?

Oftentimes it's the complete opposite of having fun!

Grab a controller, maybe a beer, and have fun blasting the shit out of things (and jamming to ZUNTATA tunes if able). My friends have long been able to grasp some of the finer workings of the genre (thanks to my expert play, of course ), but if I grab them in to the game it's never about score. It's about ripping everything a new asshole. Which is no different than an FPS. Or any video-game ever.

Under Defeat just feels weird, though. That bizarre 3/4ths perspective makes the movement feel unusual, and it makes it hard to read incoming patterns.

I played a few emulated credits of it when I was sampling games figuring out what I wanted to devote time to, and got to the stage 3 boss; it didn't feel that hard, and it wasn't bad, but it sure was bizarre.

I emulated it for a while, and played it on my Dreamcast, and while it does take getting used to, you learn quickly that you should primarily stay towards the bottom of the screen. I think G.Rev knew the angle would put off some players, so every bullet is the same size and consistency, and the patterns are a lot easier to deal with than a Cave game. You still have a few duds in there, but I think its central mechanics and low bullet-density make it easy for people to jump in. If my roommate could figure out the game system while drunk, I'm sure anyone can.

Pink Sweets

I can imagine trying to convince friends to play for score:

"Ok, here's what you do. You just sort of let the enemy fire a lot and don't touch him."
"So I just stand there?"
"Yeah."
"Thrilling."

[Zerst]

Have to agree on Darius Gaiden. Interesting visuals, very straightforward weapons, and a first stage that's even cool the hundredth attempt in.

a Parodius game

Parodius is interesting in this regard, because the series is surprisingly difficult for how wacky it is. I bring my candy cab to conventions and Sexy Parodius usually stays in there most of the time. Unfortunately from what I've seen, outside of the hipsters, people there generally just credit fed through it going "what the fuck is going on" the whole time, and then stood up and walked away in horror like they'd never touch another shmup in their life.

[Acid_Rain]

Another possibility would be to bait your friends with a certain arena shmup.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is a total blast with friends. You can switch between versus and coop, its about surviving and scoring and a good amount of dodging.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Gradius V, mode 2 laser, or some other game sporting Fun Weapons™.

Raiden III (co-op) - actually tried out with my pals. On the PC, there are ways to map YOUR bombs onto the partner's controller. Works a treat (you collect bombs, they can use them).

Sonic Wings Special (in tate) - I'm pretty sure can be fun in co-op, because:
a) Fun Weapons™ - enough said,
b) one of the fighter's bomb stops time for a while.

[Giest118]

MushiFutari's novice mode is pretty well made. Besides that, many freeware and doujin shmups include easy modes that can ease new players into things.

[Mortificator]

I'm thinking along a couple lines here. If the person's already into hard 2D single-player games, just not 2D shooters, try a good checkpoint or limited-credit game like:
R-Type or R-Type Leo (Japanese version)
Gradius Gaiden or Gradius V
Thunder Force III or IV
Kyukyoku Tiger or the main Raiden games
Sonic Wings 2, 3, or Special
Radiant Silvergun

For lighter gamers, it might not be realistic to expect them to strive with shooters on their own, but you can still have fun hitting it co-op from time to time. Some possibilities there are:
The Raiden series
Zanac Neo
Xevious Arrangement
Salamander 2 or Gradius V
Pop'n TwinBee
G Darius
R-Type Leo (World version)
Dangun Feveron

If they like fantasy, perhaps Mahou Daisakusen? I've never played it, so I don't know how hard it is, but there's a reasonable chance it's easier than Dragon Blaze.

Mahou's really tough. Great game, though, and the easiest to get into of its trilogy.

[EmperorIng]

It's hard to get people hooked on shooters using something like Kyukyokou Tiger, considering how bare-bones, uninteresting, and difficult the game is.

At least Sky Shark on the NES had Tim Follin music to push you on!

The sequel is better in that regard for actually having something going for it.

[Edmond Dantes]

I'm surprised someone suggested Fantasy-themed shmups and failed to mention either Dragon Spirit or Dragon Saber, or the "Chariot" game in Wonder 3

[Obscura]

Mahou's really tough. Great game, though, and the easiest to get into of its trilogy.

Yeah, I played a few credits out of curiosity, and once the 2nd boss shows up, things get pretty tough.

I wonder why MAME has a third button for it in control options? It doesn't seem to do anything...

[Edmond Dantes]

MAME seems to have extra buttons for a lot of games that don't really use them (I noticed it with Xexex and a few other Konami shmups too)

[R79]

Truxton on Mega Drive, Darius Gaiden on Saturn (don't forget to manually add the rapid-fire!), and Death Smiles on 360.

All very accessible games to genre new-comers IMO. Nice sound and graphics too, on at least two of them (not so keen on DS music, visually excellent though).

[Acid_Rain]

MushiFutari's novice mode is pretty well made. Besides that, many freeware and doujin shmups include easy modes that can ease new players into things.

Is the Futari Novice mode on the 360 disc? Can't find it… or do you mean the one that's listed under the Arrange mode?

[shmuppyLove]

Maybe some retro stuff with simpler gameplay?

Like:
Galaga
Space Invaders
Gyruss

For Cave stuff I would say DonPachi, MEOW Dangun MEOW Feveron MEOW and Deathsmiles.

[KAI]

Played Pinksweets Arrange yesterday, so beginner friendly.
Muchi Muchi Pork, trigger heart exelica, Karous amd Illvelo are easy.

[O. Van Bruce]

Pink Sweets

Damm, got Ninja'd

Anyway, it depends if you played shmups when you were little or not. If you haven't then enter directly on Danmaku sub-genre because it's probably easier than the old-school shmups.

- Touhou (specially Mountain of Faith and Imperishable Night, in that order)

- Trouble Witches

- Mushihime-sama

those 3 would make a good starter. You can play other shumps as you play these also, just to try.

[Zengeku3]

I started out with a little space invaders clone named Chicken Invaders. Could look into that

[Bu11et He11]

Deathsmiles every day of the week.

[Jeneki]

Maybe something with tons of difficulty settings. For example, 360 Raiden Fighters Aces. You can adjust bullet density, speed, suicide bullets, etc, all individually from each other. Or maybe XOP, which has a subtle-but-noticeable curve as you increase the difficulty.

Start low, slowly work their way up. Ask them to to text you every time they beat a harder mode, to keep them interested.

[kamiboy]

PC Denjin and Blazing Lazers got me to appreciate the genre albeit on my own terms.

Playing for score or 1cc are not concepts that will ever resonate with my sentiments so I only started to find appeal in the genre by finding titles whose design evoke the same sensibilities as favourites like Castlevania and Ghouls 'N Ghosts.

I find I eally love titles that combine infinite continues with spaced out checkpoints and a very high difficulty which can be overcome with practice by repetition.

If any of the above three are missing the game just does not resonate with me. For an example if the game has limited continues I am angered by having to constantly repeat the early parts of the game to try and get better at the later parts.

It is counter productive and a waste of time to play for an hour to get to the 1 minute section that gives you trouble. That is also why checkpoints are a must. If the game just continues after you die at a difficult juncture it robs you of the chance to get better at that part short of starting over, which is no different to having limited continues.

Of course without crushing difficulty none of latter make any sense, so that too is a given. It still has to be well designed difficulty though.

In any regard if your friends like old school difficulty in games like Mega Man, Castlevania, Makai Mura series, Ninja Gaiden etc. just recommend them a few titles with those three elements and they should be able to get into them.