Background details

[Spyke]

Hi all.

Some shmups have an awful lot of detail in the backgrounds. Many have actions taking place in the background, which end up being either relevent or irrelevent in the actual gameplay. I think it's great to have these things going on.

My favourite is in Shienryu/Steel Dragon, level two, as you progress through the level, the end of level boss is actually being constructed in the background! I really enjoy seeing all the sections coming together, supported on moving gantries as you fly through the level blowing stuff up in the foreground.

Then, when you reach the end of level, the boss launches and you battle it. As you destroy certain sections, they detach, trailing flame and smoke, and fall to their destruction in the sea below.

It's just brilliant! I love this level of detail in games.

Anyone got any other favourite little sections?

Ant

[dannnnn]

I always liked how at the beginning of stage 2 in Battle Garegga, you can see some of the later bosses flying overhead reflected in the water beneath you.

[KAI]

Soukyuu "Descent Into the Sea of Clouds"
Rayforce everything
Milestone

[Observer]

I love the fleet battle that takes place in the first stage of Cybattler. Hyper Duel also has some nifty stuff going on the background.

I think Einhander also had a lot going on in the background.

Oh and in RayForce, Kamui and RefleX sometimes it's all about the stuff going on the background, from ships firing from below to enemies you have to target or bosses showing up.

[AntiFritz]

I've always liked the setpieces and stuff that happen in the 3 ESP games. The stage 3 midboss in espgaluda 2 for example looks damn cool.

[null1024]

Rayforce everything

Also, lots of little things in Dangun look really spiffy, the cars on the asteroid highway, the stuff beneath that glass in the second stage, etc.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I like the turtles in Dragon Blaze.

[BIL]

A few favourites off the top of my head:

R-Type Delta: Stage 3's night-time blizzard. Snow fills the sky, freezing fog rolls along the ground, and the audibly howling wind roils both in tandem. The icy floor shatters beneath every screen-shaking step of the gigantic walker, while grounded helicopters are smashed underfoot with burning wreckage sent flying.

Einhander: Stage 1's alternate route revealing the ruins of the former city and an unexploded warhead lying amongst the debris. And sighting the armoured train that's Stage 2's target rushing by in the distance as the ship speeds across the badlands in hot pursuit.

Raiden II: Buildings + Falling aircraft. 'nuff said!

Soukyugurentai: Stage 3's cloud dive / death from above sequence blows my mind every time. Really bad day to be driving through that canyon.

Musha Aleste: The way after stage 3 (again!)'s floor disintegrates, each tile explodes individually as it hits the lava miles below.

Slap Fight: The first area looks almost medieval, unless you hit a building with the Bomb weapon to expose the labyrinthine circuitry within.

Gradius Gaiden: Requiem For Revengers' machine graveyard and its cameos by the semi-operative remains of Crystal Core, Covered Core and Bigcore MkII, encrusted in the junk that forms the terrain. And the popcorns that greet the player are smashed-up and trailing smoke as if they were just dug out of the same heap!

Under Defeat: Stages 3's and 5's glimpses of your own side fighting on land and air. There's a battle raging throughout the former between a friendly jetfighter and several enemies, which ends with your ally going out in a blaze of glory by crashing his burning aircraft into an enemy tank. The last boss announces his presence with a mortar strike obliterating not only your cornered tanks but his own units too.

edit: Also, the unarmed automobiles fleeing the carnage in stages 1 and 3, which you have to ruthlessly destroy for 100% stage completion. UD's a fairly gritty war shooter if you tune out the anime-styled characters.

[soupbones]

First stage in Viper Phase 1 has some great stuff going on below: crews scrambling to get to their ships, large carriers driving to the runway, the boss being slowly launched into space... the exact mayhem I would expect in a space battle.

The school stage in ESP.Rade stick out to me as well - lots of kids staring up at you on the street, troops lauching from rooftops - great stuff.

[BIL]

Ah man. Was just having a casual game of MD Same! Same! Same! when I noticed the shark swimming along under the plane at the end of stage 3 as the wrecked flagship is left in their wake. Magic.

[TransatlanticFoe]

I always thought they were supposed to be dolphins, not sharks - they release one into the water after the takeoff in one of the later levels. Fire Shark also has birds as you approach some of the landing zones and daft cameos from the ground crews (the guy who gets out of synch when marching and the plane that crashes during takeoff). Scramble Spirits has similar themes with takeoff/landing - the ground crews spell out words and you landing on one guy.

End of stage one in Kyukyoku Tiger 2, there's a car which drives into the water off a destroyed bridge.

RayForce wins though. So much attention to detail throughout.

[BIL]

I'm sure you're right - originally I thought it might be a shipwrecked sailor swimming for his life, especially when he does a 180 and goes back to sea upon reaching the beach with three of your guys on it.