Oh hey, I had totally forgot about that thread. Few months after the guy claims Section Z is broken and "forces you to continue" I got over halfway into the game's second loop on a credit. Good times.
So, yeah, I think Section Z is a pretty nifty Capcom shmup. Both arcade and NES versions, though they're pretty much a different game altogether.
No matter how good a game is, somebody will always hate it. No matter how bad a game is, somebody will always love it.
WarpZone wrote:R-Type III often has better design but a truly terrible stage 4 that I find hard to forgive.
Stage 4 is not the problem with R-Type III; I'm actually having a lot of fun learning it. The problem is I actually had to resort to savestates just to practice it, otherwise I'd be stuck slogging through that exessivly long 1st damn stage every time.
Edmond Dantes wrote:Did Capcom ever make a good shmup, besides the NES version of 1943?
Vulgus.
Exed Exes.
Incidentally, I cannot beat the 2nd level of Eco Fighters . Not neccessarily a bad game though
Haven't played Eco Fighters yet...
Honestly, I tried to play Vulgus and Exed Exes recently--with Exed I was just endlessly credit-feeding it--and I didn't see what was so special. Maybe they're notable for some sort of historical perspective, but I didn't see anything particularly good about them as games.
Exed Exes had a weird problem, IIRC--you move slow as molasses when moving left or right, but moves fine up and down. That got annoying when they started bullet-spamming. This could be a problem with the Capcom Classics Collection port tho.
I doubt it's a CCC issue - its Exed Exes is taken from the Capcom Generation 3 disc, and that series is generally dead-on accurate. Doubt a huge glitch like that would make it in. MAME acts the same too. And I can't remember which, but at least one of the first three 194X games has the same handling characteristic.
Vulgus is a bit like Xevious done well. The AI thing features, to an extent, in Toaplan and Seibu shmups, but none of those (as far as I can tell) is as purely behaviour-based as Vulgus. It's refreshing to play a shmup built upon behaviour patterns rather than "stage design" once in a while. More arcade games should be like it, but for whatever reasons after the early years of Namco very few developers followed that path. Shmups are particulary plagued by the "popcorn instead of personality" design philosophy.
BIL wrote:I doubt it's a CCC issue - its Exed Exes is taken from the Capcom Generation 3 disc, and that series is generally dead-on accurate. Doubt a huge glitch like that would make it in. MAME acts the same too. And I can't remember which, but at least one of the first three 194X games has the same handling characteristic.
Possibly a wrong aspect ratio thing. Ibara on the PS2 gets it wrong in yoko, correct in tate (though it just might depend on the TV).
The rear gate is closed down
The way out is cut off
It's not an aspect ratio issue on PS1 or MAME. CG3 has an option for unscaled display on a 4:3 screen (edit: screen type 1) as does CG1's 1943, and the ships still handle the same. Everything there applies to unscaled MAME as well.
It's probably just a quirk on the original devs' part, just like bosses are legitimately difficult to pin with a bullet in Gun.Smoke.
Last edited by BIL on Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reading that guy's whiny post in detail almost makes me want to write a Gun.Smoke survival guide ala my Metal Black one. Not surprised he didn't get the basic strafing & zoning tactics, he apparently hadn't figured out the game has three buttons either.
Steam Hearts.
Harmful Park....sure, it's sort of cute, but it just got on my nerves--fast.
Orb 3D if that's considered a shmup, or a video game.
Mostly shmups don't infuriate or disgust me the way other genres do. Not that Chou Aniki isn't disgusting. Hmm. For some reason it just popped into my head the only song I could listen to in Jet Grind was 'Super Brother'. Anyway I wanted to post a little faith in Air Buster (Genny) and in another it didn't look like anybody's defended yet, through 17 pages, Galg on NES. Galg is cool, sort of an arcade game that was never on a PCB. I wish I had an actual cart so I could try it with a trackball.
Last edited by RustedCannon on Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Been playing Strike Force Hydra this weekend on the PS1 - shamefully bad. Master System Power Strike looks and plays a ton better than this inept shooter.
DocHauser wrote:There are a few recent PS3/PSP Minis that I'd add to the stinker list:
.....
Flying Hamster and Who's That Flying probably just get a pass by being mediocre rather than truly terrible.
Having just tried the PC version of "Who's that Flying?" I felt strongly enough about it to log on and add it to this thread. Seriously, it's got to be the dullest thing I've played outside of broken freeware. I could understand the devs going for style over substance with it, but it doesn't really have any style either. Just lots of dull repetition and a few really pathetic attempts at humor.
While I'm on the subject of venting about PC shumps, I haven't finished it yet, but I doubt it gets any better so I'm also going to put Silver Wings out there as being terrible. At least, in it's defense, the dialog and acting is kind of enjoyably, laughably bad.
RustedCannon wrote:I wanted to post a little faith in Air Buster
Air Buster isn't on the list.
RustedCannon wrote:and Galg on NES.
Noted. Anyone else defends it I'll consider removing it.
Pointman wrote:Transbot
Man, I had this! God, it's awful. Good one.
Kiken wrote:Viewpoint PS1 ver
Added.
Why the heck is Cho Aniki of all things on the front page's list of stinkers?
It's actually Ai Cho Aniki, the sequel. Now corrected.
RNGmaster wrote:
Totally seconding Starcannon with you, btw. That game is the worst shmup I've ever played.
Added.
DocHauser wrote:
M.O.Z.O.X Space Salvager (seriously, this one looks dreadful)
A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks
Sky Force
Apache Overkill
Ace Armstrong vs. The Alien Scumbags
I sorta see where you're coming from, but based on the hardware limitations it looks about right for a C64 effort. I don't know if that makes it a stinker tbh.
Gmintyfresh wrote:Been playing Strike Force Hydra this weekend on the PS1 - shamefully bad. Master System Power Strike looks and plays a ton better than this inept shooter.
Yeah. I saw this game at Andrä once for only €4 (That's ca. £3) but I never even bothered to buy it in the first place as I assumed it is rubbish. I even saw gameplay videos of it and man, that is just boring garbage. :/
Good lord, yes, points for Who's that Flying. Terrible perfect-run oriented with annoying mechanics and just as terrible music. Without mentioning the sense of humour throughout the game. Looks well, but it plays like crap. Not nearly as bad as, say, Razor2 or Protöthea but... damn.
NOW REACHES THE FATAL ATTRACTION BE DESCRIBED AS "HELLSINKER". DECIDE DESTINATION.
dunpeal2064 wrote:I actually liked Eco Fighters. Plays really well on the ps2, gives me that "gradius v type 2" feel. Some really neat powerups as well.
I have to take back my earlier comment about Capcom not making good shmups.
Following this discussion, I put in my copy of Capcom Classics Vol. 2 and tried out this "Eco Fighters" game and... well...
It's the kind of game that reminds me why I got into video games. I just loved everything about it. The bright visuals, the goofy Captain Planet-esque plot, that rotating appendage thing you have, and especially the Soundtrack--which I am in fact listening to while I post this.
I only wish there was a way to rip that soundtrack to my PC since I unlocked it (it was easy, since on Earth, Credits are a renewable resource... not that I'm complaining!)
So that's two good Capcom shmups (that I've discovered) and I'm starting to like the Arcade version of 1943 as well.
Skykid wrote:There are about two incoming bullets per stage, ship's too slow, and it's dull as dishwater. Budget SMS shmup for kids on welfare.
Famicom shmups like Crisis Force and Over Horizon mopped the floor with Transbot, and still do.
ahn.... okay, it's been a while since I played it, my perception might be a bit clouded
but that's an unfair comparison, you're putting it against top-tier Famicom stuff
Who actually plays Crisis Force (rather than some other Famicom shmup, that is)? One thing it had going for it was co-op, but boy, was it performing badly.
Crisis Force and Raf World are those frequently namedropped Famicom games I have a hard time believing even NES-heads play nowadays. Above average in some respects, but not terribly playable.
The rear gate is closed down
The way out is cut off
Bump. Time to revive and review. Some of the videos are gone, such as Sky Smasher.
So yeah, this is still a pretty terrible list; hard to say "this thread has value", not even sure why I'm bumping it.
-Ghost Pilots: I'd rather defend this game.
-Sky Smasher: Yeah, why this? I mean come on, the guy put down Aero Blasters of all things.
-MX5000: Huh? The first two stages seem pretty great, at least. Didn't bother to figure out more.
-Varia Metal: Not sure about this one, total anomaly.
-Terra Cresta 3D: Not understanding this one, you may as well call it 3D/G.
-Philosoma and Gaia Seed: No idea why these are on the list. I've never heard anything bad about Philosoma, and Gaia Seed is great if easy.
-Sol Divide: Enemies just take a bunch of damage, and it's not a huge issue. Never understood the hate for this, not for a second. Like, "pretentious"? Really?
-Steam Heart's: Not sure why this is here, looks like a Compile game.
-XDR's alright. Has funny physics but the game is definitely not a stinker.
-Zing Zing Zip doesn't really belong on this list. You'd have to put Mad Shark in here too, something I doubt anyone would try.
-Bio-Ship Paladin: Can anyone tell me about the Mega Drive version?
-Super Mate Mate Laser is just some techdemo thing, all the versions are very different iirc. Not fair to put it here. Observer's... observation... is flawed. I wouldn't put Banshiryuu up here either!
-Deep Blue doesn't really go here. Comparing it to Submarine Attack is plain absurd.
-Zunou Senkan Galg: Not understanding this one. Just seems like a Star Force clone like any other clone. Also it's described as an RPG for some reason? Super Star Force prototype????
-Psychic Storm: I'd definitely put this in the Compile folder as well.
-Bomber Raid totally doesn't go here. It's a semi-followup to Sonic Boom and is almost as awesome as that game. How do you allow Xenon 2 and not this?
-Captain Tomaday doesn't go here; most Visco games don't.
-Chouji Meikyuu Legion doesn't go here.
-Legion, the PC Engine CD game, doesn't go here either. Neither does Avenger. The only problem with Legion I see is no score. Whoo, big deal as far as quality goes.
-Espial: Another Xevious/Star Force thing by a small company, kinda hard to include here. Score display is actually kinda clever; iirc those two digits are just free zeroes like any other game.
-Bermuda Triangle: Total anomaly, want more info.
-The Last Day: Surprisingly playable last I checked. Needs more research. Pollux and some others might also fit in here.
-Blazeon: Not understanding why the SNES port specifically.
-Spriggan Powered: Fairly good game, goes in the Compile folder.
-TransBot: Again, not understanding this one. I don't buy Skykid's complaints.
Can you really compare any of these games to true crap like Divine Sealing, Air Raid, and any Micronics port ever? Raiden SNES (it is NOT a "lousy port by today's standards", it's pure Micronics trash like everything else they did, INCLUDING 1942) still isn't up and people recommend games like ETHER VAPOR of all things (and it has some pretty awesome tunes), Blast Wind, Aero Busters, Super R-Type, Darius Gaiden (in the same post as Asuka & Asuka, too), Tyrian AND Raptor, Infinity Gene, Silver Surfer as always, Cyber Core, fucking Strikers 1945 Plus (they're joking and serious at the same time!), 1942 (come on you know your "reasoning" is complete bull), the FIRST Soldner X (and i thought everyone was supposed to hate the second), Thunder Force VI, Exerion all over... following this path of logic, why hasn't anyone recommended Milestone games or Hydorah yet?
Stop recommending "mediocre" or "dull" games. I'm sure all the games in this post are simply "mediocre" or "dull" by some psychotic metric. Seriously, stop it. That's not even remotely close to the spirit of this list. And please, for god's sake, put things in perspective. Gradius III is a good SNES port because no one knew the SNES very well in 1991; if it was released even the next year, it'd be even more amazing. Conversely, nearly everything Micronics makes is very very bad; I have seen so many games of that time and before (especially MSX1 games!) that RUN much better, let alone PLAY.
(God, Ruldra recommending Strikers 1945 Plus hurts me so much)
Last edited by Despatche on Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Recommending Raiden Trad (SNES) and 1942 (NES). Don't think I need to explain these!
re: My Hero/Seishun Scandal, pretty cool platformer thing, at least the arcade version. Good example of how to take Spartan X further.)
re: Scion, the biggest issue is you can sit around in stage 1 like it's Time Pilot or something. That can be fixed though, just put a time limit down like Time Pilot. I want to do a stage 1 counterstop one of these days.
re: Exed Exes, you move slower vertically than horizontally, and it makes sense if you look at the ship sprite. Doesn't particularly bother me, what does are those asshole enemies that pop up from the bottom of the screen for like 20 seconds.
Also fuck Crisis Force. It's no Micronics--I definitely wouldn't put it on this list--but damn it runs poorly. TransBot over that any day.
On the other hand, Rough World is pretty stellar, the lack of music is actually what bothers me about that game.
. Not neccessarily a bad game though
Good one.
