Shmup Ticker: What are you playing RIGHT NOW?

[z0mbie90]

Back to the GUN.SMOKE in pursuit of a decent .inp file for that ST I'll be writing over the Easter break.

Keep going!

[Icarus]

Relearning Crimzon Clover, Original Mode. Other games are on hold until after Stunfest.

[Bananamatic]

Relearning Crimzon Clover, Original Mode. Other games are on hold until after Stunfest.

go clear unlimited already

[ptoing]

Hishou Zame. Trying to get 1CC of at least the first loop. So far managing to no miss to stage 4 and then fail.

[EmperorIng]

Guardian Force:

Even if the game gives you 9 credits, stage C, D, and E will make sure you lose most of them.

I can get to the third stage (B) on a single credit. The game really pulls no punches with enemies from every angle. Obiwanshinobi mentioned Zero Gunner 2, and I think the comparison is apt. Except GF's tank shot is not all that great unless pared with your special weapon.

I actually credit fed to what I assume is the last stage, the imperial capital (F) - very cool how halfway through the level, you break into the city itself and roam through its streets. Level design is top notch, and the masochist in me wishes the stages got this brutal far earlier in the game!

[eatdogs]

Neo xyx
Nanostray
Zanac X zanac

[ACSeraph]

Raging hard at Darius Force's middle course. I want to like this game so bad, but it's like the designers didn't even fucking play it. Enemies and bullets clipping through walls (and being invisible while clipping no less), and the boss Thunderbolt Fan is a fucking joke. They made it so the only part you can damage is on it's back, thus you have to have a piercing weapon. That would be well and fine except A: if you die you are powered down completely and cannot get a laser to fight it with so you may as well just reset, and B: the Type 2 ship doesn't even have a fucking piercing laser. I mean shit, if I can see the problems with it you'd think the people who designed the fucking game could too. It's not even that it's all that hard, it isn't, it's just that the stuff that kills you half the time is shit design decisions, not difficult patterns and enemies. I feel so bad for the guy who did the art design for this game, because their awesome work was wasted on some seriously incompetent gameplay design. /endrant

[eatdogs]

Raging hard at Darius Force's middle course. I want to like this game so bad, but it's like the designers didn't even fucking play it. Enemies and bullets clipping through walls (and being invisible while clipping no less), and the boss Thunderbolt Fan is a fucking joke. They made it so the only part you can damage is on it's back, thus you have to have a piercing weapon. That would be well and fine except A: if you die you are powered down completely and cannot get a laser to fight it with so you may as well just reset, and B: the Type 2 ship doesn't even have a fucking piercing laser. I mean shit, if I can see the problems with it you'd think the people who designed the fucking game could too. It's not even that it's all that hard, it isn't, it's just that the stuff that kills you half the time is shit design decisions, not difficult patterns and enemies. I feel so bad for the guy who did the art design for this game, because their awesome work was wasted on some seriously incompetent gameplay design. /endrant

I feel your pain with that game. It's narly and full of hate for the player.

[LordHypnos]

Nothing exactly at this moment, but in a general sense, I'm playing:

Mars Matrix
rRootage (Why isn't there a Dreamcast port of this yet )
Neo XYX (haven't put too much time into this one yet, though.

[broken harbour]

I tried DDP DOJ again.

I suck at it. Wow.

[spadgy]

I tried Espgaluda II again.

I suck at it. Wow.

[nasty_wolverine]

I keep trying Garegga.

I suck at it. wow.

[bianchi5]

Radiant Silvergun, I love it too much!

[M.Knight]

Right now, Metal Torrent on the 3DS. (It is a DSiWare so you can play it on a DSi as well)
It is the kind of game where I can't find the motivation to play it very often, but when I actually do I always wonder why I don't spend more time with it.
This gem from Arika is very enjoyable, it has the visually attractive bonus items of a Cave game and is fast paced. The focus on bullet-cancelling may not appeal to everyone, but I think such a big bullet density on such a small screen would not have worked without this mechanic.
The Random mode is very fun and stays kinda balanced as the composition of the enemy waves is mostly the same as in Pattern mode, but in a random order so you have to adapt to the situation.

[LordHypnos]

Was just playing Fast Striker (this is like my second time playing it total). The combination of dark backgrounds, many colored bullets, and trance music makes it feel like a rave, which is kind of neat.

[CIT]

I'm playing Air Gallet again, and this time I really want to clear it.

I love the game, and I think it's incredibly well made:

- Graphics are of the highest hand-drawn pixel standard. Actually I can't think of many shooters that have an even higher degree of detail in the backgrounds.
- Bossfights are intense and quick-kills satisfying.
- Never gets boring, even the stage 1 boss will keep you on your toes.
- Really has Toaplan written all over it, and is what Kyuukyoku Tiger II should've been.

[royalfan84]

I love Radiant Silvergun too much as well probably but I haven't played that one lately.

Playing a bit of Deathsmiles; I really do love the visuals and the way the stage set-up works. The difficulty is a bit of a sham, but it's a lot of fun to play.

I keep going back to DFK, slowly getting better at the lazer wheels....I do think they went a little overboard with them in the later stages; takes some of the fun out of it for me.

Futari Maniac Mode....do I need to say more? Btw I hate centipedes and catipillars(not sure of spelling) because of this game.

Einhander- the differences in difficulty modes makes a great game with cool bossfights even better.

Mars Matrix- Slowly gaining points to increase my mosquito lenghth...such a brutal game but addicting. Elite Mode is superior

Sturmwind- just started playing it, great visuals and bosses but slightly ruined by collisoin detection and confusing deaths.

Strikers 1945II- getting closer to that 1cc

Gradius V- more two player with friend, my fav gradius...so well put together

Gredius IV- improving; underrated gem

Strainia- very disappointed at this one so far after playing the demo I thought I'd love it.

Darius Gaiden- I can't get enough of this game...button-smashing and black hole bombs is the best bait and tackle to use when going fishing!

Baseball season is here and I coach my boys so shmup time will be limited in the near future.

[broken harbour]

DDP DOJ is a bit brutal for my taste, so I fired up the original Mushimesama, I loved and played the heck out of Futari.

So far, not as approachable as Futari, but I really like stage 3 where you're chipping away at a .... dragon or something, not sure what it was.

I tried Arrange mode, which is kind of like Futari on Maniac..... pretty cool, but I got slaughtered, have to put some time in that one. Overall, a bit mediocre compared to Futari (especially musically) but still enjoyable. Too bad its a 480i-neutered mess tho, even with my Framemeister set up properly.

[spadgy]

Right now, Metal Torrent on the 3DS. (It is a DSiWare so you can play it on a DSi as well)
It is the kind of game where I can't find the motivation to play it very often, but when I actually do I always wonder why I don't spend more time with it.
This gem from Arika is very enjoyable, it has the visually attractive bonus items of a Cave game and is fast paced. The focus on bullet-cancelling may not appeal to everyone, but I think such a big bullet density on such a small screen would not have worked without this mechanic.
The Random mode is very fun and stays kinda balanced as the composition of the enemy waves is mostly the same as in Pattern mode, but in a random order so you have to adapt to the situation.

I got loads of fun out of it. A great example of a frantic shmup perfect for its portable platform.

[LordHypnos]

Was just playing Mars Matrix. That damn stage 4 bullet curtain just keeps murdering me . Not that the following parts are much more beatable... serious difficulty spike. I can feel myself getting better still, though, overall, at the game.

[BIL]

Got my first 1CC since returning to Gun.Smoke, with a couple annoying deaths apiece for bosses 8, 9 and 10.

8 and 9 both have speedkills that I'm rusty at setting up. 10 is just a complete asshole with his bullet spread which, unlike all other bullets in the game, remains active and lethal a good half-second after it's puffed out at max range, leaving a wall of near-impassable death. "BUT THEY SUPPOSE TO BE SPLOSIONS/SHARPNEL" well fucking make them look like explosions/shrapnel then, not 2x2 pixel puffs requiring a high powered microscope to detect. If not for that detail it's the perfect coda to a bloody, brutal shooter.

For now, I'm actually kinda proud of the un-mounted boss 10 kill, since that motherfucker usually goes down on either my first attempt or my tenth.

[M.Knight]

I got loads of fun out of it. A great example of a frantic shmup perfect for its portable platform.

Indeed, it is really suited to its platform. The length is also a good example of this, as it is neither as long as an arcade game nor as short as mobile phone and mission-based games.
And even though it is crafted to encourage scoring, survival with the blue ship is difficult enough to make the 1CC feel like an accomplishment.

It reminds me that it is a shame the DS and DSiware did not get many (good/localized) shoot'em ups.

[LordHypnos]

Was just playing Blue Wish Resurrection Plus. On "heaven" mode with autoguard off. Pretty fun game. Definately challenging enough to me to make it feel like an accomplishment when I 1cc'd. Took a few tries, even (including last week some time).

[R-Gray 1]

Last weekend i was playing Taito memories gekan since a long time

Gekirindan and Gun frontier. Wow really nice soundtrack of both games.

and playing more seriously G Darius. Amazing game. 2 routes in each stage and gr8 backgrounds and bosses. I like the game mechanics.
Also i was playing Space invaders

[ACSeraph]

Just played my first ever credit of Ibara. I never liked Pink Sweets much, but this game seems awesome. I like its simplicity I think.

[LordHypnos]

Still playing Mars Matrix, but I've gotten worse since the beginning of this week
On monday, I made it to the actual stage 4 boss, and almost every other time I played, I made it through that awful bullet curtain with only one death, But since then I haven't even come close to that

Kind of Frustrating. At least I managed to 1Life it to the beginning of the fourth stage once today.

Also ordered a USB gamepad, which means maybe I'll be able to play some more resource light PC and emulator games, soon!

[eatdogs]

Stahlfeder (not that great)
Nanostray 2
Bangai-o spirits

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I really wanted to play Air Gallet, but my computer and mame are failing me in frustrating and exhausting ways. So I started up Akai Katana. It's not really hitting the spot right now. Then I started back in on Raiden Fighters Aces. Raiden Fighters 1 seems like a fairly manageable game. Think I'll keep trying to clear it.

[lilmanjs]

Chronoblast. Liking this and not sure about autobomb. First shmup I've played with autobomb, but still enjoying this.

[jepjepjep]

Ahhh! Death at Glow Squid again. One of these days...