The WORST Shooter you have ever played...

[Kollision]

Bulletmagnet will need to touch up his article on PS1 shmups
And from the footage it looks kinda cool, like a mix of Silpheed and Einhänder.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm pretty sure RayStorm rather than Silpheed was a direct inspiration.
Somebody claimed recently that British shmups should not be labelled "Euroshmups" as they were generally better quality than standard Euro-continental fare. Well, Psygnosis shmups, with their terrific artwork and fabulous music, would like a word with that somebody. Had they made at least one that did not suck once the intro was over?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I'd like to nominate Eden's Aegis for having possibly the worst control scheme in an otherwise fun shmup. It's got pretty standard controls with everything being bound to Z, X, C, S, D (with what each do being customizable). The problem? The spacebar is a freaking RESET BUTTON. Literally - you're instantly taken back to the title screen. Considering where your fingers are on the keyboard (my thumb tends to rest on the spacebar), I find I've hit the spacebar accidentally at the worst possible times.

There doesn't seem to be any way to reconfigure this to something that isn't stupidly placed, and it's silly considering there's a pause screen with a Restart option that works just fine. Hit the spacebar by accident during the final boss fight when you're about to 1cc Hell = instant rage. I ended up having to use KeyTweak just to disable my spacebar to keep myself from accidentally pressing it. Why would an otherwise good game do something so bizarre like bind the spacebar to game reset? ;_;

As far as genuinely awful shooters go, I remember playing a pair of DOS games that were just atrocious: Skunny Desert Raid and Skunny Lost in Space. Terrible music, massively cumbersome hitboxes... seriously, just look at this. All of Copysoft's games are crappy knockoffs of better series using their idiotic squirrel character.

[AntiFritz]

I'd like to nominate Eden's Aegis for having possibly the worst control scheme in an otherwise fun shmup. It's got pretty standard controls with everything being bound to Z, X, C, S, D (with what each do being customizable). The problem? The spacebar is a freaking RESET BUTTON. Literally - you're instantly taken back to the title screen. Considering where your fingers are on the keyboard (my thumb tends to rest on the spacebar), I find I've hit the spacebar accidentally at the worst possible times.

There doesn't seem to be any way to reconfigure this to something that isn't stupidly placed, and it's silly considering there's a pause screen with a Restart option that works just fine. Hit the spacebar by accident during the final boss fight when you're about to 1cc Hell = instant rage. I ended up having to use KeyTweak just to disable my spacebar to keep myself from accidentally pressing it. Why would an otherwise good game do something so bizarre like bind the spacebar to game reset? ;_;

As far as genuinely awful shooters go, I remember playing a pair of DOS games that were just atrocious: Skunny Desert Raid and Skunny Lost in Space. Terrible music, massively cumbersome hitboxes... seriously, just look at this. All of Copysoft's games are crappy knockoffs of better series using their idiotic squirrel character.

Yeah this annoyed me as well, from memory crimzon clover exits without prompt if you press esc or something which annoyed me as well.

[yukin]

darius on amiga

[ptoing]

I'd like to nominate Eden's Aegis for having possibly the worst control scheme in an otherwise fun shmup. It's got pretty standard controls with everything being bound to Z, X, C, S, D (with what each do being customizable). The problem? The spacebar is a freaking RESET BUTTON. Literally - you're instantly taken back to the title screen. Considering where your fingers are on the keyboard (my thumb tends to rest on the spacebar), I find I've hit the spacebar accidentally at the worst possible times.

Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (and probably all or most other x.x games) does this too :/
A bit sucky indeed.

[apatheticTurd]

Blast Works's singe player campaign. The complete lack of challenge, the boring and drawn-out levels, the bosses with undodgeable euroshmup-style pattern... ect, it's a complete mess. I get that the game editor is supposed to be the main focus, but even there, the silly build-in games for Dezaemon or w/e were nowhere near as rancid.

I think the highlight has to be the very final level, where the scoring system gets so broken that (and I am not exaggerating) you get an extra life every three seconds.

[louisg]

I'm pretty sure RayStorm rather than Silpheed was a direct inspiration.
Somebody claimed recently that British shmups should not be labelled "Euroshmups" as they were generally better quality than standard Euro-continental fare. Well, Psygnosis shmups, with their terrific artwork and fabulous music, would like a word with that somebody. Had they made at least one that did not suck once the intro was over?

But the intro for Blood Money! OMG@!!! That was stuck in my head for a couple decades, and was one of the first things I wanted to see again when I got UAE up and running BTW do you think Mr. Heli is an inspiration for Blood Money? Same year though.

Psygnosis games were great. I mean, they were almost uniformly terrible until Lemmings, Armour Geddon, etc. But, when I was a kid, I thought a game like Shadow of the Beast was just too hard. It wasn't until I was older I realized that the problem really was that the design is terrible!

Iridion 3D is my current worst. It had so much potential - great graphics and sound, but the gameplay is, in a word, sloppy. I have no idea where the hell my hitbox is, and all the weapons are functionally identical. Not so fun.

Yeah, I was disappointed. But, they get the "most improved developer" award-- I played all the way through Iridion 2 and enjoyed it a lot. It's not perfect, but it's good enough that every now and then I still pull it off the shelf for a quick go.

I think the worst shmup I played (and not just for a couple seconds) might really be Raptor. The worst one I've played overall is probably Strike Force Hydra. It's like something you'd get for free with an old disk magazine!

[professor ganson]

I used to say Deep Blue (TG-16), but at least that has the virtue of being challenging and the cover art is ok. Because I'm more selective these days, I can't remember the last time I played a shmup that I truly hated. My negative response these days is usually either frustration or indifference because I mainly play shmups that have been recommended by people whose opinion I trust.

[beatsgo]

I'd like to nominate Eden's Aegis for having possibly the worst control scheme in an otherwise fun shmup. It's got pretty standard controls with everything being bound to Z, X, C, S, D (with what each do being customizable). The problem? The spacebar is a freaking RESET BUTTON. Literally - you're instantly taken back to the title screen. Considering where your fingers are on the keyboard (my thumb tends to rest on the spacebar), I find I've hit the spacebar accidentally at the worst possible times.

Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (and probably all or most other x.x games) does this too :/
A bit sucky indeed.

Definitely concur with x.x games. Most of them IIRC has the pause button where you can either quit, reset, or continue the current playthrough. Never understood the necessity of a reset button, let alone the space bar as one.

NES Action 52 shmups anyone? I would consider any shmup from it to be woefully executed and have lackluster appeal overall.

[Despatche]

I wonder if it has something to do with the way those games handle replays.

[shmuppyLove]

After playing a bit more Blazing Star recently, I thought to myself, "I wonder if Yumekobo has released any other shmups?"

Then I played Prehistoric Isle 2 ...

[E. Randy Dupre]

Blast Works's singe player campaign. The complete lack of challenge, the boring and drawn-out levels, the bosses with undodgeable euroshmup-style pattern... ect, it's a complete mess. I get that the game editor is supposed to be the main focus, but even there, the silly build-in games for Dezaemon or w/e were nowhere near as rancid.

I think the highlight has to be the very final level, where the scoring system gets so broken that (and I am not exaggerating) you get an extra life every three seconds.

Agree with this, totally. What I really don't understand about it is that Tumiki Fighters, even though it's little more than a cute concept, is vastly superior to Blast Works' attempt to turn it into a full game. And to charge for it. I bought Blast Works for the Kenta Cho games and the editor. I'll probably never get to play them or use it properly, because the campaign game is so fucking tedious that I can't face having to play it for more than about five mintues in any one sitting.

[Psikyo_Ball]

Touhouses, dodonpachies, mushimesama (i like only the original mode), rapid hero, stagger 1, mad shark...

[ancestral-knowledge]

Touhouses, dodonpachies, mushimesama (i like only the original mode), rapid hero, stagger 1, mad shark...

fuck you!

[Zeron]

Touhouses, dodonpachies, mushimesama (i like only the original mode), rapid hero, stagger 1, mad shark...

I doubt you have played many games at all.

[ptoing]

Don't feed the troll

[ZenErik]

I'd like to nominate Eden's Aegis for having possibly the worst control scheme in an otherwise fun shmup. It's got pretty standard controls with everything being bound to Z, X, C, S, D (with what each do being customizable). The problem? The spacebar is a freaking RESET BUTTON. Literally - you're instantly taken back to the title screen. Considering where your fingers are on the keyboard (my thumb tends to rest on the spacebar), I find I've hit the spacebar accidentally at the worst possible times.

Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (and probably all or most other x.x games) does this too :/
A bit sucky indeed.

the biggest issue here is using the keyboard to play. It's a lot better using an arcade stick or sometimes a controller, iMO.

[ptoing]

Tell that to Prometheus who managed to get 400+ mil in DDP on keyboard.

Controllers are pretty much a matter of preference.

[ZenErik]

Tell that to Prometheus who managed to get 400+ mil in DDP on keyboard.

Controllers are pretty much a matter of preference.

Very true. But it would certainly solve the space bar issue.

[Psikyo_Ball]

Touhouses, dodonpachies, mushimesama (i like only the original mode), rapid hero, stagger 1, mad shark...

fuck you!

People love mushimesama, touhoses, and dodopanchies, but really i hate them. Because:
1)you must play like "the creator" of this game think.You are chaining on the left and a little enemy appear on the center, so you must go to the center, you can create your own strategy.
4)The scoring system are broken on this games, you never know how many score you get when "dont cut the chain" or "now im human, now im a spirit + grazing".
4)The music are worst too (not aplicable for touhouses), i dont know what happened with manabu namiki when he leave raizing.
5)The hitbox are bizarre. "see me, im here. You have a gun. But if you want kill me you must shot my left eye. If you shot me on my head, i can continue eating hiddens bees". I really start hating cave games when im playing progear and i get killed when a bullet touch the rear of the ship.
6)This games are "defensive type". I like psikyo games because you must be agressive. Destroy all or died. Cave and touhouses are the oposition, you must play like a "afraid ppl" on the other corner.

I think no need more reason for think mushies, touhouses and dodonpachies are worst. But i must say i never play dodnpachi daffukatsu, mushimesama futari and the new generation of the cave games (deathsmiles, akai katana, pink sweet, ibara kuro, espgaluda 2). Im talking about the games i have play, (dodonpachi DOJ, dodonpachi, mushimesama, ibara, espgaluda, dangun feveron, progear no arashi)

[Siren2011]

This games are "defensive type". I like psikyo games because you must be agressive. Destroy all or died.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're doing it wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5-LkedN4iY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRTizrFU ... re=related

Cave and touhouses are the oposition, you must play like a "afraid ppl" on the other corner.

Well, sure. So must anyone who can't play for shit.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSCkDtDl ... re=related

What the fuck did you use to record this with? A turkey baster?! Jesus Christ, Elixir. Don't get me wrong, what occurs in the video is without a doubt technically impressive, but a bottle of bleach must have unconsentually had its way with the footage.

[RNGmaster]

4)The music are worst too (not aplicable for touhouses), i dont know what happened with manabu namiki when he leave raizing.

What. Most of your other points are decent (I love how Psikyo encourages point-blanking and makes it a necessary tactic rather than showoffery, but do you really think their games have good soundtracks? And are you saying that Ketsui and Ra.De don't have good tunes?

[AntiFritz]

Do Psikyo games have music?

[Psikyo_Ball]

Siren: i see some videos of DOJ. All the japanese players do the same strategy (im not talking about your vids). When i try to play agressive on DOJ always i cut the chain, And when i play in the other corner y can do a 1st stage full chain. Only i see agressive strategies on ketsui (first loop) and touhou 8 (on some spots). I dont see your vids, because my conection arent great (youtube dont work here). i think i see them tommorow on my friend house. I like see videos of this game , cause i want a reason for understand why ppl love them.

RNG: I listen only the ketsui soundtrack (i dont hear esprade music). I only like defensive line. Razing soundtracks are better (talking about ketsui soundtrack)

Antifritz: Yes

Am i wrong talking about the scoring systems on cave and touhouses games? i think is the most important point on the game, but no one is talking about it.

[Kollision]

4)The music are worst too (not aplicable for touhouses), i dont know what happened with manabu namiki when he leave raizing.

¿Qué pasa, hermano?
Your words are like daggers through my shmupper heart. Mushihimesama's probably my favorite Namibi soundtrack!

[Psikyo_Ball]

Perdon es que odio que la gente piense que cave es lo mejor de la historia, no era mi intencion ofender.

I like walking on the land of flame arranged (i think is from kiechi okabe, but im not sure)

[Siren2011]

Mushihimesama's probably my favorite Namibi soundtrack!

Stage 5 is the best. ;]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9MnBgArFX8

[ptoing]

1)you must play like "the creator" of this game think.You are chaining on the left and a little enemy appear on the center, so you must go to the center, you can create your own strategy.

Kinda, the DDP games have pretty anal chaining systems, so yes, if you play for score they get a bit tedious, I guess, but I am sure even there you can mix it up a bit (not a big scoreplayer myself). In Mushihimesama Futari you can mix it up quite a bit, same for Ketsui and quite a few others.

4)The scoring system are broken on this games, you never know how many score you get when "dont cut the chain" or "now im human, now im a spirit + grazing".

I can not speak for the Touhou stuff, but I would not call the scoring system in the DDP games broken at all, same goes for the other Cave games I played. Mushihimesama has a weird scoring system, yes, which is probably why Futari is completely different in that regard, but still, it's not broken. You know that you get more points doing longer chains and maxing out bombs in DDP, using the correct shot in Futari, point blanking in Ketsui and so on. On the other hand, I find the scoring in most Psikyo games pretty boring and basic (and retarded in the case of Gunbird with the coins)

4)The music are worst too (not aplicable for touhouses), i dont know what happened with manabu namiki when he leave raizing.

I would agree that the stuff he did for Raizing is in most cases better.

5)The hitbox are bizarre. "see me, im here. You have a gun. But if you want kill me you must shot my left eye. If you shot me on my head, i can continue eating hiddens bees". I really start hating cave games when im playing progear and i get killed when a bullet touch the rear of the ship.

Progear is worst case scenario, because it is sideview. In all the other games you can figure out pretty fast where your hitbox is. It is pretty much always somewhere in the upper center of your ship, or the torso in cases of games where you are humanoid. And it's not like this is much different in the Psikyo games.

6)This games are "defensive type". I like psikyo games because you must be agressive. Destroy all or died. Cave and touhouses are the oposition, you must play like a "afraid ppl" on the other corner.

You can play pretty aggressive in Cave games if you know what you are doing and know the game well.
So you can play both styles, whereas Psikyo pretty much makes it impossible to play any other way than in your face aggressive.

In the end it all comes down to taste, but from an objective standpoint I do not think anyone could justify saying Cave stuff being bad. They are pretty much all very solid games, that do what they do very well, matter of personal taste aside.

[dunpeal2064]

@PsikyoBall: I get that you don't like Cave nearly as much as Psikyo, but are those really the worst shmups you've ever played? I mean, sure you have to follow a strict path to play the game PERFECTLY, but the same could be said about any game.

I think there are much worse. Maybe you said it to get a response, or maybe you have played very few shmups?

I think the scoring in Gunbird 2 is whack, but I wouldn't call it the worst shmup ever because of that. Its still great! (but the music is subpar to Cave imo)