The shmups sales/deals thread

[BIL]

That's a damn fine lineup. Uncommonly fine, even! Usually there's a few ehs n' mehs but that is 80% killer, 15% pretteh good, and 5% oh hell no, the last handily jettisoned.

Gun Frontier and Metal Black are both on sale on the Japanese Swatch eshop for 586 yennies, along with an assortment of non-shmups at the same price (until 9/25).

Bit biased by my great fondness for Senba-san, but I'd recommend both almost blind. "Almost" as GF, being proto-Garegga, has some arcana attached. This is probably the best introduction though! Has custom-tuned autofire for keeping the Rank down. It's a more conventional game too, no tactical suicides / XTREEM Rank control necessary. MB can seem cruelly unbalanced at first, but click mah sig (or watch mah vid) for guidance. Black Fly is both sword and shield, that's the gist of it!

New Zealand Story
Baked Goods Murder Simulator 85 aka Fairyland Story
Jigoku Meguri (Bonze Adventure)
Liquid Kids

These are all great! TNZS, Mizubaku and Meguri are easy recommends. Super solid action/platforming cute 'em ups. TNZS, despite its extra-adorable looks, is actually the most aggressively ballistic of the lot, with a hearty side of vehicular appropriation. Meguri still being thoroughly shootaholic, with a range of oddball powerups, and Mizubaku bringing up the rear with slightly more oblique warring, imported from Bubble Bobble's water slide powerup. Can't go wrong with any of 'em.

Don Doko Don
Ben Bero Beh (onomatopoeia double billing!)
Alpine Ski

I agree with DDD and BBB's relative placements. Doko's a solid single-screen genre effort from the masters of the form, but Crush Them With Pastry is the more distinctive pick. Still, easy punt for enthusiasts at that price. Lovably slapstick-brutal mechanic, whack varmints pizza-flat then stack 'em and chuck 'em. BBB is a true one-off, but accordingly, might be worth a quick video preview. Technically another single-screener, but decidedly unlike the snappily fast-paced, bubblewrap-compulsive Chack'n school. I'm trying to think of a game to compare its oddball hazard avoider to, actually. Certainly not OG Spy Action title Elevator Action, despite that one's baddies making cameos.

Alpine Ski's an excellent time trialler, only advisement is that somewhat garish early 80s Taito aesthetic. It's by far one of the least-compromised though, as opposed to tragic Tin Star and trying Wild Western. (those colour schemes, god damn x_x)

Dino Rex

Oof! Avoid. ;3 (unless in the mood for So Bad It's Good!) Lame FTG, and it pre-empted Project Gun Frontier III. 3; Senba-san gives it undeniable personality, it's just the decided bum note of this set. Warrior Blade will be along soon enough, get your Rastan fix there instead!

[Daytime Waitress]

That's a damn fine lineup.

Gun Frontier and Metal Black are both on sale on the Japanese Swatch eshop for 586 yennies, along with an assortment of non-shmups at the same price (until 9/25).

New Zealand Story
Baked Goods Murder Simulator 85 aka Fairyland Story
Jigoku Meguri (Bonze Adventure)
Liquid Kids
Don Doko Don
Ben Bero Beh (onomatopoeia double billing!)
Alpine Ski

These are all great! TNZS, Mizubaku and Meguri are easy recommends. Super solid sidescrolling action cute 'em ups. TNZS, despite its extra-adorable looks, is actually the most aggressively ballistic of the lot, with a heart side of vehicle jacking to go. Meguri still being thoroughly shootaholic, with a range of oddball powerups, and Mizubaku bringing up the rear with slightly more oblique warring. Can't go wrong with 'em.

I agree with DDD and BBB's relative placements. Doko's a solid single-screen genre effort from the masters of the form, but Crushed Under Pastry is the more distinctive pick. Still, easy punt for enthusiasts at that price. BBB is a true one-off, but accordingly, its eccentricities demand a little patience. Jeneki has a good review. Again it's easily worth a shot at that asking price.

Alpine Ski's an excellent time trialler, only advisement is that somewhat garish early 80s Taito aesthetic. It's by far one of the least-compromised though, as opposed to tragic Tin Star and trying Wild Western. (those colour schemes, god damn x_x)

Dino Rex

Avoid. (unless in the mood for So Bad It's Good) Lame fighter and it pre-empted Project Gun Frontier III. 3; Senba-san gives it undeniable personality, it's just the decided bum note of this set.

Very much appreciated, Biruforudo-dono.
I couldn't help but notice that these all went on special the week I finally decided to plonk down the cash on Saigo no Nindou, though (you're an absolute saint for both the proselytising and the dissection, btw) - Hamhams trying to distract me from becoming a True Ninja Master
Tempted to pair it with Bonze's similarly melancholic aspects that lie beneath its GeGeGe no Goofiness; or maybe Kiwi Kiwi's Zooland Aerial Bombardment Campaign for another dose of intense action.
But Ptolemy-chan's currently in the lead.
Maybe I'm just hungry?

[BIL]

Saigo's fiendishly changeable battlefield will wait with the patience of death, have no fear.

Tempted to pair it with Bonze's similarly melancholic aspects that lie beneath its GeGeGe no Goofiness; or maybe Kiwi Kiwi's Zooland Aerial Bombardment Campaign for another dose of intense action.
But Ptolemy-chan's currently in the lead.
Maybe I'm just hungry?

A decided 1988 rival to IREM's game for brooding grasslands and eerie Buddhist imagery alike! You could pair their protagonists - stalwart Last Shinobi Tsukikage, and much rounder yet equally resolved Kakurenbo and Tosenbo - much like Namco did Genpei Toumaden's Kagekiyo and Youkai Dochuki's Tarosuke, for Namco x Capcom.

MANFUL UNDEAD REVENGEANCE DUO (｀w´メ) (｀w´メ)

I also like to consider Bonze part of an informal collective with Toaplan's Wardner and Horror Story, Compile's MD Ghostbusters, and Namco's Wanpaku Graffiti: chibi-fugly horror action/platformers (meant with all affection :3) from the 80s/90s intersect, all from iconic STG houses. (and all but GB enjoying M2/Hamster releases for current gen!) All sharing an easy grasp of the ambiently downbeat; grey skies, damp concrete, the all-important unkempt grass... it's a comfily rumpled aesthetic, right down to three out of five games' protagonists trading in the traditional RPG class garb (mage/monk/samurai/ninja) for unglamorously practical boiler suits. (exterminator!)

[Unlucky7]

Looks like the Cotton games are on sale in the US eShop. If I were to get one, should I get Fantasy/Rock n' Roll or Reboot (I may or may not end up getting both)?

[To Far Away Times]

Rock ‘N Roll. For sure.

[cody]

Oddly enough, Gun Frontier is on sale on the US switch shop, but instead Gunnail is on sale on PSN

[Daytime Waitress]

Oddly enough, Gun Frontier is on sale on the US switch shop, but instead Gunnail is on sale on PSN

Nice catch, cody. Japan doesn't have the same offer.

Also: Andro Dunos 2 is a paltry 250 yen until 9/29 on the Japanese Switch eshop.
A quick glance at the game's thread here suggests that the Switch version lacked the resolution and button remapping options of the Steam rev, and these patch notes I dug up seem to suggest that it got a similar treatment eventually - can anyone confirm?
Part of me figures it's just 250 yen and I've enjoyed Picorinne's enough stuff before; part of me is looking at the other titles shuffled out by the folks that put out this version and... yikes.

[Steven]

JoshProd or PixelHeart or whatever they are calling themselves now (both, it seems, adding to the confusion) is really questionable. I have their Neo Geo AES Andro Dunos reissue and it's solid. I also have their Dreamcast Andro Dunos and Andro Dunos II and the 3DS version of II and they're all travesties.

For 250 yen you might as well get Andro Dunos II, but I think it's not a bad idea to add the asterisk on the end of that that points to a disclaimer that the console version wasn't made by Picorinne Soft. I remember that when the game launched some people were reporting console version bugs to Picorinne and they were like "yeah, we haven't actually been able to contact the guys that made that version for some reason, but we'll tell them that they broke our game if we are ever able to contact them."

The game, at least on PC, is very good. Ancient console versions are horrible and should be avoided, especially the 3DS version. Moderately-less-ancient console versions are unknown to me.

[Daytime Waitress]

Thanks for the input, Steven.

It's not listed on either JP or US stores as either of those companies, btw - publisher is now something called MAXIMUM ENT FRANCE which seems to be a subsidiary of a subsidiary of something that probably exists, somewhere, by virtue of Someone Else's Money.

I actually already own AD2 on Steam, and was just gonna pick it up on the swatch for handheld giggles.
But hearing what a shitshow some of the ports were, and now reading about Amorphous Shellgame Operator #6392?
I don't think I'll bother.

[StrzxgvNuvWvfld]

I have Andro Dunos 2 for PS4 and Steam. I believe the Dreamcast version was a shitshow, but I certainly wouldn't say the PS4 version was. AFAIK the bugs that affected gameplay were fixed.

The scaling on consoles is a little bit different in that the PC version is rendered at 320x240 (or whatever it is they use), then upscaled to your panel, where as the PS4 version appears to be rendered at 1080p (or again, whatever they use). This means that the pixel art on the PS4 doesn't fit 1:1 to the low-res grid when it moves and in particular when it rotates. Rather than redrawing the sprites in a low resolution to mimic what you might see on a Neo Geo, it just displays the horizontal sprite at an angle. In some ways this is better than bad upscaling though because at least you don't get shimmer.

In all honesty, the PC version looks a touch nicer, but I like the convinience of the console game, so I've played that version far more. The PS4 version also has a okay-ish CRT filter which the PC version doesn't, if you like that sort of thing.

I can only speak for the PS4 version, but I'm assuming the Switch will be the same, perhaps with an additional frame of lag, based on what we usually see.

[Sima Tuna]

So the switch version doesn't have button remapping?

I pretty much have a hard-and-fast rule about not buying shmups that I know lack button remapping. I refuse to remap my entire controller in system settings for one game.

[Jucksalbe]

No idea how the PC version handles it, but the Switch version has 8 different button configurations you can set, but no free configuration.

[cody]

Almost all of city connection's stuff is 20 to 50% off on Steam.

I know there were lots of complaints about other titles, but seems like the Akai Katana and Deathsmiles ports are ok-ish enough?

May get them just for convenience sake since my only working 360 is hooked up to my vert cab.

[Ms. Tea]

Yeah, Akai Katana and Deathsmiles are perfectly good. I have the Steam version of Akai Katana and really like it. City Connection have a few different teams, and the team that did those two has been doing a good job. That team's run by Chantake, a longtime superplayer. IIRC that same team is doing the new ports of Under Defeat and Mamorukun Curse, too.

[Lemnear]

PSN Store:
There are all Psikyo games discounted at 50%
Also all Darius including the ACA version at 50/60%
Ray'z Arcade Chronology discounted at 30%
Arcade Archives The Legend of Kage discounted at 50%
Arcade Archives MegaBlast discounted at 50%
R-Type Dimensions EX discounted at 50%
Akai Katana discounted at 20%
Eschatos discounted at 40%
Rolling Gunner + Over Power discounted at 70%
Andro Dunos II discounted at 85%
DeathSmiles I & II discounted at 20%

I know I should get Eschatos, but seeing that I have all the Darius except the Console collection irritates me, plus Darius Twin and the Darius for PCE intrigue me quite a bit, but I don't know if it's worth it.
Also because I find Darius (and Ray'z) the most elegant SHMUPS on earth, even if I suck with Darius.

[Sima Tuna]

Play ESCHATOS

You know you need to.

It's 3 games for the price of one. Judgment Silversword is the best shmup on the wonderswan, Eschatos is the best shmup evar, and Cardinal Sins is a fun experiment.

[To Far Away Times]

Fully agree. Eschatos is legendary. One of the best shmups ever made.

[Acid]

I definitely have a soft spot for Qute. Them and Platine Dispositif are little charmers.

[cody]

All the Darius games are also on sale on Steam

[Lemnear]

Play ESCHATOS

You know you need to.

It's 3 games for the price of one. Judgment Silversword is the best shmup on the wonderswan, Eschatos is the best shmup evar, and Cardinal Sins is a fun experiment.

Fully agree. Eschatos is legendary. One of the best shmups ever made.

I definitely have a soft spot for Qute. Them and Platine Dispositif are little charmers.

Something is wrong, too many people praise it, everyone likes it..
it gives me the impression of an occult brainwashing sect, of a game with Lovecraftian mindbending magnetism

[Sima Tuna]

Play ESCHATOS

You know you need to.

It's 3 games for the price of one. Judgment Silversword is the best shmup on the wonderswan, Eschatos is the best shmup evar, and Cardinal Sins is a fun experiment.

Fully agree. Eschatos is legendary. One of the best shmups ever made.

I definitely have a soft spot for Qute. Them and Platine Dispositif are little charmers.

Something is wrong, too many people praise it, everyone likes it..
it gives me the impression of an occult brainwashing sect, of a game with Lovecraftian mindbending magnetism

Spoiler

Play Eschatos

[bobrocks95]

With Darius 1 and 2 on sale as part of Arcade Archives, as someone who already owns Darius Gaiden on Saturn- Hamster's Arcade Archives or M2's Darius Cosmic Arcade ports?

[Samildanach]

With Darius 1 and 2 on sale as part of Arcade Archives, as someone who already owns Darius Gaiden on Saturn- Hamster's Arcade Archives or M2's Darius Cosmic Arcade ports?

I would still give the nod to the Cozmic Collection, more on what you get with Darius 2. First the Cozmic Collection D2 is the 2 screen version as opposed to AA's three screen version. The game in my opinion seems more balanced for the real estate you get in two screens and becomes less fair when you factor in the third.

Also, and this is the main reason, the CC has two other versions of Darius 2 (Sagaia), the second of which is both very rare and has some awesome unique levels.

Oh finally, the CC has slightly better gadgets too and multiple save states rather than AA's usual one.

I own all of them though because I can't get enough Darius!

[Tokyo-J]

PSN Store:
There are all Psikyo games discounted at 50%
Also all Darius including the ACA version at 50/60%
Ray'z Arcade Chronology discounted at 30%
Arcade Archives The Legend of Kage discounted at 50%
Arcade Archives MegaBlast discounted at 50%
R-Type Dimensions EX discounted at 50%
Akai Katana discounted at 20%
Eschatos discounted at 40%
Rolling Gunner + Over Power discounted at 70%
Andro Dunos II discounted at 85%
DeathSmiles I & II discounted at 20%

I know I should get Eschatos, but seeing that I have all the Darius except the Console collection irritates me, plus Darius Twin and the Darius for PCE intrigue me quite a bit, but I don't know if it's worth it.
Also because I find Darius (and Ray'z) the most elegant SHMUPS on earth, even if I suck with Darius.

Maybe I missed it but Rolling Gunner is full priced for me.

[bobrocks95]

With Darius 1 and 2 on sale as part of Arcade Archives, as someone who already owns Darius Gaiden on Saturn- Hamster's Arcade Archives or M2's Darius Cosmic Arcade ports?

I would still give the nod to the Cozmic Collection, more on what you get with Darius 2. First the Cozmic Collection D2 is the 2 screen version as opposed to AA's three screen version. The game in my opinion seems more balanced for the real estate you get in two screens and becomes less fair when you factor in the third.

Also, and this is the main reason, the CC has two other versions of Darius 2 (Sagaia), the second of which is both very rare and has some awesome unique levels.

Oh finally, the CC has slightly better gadgets too and multiple save states rather than AA's usual one.

I own all of them though because I can't get enough Darius!

Thanks, that does sound like a decent reason to pick up Cozmic still! If it has the arcade version of Gaiden as well, I know there's a thread on here with a list of differences between it and the Saturn release.

[Lemnear]

PSN Store:
There are all Psikyo games discounted at 50%
Also all Darius including the ACA version at 50/60%
Ray'z Arcade Chronology discounted at 30%
Arcade Archives The Legend of Kage discounted at 50%
Arcade Archives MegaBlast discounted at 50%
R-Type Dimensions EX discounted at 50%
Akai Katana discounted at 20%
Eschatos discounted at 40%
Rolling Gunner + Over Power discounted at 70% [NO]
Andro Dunos II discounted at 85%
DeathSmiles I & II discounted at 20%

I know I should get Eschatos, but seeing that I have all the Darius except the Console collection irritates me, plus Darius Twin and the Darius for PCE intrigue me quite a bit, but I don't know if it's worth it.
Also because I find Darius (and Ray'z) the most elegant SHMUPS on earth, even if I suck with Darius.

Maybe I missed it but Rolling Gunner is full priced for me.

I am almost absolutely certain that it was exactly €8.99, but it is no longer there.

[cody]

I definitely got rolling gunner in that sale for less than usd $10 after tax, but yeah it seems to be over now.

Kinda wish I hadn't though. Didn't realize it's essentially a twin stick shooter that allows waving your option around to interrupt bullets rather than dodging. Got to the last level on first credit before accidentally hitting the touchpad button which apparently quits to the title menu with no confirmation...

[Tokyo-J]

I definitely got rolling gunner in that sale for less than usd $10 after tax, but yeah it seems to be over now.

Kinda wish I hadn't though. Didn't realize it's essentially a twin stick shooter that allows waving your option around to interrupt bullets rather than dodging. Got to the last level on first credit before accidentally hitting the touchpad button which apparently quits to the title menu with no confirmation...

I play it on Steam but on an Arcade cabinet. So never have had this twin stick shooter experience.

[mrsmr2]

I definitely got rolling gunner in that sale for less than usd $10 after tax, but yeah it seems to be over now.

Kinda wish I hadn't though. Didn't realize it's essentially a twin stick shooter that allows waving your option around to interrupt bullets rather than dodging. Got to the last level on first credit before accidentally hitting the touchpad button which apparently quits to the title menu with no confirmation...

Sounds like you are in the Overpower mode. You want the Original mode.

[guigui]

I definitely got rolling gunner in that sale for less than usd $10 after tax, but yeah it seems to be over now.

Kinda wish I hadn't though. Didn't realize it's essentially a twin stick shooter that allows waving your option around to interrupt bullets rather than dodging. Got to the last level on first credit before accidentally hitting the touchpad button which apparently quits to the title menu with no confirmation...

As already said : twin stick with bullet cancel is overpowered mode. Fun for sure, but play the Original mode first if you want the true shmup experience.