The future of SHMUPs.

[Captain]

As much as Qute's games are extremely fun, I doubt that they will have anything to do with the thread's title.

Sadly. They just aren't popular enough to catch on.

[nasty_wolverine]

I suggested this on Icarus's twitch stream yesterday

how to get shmups streams more views:
- someone breast-endowed should stream shmups

problem:
- very few girls play shmups, even lesser or none willing to stream

solution:
- aquas should grow boobs and stream with a very low cut top on

[supergrafx77]

- someone breast-endowed should stream shmups

[Captain]

What about all the female viewers.

We need horribly inappropriate pants bulges as well!

[SuperSoaker360]

solution:
- aquas should grow boobs and stream with a very low cut top on

I'm all for this idea.

[nasty_wolverine]

What about all the female viewers.

We need horribly inappropriate pants bulges as well!

if aquas does grow boobs, he will have 3 bulges total... problemo, no problemo...

[mastermx]

solution:
- aquas should grow boobs and stream with a very low cut top on

I'm all for this idea.

Where can we donate to this cause?

[nasty_wolverine]

solution:
- aquas should grow boobs and stream with a very low cut top on

I'm all for this idea.

Where can we donate to this cause?

some one make a petition thread.

[Cata]

some one make a kickstarter.

[shakesquire7]

Hilarious!

[Lord Satori]

Kickstarter to help Aquas grow boobs? What would the stretch goals be?

[KidQuaalude]

Full gender reassignment surgery?

[supergrafx77]

It's hard to go back. Yes, there are many interesting indie/ doujin shmups out there but seriously after playing something like Futari or Galuda 2, it's hard to go back to those rather basic graphics with odd and repetitive soundtracks. There are exceptions, yes, but very few and far between. It's like eating great steaks with Guinness for a long time and suddenly you are supposed to eat at McDonalds for the rest of your life and drink some of those terrible American lite beers.

This is exactly how I feel.

Since at least the pc engine/super cd-rom2 era, I'd have to say shmups have been my favorite genre and the NEC titles were very nice, at least when i was 13 yrs. or so old, but things have evolved in the shmup genre since that specific time-frame in my life. THANKS TO CAVE.

Honestly, as arcades were beginning to die out in the US, CAVE was doing CAVE in Japan=keeping arcades alive and interesting while titles on the cps2/3/mvs boards started showing their age. Had CAVE released its games in arcades here or at a bar near you, they would have reached international acclaim, I have no doubt. I would put a serious high bid in that this would have been a grand success. I've had countless idiots proclaiming their knowledge of Cave to me due to their dumb iOS phone app titles and meanwhile, these fools had not known Cave had arcade titles. I admit I too, although having lived in Japan as a 18 yo youth for one yr prior to the Egret II release and the decade after which to which I played with my first girlfriend back in the states, an imported JPN WAIFU during this time frame (thanks Japan Inn), I missed out while CAVE was making the arcade scene stay hoppin' back in the homeland. These doujin titles or whatever they call themselves, I'm not going to say are shit, but they remind me of dated crap that is not really that much fun to play anymore, at least since CAVE came through w/ the first dodonpachi.

Shmup future is a bunch of millenial or whatever they are called hipsters later also realizing the CAVE pcb extravaganza and grabbing past CAVE pcb(s)/raising prices tremendously. There's nothing left anymore to take seriously. Waste your cash on doujin el crappo if you must despair.

MOss, Qute, whoever, they all suck when compared to CAVE.

[Squire Grooktook]

MOss, CAVE, whoever, they all suck when compared to Qute.

Fixed.

[ACSeraph]

Thank god the Japanese arcade players don't shun everything not from Cave. If Cave shmups were all that were out there I'd quit this genre within a month. Expand your horizons people. Fish > Bees

[Pretas]

Fish > Bees

Darius is much more tiresome than Cave games, though. I always wanted a thing called level design...but the Darius series has never provided it in any meaningful capacity. Whereas I have the first few stage maps of DDP and DOJ essentially engraved onto my brain, there are no special features of almost any Darius stage that stick with the player; it all blends together into a bland mush of repetitive popcorn waves. These long zako segments usually reek of Euroshmupdom, and even the original Gradius has more engaging and varied level design than any Darius.

Sure, the fish bosses were always meant as the main attractions, but once you get past their imposing sprites and models, most of them are a boredom-inducing pain in the ass to actually fight - whether it's the microscopic weak points that wait to expose themselves, the ludicrously inflated HP values (Gaiden is near unplayable without autofire because of this), or the need to engage in fiddly resource management for beam dueling, which only Border Down was able to pull off in an interesting and fun way.

Darius is a classic, iconic STG series with a strong pedigree that I have some affection for, but it ain't better than Cave's library.

[Squire Grooktook]

Can't speak much for Darius and Darius II, but G-Darius and Darius Gaiden have excellent level design. Varied enemy designs that force everything from offense and defense to speedy movement, and smart placement throughout. I find it thoroughly engaging every time I play, and as much as I'm a Gradius fan, that's more then I can say for all but the best installments in the franchise.

the ludicrously inflated HP values (Gaiden is near unplayable without autofire because of this),

What are you even talking about? Again, can't speak for I and II, but (barring final bosses) bosses in G and Gaiden die as fast as any Cave bosses. 1-2 minutes at most isn't exactly what I'd call "ludicrous".

What sticks out for G and Gaiden for me is the speedy movement and aggressiveness of enemies, along with the perfectly paced and creative boss fights with their quirky and high movement forcing attacks. Bosses actually feel like dueling an opponent, and not just dodging a bunch of static bullet patterns (something Shmups seem to have forgotten about ever since Cave became the standard).

The series doesn't have any gimmicks but it doesn't need anything: All it needs is its adventurous feel and blazing action, which it does better then most any other shmup.

[Kollision]

(...) ludicrously inflated HP values (Gaiden is near unplayable without autofire because of this)

this again?
it puzzles me to see people who excel at Cave shooters and yet whine shamelessly about the "need" for autofire in Darius Gaiden

[finisherr]

This thread is such a bummer.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

There's nothing left anymore to take seriously. Waste your cash on doujin el crappo if you must despair.

MOss, Qute, whoever, they all suck when compared to CAVE.

Your ignorance amuses me. Raiden V is the biggest upcoming shmup in the near future, and would like to have a word with you. And so would Natsuki Chronicle. Also MOSS>CAVE and Qute I have no opinion on since I haven't played any of their games.

[ACSeraph]

Qute I have no opinion on since I haven't played any of their games.

As someone with the refined taste required to see the genre past bullet hell, you should really give Eschatos a try. I'm sure you'll love it.

And yeah, Raiden V is huge, unless they troll us and make an Ace Combat clone.

[Oniros]

The future of shmups is the past.

*Yagawa smiles with the teeth of a shark*

*cue Heavy Day*

As a Guily Gear fan, this is such an underrated post LMAO! I legit laughed.

So much doom and gloom in this thread. This year alone we've gotten a ridiculous amount of shmups on Steam, Crimzon Clover WI alone would have made it a stellar year for the PC. Sadly, since everyone looks down on indie or western shmups everyone will keep crying over the death of Cave instead of realizing that games like Resogun did well enough to warrant a Vita port or how Jamestown was profitable enough to get a PS4 port. Big studios like Harmonix even went ahead and released A City Sleeps. Point is, that there is still some money to be made in shmups. Also, Microsoft Japan already went ahead with the moneyhats and we've got Raiden V and Natsuki Chronicle on the pipeline for the XBone. On the PS4 side, Hiroshi Iuchi and the folks at M2 are already working on a PS4 shmup IIRC. If 5pb and/or Mages are preparing a surprise there's more than one "big" title to look forward to.

[pegboy]

How is Raiden V suppose to save anything? The Xbox One was a complete and utter flop in Japan, who is even going to buy it?

[DestroyTheCore]

How is Raiden V suppose to save anything? The Xbox One was a complete and utter flop in Japan, who is even going to buy it?

Furry Fox Jet Pilot?

[pegboy]

Don't get me wrong, I hope Raiden V is awesome and sells 10 million copies, but I just don't see how that is possible considering how historically the xbox flopped in Japan. I mean it sold less than 40K consoles so far, that is unheard of. It was so bad that the Xbox chief of Japan resigned (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/28/ ... poor-sales). These are all facts.

[Strikers1945guy]

How is Raiden V suppose to save anything? The Xbox One was a complete and utter flop in Japan, who is even going to buy it?

Furry Fox Jet Pilot?

And maybe a handful of other people. Console saved?

[Pretas]

After what happened to both Raiden IV and Caladrius, it's probable that Raiden V will eventually be ported to PS4 down the road.

Qute seems to have much stronger ties to Microsoft, though, so don't hold your breath for Natsuki Chronicle to ever go multiplat. As for Triangle Service, their sales are going to be extremely marginal no matter what they do.

G.Rev has yet to announce a game for either next-gen system. My prediction is that they'll finally push out Border Down HD as a modestly priced, download-only release for PS4/ONE to get their foot in the door. Or maybe they'll attempt to salvage their canned Senko no Ronde Vita project and retool it for home consoles.

[Oniros]

How is Raiden V suppose to save anything? The Xbox One was a complete and utter flop in Japan, who is even going to buy it?

The point that I was trying to make was not that "Raiden V will save shmups", it was that Microsoft Japan saw the value in providing funding to developers like Moss to go ahead and put them in the Xbone. Regardless on how well it sells, at least it lets developers like Moss, Qute, and Triangle Service put out newer titles. Think on how Platinum Games can crank up bombs like The Wonderful 101 on the Wii U, but not that extreme.

After what happened to both Raiden IV and Caladrius, it's probable that Raiden V will eventually be ported to PS4 down the road.

Qute seems to have much stronger ties to Microsoft, though, so don't hold your breath for Natsuki Chronicle to ever go multiplat. As for Triangle Service, their sales are going to be extremely marginal no matter what they do.

G.Rev has yet to announce a game for either next-gen system. My prediction is that they'll finally push out Border Down HD as a modestly priced, download-only release for PS4/ONE to get their foot in the door. Or maybe they'll attempt to salvage their canned Senko no Ronde Vita project and retool it for home consoles.

If the folks at G. Rev were smart, they would make the new Senko No Ronde a cross platform multiplayer title on Vita and PS4. Border Down on Steam and GOG would be amazing as well.

[Squire Grooktook]

How is Raiden V suppose to save anything? The Xbox One was a complete and utter flop in Japan, who is even going to buy it?

The point that I was trying to make was not that "Raiden V will save shmups", it was that Microsoft Japan saw the value in providing funding to developers like Moss to go ahead and put them in the Xbone. Regardless on how well it sells, at least it lets developers like Moss, Qute, and Triangle Service put out newer titles. Think on how Platinum Games can crank up bombs like The Wonderful 101 on the Wii U, but not that extreme.

I've said this many times before, but I honestly do not believe that shmups, or arcade styled design in general, are quite as niche or unprofitable as they've been made out to be. The genre has become fractured and incredibly inconvenient for more moderate players to form an investment in for a long time. If well executed though, they at least have the potential to be as niche as any other niche genre that still makes enough money to fund sequels.

[Doctor Butler]

I'm sure once some more studios close, unable to maintain the dizzying costs of million-dollar cutscenes, 100-hour long narratives, A-list actors, advertisements directed by Guillermo Del Toro, and all the other budget bloating nonesense associated with the development of your typical AAA "experience", we'll see a resurgence in more cost-effective games.

Smaller, cheaper games, that engage the player with their gameplay, instead of using gimmicks and distractions, and hours, upon hours of filler.

Restrictions breed creativity, and that's why classic arcade games are so good.