Best system for collecting shmups on

Daz@Retro Gamer · Post by **Daz@Retro Gamer** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:19 pm

Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:30 pm

Depending on your subgenre preferences:

Mega-Drive
PC-Engine Duo (you need access to both HuCards and CDs)
Saturn
Playstation
Dreamcast
Playstation 2

Macaw · Post by **Macaw** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:34 pm

The MEga Drive and PC Engine are goldmines.

Daz@Retro Gamer · Post by **Daz@Retro Gamer** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:41 pm

Ok let's condense things down a bit.

I've already got a Saturn and around 43 shooters. But I'm looking at getting a complete collection.

What system do you reckon has the best ratio of quality shooters that shouldn't cost too much to amass. I'm guessing it's going to be the Dreamcast.

bVork · Post by **bVork** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:02 pm

I think the Playstation 2 has more (and, in general, better) shooters than the Dreamcast. While the absolute best the Dreamcast has to offer beats the Playstation 2's best, there are simply far more shooters on PS2.

The Genesis also has a fairly nice library of shooters. And most of them are domestic, too!

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:31 pm

Hmmm, I was going to say saturn, but for me its only a few games that I really love for that system. (Really really love)

PS2 it is then.

I have no grounds to say yes or no for dreamcast because I have no shooters for it. I want that to change.

RyanDG · Post by **RyanDG** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:11 pm

Genesis/Mega Drive is probably the cheapest solution for the most quality games in my opinion. Though PC-Engine is a close second, some of the games tend to get a little pricey on the PC-Engine/CD line of things. The Mega Drive games on the other hand can be found everywhere from Bargain stores to eBay to garage sales, all for relatively inexpensive. I worked previously (in my younger days) as a used game store manager. In my time there I ended up amassing a collection of nearly 50+ Genesis SHMUPs for a price at anywhere between 50 cents to $4 a game. Most came complete with box and manual, though some ended up being loose carts.

Outside of the Genesis, if you are looking for a more modern solution, my best recommendation would be the PS2 since it opens up the entire library of PS2 and PS1 era games. It also has the most "budget" titles available on it from any of the post-1999 consoles, including the Dreamcast.

I love the Dreamcast myself, but due to its renewed popularity, pricing only seems to be going up for the games. Further the actual # of shooters on the Dreamcast is relatively low compared to what may be expected based on the system's reputation. Some of the best games, don't get me wrong, there just isn't a heck of a lot to choose from when it really boils down to it.

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:13 pm

If you like Cave, you need a PS2... No Cave stuff on DC

DC did actually manage some US and Europe shmup releases though. Like Mars Matrix, Giga Wing 1/2, Gunbird 2...

If you want to invest for the future, Xbox 360 seems nice, although a lot of the shmup stuff will be virtual. Doubt that's the answer you wanted.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:22 pm

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree that there isn't a single choice, and it will come down to what era you enjoy.

For me, Saturn, Mega Drive, and X68000 are great, but whenever I play newer stuff I tend to enjoy it as well.

My approach is to buy whatever games I like and worry about the system later.

Belmont · Post by **Belmont** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:36 pm

When i first got into shmups i first got a saturn and dreamcast. Now after a few year of playing those games i wish that i would have gotten an import compatable ps2 sooner then i did. It definatly has some of the most high quality shooters and in many cases the same games as other systems but at a cheaper price. For instance i could have saved a bundle buying the gunbird pack on ps2 instead of Gunbird 1 for saturn and Gunbird 2 for dreamcast at a prumium price for each. Also with the taito "best" realeases for many games at the price of 30$ a game you can own some of cave and Psikyos best shmups for cheaper then ever. http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=8662 this will give you a general idea of how most people think the ps1/ps2 stack up, a LOT of ps2 games on there.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:58 pm

Daz@Retro Gamer wrote:Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.

Uhh. PC.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:00 pm

circuitface wrote:
Daz@Retro Gamer wrote:Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.
Uhh. PC.

HEH! HEH! HEH!

99pence · Post by **99pence** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:19 pm

There isn't one.

Each system has an awesome exclusive game the other one hasn't.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:44 pm

Ed Oscuro wrote:
circuitface wrote:
Daz@Retro Gamer wrote:Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.
Uhh. PC.
HEH! HEH! HEH!

Well, it's true. I don't see why most of us pussyfoot around the subject.

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:34 am

Hmm, a lot of sarcastic replies... I think this is a fair topic.

The ps2 has the best library of modern shooters than other consoles. For a collectors point of view,I suppose the ps2 titles can be bought for standard price (some exceptions) and their value will only go up.

The dreamcast is good for the exclusives it has in marsmatrix, borderdown etc, great games - it's just the ps2 has more and cheaper ports - psikyo, gradius v, shiki, cave...

If you have the main saturn games (I'm assuming garegga, batsugun, DDP are all present and correct) the ps2 should be your next project.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:40 am

Japanese PS1

ubersaurus · Post by **ubersaurus** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:54 am

Can't forget that if you get the power base convertor(and have a genesis mk 1 or CDX) you get access to the master system shooters too. Not too many of em, but they are there, nonetheless.

Of course just to be snarky, if you like fixed screen shooters the Atari 2600 has a boatload of those for cheap.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:51 am

My suggestions:

Sega Saturn - ultimate shmup machine
TG-16
Genesis - I have power base coverter for SMS just for POWER STRIKE...COMPILE bad ass-ness!
DC
PS2 - mines an import so I play PS1 as well like Zanac Neo
SNES - get em' Axelay and Space Megaforce.
NES
Atari 2600 - u must play Imagic shooters and TURMOIL...omg so badazz. The only playable Phoenix too.
Neo-Geo - if u have the deep pocket. Viewpoint is required.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:33 am

The Famicom/NES has an interesting lineup of shooters. While the lineup doesn't compare to Saturn, Genesis, or PSX, there are still plenty of games well worth looking into.

Zanac isn't as good as the EX version for MSX, but it's still a sweet game with tons of firepower.

Guardian Legend is a hybrid shooter/action adventure game. Both sections are well done and there is actually a code to play the game with only shmup stages.

Salamander/Life Force differs from the arcade. The power up system is different, some levels are unique to the NES version, and even the arcade levels are different on NES. It's a very good game in its own right. It even keeps the awesome 2p mode from the original.

1943 has more stages than the original, a unique experience system that effects which power ups you get and other stats, a charge laser that isn't in the original, and some new enemies (some of which can only been affected by the new charge laser).

Gunsmoke is another one that differs from the arcade. Wanted posters found in levels are needed to fight the boss and there are many unique power ups to the NES version, which can be bought the townsfolk.

Gun Nac is like a parody of the Zanac and Aleste games. It's a very well done shmup and one of the few where you can choose the priority of the game in the options mode.

Gun Nac is the most expensive of the bunch, but often sells for as cheap as 5 or 6 dollars loose. Many of these aren't too hard to find. Finding a good condition NES is a bit harder, but they aren't expensive.

ubersaurus wrote: Of course just to be snarky, if you like fixed screen shooters the Atari 2600 has a boatload of those for cheap.

Even though most of the shmups on the 2600 are fixed, many of the fixed ones are quite well done and there's actually some good non-fixed ones like laser gates and vanguard. Some of my favorites on it are Astroblast (which I actually prefer over the Intellivision counterpart, Astrosmash, due to the faster, more challenging gameplay), Vanguard, Demon Attack, Spider Fighter, Megamania, and Beamrider (though I prefer the Intellivision one).

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:44 am

Go for the PS2 mainly because it can play the back catalog of PS1 shmups. As far as classic shmups then the PC Engine all the way.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:13 am

Japanese PS2 is the best choice, and a Japanese dreamcast is good too.
But seriously there are about 100 identical topics in the forum archives, a simple search here will uncover a wealth of opinions on the topic.

ill6 · Post by **ill6** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:49 am

Sega.

Astro City.

Play all the shmups from all the systems!

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:01 am

indeed, nothing beats a good PCB collection.

other than that i guess you cant go wrong with a PS2, both the good cave ports aside theres a million brilliant PSX shmups to be discovered.

scrilla4rella · Post by **scrilla4rella** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:30 am

teh Supagun!! bitches!!

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:21 pm

Daz@Retro Gamer wrote:Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.

The ultimate "system" for collecting shooters is arcade. You got the largest selection and the best games to choose from, however price (as well as space) is a big issue.

Best value/money:

Megadrive - Lots of great shooters and they're mostly cheap as well. Also, those MD snap cases are great for collecting cuz they keep the games in nice shape (...most of the time).

As for the others:

PC-Engine - The system with the most shooters (109 to be precise), unfortunately they're not all great, and a lot of the arcade stuff has better ports on other systems. Any 16-Bit fan needs one though cuz of the great exclusive (a lot of which can be quite pricey though)

Saturn/Playstation - The best systems for "arcade perfect" conversions, if you're serious about your arcade shooters you need them both. Plus great exclusives as well. Lots of filler on PS though, so you might not wanna aim for a complete collection there.

Dreamcast/PS2 - Smaller line-ups, but almost all worthwhile stuff. Most of the stuff is recent though, so maybe not as much fun to go hunting for.

Daz@Retro Gamer · Post by **Daz@Retro Gamer** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:26 pm

CIT wrote:
Daz@Retro Gamer wrote:Taking price into account what's the best system for collecting a decent amount of shooters.

The ultimate "system" for collecting shooters is arcade. You got the largest selection and the best games to choose from, however price (as well as space) is a big issue.

Best value/money:

Megadrive - Lots of great shooters and they're mostly cheap as well. Also, those MD snap cases are great for collecting cuz they keep the games in nice shape (...most of the time).

As for the others:

PC-Engine - The system with the most shooters (109 to be precise), unfortunately they're not all great, and a lot of the arcade stuff has better ports on other systems. Any 16-Bit fan needs one though cuz of the great exclusive (a lot of which can be quite pricey though)

Saturn/Playstation - The best systems for "arcade perfect" conversions, if you're serious about your arcade shooters you need them both. Plus great exclusives as well. Lots of filler on PS though, so you might not wanna aim for a complete collection there.

Dreamcast/PS2 - Smaller line-ups, but almost all worthwhile stuff. Most of the stuff is recent though, so maybe not as much fun to go hunting for.

Thanks mate, that's exactly the sort of post I expect from this place

I've always toyed with getting a complete selection of Saturn shooters, but I really don't see the point in paying stupid amounts of money for games like Planet Joker which are suppossed to be rubbish.

That's why I'm currently considering finishing off my DC collection, because most of them still seem to be relatively cheap, and the ratio of decent to shit seems relatively high.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:02 pm

This one instead is some years old - but still a good read on the subject imho. (not just because it has my two cents on it, of course - looking at it in retrospective, I'd lower Snes under the NES and put the DC above the SS)

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:22 pm

yikes, why all the hostility in this topic?

hes just asking what system everyone fancies as the most worthwile..?

and yeah PCBs might not be the most wallet friendly if youre going for amassing shitloads of games, but if you intend on spending some quality time with your purchases it simply cannot be beaten!!

some quick maths, new cave kit = JPY250K = 2500 credits = about a year of serious practice untill the board earned itself.. i would definetly choose that over ~100 megadrive games that id never touch more than once..

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:33 pm

As for the Mega Drive, it has a nice selection of Toaplan shmups - of those I currently like V-V (V-Five) and Slap Fight best, Same! Same! Same! (aka Fireshark) and Tatsujin (aka Truxton) are also nice. Then there are Eliminate Down and Twinkle Tale (both by pretty unknown developers). There's also one vertical shmup by Technosoft (of Thunder Force fame), Elemental Master. Last but not least we have the fantastic Musha Aleste by Compile (and Robo Aleste for Sega CD).

Daz@Retro Gamer · Post by **Daz@Retro Gamer** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:38 pm

Ceph wrote:As for the Mega Drive, it has a nice selection of Toaplan shmups - of those I currently like V-V (V-Five) and Slap Fight best, Same! Same! Same! (aka Fireshark) and Tatsujin (aka Truxton) are also nice. Then there are Eliminate Down and Twinkle Tale (both by pretty unknown developers). There's also one vertical shmup by Technosoft (of Thunder Force fame), Elemental Master. Last but not least we have the fantastic Musha Aleste by Compile (and Robo Aleste for Sega CD).

I quite like the sound of Elimate Down and Twinkle Tale. Any more info on them?

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