Must-have Saturn Shmups?

Cugel · Post by **Cugel** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 12:53 am

What are the must-have Saturn shmups? I recently purchased a Saturn with 4-in-1 Action Replay cart and purchased the following shmups:

* Radiant Silvergun (only $102 for incomplete on eBay: only CD & booklet)
* Soukyugurentai Otokuyo (no text problems with Action Replay carts)

I'm looking for:

* Battle Garegga

So, what do you hardcore saturn shmups experts recommend?

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:01 am

We desperate need a sticky for this...

Please check out www.shmups.com xenocide files...

There were a million threads of this on the old shmup forum but a quick search turns up nothing for me (and I'm too lazy to type a big list now.

Hell, just buy Garegga and Batsugun, they're the two best shmups on the console

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:09 am

Tengoku:game paradise
Layer section aka Galactic attack
Batsugun
Dodonpachi

Those are the only ones you really need to bother with, Garegga is cool too.

You might want to check out Strikers 1945 2, Gunbird, Sengoku Blaede, Hyperduel, Thunderforce 5. There is at least 10 to get you started, I don't think I missed any of the best ones.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:19 am

I really like Strikers 1945, perhaps even moreso than its sequel. I paid $20-something for it. Some really good music and inventive boss designs.

Gunbird's another cheap one (haven't checked teh bay, but I got a complete one for $15), and it has all the cinemas and whatnot, so I can finally see Tetsuo's and Ash's endings whenever I want! Classic Psikyo.

I like Blast Wind, if only since it's made by Technosoft. Graphics are very reminiscient of a Technosoft game, and while I'm not too huge a fan of the easy difficulty, it is still rather enjoyable. I would not recommend buying this until you've got a few more classics under your belt, cos you might be a lil disappointed.

Galactic Attack is teh shiznit; it got ported here to the US under that name, and in Japan it's known as Layer Section. Definitely check it out; it has awesome music and it's just fun.

Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack and Gokujyo Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack are both compilations of two Twinbee and Parodius games, respectively. Detana Twinbee isn't all that good, but you should definitely buy it if only for Twinbee Yahho! (I got a complete one for $20, so it's cheap too!). Both of the Parodius games in the pack are great, not sure what the going price for it is nowadays, tho.

The Bullet Dodger · Post by **The Bullet Dodger** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:20 am

Thunder Force V, Darius Gaiden, Layer Section, and Dodonpachi. Two horizontals and two verticals that you should get for sure. All must-have shmups for the Saturn.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:26 am

Dezaemon 2 is cool if you feel like expressing yourself creatively. beware of the of the thick manual if you a non-speaker (like me

). also, the menus in the game tend to be a bit cryptic. oh and the Salamander Deluxe (1 & Life Force & 2) pack kicks ass as well. although, to be fair Salamander seems to be a love/hate type game. also there's Gradius Deluxe (1 & 2) if you're into that.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:52 am

I recommend playing the games you have. 1ccing Radiant, Souky, and Garegga should take you a fair amount of time as it is.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:54 am

Neon wrote:I recommend playing the games you have. 1ccing Radiant, Souky, and Garegga should take you a fair amount of time as it is.

actually "playing" the games you buy is for losers. i should know because i am not a loser. evidence: i bought Steel Battalion new and have played it exactly twice ($200 well spent, i say

).

gunbird18 · Post by **gunbird18** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:26 am

Hell, just buy Garegga and Batsugun, they're the two best shmups on the console

Can't go wrong with Saturn exclusive shmups! Garegga is a must! Great choice there! I will give a nod to Batsugun (wow, looks like an early Cave shmup

) and I HIGHLY recommend Hyper Duel. The Saturn mode graphics alone, are well worth the high $$ tag, IMO. It was great to get a port of the arcade game, but when they threw in the enhanced graphics for the Saturn mode, wow, what a difference! Almost a brand new game!

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:35 am

LoneSage wrote:I really like Strikers 1945, perhaps even moreso than its sequel. I paid $20-something for it. Some really good music and inventive boss designs.

I definitely prefer Strikers 1945 over 1945 II. I like the style of the game better, it's sort of proto-Psikyo, the bullet patterns are a little more relenting, less fast moving, strictly placed pattern memorization.

I highly recommend Sengoku Blade, possibly my favorite Psikyo game. Batsugun is definitely one of my favorites. And get all the Deluxe Packs, plus Jikkyou Oshabeir and Sexy Parodius.

These aren't really first-tier games, but once you've sampled the AAA titles, I recommend you try Shippu Mahou Daisakusen, Guardian Force, and Kyuukyoku Tiger II Plus.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:50 am

Battle Garegga, Radiant Silvergun, Soukyugurentai, Do Don Pachi, Batsugan and Strikers 1 and 2.

All of these titles will set you back a bit (especially Radiant obviously) but they're all worth every cent you pay and will provide you endless years of awesome replay value (as long as you don't pay much past $150 for Radiant anyways...)

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 4:39 am

Will these aren't must-haves, I think they're decent shmups u can consider:

Gekirindan
Metal Black
In The Hunt
Thunderforce Gold Pack 1&2 (GP1 especially worth it for the soundtrack on CD)

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:47 pm

tehkao wrote:In The Hunt

The Saturn version is quite sluggish. Go with the PS version of that instead. It's also cheaper.

Dezaemon 2 is cool if you feel like expressing yourself creatively. beware of the of the thick manual if you a non-speaker (like me Very Happy ). also, the menus in the game tend to be a bit cryptic. oh and the Salamander Deluxe (1 & Life Force & 2) pack kicks ass as well. although, to be fair Salamander seems to be a love/hate type game. also there's Gradius Deluxe (1 & 2) if you're into that.

Don't buy this game until you get a modded Saturn. You won't have any way to save anything. And whatever you do, don't rip that 4-in-1 out of the Saturn while the system is still on.

OmegaFlareX · Post by **OmegaFlareX** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:19 pm

Strikers 1945
Batsugun
Shienryu
Game Paradise
Salmander Deluxe Pack
Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus
Battle Garegga

Skip DoDonpachi. The PS1 version is a much better port. Same with Donpachi.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:44 pm

Ganelon wrote:
Dezaemon 2 is cool if you feel like expressing yourself creatively. beware of the of the thick manual if you a non-speaker (like me Very Happy ). also, the menus in the game tend to be a bit cryptic. oh and the Salamander Deluxe (1 & Life Force & 2) pack kicks ass as well. although, to be fair Salamander seems to be a love/hate type game. also there's Gradius Deluxe (1 & 2) if you're into that.
Don't buy this game until you get a modded Saturn. You won't have any way to save anything. And whatever you do, don't rip that 4-in-1 out of the Saturn while the system is still on.

completely spaced on this detail. i had an american saturn and a 4 in 1 when i bought Dezaemon and i couldn't do anything with it. now i have a white saturn and a mouse and... well, i still can't do anything with it... but the potential is there

Cugel · Post by **Cugel** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:52 pm

OmegaFlareX wrote:Strikers 1945
Batsugun
Shienryu
Game Paradise
Salmander Deluxe Pack
Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus
Battle Garegga

Skip DoDonpachi. The PS1 version is a much better port. Same with Donpachi.

I have Donpachi, Dodonpachi, and Salamander Deluxe for PS1. Unless, there is a really compelling reason, I'll pass on the Saturn versions.

Battle Garegga is hard to find. No luck on eBay--even on completed items. I've already posted in the trading station forum for a used Garegga.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:54 pm

Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:18 am

Brian wrote:Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.

That's jp's motto all right.

Batsugun + Strikers 1945 (the original) are my picks. One comment though, nobody ever mentions Layer Section (Galactic Attack) or Darius Gaiden, but these are just too good and too cheap to pass up.

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:23 am

mannerbot wrote:One comment though, nobody ever mentions Layer Section (Galactic Attack) or Darius Gaiden, but these are just too good and too cheap to pass up.

Um ...

Layer Section was mentioned 4 times prior to your post. Darius Gaiden once.

I'm not really a big fan of either, but their certainly worthwhile, especially considering they're among the cheapest shmups for the Saturn.

nullstar · Post by **nullstar** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:36 am

Brian wrote:Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.

Even if they are all must-haves, I'd see a JAMMA Supergun as more valuable than the Saturn. If a supergun is out of one's price range, Saturn shmups is not exactly a great cost-saving alternative.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:47 am

About that Dezaemon 2, anyone made any games for either the Saturn port, or Nes/Snes versions.

I would love to see some

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:04 am

nullstar wrote:
Brian wrote:Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.
Even if they are all must-haves, I'd see a JAMMA Supergun as more valuable than the Saturn. If a supergun is out of one's price range, Saturn shmups is not exactly a great cost-saving alternative.

Layer Section, Gunbird, Darius Gaiden, Twinbee Deluxe Pack, and a few others are pretty cheap at about 10-30 dollars. Dodonpachi, Batsugun, Salamander Delxue Pack, Gradius Dexlue Pack, Parodius Dexule Pack and a couple of other are mid ranged at about 40-50 dollars. The Saturn itself is pretty cheap too. With the supergun, a single game would probably cost more than the Saturn. The Saturn has many great non-shmup games too.

jp · Post by jp » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:46 am

mannerbot wrote:
Brian wrote:Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.
That's jp's motto all right.

Indeed. If I didn't own Planet Joker and Cho Aniki my gaming life would be so very incomplete.

At any rate, I would say:
Radiant Silvergun
Blast Wind
Hyper Duel
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2
Thunder Force V
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Metal Black
Battle Garegga
Soukyugurentai
Galactic Attack
Darius Gaiden
Game Tengoku
Batsugun
Gun Frontier
Gunbird
Kingdom Grandprix
Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus
Detana Twinbee Yahho Deluxe Pack
Gokujyo Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack
Jikkyo Parodius Oshaberi
Sexy Parodius
Gradius Deluxe Pack
Image Fight/X-Multiply
Sonic Wings Special
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 II
Sengoku Blaede
Twinkle Star Sprites
Fantasy Zone

would give you enough shmuppiness on the Saturn for a lifetime.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:19 am

JP, are you saying that Planet Joker and Cho Aniki are the only shmups on the Saturn to be avoided? I suspect that someday I will try to own them all because the Saturn is simply my favorite console (with the PS1 a not-so-close second). But if these two games genuinely suck, I will put them at the end of my list.

nullstar · Post by **nullstar** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:21 am

BrianC wrote:
nullstar wrote:
Brian wrote:Why don't we just say they are all must haves, nobody can live without all of them, only a fool would try. Long live the Saturn and all it hardcore shmupness; let us answer again tomorrow.
Even if they are all must-haves, I'd see a JAMMA Supergun as more valuable than the Saturn. If a supergun is out of one's price range, Saturn shmups is not exactly a great cost-saving alternative.
Layer Section, Gunbird, Darius Gaiden, Twinbee Deluxe Pack, and a few others are pretty cheap at about 10-30 dollars. Dodonpachi, Batsugun, Salamander Delxue Pack, Gradius Dexlue Pack, Parodius Dexule Pack and a couple of other are mid ranged at about 40-50 dollars. The Saturn itself is pretty cheap too. With the supergun, a single game would probably cost more than the Saturn. The Saturn has many great non-shmup games too.

Right, but nearly all of the games you just mentioned are also available for PS1 (for similar prices, methinks). I'm not saying 'sell the Saturn' by any means, but in these threads it's good to keep in mind that: much of the "32-bit" shmup releases hit both Saturn and PSX; PSX has more exclusive, top-notch shmups vs. Saturn (!); and if you've got JAMMA at home, the fact that the "big" Saturn titles were ported to the console doesn't isn't in and of itself make a "must-have" scenario for the console version of the game (though seven-button RSG is nice...).

tehkao · Post by **tehkao** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:41 am

PSX has more exclusive, top-notch shmups vs. Saturn

Yeah, but only Saturn has RSG and PS doesn't, nyah nyah nyah!!

Imhotep · Post by **Imhotep** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:54 am

Battle Garegga
Sengoku Blade
Soukyugurentai
Radiant Silvergun

if you don't have a PSX, then

Dodonpachi
Strikers 1945 II

Cugel · Post by **Cugel** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:20 am

Since no one wants to sell BATTLE GAREGGA, I asked my friend in Tokyo to pick up Garegga, Batsugun, and Layer Section in Akihabara.

Is Garegga rare? I can't find one even on eBay.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:28 am

Cugel wrote: Is Garegga rare? I can't find one even on eBay.

I dunno, I think a few months ago there were a few on eBay? I think.

I was lucky enough to score a mint copy from neorichieb here at shmups. I think the going price for Garegga nowadays is in the $70-$90 range.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:25 am

LoneSage wrote:
Cugel wrote: Is Garegga rare? I can't find one even on eBay.
I think the going price for Garegga nowadays is in the $70-$90 range.

Yes, I got it on eBay at some point in the last year or so for about $80.