What game to 1cc? (Edit: Finally did it!)

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!
User avatar
professor ganson
Posts: 5193
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:59 am
Location: OHIO

What game to 1cc? (Edit: Finally did it!)

Post by professor ganson »

I have yet to 1cc a shmup on normal difficulty, probably for lack of trying. I assume that a player of average skill (like me) with proper dedication and the right choice of game will ultimately prevail. So suppose I were to make it my goal to accomplish this feat. What game would be a good choice? What game is not too hard on normal difficulty, and yet not so easy that this would fail to count as a real accomplishment for an average gamer?
Last edited by professor ganson on Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
BUHA
Posts: 388
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:40 am

Post by BUHA »

I'd say BioHazard Battle (genesis) and Soldier Blade (PCE) are good bets. I've heard most compile games are pretty easy, too.
User avatar
it290
Posts: 2849
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am
Location: polar malortex, illinois

Post by it290 »

Thunderforce III, although it might be a tad on the easy side.
User avatar
subcons
Posts: 627
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:27 am
Location: Baltimore, MD

Post by subcons »

The new Shienryu is notoriously easy. I have yet to play it, but I will soon enough. I'm curious, as like you, I'm only of average skill and have yet to do a 1CC too. I'm oh so close on Metal Slug though. Also working on Gradius Galaxies for GBA. It feels very attainable.
User avatar
BulletMagnet
Posts: 14423
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:05 am
Location: Wherever.
Contact:

Post by BulletMagnet »

There was a topic on here not too long ago where someone asked for suggestions for relatively easy shmups to start out on...search a page or two back and see if you can find it.
User avatar
captain ahar
Posts: 3182
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:03 pm
Location: #50 Bitch!

Post by captain ahar »

Soldier Blade's difficulty is not bad at all. i've nearly completed it myself, but never have the time available to make it all the way through. i'm pretty close on Gate of Thunder too. i can one life most of the way into Crown (stage 5), and then i have to go to "work" or some such nonsense.

these, Gekioh Shooting King, and Castle Shikigami 2 are the only ones I have come close to 1CC, so consider them recomendations (probably not CS2 though, based on your criteria).
I have no sig whatsoever.
User avatar
EOJ
Posts: 3227
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 6:12 am
Location: Hawaii
Contact:

Post by EOJ »

Blast Wind is a good choice to 1CC. It's on the easy side (it only took me 5 hours to 1CC it), but 1CC'ing it with a decent score is still something of note. Ikaruga is rather easy to 1CC if you put in enough time, say 40-100 hours, to learn the level patterns. After that, 1CCing it becomes like clockwork, but no matter how many times you do it it's always very satisfying to beat that game on a credit! Best shmup ever IMHO.
Last edited by EOJ on Sun Mar 27, 2005 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Neon
Posts: 3529
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Neon »

Phase 1: Find a game you love and play the piss out of it.

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: PROFIT!

Savestates are a great boon, also.
User avatar
gs68
Posts: 1537
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:29 am
Location: Northern California

Post by gs68 »

1941: Counter Attack.

Fairly easy, it replenishes your life meter fully every time you begin a new stage.
User avatar
iatneH
Posts: 3202
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:09 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Post by iatneH »

OK, I SUCK at shmups (i.e. Thunderforce II and III DESTROY me, and I'm still having a lot of trouble with Bio-Hazard Battle)

But my first and only 1CC was Elemental Master... so it must be very easy :(
Maybe you can give it a try, I think it took me around 7 hours..

I'm coming close to a 1CC in Lords of Thunder though (but I buy all the life replenishing items at the beginning of each stage, might be kind of cheating)
BUHA
Posts: 388
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:40 am

Post by BUHA »

I've been THAT close to 1CCing DoDonPachi, and I'm pretty new to shmups. It can't be that hard if even I can do it! It just takes practice.

I find that if I play a game all day (or for a long period of time) i usually don't get any better at it. If I play it once or twice a day, I seem to make a lot more progress. So if you keep trying to 1 credit a game over and over in a day, maybe just take a break from it and play it the next day and see what happens.
User avatar
Rob
Posts: 8080
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:58 am

Post by Rob »

iatneH wrote:but I buy all the life replenishing items at the beginning of each stage, might be kind of cheating)
That's what they're there for.
User avatar
landshark
Posts: 2156
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:27 am
Location: Chicago 'Burbs

Post by landshark »

Neon wrote:Phase 1: Find a game you love and play the piss out of it.

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: PROFIT!
Ahahahahahaha.

My vote is still for arcade Gradius/Nemesis. It's 1CCable in a night.

It's short enough that restarting over and over isn't a big deal.
User avatar
zinger
Posts: 1387
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:58 pm
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Post by zinger »

Someone mentioned Elemental Master. A great shooter from tecno soft, and the first shooter I 1CC'ed. A tad easy, but loads of fun. Give it a try!
Dangerous Seed (MD) is in the same division.
User avatar
OmegaFlareX
Posts: 890
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:15 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Star Parodia (PCE CD) is, hands down, the easiest shmup I've ever played. Normal difficulty is an absolute joke. If you don't 1CC it on your first try, you'll do it on your second.
neorichieb1971
Posts: 8019
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:28 am
Location: Bedford, UK
Contact:

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Harmful park is a cake walk.

Gradius 1 is doable for the beginner.


Thats the only 2 shmups i've 1cc'd.


I've completed Philosoma, Thunderforce 5 and Axelay with the amount of credits given, but not 1cc'd.
This industry has become 2 dimensional as it transcended into a 3D world.
User avatar
Ex_Mosquito
Posts: 591
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:17 pm
Location: United Kingdom, Newport S.Wales

Post by Ex_Mosquito »

Go for any arcade shooter i would, as a rule they're harder than console shooters and alot more rewarding. Elemental Master is a decent enough game but a little too easy, saying that though it has one of the best soundtracks on the megadrive, so play it if only for that:)
My Arcade 1-Credit Replays
http://www.youtube.com/user/exmosquito
User avatar
marril159
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:02 pm
Location: AZ, Earth

Post by marril159 »

Lifeforce (NES) is easy to 1CC if you know safe spots, 1-up locations, and other little tricks in the game.
...I need a weapon.
User avatar
landshark
Posts: 2156
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:27 am
Location: Chicago 'Burbs

Post by landshark »

Personally, I've never really cared for 1CC'ing most classic console games (snes/genesis/nes/tg16) that have arcade counterparts.

The console versions are almost always slimmed down in difficulty and experience and are meant to be easier to 1cc. The arcade games on the other hand are meant to suck quarters so when I beat a PCB game, it's like beating the system ;)

There are of course exceptions, Gradius III for SNES is great.
User avatar
captain ahar
Posts: 3182
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:03 pm
Location: #50 Bitch!

Post by captain ahar »

^ sure is. still can't clear it though. :cry:
I have no sig whatsoever.
japtor
Posts: 367
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:16 am

Post by japtor »

try to 1cc dangun feveron using uo-poko. itll be fun.
User avatar
PepsimanVsJoe
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:32 pm
Contact:

Eh?

Post by PepsimanVsJoe »

"Ikaruga is rather easy to 1CC if you put in enough time, say 40-100 hours."
Unless you're talking about normal and/or hard I did my first Ikaruga 1CC in less than 10 hours but eh.

From easiest to least easy.

Life Force(Instant respawn, easy bosses for the most part, etc).

Space Megaforce. Yeah it's super long but the weapon/life system allows you to take many hits over the course of a stage. 1ups are almost constant as well.

MUSHA- As long as you have a powerup you can take a hit. Plus 1ups are fairly plentiful

Any Psikyo shooter on the easiest setting. Yeah it's a copout but chances are you'll 1CC...hell even 1-life the game on the first couple playthroughs. Then afterwards feel free to step the difficulty up one notch at a time. Pretty soon you'll be doing both loop completes of Gunbird 2 in no time at all!
-----------
Still pretty easy
----------
Gradius 1- As long as you don't die in the volcano stage you'll be fine..but if you do better just reset the game.

Raiden Trad(PCE version)- This is probably the only Raiden game I've 1CCed. The arcade version is many times harder imo but eh.

Thunderforce III- As long as you memorize a few choice sections you're good to go.

------
Not too bad
-----
Darius 1 Arcade- I one-lifed this game and it's probably my greatest accomplishment. Rough game towards the end but hey once you reach the last stage you're basically forced to 1CC the rest anyway(You get instant game-over if you lose)

Darius Gaiden(Saturn)- I can't stress this enough. The Saturn rev features two fire buttons. This means by hitting both buttons you can increase the rate of fire substantially..thus killing the bosses faster. In fact to compare difficulty even at the same settings. I one-life the Saturn rev with relative ease(Hell I even did it taking the Titanic Lance route), but I can't even 1CC the arcade version(Closest I came was eating pure death at the fucking Seahorse final..should have went with Risk Storage).

Gradius III- Again a very long game but it is for the most part easy. Hell you can use fully charged E-Laser shots to take out bosses in like three hits.

Oh and any other console-exclusive shooters are included up to this point barring a few exceptions(Which for the life of me I can't remember..sorry)
-----
Pretty Hard
-----
Pro Gear No Arashi- If you're looking towards 1CCing a Cave shooter this is considered the easiest of them. I wouldn't know however since all of my 1CC attempts have been plagued by stupid deaths(Which is depressing because at one time or another I've done the first four stages and the final boss without a single death..just never all at once.

ESP Galuda- I haven't played this yet but from what I hear it's really easy. Then again I guess people that play Cave shooters all the time have becomed adjusted to this but eh...

Ikaruga- If your focus is purely survival you could probably get through this game fairly easily. It is only when you start playing for score plus the harder difficulties with the suicide bullets.

G. Darius- Really I don't see why I haven't 1CCed this yet. The bosses certainly aren't as hard as the ones in Darius Gaiden(Mainly because they die much faster esp. with the Counter Beam). Maybe this is more due to the lack of an exact port(There is a PSX version but from what I hear it has speed issues) and the emulation currently available is flawed(Zinc runs it about perfectly but for some reason I can't set the fire buttons..and there's no music)
------
Hard
-----
ESP Ra De- This is the only Cave shooter I ever 1CCed and I consider it a fluke.

Darius II- The hardest game in the Darius series by far. If you thought the weapon-systems were bad in the other games avoid this at all costs. A single death will knock your weapons back to nothing, and it's instant death in the final stages.(One playthrough I got up to the sixth stage on one life..but then I died...by the time I reached the seventh/last stage I had used up four continues).

Battle Garegga- This may be too much "work" to 1CC since you'll be spending time controlling the rank system along with trying to survive. Ignoring the rank system would probably put the game in "Kick your ass!" status but eh.

----
Really hard
----
Gradius V- Long and hard...sort of like myself(rimshot). Granted after a certain point you'll be cheating death at every moment and wondering how the hell you did it. Probably the biggest hurdles to overcome will be the last two stages(Ah the green goo) but aside from that it should be a fairly smooth ride.

-----
Kick your ass!
-----
Gradius III arcade- If you can do this I'd love to see a replay...hell I'd pay you for it if it were possible.

Psyiko shooters on the highest difficulty- Oh and second loops to boot. Have fun!

VARTH: Operation Thunderstorm- Is this game really hard? No..not really. But it is LOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGG. Your ass will be kicked by boredom long before due to the game having...what...30 stages?
--------
Obviously not a complete list by any means but eh..more options to consider.
User avatar
Shatterhand
Posts: 4124
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:01 am
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

Post by Shatterhand »

Add Harmful Park to the most easy level :D
User avatar
it290
Posts: 2849
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am
Location: polar malortex, illinois

Post by it290 »

Here are a couple more in the 'not too hard, but still provide a good challenge' category:

Vapor Trail (Gen): Pretty easy as long as you don't screw up too badly.

Sagaia (Gen): Ditto. Last few stages get kinda hard, but still far easier than the arcade version.
5parrowhawk
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 8:47 pm

Post by 5parrowhawk »

Shanghai Alice games are somewhere between level 2 and 3.

Except Imperishable Night on easy mode, which probably rates a 1.
User avatar
adam76
Posts: 175
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:45 pm
Location: Birmingham, England

Post by adam76 »

The mega drive and PCE have a load of shooters that are pretty easy-ish on default settings. Elemental Master has already been name-checked and thats a good enough place to start, with Thunderforce 3, Musha Aleste, Vapour Trail and Zero Wing other MD shooters that are 1cc-able with a minimal amount of effort. On the PCE, Gunhead, Final Soldier, Gradius, Soldier Blade and maybe Violent Soldier are all lower down on the difficulty ladder. If you finish these or just looking for a bit more of a challenge, try Thunderforce 4, Hellfire, Tatsujin or Gaiares on the MD-i find them all pretty hard.
"What the hell kind of a two-bit operation are they running out of this treehouse, Cooper? I have seen some slip-shod, backwater burgs, but this place takes the cake."
.
User avatar
UnscathedFlyingObject
Posts: 3636
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:59 am
Location: Uncanny Valley
Contact:

Post by UnscathedFlyingObject »

Gradius Gaiden. Gosh, I'm amazed nobody has mentioned it yet. It's a rather easy game as long as you don't play the second loop or harder difficulties. *Brag Mode ON* Trust me, I have 1CCed this game 26 times (about half the time 1rst loop, half the time 2nd loop). It's a blast to play too.
"Sooo, what was it that you consider a 'good salary' for a man to make?"
"They should at least make 100K to have a good life"
...
User avatar
landshark
Posts: 2156
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:27 am
Location: Chicago 'Burbs

Post by landshark »

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:Gradius Gaiden. Gosh, I'm amazed nobody has mentioned it yet. It's a rather easy game as long as you don't play the second loop or harder difficulties. *Brag Mode ON* Trust me, I have 1CCed this game 26 times (about half the time 1rst loop, half the time 2nd loop). It's a blast to play too.
I find the areas after the blackhole level to be quite difficult. I've 1CCd Gradius V many more times than Gradius Gaiden.

Gradius 1 is still the easiest ;)
User avatar
UnscathedFlyingObject
Posts: 3636
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:59 am
Location: Uncanny Valley
Contact:

Post by UnscathedFlyingObject »

^ For some reason, I can't 1CC Gradius V. I can handle semi manics (GG 2nd loop is semi manic), but I can't 1CC Gradius V (with the 50 hours I played). It's probably because the game doesn't click with me that much, and I haven't played it to death.
"Sooo, what was it that you consider a 'good salary' for a man to make?"
"They should at least make 100K to have a good life"
...
User avatar
MovingTarget
Posts: 926
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 7:44 pm
Location: Scotland

Post by MovingTarget »

Has anyone here 1cc'd Souky? am finding it quite tricky, do you think a shmup newbie could 1cc it in under 50 hours?
Know thy enemy attack pattern.
Post Reply