Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:58 pm

i just bought issue 59 (with Battlezone on the cover) and apparently next month mag will be a shmup special with interviews with the creators of R-Type and Space Invaders and they will be "looking at some of the greatest shoot-'em-ups ever made"

worth looking out for i would say

Out 02/02/2009 (UK)

John845 · Post by **John845** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:04 pm

I hope someone scans this when it comes out.

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:14 am

mr_m0nks wrote:i just bought issue 59 (with Battlezone on the cover) and apparently next month mag will be a shmup special with interviews with the creators of R-Type and Space Invaders and they will be "looking at some of the greatest shoot-'em-ups ever made"

Another R-Type and Gradius infested article is my guess, with a little sidebar on 'bullet-hell' games. I'm hoping to be surprised though.

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:55 pm

Alright I'll check it, but I don't wanna see more on R-Type.

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:57 pm

320x240 wrote:
mr_m0nks wrote:i just bought issue 59 (with Battlezone on the cover) and apparently next month mag will be a shmup special with interviews with the creators of R-Type and Space Invaders and they will be "looking at some of the greatest shoot-'em-ups ever made"
Another R-Type and Gradius infested article is my guess, with a little sidebar on 'bullet-hell' games. I'm hoping to be surprised though.

That'd be fucking typical, predictable, and otherwise uneventful.

Fuck that

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:36 pm

John845 wrote:I hope someone scans this when it comes out.

I'm hoping some buys this when it comes out

gabe · Post by **gabe** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:18 pm

John845 wrote:I hope someone scans this when it comes out.

LOL @ This being the first post.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:30 pm

mr_m0nks wrote: "looking at some of the greatest shoot-'em-ups ever made"

Probably will be the same old "boring" anchors of the genre (Gradius/R-Type/194x/ThunderForce and a touch of Touhou and DDP).

But will get it anyway as this kind of printed publishings don't come around too often.

harlequ1n · Post by **harlequ1n** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:17 pm

Super Laydock wrote:
mr_m0nks wrote: "looking at some of the greatest shoot-'em-ups ever made"
Probably will be the same old "boring" anchors of the genre (Gradius/R-Type/194x/ThunderForce and a touch of Touhou and DDP).

But will get it anyway as this kind of printed publishings don't come around too often.

Well, that "boring" stuff would be incredible for non hardcore shmupers but initiated shmup fans like me

So I'm glad I subscribed last month.

FIL · Post by **FIL** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:13 pm

Its very likely that it'll be full of nostalgia for 80s arcade and (early) 90s console shmups with a few paragraphs on more modern games written by somebody who had a 10 minute play on mame. Still, i'd like it to be something more. Some decent and balanced coverage which takes modern shmups on their merits is always good.

If I can remember, i'll buy it and put up some scans.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:15 pm

daz should publicly apologise for his 7/10 review of gradius V for gamestm

John845 · Post by **John845** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:05 pm

MX7 wrote:
John845 wrote:I hope someone scans this when it comes out.
I'm hoping some buys this when it comes out

Well I don't live in the UK and I'm not sure if this magazine even sells in the states.

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:14 pm

FIL wrote:Its very likely that it'll be full of nostalgia for 80s arcade and (early) 90s console shmups with a few paragraphs on more modern games written by somebody who had a 10 minute play on mame. Still, i'd like it to be something more. Some decent and balanced coverage which takes modern shmups on their merits is always good.

If I can remember, i'll buy it and put up some scans.

Haven't you heard? Ikaruga was the last shmup made after 1992.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:09 pm

John845 wrote:
MX7 wrote:
John845 wrote:I hope someone scans this when it comes out.
I'm hoping some buys this when it comes out
Well I don't live in the UK and I'm not sure if this magazine even sells in the states.

It does, at book stores like Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. Its pricey to the point that I only pick it up when it features something that really interests me. I will definitely make a point to grab the next issue, thanks for the heads up.

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:17 am

I don't think I have ever seen such pessimism.

Its a Retro magazine fwhat do people expect? a full making of the latest DDP game? Good luck waiting for ANY magazine to run something like that! Of course it is going to cover the classics but well it should as without them most of us wouldn't be playing any shmups at all, and if the article just gets one person more into this niche of gaming I think it will have done a good job.

people seem to be forgetting that the Shmup is getting more coverage in the media now than it has done for the last 2 generations of console.

and all they can do is complain, sheesh!

Best stick to reading Hello or OK or whatever else you prefer

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:12 pm

i havent bought a games magazine for years (except the ones i was in) but thisone i might pickup

price si pretty ridiculous in swedish stores tho (about £11)

kozo · Post by **kozo** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:57 pm

I really want to buy this when it hits the stores. I recently grabbed the Out Run, CV and Xevious issues and a binder to stick them in as I track more down! (heh, "OLD!")

kennyrh · Post by **kennyrh** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:16 pm

To be fair, the people who publish this mag are real retro geeks . . .so, whatever the shmup angle, it should be informed and educational for the faithful and not so clued up

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:32 pm

Yay! some retrogamer love

oli_lar · Post by **oli_lar** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:29 pm

IIRC the editor was a full collection of dreamcast shmups, so I'm sure that will mean that article does have some of the more obscure shmups. They have reviewed Ibara before too and have featured an article on saturn shmups.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:42 pm

Interview with the creators of R-Type sounds fascinating. Nothing wrong with a retro mag focusing on the classics. The magazine has also been nice enough to run two articles in recent years featuring shmups.com founder Malc. Kudos to the mag staff for staying profitable with this print publication in these increasingly hard economic times for print.

Dragoforce · Post by **Dragoforce** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:13 am

I don't buy retrogamer very often because of the price, but since it's about shmups I guess i'm obligated to buy it.

rtw · Post by **rtw** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:53 pm

Just noticed issue 60 is out. Is the R-Type section interesting enough to warrent a purchase of this magazine ?

rtw

DazTM · Post by **DazTM** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:03 pm

First of all a quick apology.

My proposed Shmup special was taken away from me at the last moment, so it's no longer happening. Instead we'll still be covering the planned stuff but over several issues.

Issue 60 contains a making of R-Type
Issue 61/62 contains a space invaders making of, while another in-depth making of isn't going to be revealed just at this moment. Yes you could argue that these are well known games, but I've never seen the creators of R-Type talk about its creation before, so I'd say that's worth covering.

I love shmups, I always have, so it saddens me when certain individuals here poopoo the coverage RG gives to the genre and suggests we don't know what we're talking about.

I may not be at informed as some of the people here, but I'm over and above that of many in the UK gaming scene (press wise at least) and virtually no other gaming mag gives the genre the same amount of coverage that we do. Indeed, most people just aren't interested in the genre full stop and would rather be blasting zombies or pushing katamaries around.

What you have to remember about Retro Gamer is that when you read a shmups article it's not going to be directly aimed at you guys. After all, I doubt I could tell any of you here anything about Batsugan, Battle Garegga or Gradius Gaiden that you don't already know. If on the other hand we can convince at least one person that Battle Garegga is worth tracking down and owning because it's a truly great game then I'll be happy.

I would have thought that a community like this would actually be pleased that we're doing our best to make as many gamers love shmups as much as we do.

Oh and as for the Gradius score I apologise. If I could have given it a nine I would have, but other people on the team played it and felt it wasn't worth more than a seven and as scores as a group decision, the seven stayed.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:14 pm

fair enough then darren

ash has done some good stuff in gtm as well recently.

DazTM · Post by **DazTM** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:19 pm

jpj wrote:fair enough then darren
ash has done some good stuff in gtm as well recently.

Yeah mainly because I tell him too

Jonti our japanese correspondent likes the genre as well.

rtw · Post by **rtw** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:21 pm

DazTM wrote:Issue 60 contains a making of R-Type

Is this an interview with the original developers ? I have to buy this magazine online and get it shipped to me so I want to make sure I'm getting my moneys worth

rtw

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:40 pm

Retro Gamer s probably the best written and researched games magazine out there, it is clear that the article writers have a passion and truly enjoy writing about retro games good or bad.

Shmups are a niche genre and retro shmups a niche genre within a niche genre so we should be grateful that they get any coverage at all.

If it wasn't for Retro Gamer I wouldn't be posting here, I wouldn't have a hard drive clogged up with emulators and MAME Roms, I wouldn't have a small collection of ageing consoles taking up precious space in my room, I wouldn't be going to Casino Arcade every Friday to play arcade games and therefore wouldn't have met some of the fantastic people who lurk down there, I wouldn't have 4 remixes of the Sanxion loading music in my itunes folder, I wouldn't have done a presentation at University on R-Type, in fact I wouldn't be doing my degree in Games Studies and Digital Media either, I wouldn't be sitting here in a Commodore T-shirt.......

the list could go on.

At least there is one gamer very happy with the work you do Daz

p.s. don't tell anyone else here but I would love to see a feature on simulators of old like gunship, F-19 Stealth Fighter and Silent Service in Retro gamer. If you can spare a few pages for a dying genre like shmups maybe another dying genre is worth a look

rtw · Post by **rtw** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:00 am

mr_m0nks wrote:I wouldn't have done a presentation at University on R-Type, in fact I wouldn't be doing my degree in Games Studies and Digital Media either, I wouldn't be sitting here in a Commodore T-shirt.......

Any online version of your R-Type presentation ? Sounds very interesting

rtw
[In a RAIZING t-shirt]

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:14 am

Issue 61: Cybattler special issue!

shmups.system11.org

Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

Re: Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

Re: Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

Re: Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special

Re: Next Months Retrogamer (Issue 60) Shmup Special