Apple App Store shmups roundup

[Thunder Force]

The Apple App Store (for iPhone and iPod Touch) has been seeing an increasing release of shmups, so here I have compiled a list of some of the best ones currently available, including a short description and in-game screenshot I have taken myself from each game.

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"rRootage":

Summary: Fine port of the Kenta Cho shmup classic.

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"Sentry Alpha":

Summary: A retro Xevious-esque vert.

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"iFighter":

Summary: A Strikers 1945 inspired vertical shmup.

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"Sky Thunder":

Summary: Slightly Toaplan-esque vert.

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"Sky Force Reloaded":

Summary: Vert with emphasis on not letting enemies escape.

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"HotField":

Summary: This one could be at home in a Sega Saturn shmup library.

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"Siberian Strike":

Summary: Lavish vert for fans of 1943, 19XX, etc.

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"Star Trek":

Summary: Loosely affiliated with recent movie, but has unusual gameplay.

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"Dragon Force Light":

Summary: Couldn't find a way to buy the full version of this (maybe coming soon), but the 1 stage demo had potential.

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"iDodge Space Ninja":

Summary: Vert where your ship cannot shoot, but must dodge attacks while pushing forward.

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"Triphids":

Summary: A Gyruss variant with a deliberately retro look and feel.

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"Galaga Remix":

Summary: A slight modification of PSP's Galaga Arrangement.

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"Radio Flare":

Summary: Hori scroller with Rez-style lock-on mechanics.

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"Space Deadbeef":

Summary: Strangely titled japanese hori shmup.

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note: this thread is just for shmups, for non-shmup iPhone/iTouch recommendations please use this thread...

I've deliberately omitted some bad titles, but it's possible I've missed some decent ones - and of course new ones are being released each week, as software development for the platform is thriving.

Edit: fixed expired image link.

[the2bears]

I've deliberately omitted some bad titles, but it's possible I've missed some decent ones

What about false positives?

Bill

[Danbo]

I haven't really found a game for it that I've enjoyed. The rRootage port is okay but is prone to slowdown and the controls can be awkward. For anything else the controls are awkward enough to make the whole game worthless out of the ones I've tried...

Thing needs an actual d-pad and buttons if you wanna enjoy playing a shmup on it, really.

[thamasha69]

Cool thread. Has anyone tried I.Force? Quite difficult and bullet hell

[damakable]

This is really great. I'm just about to get an iPhone (well, access to an iPhone and Mac) and was planning on doing some programming for it... so maybe some of these will give me ideas, besides being fun to play. I had imagined that the controls for this type of game would be awkward and was trying to come up with something better, so if these are as awkward as you say, Danbo, at least they'll show me what not to do.

[it290]

Wow, there are a lot more shooters in the app store now than the last time I checked. Thanks for this roundup, but the question is - are any of these actually fun to play? As Danbo says, controls are often a problem, and most of the games seem to have a Euroshmup flavor. I find the port of rRootage to control very well, so if anyone could recommend games that have autoshoot and a non-Euro feel, that would be great.

[Thunder Force]

Has anyone tried I.Force? Quite difficult and bullet hell

I can't find this on the App Store, does someone have a link?

are any of these actually fun to play?

Yes.

if anyone could recommend games that have autoshoot and a non-Euro feel, that would be great.

Ok first try HotField and Sky Thunder, then Siberian Strike and iFighter, if you're looking for a jp-stg vibe. But picking up any of the games in the OP is a fairly low risk proposition, since they cost just a few dollars on iTunes. So it's really the equivalent of throwing some quarters into a machine to see how you like it.

[it290]

So iFighter is the closest to Strikers 1945, in your opinion? It almost seems like the iPhone is better suited to danmaku games, so is there anything along those lines?

[Matsunaga]

Ifighter is the best one, imo. Siberian strike looks like it should be good, but the wobbling screen and bad control ruin it.

[Thunder Force]

Speaking of danmaku - Noiz2sa has been released today for iPhone / iPod Touch... however I have to warn potential buyers that it appears to be a sloppy port with a practically unplayable framerate... nowhere near as good as it is on PSP. Hopefully a future update will fix this version, or someone else will release a better port to the App Store...

[MadScientist]

Are any of these available for regular Macs? I know rRootage and Noiz2sa are, but I don't know about any of the others.

[MadScientist]

Heh. A quarter of the ratings for rRootage on the app store gave it 1 out of 5. Some of the reviews;

"I think it is the worst game ever it is so stupid"

"Don't get it!?!?!? Waste of space,...retarded app."

"I hate this fagtard who made this app!! Him and all his bs reviewers... Ughhh"

"I mean, no offense to the developer, but this game is just terrible"

"This games reviews may have been compromised. It has a pretty screen shot. The game however is AWEFUL. Fellow gamers that know this please step up and write your reviews. It does not even deserve a single star!!"

[jonny5]

modern gamers dont like games that are hard....

and danmaku is fairly daunting to those who arent familiar with the genre.....

rRootage is an awesome game, so unless this port is horribly broken i cant see it being that bad

[MadScientist]

Yeah, I like it a lot, I just thought some of the reviews were funny. I suppose it's to be expected - it's free, so a lot of people who aren't big shmup fans probably downloaded it, died a lot, then complained about it.

[icbluscrn]

thanks op , how about a quick review on the control schemes? i did not like ifighters tilting thing , but did like space deadbeef.

i think ill try rootage maybe one other. rez for the iphone would be sweet

[Matsunaga]

Noiz2sa is almost unplayable on IPhone, the framerate is really bad. At least it only set me back 99 cents.

[Zero Gunner]

Slightly off topic here...does anyone know if there are any shmups for the Blackberry Storm. I just got one and I can't even seem to find an option to download any games for it (via menus on the device).

[nimitz]

Wow, there's quite a few now.

anyone who played most of these could tell us the ones worth playing?

[null1024]

Wow, there's quite a few now.

anyone who played most of these could tell us the ones worth playing?

rRootage and Space Deadbeef.

[SuperGrafx]

Kind of surprised to see Siberian Strike on here. I had that years ago for my old Palm Vx. Quality shooter back then, and still worth a purchase now.

[spadgy]

if anyone could recommend games that have autoshoot and a non-Euro feel, that would be great.

Ok first try HotField and Sky Thunder, then Siberian Strike and iFighter, if you're looking for a jp-stg vibe. But picking up any of the games in the OP is a fairly low risk proposition, since they cost just a few dollars on iTunes. So it's really the equivalent of throwing some quarters into a machine to see how you like it.

I felt something about iFighter (maybe the lifebar!) made it feel pretty Euroshmuppy, but I still think it is really great fun, and I find the controls pretty damn good (when my train to work doesn't bump about like crazy).

Shame about Noiz2sa - I love that.

and thanks for this guide - time to download some more of these!

[Thunder Force]

Update:

Here are screenshots I've taken from some decent arena-style shmups which are out now...

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"Isotope: A Space Shooter":

Summary: Several features inspired by Geometry Wars Galaxies.

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"Circuit_Strike.One":

Summary: Cyberpunk/hacking themed arena shmup.

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"The Void":

Summary: Poor visuals but its similarities to a portable SubSpace/Armada may be appealing...

[FRO]

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"Siberian Strike":

Summary: Lavish vert for fans of 1943, 19XX, etc.
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Still need to get the WinMo version of this...

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"Dragon Force Light":

Summary: Couldn't find a way to buy the full version of this (maybe coming soon), but the 1 stage demo had potential.
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Looks like a Tyrian ship w/ a 2-way toothpaste laser

[spadgy]

Some thoughts on these games (well; the one's I've got...):

HotField - I definitely agree that it would feel at home on a Saturn, and I think in terms of the bullet patterns, gameplay and style, it's great. However, the controls (not tilt sensitive), while workable, are far from perfect, and make my hand hurt like crazy, and the way the second weapon in engaged (putting a second finger on the screen, is a little clumsy and unresponsive. Still, I can't stop playing it, and it's well worth the tiny price. In short, it left me wishing the developers did a console or PC version. Did they?

Galaga Remix Great idea, but I don't feel the controls suit the accurate shooting required.

iFighter As I said, I really like this one - Strikers clone, Euroshmuppy, but great tilt sensitive controls.

Circuit Strike.One I only just got this, but it's a lovely looking synesthesia arena shooter. It's complex for now, but I'll update this when I've actually played it properly...

[Thunder Force]

Old DOS shmup fans might be interested to know that a port of Tyrian is now available today. fyi note: supposedly it requires an additional 10MB wireless download to autoinstall its rom files after you have installed the Tyrian emu app from the App Store.

[Thunder Force]

The widely anticipated Taito shmup "Space Invaders Inifinity Gene" is now available on the Apple App Store.

[Danbo]

Heh. A quarter of the ratings for rRootage on the app store gave it 1 out of 5. Some of the reviews;

People tend to be very unfairly critical of everything on the user reviews.

[spadgy]

The widely anticipated Taito shmup "Space Invaders Inifinity Gene" is now available on the Apple App Store.

My workmate tells me this is amazing - I'm yet to do the 3.0 update (which I have to pay for as a Touch user), so I can't play it yet!

[Thunder Force]

The widely anticipated Taito shmup "Space Invaders Inifinity Gene" is now available on the Apple App Store.

My workmate tells me this is amazing - I'm yet to do the 3.0 update (which I have to pay for as a Touch user), so I can't play it yet!

I have a 2nd Gen Touch, and I haven't changed OS versions from 2.0 to 3.0 since I'm worried about it breaking a bunch of my numerous legacy apps which may not get 3.0 compatibility updates anytime soon. For the time being it seems wiser (for an iTouch 2.0 with lots of legacy apps installed) to just not upgrade - and skip buying any apps that require 3.0, I suppose.

[animefanjr]

The widely anticipated Taito shmup "Space Invaders Inifinity Gene" is now available on the Apple App Store.

I got this too, the game is so much fun. Its very retro and reminds me a lot of Silvergun, Ikaruga, the rayforce series and REZish. Taito's composer Zuntauna (Hope I spelled it right) did the music too!

The random level music level generator is cool too.

I am really enjoying the game, get it!