Guilty Pleasures...

[llabnip]

We've all got them when it comes to shmups. These are games that you enjoy that are generally not looked at as good shooters. There maybe something about the game... maybe the atmosphere or the music.... something that grabs you but the game doesn't seem to get too many strong supporters. The game might not even be all that good at all... but it is something you just find yourself playing more often than it probably deserves for whatever reason (including nostalgia).

For me, the game is Gekerridan (Saturn port). It's always looked at as one of the weakest Taito shooters... most love Layer Section (aka Galactic Attack, aka Rayforce) or Darius but mention Gekerridan and it gets a lot of "meh" responses. But I love the music... and the time travel theme works fine for me - seeing plenty of different enemies as you chase the recurring boss through time. I know it's not the greatest game, but I still love to play it.

I'd also add Final Soldier. I think it's the best of the Super Star Soldier series (I've got them all now). It's the music I think... yeah, the music is the best of the lot... and it's easy and sometimes I like to just hammer away at the game for 30 minutes in a single run... It just works for me even though it's often considered the weakest of the series.

So, let's hear it... what shooting games you you enjoy that are generally not normally well received? What's your guilty pleasure?

[BulletMagnet]

For me it'd be both of the "Bokan" shooters...I'll be the first to admit that they're far from perfect, but in both the presentation is great, there are some nice gameplay features, and, of course, they definitely appeal to my love of most anything silly (plus, of course, you finally get to play as a the bad guys, and get access to all the REALLY cool explosives!). I just can't say no to a shmup where you can have the tank you're driving in blown away from you and be forced to ride around dodging enemy fire on a bicycle.

[TVG]

guilty??? why would you feel guilty?

anyway, werent you the guy that actually liked magical girl? well, i didnt tought it was possible to like that game before reading this topic, so yea, that deserves a mention. actually i still cant believe it is possible to like the game, but eh. or am i thinking about someone else?

[sethsez]

I absolutely love the GB port of R-Type II and I have no idea why.

[Lyle]

Air Gallet - Not very inspired gameplay, but I'm fond of the graphics and the Top Gun-like atmosphere. It's not the best example by the way, because it could have been a great shooter, and boasts a few impressive moments.

Andro Dunos and Ghost Pilot - Ridiculous compared to the great titles on the NG. But there's something I do like in them. I'd do a very poor job at defending them, though...

Sol-Deace - This game is downright ugly, as are most of the games Wolf Team did at that time, yet I often come back to it. I don't know why. Same for Verytex.

[llabnip]

guilty??? why would you feel guilty?

You wouldn't. The phrase "Guilty Pleasure" doesn't actually imply guilt necessarily. The term is often associated with a book or a movie that someone quite enjoys (for whatever reason) but has no real artistic merit and is often considered poor quality.

anyway, werent you the guy that actually liked magical girl?

I've never heard of it.

Sol-Deace - This game is downright ugly, as are most of the games Wolf Team did at that time, yet I often come back to it. I don't know why.

Good call! I enjoy Sol-Deace too even though there is nothing special about it - it seems as generic as possible and yet it's got a charm to it...

[Damocles]

I'd also add Final Soldier. I think it's the best of the Super Star Soldier series (I've got them all now).

Funny you should mention that. I picked it up again a few days ago, sat down with it, and 1cc'd it on my first run. I like how the brain boss from Super Star Soldier chases you out of the exploding space station, only to get caught by the closing doors. Nostalgia there. Also enjoyed the fact that the first sub-boss is also the true final boss.

On-topic: Mine may be Hotdog Storm. It's basically crap, but I love the name, so I keep it around.

[TVG]

guilty??? why would you feel guilty?

You wouldn't. The phrase "Guilty Pleasure" doesn't actually imply guilt necessarily. The term is often associated with a book or a movie that someone quite enjoys (for whatever reason) but has no real artistic merit and is often considered poor quality.

oh ok, my bad, english is a second (third actually) language to me.

anyway, werent you the guy that actually liked magical girl?

I've never heard of it.[/quote]

forget it then.

Sol-Deace - This game is downright ugly, as are most of the games Wolf Team did at that time, yet I often come back to it. I don't know why.

Good call! I enjoy Sol-Deace too even though there is nothing special about it - it seems as generic as possible and yet it's got a charm to it...[/quote]

now thats something i never understood since coming here, what the fuck is wrong with sol deace (megdrive) ???
it's quite good looking, challenging and interesting to play, the only valid concern i heard is that the shot is not spectacular, but who gives a shit?

[Specineff]

Alpha Mission 2. They call it a boring shooter. But once I mastered the mostly unfair rank system, I PWNED it to the point of 1cc it 60% of the time.

[8 1/2]

Double Shienryu, or Shienryu 2, whichever is the proper title. It's a great super-simple little blaster that's just perfect for dicking around with before work or school.

[Cthulhu]

I have a ton of questionable-quality doujin shmups that I like a lot. Dunno why, but they're quite a bit of fun for me.

Well known game wise... I'll second Final Soldier. I really get a kick out of that one too. And I also enjoy just about every game in the Darius series minus Darius 2 on the Saturn (the scaling screen just doesn't click with me), even though a lot of the Darius games are considered to be mediocre.

On another note:

oh ok, my bad, english is a second (third actually) language to me.

Don't worry, your English is a lot better than a lot of native speakers I know.

[alpha5099]

anyway, werent you the guy that actually liked magical girl?

I've never heard of it.

forget it then.[/quote]

Yo. That was me who liked Magic Girl. Although in all fairness, I haven't really played it at all since shortly after I posted that thread. I still don't think it's shit though.

I can't think of any guilty pleasure shmups. I mean, are there any shmups that I might be embarassed to openly stating I liked? I don't think so. Maybe if I had known how despised Magic Girl was, I wouldn't have been so quick to support it.

[jp]

Occassionally I'll muster up the spirit to try and finally snag that 1CC of Planet Joker.


Its rare... and I don't enjoy it... but I still feel dirty after playing it.


The same will probably eventually be said of Terra Cresta 3D. *shudder*

[Herr Schatten]

Katakis C64.

It's mostly the music that keeps me going, but I think it's also nice to have a game with R-Type play mechanics, but without much memorization required. Objectively seen, it's not really a great game and even for its time and system it's only a good one, but it's the one most likely to be dug out and fired up from time to time.

Katakis Amiga, on the other hand, which I have played religiously when it came out, I haven't touched in ages, although it's clearly the better game. (The two games are totally independent and unrelated, they just share the same name.) Of course Z-Out (the best R-Type style game that is not R-Type) has made Katakis Amiga pretty much obsolete.

Speaking of it, I think I'm the only die-hard Z-Out fan on this board. I don't know why, actually. It might be too little exposure to the crowd or the fact that the brilliance of its design doesn't show until you start playing it a lot (!). Or maybe I'm just out of my mind.

All that said, I'm really excited to see how Katakis II will turn out.

[CMoon]

Gun and Frontier. I love it, everyone else hates it. I love the butt-ugly graphics (that are completely unique), I love the not-completely rapid fire. I love the sound track (which others seem to bag on for some reason). I like the fact that it is easy.

Not top tier, but it isn't a knock off of anything either.

I would have also listed Vulgus, but everyone LOVES this game now.

[black mariah]

Mystic Riders. http://www.classicgaming.com/shmups/rev ... index.html

Probably Irem's most unknown game. The broom-flinging mechanic is not to be missed.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Speaking of it, I think I'm the only die-hard Z-Out fan on this board. I don't know why, actually. It might be too little exposure to the crowd or the fact that the brilliance of its design doesn't show until you start playing it a lot (!). Or maybe I'm just out of my mind.

Z-Out was great - way too hard for me though. I should post some screenies of the Z-Out themed level I made for Turrican SeTA. (Who owns the Z-Out Shrine btw?)

As for me, I had a few telling offs for enjoying X-Out, Menace and Ilyad.

[Gozer]

Raptor - It's a 3D Realms game for the PC. I played it constantly on my old 486 DX computer. You earn cash to buy new weapons and more bombs.

Panther - One of my most played games for the C64.

XII Stag - I'm still wondering why most people hate this game so much. I think it's pretty decent.

[Herr Schatten]

As for me, I had a few telling offs for enjoying X-Out, Menace and Ilyad.

Probably from me, even.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^ No worries

[captain ahar]

Curse. picked it up for a fiver and no regrets. that last level can kiss my ass though. the game is complete cake up until that point, then its all perfect timing and searing pain.

[sffan]

XII Stag - I'm still wondering why most people hate this game so much. I think it's pretty decent.

I like XII Stag too.

Here's a doozie that I occasionally enjoy: Zodiack. Pretty horrible, but for some reason I like it.

[yojo!]

Air Gallet - Not very inspired gameplay, but I'm fond of the graphics and the Top Gun-like atmosphere. It's not the best example by the way, because it could have been a great shooter, and boasts a few impressive moments.

Same for Verytex.

I bought the PCB just for the music.. the gameplay is old school, which does not hurt either. Verytex is another favorite of mine ; the music is totally 80s flasbash.

[Bar81]

Alpha Mission 2. They call it a boring shooter. But once I mastered the mostly unfair rank system, I PWNED it to the point of 1cc it 60% of the time.

Alpha Mission 2 is a brilliant shooter, the Neo's best. It's FAR from a guilty pleasure. In fact, it shows you have some good taste in shmups


For me, my guilty pleasure is Blast Wind. It's entirely too easy and decidedly average but inexplicably it's tons of fun and great when you want to finish a shmup without much effort. The music is quite nice also.

[OmegaFlareX]

Daisenpu Custom. The hucard version is lousy on the audio front, but the CD music in Custom is excellent, even if there are only three or four tracks. Whatever, I like the somber tone. Plus, the Engine's sound chip isn't bogged down with the BGM, so you hear every sound effect. I haven't a clue as to why I actually enjoy the gameplay, because it's very simple and there isn't much to it at all. I just like it. That's a good enough reason for me.

[shiftace]

Raptor - It's a 3D Realms game for the PC. I played it constantly on my old 486 DX computer. You earn cash to buy new weapons and more bombs.

I like Raptor, too, although it's maybe a bit easy. I actually tried to 1CC the full version a few times, with some conditions -- new char. on Elite, no aborting, no bombs, no phase shields. I got into Outer Regions a few times before getting bored (a single try takes a couple hours). On the subject of old western PC shmups, I think Raptor is a better game than Tyrian, at least in terms of weapon balance and careful stage design.

[LFO]

Gun and Frontier. I love it, everyone else hates it. I love the butt-ugly graphics (that are completely unique), I love the not-completely rapid fire. I love the sound track (which others seem to bag on for some reason). I like the fact that it is easy.

Not top tier, but it isn't a knock off of anything either.

I would have also listed Vulgus, but everyone LOVES this game now.

you're not alone! the first game i thougt of reading the first topic was gun frontier, for reasons you already stated.

also, i really love sonic wings games (1,2,3 & special).

[black mariah]

See, the difference between the majority of these and the one I mentioned is that Mystic Riders actually DOESN'T suck.

[Thunder Force]

Philosoma (JP version)

So epic. So awesome. So dramatic. So kinda-crap-to-play

[MadSteelDarkness]

You guys want a really guilty pleasure?

I give you...Night Raid. I know, I know. The controls are sluggish, and the scoring system is downright insane (and not in a good way), but I kind of like it. It's just so garish and awful, I admire it's chutzpah.

"Powah!!!"

...awesome.

And add me to the list of folks who actually like XII Stag. It ain't great, but I enjoy a quick blast-through with it once in a while.