8th Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time! - Results

[spadgy]

Thanks so much for doing this! Shame I'm such a dick I didn't vote in time!

[cools]

Thanks so much for doing this! Shame I'm such a dick I didn't vote in time!

Ahh, so it was your missing vote that caused Batrider not to win.

[Sonic R]

People who prefer scaled down ports should specify that they have bad taste. Everyone else plays the arcade versions.

I prefer "scaled down ports" as those are/were the only versions I had ever played and therefore the only versions I'm am knowing of…

I am very please to see Thunder Force III placed in the top 50… above Lightening Force… I am in the group of folk who favor Thunder Force above Lightening Force IV… (I am also in minority group who favor Thunder Force II above Lightening Force as well!)

[KindGrind]

I'm very surprised Dangun is higher than Mushi, a typical crowd favourite. It's also higher than Batsugun... Some people must like the game a hell of a lot more than I do.

Disappointed Border Down is out, but then I could never get around to vote for it, so boo me

[godofhardcore]

Ikaruga is too high List is invalid

[God]

R-Type III shot up more than 100 places from last year. (#178 to #60)

This year features an expanded Honourable Mention list.

Is it supposed to be 24 spots?

[Matsunaga]

Batsugun should be top 5 every year. I think the crappy MAME version is holding it back.

[RetroRepair]

136. Gradius Rebirth

[incognoscente]

Is [the Honourable Mention list] supposed to be 24 spots?

Yep. The HM list fluctuates in size each year because of the way it is computed*. Last year it was only 20 games; the year before it was 22. This year it's 24.


*Take #25 on the list and halve its score. Anything above that (but below the Top 25) is an Honourable Mention.

[ShmupSamurai]

Shame Layer Section dropped a good chuck...

[Limbrooke]

Great work incog.

Aero Fighters 2 got two votes last year and none this year and I'm the only voter for Aero Fighters 3. Probably will be a similar result next year too, at least on AF3's behalf.

[spadgy]

Thanks so much for doing this! Shame I'm such a dick I didn't vote in time!

Ahh, so it was your missing vote that caused Batrider not to win.

I even wrote out my votes and 'scores' for each game. Batrider didn't make my list though!

Great work incog.

Aero Fighters 2 got two votes last year and none this year and I'm the only voter for Aero Fighters 3. Probably will be a similar result next year too, at least on AF3's behalf.

I'm starting to really get into this series (1 and 2 for now). Maybe I'll join you in voting for it next year!

[cools]

I even wrote out my votes and 'scores' for each game. Batrider didn't make my list though!

So forgetful

[Darkseed]

Batsugun should be top 5 every year. I think the crappy MAME version is holding it back.

..and youre right.

[sven666]

Its a pretty good list, certainly reflects the general views of the forum very well. I think itll be a long time before we see any big changes to the top-5..

[Obiwanshinobi]

Aero Fighters 2 got two votes last year and none this year and I'm the only voter for Aero Fighters 3. Probably will be a similar result next year too, at least on AF3's behalf.

I'm playing Sonic Wings Special and chances are it's going to be on my next year's list.

[Ed Oscuro]

This year the voting period just passed me by. I knew about it early on but I was too engaged with other things. Now that the voting period is over I'm back to arcade shooters...oh well

I might be putting Aero Fighters 2 and 3 on my list next year, so we might make some headway. It has occurred to me that a lot of the stuff I've played a bit isn't really deserving of coming within sniffing distance of the Top 25 though (Turbo Force...) and I ought to think over the console shooters again.

[Skykid]

I think it's a pretty good list this year, all the placings seem about right. Really nice to see Gradius V getting the respect it deserves and see Kyukyoku Tiger ousted from the list (not a fan of that one.)
There's honestly not much in between two great games tho. I would have put the original Mushihimesama a little higher, but I can't argue with the Futari variance between 1.5 and Black Label even though they're both amazing.

No Progear though - what madness is this!?

[saucykobold]

I think Irem did unusually well. X-Multiply received over twice as many votes as it did last year. Gun Hohki finally edged out Street Fighter Alpha 2.

Kyukyoku Tiger ousted from the list . . . what madness is this!?

Fixed

[Aguraki]

thanx for running this,I've discovered some nice games through the voting thread(esp blue wish resurrection) and this is a great tool to discover new games

[Obiwanshinobi]

No Progear though - what madness is this!?

Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams below 300 makes me wonder how come any horizontal made the top 25. Voting people don't seem to play them all that much, which is a shame. As for Progear, my guess is that most people don't want bullet hell and muddled scoring from their horizontally scrolling shmups.

[Rob]

If we want to go there I'd rather play Magical Chase or Gun Hohki.

[Ed Oscuro]

If we want to go there I'd rather play Magical Chase or Gun Hohki.

Not so big on the Magical Chase but Mystic Riders, oh yes.

KT losing out is bg though.

[Kobayashi]

Gradius V is the better shmups to date.

[moozooh]

Excellent list. They seem to just get progressively better every year.

[mesh control]

Just noticed Raiden IV in the honorable mention list. Strange.

[NOAH]

Wow, didn't know Paperboy was a shmup title. "Cat's kinda big, isn't it?"

[Skykid]

No Progear though - what madness is this!?

As for Progear, my guess is that most people don't want bullet hell and muddled scoring from their horizontally scrolling shmups.

Deathsmiles scoring is a lot more muddled than Progear, Progear's scoring system is one of the most satisfying ever.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Deathsmiles scoring is a lot more muddled than Progear, Progear's scoring system is one of the most satisfying ever.

So maybe Progear sports too many cocks - and none of them grows on a prepubescent 696 old transvestite (?) - to hold the candle to Deathsmiles.

[professor ganson]

Deathsmiles scoring is a lot more muddled than Progear, Progear's scoring system is one of the most satisfying ever.

Yeah, it's very cool. Progear suddenly dropped from my list this year because I had so many older games I wanted to include. My only criticism of the game, though, is that the art/graphics is a bit plain.