Shmups that work well when played with 2 players

[gs68]

Dunno if this has been asked already...

A lot of shmups, especially ones with elaborate scoring systems (i.e. most of Cave's stuff) tend not to work out well when played with a second player. So what are some shmups that are great to play seriously (i.e. for 1CC or even for score) with a second player?

[emphatic]

Twin Hawk
Silk Worm
P-47
ESPGALUDA II Omake! (Don't use Kakusei)
Aero Fighters 2

Did anyone tried playing DeathSmiles in 2 player, for fun?

[Lance Boyle]

It's strange how every aesthetic element of a shooter implies it's primarily designed for two players when in almost all cases it isn't.

Can't think of any where it isn't fun though . Some certainly moreso than others. Just ignore the scoring systems and play chicken. Person closest to the top of the screen gets more kills, and thus more points!

[Zaarock]

Blazing Star has some funky scoring challenge items for 2-player, like "avoid gems", "dont shoot" etc. for some big bonuses when you complete them, pretty fun mechanic.

[Drum]

I think Gigawing 2 came up in the last co-op thread as having a special collaborative scoring system.

Games that are custom-built for co-op tomfoolery (ie actually have at least 1 dedicated gameplay gimmick):

Side Arms
Lightning Fighters
1942 Joint Strike
Planet Harriers is a rail shooter but that has a bunch of co-op mechanics

For just fun co-op games in general:
Nitro Ball is best enjoyed 2 player
Wizard of Wor
Hellfire

Blazing Star has some funky scoring challenge items for 2-player, like "avoid gems", "dont shoot" etc. for some big bonuses when you complete them, pretty fun mechanic.

Oh, cool - did not know that.

[gs68]

I know that the Raiden series encourages 2P play with the whole "shoot your partner and pretty sparks come out" thing.

[emphatic]

Oh, and in 1943 you can leech off the other players life stock when your own is too low by standing on top of him/her.

[ryu]

I know that the Raiden series encourages 2P play with the whole "shoot your partner and pretty sparks come out" thing.

isn't that about kill-stealing?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Reportedly Strike Gunner S.T.G. is designed with co-op in mind. I can confirm that in the arcade version one ship seems badly underpowered. I suppose Omega Fighter Special may be easier in co-op too.
As for games that just play well in co-op, the answer is: Raiden III and Gradius V, as usual. In Raiden III on the PC less experienced player can bomb for two (you just have to map one player's bombs onto another player's controller).

Did anyone tried playing DeathSmiles in 2 player, for fun?

Quite remarkable how it takes Cave games to make people talk about "playing for the score" and "playing for fun" as two separate activities.

[Drum]

ohshit how could I forget Space Duel?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwY5znUeaJ4

[`Throwdown]

Yeah Raiden series is great co-op. In Raiden 4 you got the deflected shots off your partners ship, and in Raiden 1,2,3 you can combine charge shots for a "join strike" that gives big points, invincibility and 2 different super attacks.

Of course the 1942 XBLA remake is quite fun, because it's one of the few titles playable over XBL besides Aegis Wing and Guwange.

Gigawing 2 is just awesome period though...

[BulletMagnet]

Would I be a jerk to mention the uber-obvious ones like Twinkle Star Sprites and Change Air Blade?

Ikaruga also jumps to mind, though somewhat ironically that one single-player "dual play" video is probably better-known than any actual two-player attempts at the game.

[DEL]

Works Best = Vimana
Works Worst = Twin Cobra
Both Toaplan. Both at different ends of the two player scale.

[kernow]

Twinkle Star Sprites

[xris]

Deathsmiles has been the best choice for two players, the scalable difficulty really helps, and there are a few moments when you realize that you are both shooting in opposite directions. The lone candy cab in my city has Deathsmiles in it, I've played through a couple times with a friend, and was surprised that afterwards he went and bought himself a stick for X360, he uses it for games like Castle Crashers and Super Meat Boy, and totally loves. He wore it out, and I helped to try and fix it, but he is too impatient to fallow a tutorial vid, and broke it even more. (he pinched the connector too tight on the button and shattered the housing, we had almost frankensteined the pieces back together with glue.)
The most well received with several different friends has been the Novice mode for Mushi Futari, everyone had really enjoyed playing this.
Arrange mode in Espgaluda 2 has been kinda fun, being able to shot away the bullets gives them a sense of security.
Whenever playing two players just except that you are both going to credit feed, and scoring is completely destroyed. Just have fun, and play with the secret goal of trying to 1CC while another player is helping. Their bomb spamming can do wonders some times.

[MathU]

R-Type Leo and In The Hunt were practically made for shooting stuff with a friend. The way the games are designed you can really enjoy covering the other player's back. Mystic Riders as well. Irem really went the extra step to make most of their 2-player shooters really fun together.


One game I would not recommend for serious 2-player play is Darius Gaiden. I have been working on a 2-player single-credit clear for quite some time now and we have a very intricate strategy that is completely counter-intuitive. Part of it involves loading one player up on shot power-ups because it's very important that someone has shots that pierce walls by the later stages; but there just aren't enough shot power-ups to go around. The game was designed completely around beating it on one credit with one player, and you can tell very easily that they didn't really put much thought into co-op design. It's also not a very enjoyable game to simply credit feed because you have to stay alive so long to see the higher power levels of your shot and shield. Earlier Darius games are even worse at this.

[Kiken]

Gradius Gaiden works very well in 2-player, as does Ikaruga and Last Resort (I'd love to see a 2-player coop run of Viewpoint). See also the 2-player option in R-Type and R-Type 2 (in R-Type Dimensions).

[`Throwdown]

Yeah, Ikaruga is def. an obvious choice for most.

[gs68]

Ikaruga 2P on anything above Easy = lol suicide bullets

I watched my friends play the other day. They kept indirectly killing each other through those.

[`Throwdown]

Ikaruga 2P on anything above Easy = lol suicide bullets

I watched my friends play the other day. They kept indirectly killing each other through those.

lol I know the fact that you can push each other in tight places causes plenty of deaths. Specifically if your playing over XBL with high ping and a bit of lag. Which actually, isn't often considering the game has great netcode.

[nimitz]

No one mentioned psikyo?

Psikyo games are great in 2 player mode (you even get the funny dialogue as a bonus)

[The Eidolon]

Forgotten Worlds is probably the only shmup-like game
that I can enjoy more in 2P than 1P mode. In most games
I rely on memory too much and a bunch of shots aimed not
quite at me always result in a premature death...

[R-Gray 1]

Raystorm
Aero fighters 1 and 2
Twin Bee!! ( i remember both players could join themselve)

and i enjoyed play in cooperative Tyrian, a Pc game.

i would like to play Ikaruga but last years i didnt have frnds who like classic shooters

[BPzeBanshee]

Yeah Raiden series is great co-op. In Raiden 4 you got the deflected shots off your partners ship, and in Raiden 1,2,3 you can combine charge shots for a "join strike" that gives big points, invincibility and 2 different super attacks.

Of course the 1942 XBLA remake is quite fun, because it's one of the few titles playable over XBL besides Aegis Wing and Guwange.

Gigawing 2 is just awesome period though...

The Raiden games only ever had the scatter shot upon shooting into a partner's ship. The charge shot combinations are from the 'Raiden Fighters' series, which are indeed very cool.

[gennss]

Played mars matrix for completion with a friend nonstop for months. No we haven't beat it, he had to leave the state.

[Jeneki]

Air Buster / Aero Blasters have a special attack when two players use the burst attack at the same time, as I recall.

[t0yrobo]

Shikigami no Shiro is a good time with two people. The variation in characters attacks can make it pretty interesting. Also since it hasn't been mentioned, Zero Gunner 2.

[Estebang]

As far as I know, Pink Sweets is the only Cave shmup that was actually designed with 2-player in mind and balanced for it.

Giga Wing 2 was already mentioned, it pools together everyone's score and the DC version is one of the very few shmups with 4-player.

[anji2128]

When I first found Galuda, my friends and I would play through it and hide under each other bubbles and what not to get through tough patterns. It was pretty fun XD.

[renardqueenston]

friggin' DOGYUUN!