Desert Island Shmups

[TrevHead (TVR)]

OK chaps lets have abit of fun. There used to be a local radio show on the BBC called desert island disks. Each week the shows guest would pick just 1 album that if he / she were tobe shipwreaked on a desert island that would be the record they would prefer to have with them.

So lets change it from music to shmups that if you couldnt play anything else for the rest of youre life you would pick them. 3 shmups and also a 4th game that isnt a shmup. Dont just give names, but explain why you picked each one.

Ill start then.

1) Crimson Clover. A damn fine shmup that due to its 3 different modes of play and high extend rate, allows me to enjoy playing for score and just relax and have a good time without getting too wrapped up in getting a 1CC like more harder arcade shmups do. The fact that it is still challenging and deep enough for pro players make this a great game that grows slowly are you develop as a shmupper. (Ild say DDP with the gap between 1Loop and Scoring / 1ALL is very similar)

2) Ive gotta pick atleast 1 Cave shmup but choosing which one is tricky as ive only payed a handfull of them (I like to spend abit of time with each game). And since Crimson Clover has a Ketsui vibe to it, ill pick DOJ, the PS2 version as I get the boss rush with it, even though BL is better then WL imo. I picked DOJ for the oppersite reason I picked CC, DOJ is hard and will take more time and effort to master then CC and a great way to keep me sane on any desert island

3) I cant have all 3 picks as verts, so ill pick a hori for abit of varity. and while a Cave BH hori would be intresting I think a retro would be better. Its a toss between a Gradius or a Rtype. I plumb for R-type 1 as ive beat the NES version of Gradius but havnt beat any version of R-Type 1. And I dont know enough of the sequels so I pick the original.

4) For my non shmup, ill cheat and pick the sci fi MMO Eve Online. I used to play it but quit because it was too much of a demand on my time, well on a desert island Ill have plenty of time to spare. The fact that it recieves updates every 6 months should stop me for getting bored of it.

[BLU]

Deathsmiles. Damn hot lolis everywhere...

[RNGmaster]

MAME. Is that cheating?

Oh, well...

1) Progear, because I can just look at the damn fine sprites and stay entertained. I'm also partial to scoring, and I could play just the fourth boss for hours without getting bored.
2) Giga Wing 2 is a great choice, since I haven't played it but I really love its predecessor.
3) Hellsinker - there is just so much content in there! Being on a desert island would also give me a chance to get used to scoring

Nonshmup: Final Fantasy 6. Can't knock the classics, and I have to admit I haven't played this one yet.

Also a Japanese dictionary so I could translate Hellsinker and have enough material to start a religion.

[Deca]

Batrider, Futari, Mars Matrix, coin flip for either Gunbird2 or Strikers3...That should be good.

Nonshmup would probably be 2dx, but then I'd have to decide on a single style D:

[Special World]

1) Futari (Black Label)
2) Mars Matrix
3) Probably something Yagawa for variety

4) Chrono Trigger

Super Mario Kart if I can actually play with somebody.

[TonK]

- Progear
- DoDonPachi
- Deathsmiles
- Symphony of the Night

[8 1/2]

Espgaluda II. I don't even really like the game all that much, but there's just so much scoring potential going on I could spend years mastering it all.

[Uzumakijl]

Hmmm

1) Ketsui: I love the game, It's quite challenging and i know that it would take me like 4 years to get a 1LC 2-ALL, Also i would attempt at getting the WR

2) Gradius V: Wasn't this game infinite? I heard somewhere that it just continues looping, I'm sure i wouldn't get bored of this.

3) Batrider: I would start enjoying all the boss milk after some years, Also i wouldn't get bored trying to do new stuff etc.

Non shmup: Garou mark of the wolves, I could play that forever without getting bored.

Fun fact: I wrote this post 6 hours ago, I looked for some Gradius V videos and then forgot about it .

[mouser]

1) Ikaruga - Mastering this game could be an art form

2) Ibara - ....Goth chicks...scoring system that would take me decades to get good at

3) Pulstar - Classic, nostalgic, and fav hori to play. Doesn't drive me crazy like R-type.

4) Castlevania SotN - I've played this game for years and never got sick of it.

[Vexorg]

Hmmmm....

1. Raiden DX
2. Radiant Silvergun (maybe I'd be able to actually master it in that time)
3. One of the Raiden Fighters games (not sure which one, 2 is probably my favorite though)
4. Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (chosen primarily for its replayability)

[stryc9]

Mushi Futari Black Label: You know why, for Maniac mode.

Crimzon Clover: I never get tired of knowing this is Dougin. I have still yet to 1CC anything but Simple mode, and the stage design is great and very enjoyable to blast through each and every time.

Eschatos: All the modes on the disk, plus JSS and CS which are new to me (never had a wonderswan). Both are cracking titles. The difficulty of Eschatos on anything bar easy would last me an aeon.

and for the non-shmup pick, Super StreetFighter IV. Surly you don't need me to explain this.

[-SD-]

Under Defeat - My favorite DC shooter. There's something about this game that just clicks really well with me. I was blown away by how good it looks 5 years ago and I'm still impressed by it now.

Blazing Star - Best shmup on the Neo, and another game I really get on with. Also, finest video game intro ever.

Armed Police Batrider - Well, it's just fantastic really isn't it.....

As for my non-shmup, it's a choice between Last Blade, its sequel or Garou: MotW.

[Ruldra]

No use picking a game I like that I can finish in a week. If I'm going to stay in an island for years, I need games that lasts for a long time, takes a lot of practice to beat and has some replayability. With that in mind...

1) Tatsujin Oh
2) Gradius III
3) Radiant Silvergun
4) Nethack

[Skykid]

1: DOJ BL
2: Espgaluda II
3: Gradius V
4: Radiant Silvergun

Would have gone for Ketsui over Radiant, but if we're on a desert Island Silvergun has the benefit of being a long haul shmup.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

No use picking a game I like that I can finish in a week. If I'm going to stay in an island for years, I need games that lasts for a long time, takes a lot of practice to beat and has some replayability. With that in mind...

2) Gradius III

I think this would be a better choice for a desert island rather then Rtype 1, infact any Gradius would due to the 999loops these games have, Rtype while the last boss is a bitch doenst loop. If I had more experience with the Parodius series, I might of pick one of those as I like the twinbee bell score mechanic but dunno how well the games as a whole compare to Gradius.

[Treasurance]

HELLSINKER
Radiant Silvergun
Bangai-O Spirits
Nethack

[dan76]

1. Deathsmiles (PAL version with MBL, v1.1 etc) - probably my favourite Cave game, love the design, scoring etc. Multiple ways to tackle the stages x number of characters = years of play.

2. Futari BL - Original for speed/slowdown, manic just because and God... years of play again.

3. Dodonpachi - The first Cave game I played, and the game that ruined most other shmups for me. 2ALL is doable with enough free time on that desert island.

4. Er... Mr. Do! Considering it came out in 1982 it has a lot of depth - still learning new things when I play it.

[Weak Boson]

Mushihimesama Futari Black Label - This was the first game I made any attempt to play for score in. Original's scoring system is incredible I'd love to try and master the 100000 counter rank increase. Add to that God mode and you've got a recipe for some substantial and enduring fun.

DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Ver 1.5 - At first I wasn't convinced by this game but I've come back to it since and I'm starting to see the appeal of the scoring system. It's early days yet so maybe this would be a risky choice but I imagine even just ignoring score and going for a 2-ALL would be a blast. If we're talking about the 360 port with the arrange modes and Black Label then that would seal the deal.

Psyvariar Revision - I've always thought of an X-D clear in this game as some sort of holy grail and I'd love to be able to achieve it one day. I managed to reach the last stage using continues (and hence unlock it in replay mode) so I could put my time on the island to good use training for a showdown with Gluon.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - I might regret this choice since it's by no means the best Castlevania game - sadly I've already played my favourite in the series (OoE) to death (hard mode LV1 cap clear not on a new game+) and while this isn't even my second favourite I think there's some significant fun to be had from it. Completing the game on Crazy difficulty with both Hector and Trevor would take some doing and there's always the option of just zoning out and listening to the fantastic soundtrack.

[Never_Scurred]

1. Dodonpachi - Its the first Cave game I played before I was aware of my tender love for Cave games. Still haven't beaten it, but I could never ever see myself getting bored with it. Such a robust game, probably the most robust of the entire series.

2. Mushihimesama Futari version 1.01 Original - This has become the shmup i'm most focused on 1CC'ing right now. Played the first level quite a lot and still haven't consistently made it through the first level boss without getting hit. Its either I get hit in the level being careless, or I get hit by the boss because I twitched a little too much. But i'm loving it right now, I could play this game forever.

3. Dodonpachi DOJ - The first shmup I ever seriously tried to master. Not as much fun or as satisfying as DDP, but me and it still have some unfinished business and there is so much more game in there I haven't even touched yet.

4. Gradius Collection - I love them all, can't leave civilization without some Gradius goodness. Non-handheld version, of course.

For non-shmups, gotta go with some variant of Tetris. Probably NullpoMino. Tetris is the type of game that I could lose time playing. Even playing a quick couple of rounds makes time go by so fast.

[Mischief Maker]

I'm going to cheat and exchange a shmup for a pretty-close-to-a-shmup game:

1. Hellsinker
2. Crimzon Clover

For all the reasons given previously.

3. Majesty Gold.

I couldn't put my finger on exactly why, but this is probably the one game I have spent the most time playing in my gaming career and I don't see any signs of tiring anytime soon. A game that succeeds everywhere Dungeon Keeper and its miserable Black and White spawn failed. It's easy to play a hostile DM, but WAY more interesting to play a friendly one, carefully nudging heroes and stocking the right equipment for their current money levels and sprinkling Inns and Healing Potion-selling item shops across the land. It's Rollercoaster Tycoon without the complex coaster physics and money-balancing business sim aspect. I love all the personalities of the Heroes and all the little pluses and minuses of choosing Law religions, or Elves, or if Rouges are really worth the investment when they're draining the lairs of loot and equipment that stronger heroes could have used. It's also one of the few games I've played where the expansion pack missions are a significant improvement over the original. And since the maps are always randomly arranged each time you can play the same scenerio over and over again. My personal goal in every game of Majesty is to win the map without dropping a single flag, my arrangement of buildings should result in Heroes naturally forming parties and taking out the baddies.

Majesty 2 did just about everything wrong.

4. Freespace 2 with the Source Code Project mod and a bunch of user campaigns.

It's the best Space Sim of all time and close enough to a shmup for me to get away with it, right?

[Zaarock]

1) Batrider - Love the game but still have lots of stuff to do in it. Scoring will take long to master but I think I'd enjoy it.

2) G-Darius - When I need some surreal fish shooting action

3) Ketsui - Need a cave game I guess for the scoring system. Galuda 2 might do as well but I haven't tried playing it for score properly yet.

4) If multiplayer is possible, Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram. Most rewarding PVP for me; very many things you can do, a lot of freedom, twitchy gameplay yet strategic and I still have many years to go to learn "everything". Lots of little tricks to learn to perform actions faster and play aggressively. The variety of attacks and the visuals have their own charm too.

If not, Okami? Long, atmospheric and easy to just breeze through. Pretty fun to play through again too. Something to relax with from the shmups I guess If I had a favorite RPG that would do as well.



Was thinking about putting Hellsinker somewhere in there.. but I really doubt I'd enjoy the scoring system(s). Haven't played Radiant Silvergun, quite possible I would've chosen that.

4: Radiant Silvergun

Puzzle game, huh?

[jepjepjep]

-Battle Garegga

Awesomely detailed hand-drawn sprites, phenomenal soundtrack, variety of ships, deep scoring system, and very challenging.

-Ketsui

My favorite Cave game. The overall theme and bullet patterns are awesome.

-Mahou Daisakusen

Straightforward shoot and dodge game. Awesome presentation, music, and style.

-Strider

I keep coming back to this game because it is the whole package. Great controls, music, challenging, tight gameplay.

[ED-057]

RSG - long and challenging, while also offering saturn mode and credit feeding to fall back on

Dragon Blaze - a particularly fun and hard Psikyo shmup

Keio Yuugekitai - never played this but I heard that it is good and it has Miho Kanno`s voice in it

SRW F Final - unsurpassed for the purpose of killing time

[Vyxx]

Shmups:

Ibara -- Best shmup ever
Pink Sweets -- It would take me a lifetime just to get a 1CC, plus it's just different, which would be nice.
Xexex -- One of if not the only hori shmup I love

Non-Shmup:


For some...uhh.. other entertainment

[CIT]

Battle Garegga
Raiden DX
G Darius

Because they're great games, and you can get a lot of mileage out of them.


Castlevania Symphony of the Night

Because it never gets boring

[Age of Kings]

DFK 1.5 - So many ways to play that I would probably never get bored.
Crimzon Clover - Fun but somewhat difficult, so it'll be an opportunity to get better at it
Futari Black Label - lol do i need to explain

As for non-shmup....insert addicting MMO here

[Skykid]

Futari Black Label - lol do i need to explain

Yes.

[chempop]

-Radiant Silvergun (weapon challenges, relaxing, long, puzzle, music)
-Dimahoo (treasure!!!)
-probably a konami hori with infinite loops

[MathU]

Rtype while the last boss is a bitch doenst loop.

What? R-Type does indeed have a second loop.

[duckman]

-Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label
-Batrider
-Hellsinker burned onto CD-ROM so I can use it as fuel for making smoke signals
-Civilization IV