Best Rail Shooters

[JBC]

Come on now, S&P2's got too bad character animations to be considered irrelevant considering how much you get to see them. It is not a beautifully animated game. Neither are the character designs much good.

Huh? Uh, well beauty is in the eye of the beholder n' stuff. I think it looks spectacular.

[KAI]

There's no need to create a new thread for this shit, so I'm gonna post it here:
BEAST BUSTERS featuring KOF Trailer
SNK PLS...

[drauch]

WOW, that's almost unbelievable. Beast Busters reboot is about the least likely thing I would ever imagine to see.

[mariusrhpsd]

FUCK SNK

[BIL]

BEAST BUSTERS featuring KOF Trailer

What the fuck

Eh... nothing should surprise at this point I guess. Such a tragic era...

[EmperorIng]

This post *might* be off-topic*, but I figured this topic gathered all the rail shooter enthusiasts in one thread.

Is there anything going on with G Vector? I picked it up recently, and I have some serious mixed feelings.

Pros: Nice graphics, nice music, and lock on lasers can be fun

Cons: two hits per credit with no way of refilling health; enemy bullets take up most of the screen in a bad way, in that you cannot see what's going on, leading to many seemingly unavoidable (lest by luck) deaths.

It feels as if you are boxed into a 4"x4" little square in the center of the screen while everyone else can move around. No scenery to interact with - something Galaxy Force II had a decade prior. The crowded screen thing is what is killing this game. It doesn't feel balanced or fair, and it there's nothing quite like restarting the stage all over again after you lose your two measly hit points.

But maybe someone who has played it can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

*in the sense that G Vector is in no way one of the "best" rail shooters.

OT: Panzer Dragoon Zwei is one of my favorites. I wish Orta worked on my 360 (I never managed to get it to work - I thought it was compatible?); it's a game I'd really like to play one day.

[Kollision]

I always had a soft spot for rail shooters and have no problem in seeing them as shmups.
Every once in a while I'll squeeze one in between verts and horis.

[jugemscloud]

No one has mentioned it but starblade was really fun in the arcade. never played any of the ports, probably a lot lost with with the change of controls though the clip in the tekken 5 intro was good as well.

[Pretas]

OT: Panzer Dragoon Zwei is one of my favorites. I wish Orta worked on my 360 (I never managed to get it to work - I thought it was compatible?); it's a game I'd really like to play one day.

You have to download a patch to enable the software emulator to play it. Aside from one glitchtastic boss battle, it's quite functional on 360. My opinion on Orta itself is that it's only slightly above mediocre and fails at living up to the Saturn trilogy's pedigree, though.

As for G-Vector, I'll say there's a good reason why you'll never see it on any list of Saturn classics or "hidden gems." Same goes for ExZeus/Counter Force on PS2/Wii, which is most likely the worst 3D rail shooter made after the 32-bit era.

[JBC]

I've had Umbrella & Darkside Chronicles for PS3 quite some time now & did enjoy them both. However, I always felt like they could have played a bit better. Tonight I got the set for Wii & can really tell the obvious difference, that this is the way they were meant to be played. Muuuch more fun on their mother system. I wonder if we'll ever see a third entry?

[Kollision]

As for G-Vector, I'll say there's a good reason why you'll never see it on any list of Saturn classics or "hidden gems." Same goes for ExZeus/Counter Force on PS2/Wii, which is most likely the worst 3D rail shooter made after the 32-bit era.

Thanks for letting me know about ExZeus. I never heard of that one before!
As for G-Vector, Emperor and I are working on clearing it.

[dan76]

No one has mentioned it but starblade was really fun in the arcade. never played any of the ports, probably a lot lost with with the change of controls though the clip in the tekken 5 intro was good as well.

Starblade was available on the Wii VC in Japan. It had to option to control the crosshair with the Wiimote, turning it into a light gun shooter.

I've a modded Wii and a few copies of the wad file but I've never been able to get the damn thing to work :/

There is also a Ghose Recon game on the Wii that was almost a rail shooter, it was like Killer 7 in that you controlled your movement from point to point. I haven't played it in a while but remember enjoying it a lot even though all reviewers slagged it off.

I'm also half tempted by the Rambo game from last year that was universally hated. The PS3 version has move support - anyone played it?

Great thread this. I love the old light gun / rail shooters. Are we including light guns games in these?

Lost World, HOTD 1,2 & 4, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, Umbrella Chronicles, Dead Storm Pirates. The original Crossbow (if anything just for the sound effects).

[EmperorIng]

As for G-Vector, I'll say there's a good reason why you'll never see it on any list of Saturn classics or "hidden gems." Same goes for ExZeus/Counter Force on PS2/Wii, which is most likely the worst 3D rail shooter made after the 32-bit era.

Thanks for letting me know about ExZeus. I never heard of that one before!
As for G-Vector, Emperor and I are working on clearing it.

You're closer than me. My runs yesterday were all universally frustrated by the enemies that fire at you offscreen, during the boss cutscene in st4. Absolutely worst amateur design problem in the game; it's totally infuriating. I'm not clairvoyant.

[louisg]

OT: Panzer Dragoon Zwei is one of my favorites. I wish Orta worked on my 360 (I never managed to get it to work - I thought it was compatible?); it's a game I'd really like to play one day.

You have to download a patch to enable the software emulator to play it. Aside from one glitchtastic boss battle, it's quite functional on 360. My opinion on Orta itself is that it's only slightly above mediocre and fails at living up to the Saturn trilogy's pedigree, though.

As for G-Vector, I'll say there's a good reason why you'll never see it on any list of Saturn classics or "hidden gems." Same goes for ExZeus/Counter Force on PS2/Wii, which is most likely the worst 3D rail shooter made after the 32-bit era.

Oh jeez, Counter Force. Let's not talk about that one.

Also, nobody's mentioned Planet Harriers yet. That game is really neat. Also worth checking out is Cosmic Epsilon and Burning Force IMO Those are two underdog rail shooters.

[Kollision]

Cosmic Epsilon

Pretty much a masterpiece of the 8-bit era <3

[Pretas]

I've had Umbrella & Darkside Chronicles for PS3 quite some time now & did enjoy them both. However, I always felt like they could have played a bit better. Tonight I got the set for Wii & can really tell the obvious difference, that this is the way they were meant to be played. Muuuch more fun on their mother system. I wonder if we'll ever see a third entry?

Umbrella Chronicles was a solid effort from Cavia, though a bit spoiled by some trial-and-error cheap shots from both enemy attacks and QTEs. Also, if more than one Hunter shows up and you don't have at least a machine gun handy, you might as well lay down the controller because you're screwed. Your infinite-ammo Samurai Edge could have stood to be less of a peashooter, though at least you can OHKO most enemy types with very precise headshots like in HotD4. Also, the knife is less than useless, but I guess that was tradition for the series until Code: Veronica.

I thought UC was fine on PS3. While the Wiimote is slightly more responsive than the Move, the HD upgrade was worth it.

Darkside Chronicles was pretty bad. It wouldn't be unfair to describe it as "Cloverfield: The Gun Shooting Game," with the absurd amounts of shakycam going on. It was a major regression from UC, with the removal of camera control and the overemphasis on providing a cinematic experience at the expense of stage and enemy design.

[JBC]

I don't really mind my games being challenging. You can upgrade your weapons between stages, so try that with your pistol. The knife is just for swiping away swarming enemies like piranhas & leeches.

[Kollision]

As for G-Vector, I'll say there's a good reason why you'll never see it on any list of Saturn classics or "hidden gems." Same goes for ExZeus/Counter Force on PS2/Wii, which is most likely the worst 3D rail shooter made after the 32-bit era.

Thanks for letting me know about ExZeus. I never heard of that one before!
As for G-Vector, Emperor and I are working on clearing it.

G Vector is done!

[louisg]

Nice clear! Is G-Vector really that bad?? It sure looks better than Counterforce (Ha!), even if it is a bit clunky. Some of the shot patterns are neat and I like how big and bold the enemy shots are so that you can easily see 'em.

[EmperorIng]

Counter Force is bottom of the barrel shit. G Vector, still mixed about it. It's good, though I'm not sure It's great.

Though I respect and congratulate Koll for the clear, whilst I work on it too. I do a lot of scrubbing with the 9 credit cheat code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, a, b, c at the "push start" screen).

[Kollision]

tks, Emperor
I think the pressure of no extends at all is what mainly kills G Vector's enjoyment, because getting hit early on kinda drains your will to go on...

I'm looking forward to ExZeus, it should be here in a month or so - if I'm lucky with post services

[qmish]

There's no need to create a new thread for this shit, so I'm gonna post it here:
BEAST BUSTERS featuring KOF Trailer
SNK PLS...

I like it so far, completes my need for decent lightgun on Android, especially now when HotD Overkill port is gone; also good music.

p.s.

Da hell with all that ExZeus hate? Love both games.

[Kollision]

I beat Space Harrier again a few days ago, on the Saturn.
Love it.

[Imhotep]

I've been playing Nam-1975 and got the clear this week (804’300, no special encounters). Took me a while to do it, the game really picks up from stage 4 onwards.

out of the sub genre I'd call "crosshair shooters" it's my favourite.

characteristics of crosshair shooters:
-it's possible to aim independently from moving (rules out rail shooters, with or without gravity, i.e. G.I. Joe)
-the player sprite is static when attacking (rules out games like S&P and SDI that use two directional tools at once)

what Nam does best is the simple but carefully orchestrated action where dodging on reaction stays a part of the gameplay even after knowing what threats will come ahead.

I recommend to hold down A (shoot) all the time (except when carrying the Balkan gun to save ammo) and use C (run) to cancel fire and move, without releasing the A button. This allows for quick transitions between shooting and dodging and should be the standard maneuver, the evasive move is less effective and potentially dangerous.
Running is also the fastest way to move the crosshair.

I like that the story is somewhat reminiscent of Apocalypse Now and the "Horror" stays the emotional core of the game, although in an incredibly cheesy way. The cinematic presentation is nice, though.

8.5/10

[Xyga]

Was playing Alien 3 on MAME the other day after finally getting the analogue controls setup right (why are those always set to completely absurd default values ?)

It's funny how some moments are almost impossibly hard, and some extremely empty/easy for several minutes straight.

When I played this game as a kid in arcades I couldn't get really far so I never knew about its strangely unbalanced difficulty.

[Pretas]

I like that the story is somewhat reminiscent of Apocalypse Now

Actually, most of NAM-1975's cutscene portraits are swiped from famous scenes of Full Metal Jacket.

[Imhotep]

Actually, most of NAM-1975's cutscene portraits are swiped from famous scenes of Full Metal Jacket.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tracing/tracing5.htm

most is an exaggeration, as there's cutscenes between and during levels that are original and quite cool.

the storyline clearly reflects that of Apocalypse Now in tone and narrative and there's even some visual parallels like travelling up the river in the first stage and the picture where the main guy is lying on the bed reflecting on war.

[G-Darius]

The main rail shooters for me were Star Blade (Arcade),Star Fox/Wing (Snes) and AX-101 on Sega Mega CD

[Koa Zo]

Meanwhile I'm just dyin over here waiting for the Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake.

[MJR]

No love for Revolution-X?

Really?

That game has insane amount of secrets for scoring and hidden paths and secrets. No other rail shooter comes even close. And it still has a one secret (Ark of kovenant) I haven't been able to find, I only know for sure that it existed because one of the game's programmers (Jake Simpson) confirmed it for me.

I used to think the original arcade version was the best rail shooter of all time, until I played Sin & Punishment for the first time. The playstation conversion was not that good, but original is well worth visiting on Mame. If you have run out of arcade rail shooters to try, you should give it a chance. Even if you can't stand Aerosmith that game is much, much more than just a simple licensed arcade romp.