12th Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time - Results

Nifty · Joined: 15 Aug 2009 Posts: 534 Location: 'Strailya

Top 25 Shmups of All Time (through 2014)

Code:

##. Game                                               Score  '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '12 '13
Mushihimesama Futari / 1.5 / Black Label (ARC/360)  7.13    .   .   .   .   *   *   +   ~   ~   +   +
Battle Garegga (ARC/SAT)                            7.09    +   +   *   +   +   +   -   -   -   -   -
DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou / Black Label (ARC/360/etc.)  6.29    *   +   +   +   +   =   =   ~   =   +   +
Ketsui ~Kizuna Jigoku Tachi~ (ARC/360)              6.23    .   *   *   *   *   *   =   -   =   -   -
DoDonPachi (ARC/SAT/PSX)                            5.22    -   -   -   -   -   =   -   -   =   +   =
Armed Police Batrider (ARC)                         4.87    *   *   +   *   -   +   -   -   -   -   =
Ikaruga (ARC/DC/GC/360)                             4.76    -   -   -   -   -   -   +   -   +   +   +
RayForce / Layer Section / etc. (ARC/PS2/SAT/etc.)  4.26    *   -   +   +   +   +   +   *   *   *   +
Mushihimesama / 1.5 (ARC/PS2/360)                   3.95    .   .   *   +   +   =   -   +   *   +   -
Crimzon Clover / World Ignition (PC/NESiCA)         3.87    .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   *   *   *
Radiant Silvergun (ARC/SAT/360)                     3.63    -   -   -   -   -   -   =   +   *   +   -
Batsugun / Batsugun Special (ARC/SAT)               3.47    *   +   +   *   +   +   +   +   +   -   -
Gradius V (PS2)                                     3.42    .   .   -   -   -   -   -   -   +   *   -
R-Type (ARC/PCE/PSX/etc.)                           3.38    -   -   -   -   *   +   +   -   +   +   +
ESPGaluda II (ARC/360)                              3.23    .   .   .   *   *   *   *   -   =   -   -
Mars Matrix (ARC/DC)                                3.22    +   +   -   -   +   +   -   -   +   -   +
Strikers 1945 II (ARC/SAT/PSX/PS2)                  3.17    -   -   -   -   *   +   +   +   +   -   +
ESPGaluda (ARC/PS2)                                 3.16    .   *   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -
Gunbird 2 (ARC/DC)                                  3.14    +   -   -   +   -   *   *   -   -   -   +
Darius Gaiden (ARC/SAT/PSX/PS2/PC)                  3.043   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   +   *   *
Raiden Fighters Jet (ARC/360)                       3.042   *   *   *   *   *   *   -   -   -   -   -
Ibara (ARC/PS2)                                     2.89    .   .   .   *   *   +   -   =   +   =   +
Deathsmiles / Mega Black Label (ARC/360)            2.88    .   .   .   .   .   *   *   ~   -   *   -
Battle Bakraid (ARC)                                2.83    *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   -   *
DoDonPachi Saidaioujou (ARC/360)                    2.76    .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   *   -

= denotes the game holds the same position now as the year indicated.
+ denotes the game holds an improved standing compared to the year indicated.
- denotes the game holds a reduced standing compared to the year indicated.
* denotes the game was not on the list for the year indicated.
. denotes the game was not released or otherwise eligible for voting for the year indicated.
~ denotes the game vote was classified (significantly) differently for the year indicated.

Honourable Mention

Code:

Game                                                    '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '12 '13
Akai Katana (ARC/360)                                     .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   =   -
Border Down (DC/ARC)                                      .   +   =   -   -   -   -   =   +   +   =
Dangun Feveron (ARC)                                      +   =   =   =   =   =   -   -   =   =   =
Dimahoo / Great Mahou Daisakusen (ARC)                    +   =   =   =   +   +   +   +   =   =   =
DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu / 1.5 / Resurrection (ARC/etc.)    .   .   .   .   .   .   +   +   =   -   =
DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Black Label (ARC/360)              .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   =   =   =
DonPachi (ARC/SAT/PSX)                                    -   -   -   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =
Dragon Blaze (ARC/PS2)                                    +   +   =   =   =   =   =   =   -   -   =
Eschatos (360)                                            .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   +   =   =
ESP Ra.De. (ARC)                                          -   -   -   -   -   -   -   =   =   =   =
Flying Shark / Hishouzame / Sky Shark (ARC/NES/etc.)      +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   =
G-Darius (ARC/PS2/PSX)                                    +   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =
Giga Wing (ARC/DC)                                        +   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   =
Gradius Gaiden (PSX)                                      -   -   -   -   -   -   =   -   =   -   =
Gradius / Nemesis (ARC/NES/PCE/etc.)                      =   =   =   +   +   +   +   =   =   +   =
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (ARC/SAT/FC/etc.)              +   =   =   =   +   =   +   +   =   =   +
Guwange (ARC/360)                                         -   -   =   -   =   -   -   -   -   =   =
Muchi Muchi Pork! (ARC/360)                               .   .   .   .   .   +   +   +   -   -   -
Perfect Cherry Blossom [Touhou 7] (PC)                    .   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   =   =   =
Progear no Arashi (ARC)                                   +   +   +   =   =   -   -   =   =   =   =
R-Type Delta (PSX)                                        =   =   -   -   -   =   +   =   =   =   =
Raiden DX (ARC/PSX)                                       +   +   -   -   -   =   -   =   -   =   -
Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive (ARC/360)          +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   =   =   =
Soukyugurentai / Terra Diver (SAT/ARC/PSX)                -   -   -   -   -   -   =   -   =   -   =
Thunder Force IV / Lightening Force (MD/GEN/SAT)          -   -   -   -   -   -   =   +   =   =   =
Twin Cobra / Kyukyoku Tiger (ARC/PCE/etc.)                +   =   +   +   =   =   +   +   +   =   +
Under Defeat (DC/ARC)                                     .   .   .   +   -   =   =   =   =   =   =

= denotes the game was also on the HM list for the year indicated.
+ denotes the game was on neither the HM list nor the top 25 for the year indicated.
- denotes the game was in the top 25 for the year indicated.
. denotes the game was not released or otherwise eligible for voting for the year indicated.

What Dropped from 2013's Top 25:

Akai Katana / Shin (ARC/360) [Games now split]
Muchi Muchi Pork! (ARC/360)
Raiden DX (ARC/PSX)

What Dropped from 2013's Honourable Mentions:

Cho Ren Sha 68K (PC/X68)
Deathsmiles II / IIX (ARC/360)
Einhänder (PSX)
Embodiment of Scarlet Devil [Touhou 6] (PC)
Great Fairy Wars [Touhou 12.8] (PC)
Ginga Force (360)
Imperishable Night [Touhou 8] (PC)
Metal Black (ARC/SAT/PS2/etc.)
Mountain of Faith [Touhou 10] (PC)
Pink Sweets ~Ibara Sorekara~ (ARC/360)
Raiden IV (ARC/360)
Shikigami no Shiro II (ARC/GC/DC/PS2/etc.)
Strikers 1999 / Strikers 1945 III (ARC)
Twinkle Star Sprites (ARC/SAT/DC/etc.)
Undefined Fantastic Object [Touhou 12] (PC)

Breakdown by Developer

Code:

                   Top 25         Hon.M.          Overall
Cave                 10               9             19
Raizing               3               2              5
Treasure              3               -              3
Taito                 2               1              3
Psikyo                2               1              3
Toaplan               1               2              3
Seibu Kaihatsu        1               2              3
Konami                -               3              3
Irem                  1               1              2
Takumi                1               1              2
G.rev                 -               2              2
Yotsubane             1               -              1
Qute                  -               1              1
Technosoft            -               1              1
Team Shanghai Alice   -               1              1

You can also check out the Top Developer voting results in the post below!

Breakdown by Original Platform

Code:

System             Top 25         Hon.M.          Overall
Arcade                23             22              45
PC/Windows             1              1               2
PlayStation            -              2               2
PlayStation 2          1              -               1
Xbox 360               -              1               1
Mega Drive/Genesis     -              1               1

Miscellaneous Stats:

Number of Counted Voters: 79*
Number of Games Voted For: 353
Games Supported by at least half of voters (>40): 4
Games Supported by at least 1/4 of voters (>20): 29
Number of Honourable Mentions: 27
Top 25 Score Spread: 2.759 - 7.131
Honourable Mention Score Spread: 1.415 - 2.740
Total Score Spread: 0.088 - 7.131

*The lowest since the 3rd T25, discounting the 5th which had 80 votes but only 69.8 "scaled" votes, when that was still a thing.

Random Comments:

There is indeed a new victor this year, presenting itself in the form of the combined monstrosity that is Mushihimesama Futari. It is as yet unknown whether or not it will continue to compete for the win, or follow the trend set by Gradius V of losing ground rapidly until eventually settling slightly outside the top 10.
All it took was multiple years of hype and an arcade release, but Crimzon Clover has finally become the first doujin STG to make the annual T25! Unfortunately, the special award ceremory had to be cancelled due to the resulting downpour of gold. It hasn't been a great year for doujins overall, however, with just about everything else losing ground in spite of otherwise ever-strengthening results in recent times.
A little more variety and competitivity has returned to the Top 25, including some nice results for Taito and the beginnings of a fightback by Ikaruga. The trade-off is a shortened Honourable Mentions with no completely new games, as a balance to the previous couple of lists. A little more shifting and anything could be up for grabs next time!
The discussion thread for this year's poll is here.
The votes for this year's poll can be found here.
The full results belatedly linked here.

Nifty · Joined: 15 Aug 2009 Posts: 534 Location: 'Strailya

Top Developers of All Time (through 2014)

Code:

##. Game                              Total Points*
Cave                              24,406
Raizing/8ing                      22,745
Psikyo                            19,922
Konami                            18,931 
Toaplan/Crux                      18,275
Taito                             17,909
Seibu Kaihatsu                    17,882
Treasure                          12,054
Irem                              11,382
Technosoft                        8,771
Compile                           7,518
Capcom                            7,206
Takumi                            6,797

*Points scale from over 900 to as low as 200 per vote, based on ballot size (smaller ones have slightly higher minimum values).

Honourable Mention

Code:

G.rev
MOSS
Namco
NMK
Triangle Service
Team Shanghai Alice/ZUN
Yotsubane

Miscellaneous Stats:

Number of Counted Voters: 42
Number of Individual Votes: 519*
Average Votes per Ballot: 12.36
Number of Developers Voted For: 68
Developers Supported by at least half of voters (>21): 9
Developers Supported by at least 1/4 of voters (>11): 16
Number of Honourable Mentions: 7
Top 13 Score Spread: 6,797 - 24,406
Honourable Mention Score Spread: 3,926 - 6,461
Total Score Spread: 200 - 24,406

*Used to determine how many games are on the Top __ list.

Random Comments:

While 1st place is perhaps not a surprise, Cave's victory margin is not quite the same abject domination presented in the Top 25's developer breakdown. Among the seven classic companies standing out as the cream of the opinionated crop, it was highly competitive all the way through, often changing on a per-vote basis. The scores tail off rather severely after that, leaving no room for stragglers, although a couple of surprises still manage to pop up A few designers, classical and modern alike, may be wondering where their fanbases went.
The votes and game development listings for this poll can be found here.
The full results will be posted with the main T25 results.

iconoclast · Joined: 01 Nov 2010 Posts: 1745 Location: Massachusetts

Quote:

01. Mushihimesama Futari

You done good, shump farm.

pokemon123 · Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Posts: 204

Well I feel like an idiot now. Thought OP made a mistake on 11th annual of all time and thought that was that. Surprised to see mushihimesama futari at top because I felt I saw way more votes for DOJ, and mushihimesama. Also maybe I don't read the lists properly but I don't remember seeing many ketsui votes. Wish batrider was over garegga because not a fan of garegga at all so far,

KAI · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:10 am

No Milestone, again...

I hate all of you.

Capintec · Joined: 13 Apr 2013 Posts: 24

Interesting. Treasure got the 3 place at the Breakdown by Developer with 3 Games in the 25, but in the Developers of all Time Vote the Rank is 8.

trap15 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:15 am

Futari what the fuck you guys.

cicada88 · Joined: 14 Oct 2013 Posts: 652

STG fans have gotten soft--im voting next year

chempop · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 3423 Location: Western-MA USA

This was going to be Dimahoo’s year NOooOOooOOOooOOoo :evil:

pokemon123 · Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Posts: 204

trap15 wrote:

Futari what the fuck you guys.

but I find futari fun

I think i'll vote next year. I've only played cave, "yagawa" trilogy and touhou.

I think I could have voted but I don't like touhou anymore after playing other shmups so it would be pointless putting it in my "top" 25.

Shepardus · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:34 am

How could you guys forget to vote for Cho Ren Sha 68k??? I didn't vote this year because of a lack of shmup knowledge, but next year will be a different story, because not even giving it an honorable mention is a real travesty.

Also I still don't see what makes Futari "best shmup of all time" material rather than just "standard CAVE game." But I guess I haven't played it all that much either.

EmperorIng · Joined: 18 Jun 2012 Posts: 4105 Location: Chicago, IL

This is kind of a bizarre list. I mean you have the usual suspects (10 Cave games - BOTH ESPGaludas, two DDPs, etc.), but then Mushi Futari as the top spot. Darius Gaiden AND RayForce are on the list, which is totally unheard of (DG's second time ever being on the list). Strikers and Gunbird on the list is good.

I think it would have been fair to swap out one of the extraneous Cave games with something more adventurous.

Battle Bakraid being on the list is very baffling. No one talks about the game. No one posts scores.

I can't complain too hard; I feel like this is more variety on a list shown in quite some time, Cave bias notwithstanding.

pokemon123 wrote:

I think i'll vote next year. I've only played cave, "yagawa" trilogy and touhou.

I think I could have voted but I don't like touhou anymore after playing other shmups so it would be pointless putting it in my "top" 25.

Don't forget those other 40 games you should be familiar with before voting.

pokemon123 · Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Posts: 204

haha yeah i'm going to definitely explore more this year. I also forgot to mention i've played psyiko as well and they were meh.

ACSeraph · Joined: 19 Jul 2008 Posts: 2667 Location: Tokyo

I feel like a lot of the voters probably don't actually play many shmups outside of Cave. But at least Darius Gaiden made the list so whatever, I won't complain.

Eschatos not making it is a fucking crime though.

LordHypnos · Joined: 09 Mar 2014 Posts: 1837 Location: Mars Colony, 2309

Well, Mars Matrix at number 16 is pretty respectable considering how underplayed it is these days. After last year's fall I thought it would be banished to HM for sure! Also the variety overall is a pleasant surprise.

I will say that I'm surprised Futari ended up at number 1. Did any individuals even place it that high in their own lists? Maybe I just wasn't paying attention to it, or maybe it's just that almost everyone has it somewhere in their lists.

A little surprised about Eschatos not making it higher, considering how hyped, and available it is (Not too many of these can be had in physical form for only $30).

Shame about Cho Ren Sha...

No more comments that I can think of for now...

R-Gray 1 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:33 pm

I did a fast reading of each personal tops and :shock:

i saw millipede on one list. I voted it in the 9th annual top 25.

Yup Mushihimesama Futari is top 3 in many personal tops.

I voted for Darius Gaiden but with low points and see it in the top 25 really surprise me.

Kollision · Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 2583 Location: BRA

Takumi at the end of the list? :evil:

fuck it I'm outta here

royalfan84 · Joined: 16 Oct 2013 Posts: 113

Thank you for taking the time to Compile the list, nifty.

I think this top 25 is probably my favorite of the ones I've looked at over the last few years. I am very happy to see Darius Gaiden breach the top 25. I'm okay with Futari topping the list; I guess some gamers finally had to Cave in on their Garegga love just a little. I know there are 10 cave games in the list but other than both Espagaludas being in it I really don't have a gripe with that. Raiden Fighters Jet all the way down at 21 kind of worries me. I love that game. It will be interisting to see what games continue Raizing in the rankings and what games (like b-list cave titles) continue to be put where they belong.

It will be interesting to see how close Gradius Gaiden, Progear, and Thunder Force IV were as well as see what DFK and DFK BL's combined score is. Einhander still gets the shaft. Play Sturmwind.

Oh and I just started playing Ketsui this week.....awesome so far.

Strikers1945guy · Joined: 13 Aug 2014 Posts: 1029

Ya.... I think it would be fun for the forum to do a second poll without any CAVE titles allowed. It would be a much more fun and diverse outcome I don't think it would be a simple as "take out the cave results and there you go". Lots of people voted for 10+ cave titles so they would have to actually pick non cave stuff to fill in the rest of their ballet.

Futari is fun but not even top 25 worthy for me

Radiant Silvergun is something I will never understand the love for.

Xyga · Joined: 05 Nov 2013 Posts: 7181 Location: block

Does it really matter ?
There haven't been many new games these past years likely to reach top 25 anyway, and that won't change much in the future.
Shmups is a moribund genre, it didn't get 'more niche', no, it's more like it's almost completely into limbo only hanging by a hair.
In 10 years from now we may see the same games in a different order and that's it.
Actually it's been almost exclusively about a hundred games spanning from the mid-80's to early 2010's production, and now that Cave's dead who's still lying to himself believing it's not over ?
The 'top 100 in no particular order' or 'top 50 in no particular order' for the really picky ones, is the true definitive 'top shmups of all time', whether you take Cave games out or not doesn't matter either, since the non-cave are always the same as well.

*I'm running for the Negative Post of the Year Award*

Jeneki · Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 2059 Location: Minnesota, USA

Thanks for running this and coming up with the list again. Always interesting to see what pops up and changes each year.

As an idea for those who want more variety: How about pick 10 or more different developers, and choose ONLY your top 1 by that developer. Seems interesting to me at least.

Cagar · Joined: 25 Nov 2011 Posts: 2234

Strikers1945guy wrote:

Ya.... I think it would be fun for the forum to do a second poll without any CAVE titles allowed. It would be a much more fun and diverse outcome I don't think it would be a simple as "take out the cave results and there you go". Lots of people voted for 10+ cave titles so they would have to actually pick non cave stuff to fill in the rest of their ballet.

Futari is fun but not even top 25 worthy for me

Radiant Silvergun is something I will never understand the love for.

So you think that people should not be allowed to vote for CAVE just because you want a more diverse list?

I think it's great that Futari finally dethroned Battle Shitregga. I guess it's about time, seeing that more and more people have finally got to play it.

Thanks for the list!

Bananamatic · Joined: 25 Jun 2010 Posts: 3530

cave is truly the straight white male of this forum

Cagar · Joined: 25 Nov 2011 Posts: 2234

Bananamatic wrote:

cave is truly the straight white male of this forum

Well put

Obscura · Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 1805

Shepardus wrote:

Also I still don't see what makes Futari "best shmup of all time" material rather than just "standard CAVE game." But I guess I haven't played it all that much either.

I suspect it's a residue effect of it being probably the most visible Cave game in recent years, thanks to that "hardes boss evar!" video.

It's absolutely ridiculous to call it the best shmup ever, given that it may well be Cave's worst game (the other candidate for that is Pink Sweets).

EDIT: Also, Batsugun #11, Donpachi not in the top 25? What the heck is wrong with you guys? How is it even physically possible to like Batsugun more than Donpachi? DP is better in basically every single regard.

Herr Schatten · Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 2894 Location: Germany

Surprisingly well-rounded list. Futari seems to have replaced Dodonpachi as "the game everyone sort of also likes even if its not their absolute favourite". As such, it's perfectly fine for it to take #1, as it seems to have a more universal appeal than a polarizing game like Garegga.

Shame about Shiki II, though. Come on, guys.

monouchi · Joined: 01 Jan 2010 Posts: 799 Location: Sweden

Interesting list, thanks for putting it together.

Futari BL is my #1 and it is an amazing game, when you beat Original and Maniac then you still have God to go.
Love the risk reward system.

Fun to see Crimzon Clover on the list.

system11 · Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 6173 Location: UK

R-Type Delta not in the top 25 again.

This means a lot of people are fundamentally wrong, probably in every life decision.

Still, Reco is best waifu again!

Iori Branford · Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 318

Props to the winner; even after the peak of my shmup mania has passed, I can still come back to it and never regret it.

Same goes for Chorensha, don't look at me about that.

Some-Mist · Joined: 13 Aug 2010 Posts: 1305 Location: Chicago

it's been years since Progear has made the top 25 and it seemed so close this year too

chempop wrote:

This was going to be Dimahoo’s year NOooOOooOOOooOOoo :evil:

kinda bummed about this as well.

I'm really curious if there's going to be more outrage about futari making #1 than there has in the past for battle garegga taking it consecutively.

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12th Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time - Results

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