"Radical" STG's

[XoPachi]

Hiya. Don't know what to call the thread.
I've been in a mood for some games with a high octane charisma to them. Striking ships, insane enemy designs, loud visual effects, and some strong rock (or rock inspired) tunes. Stuff like the usual go to's: Devil Engine, Hyper Duel, Armed Police Batrider, DoDonPachi 1, and obviously Thunder Force 4. I feel like I either don't know of very many or there just aren't as much.
I'm not solely looking for games with this thread, but to discuss the aesthetic as a whole. Not sure how else to coin it other than "radical". lol

The music for sure is a huge selling point. I listen to Devil Engine's soundtrack at work literally every night. But I really do especially love enemy designs in games like these. Most of my favorites are so wildly surreal, not adhering to any conventions even by the genre's standards.

Like look at this. That's tremendous! It's vaguely humanoid, but doesn't go too far in any one way with it. It's so intimidatingly alien and has very good contrast throughout it's design.


And then stuff like Iku Turso.
What is it? Just...what?


It's amazing. So absurdly different but it's so clear in it's telegraphing and function.
I feel like this sort of art direction goes grossly overlooked. Don't even get me started on the larger than life bosses of 90's Cave. I'll be here all day.

Anyway, this sort of stuff makes me happy. There's something almost macho about the in your face style games like this exude. Inspires me to make my own kickass spaceships. It's all very good and cool. c:

[reckon luck]

C A M B R I A S W O R D
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWTFdsGlfxs

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Battle Traverse is one that's flown under the radar for a lot of folks due to it being a doujin with a purchase only available on DLSite. It has really high quality animations on the large bosses and minibosses, some of the set pieces are great, and it has some really interesting perspective tricks in the art that make it really cool. The angle you face the final boss for instance (an aircraft carrier on tank treads) is really neat.

The stage 3 boss intro is probably my fave in any shmup ever.

The game over screen is also really cool, with a bomb being dropped right in your face with it pausing just before it explodes, GAME OVER printed on the tip of the warhead.

[BIL]

In addition to Hyper Duel, I'd also cite Winds of Thunder, Elemental Master (Mania) and Soldier Blade (Hard) as exemplars of foot-to-the-floor feelgood shooting. Critical difference between these games and merely mild or vacant shooters: all gift the player a generous degree of improv via massive firepower and mobility, but crucially, they expect you take full advantage and will kill you if you don't (in Blade's case, the bullet-eating Option goes from accessory to critical mechanic). EM's Mania mode in particular is tightly designed around its bi-directional firing, quick movement and massive charge shots. Not a hard clear, but an absolutely relentless, invigorating experience every time.

Besides HD and EM, Blast Wind very much goes here too. Tecno Soft were really good at this sort of STG.

I'd mention Nexzr and Super Star Soldier (Sugeeze - code required) as slightly tougher variations on this. Both temper the player's advantage slightly, the former with more conservative weaponry and speed plus checkpoints, the latter via sheer onslaught, though they're still a far cry from the dire struggle of harder STGs.

Not incidentally, every single game mentioned above has a super-catchy triumphal OST, in Winds' case artfully stealing some vintage Blackmore.

[Stevens]

Battle Traverse is one that's flown under the radar for a lot of folks due to it being a doujin with a purchase only available on DLSite. It has really high quality animations on the large bosses and minibosses, some of the set pieces are great, and it has some really interesting perspective tricks in the art that make it really cool. The angle you face the final boss for instance (an aircraft carrier on tank treads) is really neat.

The stage 3 boss intro is probably my fave in any shmup ever.

The game over screen is also really cool, with a bomb being dropped right in your face with it pausing just before it explodes, GAME OVER printed on the tip of the warhead.

I get huge Progear vibes from that one regarding enemy design (and the boss portrait at death) -

I'd say Progear has what you're looking for.

[XoPachi]

In addition to Hyper Duel, I'd also cite Winds of Thunder, Elemental Master (Mania) and Soldier Blade (Hard) as exemplars of foot-to-the-floor feelgood shooting. Critical difference between these games and merely mild or vacant shooters: all gift the player a generous degree of improv via massive firepower and mobility, but crucially, they expect you take full advantage and will kill you if you don't (in Blade's case, the bullet-eating Option goes from accessory to critical mechanic). EM's Mania mode in particular is tightly designed around its bi-directional firing, quick movement and massive charge shots. Not a hard clear, but an absolutely relentless, invigorating experience every time.

Besides HD and EM, Blast Wind very much goes here too. Tecno Soft were really good at this sort of STG.

I'd mention Nexzr and Super Star Soldier (Sugeeze - code required) as slightly tougher variations on this. Both temper the player's advantage slightly, the former with more conservative weaponry and speed plus checkpoints, the latter via sheer onslaught, though they're still a far cry from the dire struggle of harder STGs.

Not incidentally, every single game mentioned above has a super-catchy triumphal OST, in Winds' case artfully stealing some vintage Blackmore.

The setting for Winds of Thunder isn't my thing for shooters (not saying I wouldn't play it), but I do like how the music contrasts the fantasy setting instead of going for the expected "fantasy" music and some of the monsters are sick.

[mainpatr5]

Download 2 for PCE is basically what you are talking about. Rocking soundtrack,good enemy design.

[FRO]

This is one of the things that attracted me to the genre, the "wow factor" of it all. I played and enjoyed shooting games before, but when I popped a quarter into R-Type II, and saw the amazing graphics, and cool biomech designs, and heard that signature Irem sound and music, I knew I had found something special. By the time I got to the 1st boss, and saw how huge/amazing it looked, and then reached stage 2, and saw the sweet underground area, the flowing water, and how the setting was decidedly different from the first area, but still made sense within the initial framework that was laid down, I was sold. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, tangibly, that had hooked me. I just knew I wanted to play more games like this. As time went on, and I discovered Lightening Force, that became the bar from which everything else was judged. I had similar "wow" moments with later games, like the first boss encounter of Darius Gaiden, with its dramatic entrance to the fight, or the attract/opening sequence of RayStorm, with the huge battleships, giant lasers, and constantly changing 3-D perspective. I had a bit of that the first time I played Ikaruga, as well. These are the elements that brought me in, while it was the game play and mechanics that eventually convinced me to keep investing my time.

[qmish]

Speaking of Darius, i always had a feel that G-Darius bosses somehow have... how would i call it... some punk attitude. In their looks, in their presentation. I don't get same feel from other in series (like them all, but it's gdarius where they feel as angry bastards right in your face to me), so perhaps it's mix of very edgy lowpoly + industrial ost + camera and animation.

[BIL]

The setting for Winds of Thunder isn't my thing for shooters (not saying I wouldn't play it), but I do like how the music contrasts the fantasy setting instead of going for the expected "fantasy" music and some of the monsters are sick.

It always struck me as very Manowar. Ala the classic Ys games and their fiery hard rock / heavy metal OSTs. Elemental Master is another - METAL VALOROUS AND TRUE setting the tone, as the commando mage RAIDEN and his sidekick FAIRY (Seibu connection!) shred armies of orcs, beholders and other MAGICAL FUCKS.

Speaking of Darius, i always had a feel that G-Darius bosses somehow have... how would i call it... some punk attitude. In their looks, in their presentation. I don't get same feel from other in series (like them all, but it's gdarius where they feel as angry bastards right in your face to me), so perhaps it's mix of very edgy lowpoly + industrial ost + camera and animation.

Like a handful of other first-rate polygonal horis of its era (R-Type Delta, Einhander), G-Darius has a transcendently filmic vibrance and swagger, best summed up by Queen Fossil's intro:

Spoiler

R.I.P. SPACE DUDES

[sllypper]

Is Hydorah radical? its soundtrack spans through many genres but it gets radical sometimes.

[Sumez]

I feel like most shmups are at least trying to be pretty radical

[6t8k]

ARE YOU GREAT?

Spoiler

Air Zonk / PC Denjin. If that's not rad then I don't know what is!

Spoiler

Download 2 has been mentioned; the first game is also not to be scoffed at.

[ACSeraph]

Bullet Soul Infinite Burst absolutely fits the vibe you are describing. It's a criminally overlooked game due to the original Bullet Soul sucking pretty hard, but after giving IB a chance it ended up one of my favorite of that generation, especially for score play.

[Special World]

I wish I had jumped on Infinite Burst when I had the chance. Now a 360 copy is a million bucks. I don't like to play on my PC ;____;

[floralcateyes]

Recca. I can just imagine it being played by some smug, skateboarding teen who wears shades indoors and baseball caps backwards, and who does other radical things like copying floppies, (mis)reading Nietzsche, and doping the dope. It's not rock, but just listen to the soundtrack. And the game itself is filled with techno-clinical cool, populated as it is with alien-robot things that don't really emote but exist simply to kill you. Granddaddy of bullet hell and all that. Perikles rightly pointed out that sticking with Laser and Homing trivializes a good chunk of the game, but imo it's still a very tense game with "high octane charisma." And because it bears repeating, listen to that goddamn soundtrack.

[ACSeraph]

I wish I had jumped on Infinite Burst when I had the chance. Now a 360 copy is a million bucks. I don't like to play on my PC ;____;

Damn I just looked it up on amazon.jp and the price is ludicrous. I bought my Limited Edition just a few months after it released for around 3500 yen and now Amazon is saying the LE is like 40,000+. When did the 360 shmup library skyrocket in price?

Does IB not have a digital version? It's good enough that I would be willing to buy it digitally at full price. My 360 Eschatos and Ginga Force are both digital actually, but I don't mind. Happy in a way that money went to Qute rather than a scalper.

Anyhow went OT there, so I'll apologize with another recommendation: I don't personally consider the Darius Series "rad" per se, but Super Darius II for PCECD is rad as fuck. Listen to that soundtrack and try tell me otherwise.

[6t8k]

Recca.

Yes. This. It's out of this world.
It always evoked associations along the lines of cyberpunk/demoscene for me, but yours works as well! Indeed it's got 'tude, knows it - and rightfully so to boot:

Nintendo is what Genesisn't.

Of course that potshot is hidden and only accessible through a Game Genie code, making it even more edgy [;

I get goosebumps at places when listening to the music. Battle Garegga's soundtrack was inspired by it, which as many of you will know is also a Yagawa game, but Manabu Namiki composed for it (Nobuyuki Shioda for Recca). You can hear the influence clearly in Erupter.

Rad-o-meter = 11/10

[XoPachi]

ARE YOU GREAT?

Spoiler

Oh my god yes, I love GMD!

[BulletMagnet]

Does IB not have a digital version?

15 bucks on Steam.

[XoPachi]

I know most people gravitate to Cosmo Babylon, but I love this song to pieces in Hyper Duel. Top 5 TecnoSoft songs. I spam this at work fiercely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6861yFI0Q

[BulletMagnet]

Does IB not have a digital version?

15 bucks on Steam.

Check that - both IB and its predecessor are currently 6 bucks apiece.

Back on topic, would Crimzon Clover count? It's the first shmup I think of when it comes to non-stop stimulation, with the screen constantly full of bullets, lasers, shiny stars, bonus messages and, of course, big explosions.

[Queen Charlene]

Crimzon Clover is VERY radical imho. when you activate double break and you see all those multipliers all over the screen as shit just dies in a cascade of green, all while that extremely bangin' soundtrack rips on in the background... i get giddy even just thinking about it.

[bottino]

Crashing out of a building and dropping a car into a demon's head seems pretty radical to me...



...same for fighting a giant Kabuki demon truck thing at high speed in a highway.



It's soundtrack is pretty metal as well.

[6t8k]

I know most people gravitate to Cosmo Babylon, but I love this song to pieces in Hyper Duel. Top 5 TecnoSoft songs. I spam this at work fiercely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6861yFI0Q

Very rich, I like! Reminds me of the magnificent Dragon Saber OST by Shinji Hosoe.

Back on topic, Radirgy is pretty funky. Has rad in the title after all! (it's a portmanteau of Radio Allergy though).

[SuperDeadite]

RayXanber 1.

[XoPachi]

Crimzon Clover is VERY radical imho. when you activate double break and you see all those multipliers all over the screen as shit just dies in a cascade of green, all while that extremely bangin' soundtrack rips on in the background... i get giddy even just thinking about it.

Crimzon Clover is crack cocaine for me. I like the volume of everything. The game is so obnoxiously loud. I love it.

[Loom1es]

I recently downloaded Kaikan on pc. It's a doujin shooter which is fast and exhilarating, definately gave me the wow factor. My top two shooters at the minute are Kaikan and Battle Traverse.

[KAI]

Go play some Milestone, Strania or Dezatopia.

[XoPachi]

Go play some Milestone, Strania or Dezatopia.

Strania is amazing! I don't care much for MileStone games outside of Radirgy though. Their other stuff just hurts my eyes and feels unfinished. :c
And I just got Dezatopia.