Best shmups for Analogue Pocket?

[shmupsrocks]

I can't wait for the PCE adapter for Pocket but in the meantime we have Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Game Gear (via adapter). Which are the best shmups for now?

How is the shmup experience on Pocket in general?

[ATTRACTS]

For Game Gear, GG Aleste 1 and 2 are terrific.

[bigbadboaz]

I don't think it gets much love but I always really enjoyed SolarStriker (GB). It's on the simple side but it's smooth, with catchy music and the gameplay just flows. give it a try.

[To Far Away Times]

Quarth/Block Hole for GB is a hybrid puzzle/shmup. Pretty fun little game.

GBA has Gradius Galaxies which is built from the ground up for GBA and is ok. Some of the GBA ports like Darius-R and R-Type 3 are pretty compromised due to the resolution. They're best played elsewhere.

GG Aleste 1 & 2 is probably your best bet.

[BrianC]

GBA has Gradius Galaxies which is built from the ground up for GBA and is ok. Some of the GBA ports like Darius-R and R-Type 3 are pretty compromised due to the resolution. They're best played elsewhere.

R-Type III on GBA has other issues, not just resolution. Darius-R is an odd one. It's based on the play style of Darius 1 but has stages from later games and even a song from SEGA's Fantasy Zone. Darius R would be less compromised if the developers used smaller sprites instead of making the baffling decision to allow vertical scrolling while keeping the sprites full sized. Iridion II on GBA is worth a look. Not perfect, but technically impressive with incredible music and fun to play. I enjoyed Gradius Galaxies quite a bit. Definitely one of the better GBA shmups, though I personally prefer the GB games.

Konami has a solid track record for shmups on GB, especially when it comes to Nemesis/Gradius. I also like the GB's take on Twinbee, though it won't change your mind if you hate the power up system.

I also agree with the posts on Solar Striker. Fun game. Not a shmup, but Qix GB seems to use the same sound engine and is a nice port.

Aerostar is a unique game where the ship is grounded with the ability to jump over gaps. It's worth checking out.

GG Aleste 1 and 2 are excellent, but I wish 3 was playable on real hardware. That would be an easy recommendation if it was released on cart.

Edit: Oddly enough, Darius R was developed by the company that developed those Mercenaries Saga games and Adventure Bar Story.

[poodude]

Chikyu Kaiho Gun ZAS is probably the best shmup on the gameboy. Excellent game.

[BrianC]

I forgot about Steel Empire GBA. A nice remake, but it's also on Steam and 3DS now.

[FRO]

Eh, Steel Empire on GBA is okay, but the 3DS and Steam versions are far superior, and the Genesis original is still the best version IMO. The GBA release has dodgy sound, and because the screen area is small and cramped, some stuff can easily catch you off guard, but not in a fair way. I wouldn't play that unless it's the only version you can find.

R-Type III on GBA is HOT GARBAGE. Avoid that one at all costs.

I'll throw another vote in for Solar Striker. It's no-frills, but fun, and has decent music. R-Type DX on GBC is a fun little collection of both R-Type GB games, plus the DX version which is colorized, mildly tweaked, and slaps both games together for a single, longer experience, more akin to a full R-Type game. Well worth playing. If you don't mind some euroshmup conventions, Project S-11 for GBC is also solid, though not essential. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault for GB is also highly recommended, as is Nemesis. Another interesting one is Aerostar. Unfortunately, it's kind of expensive these days. Oh, and Sagaia. The aforementioned Gradius Galaxies on GBA is solid. For Game Gear stuff, I'll echo the GG Aleste 1 & 2 recommendations, and also say Halley Wars is kind of a Halley's Comet redux, and it's a decent little shmup. Nothing outstanding, but fun for what it is.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

For Game Gear stuff, I'll echo the GG Aleste 1 & 2 recommendations, and also say Halley Wars is kind of a Halley's Comet redux, and it's a decent little shmup.

Halley Wars was a tremendous disappointment to me. It feels like a charming sequel with good music and graphics, but then you discover the controls are a mess. Very unfortunate. It's one of those games that's marred by a fatal flaw that could actually be addressed with a romhack.

[Rastan78]

@shmupsrocks, are you looking at buying original carts or playing on an everdrive or something like that? I'd say GG Aleste 1 and 2 are highly recommended, but picking up the Aleste collection on Switch would be a much better value for protable play than getting the original carts. Man, it's crazy what things are going for these days. If money is no object then I'm sure they'd look and play great on the analogue.

I don't think you can go wrong picking up Gradius Galaxies. It's still affordable I think, and is pretty solid. As long as you're not expecting Gradius Gaiden quality, you'll end up with a decent portable version of Gradius. Have to say I had a good amount of fun with it on the GBA.

[scrilla4rella]

Chikyu Kaiho Gun ZAS is probably the best shmup on the gameboy. Excellent game.

This. The only shmup worth your time on the OG GB, IMO.

[Bear78]

While not exactly a traditional shmup, Mercenary Force is pretty fun on GB.

[jehu]

Magical Chase is a good GBC conversion of the TG16/PCE classic. R-Type DX on the GBC is another decent conversion. Project S11 is notable for its demoscene OST, but the gameplay is really close to watery, euroshmuppy grabage IMO. I'd cosign ZAS and the GG Aleste games, no question. Solar Striker is alright. I remember the Nemesis games (I+II) being interesting and thought Parodius got a better-than-expected treatment. Sagaia is alright.

There's also this DMG 'bullet hell' called 'Dangan' if you're wanting to dip your toes into more recent throwbacks. It's also just alright, but it's very cool for even existing and free to download to boot. https://snorpung.itch.io/dangan-gb

[BrianC]

I forgot about Sagaia. I like that one quite a bit, though it lacks the branching paths of most other Darius games. It does have a neat exclusive boss named Big Merman, though. GB also has a nice SI port, though its best features are SNES only.

While there's no adapter for it, I'm guessing the pocket should be able to play SMS games though the GG Everdrive? SMS has the original version of Aleste and the EU only Power Strike II (which is different from the GG Power Strike II aka GG Aleste 2).

[kuze]

As said above, GG Aleste series for sure.

Not at the same caliber but Steel Empire on GBA is fun for a bit.

[BrianC]

Eh, Steel Empire on GBA is okay, but the 3DS and Steam versions are far superior, and the Genesis original is still the best version IMO. The GBA release has dodgy sound, and because the screen area is small and cramped, some stuff can easily catch you off guard, but not in a fair way. I wouldn't play that unless it's the only version you can find.

I agree that it isn't the best version of it, but it's still a good game and most of the other versions won't be playable on the Pocket (Genesis version is a possibility if it gets jailbreak or someone makes a custom Genesis core).