Post any shooter you consider better than Gradius V on PS2, ever!?
- Thread starter j^aws
- Start date
Ikaruga (DC/GC): This is very, very close, but I think the puzzle aspects of the color system push it slightly ahead of GV.
Border Down (DC): Again, very close to GV in terms of quality, this is another top-tier horizontal shmup. BD has an innovative use of continues that adjusts the structure and layout of the levels every time you die.
DoDonPachi (Arc/Saturn): I'd say it's exactly as good, if not a tiny tiny bit better. It's Cave at its very best, utter bullet madness.
Neo Zanac (PS1): Not quite as good, but the old-school stylings of Compile's final title are very satisfying.
Raystorm (PS1): An amazingly cinematic title, the two-plane gameplay of Raystorm immerses you heavily in the horrors of space war.
Einhander (PS1): Square's cinematic shmup masterpiece doesn't have the replayability of some of these other titles, but it's still top-tier.
Border Down (DC): Again, very close to GV in terms of quality, this is another top-tier horizontal shmup. BD has an innovative use of continues that adjusts the structure and layout of the levels every time you die.
DoDonPachi (Arc/Saturn): I'd say it's exactly as good, if not a tiny tiny bit better. It's Cave at its very best, utter bullet madness.
Neo Zanac (PS1): Not quite as good, but the old-school stylings of Compile's final title are very satisfying.
Raystorm (PS1): An amazingly cinematic title, the two-plane gameplay of Raystorm immerses you heavily in the horrors of space war.
Einhander (PS1): Square's cinematic shmup masterpiece doesn't have the replayability of some of these other titles, but it's still top-tier.
Doom_Bringer
Banned
yup Einhander is the best!
see the thread I made yesterday
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=37988
see the thread I made yesterday
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=37988
Gaiares - The TOZ is genious
ThunderForce III - No special reason
Pocky & Rocky - No special reason other it being goofy but cool at the same time
R-Type Delta - The R-Type formula Omega & Alpha
However I think Gradius V is probably the best "original" shmup this generation, surpassing Mars Matrix wich was my favorite shmup this generation.
ThunderForce III - No special reason
Pocky & Rocky - No special reason other it being goofy but cool at the same time
R-Type Delta - The R-Type formula Omega & Alpha
However I think Gradius V is probably the best "original" shmup this generation, surpassing Mars Matrix wich was my favorite shmup this generation.
Ooh. I forgot about Mars Matrix.
R-type Delta is a weird bird. As a game, it's better than Final, no doubt, but Final has so much fanservice and replay built in that it's hard not to recommend it.
Gradius Gaiden for the PS1 is considered the best Gradius by some. Not by me though, but it's close.
R-type Delta is a weird bird. As a game, it's better than Final, no doubt, but Final has so much fanservice and replay built in that it's hard not to recommend it.
Gradius Gaiden for the PS1 is considered the best Gradius by some. Not by me though, but it's close.
PanopticBlue
Member
j^aws said:
Shmup.
To be fair and compare another horizontal shooter - Border Down is definitely better than Gradius V, though Gradius V is still awesome. In terms of shmups on PS2 - both Espgaluda and Dodonpachi Daioujou are probably the best on the system. R-Type Final gets a nod as well.
Pretty much every notable shooter since DoDonPachi (1997) has its own gimmick. You should explore.RiZ III said:
Quoted for absolute truth! (Except the bit about RTP, which sucks except for its cool cinematic qualities.)PanopticBlue[/QUOTE said:
While Gradius V certainly is pretty and cool, Border Down wins if only for having a deep scoring system (which G5 obviously lacks). It's just as good-looking, cool and hectic so the scoring gives BD the upper hand.
Of all time, on any system, though? That's a tall order. Start with anything by Cave and work your way from there.
Drinky Crow
Banned
R-Type Delta.
am i the only one that appreciates gradius 5 for bypassing the needlessly cryptic scoring systems that every new shooter feels compelled to add? i love the fact that the best way to get a high score is to simply kill shit *faster*.aku:jiki said:
dai-ou-jou, ikaruga, etc. are great, but gradius 5's simplicity is refreshing.
Thunder Force II, the X68000 version. It absolutely blows my mind for a home shmup game from 1988. it whips the later 1989 MD-Gen TFII by alot. it's rock solid hard too. and when you lose your last life, the guy says 'shit!'
for a modern shmup, you can't go wrong with R-Type Final, R-Type Delta, Border Down.
for a modern shmup, you can't go wrong with R-Type Final, R-Type Delta, Border Down.
FortNinety
Member
Radiant Silvergun. Those who disagree have never played it.
I've played RS enough to know it's thoroughly average. Trading it for an Intellivision is one of the best things I've ever done.
Bettr'n Gradius V? Basically everything except Thunder Force V has been mentioned already... and while I'd be hard pressed to recommend finding some of the older PS2 titles now, certain ones like Espgaluda and Psyvariar are certainly great shooters. I really wish Psyvariar 2 PS2 didn't have such atrocious load times.
Bettr'n Gradius V? Basically everything except Thunder Force V has been mentioned already... and while I'd be hard pressed to recommend finding some of the older PS2 titles now, certain ones like Espgaluda and Psyvariar are certainly great shooters. I really wish Psyvariar 2 PS2 didn't have such atrocious load times.
SlapFight, Taito/Toaplan arcade. MAME it IMMEDIATELY for life enhancement.
Here it is teh awesomeness.
Here it is teh awesomeness.
bah, these older shooters havent aged well. come on man. better than gradius v?Stinkles said:SlapFight, Taito/Toaplan arcade. MAME it IMMEDIATELY for life enhancement.
Here it is teh awesomeness.
as far as sidescrollers go, i'd only give the edge to thunderforce iv, r type delta, gradius gaiden, and border down. but there are probably a dozen modern-ish vert scrollers i prefer. layer section, battle garegga, and donpachi foremost among them. gradius v is a brilliant game, but the lengthy stages and nonexistent scoring system make it less replayable.
ButtonMasher
Member
Border Down rocks! I love playing it on my PC screen 
Defender 2 is still the bomb though.
Defender 2 is still the bomb though.Refreshing? Come on, now, we had 25 years of simplistic shooting like that. Today is the age of scoring.epmode said:
It's a question of longevity. On the shooter forum I frequent, people are still grinding almost 10-year old games (namely DoDonPachi) daily, since there's so many ways to improve your scores. Gradius V isn't even one year old and that high score thread has been dead for months.
Rummy Bunnz
Member
Cybercore????
Gradius V is tops, and I really can't think of a horizontal shooter I like more, but it's awfully long and the lack of a tricky scoring system keeps me from playing it often. Which is pretty much what a few other people have already said.
I prefer vertical shooters, though, so there are a bunch I think are better than Gradius V. You want:
Just about every Cave game - You'll want to start with DoDonPachi. It's probably the best shooter ever made (I'd say "definitely" but I'm soo burnt out on chaining) and it's playable in MAME. There are also a half dozen or so other Cave games in MAME, and they're all excellent but I much prefer Cave's recent work to any of them. The scoring systems in Ketsui (not yet emulated and no console port, unfortunately) and Espgaluda (if you have an import capable PS2 BUY THIS NOW) are very free and fun, with none of the frustration that comes from totally hosing your score as a result of dying. Their systems are also much easier to grasp than MAME'd stuff like ESPrade or Guwange, which I love but am still somewhat baffled by.
Dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU is the only other recent Cave game to get a home port. It is one of the hardest games ever made. If you're new to score gimmick shooters I strongly suggest not buying it. Actually, but it. But don't play it. It'll hurt you. Still better than Gradius V if you're into sickie kicks.
Oh, and Progear's in MAME now, isn't it? I dunno if it's well emulated, but if it's anywhere near arcade accurate it's a ton of fun, and the only hori I've put considerable time into that's on par with Gradius.
Armed Police Batrider - Also available in MAME. One of my top 3 shooters. Tons of secrets, characters and fun, simple scoring. It's also very colorful and you can see the bullets easily, so it's better than Battle Garegga! (I'm sorry all you BG luvvers, but I'm one of those folks who can't stand the tiny bullets and the shrapnel and the brown. I keep thinking I'd enjoy it more if I could play it in a cab, but I'm not going to spend $100 to find out.) I think pretty much every Raizing shooter's emulated by now, and they're all worth checking out for yourself as opinions divergent on which are the best. But for me it's Batrider, then Dimahoo, which has the greatest attract mode in the history of games.
Gunbird 2 - (Or any vert Psikyo shooter as they're all the freakin' same) Funniest endings ever. The whole coin score system's kinda irritating but I find the game so fun I don't care. Also hard as hell -- I really suck at Psikyo games for whatever reason. Has a DC port, a not-as-good PS2 port, and I think it may be emulated. Other worthwhile Psikyo stuff: Dragon Blaze (PS2 port comes out this month, but it'll probably have the same icky lack of lo-res that plagued the other Psikyo packs) which is Gunbird with dragons; the Strikers games, which are Gunbird with fighter planes; and Space Bomber, which isn't much like Gunbird but is very funny and cute.
Ikaruga - Everyone's played this by now, haven't they?
Mars Matrix
I know I'm forgetting something...
I've barely played Border Down. My DC stick is all busted and I can't bring myself to play shooters with a pad nowadays. So I dunno if it's better than Gradius V, but it is worth buying. I know it's supposedly a total bitch to find nowadays but I got a copy offa ebay for $40 or so a few months ago...Maybe I got lucky?
Shikigami no Shiro 2 got a US PS2 port. I think it's called Castle of Shikigami 2? (Kinda sad that I'm not sure, since I own it...) Not the best home port of the game, and I'm not all that into it, but it's $10. Who cares if it's not better than Gradius. It's TEN DOLLARS.
Gradius V is better than Radiant Silvergun. It is sooooo much better than Einhander. Mentioning R-Type Final in the same thread as GV kinda makes me feell icky. And it totally trounces all that 16-bit crap that hasn't aged well at all. Except M.U.S.H.A. I love that one.
Gradius V is tops, and I really can't think of a horizontal shooter I like more, but it's awfully long and the lack of a tricky scoring system keeps me from playing it often. Which is pretty much what a few other people have already said.
I prefer vertical shooters, though, so there are a bunch I think are better than Gradius V. You want:
Just about every Cave game - You'll want to start with DoDonPachi. It's probably the best shooter ever made (I'd say "definitely" but I'm soo burnt out on chaining) and it's playable in MAME. There are also a half dozen or so other Cave games in MAME, and they're all excellent but I much prefer Cave's recent work to any of them. The scoring systems in Ketsui (not yet emulated and no console port, unfortunately) and Espgaluda (if you have an import capable PS2 BUY THIS NOW) are very free and fun, with none of the frustration that comes from totally hosing your score as a result of dying. Their systems are also much easier to grasp than MAME'd stuff like ESPrade or Guwange, which I love but am still somewhat baffled by.
Dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU is the only other recent Cave game to get a home port. It is one of the hardest games ever made. If you're new to score gimmick shooters I strongly suggest not buying it. Actually, but it. But don't play it. It'll hurt you. Still better than Gradius V if you're into sickie kicks.
Oh, and Progear's in MAME now, isn't it? I dunno if it's well emulated, but if it's anywhere near arcade accurate it's a ton of fun, and the only hori I've put considerable time into that's on par with Gradius.
Armed Police Batrider - Also available in MAME. One of my top 3 shooters. Tons of secrets, characters and fun, simple scoring. It's also very colorful and you can see the bullets easily, so it's better than Battle Garegga! (I'm sorry all you BG luvvers, but I'm one of those folks who can't stand the tiny bullets and the shrapnel and the brown. I keep thinking I'd enjoy it more if I could play it in a cab, but I'm not going to spend $100 to find out.) I think pretty much every Raizing shooter's emulated by now, and they're all worth checking out for yourself as opinions divergent on which are the best. But for me it's Batrider, then Dimahoo, which has the greatest attract mode in the history of games.
Gunbird 2 - (Or any vert Psikyo shooter as they're all the freakin' same) Funniest endings ever. The whole coin score system's kinda irritating but I find the game so fun I don't care. Also hard as hell -- I really suck at Psikyo games for whatever reason. Has a DC port, a not-as-good PS2 port, and I think it may be emulated. Other worthwhile Psikyo stuff: Dragon Blaze (PS2 port comes out this month, but it'll probably have the same icky lack of lo-res that plagued the other Psikyo packs) which is Gunbird with dragons; the Strikers games, which are Gunbird with fighter planes; and Space Bomber, which isn't much like Gunbird but is very funny and cute.
Ikaruga - Everyone's played this by now, haven't they?
Mars Matrix
I know I'm forgetting something...
I've barely played Border Down. My DC stick is all busted and I can't bring myself to play shooters with a pad nowadays. So I dunno if it's better than Gradius V, but it is worth buying. I know it's supposedly a total bitch to find nowadays but I got a copy offa ebay for $40 or so a few months ago...Maybe I got lucky?
Shikigami no Shiro 2 got a US PS2 port. I think it's called Castle of Shikigami 2? (Kinda sad that I'm not sure, since I own it...) Not the best home port of the game, and I'm not all that into it, but it's $10. Who cares if it's not better than Gradius. It's TEN DOLLARS.
Gradius V is better than Radiant Silvergun. It is sooooo much better than Einhander. Mentioning R-Type Final in the same thread as GV kinda makes me feell icky. And it totally trounces all that 16-bit crap that hasn't aged well at all. Except M.U.S.H.A. I love that one.
Mermandala
Member
nitewulf said:
FE-VEER. YESSS! so impossibly hard. so impossibly fun. *piano crash* damn there goes me chain.
It is, and since it's CPS2 it emulates just as well as, well, any other CPS2 title.drohne said:
I was kind of disappointed in it, though. It's good and all, but jesus christ is it ever hard. There's shots and tanks and shit constantly coming at you from all conceivable angles.
wobedraggled
Banned
Gunhed/Blazing Lazers PCE/TG16
"soldier" series TG16/PCE
Star Parodia PCE
Image Fight II PCE
Lords of Thunder DUO
Gate of Thunder DUO
Choa Aniki PCE
Summer Carnival series
See a trend yet?
It was THE system for shooters.
"soldier" series TG16/PCE
Star Parodia PCE
Image Fight II PCE
Lords of Thunder DUO
Gate of Thunder DUO
Choa Aniki PCE
Summer Carnival series
See a trend yet?
It was THE system for shooters.
MAME and a copy of ESP Ra.De. and DoDonPachi are a good bet. I love ESP Ra.De, it's probably one of my favorite shooters. I'm thinking of getting an import PS2 just for the purpose of playing ESPGaluda. (I've seen some superplays of the game and it looks fantastic).
Einhander is fun and a bit shorter than Gradius V thankfully, I like Gradius V better (was recently playing Einhander last night and forgot how fun it could be) though. Radiant Silvergun for Saturn is also really good, but for it to be worth the price, that's up to you to decide. I'm sure the RS haters wouldn't be as opinionated on it if it weren't extremely hyped and really pricey
Also play Life Force on NES - see the true prequel to Gradius V up front.
Einhander is fun and a bit shorter than Gradius V thankfully, I like Gradius V better (was recently playing Einhander last night and forgot how fun it could be) though. Radiant Silvergun for Saturn is also really good, but for it to be worth the price, that's up to you to decide. I'm sure the RS haters wouldn't be as opinionated on it if it weren't extremely hyped and really pricey
Also play Life Force on NES - see the true prequel to Gradius V up front.
nice. i suppose i've got a date with progear this afternoon.
incidentally, i happen to be one of those garegga fanboys who loves the overwhelming brown and invisibullets. to the point that i can't enjoy bakraid or batrider in the same way, and am suspicious of ibara's pastels and anime chix and rose motif (though of course i'd still kill for a ps2 port). someone really needs to do a raizing collection on ps2...or two collections, maybe a mahou daisakusen pack and one with bakraid and batrider. eighting could take a moment out of defiling razing's legacy and throw shooter fans a bone. they're still my all-time favorite shooter developer, raizing.
incidentally, i happen to be one of those garegga fanboys who loves the overwhelming brown and invisibullets. to the point that i can't enjoy bakraid or batrider in the same way, and am suspicious of ibara's pastels and anime chix and rose motif (though of course i'd still kill for a ps2 port). someone really needs to do a raizing collection on ps2...or two collections, maybe a mahou daisakusen pack and one with bakraid and batrider. eighting could take a moment out of defiling razing's legacy and throw shooter fans a bone. they're still my all-time favorite shooter developer, raizing.
Rummy Bunnz said:
Yes, nobody knows shit about this game and i don't really know why. I could call this game "the Raiden of the TG16". It was the same gameplay upgrading your ship with colors power-up except that it was alien style scenery instead of techno/army scenery like Raiden was.
I even find Cybercore more fun than Raiden. I remember upgrading my guns with the red power-up a couple of times and actually having almost screen wide lasers and beating the shit out of ennemis beyond comprehension lol
i'd never heard of cyber core before you mentioned it. apparently it's by igs, the dodonpachi II people, and the ship designs kinda resemble the ones in that game. doesn't seem to have come out in the us...maybe i'll give it a run in an emulator, while i'm emulating.
edit: no, i guess it did come out in the us.
edit: no, i guess it did come out in the us.
G-Darius for the PSX.
Darius Gaiden for the Arcade.
Super R-Type for SNES.
R-Type Leo for the Arcade.
I played Gradius V for a bit, and it was weird. I think it was mostly control that irked me. But remind me to play it sometime again, because I really liked what I saw.
Oh yeah, I think R-Type Final is pretty cool too.
Darius Gaiden for the Arcade.
Super R-Type for SNES.
R-Type Leo for the Arcade.
I played Gradius V for a bit, and it was weird. I think it was mostly control that irked me. But remind me to play it sometime again, because I really liked what I saw.
Oh yeah, I think R-Type Final is pretty cool too.