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Shmups Are The Best Genre You Don’t Play
- Thread starter Arsic
- Start date
Alex Anderson
Member
Games where you can't stop to think are the best. Focus pocus.
I have a couple on the Lynx if I can ever pull myself away from Ms. Pac-Man. Zarlor Mercenary and Gates of Zendocon. There's a version of Raiden that's like half finished but the hell with that.
I have a couple on the Lynx if I can ever pull myself away from Ms. Pac-Man. Zarlor Mercenary and Gates of Zendocon. There's a version of Raiden that's like half finished but the hell with that.
BlackTron
Gold Member
Pretty much this. Back in 6th gen when I was in the kinda weird gaming dumps, I turned to back catalogs on existing systems and burned the JP version of Ikaruga for Dreamcast. The experience discovering this title GREATLY reinvigorated my excitement for gaming at the time. Now I think it's the 1 game I own on the most platforms lol
Crayon
Member
You can get used to playing on your lap pretty easily. Seems weird that it's not "installed" on a surface but it's actually more comfortable imo.
RickMasters
Member
This..... They are too chaotic. I like the whole 'master the attack patterns and use the right power ups at the right time' style of gameplay of old shmups. but radiant silvergun and ikaruga are exceptions to the rule here, two of the finest skill based shmups ever made. Id love a arcade perfect port of air buster, with scan lines and a 16:9 screen format. and darius.....we dont get enough Darius anymore.
GeekyDad
Member
I know I may get thrashed for saying this, but my favorite way to play these games (though I also own most of them on Steam as well) is on my mobile device. I had all of the Cave games on my Android and some now on my iPhone (though it seems they don't have Bug Princess or Resurrection
). With your finger and the way they made the screen layout simple and easy, it's just a blast. If you have an Android phone, you should have access to the best of their best.
Dr. Suchong
Member
I'm rubbish at them, but love them.
Anyone dipping a toe into shmups should consider Gleylancer. It's not too hard and will give you the fundamentals to hit the ground running with other shmups.
I'm wrestling with Thunder force 4 atm, although the damage indication on larger enemies and bosses throws me. You have blue and red damage indication. I'm assuming red is the weak point?
Super Aleste on the Snes is also amazing although I'm not sure if you can play it on anything outside the original hardware /emulation.
Anyone dipping a toe into shmups should consider Gleylancer. It's not too hard and will give you the fundamentals to hit the ground running with other shmups.
I'm wrestling with Thunder force 4 atm, although the damage indication on larger enemies and bosses throws me. You have blue and red damage indication. I'm assuming red is the weak point?
Super Aleste on the Snes is also amazing although I'm not sure if you can play it on anything outside the original hardware /emulation.
nush
Member
There's like every Darius game on PlayStation and more now. Check them out.
RickMasters
Member
I would if I had a playstation or a switch. I have an xbox, so I cant get any darius love on this console. Seeing all the retro stuff on the switch has left me wanting one! maybe during the course of this year Ill treat myself to one. I love my old school shooters.
GutsOfThor
Member
I picked up the Darius cozmic collection for switch last week and was saddened how shit my reflexes are now compared to when I played them when I was younger. Still having fun though.
Anyone remember Strike Gunner on SNES?
Anyone remember Strike Gunner on SNES?
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diffusionx
Gold Member
I want to get one of these things.
The_hunter
Member
Game looks fun, same devs as Sakuna, will add to backlog.
The new game by team ladybug looks good, Drainus
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
you get lulled into a trance and a state of flow when it comes to fast paced games like this. I can say that for quite a lot of games but it's especially prevalent in shooters and rhythm games
missing a note or dying fucks the flow entirely up and most times i just quit and leave to the main menu because i cant deal with the loss ;(
rsouzadk
Member
I bought Nex Machina on pre-order for ps4, beat it once, and never really get into it (more hardcore playing i think).
Recently i got it to try the plat, and man, i was rusty as hell, but then i've became so addicted to the gameplay that i've platinumed it, got it on steam and did all achievements, and even got it on gog and did 100% achievements too.
Now and then i am always doing 1cc on veteran.
Something about that game has clicked on me. Housemarque are genious on this genre.
Recently i got it to try the plat, and man, i was rusty as hell, but then i've became so addicted to the gameplay that i've platinumed it, got it on steam and did all achievements, and even got it on gog and did 100% achievements too.
Now and then i am always doing 1cc on veteran.
Something about that game has clicked on me. Housemarque are genious on this genre.
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Dr. Suchong
Member
The_hunter
Member
Supposed to come out Feb 2nd on switch.Drainus looks awesomeWill investigate.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
They’re on PC as well if you have that option.
midnightAI
Member
I'll post the one I'm working on, if any mods object to it then they can delete this post. The game is called Eclipse: Hypernova (subject to change) and is based on a mobile shmup (windows phone) me and someone else made in 2004 which was called Eclipse: First Wave
Apologies for the audio and video quality my PC at the time wasnt the best so struggled with the capture and this is years old.
Lots has changed (I've toned down the bloom, lots more animation on things like the main ship and enemy ships, the whole weapons system has had a revamp etc.) and this is just a small section of the first level + the title screen (which has also had some changes).
Apologies for the audio and video quality my PC at the time wasnt the best so struggled with the capture and this is years old.
Lots has changed (I've toned down the bloom, lots more animation on things like the main ship and enemy ships, the whole weapons system has had a revamp etc.) and this is just a small section of the first level + the title screen (which has also had some changes).
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fart town usa
Member
I plan on making a thread once I have it and get it running smoothly. There's a surprisingly lack of detailed info on it from current owners for the most part.
fart town usa
Member
Shout out to Tyrian as well. It's kind of like "baby's first shmup" but it's soooooo good. The music, visuals, gameplay. I like that it's really approachable, just a damn fun game and is free on GOG. Definitely download it if youve never played it
I play on Plasma
Holy Fuck! that looks Amazing.This is one of my most anticipated titles of the year:
And this still doesnt have a release date but the more they show me of it the more I want it.
Cute girl, lots of bullet and giant boss battles......thats smells like GOTY to me.
CamHostage
Member
I always lament that The Guardian Legend by Compile didn't have more influence on the SHUMP genre.
TGL was a merger of shooter and Zelda; a SHMUPtroidvania, sorta.
It was a hardcore shoot-em-up, but it also had RPG aspects in an overworld to give you a variety of options to take if you're getting your ass handed to you. You can upgrade your character (but with limits on the EXP system so you don't just grind your way to overpowering stages... you still have to git gud,) you gain a huge variety of unique weapons (which have shared ammo resources, so there's a give-and-take between the awesome ones and the ones that drain less resources,) you have on-foot sections which uses similar weapon techniques but play differently (and sometimes have puzzles to them or reasons to come back through them,) and you often have access to multiple SHMUP stages at a time to push different skills or earn new abilities if one stage proves too tough. The game's extensive run and multiple collectibles link with a password system to maintain your progress. The SHMUP stages can be brutal (the opening alone is an assault on your senses with a high-speed trench run where obstacles come almost faster than you can see them, followed by a boss that is just a massive wall of laser-shooting eyeballs... many don't make it past the first 3 minutes of gameplay,) and its enemy system is rather unique in that attacks often home in on you instead of littering the battlefield, so you play with an eye on your energy and clearance power rather than trying to be perfect, instead using the full range of your health bar and using risk-reward for what power-ups you chase when they appear. It's hard, it's varied, and it's what I thought for decades would have been the "future of SHMUPs", but it never happened.
Over the years, there have been a few attempts at doing something like The Guardian Legend, but not many. Most notably, Wayforward had a well-intentioned, ill-fated GBA game called Sigma Star Saga in its rising-star period as a little but notable GBA developer (it was published by Namco, but I don't think it had enough funding/time for the project they were trying to make and also SHMUPs take certain skills that maybe Wayforward didn't have... despite returning to many of the gameplay systems it explored in the early-aughts, they've never tried a spiritual successor to Sigma Star Saga or fit SHMUP gameplay into any of its other licensed/indie projects.) Before then, there were a few games that combined flying and exploring, but not quite with the same formula. Akuu Senki Raijin on FDS has both flying and shooting, but they're on the same level maps in a weird hybrid style. Compati Hero Great Battle Gaiden 2 on Super Famicom had SHMUP stages as one of the minigames you could jump into from the central platforming levels, but these are just among the multiple minigame types (including an Arkanoid minigame and other play types.) And then, a few indies have over the years tried to do their own TGL, but most never made it through development. Steel Seraph came out in December and is ugly but inexpensive so maybe try that on PC. There's also a beta out for the seemingly abandoned Zodiac: The Guardian Story. And there's an interesting project called Astrolancer which has been in the works for a while but doesn't have a finishing line set yet and it's also more bullethell than typical SHMUP. Also, some home developers and indies have tried making HD versions of TGL, but they've all crashed and burned as far as I know.
Still could be the future of SHUMPs (or at least "a future", for developers avoiding the genre because it doesn't have the epic, lengthy feel needed to attract sales outside of SHMUP fans) if only some developer would explore it...
TGL was a merger of shooter and Zelda; a SHMUPtroidvania, sorta.
It was a hardcore shoot-em-up, but it also had RPG aspects in an overworld to give you a variety of options to take if you're getting your ass handed to you. You can upgrade your character (but with limits on the EXP system so you don't just grind your way to overpowering stages... you still have to git gud,) you gain a huge variety of unique weapons (which have shared ammo resources, so there's a give-and-take between the awesome ones and the ones that drain less resources,) you have on-foot sections which uses similar weapon techniques but play differently (and sometimes have puzzles to them or reasons to come back through them,) and you often have access to multiple SHMUP stages at a time to push different skills or earn new abilities if one stage proves too tough. The game's extensive run and multiple collectibles link with a password system to maintain your progress. The SHMUP stages can be brutal (the opening alone is an assault on your senses with a high-speed trench run where obstacles come almost faster than you can see them, followed by a boss that is just a massive wall of laser-shooting eyeballs... many don't make it past the first 3 minutes of gameplay,) and its enemy system is rather unique in that attacks often home in on you instead of littering the battlefield, so you play with an eye on your energy and clearance power rather than trying to be perfect, instead using the full range of your health bar and using risk-reward for what power-ups you chase when they appear. It's hard, it's varied, and it's what I thought for decades would have been the "future of SHMUPs", but it never happened.
Over the years, there have been a few attempts at doing something like The Guardian Legend, but not many. Most notably, Wayforward had a well-intentioned, ill-fated GBA game called Sigma Star Saga in its rising-star period as a little but notable GBA developer (it was published by Namco, but I don't think it had enough funding/time for the project they were trying to make and also SHMUPs take certain skills that maybe Wayforward didn't have... despite returning to many of the gameplay systems it explored in the early-aughts, they've never tried a spiritual successor to Sigma Star Saga or fit SHMUP gameplay into any of its other licensed/indie projects.) Before then, there were a few games that combined flying and exploring, but not quite with the same formula. Akuu Senki Raijin on FDS has both flying and shooting, but they're on the same level maps in a weird hybrid style. Compati Hero Great Battle Gaiden 2 on Super Famicom had SHMUP stages as one of the minigames you could jump into from the central platforming levels, but these are just among the multiple minigame types (including an Arkanoid minigame and other play types.) And then, a few indies have over the years tried to do their own TGL, but most never made it through development. Steel Seraph came out in December and is ugly but inexpensive so maybe try that on PC. There's also a beta out for the seemingly abandoned Zodiac: The Guardian Story. And there's an interesting project called Astrolancer which has been in the works for a while but doesn't have a finishing line set yet and it's also more bullethell than typical SHMUP. Also, some home developers and indies have tried making HD versions of TGL, but they've all crashed and burned as far as I know.
Still could be the future of SHUMPs (or at least "a future", for developers avoiding the genre because it doesn't have the epic, lengthy feel needed to attract sales outside of SHMUP fans) if only some developer would explore it...
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Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Your exact question got asked earlier in the thread. Myself, and a few others recommended a few titles. Check that out for some goodies. My PlayStation five is where I have the majority of my titles played on. Keep in mind to as I mentioned in the other post, even a potato can run the majority of these games, so don’t be afraid if you have some kind of basic laptop.
Raiden games are good, and I enjoyed number five quite a bit. However, some of the absolute best games in the genre are created by a developer named cave. An easy one to try out from them on PlayStation five is pro gear. You can play it through the Capcom arcade collection. One of the specific volumes has it, and about four other titles as well from other developers. Pro gear is a horizontal shooter.
Ketsui is a really good cave title to pick up on the PlayStation.
cinnamonandgravy
Member
shmups suck
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RickMasters
Member
Yes I do...steam? I dont wanna mess with emulators. Especially not on the same computers I do work on.
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RickMasters
Member
How dare you! take that back! ....lol...nah but seriously you are missing out! you probably never played the good stuff!shmups suck
diffusionx
Gold Member
It's basically the first genre of videogame, if they suck then we wouldnt have any of thisshmups suck
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Hypereides
Member
Its one of the genres I dig the most and one of those that are an embodiment of pure skill.
Granted, I'm not very good at them, but Its admirable whenever someone manages to accomplish something crazy like 1CC in Ikaruga. Btw, if any of you got the platinum in Raiden IV: overkill then I salute you.
Granted, I'm not very good at them, but Its admirable whenever someone manages to accomplish something crazy like 1CC in Ikaruga. Btw, if any of you got the platinum in Raiden IV: overkill then I salute you.
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Majormaxxx
Member
My problem is that the genre is too difficult.
I enjoy completing games and the only one I've finished is Xenoraid.
And it was hard!
I enjoy completing games and the only one I've finished is Xenoraid.
And it was hard!
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Steam. You’ll find more shmups on PC than any other platform.
These go on sale pretty often too, and I’m sure you can find deals on Steam keys at official key sellers like Fanatical, Greemnmangaming, and Humble.
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F31 Leopard
Member
I really liked Shmups that had cool story intros like Gaiares, M.U.S.H.A and Sol-Feace. I wish shmups would have a story mode and have in chat dialouge like Assault Suits Valken (not a Shmup).
Assault Suits Valken
Assault Suits Valken
Jack Package
Member
Drainus is as brilliant as it is unfortunately named.Yeah, I haven't really played a lot of shmups. But Drainus looked cool and Platinum released a new Sol game that was received pretty well.
Also got Astrabreed on a sale under 4 bucks.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Drainus looks awesome.
I’m curious about the Cotton games, which I never got around to playing. Anyone have thoughts on those?
I’m curious about the Cotton games, which I never got around to playing. Anyone have thoughts on those?
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RickMasters
Member
Oh god! This just made my day! thanks for the link, dude! I havent played them since my sega saturn days. locking off my phones as soon as work finish!
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Oh, you might be interested in this is well. I had Galactic Attack on Saturn, and loved it. There’s a few Saturn tribute games available!
Just click on the publisher and you can view their other offerings.
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RickMasters
Member
I had a cotton game on saturn.This was back in the 90s, so its been decades since I played that game. it was dope. saturn had so many great shmups. Im guessing we can get them on steam these days too? Im gonna have a search for it later. get it if you have something that can play it.
RickMasters
Member
I have this one on the xbox. plays every bit as well as I remeber it did in the arcades and on saturn. I was actually playing this back to back with daytona USA last night as it goes. I even had snoop dogg' doggy style album on blast. Really took me back to the 90s for a moment.
fart town usa
Member
Satiator arrived today and I've been testing/trying games in the living room. Wife was watching me play DoDonPachi.
Me to her, "What'd you think of that?!"
"I think I'd like that game...."
gameplay is cued up.
Me to her, "What'd you think of that?!"
"I think I'd like that game...."
gameplay is cued up.
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saintjules
Gold Member
Surprised no one mentioned Nick Arcade. This is where I learned about shmups when I was growing up (timestamp):
fart town usa
Member
Finally got to play the Saturn version of Darius Gaiden. This track right here. My god, no words...
This game too. Watch this for a few minutes. The art style is just incredible.
This game too. Watch this for a few minutes. The art style is just incredible.
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fart town usa
Member
I know there are a bunch on PS4/PS5 but I don't know the names.
This video might help.
10 Best Shoot-Em-Ups You Can Play On PS5, Ranked
Shoot-em-ups, colloquially known as shmups, are roaring good times, and here are the best ones you can play on the PS5.
www.thegamer.com
Raiden is cool but I've only played a few.
If you've never played a shmup, I feel like vertical shmups are generally easier to get into. Horizontal shmups always seemed way more difficult to me.
gunstarhero
Member
Some releases (on console anyway) that are worth checking out, outside of the usually mentions:
Graze Counter GM
Drainus (Switch/PC only atm)
Barrage Fantasia
Cotton Rock n Roll
GG Aleste 3 (import only/Aleste collection)
Some of those are very beginner friendly (Graze Counter, Barrage Fantasia and GG Aleste 3), but are still awesome fun.
Graze Counter GM
Drainus (Switch/PC only atm)
Barrage Fantasia
Cotton Rock n Roll
GG Aleste 3 (import only/Aleste collection)
Some of those are very beginner friendly (Graze Counter, Barrage Fantasia and GG Aleste 3), but are still awesome fun.
Kruza
Member
Whoa... I had no idea that Sega currently owns the IPs for Thunder Force games. I for one would love to get a compilation package of the Thunder Force series someday!
Also, I wonder if anyone has played the modern port of Raiden IV on the Xbox Series X system yet. I'm interested in getting this game myself, but wanted to find out other people's impressions first.