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[Boogiepop]

I realized recently that I've honestly got limited with this genre that's been around for quite some time. Hell, outside of going waaaay back to like Galaga and stuff, I've only really touched a handful.

For the sake of clarity, I can easily access anything available on: Wii VC (English or Japanese), WiiU VC (US), 3DS VC (English or Japanese), and any modern PS system's online stuff. And I guess feel free to throw on suggestions for any games that are still in a reasonable price point physically for any of those consoles or earlier ones from either company. In theory I could do PC as well, but that's not preferable for me if I can help it.

First and foremost of what I've touched: Cho Aniki! The first game's actually not half bad. It's not super complex or anything, but it functions just fine and is totally worth playing through for the insanity. Plus it's actually got a legitimately good soundtrack, with Sexy Dynamite being still something I regularly pop on to listen to. Sadly the competence of the series kind of begins and ends there, though. Ai Cho Aniki has some similar style, but it's overly simplistic in a lot of ways. Plus the weird fighting game controls are eeeeh. And then the PS1 game may be the height of craziness for the series, but it's baaaaaad, and I can't make it anywhere in it either. The PSP game isn't 100% awful though, and feels mostly like a watered down version of the original game in a lot of ways. Though that said, IIRC, there is also a PS2 game or something that I've never touched. Oh, and I also have but haven't dug into the related Gynoag (or however that's spelled).

For a more "serious" game, though, I have played and enjoyed Ikaruga back on the Gamecube a lot. And both Sin and Punishment games, plus Star Fox (and 64, and the less good games in the franchise too). Oh, and Castle of Shikigami III, which I was kind of eh on. Put in the effort to beat it, but it wasn't without building up a number more continues.

That actually brings up my big issue and caveat: I'm not honestly particularly good at these things, and if I'm stuck with limited continues, I'm probably not gonna have a great time. As in, after a while, it starts to wear me down when I, say, need to push through stages 1 and 2 (which I've long since got down) just to have a chance at trying to slowly learn the back half of the game, and I thus end up needing to replay the early content over and over and over.


tldr: Recommend me some space/scrolling shooters, but preferably ones where I don't need to worry about limited continues and/or really intense difficulty.

 

[StrangeRoboMemory]

R-Type 3 for SNES is probably my favorite, awesome weapons and bosses. I would also check out MUSHA and Gleylancer for Megadrive, incredible music in those games.

Oh, and re: your difficulty concerns, Gleylancer in particular is pretty easy, but none of these three games are that tough...well, maybe MUSHA. Also, if you want something kind of different, Guardian Legend is an amazing and underrated game for NES that combines fast-paced SHUMP sections with an action/adventure RPG ala Zelda or especially Startropics.

 

[letmetrythisname]

Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours has an absurd amount of content (literally over 3000 levels) and much of it is fairly easy in my opinion.

 

[Boogiepop]

Thanks a ton guys, really appreciate it! I'll be sure to give those a look! Also, I just remembered that Gradius V has the Treasure connection, so that actually has my eye now. Is that an especially good one to look into, or not really?

 

[mr jones]

Can I recommend getting a cheap Xbox 360?

There are LOTs of decent shooters on it, including some Japanese versions that are region free.

 

[fester]

Sorry, I couldn't tell, is PS3 an option for you? If so, Soldner-X is a good choice and I had a lot of fun with it. Gradius V is awesome and I play that on the PS3, too.

 

[Boogiepop]

Sorry, I couldn't tell, is PS3 an option for you? If so, Soldner-X is a good choice and I had a lot of fun with it. Gradius V is awesome and I play that on the PS3, too.

Yeah, to clarify, more accurately, I've got PS1-4, PSP, and a PSTV, so that's definitely an option. And thanks!

 

[PassiveObserver]

Blazing Star, Soldier Blade, and Super Star Soldier are all good beginner shmups. You'll feel powerful in the first couple stages, before the heat gets turned up. They're PC-Engine originals and should be available on Wii VC.

 

[Remembrance]

Thanks a ton guys, really appreciate it! I'll be sure to give those a look! Also, I just remembered that Gradius V has the Treasure connection, so that actually has my eye now. Is that an especially good one to look into, or not really?

Gradius V is a good one, but be warned that it's from the generation where you had to unlock continues through playtime - just like some of those other games you mentioned.

On PSP, you can access a treasure trove of shmup collections and PS1 classics... on Japanese PSN. Outside of Japan the selection is much more limited, but just off the top of my head you can get Gradius Collection for all the Gradius games other than V.

The PS3 has only a handful of shmups on PSN - Raiden IV Overkill and Under Defeat come to mind, but not much else. If you import, you can get Ketsui, which is a must-play.

I honestly don't know what's available for Nintendo consoles other than Ultimate Shooting Collection on Wii, which includes a few games that are decent but not classics.

Steam and 360 have by far more shmups than any of those platforms except PSP. The selection on Steam is light on classics but heavy on newer indie games, and growing all the time. The 360 is, by far, the powerhouse in terms of a definitive collection of big-name shmups. These platforms also tend to have newer games with easier modes or more accessible design sensibility for newcomers.

 

[galvatron]

Blazing Star, Soldier Blade, and Super Star Soldier are all good beginner shmups. You'll feel powerful in the first couple stages, before the heat gets turned up. They're PC-Engine originals and should be available on Wii VC.

Blazing Star is Neo Geo. I've heard Blazing Lasers on PC Engine isn't bad, but I agree with recommending Blazing Star as you can go deep on the scoring by collecting and never missing a gem, or just try to beat the game. Also, the variety of ships to choose from can really keep the game fresh.

 

[Klappdrachen]

Chances are you already played Life Force for NES, but I still want to mention it. I really enjoyed the organic setting and the soundtrack is just outstanding IMO. It's short and can be very challenging in the beginning, but once you have acclimated yourself to it's mechanics and enemy patterns, it becomes very satisfying to play. You can find it on the eShop.

Gynoug, which you mentioned in your post, is just phenomenal, albeit very difficult when you near the end of the game (yes I suck. I couldn't finish the final boss lol).

 

[PassiveObserver]

Blazing Star is Neo Geo. I've heard Blazing Lasers on PC Engine isn't bad, but I agree with recommending Blazing Star as you can go deep on the scoring by collecting and never missing a gem, or just try to beat the game. Also, the variety of ships to choose from can really keep the game fresh.

Whoops, I meant Blazing Lazers.

 

[PingPongvonLaserstein]

Chances are you already played Life Force for NES, but I still want to mention it.

I'm pretty confident Life Force is my most played game ever. I must have played through it a couple of hundred times over thirty years.

 

[Klappdrachen]

I'm pretty confident Life Force is my most played game ever. I must have played through it a couple of hundred times over thirty years.

I just recently rediscovered it and thought I could give it a whirl. I didn't expect it to blow me away the way it did. Wonderful game.