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[Instigator]

... are part of the Metal Slug series.

It's hard choice because there are some heavy contenders, but Metal Slug ultimately comes up on top because it has something very important: personality.

At first glance, this game may seem nothing more Contra lite. And if the player was limited to being on foot, naysayers could have a point, but the addition of vehicules makes all the difference. That and all the attention to detail this series has...

These types of games have very straightforward gameplay so it often all comes down to how the action is presented. Early 8 and 16-bit games were often limited by cart sizes whereas their modern cousins, often low priority projects, use sloppy 3D to impress gamers. I believe Metal Slug wins because it pushes the Neo Geo hardware to the limit, delivering a polished 2D game rarely seen in the past and certainly less so today.

Metal Slug proved to be a successful series, spawning a series of sequels year after year, building on the foundation the previous game had. The first game will always be the true classic, but Metal Slug 2 and 3 have enough novel ideas to make them good enough.

 

[Ryudo]

Smash TV

 

[The End]

ESPgaluda, DoDonPachi, Progear, ESPRa.de, Ikaruga, Bangaioh, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V, Layer Section...

 

[Tellaerin]

...scroll vertically.

 

[The End]

...scroll vertically.

...are developed by Cave


would have also been an appropriate response.

 

[DCharlie]

... are awesome in their simpleness...

 

[djtiesto]

...scroll vertically.

Gradius V begs to differ

 

[Outlaw]

Einhander

 

[Instigator]

For me, shooters and shoot-em-ups are not the same thing.

 

[zmet]

Mercs was great just for the simple fact you can play 3 (or was it 4?) players. Some good running and gunning there...
Yeah, the Metal Slug series is great! I just wished you can shot all your weapons diagonally.

 

[APF]

...are developed by Cave

I definitely AWTP.

Mercs was great just for the simple fact you can play 3 (or was it 4?) players. Some good running and gunning there...

3p IIRC. The Shock Trooper games build off of Mercs a lot; only 2p though.

 

[Ponn]

Einhander

Man speaks the truth. Now I want my PSP port and a sequel on the PS3 or 360.

 

[Borys]

 

[MrAngryFace]

Battle Garegga was pretty intense on the saturn, and pretty awesome fun!

 

[Link316]

Contra > Metal Slug

dunno how to explain this, but when I die in Contra its usually my own fault, however when I die in Metal Slug it usually feels "cheap"

 

[Jeffahn]

...

 

[Fularu]

...scroll vertically.

Pro gear, Bangaio or Gradius V don't....

 

[Fularu]

...are developed by Cave


would have also been an appropriate response.

Neither

Ikaruga, Bangaio or Gradius V are Treasure games, Layer Section is a Taito game the rest is cave though, what'S amusing is that you are refering your own post

 

[The End]

Neither

Ikaruga, Bangaio or Gradius V are Treasure games, Layer Section is a Taito game the rest is cave though, what'S amusing is that you are refering your own post

I'm well aware.

 

[Calidor]

Parodius!!

 

[zmet]

3p IIRC. The Shock Trooper games build off of Mercs a lot; only 2p though.

Was this a Neo Geo game?

 

[djtiesto]

Was this a Neo Geo game?

Arcade, not sure if they ever got a cartridge or CD release on the Neo Geo systems... The first one's not bad, although the whole aiming system is kinda weird (Mercs is a lot better, IMO), and the music's pretty strange (in a good way), I think I remember one rap song on the soundtrack or something. The second one sports some hideous DKC style rendered graphics, the first one looks pretty nice, though.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Battle Garegga was pretty intense on the saturn, and pretty awesome fun!

He speaks the truth! It rocks!

 

[PC Gaijin]

The best shoot-em-up ever made was Robotron 2084. Kudos to Ryudo for mentioning Smash TV though.

Aside from Robotron, my favorite shooters were from Compile (the ones done in the vein of Aleste) and the Star Soldier series. I don't care for the "bullet hell" style most modern shooters aspire to.

 

[Instigator]

Smash TV and Robotron were far too repetitive.

 

[The End]

My top 5:

1)Ikaruga
2)DoDonPachi DaiOuJou/ESPgaluda (tie)
3)Zanac Neo
4)Layer Section
5)Cannon Spike

 

[bob_arctor]

Layer Section's my current fave. Gaires is probably one of my all-time faves, along with MUSHA. I really love the Strikers series, well, mostly the superior port of the 1st one on the Saturn. Once I get my mitts on Salamander 2 though, I'm sure that'll be up there as well.

 

[Instigator]

How could so many people be wrong in a single thread?

 

[callous]

Border Down.

 

[bob_arctor]

Oh yeah, this is one's up there as well:

 

[The End]

well...

6)Progear
7)Bangaioh
8)Batrider
9)Border Down
10)Psyvariar II

 

[APF]

Arcade, not sure if they ever got a cartridge or CD release on the Neo Geo systems... The first one's not bad, although the whole aiming system is kinda weird (Mercs is a lot better, IMO), and the music's pretty strange (in a good way), I think I remember one rap song on the soundtrack or something. The second one sports some hideous DKC style rendered graphics, the first one looks pretty nice, though.

Shock Troopers 2 isn't bad for what it is, and it does try to have some of the same personality/quirkiness of the Metal Slug games. I didn't mind the aiming system, although I found getting into vehicles pretty useless, and jumping to dodge bullets combined with frequent slowdown took the challenge out of potentially-intense firefights.

 

[Ash Housewares]

I liked

Raiden
Metal Slug
Mad TV
Total Carnage

and Mercs was fun back in the day

 

[Tellaerin]

Pro gear, Bangaio or Gradius V don't....

Those are all terrific games, Bangaio and Gradius V in particular. Still, at the end of the day, vertical > horizontal.

Aside from Robotron, my favorite shooters were from Compile (the ones done in the vein of Aleste) and the Star Soldier series.

You, sir, are a man of exquisite taste.

 

[DDayton]

... is Galaga.

 

[captmcblack]

...are/were developed by COMPILE.

 

[Reilly]

[/thread]

 

[Uter]

For me, shooters and shoot-em-ups are not the same thing.

What is the difference then?

How could so many people be wrong in a single thread?

Obviously you must have the definitive definition then, do enlighten us.

 

[Cafeman]

... started with River Raid!

 

[FirstInHell]

Gradius V is the best shooter you can buy. Pure old school bliss.

 

[fatty]

Here's a thread that I had where many people gave a lot of great suggestions:

Name some of your favorite shooters

I'm still trying to track down a lot of these but I've picked up quite a few at relatively cheap prices.

By the way, I've since played Gradius V and it is pure gaming bliss.

 

[Anyanka]

The best shooter is Sunset Riders. Or at least it's the one with the best voice acting.

 

[fatty]

Bury me with my money!

 

[gunstarhero]

Thunderforce series

Gradius V

Ikaruga

Gunstar Heroes

and if we're including 3D rail shooters, then PD Orta > all.

 

[swordsman]

My list:
Thunder force V (Genesis / Megadrive)
Layer Section (Sega Saturn)
Radiant Silvergun (Sega Saturn)
Ikaruga (DC)
Zero wings (Genesis / Megadrive)
Super Aleste (Super Nintendo)
UN squadron (Super Nintendo)
Gun hed (PC-Engine)

 

[Tim the Wiz]

http://www.classicgaming.com/thedump/tg16/usgames/blazing1.gif

Fuck yeah!

1. Blazing Lazers (PC Engine/TG-16)

Oh, yeah. There's a couple of others that are nearly as great as the above gem:

Contra III: Alien Wars (SNES)
Gunstar Heroes (Mega Drive/Genesis)
Ikaruga (DC/GC)
Gradius V (PS2)
Gunhed (PC Engine/TG-16)
R-Type
Battle Garegga (Saturn)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Batsugan (Saturn)
Soukyugurentai (Saturn)
Metal Slug (Neo Geo)
Bangai-O (Saturn)
Air Zonk (PC Engine/TG-16)
Layer Section/Rayforce (Saturn)

 

[Leatherface]

 

[akascream]

My favorite shooters are 3D, so maybe they don't count. I always liked the metal slug series though. Not so much because of the gameplay, because I don't like gameplay that is designed around getting quarters/tokens, but because the art just fucking rules.

 

[Instigator]

What is the difference then?



Obviously you must have the definitive definition then, do enlighten us.

He he, to me, shooters are the traditional horizontal and vertical-scrolling (and even isometric ones like Zaxxon or Viewpoint) games, with a space ship or other vehicule that dodges bullet and fires back. There's no control over progress, the game just slowly leads you to each point and you just have to survive through it.

Games like Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes and Contra feature characters, walking on foot, often similar to platformers, but more straightforward and with an emphasis on the shooting part rather going to A to B to C. Those games are sometimes called action games, but I prefer the term shoot-em-ups to differentiate them from real action games like Shinobi (platforming, shooting, close range attacks) or beat-em-ups like Final Fight (plain close combat versus multiple opponents).

 

[Tain]

Cave is pretty good, overall.

By 'pretty good', I mean that I'm kinda iffy on most of their games (though I can see that most are good), and DoDonPachi rocks my world.

I still consider Gradius V to be better than anything Cave has done, though, and miles better than Silvergun. Which, really, is miles better than Ikaruga. Never could get too into Ikaruga.

And Metal Slug 3 is the greatest Contra-esque game on the planet.

Oh, and before I forget;


Play this game or burn in hell.

Warning Forever is the king of freeware shmups.

Also, see Kenta Cho's games: