Rick Dangerous Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 What---in your opinion, are the best SHMUPS? I've played a few over the years but realize this is a deep genre with many games I probably haven't played. What, across all classic systems, are your favorite shmups from decades past up to recent history? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 honestly the one shmup series that I keep going back to is the Parodius series. such a WEIRD set of games, but the audio and visuals i think are engaging and the gameplay is a cool take on the side-scrolling Konami stuff. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerSuperman Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 (edited) *Everyone just pastes their top 5 from the Atari 2600 shooting voting thread* Honestly, I think SHMUPS got less appealing to me over time. I feel like the addiction the older games had was lost in favor of artificial difficulty and graphics. With that said I liked me some After Burner, Thunder Force, Raiden and R-Type once in awhile but once I finished them they had little replay value. Edited October 1, 2018 by TigerSuperman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share Posted October 1, 2018 If you don't mind---if you mention a game, say what port/system you thought it was best on! Thanks for the ideas so far! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I recently picked up Gunnac for the Nes and I really like it . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 (edited) hehe Sexy Parodius - Arcade/MAME Parodius Fantastic Journey (I think this is the title, the one I played is also called 'Gokujō Parodius') - SNES Edited October 1, 2018 by digdugnate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I love shooters... I suck at them, but I still love them... River Raid - 2600 Galaxian - 2600 Millipede - 2600 1943 - NES Lifeforce - NES Legendary Wings - NES Galaga - Arcade Galaga '90/Galaga '88 - TurboGrafx-16 R-Type - TurboGrafx-16 Blazing Lazers - TurboGrafx-16 Super Star Soldier - TurboGrafx-16 Gate of Thunder - TurboCD Raiden - TurboGrafx-16 Thunder Force III - Genesis (and Thunder Spirits on SNES) MUSHA - Genesis Truxton - Genesis Tempest 2000 - Jaguar Einhander - PS Panzer Dragoon - Saturn Darius Gaiden - Saturn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I love shooters... I suck at them, but I still love them... River Raid - 2600 Galaxian - 2600 Millipede - 2600 1943 - NES Lifeforce - NES Legendary Wings - NES Galaga - Arcade Galaga '90/Galaga '88 - TurboGrafx-16 R-Type - TurboGrafx-16 Blazing Lazers - TurboGrafx-16 Super Star Soldier - TurboGrafx-16 Gate of Thunder - TurboCD Raiden - TurboGrafx-16 Thunder Force III - Genesis (and Thunder Spirits on SNES) MUSHA - Genesis Truxton - Genesis Tempest 2000 - Jaguar Einhander - PS Panzer Dragoon - Saturn Darius Gaiden - Saturn ooh, i forgot about galaga 88 / galaga 90. those were great additions to the game. i thought of some more! Cosmo Gang: The Video (arcade and SNES) Attack of the Mutant Camels (C64) Gridrunner Revolution (PC) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I'm a big fan of: Aero Fighters 2 on Neo Geo Recca (especially the Recca Pure hack) for Famicom/NES Raystorm on Playstation crimzon clover world ignition on PC Sturmwind on Dreamcast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 My favorite shooter publisher is COMPILE, makers of Zanac, Aleste, etc. My favorite game of that group is probably MUSHA, but Super Aleste for the Super Famicom, Spriggan for the Turbo CD, Power Strike II for the Master System and Zanac x Zanac for the PlayStation are right up there. I love this series, and the related cousin games such as Blazin Lazers. The R-Type series is probably my second favorite shooter series. I've probably played R-Type too many times to enjoy it the same way I used to, but Delta and Final are still fun and have a lot of replay value. When you hew closer to the bullet hell side of things, my favorite Game for sheer repeat play is Mars Matrix, which you can play on the Dreamcast. The chain experience/currency system is not complicated to figure out (as with many other shooters of this type) and lead to actual rewards and unlocks as opposed to just high score wankery. I much prefer Parodius to Gradius. The Saturn has a great Parodius collection if you want to track it down. While I'm okay at shooters, I really suck at the Darius series, but I still enjoy it. The recent Dariusburst provides almost too much in the way of customization and replay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I've been shooting things since I mastered Space Invaders as a 10 year old in the late 70's, but I have to say that what comes to mind as the first shmup that really brought home that fast "action" that really made me take notice? It has to be Star Force.. that game is one of the all-time greats. Next on my list is Terra Cresta.. the semi-ish sequel to Moon Cresta (another favorite). Terra Cresta had that very cool power-up mechanism with the collecting of additional ship "parts", and trying to keep them alive long enough to transform into the invincible Phoenix.. great fun. When you get to the more modern stuff.. I dug Tiger Heli a lot.. and I think the original Raiden still holds up to this day. But really I'm a fan of the "Strikers" series of games which aren't total bullet hell style but fast paced enough to make dodging shots fun. I dunno.. it's just such a huge category 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Here is a few of my favorite's Life Force-Nes ikaruga- PC or dreamcast Radiant Silvergun-Saturn DoDonPachi-mame Un Squaron-Snes Battle Garegga-Saturn Soukyugurentai-Saturn Twinkle Star Sprites-Neo Geo Strikers 1945 II-Mame RayStorm/Layer Section II-Saturn Truxton II-Mame Air Gallet-Mame Dogyuun -Mame Progear-mame Blazing Star-Neo Geo Viewpoint-Neo Geo Mame can be Arcade 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8_is_enuff Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 My all-time faves: Robotron (coin-op) Tempest 2000 (Jag) Millipede (2600) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Too many to name.Some of my favorites: Radiant Silvergun (arcade, Xbox 360, Saturn) Strikers 1945 II (arcade, PS1, Saturn, Switch, etc) R-Type Delta (PS1) Raiden (arcade and PS1 versions specifically) Giga Wing (arcade, Dreamcast) Espgaluda (arcade, PS2) Gradius series (too many platforms to name) MUSHA (Genesis) Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force (Genesis) UN Squadron (both the arcade and SNES versions, similar yet pretty different at the same time) Rayforce (arcade, Saturn as Galactic Attack/Layer Section) Raystorm (arcade, PS1, 360 for HD version, PS2 via the Taito Legends 2 pack) Mushihimesama Futari (arcade, Xbox 360, PC) Esprade (arcade) Darius Gaiden (arcade, Saturn, PS1, PS2 via Taito Legends 2 pack) Darius Burst Chronicles (PC and PS4 specifically) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Boogie Wings aka The Great Ragtime Show (Arcade)Parodius (Arcade, Game Boy, SNES)Most shmups made by Toaplan R-Type (Turbografx-16) Cosmo Gang: The Video (Arcade, SNES) Gradius (Arcade, NES)Gridrunner 2 (C64) Gyruss (Arcade, C64) Galaga (Arcade) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazing Lazers Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Blazing Lazers, of course! Also, Blazing Star, Gradius Collection on PSP, Prehistoric Isle 2, Strikers 1945, Viewpoint, Air Gallet, UN Squadron, Einhander, Vector Pilot, Time Pilot, Galaga, and a bunch more I can't call to mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynicaster Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 DoDonPachi on arcade/MAME is the business. Strikers 1945 Cybattler Dragon Spirit 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 (edited) I'm like my shmups a little more on the simple side than most, so this will be a highly subjective list, but my favorites are... Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (NES) Project S-11 (Game Boy Color) Raiden Trad (Sega Genesis) Silpheed (Sega CD) Solar Striker (Game Boy) Summer Carnival '92: RECCA (Famicom) Thunder Force III (Sega Genesis) Xenon 2 (Game Boy) Xevious (Atari 7800) Zanac (NES) Edited October 2, 2018 by Jin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Dropzone Atari 800 Armaylte C64 Einhander PS1 Llamatron ST That'll do for starters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFG 9000 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 So many good ones. I was never into Shmups until about 2001, when a friend made me play Gradius III on the SNES. I hated it. I was so bad and he was so good. But after a few months, I got the urge to give it another shot, and from then on, I was hooked. I'm still terrible at Shmups. My only 1CCs are Nemesis on the Gameboy and the original Gradius on the PC Engine. But I love the genre and easily own more Shmups than any other genre. Still, I'm not sure I'm qualified to rate the best. That said, I would go with something like: Gradius Gaiden (PSX) Giga Wing (Dreamcast) DoDonPachi (Arcade) R-Type (Arcade) Radiant Silvergun (Saturn) Ikaruga (Xbox 360) My personal favorites are: Gradius Gaiden (PSX) Raiden (PSX) G Darius (PSX) Shikigami no Shiro 2 (PS2) Lords of Thunder (PC Engine) Gunbird 2 (Dreamcast) Sol Deace (Genesis) 1942 (Arcade) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubsy3000 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Are Metal Slug and Contra considered SHMUPS because I know a lot of sites change the rules on whether SHMUPS are games only involving vehicles or people with guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 You gotta limit yourself because let's face it the vast majority of video games have you shooting shit up/down/left/right/ and forward and every which way. People will debate it all day long but for my own sanity I limit it to the two basic gametypes of 1, horizontal and 2. vertical shooters, and call it a day. Of course even within that you have endless variations (e.g. Contra vs. R-Type, vs. Pocky & Rocky vs. Commando, vs. Vanguard, etc.) .. but hey you gotta start somewhere. I wouldn't classify my favorite game of all time, Robotron, for example, as a shmup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Often to me the best ones start at anything but bullet hell style for starters. Those games are just obscenely annoying as they basically dumb down the shooter experience to a rote memorization of pattern game as you have these tiny windows to move into or shield/color/barrier shift into so you're not blown to bits again and again in short order. I prefer stuff spawned of the 80s and 90s from the Galaga and Gradius types to things with a little more nice art style to it like the Capcom arcade games shoveled on the Dreamcast and Einhander on PS1. Games you find on the Neo Geo like either Aero Fighters(Sonic Wings), Blazing Star, Andro Dunos, Captain Tomaday, and Strikers 1945 Plus. Not all of that era I like, R-TYpe and it's clones like Pulstar I find aggravating, cheap and downright not fun pretty much at all. Outside of the space shooter stuff like that though, cute ones which walk you about in a path or just open like your Pocky and Rocky types or Shock Troopers 1/2 I really enjoy those too. Format really doesn't limit it either as Jin pointed out GBC's Project S-11 is stunning good stuff right there, just as much as the varying goofy games from the Parodius and Twinbee family of shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Delta on C64 for it's time was often a substantial audio/visual experience, thanks in no small part to Rob Hubbards in game music. But the actual gameplay was little more than a memory test of learning the attack waves. Then there was I.O, C64 again, stunning looking bosses to fight,but an absurd difficulty level rendered it nigh on unplayable with out entering cheats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomRonn Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Not to be the quintessential weeb for this thread, but...the Touhou games have always been my favorite when it comes to vertical shooters on the PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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