Poll of the Day > What is your favourite shmup?

(+) Yeah! (+)

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Hard choice, but for nostalgia, Hellfire. Warning Forever also rates pretty high.
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Warning Forever is quite the gem, I wish it went further or got some sequel attention
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I'm not a huge fan of shmups, though Contra is the all-time old classic.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'm not a huge fan of shmups, though Contra is the all-time old classic.

Brah?
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Android Assault
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Blaqthourne posted...

Android Assault

Thought I've never heard of that one, looked it up.
"Oh hey, Bari-Arm, I remember that."
The JP version was mentioned in a UK magazine I had, I think Megatech.
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DeltaBladeX posted...

Blaqthourne posted...

Android Assault

Thought I've never heard of that one, looked it up.
"Oh hey, Bari-Arm, I remember that."
The JP version was mentioned in a UK magazine I had, I think Megatech.

I think you said the same thing about 5 years ago when I did the "Have you beaten this game" polls.
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You know what, that does sound like something I'd say.

Too bad I never got to play that one.
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My favourite shmup is 1943: Battle of Midway on NES
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Lokarin posted...

My favourite shmup is 1943: Battle of Midway on NES

Got a bunch of those in arcade compilations.
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easily Jets 'n' Guns
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Einhander

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Guardian Legend, but that's a sort of hybrid game. Not sure what my favorite "pure" shmup would be, but some solid entries have been mentioned already

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Guardian Legend... ymmm, ya, but I think some of the later bosses have simply too much HP
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Terraria
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The Raiden games.
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I like the genre though I don't play a ton but I do try and pick one of these up every now and then. Still like Ikaruga the most. Still suck at it.
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Contra.

own3d posted...

I like the genre though I don't play a ton but I do try and pick one of these up every now and then. Still like Ikaruga the most. Still suck at it.

It's a tough game. I've never completed it solo. Only through co-op with my cousin who carried me much of the way. He's much better at the genre than I am

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Tyrian 2000
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Mead posted...

Einhander

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Ikaruga or Raiden II
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Shmup is a genre I've always been interested in, but could never really get into. I do really like Gradius Galaxies on the GBA though. I played that game a ton as a kid. Also R-Type 3 on the SNES is awesome. Based on those, any suggestions I might enjoy? I have played other R-Type and Gradius games. I even dabbled in Parodius, which is weird and fun, but idk if I'd return to those. Also idk if this counts, but Star Fox and Star Fox 64 are great too.
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Radiant Silvergun. Boring choice, but it's a classic for a reason. Better than Ikaruga in every way aside from maybe presentation - the artists at Treasure were awful in the '90s.

Close second would be Mars Matrix. A brutal shmup that uses one button for everything, but uses bombs/shields in a very unqiue way. Using momentum for bombing feels incredible. Giga Wing is also good, but not *as* good.

Also, Psyvariar Delta recently released, and that's definitely up there - particularly Revision. Hands down the best implementation of grazing I've seen in a shmup.

As an aside, I think Psikyo is overrated to hell and back. With the exception of Zero Gunner 2, I don't care for their shmups. Especially their side scrollers like Sol Divide, which I downright hate. I kinda like the randomized stages, but when I think of generic shmups, I think Psikyo. Boring bullet patterns, boring gimmicks, boring scoring mechanics, and tedious second loops. They're straightforward to a fault.

If Guardian Legend, one of my all-time favorite games of any genre, does not qualify (understandable), then ... choices, choices. Tons of choices. Hmm. How about Darius Twin for the SNES? Love the way that one handles. Or R-Type Final, as far as presentation goes. Great game.
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There's a couple I reckon...

On the MegaDrive :

Gynoug (Wings of Wor)
Empire of Steel
Truxton
Fireshark
Air Buster
Arrow Flash

On the SNES :

Super E.D.F.
Super Aleste
Aero Fighters
Pop'n Twin Bee
Phalanx

On the NES :

Dragon Spirit
Gradius 2
Abadox

Newer consoles have also great shmups, but when I think shmup I usually think 8-/16-/32-bit retro...
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Question: Of Gradius and its cousins like Nemesis/Salamander...

Why would you ever want to use anything other than the Laser?
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Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

Motherbase (32X)
Raystorm (PSX)
Retro Force (PSX)
R-Type Delta (PSX)
Viewpoint (PSX)
Zero Gunner 2 (DC)

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So I was just playing the new Touhou and was thinking...

Why does this feel so much better than other shmups?

I mean, is it that ZUN is just genius, or is it that recent shmups have been lacklustre, or is it that the core Touhou mechanics are worthy on their own so anyone who makes a Touhou clone will have a good time?

So with that in mind...

What are the key features you like from a Shmup?

Difficulty is usually a top factor in Shmups, but so are difficulty settings... they're usually quite customizable that way. So lets ignore that part for now since you can always play on easiest/hardest/whatever

Some shmups have longform powerup progression, like Gradius and UN Squadron (Area 88) and 1943, but in Gradius you lose EVERYTHING when you die. In UN Squadron you just lose your secondary weapons, but you can buy them back, and in 1943... you only have 1 life, but infinite conintues so basically a death is just a level restart.

Some shmups have very little powerup progression. Touhou takes a full stage to get powered up, but you are often at the max and dying doesn't deplete much of your power. Twin Eagle, Choplifter have almost no powerup progression, but get by on their base mechanics. Ikaruga has no progression at all in this regard.
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Tough call... I've put the most time into Dodonpachi by far, and love that one, but Ikaruga was my first 1cc, and is overall just an amazing game.
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Lokarin posted...

Why would you ever want to use anything other than the Laser?

Depends a bit on the game, but the Laser can mess up your rate of fire with your other weapons. I usually stick to the old Double-Missile combo if I can.
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I feel dumb for saying this... but I just noticed all the enemies in Darius are fish
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Question:

Do you consider rail shooters to be a sub-genre of shmup

And as such... is Starfox a shmup? (take away the barrel roll and it's basically Space Harrier)
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Lokarin posted...

Do you consider rail shooters to be a sub-genre of shmup

I don't think so because you can't move

Lokarin posted...

is Starfox a shmup?

that's a good question. I would want to say no, but really it is just a camera-behind-you shoot-em-up, isn't it?
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