Scrolling shooter - please identify

[Vor][ex]

Ok, so this is going to be as vague as It can be.

In 1992 I visited a small milkbar and played a scrolling shooter for about 10 minutes, I dont know the name of it.. nor do I have screenshots..
But it was one of the best scrolling shooters I have ever played, really full of powerups where it made your ship ( seemed like it was a 4 engined thing.. ) you had missiles, and lasrers, and homing missiles, and bullets.. all blazeing out of this one ship ( once you got many powerups. )

Does anyone have ANY idea what game this MIGHT be? Or even some scrolling shooters that are similar? Ive got a mame machine with over 50 schrolling shooters and havent got anythign like it..


HALP !
:image:

[BetaWolf47]

Vertical scrolling or sidescrolling? Also, could you list the ones you've tried already, if it isn't too much to ask?

[Lerxstnj]

Are you sure it wasn't the milk making you think it was the best scrolling shooter you've ever played? How much did you drink?

[Mianrtcv]

KLOV.com has a search function to narrow down the posibilities. I'm too lazy to do it for you. Although I have my suspicions.

[MrSparkle]

So he has hair and wears shirts... sometimes.....

Honestly this isn't nearly enough to go on about the only unique characteristic you laid out here was the number of engines. Can you recall anything else maybe what colors were on screen, vertical or horizontal, space or airplane based, length of stages before boss battles, color of the cabinet? really anything at all would help out but you just described the genre not the game. It's akin to trying to find that rock band with the guy who plays the guitar with 7 strings.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I think I know the one you mean. Was it in this milk bar?

http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/8186/milkbar2.jpg

[MrSparkle]

Oh i love that milk bar me and my droogs hang out there all the time!

[SamuraiSmurfette]

Wow. That could be just about any shooter ever made.
That's like saying "There's this platformer, where you jump over holes and break things to get power ups" LOL

[Ro-J]

A game you played for only 10 minutes, 17 years ago? Are you sure you'll recognize it if you played it again?

Sorry, can't help.

[gjackx]

Can you remember anything about the intro? The company that made it? Thought I'd throw those into the mix.

There really are just waaaaaaaaaaaay too many shooters out there...sorry.

[Cryomancer]

the biggest narrower here would be horizontal or vertical scrolling. from there we can look in mame, from games from 1992 or earlier to bet a somewhat smaller list.

[Vor][ex]

OK it was vertical Scrolling.
I realise this is REALLY frustrating. .. Ive got HEAPS of vertical scrollers.. on my mame machine .. I probably SHOULD have written down what I have / have tried.. but there were heaps.... becasue of all the SNIDE comments.. ( which was well taken becasue i gave such LITTLE information.. ) I decided to write out what ive tried.

I know this is hard.. I guess im hoping someone will go.. " ohh wait could it be.. or have you tried.. "
I dont remember who made it.. but it was a cocktail sitdown cab... but it was full screen.. unlike say 1942.. which is 3/4 screen vertical scroller.
I would remmeber it if i saw it.. - I recall at the time it had a really hard name to pronouce.. but ive tried a few of those also.. so here's what ive got in the scrollign shooter catagory :

1941 - Counter attack
1941 counter attack 2
1942
1943 - Battle of midway
1943- Midway kaisen
1943 - KAI
1944 - loop master
1945
1945 - war against
3 wonders
4d wariors
after burner
after burner 2
acrtobat mission
aero fighters
Aerofighter 2
aero fighters 3
action fighter
air gallet
air buster
aiur duel
ajax
alpha mission
arbalester
argus
arlarjoa
armed formation
ashura blaster
astro blaster
asuka
aurail
armed police batrider
batsugen
battle road
battle chopper
bermuda triangle
bgaregen
bgaregga
bgaregnz
blastoff
blaze on
blazer
blazing star
black heart
blasteroids
bells n whistels
black hawk
brain
blade
carrier
carrier air wing 2 , 3
US navy
Chimera beast
Chula taisen
City bomber
Cobra command
cammando
Senjou no okami
cosmic hear
cosmic gang
crate raider
cybattle
daioh
dangar
darius
darius 2, 3
darius gaiden
Darius gaiden - silver hawk
Darwin 4078
do don pachi
demon world
Demon world - Hooro
desert war
dangun feverson
diamhoo
dogfight
donpachjp
Dyter
eco fighters
EDF
eighter force
Eguittier
Espial
ESP
Exed exes
exerion
fever sos
fighting hawk
finaliser
finest hour
fire battl;e
fire shark
flying shark
funkiy bee
future spy
glaga 88
galaxian
gallop
galmedes
gardian
gatsbee
genkirdian
gemini wing
giga wing - 1 , 2 , 3
ghost polot
gradious 3
grid seeker
gulf storm
gulf war
gun bird
gunforce 2
gun frontier
gun lock
gun nail
gun smoke
guwange
gyrodine
gyruss
halzi
haleys comet
hellfire
horizion
hotdog storm
hyperduel
image fgighter
in the hunt
juno first
last day
lethal thuinder
lost world
last resort
legendary wings
misson 660
super space fortress
madshark
magmax
mahou disukusen
mayday
mazinger 2
mercs
metafox
metal black
mirai niija
madplanet
mr hell - Diaboutchen
mx5000
mystic warriors
nebulus ray
nemisis
night wrticker
ninja emaki
novar 2001
omega fighters
outzone
p47 aces
phelous
plus alpha
progear
raider
raipd hero
rayforce
r0-shark
r-type 1,2,3, leo
rydin
samesame
savage bees
section z
side arms
sky alert
skyfox
skyshark
skywold
spy hunter
twin cobra
thunder buster
thunder blaster
twin eagle
vasara
vasara 2
war of aero
xexexe x
x mutiply
zero wings
zing zing

- I have tested all of these and none are the game im after - I will conceed not ALL of these follow the place in the sky vertcial scroller, but they are a scrolling shooter none the less.. - mostly in the r-type Vain..

Id love more game suggestions.. perhaps there is something here i havent tried??

[Vor][ex]

ok: what I CAN remember,
It has better graphics than slap fight, its more in the vain of a aero fighters style.. but when you get powerups, they attatch them to the ship making the ship bigger and bigger, another engine, or another wing, making it wider..
with more missles, and bombs and guns.
you start off with a smallish ship, but the 1st powerup makes adds to your ship making it a little larger. NOt in SIZE, but like adding a longer wing. Like a robocop ! hehe .. not not like robocop.. but an attachment.

[Vor][ex]

Ok here is the other thing I recall. - Which really stood out as weird at the time.

I first started watching a guy playing it and he seemed to have all the powerups this massive ship with missles and bullets coming out from wverywhere on the ship, killing everything,
He eventually died and put in my 40 cents to play.. I had a smaller ship and died almost right away ( i was only 12 at the time )
Anyway he came up to me and said, ill let you know a cheat in the game. When u start, move to the left of the screen and dont touch anything for 10 seconds, dont shoot , dont move, after 10 seconds you run into a secret powerup that gives u full powerup making u massive.

I played it more than for 10 minutes, i was on holiday and played it prpobably 10 times or more in the 3 days we were there.

I jsut recall it the start was earthy like flying over water and stuff..
im trying to rack my brain here !

[Vor][ex]

time to go reveiw sengoku for Monday mame

[BetaWolf47]

Well, try RayCrisis, RayStorm, 19XX, Xevious, nam-1975, and Vulgus. You've sure tried out a crapload of title.

[shawnbo42]

Mission XX? Only saw the game once on the other side of the country, and didn't see it very long, so I don't remember much about it sorry.

[Kid Fenris]

Have you tried Dogyuun (http://shmups.classicgaming.gamespy.com/reviews/dogyuun/index.html)? It's a pretty impressive Toaplan shooter from 1992, one where the power-ups attach to the ship. You can even pick up the second-player ship to form a new one.

[Ed Oscuro]

R-Type? :D

Well, I don't know of that powerup trick, and I can't find any mention of it online just yet. I don't think this is a horizontal scroller somehow.

I focused on the "build up your ship" idea, although some of these games have "homing" type shots and others don't. Check out games from these developers: Nichibutsu, UPL, and Data East. Some games I think could be it (aside from the scroing trick) and don't see on your list:

Terra Cresta
Terra Force (you played the middle game in this "series," Dangar - UFO Robo)

Bio-Ship Paladin

Super Real Darwin (update of Darwin 4078)

Some others:

Image Fight by Irem
From Namco, Dangerous Seed.
Gardia from Sega (developed by Coreland) - this one is the most like Terra Cresta, interesting little game.

Then some more wacky choices:
Nostradamus from Face (why not?)
Tokio / Scramble Formation by Taito
Scramble Spirits by Sega (medium-res screen) - these last two just have "option" planes that you can pick up.
Thunder Cross I & II - TC1, at least, has a bonus weapon you can pick up that replaces the options. Before that, you can adjust the distance of options from your fighter with button 2.

I might just post this over at Shmups Forum if we can't figure it out; it sounds interesting.

[Vor][ex]

Im not making this up guys.. im a hardcore gamer and this has really frustrated me for YEARS .. I remember it had a name I couldnt pronoune..
Dogyuan was close but it wasnt really a spaceship like rtype, it was more of a 1942 older style large 4 engined thing....
I know.. this is a LONG shot... look since 1992 its botherd me !

Thanks for everyone's support and suggestions.. i guess im hoiping someone will say " hey did you try... BLAH.. "

It was 100% DEFENTENTLY a TOP DOWN vertical scrolling shooter.
it was mad !

[Ed Oscuro]

Okay, posting your query on Shmups, maybe somebody knows it.

Edit: You know, only Slap Fight seems to make sense.

It's also known as "Alcon," so there's your unpronounceable title.

Is it possible that you were playing the Mega Drive version? Video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4wzXhbl50).

[BetaWolf47]

Sounds like it could be one of the Raiden games.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sounds like it could be one of the Raiden games.
That was my first idea except it doesn't fit any of the specific criteria.

With the ship getting bigger, and the homing bullets, AND the powerup trick etc. it pretty much HAS to be Alcon (aka...Slap Fight).

Ver][ex:

Did you perform the powerup trick right? You have to get killed for it to work. When I did it, it was the third shot from the first enemy that does it.

Also, this is a cool new way to play the game for me... :D

[Vor][ex]

I just got a version of slap fight, and no thats not it... it had much better graphics that this version.
Also, - I guess as I mentioned before.. one of the weapons were homing missiles, only very accuratley draw ones.. they sort of left the ship outward then started to track the ojbect..

FUck this is frustrating !..... i feel like im soo close.. yet so far away .. :(

Once again i want to re-uterate this isnt a bogus joureny to some game very invented !

I never saw it since, nor again.. its like hunting down an old girlfriend without facebook!

[Vor][ex]

any luck on posting it in shmups?
im not a member there, but have checked it out..

Ive founds a bunch of great games, but im yet to find a game that adds to to your ship..
I thought it might have been Battle garegga - That would fit with the hard to pronouce and that adds stuff to your ship.. But when i played it, it wasnt quite the right style.. and there were no homeing missiles.. avaliable from my ship. ( even after i enabled cheat mode and had ultra large powerups.. )

Look I really dotn know guys ive looked at so many lists of great shootem ups.. and dont see anythgin there I havent tried.. maybe it wasnt that popular..
Im now tempted to drive the 900+ miles to that same milkbar and say " hey 17 yrs ago you have a shoot em up game with missiles n stuff.. - where is it now? or what was it called.. "

I remember not knowing how to prounouce it becasue when i talked to a friend on the phone telling him about how good this game was he said " whats it called " i said i cant really pronouce it.. its was like GJAKLHJKLF:SJKL:FJSAKL:
very helpful..

I thought it was guwange the 1st time i checked them all out.. but its not.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, I posted on Shmups, and nobody can believe it's anything but Slap Fight. Did you try the MAME version?

Let's go over this again:

-Name: Alcon (which is Slap Fight)
-Homing missiles: Yes, you can have these in Slap Fight / Alcon, and they work as you said. Depending on your ship, you can have wings of them, or a gigantic circle of them.
-The powerup trick: I only know of this in Slap Fight, and it works almost exactly like you say the guy demonstrated. It gives you homing missiles right away, and also adds extra enemies to the game which might seem to be "improving the graphics" a bit.

But here's a couple more things to try out, courtesy of Shmups:

Super Spacefortress Macross
Chou-Jinkuu Yousai Macross.
(Horizontal) Koutetsu Yousai Strahl by UPL

[Vor][ex]

Nope I tried all of those ..

I guess the main thing I have been trying to focus on ( yes ive found a few with some great homing missiles.. )
but.. Im not seeing anything where the ship ugrades affect the look of the ship.. This was a key part from what I can remember.. when you got an upgrade.. ur craft became bigger (* which made alot of sense.. how do you retrofit a multi 6 rockety thing without changing the look of the thing! )

Anyway.. its been fun.. I have no idea tho !