Shmups that don't break the bank

[DK1105]

I was in the mood to play a good shmup tonight so I walked over to my collection of games and realize that in my entire collection I only own 1, bio-hazard battle for the genesis. I feel like this travesty is one that must be corrected now. Luckily I already own just about every shooter heavy consoles (Gen,Saturn,DC,TG16,ect.) I am looking to pick up quite a few games so I am hoping for some lower cost games so for the moment M.U.S.H.A and the like is out.

[Bloodreign]

Lightening Force on the Genesis can be had for cheap, Gradius III SNES same thing.

For Saturn, Layer Section/Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden are safe cheap bets.

[ubersaurus]

Those are all great picks. If you've got an NES, Gradius, Life Force, and Zanac should all be relatively cheap. I don't know how much it goes for right now, but Elemental Master on Genesis was really fun too.

Do you have a PS2? Castle Shikigami 2 is fun (and hilariously badly translated) and that's pretty inexpensive as well.

[BricatSegaFan]

Genesis: Truxton, twin cobra, whip rush, Air buster, insector x, steel empire.

Saturn: Galactic attack, donpachi.

Pc engine / CD: blazing lazers.....and the rest are over 50 bucks I think.

[Aussie2B]

If you have a PSP, you can't beat the value of the Gradius Collection. For a bit more money, you could also import Parodius Portable, Salamander Portable, and TwinBee Portable and get a lot of bang (or should I say "pew-pew"? :P ) for your buck.

Oh, and I recommend Dragon Spirit for NES. Wonderful little shooter. It's also on TG-16 with nicer graphics, but I think the NES version plays much better.

[kupomogli]

Tiger Heli, even if I'm only saying so because I really like the music. It's an okay game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1gBqmyQ8kM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5EbEgHD7vM

[recorderdude]

Silpheed on PS2 is about as cheap as you're going to get. I picked up a complete mint copy for three dollars from a RETAIL store.

[XYXZYZ]

I want to second Layer Section and Darius Gaiden for the Sega Saturn, and add Sonic Wings Special. Also, UN Squadron for the SNES is a great game if $20ish loose isn't too high.

[M.Buster2184]

Silpheed on PS2 is about as cheap as you're going to get. I picked up a complete mint copy for three dollars from a RETAIL store.

Good choice. I actually really like this game, and the cutscenes are pretty cool too. Another game I recommend for TG-16 is Sinistron. Fun came, unique gameplay, can adjust the jaws of your ship.

[Tron 2.0]

Genesis
Truxton
Lighting Force aka thunder force iv
Thunder Force III
Gaiares

TG16/PCE
Blazing Lazers
Rabio Leplus
Aero Blasters
Dragon Spirit and Dragon Saber
Galaga 88
Burning Angles

Saturn
Darius Gaiden
Galactic Attack
Salamander Deluxe Pack

[o.pwuaioc]

Since it seems like you have Gen/PCE/Sat shmups covered, perhaps try looking into NES and SNES libraries as well? Just from my collection:

NES:

Abadox
Adventures of Dino Riki
Alpha Mission
Dragon Spirit (although better on PC Engine, unique for NES too)
Galaga
Gradius
Gradius II
Life Force
Section Z
Sky Shark
Star Force
Star Soldier
Tiger-Heli
Twin Cobra
Zanac

SNES:

Axelay
Darius Twin
Earth Defense Force
Gradius III
Phalanx
R-Type III
Super R-Type
Thunder Spirits (actually, wouldn't recommend this one; I prefer Thunder Force III)
UN Squadron

[ButtonMasher123]

You need to pick up Blazing Lazers for the Turbo Grafx immediately. One of the best shmups of that console generation and extremely cheap for a Turbo Grafx game costing only about $10. It's a win win no brainer pick up for sure.

[Drixxel]

Affordability is kind of a tricky and relative thing, the TurboGrafx being a fine example of a console where "what is affordable" isn't necessarily on par with, say, the Genesis. Still, here are a bunch of NES shooters to add to those already mentioned that are easily obtained, cheap (<$10) and definitely worth a spin.

Air Fortress - The horizontal shmup sections are pretty plain, but fun.
Burai Fighter - A polished Forgotten Worlds-ish shooter with interesting level designs and a couple "all range" Thunder Force II-style stages.
Gyruss - Single screen arcade shootin', slick stuff.
Image Fight - A decent vertical shooter with something of a cool power-up system.
Silk Worm - An entertaining horizontal shooter with a bit of depth, in that you can choose either a jeep or a helicopter and you have greater control over your aiming than usual.
Starship Hector - An enjoyable "gun-'n'-bomb" vertical shmup. If you want to be really cool, you could look into importing the Caravan Shooting Collection for SFC which is a compilation made up of Star Force, Star Soldier and this one.
Stinger - Horizontally scrolling Twin Bee.
Thundercade - A fairly sloppy and visually unappealing vertical shooter, but the destructible environments are satisfying and there's some good coop to be had here.
Xevious - It's basic, but cool.

[Edmond Dantes]

Oh, and I recommend Dragon Spirit for NES. Wonderful little shooter. It's also on TG-16 with nicer graphics, but I think the NES version plays much better.

Dragon Spirit on TG16 is, in some ways, actually a completely different game. The NES one is more like a pseudo-sequel, while the TG16 tries to be a straight port of the arcade original (which can be found on some of the Namco Museum collections as well).

By the way, the OP might consider Taito Legends 2 and the two Capcom Classics Collections (all for PS2, although there's versions of the latter for the PSP as well). These all have a couple of shmups and are fairly inexpensive. Capcom Classics Collection 2 has Eco Fighters, which is one HELL of an underrated gem.

Really, there are tons of cheap shmups out there, particularly on the Genesis and PC Engine. I don't think I've ever payed more than $10 for any shmup I own for either system, unless I specifically sprang for a complete copy.

[kaedesdisciple]

And no love for NES Legendary Wings? Great game with just enough challenge, switches between overhead/side scrolling fun in 1p and 2p modes and very affordable as it can be had rather easily for under $10.