Why We Love SHMUPs/Your Fav SHMUPs

[RegSNES]

I heard someone once say that there wasn't much to the SHMUP genre. That's it's just shooting and dodging. I totally disagree. True, a lot of SHMUPs consist of the aforementioned tactics, but there's a lot more to it than that. This is probably the one genre that pits you against wave after wave of enemies, testing your eyes and your reflexes with different AI or power-up systems. Be it the unique AI of Zanac or the strategic gameplay of R-Type, this is a genre I just can't get enough of. I love shooting down enemies and manuevering through waves of bullets. This is a genre where I feel that it really comes down to my skills as a gamer and not just the weapons I've got.

As for my fav SHMUPs, I'm really fond of these:

Gun-Nac
Ikaruga
Gradius III
Gradius V
R-Type Final
G. Darius
Space Megaforce
Thunder Force III

There are probably others but that's all I can think of right now.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

As for my fav SHMUPs, I'm really fond of these:


That's a damn fine list you got there, dude. I'm a big fan of most of the SHUMPs you listed too and I gotta agree, I love to dodge and maneuver my way through legions upon legions of bullets and obstacles while I'm gaming as well.

As for some other SHUMPs I enjoy:

Parodius series
Lords of Thunder
Aleste series (especially MUSHA)
Lightening Force
Truxton
In The Hunt
Strikers series

[roushimsx]

I really like Dodonpachi. Hell, I like most of Cave's work (Guwange is flat out amazing, if a bit on the easy side)

Takumi's games tend to get a bad rap but i've really grown to love and respect them, especially the Gigawing trilogy.

Raiden DX and the Raiden Fighters trilogy are classics in every sense of the word.

While I'm not big on horizontal shmups, Border Down is fucking brilliant. Hopefully it either gets a reprint or gets ported to another system so more people can enjoy it (hell, if you have a dreamcast and haven't bought it by now, go out of your way to pirate it post haste...the price isn't coming down anytime soon)

I could probably ramble and fill space, but the short version is: I really like vertical shmups and Irem made some incredibly fucking hard games.

[mydjsobad]

The Gradius & Parodius series' are no brainers. But I'm also a huge fan of all the treasure shmups, Ikaruga is a masterpeice as far as I'm concerned. I also love Super R-Type, and as underappreciated as I feel it is, Ordyne is an excellent game as well. Check out Namco Museum vol. 3 for PSX if you haven't played it yet :d

[Haoie]

Since a lot of shumps never get PAL releases, and even when they do, they're very limited, my collection is small on this genre.

My personal fav of what I have, my J version Einhander.

Imperial Capital Sodom, has a nice ring to it.

[RegSNES]

In The Hunt is freaking tight. Never played a SHMUP where you used submarines but man, was it awesome. I played the PSX version so I don't know if the Saturn version was better (probably was). That's another one I gotta add to my collection.

I've wanted to play the Parodius series for a while now but so far I haven't experienced it. That will all change when I buy another SNES and fix it up so I can play Super Famicom games. :evil:

Is Raiden Trad any good? I've actually spoted a loose SNES copy and a complete Genesis version for cheap in a store.

And Truxton is good fun. I actually got it for free when a co-worker of mine gave me his Genesis and a bunch of games. Along with the complete copy of Truxton, I got a complete copy of Gaiares and a copy of Steel Empire with the case. My word, Truxton is tough.

A few months back I picked up Lightening Force (Thunder Force IV) for $10. Fun SHMUP but very difficult. I only passed one stage. :eek 2:

[ProgrammingAce]

No love for Radiant Silvergun? Come on!

Einhander
R-Type Final
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
1942

Love 'em all

[RetroYoungen]

For a short while I had this sort of obsession with TwinBee. Simple, direct shoot-everything-that-moves-including-collectables ability, catching stuff, throwing bombs, shooting summore, not too fast (a bit slow, really)...

Fun fun fun!

Oh, and Ikaruga, and the Gradius series, and R-Type Final... gotta love 'em.

[BrokenFlight]

I've only got three in my collection but I love them. They're Zero Wing and Empire of Steel/Steel Empire. I like Zero Wing because it can have unlimited continues. I like Empire of Steel because I've had it since 1993 and it has just the right amount of lives/continues to beat the game. I'm not bothered about scores. My main concern is getting to the end of a game.

There's also Sol Feace on the Mega CD. I think it's pretty good but the moving gun positions threw me off at first. I couldn't understand how my guns would randomly change direction. I should get back into that game.

I played my friend's U.N. Squadron on the SNES and it wasn't very good in comparison.

[Sosage]

Takumi's games tend to get a bad rap but i've really grown to love and respect them, especially the Gigawing trilogy.


It might not be a surprise to some (since I always praise this damn game), but Mars Matrix is my absolute favorite shmup. It is the pinnacle of Takumi's work imo and although it uses a similar system as Gigawing, it surpasses that entire series by leaps and bounds. I really hope it wasn't just a happy design accident.

I agree with a lot of your other choices also. I couldn't get into Border Down, but I should probably give the disc another spin.

I'm also a fan of Kenta Cho's Parsec 47 (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/p47_e.html). I think it is cool how the game is semi-random, but can keep the pattern and tracked projectile mixtures from being impossible (well...most of the time).

Too late to list off anything else right now. =P

[poloplayr]

Love anything by Cave or Psikyo.

[roushimsx]

Is Raiden Trad any good? I've actually spoted a loose SNES copy and a complete Genesis version for cheap in a store.


Worst version of the game available :(

Also, the Playstation version of "In the Hunt" is actually the best version to get (less slowdown than either the arcade or Saturn versions)

[TurboGenesis]

I love shooties! Good, challenging, quick fun! Soo many shooties that I like I can't pick one. I pretty much like them ALL! Some are better than others but I find enjoyment in them all. Some times I'll play like 4 different shooties in a matter of a few hours. Last night I was playing Biometal(in mute) and some Souky & Blast Wind(saturn). The other day I had some tate action going on with Under Defeat and Psyvariar 2.

I guess I'll list some favorites:

Batsugun
R-Type(TG-16)
Hyper Duel(satun mode)
Ibara
Mushihimesama
Twinkle Star Sprites(saturn-though all are great)
Thunder Force series(never played first one-rest are good)
Keio Flying Squadron
Gradius series
Darius series
Aleste series(MUSHA, Space Megaforce, etc)
Zanac(original and Neo)
Andro Dunos
Recca(famicom rom)
Harmful Park
Soukyugeranti(saturn)
Magical Chase
Border Down
plus all other mentioned

Too many to list--Like I say I love ALL shooties!


Is Raiden Trad any good? I've actually spoted a loose SNES copy and a complete Genesis version for cheap in a store.

SNES version is not the best version, the Genesis is better quality but is easier than say the TG-16 version.


No love for Radiant Silvergun? Come on!

I gots love for RS right here!


It might not be a surprise to some (since I always praise this damn game), but Mars Matrix is my absolute favorite shmup. It is the pinnacle of Takumi's work imo and although it uses a similar system as Gigawing, it surpasses that entire series by leaps and bounds. I really hope it wasn't just a happy design accident.

I think its Takumi's best as well. I spent weeks playing this to buy more stuff. Total fun!!!


Love anything by Cave or Psikyo.

These guys keep shooties alive in the 21st century! Got to love them!

[FullCircle]

I don't really like this style of game, but I do like playing the Cho Aniki series for obvious reasons.

[XYXZYZ]

I'm a beginner shmup whore, here's what's grabbed me so far-

LORDS OF THUNDER!!!
DoDonpachi
Batsugun
Kingdom Grandprix
Gunbird
Sengoku Blade
Sylphia
Sapphire (Bootleg)
Star Soldier
Super Star Soldier
Burning Angels
Spriggan
Twin Cobra
UN Squadron
Raiden
1943
Life Force (NES)
Gradius III

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

Here are my favorites:

Einhander (The sole reaon I wanted an original playstation).
Ikaruga
R-Type Final
Castle Shikigami 2

[CosmicMonkey]

Mmmm, shmups; certainly one of my favorite genres.

It's hard to pick favorites from such a large selection, but atm, I'd have to go for:

Winds of Thunder (PCE)
Gate of Thunder (PCE)
Harmful Park (PSone)
Blazing Star (MVS)
Pulstar (MVS)
Last Resort (MVS)
Under Defeat (DC)
Zero Gunner 2 (DC)
Thunderforce IV (MD)
Gleylancer (MD)
Layer Section (Saturn)
Soukyrugurentai (Saturn)

There's lots more, but these are the shooters I've either been playing the most lately, or immediately pop into mind.

And I might as well take every opportunity possible to go on about how great Under Defeat is. Really, what a game! Everything about it is, imho, absolutely bang-on. It's not very often I'm actually surprised by graphics, but I'm in awe at UD. Absolutely amazing looking and sounding.

The 3 best NeoGeo shmups are also games that graphically amazed me. The first time I played Blazing Star I watched the intro, played the first couple of levels and then had to sit down, have a joint and immediately phone a couple of my mates to explain the wonders I had just witnessed to them. My eyes nearly popped out upon firing up Pulstar and Last Resort too. Thing is, these are also truly fabulous games as well. I like R-Type, but Pulstar really is Hyper R-Type Special Edition Super EX+.

I also have a great love for Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, but it's on an entirely different level to my love for 16-bit shooters. I really have to be in the right frame of mind to play these two.

Any other Cute 'em Up fans here? I'm a bit of a fan of this sub-genre. Harmful Park is absolute classic. I also like the Cotton series, Star Parodia, Magical Chase, Air Zonk, Twinbee etc. Shooting things in a spaceship is great, but blasting dancing girls and easter-island heads is just pure entertaining Japanese craziness.

[TurboGenesis]

And I might as well take every opportunity possible to go on about how great Under Defeat is. Really, what a game! Everything about it is, imho, absolutely bang-on. It's not very often I'm actually surprised by graphics, but I'm in awe at UD. Absolutely amazing looking and sounding.

I was truely amazed with the detail put into this game! The smoke effects, explosions, just the way the trees sway and move....this game is absolutly beautiful...


Any other Cute 'em Up fans here? I'm a bit of a fan of this sub-genre. Harmful Park is absolute classic. I also like the Cotton series, Star Parodia, Magical Chase, Air Zonk, Twinbee etc. Shooting things in a spaceship is great, but blasting dancing girls and easter-island heads is just pure entertaining Japanese craziness.

I love cuties! Keio, Magical Chase, Harmful Park, Cloud Master, Twinkle Star, Cotton, they are all great! Would we put Mushihime here too--yeah its a manic cutie!

[tanda]

I'm a big Cave fan, my two picks from them are DoDonpachi and ESP RaDe. I can play both for hours; just great intensity and excitement to these games. Great thread.

[B - Mark]

My favorites SHMUP games:

- R Type ( multiplataform )
- 1941 ( multiplataform )
- 1943 ( multiplataform )
- Terra Cresta ( multiplataform )
- Forgotten Worlds ( multiplataform )
- Tiger Heli ( multiplataform )
- MUSHA Aleste ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Truxton / Tatsujin ( Arcade, Mega Drive / Genesis and PC Engine )
- Vapor Trail ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Sol Deace ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Twin Cobra ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Trouble Shotter / Battle Mania ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Gaiares ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Phelios ( Arcade and Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Gleylancer ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Thunder Force II ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Thunder Force III ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Thunder Force IV ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- V.V / Grind Stromer ( Mega Drive / Genesis )
- Aerial Assault ( Master System )
- Power Strike ( Master System )
- Sonic Wings / Aero Blasters ( Arcade and Super NES )
- Sonic Wings 2 / Aero Blasters 2 ( Neo Geo )
- Sonic Wings 3 / Aero Blasters 3 ( Neo Geo )
- Strikers 1945 Plus ( Neo Geo )
- Ghost Pilots ( Neo Geo )
- Twin Bee ( NES )
- Macross ( NES )
- Gradius III ( Super NES )
- Pop em Twin Bee ( Super NES )
- Super R Type ( Super NES )
- Macross Scrambled Valkyre ( Super NES )
- Area 88 / UN Squadron ( Arcade and Super NES )

[RegSNES]

That's a fine list of SHMUPs you got there, B-Mark. :-P

I love how I can mention Zanac here and people actually know what I'm talking about. I mentioned Zanac at the GameSpot forums and it was like getting blank stares. I don't think anyone there even heard of the game. Crying shame. Zanac is another of my faves that I should have listed. I love the weapon and AI system of the game. Can't believe there's no slowdown in the game with all the fire going on. Compile really knows how to make SHMUPs.

RayStorm is another SHMUP I'm fond of. I love the targeting system this game uses. Brilliant stuff.

[Haoie]

You know, I'd love a compiled list on PS shumps and their regional availability.

[Hammy]

thunder force ac
galaxian (part x)
super spacefortress macross ii

that's the 3 i'm into, all arcade :)

[alec]

I love shmups. my favorites are
Truxton
Ikaruga
DonPachi
Blazing Star

Hyper Duel is quickly becoming 1 of my favs as well.

I had lost my genesis psu for a while and I finally found it, I missed Truxton and Dragon's Fury so much. I'm glad their back.

I want to get UN Squadron really bad, I used to play it at my friends house and have all sorts of good memories of it.

[RegSNES]

I want to get UN Squadron really bad, I used to play it at my friends house and have all sorts of good memories of it.

Ah, I can't believe I forgot about UN Squadron. I bought this one a while back for about $5.The SNES visuals still amaze me and the soundtrack is pretty good, IMO. The game is on the difficult side, though. I'm just glad you have a life bar. Game would be impossible without it. But then, I've still never beaten it.

[Kid Ice]

FYI there is a top 20 shmups (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1714) thread in classic discussions.

[Blitzwing256]

Zanac and zanac X all the way.

ZanacX might just have the most awesomest of awesome "reamke" sections, they added new eneimes and a really cool time attack that allows you to fight the final boss except he's about 20X times as hard, and try to survive as long as you possible can
http://www.green-ranger.com/lj/zanac2.jpg

I also put a quick little movie of the time attack here:
please right click and save! (http://www.green-ranger.com/lj/zanactimetrial.wmv)

(save my server and don't stream it please)

i'll admit that mars matrix comes in as a distant #2 for best shooter of all time though.

[B - Mark]

That's a fine list of SHMUPs you got there, B-Mark. :-P

I love how I can mention Zanac here and people actually know what I'm talking about. I mentioned Zanac at the GameSpot forums and it was like getting blank stares. I don't think anyone there even heard of the game. Crying shame. Zanac is another of my faves that I should have listed. I love the weapon and AI system of the game. Can't believe there's no slowdown in the game with all the fire going on. Compile really knows how to make SHMUPs.

RayStorm is another SHMUP I'm fond of. I love the targeting system this game uses. Brilliant stuff.

Hi RegSNES.
Thanks for his apreciation of my list.
I don´t play Zanac in my life, but i heard of his fame.
RayStorm is more apreciable for the Shumps fans but i didn´t play too.
Other Shump famous is Radiant Silvergun for Saturn.

I agree with you about the Compile.
This company is specialist in produces excellent Shumps like Aleste.

[B - Mark]

Well, i posted my SHUMP games favorites list.
Now i tell about for my love for SHUMPS games:

My love for SHUMPS games begin in 1985 when i had 6 years old.

My first SHUMP is Galaga for Arcade.
In the same year i won the Atari 2600 with Enduro.
My first shump for the system is Space Invaders.

I have the catridges Forgotten Worlds and Aerial Assault for Master System and Truxton for Mega Drive / Genesis.
The three games are mencioned in my favorite SHUMP games list.

[o2william]

Space Megaforce (JAP Super Aleste) gets my vote for best SHMUP ever. Everything about that game is so perfectly balanced.

Blazing Lasers for the TG-16 is also a Compile/Aleste game is plays very similar.

R-Type Delta on the PSX is my favorite in that series. So far I haven't enjoyed R-Type Final as much.

I enjoyed the SNES version of Gradius III... the slowdown made it manageable. :) still need to get Gradius III & IV for PS2.

Life Force (NES) is fantastic.

Ikaruga, ditto.

The Guardian Legend (NES) mixes a solid shooter with an adventure game. If you haven't played it, go do so now!

Other SHMUPs I enjoy
Phelios (Genesis)
Thunderforce III (Genesis)
Zanac (NES)
Fire Shark (Genesis)
Truxton (Genesis)
R-Type (Arcade)
Parodius

[evil_genius]

MUSHA!!!!!!!11111111

[Nick]

I have to say the only video games I really can't live without are shmups. I find it amazing that people view other video game genres better/more entertaining then shooters. I mean, I know there are great rpgs and awesome platformers etc etc but SHMUPS NEVER DIE. They are always good times.

I'm sure most shooter haters make the mistake of playing the game til it's over....using 500 credits. But us loyal shmup fans only laugh as they will never know the greatest 1cc attempt is what truly makes the genre great. Even if you don't have the ability to really "beat" the game, there's always fun in trying to beat the highscore.

I am still putting togethor my shooter collection and continue to look forward to owning all the classics. I have played the majority of what most people would consider the greatest shoot em ups of all time (minus the new and sexy ps2 games...still waiting to get an import ps2) and thus far deem these to be my favorite:

Dodonpachi
Strikers 1945 I + II
Battle Garegga
Raiden II
Progear
Gigawing 2
and..
Border Down


Great topic. :D

[Dire 51]

I've got too many favorite SHMUPs to list, I think... but out of all of those, my absolute favorites would have to include the entire Gradius series (counting Salamander in its ranks here), Axelay, MUSHA, Truxton, ThunderForce II-V, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga and U.N. Squadron (SNES).

[Moo Cow]

Don't really like SHUMPS, but I do like a few:
Zanac, Super R-Type, and Gyruss.

[Austin]

1942
G Darius
Mars Matrix
R-Type Final

I've got a big pile of them that I love, but these are the ones I find myself revisiting most often.

[RegSNES]

Super R-Type was not an easy game for me to beat. Especially when you die, the game starts you all the way at the begining of the level. One night I sat down with that game and went all the way through it. Was the first time I'd ever beaten that game. That said, I still say the hardest R-Type is the original. Haven't played Delta so I can't say anything about that one.

[CosmicMonkey]

R-Type Delta on PSone is well worth getting. Absolutely cracking R-Type game.

[Bloodreign]

Let's see here, shmups I like eh:

Gradius 1-V (including the awesome Gaiden)
R-Type 3 SNES (not the watered down GBA port)
R-Type 1,2, Leo, and Delta are nice, Final grows on you after playing it awhile.
DonPachi- Just a couple more shots
Life Force/Salamander/Salamander 2- Sal 2 is a bit easy, the other 2 not so, great stuff here though.
DoDonPachi- took the original and improved on it (would love to play a perfect Bee Storm some day).
Forgotten Worlds - more a borderliner shmup than an actual shmup, only thing that bugged me was you needed a dial to turn around smoothly.
Abadox NES - for an 8 bit game it rocks hard, it's also hard in difficulty as well. LOL
Darius series - recently picked up G-Darius for PSX, didn't notice that much slowdown, quite good. The rest for now I'm confined to emulating.
Galaga/Galaga 88/ Gaplus- Namco had a hit with Galaga, a sequel of sorts to Galaxian, Glaga 88 brought Galaga to new heights, Gaplus just seemed outright strange to me, but I like it nonetheless.


Shmups aren't released plentifully in the US, we take what we can get, but back in the heyday, shmups were more plentiful, though I didn't get the true joy of them until I hit the internet. I made it a habit to play as many as I could get my grubby paws on, occasionally purchasing a game I've emulated (mostly not shmups, though that should change soon). Nothing sharpens the reflexes like a good shmup with plenty of bullet spam, typical of the manic shmup.

[Speedy_NES]

As for my fav SHMUPs, I'm really fond of these:

Gun-Nac
Ikaruga
Gradius III
Gradius V
R-Type Final
G. Darius
Space Megaforce
Thunder Force III

There are probably others but that's all I can think of right now.
Gun*Nac is also my favorite shooter. You should really try out the NES PAL exclusive Over Horizon. That game is almost up to par with Gun*Nac, and it certainly beats all the rest of the shooters on NES, if you ask me. Great controls, weapon upgrades, and most importantly, very creative levels/obstacles/monsters.

[starsoldier1]

The Guardian Legend
Gradius III
Super Star Soldier
Syd Maed's Terraforming (anyone remember that one?)
Tempest 2000

[All Things Sega]

Always loved playing Radiant Silvergun for the saturn plus a ton of other wacky ones like Parodius. But would Mercs be considered a SHMup? Love playing that game and actually has a little strategy side to it if you play the genesis version.

[jdc]

My faves are the ones that appear on the Dreamcast. The power of the console gives them that super smooth, hyper bright look.

I love shmups with unlimited continues, wimpy or not. LOL

[klausien]

Gotta post here as I have the audacity to call myself a Shump-O and have the kanji for "tate" as my avatar. I have always been a huge fan of the genre, going back to my Super Cobra LED game back in the early '80s (all I had at the time). Star Force on the NES soon followed and I was totally hooked. I think shmups might be the reason I have such a fondness for the 16-Bit era, especially for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx and MegaDrive/Genesis. The birth of the manic vertical shmup in the late 90's reinvigorated the genre (and Saturn importing), though we don't see jack in the US. Here are my absolute favorites in no particular order:

DoDonPachi (my absolute #1. shmupping perfection)
Radiant Silvergun (NOT overrated IMHO)
Soukyugurentai
ThunderForce III, IV & V (Not huge on I or II)
M.U.S.H.A.
Spriggan
Nexzr
Star Parodier (easy, but it might be my Duo favorite)
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (for the graphics)
Soldier Blade
Lords of Thunder (shredders paradise)
Gate of Thunder
Blazing Lazers
Life Force (NES version)
Gaiares
Gun Nac (best NES shmup, bar none)
Star Force (nostalgia)
Gradius Gaiden & V
Raiden II

... the list goes on and on... and these are just my absolute favorites!

Shmups are a pure videogame experience. There is nothing like the Zen meditation of a sick run through bullet hell.

[lordnikon]

I am a big Tecnosoft fan, and am big into the Darius / Rayz series. Thunderforce IV is my favorite shooter of all time. Here is a list of just some of my favorite shooters:

Elemental Master
ThunderForce II
ThunderForce III
Lightening Force / ThunderForce IV
ThunderForce V
M.U.S.H.A.
Fire Shark
Phalanx
Super Nova / Darius Force
Darius Gaiden
RayForce
Border Down
R-Type Final
Iridion II

[Spartacus]

Gun*Nac is also my favorite shooter. You should really try out the NES PAL exclusive Over Horizon. That game is almost up to par with Gun*Nac, and it certainly beats all the rest of the shooters on NES, if you ask me. Great controls, weapon upgrades, and most importantly, very creative levels/obstacles/monsters.

Over Horizon is a great shooter, but it's not PAL exclusive.
Mine is Japanese.

http://i2.tinypic.com/xq9pa0.jpg

[Ed Oscuro]

My favorites include Darius Gaiden, Crisis Force, Gradius (most of 'em), the Thunder Cross series, Raiden II (or DX? Forget), R-Type Leo, lots of the Aleste games...

[Aussie2B]

For a short while I had this sort of obsession with TwinBee.

TwinBee has that effect, doesn't it? :) My TwinBee obsession has been going pretty strong for a few years now, hehe. I've loved every single one I've played (which is close to all of them), and I like the non-shooters in the series too (although that's neither here nor there in this topic). I can't really decide on a favorite, but I think it would be between Detana and Pop'n.

While I spend more time obsessing over TwinBee, I think if I had to pick one single shooter as the pinnacle for me, it would have to be Dragon Spirit (I prefer the NES version, which may be surprising to some). It's just brilliant. Every stage offers a different kind of experience, so it never feels the same. From the lights flickering on and off, to huge mazes, to a lightning fast run through ice walls, to walls expanding and closing in on you, there's just so much variety. The style of the stages and the theme of the game is wonderful too, and Shinji Hosoe's soundtrack is catchy as can be. The style of gameplay, speed, and challenge is perfect for me too.

My choices for my favorites are kind of unusual compared to what hardcore shmup fans usually pick as the best, but well, I'm no hardcore shmup fan. :P Call me crazy, but I don't mind if there are backgrounds to smash into or a speed that's not especially fast. I like my shooters old school in style, so I can do without the slick visuals, techno music, and waves of bullets that the modern shooters offer.

[drewbrim]

My favorites include

Aero Blasters
Blazing Lazers
Bangai-o
Ikaruga
Spriggan
Batsugun
Raiden

[TurboGenesis]

Gun*Nac is also my favorite shooter. You should really try out the NES PAL exclusive Over Horizon. That game is almost up to par with Gun*Nac, and it certainly beats all the rest of the shooters on NES, if you ask me. Great controls, weapon upgrades, and most importantly, very creative levels/obstacles/monsters.

Recca -- got to play Recca(Summer Carnival '92)

It is just crazy what this game is for an 8-bit game! Come on guys, try this game! Surprised no one has mentioned it :eek 2:

[poloplayr]

Hell yeah, UN Squadron/Area 88 on the SNES is one hell of a nice shooter. I can still remember the birthday when I got it when it first came out and staying up eating junk and blasting through that gem. Such a polished game.

[alexkidd2000]

MUSHA by far. Best music on Genesis too.

[BydoEmpire]

R-Type of course! Although I also really dig Mars Matrix on the DC, and I've been playing a lot of Ikaruga lately. For older school stuff, Demon Attack is great, and I still play it. The Amiga was home to a lot of my favorite shooters as well - Battle Squadron & Blood Money in particular.

[RegSNES]

Somone mentioned Demon Attack. One of the best Atari games, ever!! One of the many reasons I love my Activision Anthology. I'm also into super old-school shooters that aren't heavy on visuals and music. My fav of the bunch? Galaga. The game is just so addictivley fun.

I've heard on varius sites that some SHMUP fans aren't that fond of Gradius IV. After playing it via Gradius III & IV, I honestly can't understand why. It looks good and sounds fantastic and it's tough just likea Gradius game should be. Yeah, GV is still my fav in the series but I actually like GIV more than GIII now.

Sometimes we categorize SHMUPs with twitch-style and manic. So would these basically be the same thing?

My fav NES SHMUP was Life Force until I played Gun-Nac. I cannot beleive the stuff Compile did with Gun-Nac. So much action on the screen and no slowdown. Most NES games can't have more than a few foes on the screen without bogging down, but somehow Gun-Nac prevails. Zanac is the same. It's been a while since I've played Life Force all the way through, but it's probably my third fav NES SHMUP, with Zanac being second.

[jboypacman]

m.u.s.h.a
raiden
lords of thunder
gates of thunder
air zonk
aero fighters
blazing lasers
wings of wor
in the hunt

so many great shooters but ones i listed are my favorites.

[idrougge]

On a platform-per-platform basis:

Atari 2600:
Zaxxon
Exocet
(These are the only shooters I have on the system, save Space Invaders or Asteroids.)

Mastersystem:
Powerstrike II -- PAL exclusive, but still ugly borders. Shame on you, Compile! Still, it's a great Aleste-style game with wonderful graphics.
R-type -- the port is done by Compile, which is good. Very impressive port for such a small system, and it's R-type with its perfect blend of advanced strategy and just enough bullets.

NES:
Gun-nac
Recca -- I don't think I had heard of this game prior to finding a pirate copy for 8 s? at a Polish fleamarket. For the NES, it's a fantastic maniac shooter in the Compile vein.

Amiga:
Project X -- it's arcade perfect, but not based on any arcade game. Great music, fantastic graphics and full 50Hz gameplay without borders.
Uridium 2 -- the original Uridium concept was great, but oh so hard. This one is perfectly polished and would probably be better remembered had it been ported to a console.

MSX1:
Zanac -- nuff said
Gulkave

MSX2:
Aleste 1-2
Space Manbow

Atari ST:
Lethal Xcess -- great music by Mad Max, overscan and other advanced technical touches, unfortunately too hard and with some questionable graphics.

C64:
Space action -- very fast and it's made in Sweden.
Katakis -- quite different but on par with R-type on the system. Bloody difficult, as with all European games.

Atari 8-bit:
Zybex -- probably the most famous shmup on the platform, and with great graphics and sound.
Mirax Force -- like Uridium, but with some great speech and better playability.

Gamegear:
Powerstrike II -- known as GG Aleste II in Japan and not the same as Powerstrike II for Mastersystem. Lots of nice upgrades, 3D bonus levels, better graphics than other 8-bit Alestes and super music.

Gameboy:
Nemesis II -- great music, but the GB is not a good shmup platform.

Other honourable mentions:
Defender -- a great evolutionary step and a great influence.
Xevious -- another evolutionary step. Had everything except for powerups.
Darius -- impressive in its arcade form, good graphics and Zuntata at their best. Unfortunately, it is limited as a game. I haven't played the later games, but I hear they are better.
Nemesis/Gradius -- awfully impressive graphics and sound from the humble MSX1 beginnings, but they require too much memorisation, and I prefer to avoid crashing into bullets than crashing into the landscape.
Galaga -- made Space invaders fun. Almost every version is playable, but my favourite is DeLuxe Galaga on the Amiga.

If I have left out any platform, it's because I haven't played enough shooters on it. The Megadrive has a good selection, but a quick test play in emulation is not enough for me to form an opinion.

[blue lander]

The only weakness of GG Aleste II is the Game Gear's screen makes the game really blurry. I didn't really enjoy the game until I played it on a GP32 with a GG emulator.

As for my favorite Shmups, just about anything by Compile. But especially Zanac, Aleste I II and Gaiden, Gun*Nac, Blazing Lazers, Spriggan, MUSHA and Robo Aleste. I also like Hudson's Blazing Lazers rip-off series, Star Soldier (especially Soldier Blade, Super Star Soldier, and Star Soldier for the Gamecube). I also consider Vertical Force for the Virtual Boy to be a Star Soldier game in everything but name. The

Thunder Force series is also really good, especially TF III and the X68000 version of TF II. TF IV and V are decent too, but TF I sucks. Hudson's Thunderforce rip-off Gate of Thunder is really good, and the sequel Lords of Thunder is pretty good too.

I'm not a huge fan of R-Type, but I did enjoy R-Type Delta. I've always preferred the Gradius series. Gradius I, both the arcade and MSX versions of Gradius II (and Nemesis '90 for that matter), Gradius Gaiden, and Gradius V in particular.

[Spartacus]

On a platform-per-platform basis:

Amiga:
Project X -- it's arcade perfect, but not based on any arcade game. Great music, fantastic graphics and full 50Hz gameplay without borders.
Uridium 2 -- the original Uridium concept was great, but oh so hard. This one is perfectly polished and would probably be better remembered had it been ported to a console.



That's a very interesting list you've come up with idrougge!
According to the last issue of Video Game Collector magazine I
received, the US got a port of C64's Uridium on the NES called
The Last Starfighter. I managed to find myself a copy of it, but
I'm sorry to say I haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I need
to remedy that situation!

I have had the pleasure of playing Project X2, which was the sequel
to Amiga's Project X. It was released on the PlayStation in both
Europe and Japan, but unfortunately not over here. It rotates from
horizontal to vertical and I wouldn't claim it's the greatest shmup
on earth, but it's a very beautiful game and I always felt it really
showed off what the PlayStation was capable of graphics wise.

[RadiantSvgun]

Lets see, shmups...
Ikaruga
Radiant Silvergun
Chaos Field
Trizeal
Radirgy
Gradius/salamander series
Psyvariar 2
Shikigami no shiro 2
Blazing Lazers
Soldier Blade
Einhander
Mars Matrix
Bangi-oh
Gunstar Heroes
Hyper Duel
Esp. Ra. De.
Wolf Fang
Lords Of Thunder/ Gate of Thunder
Thunder force series
Raystorm- I like this game, but no one else I know likes it.

[blue lander]

I haven't been impressed with any of the latest Dreamcast shooters other than Border Down. Psyvariar II, Trizeal, and Chaos Field were all uninteresting at best. I recently got Radirgy but haven't really had a chance to play it. It looks more promising than the others though.

[idrougge]

The only weakness of GG Aleste II is the Game Gear's screen makes the game really blurry. I didn't really enjoy the game until I played it on a GP32 with a GG emulator.

Agreed, the GG screen is awful, but I managed to beat GG Aleste without too much effort, whereas I still can't advance far on the MS games.

[RadiantSvgun]

I haven't been impressed with any of the latest Dreamcast shooters other than Border Down. Psyvariar II, Trizeal, and Chaos Field were all uninteresting at best. I recently got Radirgy but haven't really had a chance to play it. It looks more promising than the others though.

I can understand a little about Chaos Field. I'd have been disappointed if I paid 59.99+ for it on DC. I picked it up for GC at 19.99. I really enjoyed the Buzz in Psyvariar.

[Yago]

In the arcade I spent the most money on Twin Cobra. Could always make it to the 2nd boss without dieing.

I agree, on th Amiga Project X is a must have. Also check out Sidewinder. And, you can't go wrong with Battle Squadron: Battle Squadron (http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/battlesq.htm#battlesquadronaj) You have to scroll down for the English reviews.

Also, if you have an Amiga 1200 or a CD32 then Banshee is by far one of the best SHMUPS I have ever played. Shoot up a truck carrying enemy troops and watch as they jump from the back of the truck screaming while in flames. Great stuff! Check it out: Banshee (http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/banshee.htm) Again, scroll down for the English reviews.

[TurboGenesis]

I haven't been impressed with any of the latest Dreamcast shooters other than Border Down. Psyvariar II, Trizeal, and Chaos Field were all uninteresting at best. I recently got Radirgy but haven't really had a chance to play it. It looks more promising than the others though.

Radirgy is pretty decent. Much better work from Milestone than Chaos Field. Yes I paid full price for it back in Dec 2004 and even bought it again for Game Cube for $29.99(I have to buy EVERY shootie that comes out in the US)

The true gem however is Under Defeat. This is an excellent game and by far the best effort since Border Down on the DC oh yeah they are both G.rev games too.

[blue lander]

I got Under Defeat when I got Radigy, but I haven't even booted it up yet. I might have enjoyed a lot of the latest Dreamcast shmups if I had paid $20 or so for them rather than $60, but I want to keep my Dreamcast Shmup collection complete.

[Apossum]

I love me some shumups...to this day, there's no genre that puts me in an alpha state so easily.

--Guwange!!
--Ikaruga
--Ibara
--Sexy Parodius
--Dodonpachi
--Psyvariar 2 Extended Edition

those are some of my faves.

I really wanna try out Dodonpachi Daioujou and Radiant Silvergun. I occasionally play RS on Mame, but it's far from perfect.

[RegSNES]

Don't you hate it when you have a good groove going with a SHMUP and you die? By a "good groove" I mean you have some tight weapons and you're blasting enemies like a pro, you haven't died for a few stages, then all of a sudden, you die and lose all that stuff. It really is annoying to me. :angry:

[roushimsx]

Don't you hate it when you have a good groove going with a SHMUP and you die? By a "good groove" I mean you have some tight weapons and you're blasting enemies like a pro, you haven't died for a few stages, then all of a sudden, you die and lose all that stuff. It really is annoying to me. :angry:

Thunder Cross is awesome at this. It's incredibly easy to get "in the zone" and when you start steamrolling, you're golden. Play the japanese version if possible if you value a decently balanced weapon selection in the slightest.

[RegSNES]

What system is Thunder Cross on?

Good news for us SHMUP fans. If you haven't heard, XS is releasing Raiden III on the PS2 and it will be budget priced!! I've never played a Raiden game but I'm excited about this one. :P

[Ed Oscuro]

What system is Thunder Cross on?
Arcade only. That and its sequel, Thunder Cross 2 (Who woulda thought?) are two of my favorite shooters.



Good news for us SHMUP fans. If you haven't heard, XS is releasing Raiden III on the PS2
That's a good thing...right?

Right?

[blissfulnoise]

My favorites of the ones I own are:

Battle Garegga (SAT)
Soukyugurentai Otokuyou / Terra Diver (SAT/STV)
Batsugun (SAT)
Twinkle Star Sprites (SAT)
Kingdom Grandprix (SAT)
Radiant Silvergun (SAT)
Sexy Parodius (SAT)
Game Paradise (SAT)
Download 2 (PCE)
TerraForming (PCE)
Star Parodier (PCE)
Blazing Lazers / Gunhed (PCE)
Ikaruga (DC)
Mars Matrix (DC)
Robo Aleste (SCD)
Truxton / Tatsujin (GEN)
Gaiares (GEN)
MUSHA (GEN)
Gun*Nac (NES)
Tiger-Heli (NES)
Zanac x Zanac / Zanac Neo (PSX)
Rayforce (PSX) / Layer Section (SAT)
Gradius V (PS2)
Power Strike (SMS)

I always like to learn more about 8-bit/16-bit shooters that came out in Japan/Europe exclusively that are of quality. I'll be checking out Over Horizon very soon.

And I know this isn't popular sentiment, but as neat as Cave's games have looked recently, they're just too manac for me. I've picked up ESPGaluda more times than I can count only to put it back down.

I've also got DoDonPachi Daioujou but I haven't had my hands on a Japanese PS2 for awhile so I haven't had a chance to play it.

I'm planning on picking up DoDonPachi, Harmful Park, Border Down, Nezyr, Recca, Spriggan, and Thunder Force V very soon. Rayxanber III is on the list too, but, heh, I don't know if I hate myself that much.

Are Bulk Slash, Hyper Dual, and Blast Wind worth it? I've had my eye off and on for those three for awhile as well, but I can't pull the trigger. Maybe some encouragement will help? What about Sapphire? I know it got reprinted, so maybe now's the time to get it, but I want to make sure it's worth it.

My all time favorite shooter though has to be Souky-O. Fierce, beautiful, exquisite level design, variable difficulty, and excellent point bonuses make it Numero-Uno as far as my quarter goes.

[milhouseOFpain]

What system is Thunder Cross on?

Good news for us SHMUP fans. If you haven't heard, XS is releasing Raiden III on the PS2 and it will be budget priced!! I've never played a Raiden game but I'm excited about this one. :P


unless you payed $60 for the import :angry:

[milhouseOFpain]

What system is Thunder Cross on?

Good news for us SHMUP fans. If you haven't heard, XS is releasing Raiden III on the PS2 and it will be budget priced!! I've never played a Raiden game but I'm excited about this one. :P


unless you payed $60 for the import :angry:

[sabre2922]

Raiden Project PSX
Gradius 5 PS2
R-type Final PS2
Axelay SNES
Thunderforce series Genesis
Darius Saturn
Fantasy Zone -Sega Classics Collection version PS2

[sabre2922]

Raiden Project PSX
Gradius 5 PS2
R-type Final PS2
Axelay SNES
Thunderforce series Genesis
Darius Saturn
Fantasy Zone -Sega Classics Collection version PS2

[GaijinPunch]

I'm really into Cave games at the moment.... big time. ESPGaluda II, the most recent creation of Cave's star programmer Tsuneki Ikeda (of Batsgun, Dodonpachi, Ketsui fame), is definitely not a classic game, but it is about as classic as new games get.

Very large, low-res 2D sprites. Shitloads of bullets. Lots of fun. I have written a review (http://www.gamengai.com/bn_inf.php?type=article&id=1389) which I posted a while ago, and even put up a video (http://www.gamengai.com/video.php) of stage 1 where yours truly got 42.3 million points. :)

I busted my controller today though, so have to fix it before I can play anymore. :(