Shumps for the busy/grown gamer?

[Lady Jaye]

Among horizontal shmups, I'm really partial to the Parodius series, especially Parodius Da! and Gokujō Parodius!/Fantastic Journey. You'll need to go the importation or emulation route for this series though. If you don't mind playing on-the-go, I recommend the Parodius Portable anthology on PSP, which includes all five shmups in the series. The only one not really playable is the very first one, which comes off being really stiff and not nearly as silly; it's much closer to the original Gradius game.

[Space-Ace-13]

Please check this game out.

I just downloaded it, pretty cool... and free! Is this your game?

[123►Genei-Jin]

I love SHMUPS, check out the Troubleshooter/Battlemania series on the Genesis/Megadrive.

Also check this gamesack episode they just did about Genesis SHMUPS:

[Space-Ace-13]

This thread inspired me to start collecting more shmups for my systems and recently I've been working on the snes. Recently picked up:

Biometal - Really hard, kinda hard to differentiate your ship from the background. The soundtrack is jock jams (which is amazing) good game though
Blazeon - Amazing! Enough said
Imperium - Great game! good graphics, limited slow down, challenging, very cool
Super Nova - First time I've played the Darius series, its tough! Good game though, very cool!
U.N. Squadron - In the mail... I'm excited

Anybody have some suggestions for good and/or obscure shmups on the NES or SNES??

[Tron 2.0]

This thread inspired me to start collecting more shmups for my systems and recently.
Anybody have some suggestions for good and/or obscure shmups on the NES or SNES??

I can recommend some for the nes/famicom.

Crisis Force
Recaa Summer Carnival 92
Legendary Wings
Life Force/Get the japanese version since it supports different endings
Gradius II
Zanac
Guardian Legend/while it's part arpg it's also part shump.

[ice1605]

Recca Summer Carnival '92

Recca is a fun shooter, and it can really show what the Famicom is capable of, however, it is a very expensive game. Be prepared to pay a lot for it.

[Tron 2.0]

Recca is a fun shooter, and it can really show what the Famicom is capable of, however, it is a very expensive game. Be prepared to pay a lot for it.

Import yes i should have mention that there are reproductions of recaa which are fairly cheap.

[ButtonMasher123]

This thread inspired me to start collecting more shmups for my systems and recently I've been working on the snes. Recently picked up:

Biometal - Really hard, kinda hard to differentiate your ship from the background. The soundtrack is jock jams (which is amazing) good game though
Blazeon - Amazing! Enough said
Imperium - Great game! good graphics, limited slow down, challenging, very cool
Super Nova - First time I've played the Darius series, its tough! Good game though, very cool!
U.N. Squadron - In the mail... I'm excited

Anybody have some suggestions for good and/or obscure shmups on the NES or SNES??

A real good one that never gets mentioned is Super Spy Hunter. You gotta love a car shmup.

[Space-Ace-13]

I can recommend some for the nes/famicom.

Crisis Force
Recaa Summer Carnival 92
Legendary Wings
Life Force/Get the japanese version since it supports different endings
Gradius II
Zanac
Guardian Legend/while it's part arpg it's also part shump.

Thanks for the recommendations! For my NES I have:

1943
Abadox
Dragon Spirit
Galaga
Gradius
Guardian Legend
Gun Nac
Gunsmoke
Kings Knight
Legendary Wings
Life Force
Section Z
Silver Surfer
Star Force
Stinger
Talespin

Are Crisis Force and Gradius II only Famicom?

[NayusDante]

Gradius Galaxies rarely left my GBA. As you play through the game, you unlock checkpoints in the system save. You can play for five minutes, shut it off, and start up near where you stopped next time you play. It's literally the ONLY shmup I can think of that actually respects your time and lets you play through at your own pace. If you really like a particular section, you can start there.

The GBA actually has a few good shmups. Iridion II was pretty good.

There's a DOS shmup called Overkill, which could be described as a vertical Gradius. It's kind of short, though.


Playing any game through in one sitting is a lot to ask, but it's par for most shmups. I'd be more into them if it weren't for that issue. I simply can't push myself to get into Ikaruga, R-Type, and the rest because I don't want to keep starting over all the time.

[starsoldier1]

I recommend shooter like:
Air Zonk
Blazing Lazers
Magical Chase
Ordyne
Solar Striker
Star Soldier Vanishing Earth

[Tron 2.0]

Thanks for the recommendations! For my NES I have:

1943
Abadox
Dragon Spirit
Galaga
Gradius
Guardian Legend
Gun Nac
Gunsmoke
Kings Knight
Legendary Wings
Life Force
Section Z
Silver Surfer
Star Force
Stinger
Talespin

Are Crisis Force and Gradius II only Famicom?

Yes,Crisis Force and Gradius II are famicom only.