So, I finally bought Raptor: Call of the Shadows...

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I always wanted to have the full version and thanks to a GOG sale it was finally in a sensible price. It's nice to have it, but for some weird reason I get that horrible feeling that something is wrong...


That there are way too few bullets on screen...

 

[DraQ]

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I have the same problem with Tyrian.

I wish someone would make a cross between Raptor and bullet hell shooters.

 

[Mrowak]

I just played a couple of levels of Tyrian 2000...

Such an awesome game...

Ah, so many fond memories...

 

[Konjad]

Tyrian is not as good as it was several years ago... at the time i loved it and now... it's boring for me

 

[Satori (original)]

Raiden 1+2 (haven't tried 3) are other good choices.

 

[Luzur]

i dont remember Raptor having many bullets on screen.

so i guess nothing is wrong.

 

[Pegultagol]

I recall Raptor just because of how it was one of the first shareware titles that I played almost religiously and how the upgrade system based on your performance in the preceding missions snared me into some kind of loot envy. It really spoke to the consoletard in me, and the following games of similar ilk (not that I found too many on SNES or others) did not compare with my fond nostalgia of the title.

Also how it had an easter egg (probably aside from a few more that I did not get) where the title music was changed into some weird happy birthday song when it was the anniversary of the company's founding.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Ah, I played it for some time and it's an excellent game. While there is much less bullets on the screen than in bullet hell shooters, the aircraft is much less responsive, so it kinda evens out.

Anyway, I love the atmosphere of this game. The music, the cutscenes and the designs, especially the player's aircraft.
Also, I like how the player is a mercenary working for a corporation called Dark Corp XD .

It really spoke to the consoletard in me, and the following games of similar ilk (not that I found too many on SNES or others) did not compare with my fond nostalgia of the title.

It's not nostalgia. It's simply a great game. A true work of art.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Tyrian is not as good as it was several years ago... at the time i loved it and now... it's boring for me

Get the fuck out I finished it not longer than 2 months ago and it's still awesome.


Raptor is also Fucking Awesome, but it's vastly different than Tyrian. Tyrian is nerdy, arcadey, colourful and jolly, while Raptor is grimdark and gritty.

 

[piydek]

PC games of that kind have always been a huge "meh" for me.

 

[DraQ]

Tyrian is not as good as it was several years ago... at the time i loved it and now... it's boring for me

Get the fuck out I finished it not longer than 2 months ago and it's still awesome.


Raptor is also Fucking Awesome, but it's vastly different than Tyrian. Tyrian is nerdy, arcadey, colourful and jolly, while Raptor is grimdark and gritty.

I'd say nerdy, arcadey silly style suits nerdy, arcadey, silly games with floaty powerups and pattern attacking enemies better. Tyrian made it an art form.

 

[JarlFrank]

Raptor was fucking awesome. Really loved that game as a kid - I think it was one of my first SHMUPs, too, together with Major Stryker.

 

[Dark Matter]

What's different with the full version? Just more levels or does it have more upgrades as well?

 

[zeitgeist]

Tyrian is definitely my favorite PC shootemup. The graphics, the music, and the level variety still haven't been surpassed in any PC genre title I've heard of, and I doubt they ever will be.

If anyone's interested in using it for anything, Daniel Cook, the person responsible for the awesome pixel art in Tyrian (who - surprise surprise - ended up making casual iPhone/Kindle games...), released most of the sprites and tiles for free on his website, as well as some art from two other games that never got finished - Hard Vacuum and Sinistar. All three games share a very similar Amiga-like visual style, and the art is practically interchangeable with minimum adjustments needed.

 

[Darth Roxor]

the music

FUCK YEAH, Tyrian soundtrack to download

Best Christmas present evar, thank you good sir

 

[DraQ]

*beta screenshot*

Anyway, Tyrian is surprisingly complex for a shmup. You need to take things like energy into account, the weapons and sidekicks are diverse and have many nuances and so on.

 

[zeitgeist]

*beta screenshot*

I only posted that one because I like the pilot portrait in the corner, which they removed from the final version for some reason. Would've been nice if it stayed and had some animations that played when you picked up a data cube or turned into static when your energy dropped too low etc.

Also, about Raptor: what I missed the most in that game was a non-linear weapon upgrade system. I mean, it's there in theory, since it does have a weapon shop, but it's always very clear which weapon is superior to which, leading to one optimal loadout at all times, and saving up for specific upgrades at specific levels. Whereas in Tyrian there was not only a greater variety of weapons but the differences between them were a bit fuzzier too, so it was more of a question of which loadout was optimal for your specific playstyle.

 

[praetor]

back in my megadrive days, i was always a great fan of this little game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMg9geNyP3A

it's way too easy and short (last time i replayed it on an emulator a couple of years ago i think i finished it in an hour or so..) but it has great graphics and awesome music (my favorite in the genre)

 

[DraQ]

Whereas in Tyrian there was not only a greater variety of weapons but the differences between them were a bit fuzzier too, so it was more of a question of which loadout was optimal for your specific playstyle.

This.

There were few weapons that could be considered universal rape engines, sidekicks, while easier to divide into tiers, also formed several distinct paths depending on what you wanted your sidekick to do, even shields, despite maintaining simple hierarchy of power, had some nuances - solar shields recharged without draining your main energy level which could be a lifesaver.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

What the fuck? What the fuck!?
All my weapons are gone. Gone!
I (barely) finished the sixth wave in the Bravo sector, saved and quit the game. Then I have reloaded and all my weapons are gone! Gone! What the fuck? Is it some kind of bug or is it possible to lose weapons due to severe damage or something like that?

 

[Darth Roxor]

You lose your guns if your fighter jet is reduced to like 10% hp.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Ok, thanks. I was worried that it was some kind of a bug. Now I can continue playing it without fear of corrupt save games and stuff like that.

Anyway, two things that kinda pissed me off:
1. It's not mentioned in the manual. It's mentioned only in the in-game help, in the fucking hints section.
2. It's not the first time I lost all my special weapons - previously, I lost them after playing through the training mode where I have lost all my weapons after going through 5 stages. Fuck.
The fucking manual said that I will retain all my weapons after finishing the training mode. It turned out that I don't. Worse, the in-game help explicitly states that one loses all the weapons except machine gun. What the fuck?
It's like the worst documented game I've ever played and it's a fucking shoot em up.