Incline Shoot'em up goodness (review and discuss)

[Falksi]

Best Free SHMUPS according to laddo....

 

[Hag]

Quickly tried a few of them :
- Paro Paro : pretty nice and very close to Parodius, in atmosphere as well as control of the ship. Will play again.
- Warning Forever : very repetitive and not that interesting. I've failed to see the "adapt to you strategy" mechanism, so in the end you are farming look-alike bosses. Forever.
- The Flying Pancake Octopus in Blackhole : great atmosphere and visuals, interesting ideas. The slow shooting speed is a bit tiring, but the game is easy and quick anyway, with some good space for replays. Very well worth a shot.
- Hydorah : did not click. Everything in this game looks almost pretty good, with a general feeling of boredom. Did not go very far, but did not enjoy the way it played. May come back to it someday, when I'm better.

Otherwise, I am playing back Darius Gaiden. For some time, despite its amazing graphics, I was a bit disappointed with it. Felt too punishing, with a large hitbox and a tricky scenery at times, while quite difficult for the beginner I still am. Now that I can confidently play without using ten continues per level, I am finding how delightful the game is. So many levels, many with clever patterns or surprises, fair quantity of powerups and rank system making it not overly punishing for dying or using another credit. I'm enjoying browsing through the levels, meeting the numerous enemies, with visuals and a music of the utmost quality. The game also rewards patience, as rushing for upgrades will usually kill you dead. Will not forgive any mistake, but allows you to make a few of them.
I remember reading on some forum one guy saying he played this game for years, and got a little bemused. Now I'm starting to get it. It is good, but also deep, as anything about space and fishes should be.

 

[Falksi]

Up and coming SHMUPs for 2021.......

 

[Great Deceiver]

I just played the G-Darius HD Switch port by M2 and it's fucking amazing. Definitely check it out - I played it on an actual Switch but it probably emulates fine in either Ryujinx or Yuzu.

The Switch is an amazing system for Darius. Pretty much every game perfectly emulated with M2's actually useful extra features (overlays and so on).

 

[Falksi]

I just played the G-Darius HD Switch port by M2 and it's fucking amazing. Definitely check it out - I played it on an actual Switch but it probably emulates fine in either Ryujinx or Yuzu.

The Switch is an amazing system for Darius. Pretty much every game perfectly emulated with M2's actually useful extra features (overlays and so on).

Have this on my radar to get tucked in once I get a Switch (prob be end of the year and I reckon I'll get the Darius Cozmic Revelation package). Looks great, glad to hear that it's living up to the promise.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I definitely recommend the Switch for shmup fans. Some of the ports are iffy (especially the Psikyo ports, which have like 6 frames of delay), but most are really good - Esp Ra De has an especially amazing port by M2. The Mushihimesama port is basically the Steam port but it's very well done and has no additional delay. Both Darius collections are amazing. The Ikaruga port is pretty perfect, the most up-to-date version of Crimzon Clover is on the Switch (not on Steam yet).

Plus if you do manage to get an exploitable v1 unit (or install a modchip in one of the newer ones) you can emulate everything. It's a brilliant little machine for shmups really, as long as you can get a decent controller.

 

[Nutmeg]

Best Free SHMUPS according to laddo....

Cho Ren Sha is amazing. Basically Batsugun crossed with Tatsujin 2 but no ground plane enemies. Very "pure". Also not super hard to 1 loop.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I have changed my mind recently and now think G-Darius is the best Darius game, with Darius Gaiden coming in at a close second.

G-Darius has so much cool shit going on and such a variety of (branching) levels and enemies, as well as kickass bosses. The Zuntata soundtrack is pretty weird, though.

 

[amb]

The poor man's Egret II.

 

[Nutmeg]

Great Deceiver I just got Nex Machina on your recommendation ITT. I'm in love after only a few credits. Amazing game.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I've been playing Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) in anticipation of M2's upcoming Shottriggers compilation (which will include all versions of Twin Cobra as well as its predecessor, Tiger Heli) - apparently they want to release more Toaplan collections, which is awesome. I love Toaplan.

Game is very hard. I remember playing Tiger Heli on the NES when I was a kid, it was kind of a shitty port but I liked it. I've also been playing some of the console ports, especially the Megadrive version which I missed completely back in the day and it seems to be even harder than the arcade version.

An amusing curiosity is that the American version of the arcade game is significantly different from the Japanese one - the original has a checkpoint system while in the NA version you respawn instantly.

I have to say I'm not a fan of vert shooters that also scroll horizontally (as is the case here), but anyway it's refreshing to play a game with killer bullets instead of screen-filling patterns. This makes it similar to Raiden in that it's important to chart out a route for the level instead of simply reacting to bullets that are much faster than your ship.

 

[Falksi]

I've been playing Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) in anticipation of M2's upcoming Shottriggers compilation (which will include all versions of Twin Cobra as well as its predecessor, Tiger Heli) - apparently they want to release more Toaplan collections, which is awesome. I love Toaplan.

Game is very hard. I remember playing Tiger Heli on the NES when I was a kid, it was kind of a shitty port but I liked it. I've also been playing some of the console ports, especially the Megadrive version which I missed completely back in the day and it seems to be even harder than the arcade version.

An amusing curiosity is that the American version of the arcade game is significantly different from the Japanese one - the original has a checkpoint system while in the NA version you respawn instantly.

I have to say I'm not a fan of vert shooters that also scroll horizontally (as is the case here), but anyway it's refreshing to play a game with killer bullets instead of screen-filling patterns. This makes it similar to Raiden in that it's important to chart out a route for the level instead of simply reacting to bullets that are much faster than your ship.

Ridiculously tough game. I think the bullet patterns are programmed to anticipate where you are going to move to in response to other bullets already fired if I remember correctly?

 

[Great Deceiver]

Yeah, there seems to be a fair bit of leading with the bullet AI. Part of the reason why I don't like horizontally scrolling screens in vert shmups is that it's very easy to get hit from random offscreen shit - it happens in this game quite a bit, too.

 

[Falksi]

Yeah, there seems to be a fair bit of leading with the bullet AI. Part of the reason why I don't like horizontally scrolling screens in vert shmups is that it's very easy to get hit from random offscreen shit - it happens in this game quite a bit, too.

Yep. I'm much more of a side-scrolling man myself. Verts are OK, but actually feel far more limited to me.

 

[Nutmeg]

especially the Megadrive version which I missed completely back in the day and it seems to be even harder than the arcade version.

Yes it's fucking evil. Very brutal. But it is just so damn charming with those yellow tanks!

his makes it similar to Raiden in that it's important to chart out a route for the level instead of simply reacting to bullets that are much faster than your ship.

The key is tap movement. Bullets don't actually lead, they just shoot directly at you (but IIRC at like the nearest angle "step", tanks can only shoot in 16 directions). So if you move (cause you want to) stop (they shoot) and move again (they miss) it works. There's a certain rhythm to it and lots of enemies shoot at the exact same time.

horizontally scrolling screens in vert shmups is that it's very easy to get hit from random offscreen shit - it happens in this game quite a bit, too.

Nah, things can't fire while off screen unless you're playing a bad port. They can fire as soon as they're on screen, so the edges become part of your tactics e.g. it's never a good idea to reveal the opposite edge if you haven't been clearing it out regularly cause you're gonna be forced into moving vertically and that's gonna fuck everything up. At the same time, you can duck in and out of cover at the opposite edge and pick off difficult enemy patterns with wide shots (it's why everyone uses blue weapon in Kyuykyoku Tiger).

Also you never really have to do hard routing in these games in my experience, with the exception of checkpoint recoveries which can require some arcane AF tricks.

But yeah the thing I love about the Toaplan military shmups is they're some of the rare games where regular enemies are just as if not more dangerous than bosses. The whole stage is a boss, basically. It's also dumb to say given the gaminess of the genre but it feels more "realistic", like you're actually flying over a battlefield where everything is actively trying to shoot you down. Everything wants to kill you.

Most Cave as well as the Yagawa Raizing games also pan horizontally in the same way. As do Seibu games. But only Seibu games kind of feel the same cause of the fast aimed shots (many say Raiden is a Kyukyoku Tiger bootleg that became its own thing during development). So it's not all about the panning. Even Toaplan's scifi games feel way different (Tatsujin, Dogyuun, Batusugn).

But I agree panning verts are kind of their own subgenre. I can also write pages and pages on it but I'll stop lol.

 

[samuraigaiden]

I'm playing Danmaku Unlimited 3 on my phone. Wanna hear something deeply disturbing? Shmups play WAY BETTER on a touch screen. It's way, way easier. Plus, the screen orientation is perfect.

Going back to a gamepad after playing on a touchscreen is like playing an FPS with a controller after playing with m&k.

It's literally the only traditional videogame genre that plays better on a touch screen. Not acceptably well, BETTER. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

 

[Nutmeg]

I've started using keyboard again. My stick case is too small to rest my wrist on and that annoys me for longer gaming sessions. Also the stick itself was a bit screwy since I bought it.

 

[Falksi]

I'm playing Danmaku Unlimited 3 on my phone. Wanna hear something deeply disturbing? Shmups play WAY BETTER on a touch screen. It's way, way easier. Plus, the screen orientation is perfect.

Going back to a gamepad after playing on a touchscreen is like playing an FPS with a controller after playing with m&k.

It's literally the only traditional videogame genre that plays better on a touch screen. Not acceptably well, BETTER. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

Thing is Danmaku Unlimited 3 is pretty easy for a bullet hell game anyway though. Your weapons really dominate the screen, enemy bullets move really slow on the default difficulty, the trance meter is a real crutch, and the ship hit box very forgiving. Some of the bosses can be a bitch, but I still wouldn't have it as a solid game.

I'd be interested if you thought the same with some of the older, harder SHMUPS. Give Twin Cobra a go on it if you can.

 

[Nutmeg]

Give Twin Cobra a go on it if you can.

Sounds hellish but I'd need to try this Danmaku Unlimited phone version to be able to even imagine it.

One evil Toaplan staple is the music (which is always amazing IMO) stops as soon as you die and get taken back to the checkpoint. Feels like such a slap in the face. Contrast with something like Taito's Gun Frontier, where the music keeps going even with checkpoints.

The Toaplan way makes playing well feel very rewarding, but playing badly incredibly frustrating. You can take it out on an arcade stick and shake the joystick, but I wouldn't want to throw my phone at the wall or something lol.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Give Twin Cobra a go on it if you can.

I'll most definitely check that out. I tried the Thruxton android port and it also felt way easier and more intuitive than playing on a gamepad.

I'd need to try this Danmaku Unlimited phone version to be able to even imagine it.

Just be aware these games default to a zoomed in view which is just garbage, but the option to revert back to the original aspect ration is in the game's menu.

And the game not filling the entire screen is perfect. The black bar at the bottom is ideal to control the game without having to put a finger on top of the ship.

 

[Falksi]

Just been playing Darius Twin on the SNES. What a pile of shit.

Fucking shockingly designed game, ridiculous repetition of standard enemies, stages bland as no-salted crisps, and as for the stage "choices"....lol.......

.....^these are different stages apparently

Wank. Avoid.

 

[Falksi]

ZPF Developer Interview - A NEW SHMUP On Sega Genesis & Mega Drive

 

[LESS T_T]

Castle of Shikigami 2 is coming to Steam:



There's a demo.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

Brand New Translation
We know everyone is waiting for this!

Everyone loved the original terrible translation though. It was probably the most loved thing about the game.
Go home. Regret this.

 

[Kwota]

Been playing Espgaluda 2 on switch for past two days, very solid port and probably the most fun cave shmup for me after Mushihime.

That being said this game does not fuck around, I got my shit pushed really hard by this one in Arcade mode.



Here's hoping that Esp ra.de. gets international release.