Shmup thread.

[Lord_Leperman]

Okay, I have been a shmup fan since I was a kid. I can pinpoint the origin for my love of this niche genre of gaming when I first played Raiden Densetsu and Aero Fighters (AKA Sonic Wings). Ever since, I've been on the lookout for shmup titles and have been following some of the shmup franchises through the years, most notably the R-Type, Gradius franchise and Thunder Force series (which is getting a sequel in October this year after 11 years). As you can see, I grew up in video arcade centers, so I've seen and played shmups as they come and go. My first shmup though was Star Force for the famicom, to which I'm sure that most of you know as it is usually one of those games that came bundled free with the system aside from Super Mario Brothers.

Anyway, I created this thread to see if there are any of you guys who are fans of the genre (since I've been playing R-Type Final quite often recently), as well as to get some recommendations on other shmup titles that you may have encountered and would like to let people to know of its existence.

If I had a list of favorites I've played, it'd be this in no particular order (spans various genres, like side scrollers, vertical scrollers, arena shmups, and run n' gun shmups as well):

Einhander (PS1)
R-Type 3, Leo, Delta and Final (various. The vast number of useable ships in Final makes itworthwhile)
Gradius 5 (PS2)
In the Hunt (Arcade, PS1. Submarine shmup!)
Strikers 1999 (Arcade. AKA Strikers 1945 III)
Raiden II (PC, Arcade)
Raystorm (Arcade, PS1)
Raptor: Call of the Shadows (PC)
Contra III (SNES. Famous run n' gun shmup)

The following game are on my list of favorites, but deserve special mention since they are made by indie companies/people (all of these shmups are for the PC):

Reflex
Galax
Blue Sabers (and its sequel Blue Sabers: Operation Orbital Hammer)
Cloudphobia
Cho Ren Sha
Kamui

Some good freely downloadable shmups so as to keep some of you guys entertained:

Vertical scrolling shooters:
Tyrian 2000: http://members.iinet.net.au/~vannevar/ty...loads.html
Galax (http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/masaHG/glx0830.lzh)
Cho Ren Sha (http://www2.tky.3web.ne.jp/~yosshin/my_w...nload.html)

Side scrolling shooters:
Cloudphobia (http://www.dwahan.net/uki/cloudphobia/CP027b.zip)

So, got other shmups you might want to share? Go ahead if it be free or commercial, vertical or side-scrolling, let us know what you like/d.

[atdsutm]

METAL SLUG!!!!! my fav

[Sforza]

I've been collecting PSX shmups for PSP.

At the moment I have:
Einhander, Thunder Force V, R-Type Delta, Gradius Gaiden, Raycrisis

I'm looking for:

Cotton Original/Cotton 100%
Night Raid
Philosoma
Vacuum Kids / Kyuinn
DonPachi
DoDonPachi
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 II
Zanac X Zanac
RayStorm
Kaitei Daisensou/In The Hunt
Sonic Wings Special
Soukyugurentai (Terra Driver)
Twinbee Yahoo Deluxe Pack
G-Darius
Raiden
Harmful Park (think Parodius)


Does Castlevania: Symphony of the Night count? Because that would probably be the best shmup ever. I think it's more of a bmup (beat em up) though.

[clonezero]

waaah boss jake can I get a copy of einhander, r-type delta and raycrisis Im willing to pay

[AppleHead]

Does Castlevania: Symphony of the Night count? Because that would probably be the best shmup ever. I think it's more of a bmup (beat em up) though.

I don't think it does. I know quite a few of the games Leper mentioned, and they're more of the bullet hell type shmups which you get through by memorizing the moves.

In a sense they're closer to Beat Mania, the DJ simulation series, than Castlevania.

[Grim]

Does Castlevania: Symphony of the Night count? Because that would probably be the best shmup ever. I think it's more of a bmup (beat em up) though.

I think Castlevania and Metroid have their own genre already. Metroidvania's like a subset of the platformer.

I'm no big fan of shmups but I play them every now and then. Titles I've tried include:

Galaga
Galaxian
Strikers 1945
Twin Bee (lol nice title)
Some game for the Genesis where you went around blasting interdimensional baddies in themed planets (water planet, fire planet, and so on)
R-Type for the SNES
Star Fox
Einhander
Raystorm
A7xpg
Grid Wars
Self-Destruct

As for downloadable stuff, let me point you to a treasure trove. Enjoy.

[Shintetsu]

Ooh, I've liked shmups ever since I was a kid.

I remember finishing Strikers 1945 III on a single peso. lol

[Lord_Leperman]

Ooh, I've liked shmups ever since I was a kid.

I remember finishing Strikers 1945 III on a single peso. lol

I was only able to reach the 1st part of level 7 in 1 credit in level 4 difficulty setting.

I've recently been playing R-Type Final extensively again. I just found out that each ship series has a variation of its primary weapon depending on how fast your ship is, which direction it is moving, and where you shoot your wave cannon. The game is now more of a puzzle game mixed with a shmup since the proper positioning of your fighter, your Force unit, and proper timing when shooting the wave cannon will be essential to completing stages and bosses rather then one's skill in dodging bullets and spamming bosses with gunfire.

[Grim]

As for downloadable stuff, let me point you to a treasure trove. Enjoy.

No Mix, this is the real treasure trove.

[Lord_Leperman]

Yup, been using that place for a long time now, their awards category for shmups is a must see

Incidentally, I've been playing this rather long demo of Reflex:

http://www.siterskain.com/reflex/download.htm

That game is already in my list of best shmups for the PC. Go ahead and try it. The game uses a shield system which can be used to deflect and reflect projectiles back at your opponents. However, this system uses up energy from your ship, and prolonged usage will mean less power will be available for your primary weapons (they noticeably become weaker when your energy bar is low). Reflex also features great boss fights and awesome soundtrack. The link above leads to the demo version, the full version comes out in Comiket 74 sometime this August.

[Grim]

Here's a game that's destined to get some people convulsing - War Twat, where you only live for an average of 15 seconds.

Still, it's not a bad tradeoff to see pixelated fireworks madness.

<object width="400" height="251"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1496693&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /> <embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1496693&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="251"></embed></object>

[Shintetsu]

Whoa. That's gotta be the third-level-other-dimension-continuation of Crimsonland.

Ah yeah, I'll bring Crimsonland and some other games this saturday. It would be good if other people brought their own games too so we can share stuff. Also, breeng shmuffs pleez.

[AEA1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giDWvDDoY...re=related

ganda laruin to dati

[cabs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giDWvDDoY...re=related

ganda laruin to dati

I remember this one
Me and my friends used to have mini tournaments after school with this game.

Side note: Is it me or the players in the video suck! They were finalists? (at times like these, we really need a *sweatdrop smiley )

[Lord_Leperman]

I'll bring a lot of shmup installers for the PC as well as my PSone ISOs.

Current list of PC Shmups I have:

Raiden II
G-Darius
Altinex 2nd
Reflex (long demo)
Astro Avenger
Kamui
Jets n' Guns gold
Raptor: Call of the Shadows

Grim: WTF, that almost gave me a seizure.

Metal Warriors was awesome, I wonder why Lucas Arts didn't continue the franchise? It had a lot of potential back then and now and it has become a cult favorite.