Shmups

[Harry]

What's so difficult to understand from that comment?

Maybe I must be the shittest of the shit when it comes to top down shooters but I just want one that I can actually finish without having to insert a virtual coin everytime.

[Dr Seedyman]

Homura is available in PAL! I giev link! I need a PS2 stick

Stiff, Im gonna spend today tracking that bad boy down. Im still thinking a Jap PS2 is a worthy investment for all the other Cave stuff that never got released. Hook yourself up with a PS2 stick. I have a DC stick I could sell you to mod. :-)

[MattV]

Matt, that looks awesome. Thats the kind of stuff that should be on xbla! Home/small dev teams making stuff they like. Have you put music to it yet? Does it have a scoring system in place? Good work sir.

Cheers, yep there is music and a simple scoring system (you can spend the score points on a 3 second shield to reflect bullets, if you reflect enough bullets you earn the score point back, so beginners can use a shield to make it easier and experts can shield reflect in the right places to kill enemies quicker and not loose score).

I may well put the next shooter I do on the XBox Community arcade thing, seems like a good place for these small niche games, wouldn't be worth doing them for XBLA proper.

I didn't realise you and Gique were working together matt.

Yeah I'm helping out with the coding on Ooki, it'll be finished soon!

[Swallow]

In really getting quite fond me triggerheart excelcia. It looks gorgeous and plays really well. Im still getting the hang of swinging enemies around with the anchor. I can clear the first level without dying and can get the boss to change forms for an extra bonus. Anyone else loving this?

You need to hit the boss with 2000 medals and not take a hit through all its forms to trigger Fain Tear on level 1. It'll push your score up to 25-30 million, easy.

Yes, I do quite like it - wouldn't call it beautiful, but it's a pretty neat game overall.

[Swallow]

What's so difficult to understand from that comment?

Everything. Many shmups are "ultimately challenging" and many cause me to tear my hair out - but they're all beatable as soon you start playing better. No-one will clear a shmup on their first couple of plays, they all require a bit of time.

[sir stiff_one]

Stiff, Im gonna spend today tracking that bad boy down. Im still thinking a Jap PS2 is a worthy investment for all the other Cave stuff that never got released. Hook yourself up with a PS2 stick. I have a DC stick I could sell you to mod. :-)

I've got a DC stick waiting for just such a mod - don't you worry!

[sir stiff_one]

Yeah Harry, you're mad.

The whole premise of loads of them is that they seem completely impossible at first, but you get better really quickly, learning bullet patterns, holding your nerve etc.

Bcass, you're just being an old stick in the mud. Something like Homura has a simple scoring system which makes it slightly different from other shooters and good fun. Would you prefer all shooters to play the same then, with a shoot button and maybe a smart bomb if you're feeling adventurous?

[Lasers are brilliant]

Vulcan Venture is awesome and everything, but Gradius V destroys it. Bcass is clearly retromental.

How good is Shikigami 3? I found 2 to be a bit too sedate for my liking. I fucking love the Tohou stuff, though, which has always seemed inspired by the Shikigami series. From Perfect Cherry Blossom onwards, he's totally ruled. Bullet patterns better than Cave's, I reckon, with really inventive boss stuff. Especially in Imperishable Night and Mountain Of Faith.

And I can't wait for the new DDP to turn up in Casino.

[Swallow]

Shiki III plays a lovely game to my mind. It encourages suiciding to collect an extra bomb that can be used to max a meter which delivers a constant 8x multiplier for everything you shoot while it's running, that's the main difference. Still only really getting to grips with that system myself, but it gives the game another layer of intricacy.

Like neetz said, it's well worth giving Icarus's review a read.

[Dr Seedyman]

I need some of this Shika 3 goodness. Im gonna look for some prices of Jap Wii consoles today. That and Milestone collection should keep me going for a while.

[geldra]

I've found myself hankering after more arcadey titles of late and have pretty much sold/selling everything I own bar the odd current gen title. With the proceeds I have procured myself a nice little cab along with raiden dx, galaga 88, strikers 1999 and progear (and a few fighters natch). I can't wait to start cracking into them, shame my cab doesn't come until mid June

I've never even seen progear so I'm pretty excited. I went for playability and score attack potential with the shooters. I think I'm most looking forward to playing Galaga 88 as I've only ever played the pce version (which rocks).

High score thread anyone?

[Lasers are brilliant]

Awesome. I really like Strikers 1999 in Mame. I'd love to own Progear for real, but the prospect of CPS2 suiciding scares me shitless.

[nietzschedancing]

You could always get it Phoenix'd. It's not too much trouble.

[U2031]

ESP RA DE is my all time favourite though. Utterly amazing in every way.

Quoted for truth

ESP RA DE is my favourite shooter of all time, probably because I'm actually ok at it. Usually about this time of year I get a hankering to play it again, because we usually go to Japan in early may, and I need to get some practice in before we go. Just as an aside, you can still find ESP RA DE machines in quiet a few arcades, not bad for a ten year old game.

I saw it in the high scores thread, and asked horribleman about the play mechanics, which he duly explained, and I was hooked. I've never managed to get past the third level on one credit, I don't think I ever will, but it always plays fair, and I know I can always do a little bit better.

If a few people start playing, we can dust off the high score thread again :-)

[Lasers are brilliant]

I could never nail consistent x16s in ESP.RA.DE.

[sir stiff_one]

I've got a Hori Fighting stick 2 - unused but i'm not sure how good it is for shmups.

You want to sell it you mean?

[sir stiff_one]

Stiff, Im gonna spend today tracking that bad boy down. Im still thinking a Jap PS2 is a worthy investment for all the other Cave stuff that never got released. Hook yourself up with a PS2 stick. I have a DC stick I could sell you to mod. :-)

£6.96 in the link I gave

[Dr Seedyman]

Stiff, They seem to be out of stock at the moment :-( I have got a budget of a couple of hundred quid to set myself up with a console and some decent shooters. Whats anyones recommendation. Jap 360 and Shiki 3? Jap wii with milestone collection. Jap slimline ps2 with some cave stuff? What would be my best buy?

[Qazimod]

Trouble Witches ftw: lovely game. Although it's completely saccharine and cutesy and maybe not as bullet-heavy as, say, ZUN's output, it's very polished and still pretty tricky. As for the olde arcade shooters...well, I went through a period of not playing MAME for a while as I was being distracted by other games, but Kaillera had kind of rekindled my love: so long as you can get a good server, stuff like Twinkle Star Sprites and Salamander are brilliant online.

[geldra]

Awesome. I really like Strikers 1999 in Mame. I'd love to own Progear for real, but the prospect of CPS2 suiciding scares me shitless.

Yeah man, I've liked what I've seen/played, hard without being stupidly bullet curtain hard. I'm a bit scared of the whole suicide shit too .

[U2031]

I've got a Hori Fighting stick 2 - unused but i'm not sure how good it is for shmups.

I've got that exact stick, and I'd say that it's better for shooters than for fighters. It's a bit loose feeling to me, and nowhere near as good as a proper arcade machine, but it's obviously much better than the arrow keys.

[Kaede]

Has anyone here ever bought stuff from Himeya Shopor any other of the Doujin shooter sites? I really fancy a bit of Trouble Witches and the Vampire 2nd Exceed (The Ikaruga rip-off).

Devil-Goh, PS2 for the win. B)

[nietzschedancing]

I have Kaede. Himeya are pretty good. EMS shipping costs a tonne though and they are on the pricey side. They do not mark down either (at least they never bothered with my requests) but they're pretty professional. The other major retailer is Palet Web. They a tad more amateur-ish (you have to wait for an invoice which can take a good few days) but their prices are generally better and they have more stock.

I'd second the PS2 vote devil-goh. The variety on offer is unmatched. It's best to take into consideration what other games you enjoy though. If you like fighters too, the PS2 is perfect.

[Dimahoo]

You want to sell it you mean?

Basically yes.

If a few people start playing, we can dust off the high score thread again :-)

As long as you don't mind Mame scores i'm up for that. Can't say i can remember the score mechanics though.

[Kaede]

I have Kaede. Himeya are pretty good. EMS shipping costs a tonne though and they are on the pricey side. They do not mark down either (at least they never bothered with my requests) but they're pretty professional. The other major retailer is Palet Web. They a tad more amateur-ish (you have to wait for an invoice which can take a good few days) but their prices are generally better and they have more stock.

I'd second the PS2 vote devil-goh. The variety on offer is unmatched. It's best to take into consideration what other games you enjoy though. If you like fighters too, the PS2 is perfect.

Cheers dude, I don't mind paying a bit more if I know they're gonna arrive. I will check out Palet Web as well though.

[Cacophanus]

Since Star Solider R got released on Wiiware I've been reminiscing with the PC Engine versions, namely Super Star Soldier. I still fucking adore it and the Virtual Console rendition is spotless. Possibly one of the best shmup musical scores out there too (after R-Type Delta).

Talking of shmups, I recently got the Shotting Historica gashapon. The R-9A sits beneath my monitor at work now.

[Mr Peckerston]

Has anyone here ever bought stuff from Himeya Shopor any other of the Doujin shooter sites? I really fancy a bit of Trouble Witches and the Vampire 2nd Exceed (The Ikaruga rip-off).

Devil-Goh, PS2 for the win. B)

I've bought stuff from Palet a few times. Their website is nowhere near as pretty as Himeya and you need to email them your order details, but they're a lot cheaper - Himeya charge $19 shipping for the first item! Unfortunately neither of the games you want are in stock there, so it might be worth just paying Himeya's prices.

[geldra]

Talking of shmups, I recently got the Shotting Historica gashapon. The R-9A sits beneath my monitor at work now.

Ooh, photo!

[sir stiff_one]

Basically yes.

Erm, cool! How much?

[Dr Seedyman]

Stiff, are you telling me you dont have a ps2 stick at all? Not even the hori Soul Caliber one? Shame on you! Get yourself a RAP sir. They are made of win.