5 days ago • 100%

Shmup suggestions

Recently I've been looking into expanding the number of shmups in my library.

Which games should I prioritise getting? Any that I should avoid?

31 comments

I always really liked Abbadox on NES.

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@bbbhltz, depending on what you’re craving.

Here’s a list of horizontal ones…

Defender-like:
• Aqua Kitty UDX – cute, fun
• Black Bird – dark-cute

R-Type-like:
• R-Type Dimensions EX (and the others)
• Rigid Force Redux – ❤️

Classics:
• Blazing Star
• Thunder Force IV
• Cotton Fantasy

Other hori:
• Azure Reflections – Touhou fan game
• Sine Mora – time-mechanic ❤️ , not for everyone though
• Astebreed – switches orientation flawlessly ❤️
• ProtoCorgi – cute, hard
• Rolling Gunner – ❤️

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- @bbbhltz, on the vertical side…
  
  Oldskool:
  • Batsugun
  • Dragon Blaze ❤️
  • Gunbird 2
  • Anger Force – kinda
  • Missile Dancer
  • Moon Dancer – ❤️
  • SophStar – ❤️
  
  Danmaku:
  • Crimzon Clover
  • Caladrius Blaze
  • Espgaluda II
  • Mushihimesama – ❤️
  • Danmaku Unlimited 3 – bullet grazing ❤️
  
  with a twist:
  • Pawarumi – rock-paper-scissors mechanic ❤️
  • Dimension Drive – teleport
  • Sisters Royale – ❤️
  • Eschatos – ❤️
  • Shoot 1UP – multi-ship
  • Cosmo Gang the Video – Galaga-like
  • (Downwell)
  
  1
  
  Someone is selling Mushihimesama on my local marketplace. I know it is no longer in production or on the Switch estore. Is €55 worth it for this game? It is used of course.
  
  Update: I see that it can be purchased new for 43 on different sites, so I suppose not...
  
  1
  
  @bbbhltz and neither hori nor vert really…
  
  • Zero Gunner 2 – proto-twin-stick arcade
  • Galak-Z: the Void – strategic zero-G twin-stick, rogue-like-elements ❤️ (not to be confused with Galak-Z: Variant S, which is to be avoided)
  • Assault Android Cactus – one of **the** best twin-sticks ever ❤️
  • Jet Lancer – like Luferausers, maybe better ❤️
  • Nitro Ball – classic proto-twin-stick arcade
  
  2
  
  @bbbhltz , oh and on the Switch, several vertical shooters support TATE mode, for which you can e.g. use the FlipGrip.
  
  Here’s a maintained list of the games that are FlipGrip-compatible:
  https://www.doesitflip.com/
  
  2
Warning Forever, but not sure if you can play that on switch

2
- Doesn't appear that it is... But I'll look it up anyway.
  
  1
  
  There is a new game with a very similar mechanic, I think I saw it on Yahtzees new channel. But WF is a real gem
  
  1
Crimzon Clover's really fun. It's similar to Dodonpachi. Another good one is Ikaruga. It has an interesting mechanic we're you switch colors to absorb bullets.

Avoid Sine Mora and other "euroshmups", they just suck to play.

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- Haven't heard the term "euroshmup" before. Also haven't seen Sine Mora on any lists that I've been looking at either.
  
  1
  
  @bbbhltz @_Lory98_ ,
  
  Sine Mora is not for everyone, but those who like it (like I do) _really_ like it. The gameplay revolves around the time mechanic and so does the really messed up story. The audio-visual presentation is great too.
  
  There are several people who do not like it though, as it is a bit outside the box and is quite story-heavy.
  
  I think this review explains it very well:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvqWh88I4HM
  
  3
Touhou series? Some of them are pretty good. The music are also superb.

1
I don't have any recommendations, but have seen a community for these types of games that may be relevant:

!shmups@lemmus.org

7
- I searched but did not see this community, thanks!
  
  4
Well that depends what you have.

Ikaruga for starters

5
- This is at the top of my list, so it will come sooner or later!
  
  I don't have anything substantial except fond memories or R-Type and Raiden, and a copy of Raiden IV that I tend to play on loop when I have days off.
  
  4
  
  Second Ikaruga. A unique way to play a shmup.
  
  I would also give Jamestown+ a try.
  
  5
https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/best-nintendo-switch-shmups has a 5 pages full of recommendations. Scroll down the list just before the comments, to see the list of pages you can open.

4
- Sorry, but this is not what I need. I've seen this list and many similar to it. Just want a few names of games. Nintendo Life is a good resource, though.
  
  2
  
  Okay, but you can just pick a few games that look interesting there. It's not different than random people recommending random stuff here.
  
  SEGA AGES Thunder Force IV
  
  Tengai
  
  Samurai Aces
  
  ESP Ra. De. Psi
  
  Mushihimesama
  
  Espgaluda II
  
  Deathsmiles I & II
  
  DoDonPachi Resurrection
  
  Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Blissful Death Re:Incarnation
  
  These are pretty good, either from my personal experience or from reading lot of recommendations through forums and friends. The best Shmups on the Switch are mostly ports of existing older games. I'm not sure if you play on another platform too, I just read you have a Switch. I played on emulators on my PC and on Steam, there are a few more games I am not sure if they exist on Switch.
  
  3
Do you have any examples of shumups that you like and any you dislike? That might help give a better idea of what you like.

I mean, if you just want "good shmups", it's easy to go to Steam, search for games with the "Shoot 'em Up" tag, and sort by user reviews.

But if you're looking for something in particular, a list like that might help.

4
- I don't have much to go on, it has been more than 30 years since my arcade days. I've been making a list and am trying to prioritise purchases. I think Ikaruga will come first as soon as it is on sale again (which isn't very often).
  
  I don't have a Steam account, but I'll try your method anyway to see how it compares to what is already on my list.
  
  Thanks.
  
  4
Like bullet hells?

I really like exceed 1-3.

Gundeadgnline is good.

Kinda can't get away from Touhou.

1
Which system(s) are you playing on?

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- Switch probably, but emulation is an option.
  
  2
Crimzon Clover, any version's good but World EXplosion is the most recent. It's a fairly difficult and chaotic bullet hell, but the novice mode should be reasonably approachable as long as you're willing to learn, and the design is superb.

Similarly, the whole CAVE backlog. Not all of them have novice modes or the like, and there's quite a few games not really available outside of MAME. The original DoDonPachi is/was considered the best starter bullet hell for a long, long time and still holds up pretty well, but is more difficult than a lot of modern games on their respective novice modes.

On the indie side of things: Star of Providence (formerly Monolith) is an indie roguelite bullet hell twin-stick-ish shmup with a pretty good amount of depth. ZeroRanger is a much more story-based game that I really enjoyed.

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