The Best shmups throughout the ages

Randall Flagg · Post by **Randall Flagg** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:17 pm

I still love Scramble, maybe lacking in power-ups but still well varied and amazing considering how old it is.

Also remembered "Menace" and "Project X" on the amiga. Both Soooo hard but so good

Darran@Retro Gamer · Post by **Darran@Retro Gamer** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:30 am

Oh my god, none of you have mentioned the Saturn

Forget the PC Engine, Sega's machine is king of the Shmups

Arcade Gears: Gun Frontier
Batsugun
Battle Garegga
Blastwind
Bokan To Ippatsu Doronboo Kanpekiban
Capcom Generation 1
Capcom Generation 3
Detana! Twinbee
Donpachi
Dodonpachi
Game Paradise
Gekirindan
Guardian Force
Gunbird
Kingdom Grandprix
Kyukyoku Tiger 2
Rayforce
Layer Section II
Planet Joker
Radiant Silvergun
Shienryu
Skull Fang
Sonic Wings
Soukyugerentai
Space Invaders
Steam Hearts TGL
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 II
Terra Cresta 3D
Twinkle Star Sprites
Arcade Gears: 3 Wonders
Cho Aniki Kyukyoku Otokonogyakushu
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Darius II
Darius Gaiden
Fantasy Zone
Gokujyou Parodius Da!
Gradius Deluxe
Hyper Duel
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius
Kaitei Daisensou
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Metal Black
Sengoku Blade
Sexy Parodius
Sol Divide
Super Dimension Fortress
Thunderforce Gold Pack 1
Thunderforce Gold Pack 2
Thunderforce V

Arcade Gears: Image Fight and X-Multiply Xing
Dezaemon 2
Konami Antiques MSX Collection
Salamander Deluxe Pack
Tempest 2000

An amazing variety of shooters there and I have nearly all of them

Get_in_Gear · Post by **Get_in_Gear** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:58 am

"Heh - Sexy Parodious..."

Antiriad2097 · Post by **Antiriad2097** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:09 pm

Darran@Retro Gamer wrote:Oh my god, none of you have mentioned the Saturn

Nah, we've been posting 'proper' retro shooters, not your modern stuff

Randall Flagg · Post by **Randall Flagg** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:25 pm

Antiriad2097 wrote:
Darran@Retro Gamer wrote:Oh my god, none of you have mentioned the Saturn
Nah, we've been posting 'proper' retro shooters, not your modern stuff

LOL!

What confuses me is if the SATURN had such great software, why did the Japanese think that people in europe wouldn't like it?

DZ_1984 · Post by **DZ_1984** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:21 am

I really just got into shooters in 2005; I now understand the glory of them! So, off the top of my head...

Gradius (Konami GB Collection, Gameboy Color)

1942 (NES/Capcom Classics Collection, Playstation 2)

Gunbird (Gunbird Special Edition, Playstation 2)

1945 I (Playstation 2)

I also looooove ASTRO SMASH! I played this on the PS2 Intellivision compilation. It's relentless and furious! Does anyone else like it?

stigodump · Post by **stigodump** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:07 am

Darran@Retro Gamer wrote: Forget the PC Engine

WHAT! Someone needs electrodes attaching to their testiculae.

Darran@Retro Gamer · Post by **Darran@Retro Gamer** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:39 am

stigodump wrote:
Darran@Retro Gamer wrote: Forget the PC Engine

WHAT! Someone needs electrodes attaching to their testiculae.

Don't get me wrong, it has some great shooters on it, but the Saturn beats it to a bloody pulp. If you can only afford one machine, I'd go with the saturn.

Kaptain_Von · Post by **Kaptain_Von** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:48 am

These are my personal choices having played rather a lot of shooters over the years. In no particular order.

Commando (Spectrum/Arcade) - Simple run and gun action but managed to be one of the most addictive shooters around. Out of the home versions the Spectrum version was remarkably good.

Dropzone (C64) - Took the concept of Defender, added a touch of Jetpac and took it to the next level. An essential for C64 owners.

Black Widow (Arcade) - Utterly insane vector graphics shooter that borrows from Robotron and Asteroids to create a spiders web shmup involving zapping bugs and collecting cash. Looks easy enough to start with but soon becomes a frenetic blaster.

Raiden (Arcade) - Excellent scrolling shooter with a good learning curve and weapons that could be powered up to silly levels.

Uridium (C64) - Looked stunning in its day and still looks good. Offers a fair challenge for shmup fans. The Spectrum version wasn't too shoddy but the C64 version is still the daddy.

Llamatron (ST) - A new look at the classic Robotron (itself a top shooter) with llamas to rescue. Started easily enough but like Dropzone, took the concept of an earlier game and ramped it up to unbelievable levels. A must own and it was shareware too.

Starstrike 3D (Spectrum) - At the time it was the nearest Spectrum owners could get to the classic Star Wars arcade machine. A fun wireframe 3D blaster.

Starforce (Arcade) - No great shakes in the graphics department and no massive powerups. Just wave after wave of enemies and the occasional bonus but offers a good challenge. Inspired Plutos on the ST.

Star Wars (Arcade) - Superb wire frame shooter that made you feel like you really were Luke Skywalker. Who can forget the first time you zoomed into the Deathstar trench as Obi-Wan told you to "Use the force".

The Killing Game Show (ST/Amiga) - Not a pure shooter but one which successfully mixed platforming with heavy weaponry as you struggled to keep ahead of the advancing water. Best described as Rainbow Islands with droids and big guns.

Jetpac (Spectrum) - Simple concept well done. Zap aliens and rebuild and refuel your rocket whilst doing so. Made the Spectrum look like an arcade machine for a while.

Vulgus (Arcade) - Somewhat overlooked nowadays but this is a classic shooter. Is easy for about a minute then starts throwing shedloads of enemies at you.

Voidrunner (C16/+4) - A Minter classic that showed what Commodores derided machine could do. Fast, noisy and fun.

Planetoid (BBC) - One of the first home micro games I played and it sticks in the memory as a well written clone of the arcade game 'Defender'.

Time Pilot (Arcade) - Absolutely nothing to look at but a dream to play as you blast your way through varions time zones in what is basically Konamis' slant on Asteroids. Was followed by Time Pilot '84 which whilst good never had quite the same hook.

Jetbrix (C16/+4) - Again, not a pure shmup as it takes Jetpac, adds breakout and a touch of Tetris to create a game that involves blasting bricks and demolishing a wall as more bricks rain from the sky. One of Shaun Southerns classics and utterly addictive.

GenkiVideoGames.com · Post by **GenkiVideoGames.com** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:18 pm

I wouldn't say Sega of the Saturn era forgot Europe, more we were so hung up on the PSX and its guerilla marketing than 2D just didn't slice the lemon anymore. Still the good thing about retro gaming is its never too late to make your peace and get involved with the Saturn, or indeed PC Engine. Certainly a blast on Sapphire on the PC Engine would boost the PCE's image.

And not forgetting the Soldier (Final, Blade, Star) series or Hudson will send a BomberMan after you...

Dodonpachi, Sexy Parodius,

Cho Aniki

, Hyper Duel,... All real crackers. Can we be so bold as to recommend Stellar Assault SS? We'd love to help out to see it in your most excellent publication. Or perhaps a review of Sengoku Blade?

Our mouths are watering...

stigodump · Post by **stigodump** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:08 pm

GenkiVideoGames.com wrote:Certainly a blast on Sapphire on the PC Engine would boost the PCE's image.

If you can afford it that is.

I was lucky and got a sealed copy of that bootleg that did the rounds in '99 which cost me the price of a normal game. Maybe if I win the lotto I'll buy a proper copy.

Ish · Post by **Ish** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:51 am

Kaptain_Von wrote: Uridium (C64) - Looked stunning in its day and still looks good. Offers a fair challenge for shmup fans. The Spectrum version wasn't too shoddy but the C64 version is still the daddy.

Thank god. I was about to go off on a right rant that no one had mentioned this beauty.

I also seem to remember Katakis being rather good on the C64.

GenkiVideoGames.com · Post by **GenkiVideoGames.com** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:28 am

stigodump wrote:
GenkiVideoGames.com wrote:Certainly a blast on Sapphire on the PC Engine would boost the PCE's image.
If you can afford it that is.
I was lucky and got a sealed copy of that bootleg that did the rounds in '99 which cost me the price of a normal game. Maybe if I win the lotto I'll buy a proper copy.

Yeah it is serious bucks, but I guess you can only expect that for a top title released late in the life cycle of a machine. Especially when released means it was handed out at a game show. We like to think of the original bona fide copies as investments - at least thats what we tell the bank!

Maybe Retro could do a feature on PC Engine blasters or Saturn if there's sufficient interest....? I mean the traditional shooter has become a retro genre in a way with the surge in interest in 3D. We'd certainly love to lay our sweaty palms and callused fingers on a shooter feature in Retro's hallowed pages...

GarryG · Post by **GarryG** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:20 am

Tempest (All versions and remakes, 2000, X)
Commando (Arcade)
Jet Pack (Spectrum)
The Pyramid (Spectrum)
Arcadia (VIC 20)
Original Star Wars (Arcade)

And of course R-Type (PS1, Arcade)

GarryG · Post by **GarryG** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:25 am

Kaptain_Von wrote: Uridium (C64) - Looked stunning in its day and still looks good. Offers a fair challenge for shmup fans. The Spectrum version wasn't too shoddy but the C64 version is still the daddy.

Wasn't this also out for the 8Bit Atari?

Maybe I'm getting confused with one of the various clones!!!

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