Is there such a thing as a "casual shoot 'em up"?

[alphex]

Here's the thing: I always LOVED the atmosphere of these games. How you dwelt deeper and deeper into giant enemy spaceships (their size surreal already), into deep space, regions where no one had been before, facing biomechanical horror literally out of this world, wondering what could possibly come next (and usually, it really could be anything) and the fact that one single shot would end it all made it all the more curious and gave it mystique all of its own. It still has that childlike feeling of wonder, like when as a kid game mechanics weren't something you'd already be familiar with and imagined that really ANYTHING could happen. Plus, detailled as they may have been, the new surroundings and enemies gave you no chance to take a good look at them, so the sense of mystery of it all was rather durable. And since you died so quickly, it really felt like uncovering new ground when you made it a tiny bit further into the game's seemingly endless world.

However, shit is freaking hard.

Really, I understand that this is part of the appeal, but I can't progress very far in these games without grinding and memorizing them... which I understand is kinda how you get good at them. But that's a pretty archaic way of game design, obviously rooted in quarter munching. But there's games in other genres I haven't played in years; hell, even parts of a franchise I've not played before, where I could still get into it pretty quickly because the whole flow of the game could be understood and you would get a sense of how the pacing works. Hell, even something like Metal Slug which is basically a shooter on legs works differently because you can dictate the pacing yourself. SHMUPS, however, autoscroll (most of them do; I know of In The Hunt) and are prone to catching you off-guard; it's what they do. 1CC runs on Youtube look awesome, kinda like precisely choreographed action movies, but playing these games on your own is a different story.

And it's a fucking waste, because I _LOVE_ the overall art-style, that genuinely Japanese feel, the whole blend of horror and scifi, biological and technological... it's a very unclean scifi look, the one iteration of the genre I enjoy. Also, due to the autoscrolling, visual/audio coordination allowed for some pretty neat stuff, like the lava stage in Thunder Force III, where the music picks up as the action does.

Really, the SHMUP genre is kinda the antithesis of a beat 'em up on a static screen: I love beat 'em ups and their mechanics, but it gets boring to me if the scenery is overtly static. With shooters, the mechanics almost scare me, but DAMN, these games throw new stuff to get excited about every couple of seconds, with scenery and surroundings literally blazing by. Really, not even run & guns can do it that well. Gunstar Heroes (and its GBA sequel) is pretty much the only one that feels as fast & exciting; tough as nails they may be, but it all feels a bit more deliberate in that genre.

Is there any casual friendly shooter, CAN there even be one? Maybe something that feels like an endless game, like Canabalt, but you just progress further and further each time? Which the genre basically is... I dunno, maybe I got it all wrong and memorization and all that is actually less of a problem with bullet hell, which to me always felt like making these games even LESS accessible.

I just really love the setting and feeling of these games and would love to be able to really get them without spending hours upon hours practicing to see stage 2. Or if I have to, I then should have understood the game's mechanics well enough so I won't have to wait another couple of hours before I can master stage 2. Like, you know, be able to actually develop an understanding of the game and gather some skill, not just memorize the level layout.

Thoughts, advice?

[novicola]

Tyrian is accessible, and legally freeware

[llj]

I'm no shmup expert, but I always felt Treasure's shmups (Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun) or pseudo shmups (Bangai-O) were probably the most accessible for shmup noobs/casuals. They seem much more forgiving to me than the more typical shmups. Even their most traditional shmup, Gradius V, seems more forgiving to me than most.

That said, those seem to be much more memorization based than skill/reflex-based as you were alluding to, so I dunno.

[jorpho]

For some reason the first thing that drifts into mind is Space Bastards. I remember finding it particularly mesmerizing. Of course, it's a 16-bit Windows game, so getting it running today could be rough.
archive.org/details/SpaceBastards_1020

Directly inspired by Space Bastards is Cash Invaders, but that's a DOS game, so it's a little more cooperative.
classicreload.com/cash-invaders.html

And there's Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom. Good solid fun. Last I heard, the developer was still trying to sort-of sell it when he ran into serious health problems.

Perhaps the old offerings of ABA Games and their descendants like Warning Forever and Every Extend?
www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/

[Null0x00]

Try out QP Shooting - Dangerous! on Steam. It's pretty fun even on the easy mode.

[backgroundnoise]

Generally, any shooter that allows credit feeding or has multiple difficulty levels can be enjoyed in a casual fashion. As for specific examples, Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony would be one of the more manageable bullet hell games, by my estimates. Each stage can be chosen individually via level select (though there is a gauntlet mode available for a more traditional format) and you only need to complete the game on Legendary (the middle difficulty option) to see all the stages. It's a game I frequently open every once in a while just to replay stage 3 for a few minutes. It also taught me how to properly utilize ships with multi-directional aiming.

[jcrankin]

Tyrian is the first thing that came to mind. Beyond that, Jets 'n' Guns is also relatively casual (though you might not like its, uhh, style), and Solaris 104 is pure arcade fun without being too anal about losing lives or perfect runs.

[condroid]

One of my favorite shmups is Parodius Da! The SNES port has 10 different difficulty settings. Arcade difficulty is around 4 or 5, but if you turn it all the way down it becomes a really easy game.

[Bumpyroad]

Could try Uchuu Keibitai SDF (NES). It's relatively simple and fun.

Or something like Viriax. Shoot-em up/Avoid-em up? A freeware from Locomalito.

[jackcaeylin]

I would say some of the early Psikyo Shoot'em ups. They are beginner-friendly like Samurai Aces/Sengoku Ace.

Yours sincerely

Jack Caeylin

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

I highly suggest you give the NES Life Force/Salamander and ESPECIALLY Gradius II a try. Gradius II is a JP exclusive, but it's so easy that I have to shut the game off after a while because I just end up playing endlessly while racking up lifes.

Also the SNES/SFC Parodius games on the easiest setting are a breeze too. The fun thing about them is that, unlike FC Gradius II, you can then turn the difficulty up and work your way up to a more challening game.

[windfisch]

Axelay, one of my favorite 16 Bit shooters, is not that hard on easy mode. I remember beating it in store when I was a kid - it was the first time I played it.

Crimson Clover is a more recent bullet hell game that is also quite accessible on the easiest setting.

Bullet hell games in general tend to be more based on skill and reflexes than on memorization. However, I actually prefer old school horizontal shooters, since those tend to have more interesting set pieces and visual storytelling - something you can't really do in a game where walls of projectiles fill the screen.

[Bumpyroad]

Oct 21, 2017 7:54:46 GMT -5 windfisch said:

something you can't really do in a game where walls of projectiles fill the screen.

And that's too bad - Cave had such a beautiful art on offer!

[Weasel]

If you do want a bullet-hell game that's a bit more approachable, Kenta Cho's rRootage comes off as a sort of bullet-hell training simulator, essentially being a boss rush game with four different sets of gameplay systems to choose between: normal (you get bullet-erasing bombs, and your ship slows down while firing), GW (your bomb is replaced by Giga Wing's reflector shield), IKA (bullets come out in two colors, and your ship's shield reflects all bullets that match its color, and can be switched with the bomb button), and PSY (your ship builds up a super meter when bullets graze the edge of it).

The part of rRootage that makes it more approachable is the fact that hitboxes are shown on the player's ship and all bullets on screen. In true bullet-hell style, the hitboxes are TINY, so you really just need to learn to focus on the little dots inside.

[dsparil]

Tyrian and Raptor for DOS. Tyrian as mentioned is freeware now, but it's the Tyrian 2000 version that strips out the Epic references. Raptor is around $5.

Xevious isn't too bad. The 3DS version is nice.

Psikyo shooters have a wide difficulty selection in the settings. The default in Strikers 1945 is something like 6/9 and 1 is very very easy. I wouldn't be surprised if other arcade shooters have difficulty settings that drop way lower than what you'd see in the wild.