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Post by hidetoshidecide on Jul 21, 2011 13:10:57 GMT -5
I'd like to dip my toes into these waters. Shmups are a genre I've just never been able to grok. I got saddled with a few of them as a kid(Gradius, 1942 come to mind) and could never make much headway.
Any suggestions? I suppose I'd like them on the easy side, and displaying the better virtues of the genre- whatever those might be. What do you look for in a shoot 'em up?
As to systems, I'll take NES, SNES, Game Boy, SMS, TG-16(not CD games), Genesis/Sega CD.
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Post by retr0gamer on Jul 21, 2011 13:28:01 GMT -5
Can't go wrong with a bit of Axelay. The parodius games on the SNES are also great. SNES version of UN squadron is brilliant as well.
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Post by megatronbison on Jul 21, 2011 13:35:47 GMT -5
Echoing retrogamer here- Axelay is great, once you get past the first stage you should be able to manage the rest okay. Parodius is also rather manageable too- and fun to boot. UN Squadron is a lot of fun- as is Carrier Air Wing. Super Aleste is super easy too- a bit samey but there are some decent weapons going on. Probably the Cotton game on the PC Engine too.
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Post by beach1 on Jul 21, 2011 14:13:58 GMT -5
I think Lords of Thunder (either for the Turbo Duo or Sega CD) would be a good game to try. It has great graphics and music and is fun but not too hard (depending on which weapon you use).
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Post by Lee on Jul 21, 2011 17:59:38 GMT -5
I second Lords of Thunder, the soundtrack is badass. Also try Vapor Trail for Genesis and UN Squadron for the SNES, both are average difficulty while being very fun games that teach you shooter basics.
Also, try Trouble Shooter, its a fun little Genesis shooter reminiscent of Deathsmiles (think lolis replaced with Dirty Pair with very nice 16 bit graphics.)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2011 18:12:39 GMT -5
Darius Twin was pretty fun, if a bit easy. I just loved all the fish-shaped enemy ships.
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Post by Ike on Jul 21, 2011 18:18:15 GMT -5
Darius Twin and Gradius III on the SNES are great starter shmups. And of course I recommend every Fantasy Zone game but Super Fantasy Zone in particular. I love this game so much I imported a complete copy from Europe.
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Post by Sturat on Jul 21, 2011 18:35:43 GMT -5
I actually disagree with a lot of the suggestions here. I wouldn't recommend Super NES shooters to people trying to get into the genre because they are so slow and clunky. (UN Squadron is especially frustrating.)
I think it would be good to start with MUSHA or Power Strike, the Fantasy Zone series, Lords of Thunder, (I know you said you didn't want Turbo CDs; the Sega CD version is fine but definitely second-best) and maybe Air Zonk.
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Post by munchy on Jul 21, 2011 18:41:24 GMT -5
Funny, I was about to start a thread like this.
I'd personally recommend the Gradius 1 or 2 ports for the NES/Famicom, as those have a lot of technical limitations and as such aren't nearly as ruthless as their arcade counterparts. Gradius is the only shmup I've beaten not only without cheating, but also cleared without dying.
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Post by kitten on Jul 21, 2011 18:44:42 GMT -5
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Post by evilakito on Jul 21, 2011 18:46:05 GMT -5
I highly recommend both Over Horizon and Gun-Nac if you're interested in something for NES/Famicom.
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Post by hidetoshidecide on Jul 21, 2011 19:15:41 GMT -5
I'd personally recommend the Gradius 1 or 2 ports for the NES/Famicom, as those have a lot of technical limitations and as such aren't nearly as ruthless as their arcade counterparts. Gradius is the only shmup I've beaten not only without cheating, but also cleared without dying. Gradius 1 is actually one of the games that soured me on the genre. I could beat it at one point, but I always found the die-and-you're-fucked aspect incredibly frustrating. |
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Post by Feynman on Jul 21, 2011 19:19:32 GMT -5
For both easy and fun, I'd recommend the Thunder Force series (Genesis), Abadox (NES), and S.C.A.T (Also NES). None of these games are terribly difficult, and they all have actual level obstacles and geometry to navigate, instead of the endless parade of bullet hell games the genre has devolved into.
EDIT: I'll also second UN Squadron. Both the arcade and SNES versions are incredibly good, and they're pretty forgiving to boot! Well, except that one asshole boss near the end of the SNES version.
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Post by kitten on Jul 21, 2011 19:22:35 GMT -5
UN Squadron seems to be a lot of casual shmup fans' favorite shmup ever.
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Post by munchy on Jul 21, 2011 19:28:09 GMT -5
I'd personally recommend the Gradius 1 or 2 ports for the NES/Famicom, as those have a lot of technical limitations and as such aren't nearly as ruthless as their arcade counterparts. Gradius is the only shmup I've beaten not only without cheating, but also cleared without dying. Gradius 1 is actually one of the games that soured me on the genre. I could beat it at one point, but I always found the die-and-you're-fucked aspect incredibly frustrating. This is true. But something infuriating me isn't always a great deterrent. I might secretly hate myself. Also, I found UN Squadron pretty goddamn hard when I tried the SNES version. |
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