Shmups

[KSubzero1000]

I prefer playing by "feel" rather than more structured pattern memorization and the like, so I think I'll have a good time with it.

Sounds like it might be up your alley then, have fun!

[Alex79]

I'm not sure I'd heard of it before you posted, SK, but it looks interesting. I'm not sure if I really like the graphical style or hate it! Might pop it on my wish list. I like roguelites, random levels and shmups so it should be up my street. I'm the same, I much prefer shmups that rely more on moving and shooting by sight rather than pattern memorisation. I'm not really a big fan of the bullet hell subgenre, I've come to realise.

[shadowless_kick]

I'm not really a big fan of the bullet hell subgenre, I've come to realise.

I still love 'em, in general, even though I don't play how perhaps even the developers intended for them to be played. that's also why I tend to avoid in-depth shooter discussion online, as the hardcore are much more in line with that play style. I just wanna dodge and shoot stuff.

[Stanshall]

As a big bullet hell fan, I would say that I play 90% of them in exactly that way. I just dodge and react and enjoy the spectacle. You find that your ability to read the patterns becomes increasingly transferable and if you get better at one, you'll get better at them all. It's only really when I feel like going deep that I start thinking about routes and 'practise' and all that side of it. Depends what the game is but many of the big names have 'novice' or accessible 'arrange' modes which are perfect to pick up and have a blast. The M2 Ketsui Deathtiny and Battle Garegga releases are the best examples, but ESP. Ra. De. Psy which came out last year also has a great novice mode.

[hazeredmist]

What Stanshall said.

I love bullet hell but I don’t go anywhere near the shit-eating wildmen difficulty modes generally.

[KSubzero1000]

BREAKING NEWS: SaiDaiOuJou is ridiculously good, why is nobody ever talking about this one?

This might be the smoothest shmup I've ever played.

[Stanshall]

I doubt you will play it for some reason but Aka to Blue, the mobile/EXA-Arcadia Cave-style shmup, very much reminds me of SDOJ.

I've not ever put that much time into it but I will occasionally have a bash on the 360 mode.

What are you enjoying about it? Good to see a bit of life in this old dog (thread, not poster).

[KSubzero1000]

What are you enjoying about it?

The simplicity, especially in comparison to some of the more obtuse elements of DFK. SDOJ is super-straightforward with its 3-button setup and the difficulty comes from the very bread-and-butter act of dodging enemy projectiles rather than from the super strict chaining of some of the earlier DDP games which I find a bit frustrating. I really appreciate the purity of it.

The fluidity. I dunno, there's something about this game that makes it feel even more responsive than other shmups. It's hard to explain but DU3 has a similar quality to it. Maybe it's the comparatively slow-ish enemy bullets paired with the rock-solid framerate?

The presentation. The graphical fidelity adds a lot to the overall enjoyment, which is a bit surprising considering how this isn't exactly a graphics-intensive genre. Everything is just so crisp! And the soundtrack ranks among the very best. Very sugar-pop but also very, very cool.

In kinda like the Dress system despite the dumb fan-service element to it. Being able to choose between a strong Shot or a strong Laser or have both at the cost of a higher difficulty is a really cool and organic way to fine-tune the experience in a way that is a bit more interesting than just picking between difficulty levels.

The auto-bomb is also very well implemented in this one. Completely optional and depletes your entire bomb stock when activated, which is perfect balancing I think.


I only played it for half an hour on the weekend but I've been itching to get back into it ever since.

I know this game copies a lot from the original DOJ so I assume my appreciation of it would be lessened if I had your experience and in-depth knowledge of DOJ to compare it to, but as it stands, I think this is a magnificent game and one of the best examples of this genre. What a shame it isn't more widely available so I could recommend it to more people. Looking at the price it's going for on ebay now, I think I really lucked out with my purchases last year!

[hazeredmist]

BREAKING NEWS: SaiDaiOuJou is ridiculously good, why is nobody ever talking about this one?

It’s not on switch

*drops mic*

*walks out in the huff*

[KSubzero1000]

Yeah you're right, it probably wouldn't be playable with that drift. Good point.

[hazeredmist]

Anyone played Q-Yo Blaster?

Bought it a while ago. From memory I think Alex and Stan have? If you dismissed it, go back. It’s basically a budget Neko Navy with some Cuphead-style art. Very satisfying and accessible I think, with generous credits if you aren’t going for a 1cc. I am, but it’ll take a while. Just as any good 1cc should. It plays well, it’s got good bullet visibility and simple but fun mechanics, and imaginative bosses. It’s definitely got a budget feel somehow but that’s cool.

It’s currently 89p on switch. Ridiculous, really.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Ninten ... 84107.html

[Alex79]

Anyone played Q-Yo Blaster?

Bought it a while ago. From memory I think Alex and Stan have?

Yeah, I really like it. I haven't managed to 1cc it yet, but I get a bit further each time. Love the graphics, they're really nice. Fun to play, too. At 89p it's pretty much mandatory for anyone who enjoys shmups. I like the way the upgrades work too, and that you can foreo an upgrade to choose an extra life after each stage if you need it.

Haze: have you tried Hyper Sentinal? It's another that's usually 90p or whatever. It's like an old C64 shmup and a bit like Defender too. It's really fun, you fly back and forth across huge dreadnoughts blasting away, there are bosses and stuff, it's a lot of fun for pennies. I'm really enjoying it.

[hazeredmist]

Haze: have you tried Hyper Sentinal? It's another that's usually 90p or whatever. It's like an old C64 shmup and a bit like Defender too. It's really fun, you fly back and forth across huge dreadnoughts blasting away, there are bosses and stuff, it's a lot of fun for pennies. I'm really enjoying it.

Yes! Got that ages ago, initially didn't like it but then played a bit more and got through a lot of stages, it's great fun. Good music too.

[Alex79]

Same here, took months of having little goes here and there to get in to it, but it's quite addictive once you do. I watched a couple of review videos that explained some stuff and had a lot more fun with it.

[Stanshall]

Anyone played Q-Yo Blaster?

I really enjoyed this, the levels and art style and weapons are really fun. The only downside for me is that the bosses have massive HP so they take bleedin ages. I keep meaning to go back to it, though.

At my end, having not really being up to the intensity of shmups recently, like I said in the Comfort Gaming thread, I fired up Raiden Fighters Jet yesterday. I've had a blast with it, and got the ALL2 clear. Not the best TLB ending but one step up from the basic clear.

I've barely scratched the surface of the scoring, there's some cool medal levelling stuff I buggered up at the end of stage one which you need to really get a decent score, but I'll defo be going back for more. Brilliant chunky manic shooter, very much pick up and play rather than strict bullet hell routing. Perfect to blow away the cobwebs.



I'm going to give Saidaioujou another go next after KSub's reflections the other day.

[KSubzero1000]

I fired up Raiden Fighters Jet yesterday.

Hey, this looks kinda neat! I was considering grabbing the Aces compilation on 360, but unfortunately it appears to be region-locked. Good ol' gaming industry getting in the way of my shmupping yet again.

I'm going to give Saidaioujou another go next after KSub's reflections the other day.

Cool! Looking forward to hear what you make of it.

[Michiel K]

What has happened in here? Suddenly everyone's playing shoot 'em ups again?

Been going at Treasure's magnificent Gradius V, for the world to see at Cane and Rinse's Twitch channel, after having gotten the Gradius I (NES) no death clear, and it's a toughie. Boss rush at the end of stage 2, why not? Still getting a lot out of it, though.

I also tried out Rolling Gunner's novice mode for the first time this week, to test how it would play with stick and I accidentally almost 1cc'd it, despite countless mistakes and a general lack of focus.

[hazeredmist]

I also tried out Rolling Gunner's novice mode for the first time this week, to test how it would play with stick and I accidentally almost 1cc'd it, despite countless mistakes and a general lack of focus.

I always love reading about how things that took me ages to achieve, others stumble across them and go "meh"

[Michiel K]

I actually know that feeling all too well, HRM. The crazy thing is that I was not doing very well at all, but at one point, on my last life, I racked up crazy extends, essentially doubling my playtime!

[hazeredmist]

^ PC or Switch?