Shmups

[ratsoalbion]

oh

[Alex79]

Where's Ksub at lately? Anyone heard from him? If he reads this, hope you're well mate. Haven't seen you around the forum for a while.

[Simonsloth]

Same. I’m not a huge fan of shmups but I am a huge fan of Ksub!

[Marlew]

Without speaking for him, I think he's taking a break/stepped aside somewhat. He's very much missed, I agree.

This thread certainly burned bright, maybe flew too close to the sun.

[shadowless_kick]

how come no one told me about Sega's Astro City Mini arcade stick? I've been getting frustrated playing ESP Ra.De. on the PS4 using the pad, and was pretty sure I'd go for the Mayflash F500 for compatibility and the relatively low price, then I found out about this.

arcade sticks are such a surprisingly deep rabbit hole I don't really wanna be bothered to explore, so if this is a faithful representation of an actual Astro City control panel, I think I'm sold. ...that is, of course, assuming it will work with anything other than an Astro City Mini

[Michiel K]

Yeah, that stick looks tasty!

This thread certainly burned bright, maybe flew too close to the sun.

Hmmm yeah. This thread certainly has made its victims.

@Simonsloth you might just not realise you're a fan of shmups yet. My 10 year old thought there was nothing more boring than a 2D autoscrolling shooter... until he played Gradius V with me.

[Michiel K]

Been getting into more hori Konami shooters after some recent acquirements: Salamander 2, Gokujou Parodius and Sexy Parodius.

[Magical_Isopod]

Hey folks, I'm seeking some insight from our expert panel of SHMUP fanatics... I recently played a SHMUP called Thunder Cross, as found on the Konami Arcade Classics compilation. I left my expanded thoughts in the "Games Beaten 2021" thread.

However, my key takeaway was that there are two completely different versions of this game depending on region, with the US release being vastly inferior in a number of ways. I was born in 1990, and my SHMUP knowledge really only covers a brief period between like 89 and 2000, but was it common practice in the 80s to completely rework arcade titles for different markets? Does anyone have any trivia specific to Thunder Cross? Thanks lads and ladies.

[ratsoalbion]

Noticeable and critical regional variations across arcade ROMs are commonplace, the changes to Thunder Cross are more obvious and substantial than most, however.

[Michiel K]

Barely played it and had no idea the ROMs were that different. Will investigate!

Also, damn shame that most of our 2D shooter enthusiasts don't check in very often again, because there are a lot of significant releases coming out these days! Just the upcoming month, we have...

- Cotton Reboot
- Darius Cozmic Revelation
- Natsuki Chronicles

[Belmont03]

Just checked those games out Michiel. I'm new too the forum but I've been a shmup fan most of my life. Most of my experiences are with games from the Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, and of course the arcades (I'm 32 and was lucky enough to have an arcade near my childhood home).

Recently I picked up a Dreamcast copy of Ikaruga and I'm relearning that play through. Last year I spent a fair amount of time with Batsugun on the Saturn.

I will try to check in here often. Always looking for a good shmup.

[Michiel K]

Hi Belmont03, that's great!

Coincidentally, I just got a JP copy of Ikaruga for Dreamcast in. I never greatly clicked with it, but I can't help but admire that game's design ethos and it looks excellent on my B&O CRT, so maybe that motivates me to put more time into it... also, playing Gradius V a lot had me thinking about Ikaruga again. This week was the first week where I even started to bother with the chaining and it's very satisfying!

I love Batsugun as well. It's high on my list of shoot 'em ups I want to prioritise in getting a clear on.

[Magical_Isopod]

Barely played it and had no idea the ROMs were that different. Will investigate!

Also, damn shame that most of our 2D shooter enthusiasts don't check in very often again, because there are a lot of significant releases coming out these days! Just the upcoming month, we have...

- Cotton Reboot
- Darius Cozmic Revelation
- Natsuki Chronicles

So what's the deal with these new Darius games? The Burst Saviours one is really expensive and has lots of DLC, but there's another one coming out? Or is that like a complete version of the expensive one? I really don't understand how they're releasing these games, it's rather confusing and unorthodox.

[Michiel K]

The new release is not Chronicle Saviors, but the final version of DariusBurst the arcade game + a HD re-release of G Darius. That means that the DariusBurst on this compilation doesn't have the huuuuuuuuge amount of extra 16:9 content that comes with CS, but it does come with all the timed challenges of the arcade game. And of course there's G Darius on that package.

[Magical_Isopod]

The new release is not Chronicle Saviors, but the final version of DariusBurst the arcade game + a HD re-release of G Darius. That means that the DariusBurst on this compilation doesn't have the huuuuuuuuge amount of extra 16:9 content that comes with CS, but it does come with all the timed challenges of the arcade game. And of course there's G Darius on that package.

So what's the best method of experiencing Burst then? Is there like a complete edition one can obtain? Or is it just like, "Pay the $67ish dollar fee for the base game, then pick the DLC you want"?

[ratsoalbion]

The physical release also now includes Game Boy SAGAIA, announced earlier this week.

[Michiel K]

Oh, didn't catch that yet!

@Magical Isopod, I think that's pretty much it. For that 67ish, you'll get the most content rich 2D shooter I can think of and then you can expand on that further, if you like.

[Belmont03]

@Michiel, CRT life for the win. Nothing beats playing these older games on the proper display. Ikaruga is at its best once you get in a groove with the chaining. It takes some major dedication to memorization of each screen, at least for me, as I don't read the game fast enough in the moment. I've been playing the game off and on since the Gamecube release and still have trouble keeping up with any sense of chaining past the first screen or so of the third level.

[Alex79]

Astebreed is currently only £3 on Switch. Don't think I'll double dip as I have it on PS4 and I'm not mega in to it, but it's a pretty fun shmup and definitely worth that price. A bit easy, but I suppose it's all about the score chasing for most fans.

[Michiel K]

@Michiel, CRT life for the win. Nothing beats playing these older games on the proper display.

Preaching to the choir here, with the choir consisting of me.

Good shout Alex, I haven't added Astebreed to my collection yet.