What is your favorite shmup/STG of all time?

[Temtastic Muns]

The trio of Gokujō Parodius, Sexy Parodius, and Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius are my favorite shmups of all-time. (If I had to choose one, though, it would be Gokujō Parodius.)

The Collection on PSP is the main reason I keep the system around. The following is a mock-up, but I would kill for a similar compilation on the Switch:

 

[Hydra_BE]

DoDonPachi Daioujou
Ikaruga
Battle Garrega

The Holy Trinity

 

[5pectre]

Toss up between:
Crimzon Clover World Ignition
Galaga
Mushihimesama Futari

Crimzon Clover is often on sale for €2. Every shooter fan should own that game.

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

Not my favorite, but I've been playing a lot of Blast Wind on the Saturn lately. It's not the most difficult game in the genre, but I've had a ton of fun with it, and it feels like it is just the right length to do a run through it in the evenings. Has a great soundtrack too.

 

[andymcc]

The trio of Gokujō Parodius, Sexy Parodius, and Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius are my favorite shmups of all-time. (If I had to choose one, though, it would be Gokujō Parodius.)

The Collection on PSP is the main reason I keep the system around. The following is a mock-up, but I would kill for a similar compilation on the Switch:

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Konami needed Gradius and Parodius collections to go along w/ the Castelvania and Contra ones.

 

[ArjanN]

Crimzon Clover World Ignition

 

[Deleted member 5956]

Another vote for Mushihimesama Futari Black Label, everything about it just feels right.

What resolution does it play at?

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The native resolution is 160x240, a funky 2:3 aspect ratio. Full screen scaling gives you the option of a best fit or integer scaled output.

 

[DECK’ARD]

Glorious game.

 

[thaivo]

Ikaruga and U.N. Squadron. Both of these just feel so right, and nothing has even come close in my view.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Even though there's plenty that are better, it's going to be Super R-Type. First one I really sank my time into as a child, and the soundtrack is dope.

 

[Devilgunman]

Deathsmiles

Mushihimesama

Einhander

Radiant Silvergun

Ironclad

Lords of Thunder

 

[ThorHammerstein]

Almost anything by Compile.
Radiant Silvergun.
TwinBee.
Gradius.

And I enjoy the Cave shooters too though I never seems to get particularly good at them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can't believe I forgot UN Squadron. Love everything about it.

 

[KDR_11k]

Tyrian with Raptor a close second.
Is anything similar to them on the market today? From time to time I have a look and I always see games that more or less resemble bullet hell which I am not a great fan of.

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The Jets & Guns games are heavily inspired by them, Drifting Lands and Sector Six are loot based but still do long-term progression. Besides that, the Chronicle Saviors mode in Dariusburst will kinda scratch that itch, despite a more traditional design it does give you some power to affect your loadout for missions but you never run the risk of just not having enough damage output to hurt anything.

 

[djplaeskool]

Toss up:
Radiant Silvergun
Thunder Force IV

Honorable Mentions:
Air Buster/Aero Blasters
Salamander 2
Sol-Deace/Feace
Twin Cobra
Battle Garegga

 

[Cugel]

So this is a very tough call for me because any one of about six or seven Cave games could easily take this spot depending on the day, but I'm gonna give my vote to Ketsui.

I think it's Cave's tightest-playing and most approachable danmaku shmup, and I love its more grounded and serious tone due to the WWIII backdrop that it's set against. It's damn near perfect in my eyes, especially the M2 Shot Triggers release.

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YES

 

[Dache]

RIght now, my favourite hovers somewhere between Ketsui, DDP DFK BL, and Progear depending on which way the winds blowing at the time. Mushihimesama and Futari are also great, and I really liked Crimzon Clover and Blue Revolver on Steam.

Growing up, I loved Fantastic Journey/Gokujo Parodius and Radiant Silvergun on Saturn. I recently discovered Layer Section too, which I think was way ahead of its time presentation-wise. The transitions and scaling effects are insane and put to amazing use all the way through the game, I don't think anything at the time matched it for spectacle.

 

[Herne]

It's been years since I played one but I remember liking X-Out and Salamander on the C64 -

 

[Kutaragi]

Easy catch for me: Ikaruga.

 

[Deraldin]

I'll always have fond memories of Axelay, but I think I have to give my favourite to Raptor: Call of the Shadows. I think I'm gonna install it again!

 

[KDR_11k]

I think spontaneously I'd say the original Revolver 360 (not Re:Actor which is nice but the original's more open style feels better to me)

 

[sixteen-bit]

My top 5 might look kinda wack but in my defense I have barely played any STGs

Under Defeat
Battle Garegga
R-Type Delta
ESPgaluda
Layer Section

 

[Bradford]

Kind of off topic but is Sine Mora worth playing?

I've heard it's very good and was thinking of picking it up on switch.

 

[Hu3]

Dodonpachi or eïnhander. Most cave games.

 

[Tomasdk]

The Jets & Guns games are heavily inspired by them, Drifting Lands and Sector Six are loot based but still do long-term progression. Besides that, the Chronicle Saviors mode in Dariusburst will kinda scratch that itch, despite a more traditional design it does give you some power to affect your loadout for missions but you never run the risk of just not having enough damage output to hurt anything.

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Thanks. I'll check those out.

 

[Hu3]

Kind of off topic but is Sine Mora worth playing?

I've heard it's very good and was thinking of picking it up on switch.

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yes it's worth playing, it's just a tad short and barren compared to other shooters. But it's a good game.

 

[ScOULaris]

My top 5 might look kinda wack but in my defense I have barely played any STGs

Under Defeat
Battle Garegga
R-Type Delta
ESPgaluda
Layer Section

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Wack? Those are all great.

But you've gotta pick ONE. It's right there in the thread title. 😉

 

[Jintor]

I'm not a huge shmup fan but ZeroRanger really blew me away when I played it last year. Incredible game.

 

[Guts Of Thor]

I love this genre but as I've gotten older I get headaches right between my eyes anytime I play them :(

My favorites used to be U.N. Squadron, Strike Gunner, and Darius Twin but if I had to pick one I would pick Strike Gunner.

 

[SoH]

Kind of off topic but is Sine Mora worth playing?

I've heard it's very good and was thinking of picking it up on switch.

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Sine Mora is The Order 1886 or Ryse of shmups. Certainly pretty but the flatest gameplay loop you may ever come across. I wouldn't say that is an absolutely bad thing, necessarily, just leaves a lot to be desired in terms of genre conventions.

 

[Bradford]

Sine Mora is The Order 1886 or Ryse of shmups. Certainly pretty but the flatest gameplay loop you may ever come across. I wouldn't say that is an absolutely bad thing, necessarily, just leaves a lot to be desired in terms of genre conventions.

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yes it's worth playing, it's just a tad short and barren compared to other shooters. But it's a good game.

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Thanks for the insight.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

One game that rules, isn't too hard, and falls outside of the Cave style is G.Rev's Strania: The Stella Machina. I played it a little bit of the 360 release back in 2011, but I put some real time into the 2020 Exa Arcadia release and it fucking rules. Maybe right up there with Radiant Silvergun in terms of drama, but mechanically there's just so much variety to it between the vastly different stages, the Vower side course, and a big selection of weapons that you're encouraged to swap around. It's a seriously overlooked game I think. Slower scrolling with lots of terrain to take cover behind.

I haven't played much of the Steam release, but it's easily available here:

This isn't perfect (I think the 3-5 range is the sweet spot for most people) however I didn't want to make too many assumptions about people's ability and tried to give a wide range of possibility.

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This is pretty cool!

 

[Baron Von Beans]

DoDonPachi Resurrection is in a league of its own in my book. But a very close second is Mars Matrix


And for pure mayhem silliness, 4 player Giga Wing 2 is bananas.

 

[yyr]

It's probably Espgaluda, thinking about the games I've spent a lot of time with. It's not particularly tough, but the time mechanic is fun as hell, the difficulty curve is pretty perfect among novice-oriented arcade games, and I love the aesthetic and setting.

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Me too!

I love that Espgaluda gives you so many tools to work with, between Kakusei (slow down time, also used as a risk/reward scoring mechanic), Guard Barrier (your bombs are a meter...the longer you hold the button, the longer you're invincible, and the more powerful the bomb is, but the more gauge is used), and messing with Kakusei Over to finetune the difficulty exactly where you want it to be. The game is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it. Well, except for giving it a new port on all modern platforms lol

I'm sad that Cave never even remade it for X360 when the majority of their catalog (including the sequel) is there. Was the PS2 port really too recent? Sigh.

 

[Rickenslacker]

Mine is Muchi Muchi Pork. It has a silly aesthetic and one of the more straightforward and intuitive scoring systems that appeals to me. My runner up is Ketsui, similarly for its scoring, but it doesn't let you play as chubby anime pig girls so really what's the point.

 

[Glabados]

It hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet, but I adore Dragon Blaze from Psikyo.

Not sure what it is, exactly, about this game in particular that I find so enjoyable. I think the relatively (for the shmup genre) unusual art style and setting helps, and the mechanics are enjoyable. It's the first shmup I've cleared on one credit, and I revisit it all the time.

For a long time, Ikaruga was easily my favorite of all time. I was mesmerized by the art, soundtrack, and gameplay. I've come to understand its flaws, although it's still a great game.

And the first shmup I ever played was Twin Cobra on the NES, so that'll always have a special place in my heart, although I'm not sure if it's considered any good...

 

[LordGorchnik]

Raiden Series
R-Type although its not really a bullet hell like others posted here
And of course Mushihimesama Futari because its just perfect.

 

[Indelible]

Definitely Radiant Silvergun, no other shmup hooked me like that one.

 

[ChronoMonarch]

It took this long to get to Ikaruga! What!

Ikaruga

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And only two mentions! What!

Easy catch for me: Ikaruga.

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So therefore, I will now be the third to say Ikargua lol.

 

[virtua_44]

As for a good, accessible shmup to start with I highly recommend Jamestown+. It was designed for consoles, as opposed to arcade shmups, so it doesn't have that merciless arcade/quarter-munching difficulty to it. It's also just a fantastic game all around.

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Because of you, I will play Jamestown when I get the chance. It'll be my first shmup. And my opinion of it will shape my opinion of the genre for years to come! The pressure is on!!!

 

[Jockel]

Because of you, I will play Jamestown when I get the chance. It'll be my first shmup. And my opinion of it will shape my opinion of the genre for years to come! The pressure is on!!!

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I'd recommend Harmful Park (PSX) or Blast Wind (Saturn) if you have the opportunity. Both are very easy to clear.
The easiest Cave game is Deathsmiles in my opinion, I'm not very good and I got the 1cc after like 10 hours of playing the game.

 

[OmegaDL50]

I like Cave stuff, DoDonPachi and Mushihimesama are fantastic.

Not Cave but I have fondness for Crimzon Clover and Gradius V.

My favorite STG is probably Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius on the SNES, I also enjoy Gokujou Parodius a great deal as well. They aren't particularly difficult but I love the wacky setting and amazing music.

Gradius III is also another favorite of mine. Gradius III and IV was probably my first PS2 game too.

So many awesome games in this genre.

 

[ScOULaris]

Because of you, I will play Jamestown when I get the chance. It'll be my first shmup. And my opinion of it will shape my opinion of the genre for years to come! The pressure is on!!!

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If you're like me, Jamestown+ will be your gateway drug into the genre. It's what kickstarted my obsession when I got it on Switch. Now I'm drowning in shmups on Switch, PC, PS4, and via emulation.

 

[Gnomepowered]

I just played this for the first time today, and it's friggin' nuts.

I'm gonna have to check the wiki to understand what the premise of this game even is. It's all just pig-centric zaniness cranked up to 11. I don't have to understand it to love it though.

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MMP is the combination of all of the things I love about SHMUPS, and one of my favorites. It has a fun scoring system that isn't as punishing as, say, chaining kills in DoDonPachi, it is very much like Battle Garegga (another game by Shinobu Yagawa) in that it rewards you for using bombs instead of punishing you, is liberal with the extends and has those fun bullet shapes, but without the opaque and punishing rank system, and it also just literally vomits point medals all over the screen, which I have loved since the first time I played Deathsmiles. I have a hard time suggesting it to friends because of the cheesecake fan-service factor (although I guess it is at least body positive, and I think the pig-girl designs are adorable), but it is my favorite SHMUP.

I wish it were more accessible- I was late to the game buying my 360 copy and got it for ~80$, but I see used copies are now 200$+, and although its available digitally buying Japanese X360 games from not-Japan is harder than it should be, even though MMP supposedly doesn't need any VPN shenanigans etc. Also, the 1.01 version on the 360 release makes it a much better game than the arcade original in my opinion, mostly due to making the power shot easier to use. That port is pretty low-effort in general though, and I doubt MMP is anywhere near the top of M2's port pile or anything, so it will probably continue to be less loved than it deserves.

For what its worth, the M2 ports of Ketsui and Esp.ra.de have overtaken it as my go-to SHMUP- the Arcade Challenge training mode alone makes those ports worth the purchase price and I honestly prefer it to emulating with save states.

 

[Gnomepowered]

I also want to give a mention of G-Darius, the first shmup I ever owned for a home system, bought from the discount bin at a Toys R Us because I had a friend staying over and didn't have any two player games for my Playstation. Turns out it is amazing, and definitely kickstarted my ongoing love of the genre. Although I've sampled a lot of other Darius games (I love the music and the fish), I still think I prefer G-Darius over all of the others. Dariusburst Chronicles has an insane amount of content but disappointingly (to me) still didn't include the G-Darius style enemy capture system which adds a lot of depth compared to other games in the series, and the beams aren't big enough. I am very excited about the upcoming G-Darius port!

I like the Darius games in general, but its mostly for the aesthetics (especially Gaiden/G-Darius/Dariusburst). The gameplay and scoring is a little too basic for them to be my favorite shmups overall, but the aesthetics definitely make them my favorite shmups to play stoned.

Sidenote- I had the opportunity to play the full size, sit down, multi-screen arcade cab of Dariusburst at a barcade in Denver and it definitely gave me more appreciation for the spectacle of the series which is really lost in home releases. If you ever see one, I hope you give it a shot, even if you aren't a fan of the genre.

 

[winky]

Special mention for me goes to Thunderforce (Lightningforce) IV as it was the first game I played that made me realise I liked shmups. Also it too has an amazing soundtrack.

But of all the shooters I have played (not nearly as many as others on here ) I would have to say Psyvariar and Psyvaiar 2. The idea of skirting around the map flying into bullets to keep the buzz chain going was so much fun.

 

[ScOULaris]

Special mention for me goes to Thunderforce (Lightningforce) IV as it was the first game I played that made me realise I liked shmups. Also it too has an amazing soundtrack.

But of all the shooters I have played (not nearly as many as others on here ) I would have to say Psyvariar and Psyvaiar 2. The idea of skirting around the map flying into bullets to keep the buzz chain going was so much fun.

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Have you ever played Danmaku Unlimited 3?

It also uses the grazing mechanic, and IMO it's even better than Psy.

 

[virtua_44]

If you're like me, Jamestown+ will be your gateway drug into the genre. It's what kickstarted my obsession when I got it on Switch. Now I'm drowning in shmups on Switch, PC, PS4, and via emulation.

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I look forward to my conversion :)

I'd recommend Harmful Park (PSX) or Blast Wind (Saturn) if you have the opportunity. Both are very easy to clear.
The easiest Cave game is Deathsmiles in my opinion, I'm not very good and I got the 1cc after like 10 hours of playing the game.

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Harmful Park in particular looks to have an interesting style. Ill be looking into these if I start getting hooked ;)

 

[Chopchop]

It took this long to get to Ikaruga! What!

And only two mentions! What!

So therefore, I will now be the third to say Ikargua lol.

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I want to like Ikaruga, but it makes my brain explode. :(

 

[winky]

Have you ever played Danmaku Unlimited 3?

It also uses the grazing mechanic, and IMO it's even better than Psy.

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No but I will look it up - I am not as hardcore into shooters as some but it would be nice to try something new. Cheers for the recommendation. :)

 

[andymcc]

Have you ever played Danmaku Unlimited 3?

It also uses the grazing mechanic, and IMO it's even better than Psy.

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Grazing was a hot-shit mechanic for a little bit wasn't it? Everyone loved Castle Shikigami II and III when they released and... no one really talks about them much anymore?