I'm playing a lot of shooters lately. Which ones should I get?

Amano Jacu · Sep 15, 2002

Before the release of Ikaruga, I started re-playing most of my shooters. Now I want more! Which good shooters I'm missing? I'd like them for DC, PS2 and MVS. Saturn and PSX could also be included. Here there are some I got:

DC:
Gigawing, Ikaruga, Zero Gunner 2, Bangaio.
I'm planning on getting Gigawing 2 and Mars Matrix
PS2:
Gradius, Silpheed.
Am I missing any good one for PS2?
Saturn:
Radiant Silvergun, Thunder Force Gold Pack 2.
MVS:
I have none, however the only one I played that I really liked is Strikers 1945+, but is just too expensive. I'm considering Blazing Star although it didn't impress me. In general I like more vertical than horizontal shoooers.

Thanks in advance.

ray_7 · Sep 15, 2002

RS, if you like Ikaruga, then you'll like this one.

At least that's how it goes for me.

i shot jr · Sep 15, 2002

ps1

zanac x zanac
raiden project
einhander
raiden dx
r-type delta
r-types
toaplan shooting battle
raystorm + raycrisis double pack (simple 1500)

saturn

donpachi
dodonpachi
strikers 1945 1+2
battle garegga
soukyugurentai
kingdom grandprix
thunderforce v
shienryu
batsugun
sengoku blaede
game tengoku
gunbird
layer section
darius gaiden
cotton 2
cotton boomerang
super big brother

those are the ones I have and rate which haven't already been mentioned anyway - don't forget cannon spike (more of a mercs style shooter) and the mighty twinkle star sprites on dc or saturn, both are quality too.

[ September 15, 2002: Message edited by: i shot jr ]

Liquid Snake · Sep 15, 2002

Too bad you don't have Supergrafx, otherwise you can enjoy Capcom/NEC Avenue's exclusive "1941".

Don't forget to get PS R-type Delta

Briggs · Sep 15, 2002

Try Aero Fighters 2 for MVS, it's a much cheaper 1945.

Glad to hear someone else is playing Zero Gunner 2. I love that game.

[ September 15, 2002: Message edited by: Briggs ]

10 in 2010 · Sep 15, 2002

did up an old megadrive and get Thunderforce IV and III, sprinkled with Zero Wing and Hellfire.

[ September 15, 2002: Message edited by: 10in2010 ]

DanAdamKOF · Sep 15, 2002

Well, at <a href="http://www.the-underdogs.org" target="_blank">www.the-underdogs.org</a> there are many Japanese freeware shooters for the PC. A few to look into:
Amanagi
Idinalog
Creature Jungle 16

Amanagi is kinda like a 3D Graduis. It kicks butt, and the best part is that it's free free FREE!
Idinalog is superb. A nice Anime intro, challenging levels, lots of voice, it is very well done, just a little too short

. Give it a try anyway!
Creature Jungle 16 is a cool, vertical shooter. Just, when the characters talk to each other, the text is all garled even though I have Japanese language support

. Still a good game.
The Underdogs has tons of abandonware for download. Give it a try, just remember to only download ONE FILE AT A TIME <img src="graemlins/shame.gif" border="0" alt="[Shame]" /> !
If you have an SNES, pick up Gradius III. It's great

[ September 15, 2002: Message edited by: DanAdamKOF ]

Magician · Sep 15, 2002

DC: Zero Gunner 2
Saturn: Soukyugurentai

...are a couple I think you'd like...

naitram · Sep 15, 2002

Amano before you get anything else, get Mars Matrix.

cgun · Sep 15, 2002

Originally posted by naitram:
Amano before you get anything else, get Mars Matrix.<hr></blockquote>

Couldn´t agree more. Mars Matrix is the best shooter ever made IMHO. Also, get gunbird 2 for your DC it´s a very nice oldschool shooter with great difficulty settings. 1 is very very easy and 8 is insane. Most shooters are about the same on all levels you can choose.

Amano Jacu · Sep 15, 2002

First of all thanks for your replies.

Yes, Mars Matrix is on top of my wanted list, I guess I'll get it next week.

I already have Gunbird 2, I forgot to include it. I also have Cannon Spike, but I don't consider it a shooter, and anyway I don't like it, Mercs or Shock Troopers are much better.

I'll give a try to that R-type Delta for PSX.

Sorry, I don't have a Supergrafx.

About Aero fighters 2, I have it on NGCD and I didn't like it. Yes, I like Zero Gunner 2 too, but it is quite difficult.

About Megadrive, I still have it, and TF IV is one of my fav shooters. I don't have the Megadrive version anymore (I'll take it if I see it for cheap) but I have the compilation for Saturn.

BlackSpy · Sep 15, 2002

Don't bother with Giga Wing 2, very poor I'd say.

Twinkle Star Sprites is worth getting on any system you can find it on.

Ummm, play more Bangia-O (best DC game there is, perhaps)

Verbatum · Sep 15, 2002

Don't forget:

REZ for PS2!!!

Verbatum · Sep 15, 2002

Oh yeah: Psyvariar for PS2 as well!

evil wasabi · Sep 16, 2002

Originally posted by Verbatum:
Don't forget:

REZ for PS2!!!<hr></blockquote>

or dreamcast!!! and since it was released on dc in europe he wont have to import it!!!!

The Auction Sniper · Sep 16, 2002

Get Last Resort on MVS.

Great Game, good music, enough said

mog · Sep 16, 2002

Ugh, I'd stay away from Gunbird 2 and Strikers 1945 Plus. Though I'm probably the only one here that thinks that Psyiko shooters are really terrible.

Personally I don't like the fact that there are a number of shot patterns later in Gunbird 2 that are impossible to dodge, then mix in attacks that specifically target you and you've got a losing situation that just causes frustration. I would probably put their shot patterns on the opposite side of the scale from the ones in Radiant Silvergun.

Strikers 1945 Plus is less stupid and cheap, especially in the first 2 or 3 levels, but still manages to be aggravating due to overall poor shot pattern design. It seems like they tried to make up for this by giving you a bomb attack that absorbs shots that come from in front of you, but it just ends up becoming a game of saving all your bombs for the level boss so you don't have to deal with their poor shot patterns.

Darius Gaiden for the Saturn is by far the best in the Darius series, most of the other games in that series suffer from similar cheapness as the aforementioned Gunbird 2.

Raycrisis would also be a waste unless you get it really cheap with Raystorm. Raycrisis has an interesting system for adjusting difficulty, and at first it seems like it would be fun to practice and get better at the game in order to make it last longer. However, it falls completely short and manages to remain quite "un-fun". Even if you do well at the game, and keep in mind that doing well means playing with near perfection, it's still a very short game, with very little diversity.

As for Bangai-O: Enemies shoot, wait, pull R trigger. Enemies shoot, wait, pull R trigger. Enemies shoot, wait, pull R trigger. Enemies shoot, wait, pull R trigger. I really like the control scheme, and the idea behind it is really really cool but I have issues with its level of simplicity. I'd say it's worth it if you can pick it up cheap. Which, of course, you can.

Enough complaining though, here's some titles that I thought were pretty good.

Galactic Attack is another Taito shooter for the Saturn. It's the predecessor to Raystorm, thought the only major similarity it has to Raystorm is the lock on system. It's mostly 2D and supports monitor flipping. Overall the game is very well balanced, it starts pretty easy, but gets more difficult later on. Like most shooters the sound effects are pretty sucky and irritating, but the background music is sounds pretty good. I think Galactic Attack's only real demerit is that you can't adjust volume levels.

Though it's a little borderline shooter genre, I'd also recommend Tempest 2000. It's a Saturn port/revamp of the Jaguar game which itself was a port/revamp of the old Tempest arcade game. It's done quite well and is really addictive. It also has great music and gameplay to boot. If you can get over its relatively simple graphics it should be a lot of fun. It gets kinda cheap on you after about level 30, but not nearly to the extent that Gunbird 2 does on the normal difficulty setting. As a side bonus, it actually lets you adjust volume levels for sound effects and music.

I'm a big fan of Thunderforce V also. It plays really well, and it's weapon system has some nifty weapons. Once you get good at it it's pretty easy, but it manages to stay fun even then.

There's some neat ones for 16 bit systems too if you'd care to get into those also.

Takumaji · Sep 16, 2002

Originally posted by BlackSpy:
Don't bother with Giga Wing 2, very poor I'd say. [...] <hr></blockquote>

What's so poor in GW2?

Okay, it's not the best shooter, but the mindbending f/x alone are worth the purchase. And the music.

And if you actually try to shoot and forget about the reflect barriers/lasers for a while, it's really cool and challenging. I like it a lot for its looks and replay value.

Like in Mars Matrix, there's a lot to unlock, secret options and gallery pics, etc.

What's more, GW2 has a cool kinda cooperative multi player mode (up to 4 players) where the scores and multipliers are mixed to a grand total. Lastly, there's score attack with even more stuff to open up, and a (saved) ranking list.

Ducky · Sep 16, 2002

I don't believe anyone mentioned (and if someone did I didn't see it) what is possibly the best shooter ever made, imo, G Darius for PS1.

Someone said they thought Darius Gaiden on Saturn was the best in the series, and while I definetly think it's a great game, I don't think anything really compares to G Darius. It's incredible.

Get G Darius on PS1.

evil wasabi · Sep 16, 2002

The PC Engine/Turbografx has some super cool shooters. Some of my favorites are:

1. Gunhed (blazing lazers)
2. the Final Soldier games
3. Override
4. Double Ring
5. Gate/Lords of Thunder
6. Cybercore
7. Sinistar
8. R-Type
9. Air Zonk

Amano Jacu · Sep 19, 2002

Well, thanks for all the replies.

I played Rez for PS2 and I didn't like it. And don't think the DC PAL version is easy to get, the last DC games had a very limited stock and you had to buy them almost the first day. PSO v2 was the same.

By the way, I finished Bangaio and I liked it quite a lot, I found it very original. And it's not always "R trigger", some strategy and puzzle was involved. Virgin distributed those games here and some time ago they put all the remaining stock for 6€ each, so I got Bangaio, Gigawing and Gunbird 2 among others.

OK, so I'll try to get Gigawing 2 and Mars Matrix for DC (this one didn't come to Europe, not sure about the other). And I'll try R-type Delta and STrikers 1945+ for PSX.

Thanks again.

Verbatum · Sep 19, 2002

Originally posted by Amano Jacu:
Well, thanks for all the replies.

I played Rez for PS2 and I didn't like it. And don't think the DC PAL version is easy to get, the last DC games had a very limited stock and you had to buy them almost the first day. PSO v2 was the same.

By the way, I finished Bangaio and I liked it quite a lot, I found it very original. And it's not always "R trigger", some strategy and puzzle was involved. Virgin distributed those games here and some time ago they put all the remaining stock for 6€ each, so I got Bangaio, Gigawing and Gunbird 2 among others.

OK, so I'll try to get Gigawing 2 and Mars Matrix for DC (this one didn't come to Europe, not sure about the other). And I'll try R-type Delta and STrikers 1945+ for PSX.

Thanks again.<hr></blockquote>

Well, if you didn't dig REZ on the PS2, you won't dig it on the DC, so don't waste the cash. I love the game, but hey, whatever works for ya' man!

[ September 19, 2002: Message edited by: Verbatum ]

BioMotor_Unitron · Sep 20, 2002

Originally posted by Ducky:
I don't believe anyone mentioned (and if someone did I didn't see it) what is possibly the best shooter ever made, imo, G Darius for PS1.

Someone said they thought Darius Gaiden on Saturn was the best in the series, and while I definetly think it's a great game, I don't think anything really compares to G Darius. It's incredible.

Get G Darius on PS1.<hr></blockquote>

I lik G Darius quite a bit. I grabbed several new copies out of the bargain bin for the Hell of it, once I had tried it out.

Liquid Snake · Sep 20, 2002

Originally posted by BioMotor_Unitron:


I lik G Darius quite a bit. I grabbed several new copies out of the bargain bin for the Hell of it, once I had tried it out.<hr></blockquote>

Bio, you'll sell your copies for $95 + on Ebay sooon.........

BioMotor_Unitron · Sep 20, 2002

Originally posted by Liquid Snake:


Bio, you'll sell your copies for $95 + on Ebay sooon......... <hr></blockquote>

Actually, I have just been using them for trades.

I'm playing a lot of shooters lately. Which ones should I get?

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