What is the absolute hardest Neo Geo shooter?

I just received Last Resort for my AES/Phantom-1 from ebay and I have to say, this game is "beat your wife" hard! Now I really need to pick up a memory card. Anyway, what do you guys think is the hardest Neo Geo shooter? Although I've only played a few, I would like to throw my vote in for LR.

Neo shooter difficulty ranking:

1. Viewpoint
2. Pulstar
3. Last Resort

I say this because I've gotten the furthest in LR. Beating Viewpoint is one HELL of an accomplishment.

I have to agree with Loopz, I havent played all the shooters yet but it seems as Viewpoint is the hardest.

Pulstar is very hard also but I think if you can memorize some key parts of the levels and bosses it can get easier.

In order of hardest to easiest:

1. Viewpoint
2. Pulstar
3. Last Resort
4. Alpha Mission 2
5. tie (Strikers and Aerofighters series)
6. Andro Dunos
7. Zed Blade

I vote for 1st viewpoint and 2nd Alpha Mission II
(never played pulstar or LR but hope to hunt them down soon)
PS Will a debug mod make viewpoint easier? I've had that f'ing game for 10 years and still can't beat it!

Last Resort isn't all that hard, especially once you've come to complete grips with all of its intricacies. It stands as one of the games I can beat using a solitary credit when I'm practiced up on it, and in what I term "the groove - that meaning I'm at the top of my game.

However, both Pulstar and Viewpoint are utter bitches of the most vile sort! Loopz is right about the nature of Pulstar; it's patterns lend themselves better to memorization, whereas Viewpoint is more capable of throwing you a nasty, random curve ball. I get too put out at Viewpoint to ever play it persistently enough to perhaps beat it. I have, however, defeated Pulstar.

I ain't played em all but Last Resort is stupidly hard , but then again i suck at shooters (apart from MS)

I would also stick with Loopz list, but for a kind of fun hard (pulstar is not a fun hard at all - just sick hard), I suggest the second loop of Sonic Wings 3. It's really not a great shooter, but the second loop is pretty difficult.

Shooters I've played, ranked from hardest to easiest:

Viewpoint
Pulstar
Last Resort
Blazing Star
Sonic Wings 3
Sonic Wings 2
Ghost Pilots

Interest factor:
Blazing Star - what can I say; I'm a fan of Blazing Star. Great music, great graphics, great control. Unlike Pulstar, you don't feel like you're flying through thick pea soup.

Viewpoint - one of the best soundtracks for any neo geo game, complemented by awesome pre-rendered graphics, and insane diffiulty. Not for people that suffer from claustrophobia.

Sonic Wings 3 - I like jungle, and I like character selection. I also like verticle shooters. The story cuts from character to character are also pretty funny. Worth playing just for that.

Sonic Wings 2 - see SW3.

Pulstar - not a great game at all. Just for some poser "r-type" fans. Real R-Type fans play R-Type, not Pulstar.

Last Resort - excellent soundtrack. Graphics are dated, and I really want to like it, but when I play it it's like "blech," so I just go to the sound test and listen to the music.


Ghost Pilots - looks really bad. I'd rather play Xanac or 1942 on the NES for an hour than Ghost Pilots for 10 minutes.

Gotta love shoot'em ups... especially Last Resort. Don't you have to beat it twice, meaning the second time around has extras?

Viewpoint is frustratingly hard but Pulstar is pretty damn close.

Viewpoint wins this hands down.

However, despite it's difficulty I find it very rewarding and more challenging than frustrating.

Yeah, I say Last Resort. Pulstar however, isn't as hard as many say. Once you have it down, you can beat it without loosing a life no-prob! Last resort is fookin' cool though!

Pulstar and Viewpoint are the hardest shooters on neo geo, but Pulstar is the better game in my opinion.

pulstar for sure... you wanna hard shooter ? go get it...

Im a MASSIVE fan of View Point. Been playing this game on & off for the last 7years! me and a few mates would meet up every sat at our local arcade,and have a competition. crowds would gather round-attracted by the awsome music pumping out of the 33inch sit down 4slot machine! Looking on in amazement at how dam good we were at this game. Without fail -we would always finish the game or get to the final boss,All this on just 1credit!!! I don't think the game is so hard! Its all about memorising the attacks of the sprites, and knowing the right time to use your smart bombs.
Like I said Its possible to finish View Point on 1credit-were as I don't think thats possible with Pulstar and Blazing star.
Ive also been to the final stage on last resort with 1credit!
So I would put them in this order,based on only using 1credit

1 Pulstar
2 BLAZING STAR
3 LAST RESORT
4 VIEWPOINT
<img src="graemlins/multi.gif" border="0" alt="[Multi Color Bouncey]" />

Viewpoint is by far the hardest. I also would say Pulstar is number 2...

Well, without a debug BIOS or in MVS mode, it is with out a doubt Viewpoint, followed by Pulstar. I don't think Last Resort is hard at all, once you realize how to properly use your support pod, and if you are playing 2p... then it is cake.

Viewpoint on a MVS with 2p turned on you can start off where you die (even in a 1p game!). Plus unlimited continues make it kind of easy. I have to say there is almost no way I would beat that damn skull boss without start off where you die turned on.... Forget about fighting him a second time on the next board!

Pulstar... is... hard... that is one of the only MVS games I have not beaten. Unlimited continues? Who cares! That game is either have full power or die And, I do that a lot. Oh well, I try to like it, but its difficulty is so high I always scrap it and go on to play something else....

-Nick

blazing star is really harder than last resort;
last resort is quite easy when you really play a lot.

blazing star is pretty difficult because there are too much little shots.
very hard not loose a lot of credits.


viewpoint, it's always the same moves.
my friend sebleger can finish it with one live.
not blazing star.