How does Pulstar stack up to other shmups of its day?

[Digmac]

I personally think of Pulstar as the Neo's finest offering in the shoot em up genre. As much as I have enjoyed the other titles the Neo has in this genre, Pulstar stands out to me as the one that could best go toe to toe with what was coming out in the genre at the time it was released. 1995/1996 had some massive releases that showed the direction the genre was headed, while Pulstar stuck to tried and true shmup values.

Taking the Neo tinted glasses off, in your opinions, how does Pulstar stack up in visuals and gameplay with the other offerings from the likes of Atlus/Cave, Psikyo, Taito, Raizing, Irem, and other companies?

 

[Massive Urethra Chode]

I find comparing shooters to be difficult. Pulstar is a slower paced game in the same vein as R-Type. Cave games have their own distinct gameplay style, as does Psikyo (Psikyo is a descendent of Video System)..

For example, even though Psikyo’s sengoku blade is a horizontal shmup from around the same era as Pulstar, could you really compare the two? Gameplay-wise, they are about as different as you can get, and they fit different moods. The team that created Pulstar came from Irem AFAIK and had been working on a cancelled R-Type sequel, which explains the resemblance...

So i find in order to compare shooters, you have to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. I much prefer a granny smith over a red delicious. Pulstar is definitely a granny smith. It is the greatest R-type-esque game i’ve ever played, easily. And i don’t even like R-Type that much. It absolutely holds up to other popular shooters on other arcade and console platforms.


I think Strikers 1945 Plus is extremely underrated. That is easily the most fun Strikers game i’ve ever played and one of Psikyo’s greatest games. That game is more than meets the eye for sure.

In some ways i like blazing star more than pulstar, but can you really compare the two? Sure blazing star is meant as kind of a sequel, but it exists in a different shmup subgenre. It’s more comparable to say, a thunder force game. But even still, Blazing Star is a very unique game that really breaks the mold...

 

[Digmac]

I find comparing shooters to be difficult. Pulstar is a slower paced game in the same vein as R-Type. Cave games have their own distinct gameplay style, as does Psikyo (Psikyo is a descendent of Video System)..

For example, even though Psikyo’s sengoku blade is a horizontal shmup from around the same era as Pulstar, could you really compare the two? Gameplay-wise, they are about as different as you can get, and they fit different moods. The team that created Pulstar came from Irem AFAIK and had been working on a cancelled R-Type sequel, which explains the resemblance...

So i find in order to compare shooters, you have to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

I had this thought right after I posted the thread. The comparison isn't truly fair across sub genres of shmups, however I feel like a general quality/fun factor can be gleaned. I've heard from multiple people that the shmup offerings on the Neo are "meh" at best (I disagree), so I was curious as to the opinions of others on this, specifically Pulstar.

I'm not as well versed as others in AC shmups, so that's another factor behind my post.

I do agree with you on Strikers 1945 Plus. That game rocks. If it had the Sonic Wings 3 soundtrack, then it would be another level.

 

[yagamikun]

I don't think it's unfair to compare shooters. People compare and contrast fighting games all day long, and every fighting game in their respective sub-genre has different mechanics - including games in the same series. It's 100% fair to compare Pulstar to any other arcade horizontal shooter that is based on pattern memorization - whether that be in the vein of R-Type, Gradius, Darius, Thunder Force, etc. I would, however, not compare it to horizontal bullet-hell shooters as the approach to those games is mechanically different.

Is it the greatest horizontal shooter on the Neo? I've met some people who think so. Is the greatest horizontal shooter ever created? I've also met some that think this. If a game clicks with you, that's what really matters in the end. Pulstar is an objectively good game, just like the best contemporaries in its class back in the day. And just like its contemporaries, it has its own mechanics to master and its own frustrations to overcome.

I know you've played it, and if you enjoy it enough to spend the time and energy it will take to actually beat the game without cheats (which end up breaking the game eventually, so...), it's a solid choice.

Personally, I like it better than any other horizontal "arcade" shooter of the day, but I also like many console shooters better - like Thunder Force 3 and 4 or Trouble Shooter on the good'ol Mega Drive.

 

[oliverclaude]

...I feel like a general quality/fun factor can be gleaned.

Of course it can, otherwise "best of" lists wouldn't exist. Don't listen to Cunty Cactus. You asked for opinions with Neo tinted glasses off, and such a time based comparison is well reasoned.

I've heard from multiple people that the shmup offerings on the Neo are "meh" at best (I disagree), so I was curious as to the opinions of others on this, specifically Pulstar.

Well, in my opinion the Neo is eccentric in every way, always has been, and my guess is, that people who "meh" Neo STGs are missing the point, when evaluating them. Like they know about Neo's fame and expect its games to instantly courtship them as players − it doesn't work that way. Those games are every bit as eccentric as their infamous console. I wrote about this earlier here, NEO's STGs are more innovative, than flashy, not easy to grasp, odd, even counterintuitive.

Talking about counterintuitive, let's take Pulstar for example. In Neo's R-Type variation you can't detach your Force anymore, well, not entirely, you can detach it by blasting it. Think about it, what was formerly indestructible, can now be blown into pieces. Talking in R-Type's terms, that's like heresy. I don't blame people who "meh" it, just because of that fact. Pulstar is an experiment, which forces you to rethink your R-Type habits, also in regard to length. R-Types are six levels long, Pulstar is eight. For a gameplay as tightly woven as R-Type's, that's like a revolution. There are also little things, like the "ship level" being now in Stage 4, instead of 3 and you don't go round it, only forth and fully back. Hey, did I mention that everything is pre-rendered now? Yeah, that's a lot of new stuf to confront with, one can't grasp it instantly.

Usually when people are confronted with something new, and so much of it at the same time, they don't like it. That's the case with almost all Neo STGs. They're deemed as "clones", awkward, bulky and outdated, and they are, but only if you don't give them enough time. Anyway, with Neo tinted glasses off, for me Pulstar is a masterpiece.

 

[Neo Alec]

All I know for sure is that if we had to pick one Neo shooter as the consensus best shooter on the console, it would be Pulstar.

 

[Massive Urethra Chode]

What do you guys think of blazing star? Better than pulstar?

 

[RAZO]

What do you guys think of blazing star? Better than pulstar?

No but IMO its the 2nd best shooter on the neo. That "Bonus" sound is mad annoying though. Blazing Star is also less challenging which is not a bad thing either.

 

[Massive Urethra Chode]

No but IMO its the 2nd best shooter on the neo. That "Bonus" sound is mad annoying though. Blazing Star is also less challenging which is not a bad thing either.

I recommend playing blazing star on difficulty 8 !!

 

[Burning Fight!!]

What do you guys think of blazing star? Better than pulstar?

Never put any serious time into it but it felt very tacky with the constant on-screen text and BONAS!. Cool graphics though.

 

[Neorebel]

I actually enjoy Blazing star more than Pulstar. Might be because I am better at it, having owned the actual cart and played it more due to it being in the cab vs roms on the computer/etc. I don't mind the voice, lol

 

[Massive Urethra Chode]

I like the BONUS voice in blazing star. It’s so arcadey and very japanese.

 

[Shmuppy]

For me Pulstar has blown any shmup away I saw to this date in 1995. The presentation is awesome, the gameplay hard (as it should be for "R-TypeX") the music fits perfectly (btw. for everyone who didn't know Pulstar CD is even better thanks to CD music which wasn't rearranged but mixed in higher quality + it's stereo I think) and it has 10 massive stages with each of them in a very different setting. What no shmup has done before this masterpiece has is the prerendered bosses and pretty much every sprite in this game. The animations are mindblowing. Also, mixing prerendered stuff with handdrawn BGs this good is very very rare. One of my all time favs in shmupping.

 

[Neo Alec]

The CD also has more cutscenes, but is missing some sound effects. So the sound effects are better on the cart.

 

[Shmuppy]

Oh, missing SFX? Bummer because the music is so good on CD and the loading times are totally OK. About the extra cut scenes, can't remember but interesting to know. I sold my front loader back in the day which was probably a mistake... And I had a CDZ in front of me after that ready to get a new home but I didn't which is even more...

 

[awbacon]

Pulstar to me is the BEST version of that particular type of shmup; slower paced memorization style.

 

[Shmuppy]

Pulstar to me is the BEST version of that particular type of shmup; slower paced memorization style.

Yepp, it probably is especially in the graphics department it's king, no doubt. Just one thing is "missing"--> No detachable satellite which was a genius design choice in the R-type series. I guess it would have been too much for the Neo since it already has some major slowdowns with Pulstar? Or why in general no other R-Type clone copied the satelitte mechanics? Were they patented or something?

 

[joecommando]

I actually enjoy Blazing star more than Pulstar. Might be because I am better at it, having owned the actual cart and played it more due to it being in the cab vs roms on the computer/etc. I don't mind the voice, lol

I actually prefer blazing star as well. Pulstar is a great game but I prefer "bullet hell" style shooters over the slow games like Pulstar and R type. That being said my pick for best shmup on the neo is definitely strikers

 

[Splitt442]

If Pulstar wasn't on an STG wasteland no one would give a fuck.

 

[Neo Alec]

Last Resort, Viewpoint, Aero Fighters, Twinkle Star Sprites, Strikers 1945+. What a wasteland. This is turning into one of those repeated talking points with no basis in reality. Have you also heard that the Neo's library is 90% fighting games? Pretty sure that's right.

 

[GohanX]

That's not really helping. Those are all solid games but none are top tier shooters IMO.

 

[Neo Alec]

That's not really helping. Those are all solid games but none are top tier shooters IMO.

Sure, but is the Neo a "STG wasteland"? The Neo has 148 official cartridge releases, and 7 of those are the at least decent shooters I just listed, plus Pulstar. Not to mention Blazing Star. It's at least a decent selection for a library of that many games; hardly what you'd call a "wasteland."

 

[Neo Alec]

The Neo has 13 shooters officially released as cartridges, including Captain Tomaday, out of 148 officially-released carts, by the way. Not to mention Ironclad in addition to that. They're all at least decent, IMO, except for Ghost Pilots.

Some might also kind of count Ninja Commando. There are also NGDevTeam games.

I've seen some count Nam 1975, but I can't see how a gallery shooter would be considered the same genre as a shmup.

 

[Neo Alec]

13/148 official cartridges=8.78%
14/156 total official releases including CDs=8.97%

Again, almost all of those are at least decent.

I don't consider 8-9% shooters on the Neo a "wasteland". In fact, it's not bad.

The PC Engine, Mega Drive and Saturn all have plenty of mid-tier "okay" level shooters. Of course the percentage of good shooters is higher on those platforms, but they still each only have a handful of top tier standout shooters. You'd have to go to arcades to find most of the top tier stuff.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

It's a "wasteland" if you're looking for ports of other manufacturers' arcade games like if you were treating the Neo like a regular console I guess. I think the Neo is well served by shooters, it even got a port of Strikers...

What's the (broad) genre with the smallest percentage on the Neo-Geo? There's no "unique" game that comes to mind on the system. Maybe Golf if you segregate Top Player's and Neo Turf from the "sports" genre?