How do you feel about 1 hit shmups?

How do you feel about 1 hit shmups?


  • Total voters
    49

Jeneki

Enemy Chaser
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Posts
1,164
An interesting thing about checkpoints is Raiden 1. When I first found this game in several arcades, every single one had checkpoints enabled. I thought that's the way the game worked. Years later trying the PS1 Raiden Project, I could turn off checkpoints and it blew my mind. Although I still left them on since that was what I was used to. Years after that I picked up a pcb with a manual, and saw that checkpoints off was the default setting. So I finally got used to playing that way.

I think people would mind checkpoints less if they didn't lose any power upon death. Checkpoints would pretty much be guilt-free save-state practice at that point.

On the down side checkpoints can play havoc with scoring systems. I'm sure some players enjoy finding the most lucrative point in the game and grinding it over and over, but it's not for me.
 

pegboy

Armored Scrum Object
Joined
Sep 27, 2013
Posts
268
An interesting thing about checkpoints is Raiden 1. When I first found this game in several arcades, every single one had checkpoints enabled. I thought that's the way the game worked. Years later trying the PS1 Raiden Project, I could turn off checkpoints and it blew my mind. Although I still left them on since that was what I was used to. Years after that I picked up a pcb with a manual, and saw that checkpoints off was the default setting. So I finally got used to playing that way.

I think people would mind checkpoints less if they didn't lose any power upon death. Checkpoints would pretty much be guilt-free save-state practice at that point.

On the down side checkpoints can play havoc with scoring systems. I'm sure some players enjoy finding the most lucrative point in the game and grinding it over and over, but it's not for me.

The Japanese Raiden PCB has checkpoints on, while the USA versions do not. I'm unaware that you can actually change these settings though, can you confirm that?

Raiden also has a fair bit of checkpoint grinding for points in stage 6, farming the asteroids at the boss and then dying to do it all over again.
 

Black_Tiger

Kuroko's Training Dummy
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Feb 7, 2005
Posts
72
1-hit deaths are perfectly fine. What matters is how the game overall is balanced. I like having to dodge terrain, but not when it's random and cheap.

Games with 1-hit death are nice when paired with options that can shield you in different ways.

Checkpoints are also only part of the overall picture. If you start again with absolutely no power-ups, the game had better be balanced one way or another, like say a power-up and a speed boost item show up not too long after you re-spawn, independent of the regular power-up locations.

What I don't like is games that start you off without enough speed and don't give you the opportunity to increase it to your desired level soon enough.
 

MCF 76

Vice's Love Slave
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Jan 21, 2010
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2,172
I like them all for the most part. But damn I got Tatsujin for the PCE and it's slowly breaking me down. One of the hardest shooties I have ever played.
 

grimmythereaper

Quiz Detective
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Posts
84
to be honest, I just love shumps. one hit, life bar, no bar. power ups, no power ups. its all about the enjoyment of the game for me.
 

Silvergun7

n00b
Joined
May 27, 2016
Posts
20
1-hit deaths are perfectly fine. What matters is how the game overall is balanced. I like having to dodge terrain, but not when it's random and cheap.
Stuff like this pisses me off. While the game is easy af, cheap terrain is literally the only reason I die in TFIII.
Maybe I need to suck less and memorize the stages more :lolz:


I like them all for the most part. But damn I got Tatsujin for the PCE and it's slowly breaking me down. One of the hardest shooties I have ever played.

I really wanna try that port but the price is wayy too high for me to consider a purchase.
 

aaronjmill

Zero's Secretary
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Posts
155
Sky Shark was the first shmup like this I really delved into. Made me a much better player overall. I just died... a lot.
 

Tron

Test
15 Year Member
Joined
May 20, 2004
Posts
8,135
I like them all for the most part. But damn I got Tatsujin for the PCE and it's slowly breaking me down. One of the hardest shooties I have ever played.
The difficulty on the PCE,tatsujin sure puts the genesis&arcade version to shame :hammer:
 

MCF 76

Vice's Love Slave
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The difficulty on the PCE,tatsujin sure puts the genesis&arcade version to shame :hammer:

I know the arcade is way easier, being realistic probably never beat this game. So far I've made it to mid stage 3 I hate the mini bosses always like 3 or 4 of them. Its a endurance match and sprays of bullets. Really don't know why they thought it was a good idea to go above and beyond the arcades difficulty.
 

Tron

Test
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May 20, 2004
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I know the arcade is way easier, being realistic probably never beat this game. So far I've made it to mid stage 3 I hate the mini bosses always like 3 or 4 of them. Its a endurance match and sprays of bullets. Really don't know why they thought it was a good idea to go above and beyond the arcades difficulty.
Yeah i've played both to compare as well.I've heard how difficult the pce,tatusjin was but i didn't know until i got myself a copy recently.I'm not so sure either if i'll ever complete the game but the challenge is there at least.I don't know if this was taitio doing or toplan but they must be masochist up the game difficulty to make it so brutal !!
 

geise

Mickey's Coach
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
Posts
582
I've always liked 1 hit shooters. The challenge and practice is always welcome.
 

Psygnosis8

Sieger's Squire
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Oct 30, 2012
Posts
820
1-hit, 10 hits, doesn't matter to me. What I don't enjoy. Is credit-feeding. Checkpoints pls. You actually have to learns skill to get through checkpoint games, and the dopamine rush from advancing through a tough spot is what keeps me playing. This is why I play all my mvs carts in aes mode.

I limit myself to 4 credits when I play. I won't improve otherwise.
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
15 Year Member
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Dec 1, 2005
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27,748
I don't like the new ones that only have the cockpit as the hitbox. I'd prefer plane damage if my wing is hit or I can't steer in one direction, any game like that?
 

geise

Mickey's Coach
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Jul 2, 2011
Posts
582
One thing I don't like about checkpoint shooters is that it is mostly just memorization. I guess in a sense most shooters are all memorization, but more so are the checkpoint shooters.
 

Tanooki

War Room Troll
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May 24, 2016
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I picked the funny answer as can be seen as I really couldn't answer it.

I hate them and I don't. It comes down to the game itself. Is the game overly aggressive and hard with no or unfairly far spaced checkpoints -- screw that game. If I die, even if it's kind of hard, do I respawn where I was without some restart or a moderate one (like Gradius) then I'm ok with it. If I can get an optional barrier/shield of some sort to partly negate the one hit death I like that too. If it's a bullet hell game of any sort with raw memorization needed to survive -- it can go straight to hell.
 

Scott

Edo Express Delivery Guy
Joined
Mar 5, 2003
Posts
337
I hate them because I had to cheat to beat Pulstar :(
 

Hellfromabove

Dodgeball Yakuza
Joined
Jun 10, 2006
Posts
635
The exist so if there is one that people are raving about that I end up wanting to play, I should just suck it up and play it.
 

bloodycelt

Chin's Bartender
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Nov 6, 2015
Posts
1,568
How do I feel about "1 hit shmups"? If you talk arcade, then that's simply the whole point about them, everything else is like sex without pain. I hope you had some of the latter, thus know what you'd be missing. As console STGs go, then Compile brought some gripping variations into this holy dogma, but this exception just proves the rule, namely that... there is no spoon. Deal with it.

Edit: How do you feel about credit feeding?

Agreed, considering the bar is set high for shooters anyhow, you can't just beat a shooter you have to beat it on 1 credit anyhow.

Salamander beats the shit out of me, but I love that game.
 

oliverclaude

General Morden's Aide
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Feb 3, 2013
Posts
7,688
Interesting -- you paraphrased my spam in a manner as to amplify the idea, that you associate your sex with pain? Let your subconscious mind tell us more. Not, that one wouldn't suspect already...
 

Burning Fight!!

NIS America fan & Rent Free tenant
10 Year Member
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Jan 12, 2014
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4,340
Interesting talk about checkpoints... for me checkpoints and "respawn blinking in same spot" aren't really a question of which is light and which is dark. Shooters can be equally annoying and unfair using both systems.

A good example for me is Darius... no checkpoints but you can consider a death = game over anyway due to how the power-up system works in that game.
 
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