Your 10 Favorite Shooters / Shmups

[wyo]

UN Squadron - This was truly amazing on SNES upon release. The arcade version was also great and very rewarding to 1cc. Fantastic graphics, music and atmosphere.

Mushihimesama Futari - Yaton hooked me and Tw3ek up with a kit for $200 before he realized what they were worth. This game is fantastic in every way and beatable with practice for an average player. Continue to improve and play for score.

Hellfire - I love all the versions - arcade, MD and PCE CD. Very tactical with the weapon select system, somewhat similar to Andro Dunos but Toaplan cannot be bettered. I am still stuck on stage 5.

Lord's/Winds of Thunder - Both MCD and PCE CD versions are great. Best soundtrack of all time, super fun game. Always a rush to replay.

Axelay - Blew me away on release with the alternating vertical/pseudo 3D and traditional hori levels. Konami could do no wrong in the early 90s and this game was original and rewarding. Just the right difficultly level and 1cc felt so good.

Gleylancer - One of the best MD shmups. Still exciting to play. Good difficultly level and stage design. I wish I had known about it back on the day.

Space Megaforce/Super Aleste - Compile classic, super 90s vibes, tasteful use of SNES Mode 7, easy game but fun to chill and play through with synth soundtrack and a smooth speed to it. Lots of stuff going on and minimal slowdown on SNES. A technical masterpiece will chill vibes.

Last Resort - My favorite Neo shmup. You put in some work and you can 1cc. Just fucking bad ass levels and attention to detail. Everything comes together. Learn and apply yourself. I can't do the 2nd loop though.

Fire Shark - The MD version came with the JP console I bought back in the day. I played the hell out of it since I didn't have the resources to buy many games. Power up that laser and destroy waves of planes and tanks. Challenging but 1cc is within reach. Subsequently got the PCB and learned I really had to up my game to complete.

I can't pick a 10th favorite. Too many to choose from.

 

[max 330 megafartz]

UN Squadron - This was truly amazing on SNES upon release. The arcade version was also great and very rewarding to 1cc. Fantastic graphics, music and atmosphere.

Mushihimesama Futari - Yaton hooked me and Tw3ek up with a kit for $200 before he realized what they were worth. This game is fantastic in every way and beatable with practice for an average player. Continue to improve and play for score.

Hellfire - I love all the versions - arcade, MD and PCE CD. Very tactical with the weapon select system, somewhat similar to Andro Dunos but Toaplan cannot be bettered. I am still stuck on stage 5.

Lord's/Winds of Thunder - Both MCD and PCE CD versions are great. Best soundtrack of all time, super fun game. Always a rush to replay.

Axelay - Blew me away on release with the alternating vertical/pseudo 3D and traditional hori levels. Konami could do no wrong in the early 90s and this game was original and rewarding. Just the right difficultly level and 1cc felt so good.

Gleylancer - One of the best MD shmups. Still exciting to play. Good difficultly level and stage design. I wish I had known about it back on the day.

Space Megaforce/Super Aleste - Compile classic, super 90s vibes, tasteful use of SNES Mode 7, easy game but fun to chill and play through with synth soundtrack and a smooth speed to it. Lots of stuff going on and minimal slowdown on SNES. A technical masterpiece will chill vibes.

Last Resort - My favorite Neo shmup. You put in some work and you can 1cc. Just fucking bad ass levels and attention to detail. Everything comes together. Learn and apply yourself. I can't do the 2nd loop though.

Fire Shark - The MD version came with the JP console I bought back in the day. I played the hell out of it since I didn't have the resources to buy many games. Power up that laser and destroy waves of planes and tanks. Challenging but 1cc is within reach. Subsequently got the PCB and learned I really had to up my game to complete.

I can't pick a 10th favorite. Too many to choose from.

This is a good list. For real i love most of these

 

[Tron]

Radiant Silvergun
Darius Gaiden
R-type
Musha
Gradius II Gofer
Lords of Thunder
Super Dimension Fortress Macross:Scrambled Valkyrie
Mushihimesama
Galaga 88
Raiden II

 

[LoneSage]

Guess no one bothered to see this was posted in Arcade Central.

With that in mind, arcade only:

Gunbird
Rayforce
Metal Black
X-Multiply
Gradius IV
R-Type II
Image Fight
Eco Fighters
Blazing Star
Raiden II

I don't believe in top ten lists, because how I feel changes. But all of those games, aside from Gradius IV and Image Fight, made my jaw drop the first time I played them. All of them I can always pick up and play and never get tired.

Also, I never thought about it, but I guess I am a hori guy. Figures.

edit: Battle Garegga needs a spot, one of them must die - which one?

 

[mjmjr25]

I like the Eco Fighters pick. That is a game I liked hard but it's been at least 8-9 years since i've played it now and i'd effectively forgotten about it.

I like your list, Sage, save Gunbird over Gunbird 2 (or any of the Strikers game released around same time). Not as visually impressive as the others and no real room to improve scoring, but it was a precursor / innovator, so points for that, and of course the reason we like / love certain games is subjective and individual.

There are some games people say are awesome because they think they are supposed to say that. Silvergun comes to mind. It's fine, it's somewhat interesting, the mechanic is neat, but the gameplay is (1) repetitive and the experience just feels samey - no (2) theme comes through (those last 2 comments are in recognition / comparison to shmups, mind you). Not saying anyone here doesn't truly like the game, only that it seems to be on too many lists for how good it actually is/isn't.

I like the Axelay nod as well for same reasons.

Have never played Gleylancer. This is a game I really need to check out.

 

[MCF 76]

These are my favs, no particular order. I like my shmups just basic and simple none of the chain scoring stuff. I always come back to these more than any others.

1943 arcade
Outzone
Last Resort (fav on Neo)
Pulstar
Raiden arcade
Raiden 2
U.N. Squadron SNES
Legendary Wings NES
Axelay SNES
Life Force NES

 

[Pretty Amy]

Having gotten into shmups later in life, there are still so many I haven't played.

Blazing Star - My favorite. I'm not great at it, and the best I could do was a 3CC, but I just love everything about it.

U.N. Squadron (arcade) - Such a fun game. While the SNES version is a good game, I find that many things it changes make it less enjoyable compared to the arcade.

 

[Neodogg]

As we all know this could change around a little and in no order:

R-Type - fell in love with the arcade in a Marsh grocery store growing up. Thought I was king of the world when I got and beat the first level boss.
Parodius Da - I like the tongue and cheekiness of the game while still gives a good challenge.
Gun.smoke - never really played the arcade but I spent countless weekend nights over at friends playing this on NES.
Outzone - enjoy the art & atmosphere. One of those games where if you screw up it's your fault
Gunbird 2 - enjoy the art & atmosphere. I love/hate the coin chain
Hellfire - I like the music and challenge of finding the right weapon for the situation
Lifeforce - first NES shmup I bought growing up, spent so much time with this & still suck at it
ProGear - enjoy the art & atmosphere, reminds me of Metal Slug
MUSHA - enjoy the art & atmosphere, only 1 of few games I've 1CC'd
DoDonpanchi DOJ - I like the art and chaining, music bumps too

fluctuates in/out
Pulstar
Blasing Lazers
Raiden II
Strikers 1945 II
FIre Shark

 

[yagamikun]

I didn't really get into shmups until a few years ago, so I don't have any nostalgia for these games - I discovered all these as an adult and am quite happy I did. These are in order, although 10 is hard to come up with so you all get a top 5. I have authentic PCBs/carts for the arcade shmups in my list.

1. RayForce - This is one of the single most engaging video games I've ever played. The incredible 2D effects, excellent pacing, ranked difficulty, banging soundtrack, and no needless weapon systems/bombs/etc. - it's as pure of a skill based game as there ever was one and I absolutely adore it. I can 7cc it, but working on a 4cc clear. I usually lose my first life at the beginning of stage 4 - at max rank the game gets crazy tough!
2. Darius Gaiden - Approachable, fun, never gets old, awesome soundtrack, and incredible sprite work.
3. ProGear - The only bullet-hell on my list and the game that really got me into shmups as an adult in the first place. I had never played it before, although I knew about it. When I got my CPS2 multi in 2019 I became instantly obsessed.
4. Lords of Thunder: Fucking love this game - best game on the PCE, imo, aside from Rondo.
5. Thunder Force 3 or Elemental Master - Take your pick. Both are top notch 16-bit shooters and each gets a fair amount of play from me.

Some honorable mentions: Thunder Force 4, Strikers 1945+, Blazing Star, Soldier Blade, GG Aleste 3 (the new one), DOJ, Espgaluda

 

[Takumaji]

What a fucking awful selection of games from the genre. You're either not particularly schooled in shmups or they're just not your thing.

BTW, you did know that shmups are games where you shoot things... usually with a little space ship or helicopter, right?

Apart from the PC game he listed that I haven't seen yet, his favs are old but solid shmups that I also played a lot and still do every now and then (Raiden in particular).

Alpha Mission II/ASOII is a matter of taste I guess, I quite like the armor system, graphics and responsive controls but once you're far into a level and lose your powerups, it's very difficult to get back on track which puts many ppl off. Still, it's in my top-5 vert shmups list because it really shines once you've learned it properly.

As for my favs, I'm gonna repost what I said in that other top shmups thread linked here:

- Vertical -

Strikers 1945 II (one of my all-time faves, almost perfect mecha-style shmup)

Ibara (excellent (though a bit mean) scoring system and weaponry)

ASO II (once you've mastered the armor system, the game really opens up)

Psyvariar 2 (love the buzzing/spinning thing)

Slap Fight (I have a soft spot for this game ever since I first played it at the arcade in the 80s)


- Horizontal -

Thunder Force V: Perfect System (wonderful game, great visuals, cool weapons, tricky enemies and very good soundtrack)

R-Type Final (one of my hori obsessions together with Border Down, heavily underrated, tons and tons of gameplay)

Border Down (cool, stylish, gets very difficult in later levels, the border system works great, aaah, how I love it. Addictive scoring system)

Deathsmiles (just loads of fun, good graphics and presentation)

...and a tie between the original Salamander and Gradius Gaiden.

Maybe I should swap one or two games, other than that I still stand by it.

 

[Tarma]

Apart from the PC game he listed that I haven't seen yet, his favs are old but solid shmups that I also played a lot and still do every now and then (Raiden in particular).

Alpha Mission II/ASOII is a matter of taste I guess, I quite like the armor system, graphics and responsive controls but once you're far into a level and lose your powerups, it's very difficult to get back on track which puts many ppl off. Still, it's in my top-5 vert shmups list because it really shines once you've learned it properly.

As for my favs, I'm gonna repost what I said in that other top shmups thread linked here:

- Vertical -

Strikers 1945 II (one of my all-time faves, almost perfect mecha-style shmup)

Ibara (excellent (though a bit mean) scoring system and weaponry)

ASO II (once you've mastered the armor system, the game really opens up)

Psyvariar 2 (love the buzzing/spinning thing)

Slap Fight (I have a soft spot for this game ever since I first played it at the arcade in the 80s)


- Horizontal -

Thunder Force V: Perfect System (wonderful game, great visuals, cool weapons, tricky enemies and very good soundtrack)

R-Type Final (one of my hori obsessions together with Border Down, heavily underrated, tons and tons of gameplay)

Border Down (cool, stylish, gets very difficult in later levels, the border system works great, aaah, how I love it. Addictive scoring system)

Deathsmiles (just loads of fun, good graphics and presentation)

...and a tie between the original Salamander and Gradius Gaiden.

Maybe I should swap one or two games, other than that I still stand by it.

Heh, i was just giving him a hard time because, well it's Joe. Raiden is solid, but the other choices were meh imo.

Lol, don't share much in common with you either - most of the games you've listed I'm not a fan of... except Ibara.

 

[Takumaji]

Heh, i was just giving him a hard time because, well it's Joe. Raiden is solid, but the other choices were meh imo.

Lol, don't share much in common with you either - most of the games you've listed I'm not a fan of... except Ibara.

Top 10s for shmups is difficult to compile for me anyway, basically I just c&p'd the old list to this thread but I prolly should have put together a new one. 10 is just not enough, shmups is one of my fav genres, been there since Spacies as they say so my list would always include some old games that you probably don't like/don't remember but they started the addiction and should at least get an honourable mention, like Slap Fight or Terra Cresta. It's the second game in the *Cresta series developed by Nichibutsu that started with Moon Cresta in 1980, a game I have very fond memories of, and there's something to these games that makes me come back to them every now and then. I specially love the docking sequence in Moon Cresta and some of the larger enemies in Terra Cresta that turn into skeletons if you kill them, that and the weapon system, which btw. seemed to have an impact on the Alpha Mission games.

Anyway, there's not enough Compile, Psikyo, Raizing and Toaplan in my list... we should really do a Top 25.

 

[wyo]

As we all know this could change around a little and in no order:

R-Type - fell in love with the arcade in a Marsh grocery store growing up. Thought I was king of the world when I got and beat the first level boss.
Parodius Da - I like the tongue and cheekiness of the game while still gives a good challenge.
Gun.smoke - never really played the arcade but I spent countless weekend nights over at friends playing this on NES.
Outzone - enjoy the art & atmosphere. One of those games where if you screw up it's your fault
Gunbird 2 - enjoy the art & atmosphere. I love/hate the coin chain
Hellfire - I like the music and challenge of finding the right weapon for the situation
Lifeforce - first NES shmup I bought growing up, spent so much time with this & still suck at it
ProGear - enjoy the art & atmosphere, reminds me of Metal Slug
MUSHA - enjoy the art & atmosphere, only 1 of few games I've 1CC'd
DoDonpanchi DOJ - I like the art and chaining, music bumps too

fluctuates in/out
Pulstar
Blasing Lazers
Raiden II
Strikers 1945 II
FIre Shark

Hell yeah, great list.

 

[pixeljunkie]

Oh man, I love this thread.

I'll have a go, but I've had a few pints...This is mainly MY favorite 10....not a "these are the best 10", mainly what I always go back to. No particular order.

Lords of Thunder
Gate of Thunder
ESP RaDe
Espgaluda
Espgaluda 2
Chikyū Kaihō Gun ZAS
Daisenpu
Mushi Futari
Super Raiden (PCE CD)
MUSHA

 

[wyo]

Oh man, I love this thread.

I'll have a go, but I've had a few pints...This is mainly MY favorite 10....not a "these are the best 10", mainly what I always go back to. No particular order.

Lords of Thunder
Gate of Thunder
ESP RaDe
Espgaluda
Espgaluda 2
Chikyū Kaihō Gun ZAS
Daisenpu
Mushi Futari
Super Raiden (PCE CD)
MUSHA

Hell yeah bro this is a solid list.

 

[pixeljunkie]

So many good lists....fuuuuuuuuuu

 

[pixeljunkie]

Naming 10 waters down the list.
1. Lords of thunder
2. Strikers 1945 II
3. Air zonk
4. Spriggan
5. Mushihemasama

FIST BUMP

 

[yoshi41]

Stuck in the 90s

Last Resort
ASO II
UN Squadron
Parodius
Star Parodier
Gunhed
Gate of Thunder
Lords of Thunder
Air Zonk
Axelay

 

[max 330 megafartz]

Gonna go ahead and add yuzo koshiro’s new mega drive shmup to my list before it even releases because it looks TITS!

 

[wataru330]

The music updates he’s been posting on Twitter, are speaker melters.