All purpose SHMUP thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AHhkq7p3Qw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv7fCr6QFis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-qFAtkCcIk

I've been meaning to start this thread for a while as this is my favorite kind of video game. In a way, I actually feel like the shmup, or STG, is the quintessential type of video game. The youtube videos above give a good overview of the history of the genre and are well worth watching, if you haven't already.

If I only had to pick one right now, I'd pick DoDonPachi (which runs perfectly in MAME, btw). Not that I'm great at it or anything... so far I've only managed to make it to the 4th level on one quarter, but I do feel like I'm getting better. I've also been playing a fair amount of Deathsmiles, which is great fun.

Raiden IV for the 360 finally came out in North America this week, though I'm still waiting for my copy to ship...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIWLjYLKNv8

that and rez/ikaruga are pretty much the only things that make me wish i had a 360.

What about this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG0pyFWlqxw

do you have a big collection of shmups jeff or do u mostly play through mame?

Are there any good shmups for PSN? That 1942 they made suxxxxx

do u have a saturn jeff?
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg114/gregbuczek/P1020212.jpg
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg114/gregbuczek/P1020214.jpg

ikaruga was way too hard with all that black/white combo shit. raiden looks like it might be more fun.

my favourite shmup is esp ra.de but I'm not massively into them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti1n4GhGuRQ

... and defender

Antexit - there aren't really any good vertical or horizontal shmups for the ps3 yet, though there are a couple good arena shooters like SuperStardust & Everyday Shooter. But later this year the RayStorm HD remake is coming & that looks good (coming to the 360 too)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X84iB-zIcCw

Cozwn - sadly I don't currently have a huge collection of the classics or any old home consoles, though my brother does (including a Saturn), so I have at least tried out a lot of those. I do have a computer that can emulate the vast majority of those old consoles though :) & MAME is very good now up to about 2000. I do have most of the ps2 shmups and most of the current gen ones (and some on virtual console). ESPrada is also one of my favorites. Cave is working on porting its latest sequel, Espgaluda 2 to 360 for spring 2010 & is talking seriously about trying to get worldwide releases for their titles. Have you played Guwange? It won Cave's recent poll of which of their older games would you like to see ported to xbox live arcade, so if that happens, a worldwide release seems likely...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5CKDRe4gR0

having watched the history u linked, I really like the look of border down and under defeat, I wonder if there's a saturn emulator for mac cos they look to be running crazy money on ebay

From Smups Forum, the chronology of arcade shooting games, from present day to 1984

-2009-

7/28 ~ Senko no Ronde : Dis-United Order (DUO) ~ G.rev/Taito
7/2 ~ Rajirugi Noa [Radirgy 2 / Noah] ~ Milestone/Lucky
7/1 ~ Trouble Witches AC ~ Studio Siesta/Bouken/Nihon System/Taito
5/14 ~ Deathsmiles II : Makai no Merry Christmas ~ Cave/AMI

-2008-

10/10 ~ Deathsmiles MEGA Black Label ~ Cave/AMI <-- SH3+
*8/30 ~ Fantasy Zone II : The Tears of OPA-OPA, System-16C ver. ~ Sega <--og '87 version reimagined on System 16! breakdown+here+here
*8/15 ~ Dodonpachi Dai-Fukkatsu ver 1.5 "Special" ~ Cave <-- only for Cave Festival autumn '08. Changes?
7/30 ~ MAMORU-KUN wa Norowarete Shimatta! ~ Gulti/G.rev/Sega
6/24 ~ Dodonpachi Dai-Fukkatsu ver 1.5 ~ Cave/AMI <-- SH3+
6/10 ~ Illvelo : Illmatic Envelope ~ Milestone/Sega
5/22 ~ Dodonpachi Dai-Fukkatsu ~ Cave/AMI <-- "SH3+", slightly upgraded old hardware, increased RAM.

-2007-

*12/30 ~ Guwange : Dai Cave Festival Tokubetsu Shiyou ~ Cave <-'IKD special tune', changes to game mechanics, etc. GP's breakdown
*12/30 ~ Muchi Muchi Pork! : Dai Cave Festival Special Version ~ Cave <- added Pink Sweets boss fights after normal bosses! so kawai.
*12/30 ~ Deathsmiles : DIE Cave Festival Special Version ~ Cave <- level 99 difficulty selectable @stage paths. w/suicide bullets +revised boss patterns.
12/20 ~ Mushihimesama Futari BLACK LABEL ~ Cave/AMI
10/24 ~ Otomedius ~ Konami <-- uses dedicated e-Amuse touchscreen cabinet.
10/19 ~ Deathsmiles ~ Cave/AMI
*9/23 ~ Ketsui "FESTIVAL VER."~Cave<--Cave Fest '07 only.Single loop, patterns like og second loop but w/o suicide bullets, tighter distance for chips, shot type switching, DOOM.
7/26 ~ Shooting Love. 2007 : EXZEAL & Shooting (Shmups) Skill Test ~ Triangle Service/Sega
6/6 ~ Raiden IV ~ Moss/Taito
4/26 ~ Muchi Muchi Pork! ~ Cave/AMI

-2006-

*12/28 ~ Mushihimesama ver 1.5 Blue Label ~ Cave <-- Cave Festival only, tuned for higher scoring - 'Campaign' style, Maniac mode omitted
*12/28 ~ Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5 Red Label ~ Cave <-- Score Trial Special Ver, +Ketsui style system, 3 PCBs awarded to top scorers
*12/28 ~ Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.01 ~ Cave <-- Cave Festival only, + two extra bomb stock, revised st4 boss patterns, others?
12/19 ~ Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5 ~ Cave/AMI
11/15 ~ Karasu (Karous) ~ Milestone/Sega
10/27 ~ Mushihimesama Futari ~ Cave/AMI
8/10 ~ Senko no Ronde SP ~ G.rev/Sega
7/21 ~ Trigger Heart Exelica Ver.A ~ Warashi/Sega <--2P bug fix (game would crash in 2P before). 'Ver.A' on title screen.
5/30 ~ Trigger Heart Exelica ~ Warashi/Sega
4/20 ~ Pink Sweets : Ibara Sorekara ~ Cave/AMI
2/23 ~ Shikigami no Shiro III ~ Alfa System/SKonec/Taito <--Bug in netranking code, fixed version released 1week later.
2/10 ~ Ibara Kuro : Black Label ~ Cave/AMI

-2005-

12/28 ~ Rajirugi [Radirgy] NEW ver. ~ Milestone/Able
11/25 ~ Espgaluda II ~ Cave/AMI
10/26 ~ Under Defeat ~ G.rev/Sega
10/13 ~ Rajirugi [Radirgy] ~ Milestone/Able
8/5 ~ Senko no Ronde NEW ver. ~ G.rev/Sega
7/23 ~ Homura ~ SKonec/Taito
6/24 ~ Ibara ~ Cave/AMI
4/25 ~ Senko no Ronde ~ G.rev/Sega
3/31 ~ Raiden III ~ Moss/Taito

-2004-

11/19 ~ Mushihimesama ~ Cave/AMI
10/22 ~ Gigawing Generations ~ Takumi/Taito
9/24 ~ Trizeal ~ Triangle Service/Taito
6/24 ~ Chaos Field ~ Milestone/Able
6/23 ~ Wyvern Wings ~ Semicom/Game Vision <--1st JPN release, resale for other territories

-2003-

11/13 ~ Espgaluda ~ Cave/AMI
11/7 ~ Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate ~ Success/SKonec/Taito
10/7 ~ Space Invaders Anniversary ~ Taito
4/25 ~ Border Down ~ G.rev/Sega
4/24 ~ Shikigami no Shiro II ~ Alfa System/Taito
1/28 ~ Ketsui : Kizuna Jigoku Tachi ~ Cave/AMI
rare? ~ Star Wings ~ Semicom <-- unknown if actually released or prototype.

-2002-

10/25 ~ Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou Black Label ~ Cave/AMI
9/13 ~ Ultimate Ecology (resale) ~ Capcom
7/15 ~ XIISTAG ~ Triangle Service/Taito
4/17 ~ Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou ~ Cave/AMI
3/28 ~ G-Stream G2020 ~ Oriental Soft
3 / ? ~ Wyvern Wings / Wivern Wings ~ Semicom/Game Vision <--overseas dev - JPN release in 2004
? / ? ~ Cutey Fatty ~ Wecom <--overseas dev, No JPN release, Korea/Asia only.

-2001-

12/20 ~ Ikaruga ~ Treasure/Sega
9/20 ~ Shikigami no Shiro ~ Alfa System/Taito
8/01 ~ Vasara 2 ~ Visco/Nihon System
6/21 ~ Dodonpachi II: Bee Storm ~ IGS/Capcom, licensed by Cave
5/25 ~ Night Raid ~ Takumi/Taito
5/17 ~ Zero Gunner 2 ~ Psikyo
4/11 ~ Progia no Arashi [Progear] ~ Cave/Capcom
1/15 ~ Gigawing 2 ~ Takumi/Capcom
hack ~ Fire Hawk ~ ESD

-2000-

9/26 ~ Dragon Blaze ~ Psikyo
9/21 ~ 1944 : The Loop Master ~ Raizing/Eighting/Capcom
9/19 ~ Psyvariar Revision ~ Success/Taito
8/11 ~ Vasara ~ Visco
6 / 9 ~ Mars Matrix ~ Takumi/Capcom
*6/? ~ Variant Schwanzer ~ Seta <-- Unreleased. Shown at 2000 AOU show, almost finished project. Aleck64 hardware.
5/24 ~ Brave Blade ~ Raizing/Eighting/Namco
3 / ? ~ Psyvariar : Medium Unit ~ Success/Taito
2/18 ~ Great Mahou Daisakusen [Dimahoo] ~ Raizing/Eighting/Capcom
hack ~ Mission Craft ~ Sun <--copy+hack of Starcraft's Brood War and Psikyo engine (Strikers,etc)
hack ~ Spectrum 2000 ~ Yona Tech <--hack of ? similar to Strikers

-1999-

12/? ~ Strikers 1945 Plus ~ Psikyo/SNK
12/? ~ Change Air Blade ~ Sammy
10/14 ~ Strikers 1999 [Strikers 1945 III] ~ Psikyo
10/3 ~ Prehistoric Isle 2 ~ Yumekobo/SNK
7 / ? ~ Guwange ~ Cave/Atlus
6 / ? ~ Battle Bakraid, Unlimited version ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
5 / ? ~ Captain Tomaday ~ Visco/SNK
4/15 ~ Battle Bakraid ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
3 / ? ~ Gigawing ~ Takumi/Capcom
3 / ? ~ Pilot Kids ~ Psikyo <-- designed for 24kHz display (medium res).
2 / ? ~ Gradius IV : Fukkatsu ~ Konami <-- designed for 24kHz display (medium res).
hack ~ 1945k III ~ Promat?/Oriental Soft <--copy+hack of Strikers 1999 ?

-1998-

12/? ~ Gunbird 2 ~ Psikyo
12/? ~ Raycrisis ~ Taito
12/? ~ Tenkomori Shooting ~ Namco <--Variety game, STG sections
11/? ~ Konami 80's Arcade Gallery (Gyruss, Time Pilot, Scramble, Super Cobra) ~ Konami
11/? ~ Star Soldier : Vanishing Earth ~ Hudson/Visco
10/31 ~ Space Bomber Ver.B ~ Psikyo
9 / ? ~ Cotton Boomerang ~ Success/Tecmo
9 / ? ~ Dangun Feveron [Fever S.O.S.] ~ Cave/Nihon System
8 / ? ~ Raiden Fighters Jet ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Able
7 / ? ~ Space Bomber ~ Psikyo
5 / ? ~ Guardian Force ~ Success/Taito
5 / ? ~ Radiant Silvergun ~ Treasure/Sega
5 / ? ~ Stagger 1 ~ Afega/Visco <-- Loke test name: Red Hawk
4 / ? ~ ESP RA.DE ~ Cave/Atlus <-- bug fix version = "1998 4/21 MASTER VER." on copyright screen
3 / ? ~ Armed Police Batrider, B version ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
2 / ? ~ Cyvern : The Dragon Weapons ~ Kaneko
1 / ? ~ Blazing Star ~ Yumekobo/SNK
1 / ? ~ Armed Police Batrider ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
* / * ~ Cyvern, Plus version ~ Kaneko <-- prototype/show version? no evidence of sale.
? / ? ~ Sen Jin [Guardian Storm] ~ Afega <-- overseas only. US publisher = Apple Industries.

-1997-

12/? ~ Raiden Fighters 2 : Operation Hell Dive ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
12/? ~ Zero Gunner ~ Psikyo <-- designed for 24kHz display (medium res).
12/? ~ Solar Assault Revised ~ Konami <-- + 6th stage, harder difficulty, Alpinia ship faster. Identical to regular US ver (?)
11/? ~ Cotton 2 ~ Success/Tecmo
10/? ~ Strikers 1945 II ~ Psikyo
9 / ? ~ G-DARIUS Ver.2 ~ Taito
7 / ? ~ G-DARIUS ~ Taito
7 / ? ~ Sengeki Striker ~ Warashi/Kaneko
7 / ? ~ Solar Assault : Gradius ~ Konami <--Gradius 3D rail shooter, exception made for pedigree
5 / ? ~ Sol Divide ~ Psikyo
* / * ~ Dodonpachi Campaign Version ~ Cave <-- no arcade sale, grand prize for nationwide (Japan) DDP score trial
3 / ? ~ Dodonpachi ~ Cave/Atlus
3 / ? ~ Tobe! Polystars ~ Konami <--Twinbee 3D rail shooter, exception made for pedigree
2 / ? ~ Shienryu ~ Warashi/Sega
1 / ? ~ Sonic Wings Limited ~ Video System/Visco

-1996-

12/? ~ Macross Plus ~ Banpresto/Banwave
11/? ~ Second Earth : GRATIA ~ Jaleco
11/? ~ Raiden Fighters ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
11/? ~ Twinkle Star Sprites ~ ADK/SNK
9 / ? ~ Soukyugurentai [Terra Diver] ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
8 / ? ~ Raystorm ~ Taito
5 / ? ~ Storm Blade ~ Visco
5 / ? ~ Xevious 3D/G ~ Namco
4 / ? ~ Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace episode II [Tengai] ~ Psikyo
2 / ? ~ Akuu Gallet [Air Gallet] ~ Gazelle/Banpresto
2 / ? ~ BATTLE GAREGGA ~ Raizing/Eighting/Able
2 / ? ~ Kyuukyoku Tiger II [Twin Cobra II] ~ Takumi/Taito
2 / ? ~ Sexy Parodius ~ Konami
2 / ? ~ Skull Fang: Wolf Fang Gaiden ~ Data East
1 / ? ~ Salamander 2 ~ Konami
1 / ? ~ 19XX : The War Against Destiny ~ Capcom
? / ? ~ Hotdog Storm ~ Marble/Ace Int. <---Korea/Asia only.
hack ~ Air Attack [aka Air Raid or Sky Attack?] ~ Comad <--copy+hack of NMK's Thunder Dragon 2

-1995-

11/? ~ Game Tengoku [Game Paradise] ~ Jaleco
11/? ~ Gekirindan ~ Taito
11/? ~ Namco Classic Collection Vol.1 (Galaga, Xevious) ~ Namco
10/? ~ Sonic Wings 3 [Aero Fighters 3] ~ Video System/SNK
9 / ? ~ Wangan Sensou [Desert War] ~ NMK/Jaleco
8 / ? ~ Pulstar ~ Aicom/SNK
8 / ? ~ Viper Phase 1 : NEW Version ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
7 / ? ~ Akkanvader [Space Invaders '95] ~ Taito
6 / ? ~ Strikers 1945 ~ Psikyo/Jaleco
5 / ? ~ Donpachi ~ Cave/Atlus
5 / ? ~ Viper Phase 1 ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
4 / ? ~ Twin Bee Yahhoo! [Magical Twin Bee] ~ Konami
4 / ? ~ Varia Metal ~ Excellent System
3 / ? ~ Darius Gaiden, Extra Version ~ Taito
3 / ? ~ P-47 Aces ~ NMK/Jaleco
2 / ? ~ Urutora Keibitai [Ultra X Weapons] ~ Seta/Banpresto, licensed by Tsuburaya Prod.
? / ? ~ R-Shark ~ Dooyong
hack?~ Silver Millennium ~ PARA (Paradise of Amusement) <--Korea/Asia only
hack ~ Twin Action ~ Afega <--copy+hack of NMK's USAAF Mustang

-1994-

9 / ? ~ Darius Gaiden [Darius III] ~ Taito
9 / ? ~ Gunbird ~ Psikyo/Jaleco
9 / ? ~ Operation Ragnarok [Zed Blade] ~ NMK/SNK
9 / ? ~ Shippu Mahou Daisakusen : Kingdom Grandprix ~ Raizing/Eighting
9 / ? ~ Space Invaders DX ~ Taito
8 / ? ~ Eight Forces ~ Tecmo <-- PCB has some Allumer marked chips.
8 / ? ~ Zunzunkyou No Yabou ~ Minato Giken / Sega
7 / ? ~ Mazinger Z ~ Banpresto, licensed by Dynamic PL <--Rumored development by Gazelle.
7 / ? ~ Rapid Hero ~ NMK/Media Trading Corp (Media Shoji)
7 / ? ~ Raiden DX ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
7 / ? ~ Sonic Wings 2 [Aero Fighters 2] ~ Video System/SNK
6 / ? ~ Ultimate Ecology [Eco Fighters] ~ Capcom
4/26 ~ Gokujyou Parodius Kako no Eiko o Motomete [Fantastic Journey] ~ Konami
4 / ? ~ Twin Eagle II ~ Seta/Visco
3 / ? ~ Nebulasray ~ Namco
2 / ? ~ Fire Barrel ~ Tamtex/Irem <-- Tamtex = internal Irem dev team
*2/20 ~ Batsugun, Special Version ~ Toaplan <---only shown at AOU show, ROM leaked
2 / ? ~ Rayforce ~ Taito
? / ? ~ Super X ~ N.T.C. <------ published by Mitchell overseas, rumored development by NMK

-1993-

12/? ~ Batsugun ~ Toaplan
11/? ~ Raiden II ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Nihon System
11/? ~ Mad Shark ~ Allumer/Able
10/? ~ Hyper Duel ~ Technosoft/Taito
10/? ~ Thunder Dragon 2 ~ NMK/Sammy
9 / ? ~ Nostradamus ~ FACE
6 / ? ~ Blue Hawk ~ Dooyong/N.T.C./Sigma
6 / ? ~ Daioh ~ Athena/Sammy <-- The bulk of the team that made Daioh later went on to form WARASHI Co.
6 / ? ~ MACROSS II Choujikuu Yousai ~ NMK/Banpresto
5 / ? ~ Double-Wings ~ Mitchell
5 / ? ~ Earth Joker : U.N. Defense Force ~ Visco/Taito
5 / ? ~ Mahou Daisakusen ~ Raizing/Able
4 / ? ~ Kaitei Daisensou [In the Hunt] ~ Irem
4 / ? ~ Sengoku Ace [Samurai Aces] ~ Psikyo/Banpresto
3 / ? ~ V-V (V-Five) ~ Toaplan/Taito <--overseas version (aka Bomber ver) 'Grindstormer' has different system. Unlockable on V-V w/code.
2 / ? ~ Cybattler ~ Jaleco
1 / ? ~ GunNail ~ NMK/Tecmo
? / ? ~ Playgirls 2 ~ Hot-B
? / ? ~ Ryujin ~ East Technology/Taito
? / ? ~ War of Aero : Project MEIOU ~ Allumer
* / * ~ Chimera Beast ~ Jaleco <--- Prototype only.

-1992-

12/? ~ Bakuretsu Breaker [Explosive Breaker] ~ Kaneko/Sammy
12/? ~ The Great Ragtime Show [Boogie Wings] ~ Data East
12/? ~ Gridseeker ~ Taito
12/? ~ SD Gundam Neo Battling ~ Allumer/Banpresto
11/? ~ Dogyuun!! ~ Toaplan
11/? ~ Final Star Force ~ Tecmo
11/? ~ R-Type LEO ~ Nanao/Irem <-- Nanao = internal Irem dev team.
10/? ~ F/A [Fighter & Attacker] ~ Namco
10/? ~ Sky Alert ~ Metro
10/? ~ Viewpoint ~ Aicom/Sammy/SNK <-- Aicom later changes name to Yumekobo ('98+)
9 / ? ~ MACROSS Choujikuu Yousai ~ NMK/Banpresto
9 / ? ~ Zing Zing Zip ~ Allumer/Tecmo
8 / ? ~ Galmedes ~ Visco/Taito
7 / ? ~ Fixeight ~ Toaplan/Taito
7 / ? ~ Sand Scorpion Sasori ~ FACE/Tecmo
7 / ? ~ VARTH : Operation Thunderstorm ~ Capcom
6 / ? ~ Tatsujin-Oh [Truxton II] ~ Toaplan/Taito
5 / ? ~ Andro Dunos ~ Visco/Sammy/SNK
5 / ? ~ Mahou Keibitai GunHoki [Mystic Riders]~ Irem
4 / ? ~ Blazeon ~ Atlus
4 / ? ~ Ninja Commando ~ Alpha Denshi (ADK) /SNK
3 / ? ~ Cosmo Gang : The Video ~ Namco
3 / ? ~ Last Resort ~ SNK <-- some sources say 4/24 release.
3 / ? ~ Sonic Wings [Aero Fighters] ~ Video System/Tecmo <--Main prog. Shin Nakamura and W.Yamazaki leave to form PSIKYO after this.
1 / ? ~ Koutetsu Yousai STRAHL ~ UPL/NMK/Taito <-- NEW version also released.
? / ? ~ Flying Tiger ~ Dooyong <--overseas only? released in USA, etc.
hack ~ S.S. Mission ~ Comad <--overseas only (but not USA), copy+hack of NMK's Thunder Dragon

-1991-

12/? ~ Thunder Blaster [Lethal Thunder] ~ Irem
11/? ~ Hacha-Mecha Fighter ~ NMK/Tecmo
11/? ~ Metal Black ~ Taito
10/? ~ Gallop : Armed Police Unit [Cosmic Cop] ~ Irem
10/? ~ Pollux ~ Dooyong/N.T.C./Atlus
10/? ~ XEXEX ~ Konami
9 / ? ~ Gulf War - II ~ Comad/Four J International <---overseas only, copy+hack of Toaplan's Twin Cobra
9 / ? ~ Rezon ~ Allumer/Taito
9 / ? ~ Thunder Dragon ~ NMK/Tecmo
8 / ? ~ Thunder Cross II ~ Konami
7 / ? ~ Acrobat Mission ~ UPL/Taito
7 / ? ~ Chariot [Wonder 3] ~ Capcom
7 / ? ~ Turbo Force ~ Video System/Namco
6 / ? ~ Vimana ~ Toaplan/Tecmo
5 / ? ~ Black Heart ~NMK/UPL
4 / ? ~ Cotton : Fantastic Night Dreams ~ Success/Sega
4 / ? ~ S.T.G : Strike Gunner ~ Athena/Tecmo
3 / ? ~ ASO II : Last Guardian [Alpha Mission II] ~ SNK
3 / ? ~ E.D.F. : Earth Defense Force ~ Jaleco
2 / ? ~ Detana!! TwinBee [Bells & Whistles] ~ Konami
2 / ? ~ Raiga : Strato Fighter ~ Tecmo
1 / ? ~ Ghost Pilots ~ SNK
1 / ? ~ Gun Frontier ~ Taito
? / ? ~ Gulf Storm ~ Dooyong/Media Shoji

-1990-

12/? ~ Dragon Saber ~ Namco
12/? ~ Sky Smasher ~ Nihon System/Taito
12/? ~ Thunderforce AC ~ Technosoft/Sega
11/? ~ Majestic Twelve [Super Space Invaders '91] ~ Taito
11/? ~ Space Battleship Gomorrah [Bio-ship Paladin] ~ NMK/UPL/Taito
10/? ~ Aurail ~ Westone/Sega
10/? ~ Pistol Daimyo no Bouken ~ Namco
10/? ~ U.S. Navy [Carrier Airwing] ~ Capcom
8 / ? ~ Outzone ~ Toaplan/Tecmo
6 / ? ~ Air Duel ~ Irem
6 / ? ~ USAAF Mustang ~ NMK/UPL
5 / ? ~ Trigon [Lightning Fighters] ~ Konami
4/24 ~ Parodius DA! -Shinwa kara Owarai e- ~ Konami
4 / ? ~ Raiden ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Tecmo
3 / ? ~ Ashura Blaster ~ Visco/Taito
2 / ? ~ 1941 : Counter Attack ~ Capcom
2 / ? ~ Gigandes ~ East Technology/Taito
2 / ? ~ KUHGA : Operation Code "Vapor Trail" ~ Data East
1 / ? ~ Air Buster ~ Kaneko/Namco
? / ? ~ The Last Day ~ Dooyong <-- Korea only.
? / ? ~ Mini Vaders ~ Taito <-- B/W Space Invaders on tiny PCB, no sound, for cabinet test purposes.

-1989-

12/? ~ Dangerous Seed ~ Namco
12/? ~ Meta Fox ~ Jordan/Seta/Visco
12/? ~ Same! Same! Same! [Fire Shark] ~ Toaplan <-- Loke test version had 2P simultaneous play. Added back in for overseas ver.
12/11 ~ Gradius III : Suri Densetsu kara Shinwa e ~ Konami
11/? ~ MegaBlast ~ Taito
11/? ~ R-TYPE II ~ Irem
10/? ~ Task Force Harrier ~ NMK/UPL
10/? ~ The Next Space ~ SNK/PIC (Pasadena International Corp)
10/? ~ Zero Wing ~ Toaplan/Namco
9 / ? ~ DARIUS II [Sagaia] ~ Taito <-- Released as both 2-screen and 3-screen.
9 / ? ~ X-MULTIPLY ~ Irem
8 / ? ~ Area 88 [U.N. Squadron] ~ Capcom
8 / ? ~ Insector X ~ Hot-B/Taito
8 / ? ~ Sky Adventure ~ Alpha Denshi (ADK)/SNK
7 / ? ~ Dragon Breed ~ Irem
7 / ? ~ Omega Fighter ~ Kawakusu/UPL <-- Produced by an unnamed "super famous game designer", according to former UPL employee.
^Rumored to be S. Yagawa (Recca, Battle Garegga). Secret devco is finally revealed.
* / * ~ Omega Fighter Special ~ Kawakusu/UPL <-- Perhaps a "show" version which got leaked..found no evidence of sales/distribution.
7 / ? ~ Tatakae! Big Fighter [Sky Robo] - Nichibutsu
6 / ? ~ Daisenpuu [Twin Hawk] ~ Toaplan/Taito
5 / ? ~ Arbalester ~ Seta/Taito
5 / ? ~ Genshi-Tou 1930's [Prehistoric Isle in 1930] ~ SNK
5 / ? ~ Master of Weapon ~ Taito
5 / ? ~ Plus Alpha ~ Jaleco
4 / ? ~ Hellfire ~ Toaplan/Taito
3 / ? ~ Blast-Off ~ Namco <-- Sequel to Bosconian (1981)
3 / ? ~ Dyger ~ Philko/Sharp Image <-- Korea dev. Not released in Japan.
3 / ? ~ Twin Falcons [Whizz] ~ Philko/Sharp Image (Paora in US)<-- Korea dev. Not released in Japan.
2 / ? ~ Phelios ~ Namco
2 / ? ~ Tensaruu : SAINT DRAGON ~ NMK/Jaleco
1 / ? ~ Asuka & Asuka ~ Visco/Taito

-1988-

12/? ~ Atomic ROBO-KID ~ UPL
11/? ~ Heavy Unit ~ Kaneko/Taito
10/? ~ Image Fight ~ Irem
10/? ~ Metal Hawk ~ Namco <-- deluxe cabinet, game leans toward 'flight'.
10/? ~ Scramble Spirits ~ Sega <-- 24kHz display (medium res).
10/? ~ Tatsujin [Truxton] ~ Toaplan/Taito
10/? ~ Thunder Cross ~ Konami
10/? ~ Turtle Ship ~ Philko/Pacific Games [Sharp Image *USA] <---copy+hack of Capcom's Side Arms
9 / ? ~ Cobra Command ~ Data East
9 / ? ~ Ordyne ~ Namco
8 / ? ~ Armed Formation F ~ Nichibutsu/PIC [Fillmore *Intl]
8 / ? ~ Bakutotsu Kijuutei : Baraduke II - Namco
7 / ? ~ Chuka Taisen ~ Hot-B/Taito
7 / ? ~ Lost Worlds [Forgotten Worlds] ~ Capcom
7 / ? ~ Last Duel ~ Capcom
7 / ? ~ Sky Soldiers ~ Alpha Denshi (ADK) /SNK
6 / ? ~ 1943 Kai : Midway Kaisen ~ Capcom
6 / ? ~ Ark Area ~ UPL
6 / ? ~ Koukuu Kihei Monogatari - The Legend Of Air Cavalry [Chopper 1] ~ SNK
5 / ? ~ P-47 : the Freedom Fighter ~ NMK/Jaleco
4 / ? ~ Twin Eagle: Revenge Joe's Brother ~ Seta/Taito
? / ? ~ Gradius II : GOFER no Yabou, NEW ver ~ Konami
3/24 ~ Gradius II : GOFER no Yabou ~ Konami
3 / ? ~ Dr. Toppel Tankentai [Dr. Toppel's Adventure] ~ Kaneko/Taito
3 / ? ~ Silkworm ~ Tecmo
? / ? ~ Fighting Hawk ~ Taito

-1987-

12/? ~ A-JAX [Typhoon] ~ Konami
12/? ~ Galaga '88 ~ Namco
12/? ~ Mr. HELI no Dai-Bouken [Battle Chopper] ~ Irem
12/? ~ Sonic Boom ~ Sega
11/? ~ Kyukyoku Tiger [Twin Cobra] ~ Toaplan/Taito <--overseas version features 2P simultaneous play, instant respawn
10/? ~ Gemini Wing ~ Tecmo
10/? ~ Special Forces U.A.G. [Thundercade] ~ Seta/Taito
10/? ~ SRD : Super Real Darwin ~ Data East
10/? ~ Terra Force ~ Nichibutsu
10/? ~ Wonder Planet ~ Data East
9 / ? ~ Airwolf ~ Kyugo
9 / ? ~ Rabio Lepus ~ Video System
8 / ? ~ Cross Shooter [Air Raid] ~ Seibu Kaihatsu/Taito
8 / ? ~ Exzisus ~ Taito
8 / ? ~ Flak Attack [MX5000] ~ Konami
7 / ? ~ Battlantis ~ Konami <-- single screen shooter
7 / ? ~ R-TYPE ~ Irem
6/26 ~ Life Force ~ Konami <--New version of Salamander
6 / ? ~ Dragon Spirit ~ Namco
6 / ? ~ 1943 : Midway Kaisen ~ Capcom
5 / ? ~ Choutoki (or Chouji) Meikyuu LEGION (Legion: Labyrinth of Space and Time) ~ Nichibutsu
4 / ? ~ S.D.I. ~ Sega
3 / ? ~ Exerizer [Sky Fox] ~ Jaleco
3 / ? ~ Hishozame [Flying Shark *Intl, Sky Shark *USA] ~ Toaplan/Taito
2 / ? ~ Bermuda Triangle [World Wars *Intl] ~ SNK
2 /? ~ DARIUS ~ Taito
2 / ? ~ Fantasy Zone II : The Tears of OpaOpa ~ Sega
2 / ? ~ Makyou Senshi [Gondomania] ~ Data East
? / ? ~ Blasteroids ~ Atari Games <--2/1988 release for US
? / ? ~ DARIUS Extra Version ~ Taito
? / ? ~ Dragon Spirit NEW ver ~ Namco
? / ? ~ Sauro ~ Tecfri/Sigma

-1986-

12/? ~ Sidearms : Hyper Dyne ~ Capcom
11/? ~ Ares no Tsubasa : the Legendary Soldiers [Legendary Wings] ~ Capcom <-- half stg, half act/stg
11/? ~ Valtric ~ NMK/Jaleco
11/? ~ Xain'd Sleena [Solar Warrior] ~ Technos/Taito <-- half shooting stages, half action/stg stages, like Capcom's Legendary Wings
10/? ~ Mission 660 ~ ED/Wood Place/Taito <-- copy of The Alphax Z
10/? ~ Kiki Kaikai ~ Taito
10/? ~ Last Mission ~ Data East
10/? ~ Youma Ninpou Chou [Ninja Emaki] ~ Nichibutsu <-- action/shooting parts
10/? ~ UFO Robo DANGAR ~ Nichibutsu
9 / ? ~ Action Fighter ~ Sega
9 / ? ~ Vs. Super Xevious ~ Namco/Nintendo
9 / ? ~ XX Mission ~ UPL
8 / ? ~ Gardia ~ Coreland/Sega
7 / 4 ~ Salamander ~ Konami
7 / ? ~ Slap Fight [Alcon] ~ Toaplan/Taito
5 / ? ~ Flower ~ ADK/Sega
5 / ? ~ The Alphax Z ~ ED/Wood Place/Able
4 / ? ~ Scramble Formation [Tokio] ~ Taito
4 / ? ~ Sky Kid DX (Deluxe) ~ Namco
3 / ? ~ Darwin 4078 ~ Data East
3 / ? ~ Fantasy Zone ~ Sega
2 / ? ~ Kyoko-Toppa [Breakthru] ~ Data East <-- kind of action shooting
2 / ? ~ Rafflesia ~ Coreland/Sega
1 / ? ~ Argus ~ NMK/Jaleco
1 / ? ~ Halley's Comet ~ Taito
? / ? ** ~ Brain ~ Coreland/Sega <--Possibly unreleased in Japan+USA. Could not find reliable source to backup.
? / ? ~ S.R.D. Mission ~ Kyugo/Taito
? / ? ~ Vs. Sky Kid ~ Namco/Nintendo
? / ? ~ Vs. Super Sky Kid ~ Namco/Nintendo

-1985-

12/? ~ Finalizer : Super Transformation ~ Konami
12/? ~ Section Z ~ Capcom
12/? ~ Sky Kid ~ Namco
12/? ~ 4-D Warriors ~ Coreland/Sega
11/? ~ ASO : Armored Scrum Object [Alpha Mission] ~ SNK/Namco
11/? ~ Gun.Smoke ~ Capcom
10/? ~ Tiger Heli ~ Toaplan/Taito
10/? ~ Terra Cresta ~ Nichibutsu
9 / ? ~ Gekitsui Oh [Zero Target] ~ Data East
9 / ? ~ Return of the Invaders ~ UPL/Taito
6 / ? ~ Wyvern F-0 ~ Taito
5 / ? ~ Gradius [Nemesis] ~ Konami
4 / ? ~ Raid on Bungeling Bay ~ Broderbund/Hudson/Nintendo<--original program by Will Wright
3 / ? ~ HAL 21 ~ SNK
3 / ? ~ Magmax ~ Nichibutsu
2 / ? ~ Twinbee ~ Konami
2 / ? ~ Exed Exes [Savage Bees] ~ Capcom
2 / ? ~ Metal Soldier Isaac II ~ Taito
1 / ? ~ Dog Fight : Batten O'Hara no Sucharaka Kuuchuusen [Acrobatic Dogfight] ~ Technos Japan/Data East
? / ? ~ Repulse [Son of Phoenix, '99 The Last War] ~ Sega

-1984-

12/? ~ 1942 ~ Capcom
12/? ~ Liberation ~ Data East
12/? ~ Super Xevious ~ Namco
10/? ~ B-WINGS ~ Data East <-- 'New' version also released. Unknown changes.
9 / ? ~ EQUITES ~ Alpha Denshi (ADK)/Sega
9 / ? ~ Future Spy ~ Sega <-- isometric scroll
9 / ? ~ Star Force ~ Tehkan (Tecmo)
8 / ? ~ Metal Soldier Isaac ~ Taito
8 / ? ~ Two Tigers ~ Arcade Engineering Inc?/Bally Midway <-- used Spy Hunter-like analog wheel.
7 / ? ~ Formation Z [Aeroboto] ~ Jaleco
7 / ? ~ Gyrodine ~ Crux/Taito <-- Crux' only game, later go on to form Toaplan.
7 / ? ~ Mad Crasher ~ SNK <-- isometric scroll
6 / ? ~ Time Pilot '84 : Further Into Unknown World ~ Konami
5 / ? ~ Vulgus ~ Capcom
4 / ? ~ Gaplus [Galaga 3] ~ Namco
4 / ? ~ Hole Land ~ Tecfri/UEP
3 / ? ~ Mega Zone ~ Konami
3 / ? ~ Vanguard II ~ SNK
3 / ? ~ Zaviga ~ Data East
2 / ? ~ SCION ~ Seibu Denshi (aka Seibu, Seibu Kaihatsu)/Sigma
* / * ~ Fire Battle ~ Taito <-- Xevious ripoff. Prototype? Found no evidence of sale

guwange looks great

you said you didn't like omega 5 or triggerheart exelica didn't you?

Triggerheart is okay. It has such a weird scoring mechanic though, where you kind of have to hook onto other ships, swing them around you and launch them into other ships instead of shooting. I just never got my head around it. Never felt compelled to more than dabble with it so far. I only barely played Omega 5, so I can't really say - I should probably give it another try. My snap judgement was that I didn't like the size of your guy and hitbox (which I think was your whole body?) and the slow crawl through corridor gameplay, R-Type style.

s1ocki - I don't know if you have a wii or gamecube, but if you do, good quality used copies of ikaruga are selling for around $30 US. Not a bad price. If you have a good computer, people are saying it runs okay in the Dolphin emulator (though I haven't tested it myself). REZ for ps2 can be found for around $20 US

Thank you all for your mail.
Here are the results of our Xbox Live Arcade survey.

1. Guwange
2. Esprade
3. Dodonpachi
4. Progear
5. Pink Sweets
6. Mushihime-sama
7. Dangun Feveron
8. Muchi Muchi Pork
9. Espgaluda
10. Ibara

We have received many requests from our overseas users for region-free versions of our games.

"Death Smiles" was released only for Asia, but the region for "Mushi-hime sama Futari" has not been decided yet. I believe it will be decided around the time of Tokyo Game Show 2009.

We are very happy to have received so many e-mails from overseas.

Thank you.

09/01/09
Cave
Makoto Asada

pls be region free, pls release guwange, esprade and dodonpachi on xbla

what are the best ps2 shmups besides gradius 5?

1. Mushihimesama
2. Dodonpachi Daioujou
3. Espgaluda
4. Castle of Shikigami 2
5. Psyvariar 2

Don't sleep on Castle of Shikigami - great game & can be found for around £8 used (on amazon.co.uk). The others stayed and in Japan though & are quite expensive to insanely expensive.

Not as good as the above, but if you can find them cheap (and you can)... Gunbird 2, and Strikers 1945 1 & 2 both got a UK release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXEHXeBmS-s

jeff no luv for r type final!!!!! u have def played more ps2 shmups than me but thatd be in my TOP 5

I'm not much of an r-type fan, but yeah, I guess it should at least be mentioned

how do you not like r-type?!

I don't know exactly... I feel like it's kind of slow and cramped & I always feel a little awkward playing them? I like the atmosphere, especially in the early games, but the way you move vs the way enemies move, dealing with the shooty pick up thing (whatever it's called) and the way you restart back a section when you die are the main things, I guess. I own four of 'em(!) though!!! So it's not exactly hate...

2 additional DSi shmups, 200 points each
http://www.genterprise.jp/gg/index.html

To me those look less interesting then the Mihara designed one, but for a $2.00 game, I guess I wouldn't expect much. Aa Mujou Setsuna is 500 points, which is still pretty cheap & makes me think it's probably not a "great" game either. It seems like all three should make it out of Japan, but no news on that front, right?

The main problem with these DSi shmups is, why would I want to play them, when I could be playing this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf9IVoetZkk

no news, so far

I'm this close to pulling the trigger on castle of shikigami, 1941: 1&2, r-type: final and psyvariar but i. I don't have a PS2 arcade stick and ii. I have the DMC series winging its way to the back of my already unholy backlog

prices for shmups on ebay are ridiculous btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9X-Fr5bKY

Harmful Park is a decent, Japan only, cute 'em up for PSX that runs fine in ePSXe. Worth checking out.

There should be more news on this game during the Tokyo Game Show, which starts in a couple of hours. I guess it's an XBLA exclusive?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19jr8ejNqBY

woah, looks great

BIG NEWS today regarding Mushihime-Sama Futari... it's going region free
http://kotaku.com/5368190/bullet-hell-shooter-creators-cave-going-region+free-for-next-xbox-360-game

Still will be a quite pricey import, about $70 US via play-asia

Novemebr 26th is the release date! GOTY

bold claim!

More big (almost) news from Cave boss Makato Asada
http://kotaku.com/5370354/cave-wants-to-bring-its-manic-shooters-global

Notably..

" Cave is looking at global releases of its games, full-fledged Xbox Live Arcade titles of certain titles and Valve's Steam service as a means of distribution."

"But before Guwange or any other XBLA ports arrive—Asada hinted at the possibility of an Xbox Live Arcade remake of chubby shooter Muchi Muchi Pork with a revamped gameplay system—Cave has some more disc-based titles planned."

"Right now, we're working on a few titles for localization," Asada said. Again, take caution. "This is currently all in talks. With regards to Death Smiles, we can say that it's currently in progress and hopefully soon we'll be able to give overseas users news about its release."

I played some Blazing Lazers on my TG-16 over the weekend. Still a classic.

I don't like DLC but I'll take it

Blazing Lazers is also available on the Wii VC for 600 points (I'm not really a fan though).

why pay six bucks for something I've owned for 19 years?

Wasn't directed towards you bro, just making a general comment that it was available - not everybody here is lucky enough to own a working TG-16

got this in the post today - so awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws5ujH65hfg

199X tokyo city looks like the same city as that terrible nes tmnt game

Hey Zappi - I'd never heard of Crisis Force before, so I tried it out (via Nestopia). Not bad for a Famicom shmup! It does seem overly generous with the speed-up bonuses - I had to start avoiding 'em. It's pretty cool when your weapon gets completely powered up / I wish it lasted longer. How many levels are there? The first seemed awfully long, as did the first boss fight, but the second level seemed to go by much quiker. I only made it to level 3 though (97,300 points) in my two tries. Will play more.

yeh its not the hardest game, but great for that zoning out zenlike state that shmups are so good at providing. i think there are 7 stages, but i haven't got to the end yet. my famicom collecting has become a sickness.

Askys has announced they're releasing Cho Aniki Zero in the States in spring 2010, "Cho Aniki Zero will be oiled up and ready to thrust its way onto your PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system! Sold exclusively as a digital download through the PlayStation®Store." Very surprised this is getting a US release!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuDswjoGTPc

haha, that Muscle March game is getting localised as well apparently.

It looks really weird:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_s7iCOj9HU

New trailer for Ilvelo... looks like it has been pushed to 2010 :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srtflfP8DOc&fmt=18

huh it's like 20 flash shmups in one

ketsui death label: anyone know the difference between the 4 colors of ships u can choose? i did a summarily search but eh , + i am not that involved in the game yet . sure i could learn a few thing from the all-japanese specials.

on a related note: Nomltest FS ver.1.0.1http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/dl/win95/game/se345999.html
i probably got that reference from this board but it's worth reposting.
minimal but great playability; the way you can shift speed, shield and fire depending on the situation.
it's been a few months since i played but yeh you have 3 types of fire /speed/shield : let's say A for wide but thin rate of fire*/very fast/next to no shield, B for average and A+B for dense rate of fire / slowest speed and largest shield.

extra explanation screen : bullets going within the shield without hitting you are eaten for points, there is no powerups or bombs but you have an extra life over so many points. the bullet pattern is typical to each waves but the pattern changes significantly over each i forget , 100 000 points? - i briefly checked youtube and it is more likely about levels. i think i saw the pattern change 3 times and the last time must have been around level 100, the action was so fast, different and across the board i couldn't last long enough to learn much for the next game.

* not sure if i have the right military terminology it's +weird from a pacifist perspective

I thought Ketsui DL (the DS game?) just had two different ships? As good as I can remember they both had a different firing pattern. I don't recall any kind of consensus on one being better than the other. Or are you asking about the arcade game?

the ds game have 2 ships: type-a and type-b but you can unlock different colors for em. it looks like it's just for show but i thought it might make a little difference in speed or range. just unlocked death label yesterday and wow i will have to raise the bar or else this is were i'll stay. probably will watch a few videos.

Mind blown - I never noticed you could change the ships colors before! I also never got past the Death Label mode (can get to area 9, but that's it), though I didn't spend a ton of time working at it. As far as I know all that unlocks is the mode that you play in two players into one player, which is cool, but not breaking my heart too much that I've been unable to unlock it (since I did play it in two players). Correct me if I'm wrong again. I'm definitely planning to go back to this game after picking up a DS XL next year. The bigger screen should really help!

A 360 port of Senko no Ronde Duo has been announced for Spring 2010
G.Rev has some videos of the hybrid STG/Fighting game on their youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/GREVchannel

(the first Senko no Ronde was ported to the west as WarTech)

whoa, did not hear about mushihimesama going region free. awesome news. just placed my pre-order.

there's still so much out there for the j360 that I'm a little tempted to buy one. I suppose I can wait and see what happens.

The 360 port of Cave's Espgaluda II has been dated for February 25th 2010. No word on region encoding, but with the apparent success of Mushihimesama, I would expect it to be region free as well.

radilgy noa coming to wii
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2009/12/02/radilgy_noa_wii/

here's hopin for espgaluda 2. the first one might be the shmup I've logged the most time with on my ps2. that or gradius 5.

and have you actually gotten to play the xbox 360 mushihimesama, jeff? mine hasn't shipped yet.

been playing radiant silvergun for the the first time in years lately. I could never get fully behind ikaruga (too fussy) but I'm having a lot of fun with RS. they way your ship levels up as you log playtime is really satisfying.

Alan - bummer you copy of Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 hasn't shipped. I got mine last Friday and I'm REALLY loving it. Definitely my idea of a perfect game. So beautiful and satisfying and challenging.

Still getting my head around the different modes and scoring systems. Ultra 1.5 is absolutely insane (I've yet to make it to the first boss - LOL). Watching the leaderboard replays of perfect runs on those levels just blows my mind. Arrange Mode is also a lot of fun and a much easier way to work yourself through a version of the game - as if normal Arrange Mode wasn't easy enough, they've added in a "Novice" Arrange Mode that I was able to 1CC & no deaths on my very first try. Maybe that's too easy. Normal Mode 1.5 is probably the most balanced and satisfying. of course. I've yet to make it to the 4th level there, but I'm working on it.

Such a gorgeous game!

oh, man. I foolishly picked up some other stuff w/mushihimesama and it's holding my order back. :-/

glad to hear you're really into this game. I am PSYCHED for it.

finally got my hands on mushihimesama futari and my first reaction is @__@

but I've actually gotten way into radiant silvergun during the downtime I spent replaying while waiting for mushihimesama. I'll probably stick with RS for a little while longer before I roll up my sleeves and really dive into mushi.

exclosion

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/21879/Eclosion-Announced-for-Xbox-Live-Arcade/

looks pretty cool.

I feel like this game looks kinda shitty, but I can't quite put my finger on it (maybe just that it seems to be "borrowing" stuff from other games w/o adding anything new to the mix, except a worse sense of design). 40 levels & 90 minutes of music makes me think the game is going to be much too long. Anyhow, I found a trailer this morning, here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOFOKsuaCXE

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/01/15/deathsmiles-magically-gets-stateside-release/

Looks like DeathSmiles is getting a US release. No hard facts to the report though, so it looks like maybe it's a ways off yet? I just played through it again this morning - a very fun game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8cG1BG8Xwg

eclosion trailer looks decent, imo. guessing that's not actually the in-game music (sounds absolutely nothing like the "chiptunes" stuff mentioned in the preview). hard to say much else about it without playing.

and on borrowing without bringing anything new to the table - kind of a gaming non-issue for me and doubly so with this genre. I enjoy the conventions of the genre and will likely be happy if they executed well. there's something to be said for serving up a distilled, refined experience.

but who knows if this will bring that. (probably not?)

anyway, the death smiles localization is great news!

Official US DeathSmiles press release (no release date though - I would guess early summer?)
http://www.aksysgames.com/2010/01/18/deathsmiles-on-everyone-lolis-smile-back/#more-3359

It looks like the standard edition of CAVE's Espgaluda II will be region free after all :)
http://kotaku.com/5471899/if-you-want-to-play-espgaluda-ii-read-this-post
Game is out Feb. 25th in Japan

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/02/17/xbox_360_shooting_festa_event/

loving all the import-friendly CAVE news as of late. :-)

More Cave news...
360 port of DeathSmiles 2 is coming out May 27th in Japan
and a Guwange port is supposedly coming sometime in 2010 to XBLA
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/02/27/x360_shooting_festa_announcements/

dope.

also, I can't stop playing the original mushihimesama on my ps2 even though futari is just sitting there (mostly) unplayed! perfect accompaniment to zoning out and playing some records.

and ganwange is a long-time favorite. even go a few non-shmup friends that I worked with in college into it. they called it "gun wang".

In some ways I think I like the original Mushihimesama better than Futari, especially the music, but also just the way it feels more basic & more creepy insect-like. But I love the improved graphics and clarity of Futari. I NEED to play both more. But my copy of Espgaluda II arrived and I think it's going to get the bulk of my STG time.

The XBLA version of Guwange reportedly has three different modes (arcade, blue and an arrange mode), so it will be more than just what you could play in MAME. I assume there will be a practice mode too...

the little bit of mushihimesama futari that I played was definitely fun but almost overwhelming. not necessarily difficult (because the original seems like a tougher game to me) but a sensory overload.

still, like I said, I really haven't played much at all. need to play more before forming a real opinion.

also hadn't realized that espgaluda 2 has been released! I love espgaluda and have sunk many, many hours into it over the years. the scaled-down difficulty was nice for me because I've never really gotten much better than "just OK" at these manic shmups.

also, esp ra.de. is probably my fave cave game that doesn't have the word "donpachi" in it.

tempted to just buy this but I don't really have the time...

Here's the trailer for the xbox 360 port of Ketsui, which comes out in Japan on April 22nd. I'm really looking forward to it, as the DS boss rush version was my favorite game of 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn4T-HQP-JA

Alan - after playing a lot of both now, I actually think Espgaluda 2 is considerably harder and more confusing that Mushihimesama Futari. Both are pretty crazy games though! I've so far only got to level 4 of Mushihimesama Futari once, but in Espgaluda 2 I can barely get to level 3. I need to (and will) play both lots more though. A 1CC of MF seems not completely out of the question, but that's something I can't really see myself doing in E2...

hah, would not have expected that! the original espgaluda has to be on of cave's easiest games.

I don't think I've ever 1CC'ed any cave games. ;_;

also loved the ketsui ds port. was genuinely amazed at how well it played. I'm guessing the xbox 360 port will be region free as well?

Most people think Ketsui will be region locked - no official word yet though.

aww, bummer if so.

espgaluda II ON IPHONE
http://www.cave-world.com/en/games/espgaluda2.html

if I had an iPad or iPhone I would totally buy this even though I don't see how it's going to be very playable w/o a stick & buttons. Espgaluda II is such a fucking tough game and really requires some very precise, small and fast movements that it seems like it would be impossible w/ touch controls and a relatively tiny screen, but who knows.

It's only five bucks if you buy it during the first three days of launch (April 10th).

If Jimmy Saville still gave a fuck he'd fix a Wii port for me.

yeah, I can't imagine how this would be playable

and yeah, I would totally still buy it for 5 bux if I had an iphone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aGs_FoRViM

re-hooked up my arcade cabinet recently and have been playing mars matrix again. still can't make it past level 5 on 1 qrtr. have also been playing gradius III on SNES, but i always tend to die on the same part on the 'speed' level

mars matrix is dope.

UK gets some love
http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-/14956580/Raiden-Fighters-Aces/Product.html

Sin & Punishment 2 is a) ugly as hell, the cutscenes will make you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spoon b) really really difficult at times c) tremendous fun

sounds a lot like sin & punishment 1. (which, to be fair, did look pretty cool. just in an ugly, n64 kinda way.)

and raiden fighters aces kinda rules. I like throwing that one on late at night while chillin out and listenin to records. which is something I really like to do. so consequently, it's prob my most played 360 game.

and I didn't realize nintendo is publishing sin & punishment 2 in the US. guess that means the price will never go down and I should just bite the bullet and pick it up?

also, whoa. deathsmiles on amazon.com. never thought I'd see the day.

def will be a little embarrassed to own this shit tho:

http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/04/500x_deathsmiles.jpg

anyone downloading donpachi from the japanese PSN?

also jeff do you have any insight into why these games are being published on the 360? I thought the PS3 had a bigger install base in japan. it's a bit annoying because of the 360's archaic region protection : /

I've read that thought the PS3 is more popular in JP, the target audience for shmups leans 360. not sure how true that really is...

cozen - the version of Donpachi on the jPSN store is just the ps1 port of donpachi - I don't know how good of a port that is, but the original arcade game plays perfectly in MAME, as does its sequel Dondonpachi, which is a better game. So unless one is a complete puritan, MAME is a great way to go on those old games.

In regards to why the 360. Obviously I don't know the facts, but here is the basic theory... after the original xbox flopped amazingly hard in Japan, Microsoft wanted to make a better effort to be competitive with the 360. One of the ways they did this was apparently to reach out to some of these niche / hardcore publishers and probably incentivise them to work on the 360, as they also did for some Japanese RPG developers (to mixed results, see Blue Dragon, etc). For a small publisher like Cave, obviously some extra dough to help with development or marketing would be appealing, but also the fact that the 360 would be much easier to program for, very similar to what they were used to, especially compared to the ps3, which requires learning a whole new programming skill set (which obviously would be hard for a niche company), as well as the higher costs associated with blu-ray. There's also some though that since Microsoft reached out and tried to get these companies and Sony ignored them / took them for granted, these smaller companies felt flattered and that working with Microsoft seemed like it might be a good thing, enough to offset the thought that the playstation machine would be more successful in Japan.

As to region coding, until very recently, I think the idea just wasn't something these companies even thought about. Cave really feels their games appeal to Japanese gamers and, shortsightedly (realistically?), they didn't really think about the rest of the world and the bigger market they could reach.

Alan - well, the hardcore audience in Japan leans towards the 360, because the 360 has done a very good job of sewing up all the hardcore releases. Basically if you wanna play these games at home, you have to buy a j360, so the hardcore have - which was Microsoft Japan's plan. Unfortunately for them, sewing up a niche market, means their console is still pretty niche (though more successful than the original xbox). Unfortunately for us, it means getting these games is quite a bit more difficult :(

donpachi ps1 port was pretty well done, iirc. I think I had the ps1 port and the saturn ver. of dodonpachi and the difference wasn't too drastic. (but saturn was better, obv.)

but yeah, they play fine on MAME.

and jeff's droppin' serious knowledge here. thanks!

that was interesting to me too, i didn't know about this

booming post, thanks jeff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQBrwM2tE0

yeah I got to try the iPod Touch version of Espgaluda II out a few weeks ago on my brother's machine... I was REALLY impressed by how well it controlled. It did seem that the patterns were slower (by about half?) than the arcade game, but it felt balanced, and did pretty much have everything you could want out of a portable version. The graphics and music were also quite good. I enjoyed it, but not enough to buy a new, compatible iphone/pad/touch product.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5600/hardcorps1275595666000.jpg
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1094576p1.html

A Contra: Hard Corps sequel coming out by Arc System Works?! Huh.

iPhone/ iPad Touch version of Cave's DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu coming later this summer!
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/07/16/dodonpachi_iphone/

as a dude who historically does not give a shit about shooters I have to say I'm enjoying Espgaluda iPhone a whole lot

Location test footage of Cave's brand new arcade STG Akai Katana - looking very Progear...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Y2dbEydD0

whoa

sunk a good amount of time into the new deathsmiles us release yesterday.

first impression - this game looks great but I really, really wish they went straight castlevania instead of the pedo-vania art style we ended up with. nice to see age info at the character select screen too. (all 17 and under!)

second impression - eh, who cares? this game is a blast. best horizontal shmup since gradius 5?

uh....

On the back of the arcade game poster, there is a template for a skirt blowing game. In the game, the player attempts to blow up the skirt or petticoat of the model to see her underwear. The player scores 30 points for blowing up a skirt and 50 points for blowing up a petticoat. Points are deducted if a pumpkin or tombstone is knocked over.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathsmiles#Marketing

so, playasia says that the 360 ports of deathsmiles 2 and ketsui are both region encoded. bummer.

big news outta Japan today...
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/08/14/cave_festival_live_report/

Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork are coming to Xbox 360 in a single retail release planned for Spring 2011. The games will not have high res visuals, but will have new modes.

Feveron coming to an unannounced platform. It was not revealed if the game will be retail or download.

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Version 1.5 is coming to Xbox 360 for retail release on 11/25 at ¥6,800 in standard form and ¥8,800 in limited edition. Cave Festival attendees get a DLC card that ups the game to the Version 1.51 arcade version that was on display at the event. The 360 version has two arranged modes.

Guwange, announced for Xbox Live Arcade earlier this year, is set for September or October release. They showed a live play demonstration at the event.

Milestone reps came out and introduced the Xbox 360 version of Radilgy Noah, Radilgy Noah Massive. Set for 10/28 retail release. The 360 version has Classic Mode, Massive Mode and Death Modes. Massive Mode is a time attack mode where you play through two minutes and aim for the highest score. There's a boss at the end, and by killing it off you can get a higher score.

guessing these new cave games will be region protected as well? argh.

man, that stuff plus ketsui and deathsmiles 2 is making me think twice about getting a j360.

any other good shmups that are japan only?

guessing these new cave games will be region protected as well? argh.

Guwange is getting a worldwide release via xbla. The rest - we will see - probably region protected tho - yeah.

any other good shmups that are japan only?

There have been a handful of releases - Castle of Shikigami III (also available for wii in the US tho), Shooting Love, 200X (compilation), Otomedius Gorgeous (coming soon to the US, I think), Mamoru-kun, and Strike Witches. I've only played the Wii version of Shikigami III (which is great), the rest I've heard mixed things about and haven't seemed worth the cost of importing.

yeah, I was really hoping cave would stop locking games after mushihimesama futari and espgaluda 2. guess not. whadda draaaaaag.

and thanks for that import rundown. I thought of one more:
senko no ronde duo

not exactly a shmup but pretty close. doubt it will make it out of japan. I bought the localization of the first one for two bucks used.

weird that otomedius gorgeous is getting a US release. was interested when it came out due to the konami pedigree but digging around mainly revealed reviews by disappointed folks.

hmm. my link breaks in firefox for some reason. one more time:

http://www.vigigames.com/?p=1039

i sure wish i had an ipad :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIiG44LDThI

Radiant Silvergun HD port coming to XBLA in 2011

nice!

psyched for bangai-o HD and radiant silvergun

what with those and fire pro, there's finally some exciting xbla games on the horizon

Love bangai-o. Do not have these fancy systems.

Can you guys beat this?

http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/files/KILLGOD.rar

It only has three levels.

bangai-o rules. feel like designing for HD tv dimensions would work out well for the gameplay too.

kinda miss the goofy vibe of the first game tho.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/09/bangaio091207.jpg

Europe getting a Deathsmiles port...
http://www.eurogamer.se/articles/2010-09-17-varldsexklusivt-deathsmiles-kommer-till-europa

Mushihimesama Futari (I assume it will still be region free) goes greatest hits in November, for $34.90 US (over half off the original price)
http://www.play-asia.com/Mushihimesama_Futari_Ver_1.5_Platinum_Collection/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3yu5.html

BREAKING NEWS! Latest version of MAME now supports Ketsui, DoDonPach Dai-Ou-Jou and DoDonPach Dai-Ou-Jou Black Label and good ROM dumps are out there if you look around. Apparently Espgaluda should also work now too, but there may not be a good ROM dump yet?

any update on the radiant silvergun xbla port?

ketsui!! (still bummed that the j-360 port was region encoded.)

and what did you think of espgaluda 2, jeff? I've only played for a few hours but... it didn't really do it for me for whatever reason. weird because I love espgaluda and esp ra.de.

I also haven't played a ton of Espgalua 2, but I do like it. I think I just got distracted by the purity of Ketsui, which came out at almost the same time and is much more to my liking. The thing about Esp2 is the mechanics of not only the two different shots, but the two different hyper modes for bullet cancelling & bullet swarms is a bit much to get one's head around. Ketsui is a "harder" game, but it's understandable, while Espgaluda is slightly easier, but more confusing and less straight-forward in a way that makes it slightly less fun to play.

Speaking of region free, in case you didn't know, CAVE has announced the the Pink Sweets and Muchi Muchi Pork double pack due out in February 2011 will be region free as well.

yeah, I didn't hate esp2 or anything. but after coming off of playing mushihimesama futari heavily... it seemed a bit lacking to me.

the mechanics of it did seem a bit clunky but I'll have to play more to really solidify my opinion on this one.

and I hadn't heard about pink sweets/muchi muchi. great news!

A couple notes on Ketsui MAME - you will want to change the default settings on the ROM that is floating around as it is set to easy and no continues. To change the settings just hit F2 which takes you to the test menu, go to 7. Game and in there you can set the difficulty to Normal (or Hard or Very Hard) and turn on the rapid shot (C button) so you don't have to tap button "a" to get the shot, just hold down "c" button for shot and hold down the "a" button for the lock on shot (B button is bomb) or however you configure your stick / pad / keyboard). 6. System is where you can turn on continues if you want to credit feed so you can at least see the whole game once. Also there are still some minor sound glitches to the emulation, but nothing to lose any sleep over - future revisions should be able to fix this (top men or working on it).

new dreamcast shmup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxWTVuJqS-U

really impressive trailer.

and a new one from g-rev coming to xbla:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn9FQ5NjDdA

just stumbled on Score Rush on xbox indie. a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAIhtPSrm-4

nice. that looks like a good time.

looks like there's a new mushihimesama port coming out soon:
http://www.shopncsx.com/mushihimesamahdlimitededition.aspx

doesn't seem like it will be region free. wish cave kept that trend up. :-/

whatever happened to Jeff LeVine

he retired from ilx :(

my understanding is that he has somewhat un-retired and has been posting here occasionally, but under a different, considerably shorter name...

lol who is that masked man
Grev have some new games, an HD version of the Dreamcast game Under Defeat juat came out for PS3/360, and there are games coming soonish for 3DS and Vita. these are all JP only at the moment though. picked up Senko no Ronde for £3(!) the other day, what a strange game.

yeah, would love to play HD under defeat...

lol jcl btw

lol!

Ahhhh Under Defeat. Is it Japan only?

actually, it seems like the ps3 one might not be?
http://digiex.net/general-discussions/gaming-hangout/10236-under-defeat-hd-released-xbox-360-region-locked-ps3-region-free.html
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/648086-under-defeat-hd/62040982

doesn't help me since I don't have a ps3. oh well!

Bodacious. I don't have an X360 and have missed out on all the amazing XBLA re-releases.

I just caught the "Under Defeat" pun, that is such a bad pun that is like rapper-from-Leeds level punning

I'd love to see a Shmups poll hey I'd love to see that

Personally I love 3D rails shmups like Starfox 64 more than anything in the world, sad it didn't become a genre, but my faves in this genre otherwise are Galaga, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V, Einhander and Life Force.. no Olympic-style workouts for me

The Switch port of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou by M2 is incredibly well done. Went several more miles than it needed to, loaded with stuff.

I still absolutely suck at it, shit is hard, but rad game and port.

Japanese only so far, probably easier to order a physical copy than creating a Japanese Switch account and buying digital Japanese Nintendo eShop cards like I did.

The “Very Easy” mode is a nice addition, though it made me want a “Moderately Easy” mode. Want to still sweat a little. But great way to engage with and learn the chaining system, which I’ve never paid much mind cuz I’m too busy trying not to die.

yeah, you know you're in good hands with M2. still have to play their (relatively) new aleste game!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15piEvZg0mE

^^ I found the proper Black Label version of DaiOuJou in the (mostly Japanese) menus and it’s right on and perfect.

Been playing a lot of old console shmups these days thru Mister, most of em for the first time. Love the chunky 2D/3D ones from the PSX/Saturn era. R-Type Delta, Darius Gaiden, G-Darius, Einhander. Keep coming back to those in particular.

ok back on doj and it’s wonderful

is there a better resource than “vg streamer talking for 40mins on youtube” for info on the different modes and how mechanics change?

https://shmups.wiki/library/DoDonPachi_DaiOuJou

sick, TY!

For real. Handy.

I picked up my old Xbox 360 when I went to visit my folks a few weeks ago. Decided to import a copy of Mushihimesama Futari. Not sure I’ve ever played it? The OG Mushi has always been a favorite, so pretty stoked.

you're in for a treat but I probably do prefer the first one (high bar - probably my fave cave game)

Yeah, Futari totally rules. Was not immediately smitten, high expectations to live up to, but it’s grown on me significantly. Wouldn’t argue with someone who prefers it.

Espgaluda 2 and Dodonpachi DFK to be delisted from Switch in December. Grab em while you can.

I had DFK, picked up ESP2. Played the first, new to the sequel. Unusually complicated mechanics on this one lol. Haven’t quite got my head around it yet but it’s been a lot of fun playing it like an idiot so far.

“is there a better resource than “vg streamer talking for 40mins on youtube” for info on the different modes and how mechanics change?”

This never ceases to kill me. Shmup YouTubers are a rare, uniquely tedious breed incapable of being succinct.

only 40 minutes? how about 160?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHZ088RtIjQ

1 hour for the basic gameplay system, the rest for scoring and 1cc strats

this is not a dunk, the video is actually quite well made and the creator was considerate enough to add the info to the shmups wiki entry https://shmups.wiki/library/Espgaluda_II

Ha! I definitely came across that one last night. I am in full support and appreciative of this kind of long ass YouTube shmup content to be clear. Doing the lord’s work.

I got a modded PS2 here in the corner with Espgaluda 1 on the hard drive. Thinking I should probably get more familiar with that one first.

heh same. it’s just that sometimes you wanna, you know, play a dang shmup instead of watching all of that!

i hate information that could have been plaintext spread out over several minutes of video "content" more than anyone but tbf run replays (either native ingame or captured to video) are a good learning tool since getting good at these games involves straight up copying the routes other people have already figured out and adapting them to your playstyle and execution limits

but for basic system info, wikis and forums and gamefaqs is where it's at. the shmups wiki is excellent but started in 2020 iirc and rn it's probably lacking a lot of games that are covered in the ST and GD threads of the shmups farm for instance

discords can fuck off

let's try again: shmups farm

ok wtf https://shmups.system11.org/viewforum.php?f=5

Yeah, if you’re just looking for a quick rundown of mechanics, YouTube ain’t the place. Was the angle I was coming from. You’re scrolling through a 45 minute video looking for about 3 minutes of content. I appreciate the comprehensive ones that are long for a reason.

I fired up Espgaluda 1 this weekend and it’s a blast and more manageable mechanically. Definitely gonna spend more time with it before getting deeper into 2.

Also finally spent a proper amount of time with Gunvein. Really a thrillingly fun game. And I get why it’s frequently recommended to people looking to get into the genre. Tutorials that can translate to STG’s in general, loading screen tips that are useful, ability to spend points on an extra life or continue. Feels like it’s rooting for you to figure it out. Pleasant mission statement.

My sound system is acting up, so rather than dealing with shitty TV speakers I plugged in a nice pair of headphones.

Have to say, kind of a revelation? Such a music and sound dependent genre, having it piped directly into your ears at a volume I couldn’t get away with on speakers really fucking slaps.

Had a particularly transcendent experience with Batsugun. Soundtrack is so goddamn good.

Any shmup soundtracks that hit particularly hard for y’all, the three people who look at this thread? Gonna be revisiting a lot of stuff.

i remember really liking the dodonpachi saidaioujou ost, but it’s been a while and can’t remember specifics, even whether regs or arrange is the way to go…

danmaku unlimited 3 has a pretty djent-ey metal + splashes of techno one that works quite well in the context of a bullet hell game. stage 3 or 4 or so was a banger iirc

Saidaioujou is one of the Dodonpachi's I don't own. Looks like it's 360 only and copies ain't cheap, so I'll have to wait on that one.

DU3 does have some rippers, might fire that up tonight.

Armed Police Batrider has some killer shit. Love the boss music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzOrq3lgtag

track at 19:40

sick