by o.pwuaioc Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:24 pm
Member Name's top 10 List
(Changed this up just a tad to remove Centipede and Galaga, not properly scrolling shooters, down to honorable mentions. I feel this is better this way, though I do love them a lot more than many on this list, and all shooters not on it.)
1. Strikers 1945 II
This is the very epitome of what I want in a manic shooter. People give it grief over not being pretty, but I enjoy what bellicose-mechanical imagery it does have.
2. Gradius III
This is a tough entry, but ultimately it comes down nostalgia and atmosphere. It's probably not as good as Gradius or Gradius II on the PC Engine, but I dunno, there's something that just makes me love everything about it. Even the slowdown! Haters gonna hate, but it's a solid game regardless.
3. Thunder Force III
Just a beautiful game. I'm always tempted to rank TFIV higher than TFIII, and in many ways IV is the superior game, but there's a natural charm to TFIII that just makes me put it higher.
4. Gleylancer
Great graphics, excellent atmosphere, unique weapons, Gleylancer has it all. If I had played this first before Gradius III, I'm sure it would be in the top 3 instead. I originally had Gleylancer and Battle Garegga switched, but then I realized I wanted to apologize for that order. Perhaps I just didn't want to horis next to each other like that, but outside of a top 10 list, if you were to ask me which I like better, Gleylancer or Battle Garegga, ultimately, I'd have to go with Gleylancer. But only by a little.
5. Battle Garegga
I love Battle Garegga for all the reasons I love Strikers 1945 II.
6. Sonic Wings
And speaking of Strikers, Sonic Wings was their earlier work (though when they were still Video System instead of Psykio). It's an earlier, rougher version of the extremely polished version of Strikers, but it's still a great game in its own right.
7. Sturmwind
Maybe I'm still in love with this new game, but I think it's the best thing on the Dreamcast, and that alone puts it way up. Just a gorgeous, atmospheric game that is simply a delight to play.
8. Soldier Blade
There's an amazing amount of depth and strategy to this game that really makes it shine. I love the music, the graphics, the spritework, I love the high speed/low speed that's critical in certain spots, and I really love the planning that goes into the special attacks. Phenomenal game.
9. Thunder Force IV
I almost kept this off because there's already a Thunder Force game on this list, but let's be honest, but deserve the spot, though for a final hori, it was a bit tough giving it to this instead of Gate of Thunder.
10. Layer Section
Of all the shooters that utilize lock-on and dual layers, Layer Section does it the best. So well, in fact, that whenever I play a game (like Soukyugurentai), I find myself just wanting to play Layer Section instead. I still need to play its sequels!
Honorable Mentions:
Gate of Thunder:
I can't understand why anyone prefers Lords of Thunder to this. This game is just that epic in scope, bad-ass, blow up everything kind of game. It's not so difficult, so it just narrowly misses the top 10 spot.
Varth:
I haven't played Varth in a while, but fond memories make me a bit sad it didn't make it to the top 10. Quality game.
Galaga:
What's to say about Galaga that hasn't already been said? This is simply the best of the old style, infinitely replayable. I'm thinking of the NES version in particular here, but the arcade version is of course superb and even the 7800 port manages to be pretty decent.
Centipede:
2 player Centipede on the 7800 is the best 2 player experience of any game, bar none. The game is just so fun, and always keeps you hooked and ready to start again when inevitably that damn spider will crawl out and kill you.
Last edited by
o.pwuaioc on Sun Sep 13, 2015 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.