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Racketboy Top 10 All-Time SHMUPS List - 2016

Top 10 List
1. (5) DoDonPachi
1. (5) DDP DFK
3. (4) Raiden Fighters II
3. (4) Ikaruga
3. (4) Battle Garegga
6. (3) Under Defeat
6. (3) R-Type
6. (3) Mushi Futari
6. (3) Mars Matrix
6. (3) Layer Section
6. (3) Gunbird 2
6. (3) Deathsmiles

Others receiving multiple votes:
(2) Armed Police Batrider
(2) Blazing Lazers
(2) Dimahoo
(2) Einhander
(2) Galaga
(2) Giga Wing
(2) Ibara
(2) Jamestown
(2) Lords of Thunder
(2) Pro Gear
(2) R-Type III
(2) Shikigami No Shiro II
(2) Soldier Blade
(2) Space Megaforce
(2) Strikers 1945 Plus
(2) Sturmwind
(2) Thunder Force III
(2) Zero Gunner 2

Off the bat here are some I know will be in my top 10 for sure:
Pro Gear
Deathsmiles
Dimahoo
Dragon Blaze
DDP DFK 1.5 (resurrection)

Some probables:
EspRaDe
Jamestown
Ikaruga
Mars Matrix
Battle Garegga
EspGaLuda II

Some Possibles:
Guwange
Cotton Boomerang
The Game Paradise
Mushi Futari 1.5
Ketsui
Gunbird 2
Strikers 1945+
Pulstar
Captain Tomaday
Sexy Parodius
Vasara 1 and 2

Some definite "no"s that will make other lists, though:
Battle Bakraid
Thunderforce (all)
Daioh
Ibara
Pink Sweets
Donpachi
DoDonPachi II Bee Storm
Dangun Feveron
Radiant Silvergun
MUSHA
Raiden (all)
Blazing Star
UN Squadron
Zed Blade
RECCA
R-Type (all)
Exed Exes

Some i'd like to know more about:
Space Bomber
Batrider

cool thread, bro.

I'm gonna have to do some thinking on ranks. But it'll be Deathsmiles and 9 others.

I'm no Shmup aficionado, but casually and thoroughly enjoyed the ones I'm about to list and to the best of my memory/ability here we go.

1) Einhander- Square in its prime, while everyone was all google eyed over Final Fantasy VII there was a diamond in the rough and till this day it still sorta is. Graphically mesmerizing and very well paced, great level design with a modest difficulty. If there is any game similar to this please recommend or Square please re-release!!

2) Raiden Fighter Aces- Compilation of 3 Raiden Games with fun achievements, tight ass controls and mayhem without being bullet hell.

3) Deathsmiles- My first introduction to Cave and its bullet hell, amazing it was even was released in the west but so glad I gave it a chance and pre ordered too! Needless to say this game put many modern gamers on to the shmup scene and although the its bullet hell I've never navigated such beauty in my life. In fact my whole family was able to enjoy this game with its great adjustable difficulty!

4) Tiger Heli- My first foray with a shooter and still a classic if not very nostalgic for me!

5) Guwange- Another Cave Shmup that we owe Deathsmiles to for making its way to the west, phenomenal setting and tiny powerful ninja people, fun as heck thanks to the bullet maze and tiny hit detection equals some intense sessions.

6) Cyber Core- if you like obscure insect shmups and TG-16 this game is really fun and not over kill, good for beginners I would assume.

7) Raiden IV- Similar to my comments above on Fighters Aces, except updated visually and luckily Shmups were popular enough to warrant a release here in the west. Easily can rank higher, primo stuff!

(8) Sine Mora- No list is complete without a Suda 51 game for me, loving and supportive of all his work because he simply can give two shits about what people want or think. He is a gem of an artist and video games are his outlet. Sine More is different from what you would expect from Suda but still severely overlooked and under appreciated game nonetheless.

9) Dead Moon- Another TG-16 game makes my list and thanks to a member here I would have never know about this under appreciated gem. Fast paced for a horizontal shooter with arcade difficulty never got too far in it but glad to experience it however, see for yourselves!

10) 1942- Dead Last on my list, but still nostalgia on my part this was in rotation back in the days on my NES along with Tiger Heli, so yea.

Again I'm no aficionado but hopefully I managed a good list for you guys.

1 - MUSHA (deal with it, Mike)
2 - Ikaruga
3 - Castle of Shikigami 3
4 - Fantasy Zone
5 - Soldier Blade
6 - R-Type Final
7 - Geometry Wars Galaxies
8 - Layer Section
9 - Strikers 1945
10 - Captain Skyhawk

1. R-Type (It is a perfect shmup that has aged wonderfully; the difficulty scales perfectly; it is wonderfully designed)

2. Lords of Thunder (Insanely good 16-bit shmup; arguably the best of its generation)

3. R-Type Delta (It has aged gracefully; it is immensely challenging, but also immensely rewarding; it is wonderfully designed)

4. Space Invaders (It is a classic, and it remains the best game in its sub-genre.)

5. Axelay (Very fun and unique shmup with dynamic perspectives; has aged wondefully; the best shmup on the SNES)

6. R-Type III: The Third Lightning (A great entry in the R-Type series, and the second-best shmup on the NES)

7. Summer Carnival '92 Recca (It is an insanely fast and challenging shmup, and it is arguably the best on the NES)

8. Einhander (It has fantastic atmosphere and music; it has wonderful set pieces and an engaging power-up system)

9. Ikaruga (It is a beautiful shmup with unique and engaging gameplay)

10. Galaga (It's gameplay hides tremendous depth; it has aged wonderfully; it is still tremendously fun)

Also...

1-10. 2hu 4 teh lolis

The interesting thing about this list is that I'd bet there will be a lot of people who will weigh in with lists that aren't very familiar with the majority of the top 10-20 games published on the shmups forum's annual list like this...

Also, where are our previous editions?

I agree.

noiseredux wrote:I agree.

...that it will make for a much more interesting and varied list created by people who likely have a different perspective than those who normally post on shmups forums.

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