The Joys of Collecting Shooters

[LoneCynic]

Friends, what is it about these games that makes collecting them so intriguing and important to us? Is it the scarcity of their availability, the retro style gameplay that we grew up with invoking a longed for feeling of nostalgia, or is it just being a part of a niche group of gamers that appreciates the art form and frenzied pace of the games that pushes us forward? Perhaps the thrill of the hunt consumes us, or the deniable, yet present, feeling of superiority one feels from realizing the depth of the games beyond what the casual gamer sees. Weither it be a scarce domestic release, or a treasured import title, maybe it is having something undeniably awesome and exclusive that not many other gamers have or take notice of is the driving force..

For most of us here, it is probably a varying blend of the above mixture, with each of us having our favorite sub-genres within the genre. Be it a preference for horizontal or vertical, classic or modern, bullet hell or traditional, sci-fi spaceships or anime themed avatars, surivival or score chasing, there is definately something for everyone who collects shooters.

This topic is an open discussion that I invite everyone to take part in if they wish to. Share your thoughts, tell us what you like the most about shooters, list your collection to gain recognition, or tell us the tale of when you played your very first shooter. I am very interested to see how the topic develops and changes course based on responses.

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To that end, I will start things off by explaining what drives my rabid collecting of shooter titles, followed by a brief story of the first shooter I ever played. I encourage you to bring your own experiences and focused interests to the table as well.

For me, I mainly prefer vertical shooters. When playing, there is a certain feeling of satisfaction that I get from surviving the intense, fast paced gameplay that these games offer. It is something that few games these days can invoke in me. Probably the closest comparison would be my love for the game Tetris. When the pieces start to drop like lead bricks during a heated versus match, and I am flipping them into place to make an astounding comeback, there is a rush there that few other games can match. Shooters are able to replicate that feeling in a single player environment, and that same rush is felt after narrowly evading a difficult bullet pattern, followed by finishing off a particularly difficult group of enemies or boss encounter.

I would say that is the main reason I collect shooters, although the various reasons mentioned in my very first paragraph of the intro above play a role in that as well. There is a certain bonus to playing the import shooters on Xbox Live, having your gamerscore for one on display in your played games list, and having people message you to ask what you're playing, and how you're playing it. Once I send them to youtube to check it out for themselves, so often I get responses to the effect of "Oh yeah, those games, I used to play those when I was a kid, damn man that looks awesome, I wish I could play that game too." Envy in others is a deceptive creature, one that can be weilded in two ways. I choose to tell them how they can get into collecting shooters too, and explain how much fun it is. The more support there is, the more we'll see produced and made available. Although results and choices may vary from person to person.

My very first shooter was ironically enough, also the very first video game I ever played. A Sega produced game by the title of Zaxxon for the Mattel Intellevision II console. My father introduced me to the game when I was about four years old. I chuckle to myself now and question if that being my first game ever had an impact on my gaming choices now. Zaxxon was, and still is, hard as nails. Having recently unlocked all the extra games and content on the Xbox 360's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection, I was surprised to find that the original arcade version of Zaxxon was among the unlockable games. What a nostalgic rush it was to be playing it again after all these years. Those defense walls still get me a little too often though, just like when I was a kid..

[andythebadass]

i really agree with you about the rush you recieve while playing a vertical shooter like playing tetris. i love tetris and still play it on my gameboy to this day. I dont collect shooters but i have enjoyed them immensely and play them a lot. In the past months I have lived some nostalgic moments with ikaruga on the 360, galaga on the nes and arcade, and einhander on the ps1. I love them all and will continue to play them a lot. Thanks for the great read and good comments that inspire my imagination.

[Flak Beard]

I love me some SHMUPs, but I mostly collect ones I can find on the cheap. Same goes for most of my games, as I try to stay under $20 a title with a few exceptions here and there. I'm currently working on collecting a large PS1 library, so I plan to get as many easily obtainable SHMUPs in the process. I picked up Gekioh not too long ago and I plan on getting Sol Divide here soon. I also have a Japanese copy of Einhander I need to finish. Yeah I know, shame on me.

[MrPopo]

I was never big into shooters as a youngin. I played Galaga those times I was on vacation and the hotel had a machine in the lobby, but I never owned any shooters for a home console. The first shooter I even really played much of was Zero Wing on an emulator, and that was to experience the game that led to the meme. And it wasn't bad. I figured out very quickly that homing shots are awesome, and after some save stating I managed to beat it. Something about flying around being an agent of destruction appealed to me. And when you got a max upgraded homing shot the game came down to avoiding the walls in the maze levels, since everything died so fast.

Then I found a torrent called "Ultimate SNES games", which included R-Type 3 and Gradius 3. I gave both a try, since they played like Zero Wing. I promptly got my ass kicked. I also found Parodius on there, which intruiged me, since the game was so wacky. I never played much of it, but I did make a point of getting the other two SNES games. I died a lot in them, but they amused me, so it was something fun to play every once in a while.

I think the next time I saw a shooter that intruiged me was when my roommate had Ikaruga on the Gamecube. I never played it myself, but I watched him and saw the polarity gameplay. At about the same time the bowling alley where I played DDR got one of those many-in-one cabs, and for the first week it was set on freeplay accidentally. So one of my friends got heavy into 1942. I tried it a few times after it was on money, but I was once again bad at it. But it felt like something I could do well in if I tried.

At this point I vaguely started looking into shooters when I would do my wikipedia crawls. So I learned a bit more about Gradius and R-Type, and shooters in general. When the VC hit I ended up picking up Gradius and enjoying it, though I couldn't get very far. I also picked up R-Type 3 and Gradius 3 when they hit, but I never played any of them very long. Shooters were like Contra: a fun game that I could see getting good at, but I had a bunch of RPGs to play instead.

Then I started coming here, and saw the massive amount of shooter love. And when I started getting consoles like the Turbografx I saw that shooters were some of the best games on the platform. So I now have a modest collection, including Ikaruga on the XBLA and Castle of Shikigami III on the Wii. I've pretty much put a halt to new retro purchases of shooters, as I still have a bunch to get through, and I find that I only play them when I'm looking for a change of pace over my current games (RPGs mostly).

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Im happy that people here are learning about writing in paragraphs but that was way to long still. Anyway, just do what you enjoy. I dont personally enjoy collecting shooters but hey, if you have fun with it theres no problem!

[brickiemart]

I too am a shooter enthusiast. I remember playing the classics back in the day of 8 bit gaming. But in those days I didn’t care so much about genres, but playing any game I could. I never cared if it was a shooter, RPG, whatever. The Genesis had some great shmups I loved and still have to this day including the Thunder Forces and (my favorite Genesis shmup) Elemental Master (best Genesis soundtrack?).

I still love gaming to this day, but have found I have less time to dedicate to the more immersive contemporary titles, like the Fables and Fallouts, so shooters take up a large portion of my gaming time. They are easy to play, usually have a basic learning curve, and can be completed in under an hour. I usually enjoy vertical ones most, but I won’t rule one out for being horizontal. To me the formula for a great shmup is, descent graphics (they can’t look like crap by the standards of its time), good control, consistent challenge, and good soundtrack. Soundtrack isn’t always necessary, but it can propel an average shooter to excellent.

I don’t have a massive collection of original copy shmups, but my strongest is probably my Turbo CD collection. I have a few burned games, but among my originals for that console are Gates and Lords of Thunder, Macross 2036, Cho Aniki, Cotton, Side Arms, and Side Arms Special (ok it seemed like more before I listed them).
Favorite shmups of the top of my head:
Elemental Master – Genesis
Kamui – PC
Espgaluda – PS2
Perfect Cherry Blossom – PC
Psyvariar 2 – Dreamcast
Side Arms – Turbografx/CD
Gates of Thunder – Turbo CD
Radiant Silvergun – Saturn

Favorite console for shmups? The Dreamcast for me. It doesn’t have a large number of shooters, but the ones it does have (in my opinion) come from an era when the typical shmup formula was wearing thin, so the developers had to be more creative to make an interesting game. Psyvariar, Ikaruga, Border Down, etc. all these games have something unique about them which help set them apart from the typical shoot/bomb shooter. To a non-shmup fan it may not seem like much, but once you have played several dozen Gradius and R-Type clones, something original is refreshing. Plus the nice Dreamcast graphics help too. The Turbo Duo and Saturn are close seconds.

[LoneCynic]

Awesome responses thus far guys, thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the read throughs. It is interesting to hear what games got you into the genre, because it is different for everyone.

This definately isn't a topic for the young with short attention spans, RyaNtheSlayA, I am sorry you felt it was too much to read. As far as me writing in paragraphs, I would only assume that anyone with halfway decent writing skills would do so. I honestly don't put the effort into forum posts that I would have done with a 20 page essay when I was in college, but I do attribute much of my writing ability to my time at the University. I'm 28 years old, so when I have something to say, I usually try to type it out concisely and in as much detail as possible. If it isn't interesting or informative in some way, then who will want to read it?

The internet is a great tool for the sharing of ideas and information. I try to get the most out of it, because I remember the times before it existed for use by the general public. Information on games and most forms of entertainment got around only by printed media or word of mouth. You can buy a new game now and within hours, find tons of information about it online, and within days, full walkthroughs and guides detailing all the secrets it has. There was a time when you'd have to wait for such information to turn up in magazines, or have a friend lucky enough to come upon it and tell you how to do it.

Anyway, back on topic, and back on target. This is a question to anyone, what shooters stand above the rest as your top five current favorites? Of course the answer to such a question can and will change often, but which five are the ones you play the most currently? Holding your attention and taking playtime above others, to remain in a steady rotation.

My current top five are these:

1. Raiden IV (Xbox 360 Import)
2. Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou: Black Label Extra (Xbox 360 Import)
3. R-Type Final (Playstation 2)
4. ESPGaluda (Playstation 2 Import)
5. Gradius 2 (Wii Virtual Console - Turbo Duo)

[Flak Beard]

My top 5 SHMUPs currently...

1 - Life Force (NES)
2 - DoDonPachi (MAME)
3 - Ikaruga (GCN)
4 - Parodius Da! (SNES)
5 - Triggerheart Exelica (XBLA)

Life Force has been my number one as long as I can remember. I play through it at least once a month or so.

[Japhei]

I am currently playing


PS2:

Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou
Espgaluda
Raiden 3
Psyvariar Complete Capture
Thunderforce VI
Mushihime Sama
Ibara

DC:

Border Down
Mars Matrix
Gigawing 2
Trigger Heart Exelica
Under Defeat
Ikaruga
Zero Gunner 2

Saturn:

Thunderforce V
Soukyugurentia


Xbox :

Psyvariar 2
Shikigami No Shiro Evo
Shikigami No Shiro 2

Xbox 360:

Raiden Fighters Aces
Raiden IV
Shikigami No Shiro 3
Shooting Love 200X
Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou Black Label Extra


Wii:

Illvelo
Karous

Neo Geo:

Strikers 1945 Plus
Blazing Star

Final Burn Alpha / Mame:

Guwange
Esprade
Dodonpachi
Pro Gear
Dragon Blaze
Strikers 1999
Battle Bakraid
Armed Police Batrider
Dimahoo


I know that is alot of shmups to be playing at once but that is what is in my current rotation. I play 1 cred then switch to another game and then repeat. I have alot of consoles and alot of games. I stay busy!

[Radiant Hero]

There is something about loving STGs that can't truly be explained to the casual gamer. To them it seems as if your turning your head to the past, but what is ironic is the fact that devoted fans grasp the depth and innovation it takes to keep the STG genre afloat, as oppose to assuming these games belong in bargain bins. There may possibly be something special in enjoying a "dying genre" that would in turn give it a niche cult status.
There is something rather absurd in understanding that there is other fans out there in the world. I only experience a sense of collectivity when I'm ranting on racketboy.com with other shooting fans.In all honesty I'm the only shooter fan I know in a physical sense. My own private idaho.

Playing Right Now:
Mushihimesama

Favorite:
Battle Garegga