The Joys of Collecting Shooters

[MrPopo]

I don't play enough Shmups to name a top 5, as that is half my collection. So as a top 3, let's go with Ikaruga, Blazing Lazers, and Castle of Shikigami III.

[Bootaaay]

I was never a huge fan of shooters as a kid, i'd played the classics like Raiden, Raptor, ThunderForce & R-Type and while I enjoyed them, I wouldn't say I ever considered the genre among my favourites - a few years back I bought Mushihime-sama for the PS2 and was wowed by the crazy, intricate, mesmerizing and unrelenting Cave style bullet-patterns, but I totally sucked at the game and needed some help. Through the shmups.com forums I found strategy guides and learned how to play the game properly and play for score, after that collecting shooters became somewhat of an addiction - I started with the other Cave PS2 shooters, then as I was already in the progress of filling out my SEGA collection I moved on to Saturn, then Dreamcast and eventually Megadrive/MegaCD/32x shooters. Now i've got a pretty huge collection, and while I don't have the time to devote to them all, I like having a veritable arcade of the best console shooters have to offer hooked up to my telly :p

I generally tend to focus seriousley on one shooter at a time, attempting to 1cc my way through the game and play for score, but I also play a fair few others just for fun - here's the 5 i've been playing the most recently;

1. Progear - mame on PSP
2. Mushihime-sama - PS2
3. Battle Garegga - Saturn
4. Cotton Boomerang - Saturn
5. Kolibri - 32x

And my all time favourites;

1. Mushihime-sama - ps2
2. Battle Garegga - Saturn
3. Soukyugurentai - Saturn
4. Guwange - mame
5. Ketsui Death Label - DS

[lost_within]

my shooters are just...everywhere, on a harddrive, on a mame pc, sega saturn, dreamcast,wii,gamecube...i mean its nuts.

But what i hate is the fact that i love playing REAL copies of games on their real console. Recently i dropped over 200$ for a copy of radiant silvergun...thats just nuts! I dont mind the 50-60$ shooters...thats a new game for the 360,wii, or ps3. 80-90 not bad, but 200. Maybe im nuts, i love shooters...maybe my favorite part is not knowing when ill buy another one sense they cost so much lol.

[LoneCynic]

I stopped by the post office today to pick up a parcel that had to be signed for apparantly. It was my copy of Shooting Love 200X for Xbox 360. As I opened the package and looked at the screen shots on the back side, it dawned on me that there is another layer of collecting shooters that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Resell value, most shooters not only maintain value if kept in mint condition, but actually appreciate over time. While I do not intend to ever sell off my collection, it is always nice to know that they are almost always worth something, unlike your run of the mill FPS or sports title.

For now, I am off to give Trizeal and Exzeal a go. I will return with impressions and further thoughts on the topic at a later time. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion thus far.

[dlmvii]

I stopped by the post office today to pick up a parcel that had to be signed for apparantly. It was my copy of Shooting Love 200X for Xbox 360. As I opened the package and looked at the screen shots on the back side, it dawned on me that there is another layer of collecting shooters that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Resell value, most shooters not only maintain value if kept in mint condition, but actually appreciate over time. While I do not intend to ever sell off my collection, it is always nice to know that they are almost always worth something, unlike your run of the mill FPS or sports title.

For now, I am off to give Trizeal and Exzeal a go. I will return with impressions and further thoughts on the topic at a later time. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion thus far.

Unfortunately, this doesnt seem to hold true for any American released shooters. In fact, I think the only shooter released here that has appreciated (or at least kept most of) it's value is ikaruga for the gamecube. Most offerings are very inexpensive here.

[lost_within]

I stopped by the post office today to pick up a parcel that had to be signed for apparantly. It was my copy of Shooting Love 200X for Xbox 360. As I opened the package and looked at the screen shots on the back side, it dawned on me that there is another layer of collecting shooters that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Resell value, most shooters not only maintain value if kept in mint condition, but actually appreciate over time. While I do not intend to ever sell off my collection, it is always nice to know that they are almost always worth something, unlike your run of the mill FPS or sports title.

For now, I am off to give Trizeal and Exzeal a go. I will return with impressions and further thoughts on the topic at a later time. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion thus far.

Unfortunately, this doesnt seem to hold true for any American released shooters. In fact, I think the only shooter released here that has appreciated (or at least kept most of) it's value is ikaruga for the gamecube. Most offerings are very inexpensive here.

This is very true, and even then ikaruga in america isnt worth nearly as much as the dreamcast version from japan. No america title seems to ever really hold value unless its one of the limited games to some nature. As in a limited edition mario 64, something to that nature. Shooters...only ones that hold value are from japan.

[Japhei]

I stopped by the post office today to pick up a parcel that had to be signed for apparantly. It was my copy of Shooting Love 200X for Xbox 360. As I opened the package and looked at the screen shots on the back side, it dawned on me that there is another layer of collecting shooters that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Resell value, most shooters not only maintain value if kept in mint condition, but actually appreciate over time. While I do not intend to ever sell off my collection, it is always nice to know that they are almost always worth something, unlike your run of the mill FPS or sports title.

For now, I am off to give Trizeal and Exzeal a go. I will return with impressions and further thoughts on the topic at a later time. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion thus far.

Unfortunately, this doesnt seem to hold true for any American released shooters. In fact, I think the only shooter released here that has appreciated (or at least kept most of) it's value is ikaruga for the gamecube. Most offerings are very inexpensive here.

This is very true, and even then ikaruga in america isnt worth nearly as much as the dreamcast version from japan. No america title seems to ever really hold value unless its one of the limited games to some nature. As in a limited edition mario 64, something to that nature. Shooters...only ones that hold value are from japan.

The reason is that there is a market for those games in Japan and we are taking away from that by importing the game.

I always find it a marvel when I meet someone with imported games. It is not often you find someone who does.

[LoneCynic]

Well, I meant that the imports were the ones that held value. I enjoy playing the shooters as much as I enjoy collecting them. It seems to be a dying genre, and those of us who collect are holding on and keeping it somewhat viable, if only by importing. Shooters are one of the only classic style games where playing for the purpose of a high score and repetitive playing and memorization to increase your skills still holds a value. In an era where first person shooters, recycled sports title and casual games reign supreme, these rare gems still shine as a becon to the past for those of us who care to take notice.