What shmup are you playing now?

[skate323k137]

Got in some deathsmiles last night, looking to buy espgaluda 2 and akai katana soon since I finally got a good adaptor to use my PS2 arcade sticks on my 360. My 360's been sitting on a shelf neglected since I purchased it, because I didn't have an arcade stick for it, and I have way too many sticks to want to buy or build more. This is what I got after consulting the shmups forum:

http://etokki.com/Xtokki360

Flawless conversion w/o the need for a piggybacked "legit" 360 controller like other adaptors. Highly recommended.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

After picking up Deathsmiles for $9 new @ newegg, I've decided to pick up a new controller to go with my shmup sessions. I'm happy with my purchase of the Versus Controller, the 8-way, micro switch activated joystick and face buttons provide a miniature arcade stick experience in the palm of your hands! I've been having a blast with Raiden Fighters Ace lately thanks to it.

The buttons are a little paper thin for my liking and the weight of the controller is on the lighter side, but at only $15 at Gamestop I'm not going to complain. I've test the controller out on KoFXIII and pulling off hadoken and shoryuken motions are extremely easy (if you've played with the Neo Geo pocket, then you'll have an idea of how the joystick feels here); diagonal inputs are also easily recognized.

So if you already have a standard arcade stick (or are on a tighter budget), I feel this little controller makes the perfect shmup companion

[foxhound1022]

Mars Matrix and Giga Wing. Love me some DC shmuppage.

Mars Matrix is hard as hell, but with so much action, I don't get as frustrated with deaths.

[ZenErik]

Mars Matrix is one of the best shmups of all time. In my amateur opinion.

[foxhound1022]

Yeah, it's definitely one of my favorites, in my short time of playing shmups. I only recently got into them a few months ago, but I am building a solid appreciation for them now.

[mjmjr25]

Mars Matrix would be a great test case for shmup appreciation.

First few times you play it, you'll likely hate it. Balls hard and scoring is confusing.

But it just absolutely grows on you if you give it time.

I've got the first 3 levels patterned pretty well and coast relatively easily. Stage 4 kicks up a notch. I've yet to see stage 5.

[foxhound1022]

Yeah, I still have no idea how scoring works; I have noticed if you destroy larger enemies quickly, more appear in rapid succession than normal.

@Mike - What did you mean about doing the shot “properly”?

[ZenErik]

I've seen stage 5. Just took at least 3 credits... I need to play shmups again.

The shop system in the DC version is fun too. So you can't just credit feed and "beat" the game THAT easily.

[mjmjr25]

The first 20 runs I had on that game, I never realized you could up a power shot, which in MM is huge, it acts like a mini-bomb as far as effect. So I was playing w/single shot and bomb only. Adding the charged shot was huge.

[foxhound1022]

You mean the Black Hole Bomb? I noticed if you hold it, and collect enemy fire, but release it before the bomb, it'll scatter in whichever direction you collected the bulk of it.

I've made a habit of pressing all the buttons when I play just to see what they do.

EDIT: Disregard what I said, you meant the Piercing Shot.