16-bit Shmups appreciation thread

[scarper]

Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (SNES)

It even has a japanese announcer, who speaks real audible voice recordings.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

No love for Biohazard Battle on the Genesis? Loved the bug theme of that game.

[ExedExes]

Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (SNES)

It even has a japanese announcer, who speaks real audible voice recordings.

Plus the stages were inspired by other Konami games, such as Tokimeki Memorial, and my personal favorite, Lethal Enforcers (complete with "RELOAD!" voice from the game)

No love for Biohazard Battle on the Genesis? Loved the bug theme of that game.

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude I don't think many people here besides us know the greatness of that game. The powerup system and graphics were revolutionary for the time.... but we can keep that our secret

[MyNameIsVince]

I'm relatively new to the whole shmup genre. At the moment I only have a few so I'll list them below and give some brief thoughts on them:

Super R-Type (SNES) - 1st shmup I've owned. Hard as hell. I did manage to beat it on easy but after many, many continues. Decent graphics, music is good. Probably the most slowdown of any game I've played on the Super Nintendo though, although to me I see it as a plus because I use it to avoid enemy ambushes. I know some people hate it, but I love it.

Gradius III (SNES) - My first Gradius game. I got confused early on by the power up system.....still not exactly down with it, but whatever, it gets the job done if you are patient (which in many cases I'm not). I've gotten past the halfway point of the game (to the stage where it's really fast as shit scrolling and I have to watch myself not hitting barriers), and to me not nearly as much slowdown as everyone claims. Certainly less than Super R-Type thus far. The music I don't care for as much as Super R-Type but graphics are ok. Not my favorite, but eh, for 5 bucks, can't go wrong too much.

U.N. Squadron (SNES) - At first, I did not like this game because I died often, mostly due to not utilizing the buying system very well in the game. But....I knew I had to sleep on it. So I did. Did much more playing on it, and now I really like this game. I love the setting (a shooter that's not in space? Gee, let me faint...), the graphics are decent for an early SNES game. The music is awesome and little slowdown, which helps. This could be my favorite SNES shooter at the moment.

Super Nova (SNES) - My most recent one. Before getting it, I watched footage of it on Youtube, along with Darius Twin, and of course I found out Super Nova was the sequel that got renamed over here. Why? I don't know. Anyway, the music is very moody, which I like, and some of the backgrounds are kinda cool looking. However, this game is HARD. Like screaming at the TV after you hit your toe on a bed post HARD. I've only gotten to stage E. The stage selecting is a nice choice. Managed to get it for cheap, for it being an uncommon game.

Iridion 2 (GBA, which I thank Racketboy for, hint hint...) - yep. Had to get this because you guys talked about it in the Game Boy Advance guides. So I did. So worth it. Graphics are amazing on it for being a handheld that isn't a DS or PSP. The weapon system is actually pretty neat, and unlike other shmups, you get A LIFE BAR! The music is phenomenal, some of the best on the GBA. I do find it strange that this game that came out in 2003 still used passwords for progress. Luckily they aren't 46 digit monstrosities of the NES era, just 5 digits. Oh yeah and neat stuff to unlock too. Got it for cheeeeaaaap too.

So there you have it. My thoughts on shmups from the 16 bit era that I have. Yes I include Iridion 2 because the GBA is just a more powerful SNES so I feel it belongs in the same discussion. It's also very odd to think that prior to this, my only other shmup experience was actually playing Solar Striker on the original Game Boy, which happened to be my uncle's at the time. It was also one of the very first GB experiences of my life so that was kinda odd, but cool.

[greg]

No love for Biohazard Battle on the Genesis? Loved the bug theme of that game.

Another user on here, Specineff (although I don't think he posts on here anymore) gave Biohazard Battle to me. For some reason, the game creeps him out to the point that it scares him. He's not even sure why. I haven't spent much time on it (couldn't get past the 1st level), but he said later levels get even creepier. I guess it's the whole organic feel to it that bugs him.

My favorite is U.N. Squadron/Area 88. This game was my favorite game to play in the arcades for a long time, and it still is my favorite shmup of all time. I first played it at a game arcade next door to a movie theater, and I made a point of watching all movies at that theater just to play U.N. Squadron. Heck, I even went to see the dumb movie Dick Tracy twice just so I could play this game at that arcade. (A bit too far to ride my bike to, so I needed a justification to have Mom drive me there. It was the same arcade where I later also played Metal Slug for the first. ) This was back in 1990 or so. Playing the U.N. Squadron game was one of the things that re-introduced me into Japanese animation. When I started getting back into the anime genre in high school in the early 90s and as I began to rent anime videos at my local video store, I came across a video named Area 88 and I recognized it immediately as what I knew the U.N. Squadron game to be.

When I graduated high school, I decided to get a game console for myself as a graduation gift. When deciding whether to get a Genesis or a SNES, U.N. Squadron was one of the main reasons why I decided on the SNES. Then later in college, my cousin gave me his spare Genesis as a hand-me-down. I never did get into the Genesis as much as the SNES, though.

Say, does the Japanese import version of M.U.S.H.A. (Musha Aleste) fetch a lower price than the North American version?

[dunpeal2064]

Both releases of MUSHA fetch about the same amount now. I paid about $90 for my Jp MD copy, CIB. it was cheaper than any CIB US copies at the time, but only by like $10.

Bio-Hazzard Battle is a pretty sweet game. I love any shmup on a console that actually has simultaneous co-op. This is one case where the US name makes so much more sense than the original MD release. What the hell does Crying have to do with this game?

This thread made me realize that I do not know where 16-bit shooters end, as far as arcade boards go. Around what year did 16 bit shooters end? Is Batsugun 16 bit?

[greg]

Bio-Hazzard Battle is a pretty sweet game. I love any shmup on a console that actually has simultaneous co-op. This is one case where the US name makes so much more sense than the original MD release. What the hell does Crying have to do with this game?

That's right--you're also on the Shmups Forum. Occasionally I'd take out Bio Hazard Battle to tease Spec. His being freaked out by the game is amusing, but then again, I used to be scared to death of Mr. Peanut when I was a kid. Different things affect different people's senses differently.

You're right about "Crying" being a weird name for a game. I didn't know the Japanese name for Bio Hazard Battle until I saw it in the Old Gamers vol.4 book.