Shmups That Time Forgot

[DocHauser]

...an arbitrary scoring system that's going to make most people go: "XX Mission, huh? Oh, wait. One star? I won't even bother." That defeats the whole purpose of alerting people to games they might have missed out on.

Alerting people to games they might have missed is one good reason for doing it; mocking terrible games is another good reason.

[EllertMichael]

...an arbitrary scoring system that's going to make most people go: "XX Mission, huh? Oh, wait. One star? I won't even bother." That defeats the whole purpose of alerting people to games they might have missed out on.

Alerting people to games they might have missed is one good reason for doing it; mocking terrible games is another good reason.

All I'm saying is there's a reason the Racketboy Hidden Gems articles don't have a score under each game, and it's not because they are all "4 star games." Give the people information and let them decide for themselves. For example, you think 2 stars for Zero Wing is a "fair" score, I disagree.

I love the thread, Doc! It's a great idea and could grow to be a great resource. I hope you keep it up, but the scoring system isn't doing anyone any good if it's just going to make people immediately skip a game they might have enjoyed.
Otherwise it's not "Shmups That Time Forgot" it's "DocHauser Reviews Shmups That Time Forgot."

[nagwack]

You should look into Banshee for Amiga 1200, too

I think I'll be sticking to arcade/MAME games for the time being, as it's easier to record my own gameplay footage. If I do Amiga games, I suppose I can just nick someone else's gameplay footage.

You'd still be missing a great "shmup that time forgot"

[ExedExes]

I ran across Turtle Ship back in 1996 on a high school end-of-year trip in the hotel we were staying at. It was in a converted early 80s Nintendo cabinet (Popeye I think). The screen was really dark and I had no idea who the heck Philko was. I do notice that Sharp Image licensed it in the US. They seemed to have a knack at licensing obscure Korean games. Case in point: SunA's Rolling Thunder ripoff known as Rough Ranger; I played this one back in 1992 on vacation:

Gameplay (even 1CC'd): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HJwY02GtoM

Back to the subject, cool feature. Never knew Sega had some more shmups.

Are you gonna cover Konami's Lightning Fighters (known as Trigon in Japan)?

[DocHauser]

You should look into Banshee for Amiga 1200, too

I think I'll be sticking to arcade/MAME games for the time being, as it's easier to record my own gameplay footage. If I do Amiga games, I suppose I can just nick someone else's gameplay footage.

You'd still be missing a great "shmup that time forgot"

Oh, I've certainly played Banshee before, but it's a long time since I owned an Amiga, so my memory of it is a bit hazy...

[DocHauser]

STTF #9



Star Force (Tehkan, 1984)



This came a year before SNK's Alpha Mission, but it looks and plays quite like it, i.e. there are lots of tiles and letters and you're not entirely sure what they all do. You shoot tiles with letters on them, you shoot tiles with arrows on them, you shoot tiles with question marks that turn into smiley faces. You don't exactly know why you're doing it, but the tiles blow up when shot, so you might as well shoot them. (OK, there is actually a score system based on shooting the 'B' and 'b' tiles, which gives you an end-of-stage bonus.)

It plays well for the most part, though they could have put more effort into the end of level bosses. You get to the end of Stage 1 to find a floating tile with a large 'A' on it. Stage 2 has a floating tile with a large 'B' on it. Who needs giant robotic fish when you can have that, eh?

But there's a twist! And it's one that M. Night Shyamalan would be proud of. You get to the end of Stage 3 and, just when you're thinking 'OK, Big C, bring it on', you discover that it's a floating tile with a Gamma symbol on it, so all this time you've been fighting the Greek alphabet and not the Latin/Roman one. Hudson improved the formula with the Star Soldier series (and they also ported Star Force to the NES), so it's worth checking out as a forerunner to other classic games.

Rating: ***

(Note: it's not actually a twist if you're paying attention to the level info at the bottom of the screen.)

[Gunstar Green]

It never made much of a splash here to my knowledge but was pretty popular in Japan and was one of the stepping stones in early shmup evolution. In case anyone is wondering it was called Mega Force in the US though the NES port was still Star Force.

[DocHauser]

It's a fun game, for sure. I saw a YouTube clip which lasts about 3 and a half hours, but is only a portion of a much longer (17 hours!) run with a final score of 90 million.

There was an arcade sequel called Final Star Force, so I might check that out too.

[DocHauser]

STTF #10



Gulf Storm (Dooyong, 1991)



Dooyong aren't exactly highly regarded among shmup developers, but their games usually have a certain amount of charm and are at least playable. I particularly like Flying Tiger, while R-Shark could've been a contender if it weren't for the insane amount of bullet-wobbling in that game.

Anyway, Gulf Storm is one of their early efforts, and it depicts a terrifyingly realistic picture of the Gulf War. You know, the one where people fought on jet skis. Yeah, jet skis motherfucker!

Because I'm a loser, I actually googled 'Gulf war jet skis' and, lo and behold, there was a hit! Some pdf file from the 'National Defense University' from 2009, which contains the genuine quote: "in future Gulf warfare, the Iranians could recruit and train a suicide bomber cadre for explosive-laden small craft and jet skis." Maybe they got the idea from playing Gulf Storm. In which case, Dooyong will no doubt be tried for crimes against humanity.

As for, y'know, the actual game...it's alright. The 6 stages are pretty undemanding and the difficulty curve is more of a gentle slope. It should be an easy 1cc if anyone wants one. The boss bullet patterns - even on the final boss - are basic and predictable. It's fine for a quick 20 minute playthrough, but it won't provide much in the way of long-term challenge or enjoyment...

Rating: **

[DocHauser]

Just to make up the numbers, I thought it might be an idea to include some obscure games that I haven't been able to play yet, but I have found some info on...

STTF #11



TRL: The Rail Loaders (PS1, Soft Action, 1999)



It's a 2D rail shooter from Korean developers Soft Action. You control a train, so you're literally on rails. Except for the boss fights, when your train sprouts wings and is able to fly. It's a two player game, so if you don't have a partner, then you get to play with an AI controlled character.

It all looks a bit slow, really. I did just see a copy sell on eBay for $30, so clearly there are people out there who want to pay money for it...