Shmups That Time Forgot

[dunpeal2064]

Dayum, Top 10 is impressive. Grats to Mike! I could never get near 2.5m in Under Defeat, game is tough as heck! (Especially with me sucking at non-bullet hell)

So yeah, looks like you can't go wrong either way Oxymoron. Get both, but get the first based on whether you want something a little more traditional, while still being pretty manic (Under Defeat), or something full of bullets and crazy scoring systems (Ketsui).

[DocHauser]

This gets a brief mention in the Undiscovered Shmups article, but there's not much info about it, so...

Sideline (PC-DOS, Union Systems/EMAG Software, 1996)

A long-lost PC shmup, seemingly developed in Taiwan, which also got a European release, but...only in Poland.

Anyway, thanks to some sterling detective work by folks over on shmups forum, a demo version was unearthed, and eventually a full version. No links for the full version, but you can check out the demo if you go to the thread...

Heads-up! The original producer of the game was tracked down and he gave us permission to distribute the game's full version, on the condition that no profit is made from it. So now everybody can enjoy it.

Nice work! Everyone should check this out now. It can be a bit tricky to get it up and running, but the guide on your site should make it fairly straightforward...

[noiseredux]

wow, that's amazing Ghegs! Will definitely have to download Sideline.

Thanks!

[dunpeal2064]

I've been meaning to download this, but I am scared of DOSbox. lol. Once I get set on making something work, I can't stop, and I've read (in the shmups thread on this game) that DOSbox can be a pain if you've never worked with it before.

So, someone let me know how it goes Game looks fun!

[ExedExes]

DOSBox was a little confusing to me at first, but it's absolutely essential if you have disks and disks (FLOPPY disks) of old DOS games like I have. I bought so many complete Apogee titles back in the day that DOSBox is something I'd really need. I can play my full copies of shmups like Major Stryker and Raptor with no problem. Plus, GOG.com has their DOS games with DOSBox pre-loaded on all of them.

If you set up a .conf file, DOSBox automatically loads with all the commands pre-entered so there's no guesswork. Mine goes something like this:

MOUNT C: C:\OLDGAMES
C:

That's it. The MOUNT command will point to where all my DOS games that aren't from GOG.com are stored and all I have to do from there is select the game directory (cd major for Major Stryker for example) and I'm off. Plus, if a game is running too fast, you can change the clock speed (One Must Fall 2097 comes to mind).

It's not that bad. This shmup that just got released I could grab and play right away.

[Ghegs]

the guide on your site should make it fairly straightforward...

Hopefully so, especially now that I fixed a rather embarrassing omission from it. If anybody has troubles getting the game working, don't hesitate to ask.

[DocHauser]

Been a while since I did one of these...

STTF #22

Stargunner



http://youtu.be/eG0CT74ceZ4

This has been freeware for a while now; 3D Realms made it available on their website back in 2005. It was recently added to Good Old Games, where it's also free, so it should now be easier to run it on modern systems.

http://www.gog.com/game/stargunner

This probably hasn't been completely forgotten about, as you usually see it mentioned in the same breath as Tyrian and Raptor; in order words, it's a Euroshmup. Yay! This is a horizontal scroller, though, so there are also similarities with Project X on the Amiga. Double yay!

Before you get to start a credit you're thrown into the shop screen and presented with a bunch of stuff, most of which you can't afford. There's a certain amount of trial and error to start off with, as you don't know which weapons are going to be effective and which are going to be next to useless. There's also the issue that some add-ons will add significant inertia to your movement. Ah, inertia, the bane of the Euroshmupper.

Graphics are ok for the time, with lots of explosions and shrapnel flying around the screen, but enemy design is a bit unimaginative. Level design isn't particularly interesting either; stages are longer than they need to be and can get repetitive, e.g. the obligatory asteroid section in the second stage, which goes on for way too long. There are quite a few stages though (over 30!) so if you stick with it, you'll eventually see some variety.

Because of the large number of stages, it's not the type of game that you can really try and complete in a single sitting or 1CC, so it probably won't appeal to fans of arcade or bullet hell shmups, but it's ok; there are a lot of secrets throughout the stages, and you can spend a fair while trying out all the different weapon combos. If you really want a good horizontal-scrolling DOS shmup then Sideline may have more appeal for modern shmup fans...

[cha cha]

Does Lords of Thunder count as a shmup that time forgot? Because god I can't stop playing this game.

I'm actually not certain if ity is 'popular', since collector's value on games can be driven by so many other things beyond playability and fandom.

[dsheinem]

Does Lords of Thunder count as a shmup that time forgot? Because god I can't stop playing this game.

I'm actually not certain if ity is 'popular', since collector's value on games can be driven by so many other things beyond playability and fandom.

I'd say no: it is quite well known amongst people who play shmups. Most of these games are not.