Shmup suggestions

[noiseredux]

alright, time to come clean guys...

for whatever reason no matter how many times I try -- my brain WILL NOT remember which is horizontal and which is vertical. It's like I have a learning disorder on those 2 words. Anyway... which one is Gradius and which one is Ikaruga?

[swiftzx]

alright, time to come clean guys...

for whatever reason no matter how many times I try -- my brain WILL NOT remember which is horizontal and which is vertical. It's like I have a learning disorder on those 2 words. Anyway... which one is Gradius and which one is Ikaruga?

Ikaruga- vertical
Gradius- horizontal

[Gamerforlife]

alright, time to come clean guys...

for whatever reason no matter how many times I try -- my brain WILL NOT remember which is horizontal and which is vertical. It's like I have a learning disorder on those 2 words. Anyway... which one is Gradius and which one is Ikaruga?

Try thinking of the word horizon or picturing a horizon in your mind. That should make you think, horizontal line

I have to use little tricks like that all the time to remember stuff. Thank god for mnemonics

[noiseredux]

Try thinking of the word horizon or picturing a horizon in your mind. That should make you think, horizontal line

OMG, that's a good one. Thanks! That should I help. I do the same with other words too. I'm very visual in my thinking and memory. Haha. Thanks man!

[Octopod]

It's like stalagmite and stalactite. Stalagmite has a "G" in it like ground and stalactite has a "C" in it like ceiling. Well it is kind of like that anyway.

[stickem]

x2 for death smiles. only thing i hate is having to stretch the video to fit the screen.

Why would you want to stretch the video?

so i can see what's going on. my 360 is hooked up to a 42in plasma, and with the borders around that game it was like playing on a 19 in.

[christoph]

when the hell are us PS3 users going to get some epic shmups gdi

[MrPopo]

x2 for death smiles. only thing i hate is having to stretch the video to fit the screen.

Why would you want to stretch the video?

so i can see what's going on. my 360 is hooked up to a 42in plasma, and with the borders around that game it was like playing on a 19 in.

If you're playing arcade mode then you should just be able to use the zoom feature in the settings of Deathsmiles to increase the playing area. If playing 360 mode it should take up the whole screen (minus the bars on the side, of course, since the game is 4:3).

[crux]

For the record, Ikaruga practically is a hori. It plays vertically, but it caters to memorization and methodical gameplay exactly like horis are known for.

The Racketboy shooter articles are great, but they're so widely encompassing that some games in the list vastly outrank others in the same list. The Dreamcast article, for instance, puts Last Hope and Trizeal and Radilgy in with gems like Ikaruga, Mars Matrix, Zero Gunner 2, and Under Defeat. The former three titles don't even stand in the shadows of the latter games.

As for Dreamcast and Saturn, if you had to start with any one game, and want bullet hell heaven (har har), I'd start with DoDonPachi. The PlayStation port is generally better, but I enjoy the Saturn port just fine (plus the Saturn port allows the ship to be selected without going to the options). It's a great title and one of Cave's first examples of brilliance.

Despite what I said about Ikaruga playing like a hori, it's anything but dull. It may not cater to your tastes if you don't enjoy memorization, but nonetheless I rank it among the best games ever made, in any genre. It's an utterly amazing title.

As far as graphics are concerned, Under Defeat would be a great choice. The explosions are awesome, and it's a great title besides. Batsugun and Battle Garegga are amazing Saturn verts, along with Soukyugurentai as well. And that's just a start.

[Ack]

The Racketboy shooter articles are great, but they're so widely encompassing that some games in the list vastly outrank others in the same list. The Dreamcast article, for instance, puts Last Hope and Trizeal and Radilgy in with gems like Ikaruga, Mars Matrix, Zero Gunner 2, and Under Defeat. The former three titles don't even stand in the shadows of the latter games.

Of course we do. Those lists are meant to encompass complete genres for a console, so someone with little knowledge can read through it for a starting point on which to research further for their collection. While we do at least attempt to put them in an order based on quality, it tends to get us in trouble for two reasons: 1. Personal opinions will lead to different people saying different games are better, and 2. We don't have the time or the resources to play everything we write about. And we definitely don't have the language background.

Based on my discussions with Racket about the site's focus, I feel we have a couple of major goals:

1. Present information for those with little knowledge who are interested in a topic, be it just getting into a specific console, wondering what a specific genre holds, taking a first look at retrogaming and methods for playing those games. While many of us know a lot about games, especially our favorite topics, we certainly will all have areas we know little about. For instance, I know next to nothing about racing games. But articles on this site can give me a starting point to conduct further research.

2. Present information in a format that will allow collectors on the go to get a quick synopsis, such as an individual who comes across a game in the wild and wonders what it is, so he checks Racketboy.com on his iPhone before making a decision. Hence why most of our articles are composed of a series of quick blurbs on individual titles in a larger list.

3. Help jar the memory of gamers who want to find those childhood games they used to play by giving them a quick flash. How many of you guys have read an article here that reminded you of a game you hadn't played or even thought about in years? Did it make you want to go back and play it some more?

But not everyone needs said generalist knowledge. At that point it's time to either start looking into specialist websites like shmups.com or Shoryuken.com, or you join our forums(or even better, do both). I feel the forums is where the real knowledge base of this website comes into play, and I'm always happy when new members join up and share their knowledge because it feeds the community. Guys like crux, JT, MrPopo, Gamerforlife, Hobie-wan, noiseredux, ZeroAX, and many more can provide perspectives on things I've never even dreamed of.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. This has been something on my mind lately.