Dreamcast SHMUPS

[aeon]

I think the best way to do it is by general reception and recognition. Alphabetical just doesn't work for stuff like this; you need to catch people's attention with the likes of Ikaruga and Border Down right off the bat. Shmups are one of the most objective genres as far as what makes one "good", so just go with whatever reviews you can find for now as well as common sense. You KNOW that Ikaruga should be at the top (even if you personally don't consider it to be the best shmup on the Dreamcast); ones that you consider to be about equal should just be ordered alphabetically until you get to one that you could easily reason is generally thought to be worse or less significant.

I concur. Ikaruga, Border Down, Mars Matrix and the like should be given top priority (as they already are). Titles like Triggerheart, Chaos Field, GigaWing, etc... should be listed either alphabetically or randomly, and not be given too much thought.

When I first picked up my Dreamcast I read the DC Shmups guide to find which games I would prefer based on my favored style. I really did not expect the guide to be a 'top 10' but rather something comprehensive. I needed to know which ones were bullet hells and which ones were classic verticals.

[Ack]

So you just want straight info on the game, and not our thoughts on the quality...hmmm, interesting. Do you think that would be an appropriate response to other genres as well? And if a game is generally considered awful, and I mean awful, should we warn the readers?

[aeon]

^ Most definitely an awful game should be labeled awful, and it also isn't that opinions don't matter on shmups- I just think that the emphasis should be on information. In fact when I look over the DC Shmups guide right now, I think it does what it needs to do really well.

I also think the guides at http://www.shmups.com do something very similar in that they are individually classified in their reviews, and this is naturally where you will find comprehensive information. I think racketboy has a better format though.

Also a note on other genres- I believe the same method can be applied. If you look at platformers on the Sega Genesis for instance: Sonic The Hedgehog (the series), Vectorman (the series) and Rocket Knight Adventure would be the types of games at the top of the list. Games like Bubsy, Kid Chameleon and Jurassic Park could be towards the center. It's not because they are of lesser quality per se (although the top games will always be time proven classics) it's just that once you play the undisputed favorites, you want an accurate description of something that is similar in style.

[itsmattxp]

Twinkle Star Sprites should be higher. Pretty unique in what it accomplishes.

[3style]

What about the difficulty level. Is there a list of easy/hard dc shmups? Easy in Border Down is a big difference compared to Trigger Heart for example.

[3style]

I think you still miss Guardian Wing and Last Hope has a brand new version called " Pink Bullets " !

Is Guardian Wing a mini game?

[gennss]

awful should include a warning i think.

[Beak]

No love for Radilgy and Karous? Those are my two favorite DC SHMUPS.

Anyway, I agree about the information bit: information 1. the game's difficulty 2. style (vertical/horizontal) 3. goals (more emphasis on just beating game or getting a high score through multipliers and so on) and 4. game's reception (reviews, opinions, etc).