Shmups That Time Forgot

[DocHauser]

The next bunch all get a mention in the PS1 Shmups Library article, though you have to scroll down pretty far and I'm guessing not too many people have played them...







Airgrave (PS1, Santos 1996)

http://youtu.be/PMfRbWNux5E

(Classic YouTube Reviewer: "There's bad guys causing trouble and you've got to shoot them up, which will cause them to explode." Yeah, thanks for that.)

Stahlfeder (PS1, Santos 1996)

http://youtu.be/s-U6dCNJZ8Q

Two-Tenkaku (PS1, Sony Music Entertainment Incorporated 1995)

http://youtu.be/C7K1Ds7Rioo

All three games look and play fairly alike - they're all vertizontals (everyone's favourite!) and they're all a bit rough around the edges. Visually, they look a bit like Giga Wing, only uglier. And Giga Wing isn't exactly the prettiest game to start with...

Stahlfeder is probably the most straightforward in terms of gameplay. You've got your basic spread fire, laser, plus bomb; the scoring system isn't too sophisticated, and it's also fairly easy. There are some ugly polygonal graphics - check out the boss at 9 minutes in the video, which I'm pretty sure is directly copied from the Stage 1 boss in Brave Blade. Maybe they thought that, since hardly any plays Brave Blade, no-one would notice.

Airgrave adds a lock-on attack similar to Soukyugurentai, although it's not particularly well implemented and seems a bit fiddly to use. If you do get the hang on it, though, it seems to add a bit more in the way of scoring potential than Stahlfeder, so there is that.

Two-Tenkaku probably has the most to offer in terms of visuals - it's still ugly, but it has a wacky mix of enemies and backgrounds that are a bit more original than the usual mix of planes and tanks. Plus, there are some heroically bad FMV sequences between levels to keep you entertained. One of the later bosses kinda reminded me of something from Jamestown, only uglier, obviously. It does make the mistake that vertizontals sometimes do with bullet patterns; i.e. the boss takes up half the screen and its bullet patterns start from near the bottom of the screen, giving you very little time to see what's coming. e.g. the boss at 4 minutes in the clip. Also, while you can have a normal shot button and a 'rapid' button, the rapid button is pretty useless, as it only fires a burst of 5 normal shots. So you have to mash whichever button you decide to use...

So, they're all fairly generic and don't have too much to offer, but I'd say they're mediocre rather than really terrible. If you're going for one I'd say pick AirGrave if you want a bit more scoring depth (relatively speaking); pick Stahlfeder if you just want a playable Raiden-esque game which is pretty easy to blast through; or pick Two-Tenkaku if you want some slightly more original visuals while you're playing what mainly amounts to the same game.

If you're keen on tracking down the actual discs...none of them are particularly cheap. I did see copies of Stahlfeder on sale in Akihabara for about $25-30, but it seems to go for even more on eBay. I'm not sure it's worth it...

[DocHauser]

Hmm, got my dates mixed up a bit. Brave Blade wasn't actually released at the time that Stahlfeder came out. So those bosses...

Brave Blade (1:40 - 2:05)

http://youtu.be/i74RwyteyGA

Stahlfeder (8:20 - 9:10)

http://youtu.be/s-U6dCNJZ8Q

Slightly similar, I suppose, but not quite as much as I originally thought. So I guess Santos are off the hook on that one.

[DocHauser]

STTF #20



Valtric (NMK/Jaleco, 1986)

http://youtu.be/mHyI26xWyy0

Purists might not consider this a true shmup, as it has push-scroll rather than forced scrolling. Anyway, I was looking at an old shmups forum thread that had a chart from a Japanese website listing hardest games to 1cc. Valtric was right up near the top, one place above a 1cc of both loops of Gunbird 2. (Yes, there are a few debatable entries in this list.)

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11373

You control a tank that fires a normal laser, plus you have a fixed crosshair in front of you that lobs a bomb. And you can jump, but your jumps are limited. So, you start a credit, notice that there are only 4 levels and think, 'Pff, how hard can it be?' Half an hour later you have your answer, as you still haven't beaten the first stage.

There's a lot going on on-screen; tons of enemies and projectiles. There are a few other unusual features, e.g. a warp item that sends you to the end of the level, only to give you a timer; if you don't beat the boss before the time runs out (and I'm not actually sure if that's possible) then it sends you back to the area where you warped from. The damage you did to the boss during the warp will still be there once you reach him again, though. I'm not actually sure what the point of that is - if you're playing for score, then presumably you'll need to warp back and forward in each level just to get the extra points from playing certain sections over again. Also, because of the push-scroll, you can sit in certain areas just killing smaller enemies, which is exactly what this guy does in his playthrough:

http://youtu.be/9ZPEMscZ_Lg

Conclusion: I'm not sure it's a game you want to play for score. Survival is still a challenge, of course, and I reckon the most entertaining way to play is to charge through the level, jumping over walls and not stopping for anything. So a speed run would probably be better to watch than a score run.

One thing I'm not too keen on is that the boss can only be damaged by the bomb attack, and lining up the crosshair just to hit every turret is a bit of a pain. I'd have preferred a Rayforce-style lock-on, where you could sweep the crosshair across and pick off several at once. Maybe there should be a remake. With forced-scrolling and lock-on multipliers. Yeah.

Since I haven't beaten Stage 1 yet, I can't really offer a proper rating, so you'll have to play it for yourself and find out...

Rating: ?

[ExedExes]

Venturing into NMK/Jaleco territory, I wouldn't be surprised if Argus would be an upcoming title on your list. Where landing after clearing each stage is part of the experience!

[DocHauser]

I've played Argus...don't remember it being too remarkable or anything, but maybe I'll check it out again.

Will get round to some more games in a bit, but in the meantime, I was curious about all the Space Invaders clones from the late 70s/early 80s. Like, how come people didn't get sued for this?

Space Attack (Sega, 1979)



Space Fever (Nintendo, 1979)



Space Fighter Mark II (Data East, 1979)



Space Intruder (Shoei, 1980)



Space King/Space King 2 (Leijac/Konami, 1978/1979)



Space Stranger/Space Stranger 2 (Yachiyo Electronics, 1978/1979)

Don't think we need any more pictures. You already know what it looks like.

Space King was apparently Konami's first arcade game - seems weird to think that the creators of some of the most original and long-lasting game series had such an ignominious beginning. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, I suppose.

There was an update of Nintendo's Space Fever called Space Fever High Splitter, which did something slightly different in that you had to shoot the aliens in the middle or else they split into two smaller aliens.

Konami did eventually bring a new twist to the formula later, with games like Tactician and The End, which are covered in this HG101 article. Check 'em out:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/konami ... ooters.htm

[dsheinem]

I've played Argus...don't remember it being too remarkable or anything, but maybe I'll check it out again.

Will get round to some more games in a bit, but in the meantime, I was curious about all the Space Invaders clones from the late 70s/early 80s. Like, how come people didn't get sued for this?

Space Attack (Sega, 1979)



Space Fever (Nintendo, 1979)



Space Fighter Mark II (Data East, 1979)



Space Intruder (Shoei, 1980)



Space King/Space King 2 (Leijac/Konami, 1978/1979)



Space Stranger/Space Stranger 2 (Yachiyo Electronics, 1978/1979)

Don't think we need any more pictures. You already know what it looks like.

Space King was apparently Konami's first arcade game - seems weird to think that the creators of some of the most original and long-lasting game series had such an ignominious beginning. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, I suppose.

There was an update of Nintendo's Space Fever called Space Fever High Splitter, which did something slightly different in that you had to shoot the aliens in the middle or else they split into two smaller aliens.

Konami did eventually bring a new twist to the formula later, with games like Tactician and The End, which are covered in this HG101 article. Check 'em out:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/konami ... ooters.htm

awesome stuff.

I'd love to read an in depth article about all the Space Invaders clones...

[prfsnl_gmr]

awesome stuff.

I'd love to read an in depth article about all the Space Invaders clones...

I agree. The Sega and Nintendo ones don't look too bad...but Space Intruder and - particularly - Space King are shameless.

[AppleQueso]

Will get round to some more games in a bit, but in the meantime, I was curious about all the Space Invaders clones from the late 70s/early 80s. Like, how come people didn't get sued for this?

I think it was just standard practice back then. See a popular game? Just clone it.

It's why Atari actually bothering to license the title was such a big deal.

[Gunstar Green]

Yeah, video games were a new thing. Nobody really knew how to handle them legally until a few lawsuits eventually did set the stage.

I believe software code was copyright as literature. As long as you wrote your own code that was different it didn't matter if what you had on the screen looked and played exactly the same as another game.

Ms. Pac-Man caused a big fuss since it was a mod of an existing game, but since they didn't alter the original code, just built on top of it, the courts let them get away with it. Good thing too since it ended up being one of the most beloved Pac-Man games.

I too would love to see an in-depth look at all the space invaders rip-offs someday. It's interesting and you never really hear about them. Some of them have some neat gimmicks added.

[mjmjr25]

Cool thread, Doc. Now allow me to disagree a bit...

I'd argue that Mission Craft wasn't forgotten, it was quite popular in Asia, particularly Korea and I see it pop up for sale at least once a week, far more often than many other obscure titles. Also, I've always thought the vids looked promising and it's def. on my radar.

I would like to see some more UPL shmups reviewed - i've always liked what i've seen from them, XX Mission aside. For that matter, perhaps a SETI shmup or two...

@prfl gmr - Viper Phase is extremely popular on both MAME and PCB, not ported, but definitely not forgotten either. A hi-score thread isn't a bad idea...fun game.