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I'm (half) giving you a jab to the ribs.

I kind of think the Gradius series sucks, but I've also spent plenty of time playing those games. So I do agree it's kind of "important" to play them and gain some perspective.

That said, I think that both of its sister series - Salamander and Parodius - are way better games. Parodius series is the best of the three.

Darius that you mentioned is indeed awesome. And I also love shooting robotic fish.

Personally I'm a much bigger fan of the bullethell sub-genre. But you are certainly right to feel around. I'd highly suggest you play some Galaga, though.

Oh, I'm definitely familiar with Galaga and the like. I guess I'd call it a shmup, but I'm more interesting in the scrolling variety, not the old single-screen early arcade stuff.

That said, everyone should play Space Invaders Extreme. So much fun, as long as you're not epileptic.

A small review of a not-all-that-fun game in the next entry of my shmup reviews... 1942.

Next up (as for shmups) is Ryujin and Change Air Blade for the Shmup of the Month club. I probably won't be posting any high scores - seriously I'm no good at that stuff - but I figure it's a good way to get a good recommendation for my next shmup.

The shmup diary is an awesome idea and I can relate to a lot of your findings, thanks for posting!

Liking these new entries, man.

MobyGames is a good place for screenies, eh? I'll probably do the same when I reach PSP games in my own blog.

Oh, and single-screen shooters like Galaxian and Space Invaders are typically called "fixed shooters" far as I know.

Thanks guys!

And yeah, MobyGames is good for screens. Big variety, including for nearly all ports.

I just started a modern shmup last night... a new game called Project Root. I guess we can call it an open-ended shmup? I dunno, it's sort of unique. But it's also not that much fun so far, unfortunately.

1942 suuuuuucks

Play any other game in the series, they're way better.

TSTR wrote:1942 suuuuuucks

Play any other game in the series, they're way better.

I'm getting there, I'm getting there! Yeah, 1942 was basically just Galaga with a scrolling background. Which shouldn't be a huge complaint, but then, it was released something like 3 or 4 years after Galaga, so...

OH OH OH

If you're digging into the origins of shmuppage, you should play Xevious.

I've never played it, but watching a video now... it uses the exact same targeting method for ground attacks that the game I'm playing now, Project Root, uses.

I'll probably give it a try. I'm not necessarily looking to document the entire history of the genre, but rather just get a good grasp of the genre's basic roots.

Looks better than 1942 anyway...