Shmups newb alert.

[Unleaded Logic]

So I want to get into Shmups as I have a decent mame cab and plenty of stuff to try. The last shmups I played were for the NES, Life Force, Gun-Nac, ect.

I know there are tons of awesome ones for the arcade...what are some of the best?

[Flak Beard]

On MAME I usually play DoDonPachi, R-Type Leo and Battle Garegga. You should give those a whirl.

[dlmvii]

Cave games are usually a good bet, my favorites being
DoDonPachi (the best)
ESP Ra De
Progear (I don't normally like hori's, but this is a notable exception)
Blazing Star (This being the other) not cave though
Guwange
Dangun Feveron
Donpachi (Though, honestly, if you can play the sequel, it's better in every way)
Vasara, also not a cave game

[BigTinz]

Donpachi (Though, honestly, if you can play the sequel, it's better in every way)

Woah woah woah.....let's not say things we can't take back.



As far as good shumps go, basically what the two above posts said plus:

Strikers 1945 1, 2 & 3
Galaga
Galaga 88
Gradius series
Paradious series
Armed Police Batrider
Battle Bakraid

[the King]

Does Gyruss count?

[bobbynewmarkiii]

Woah woah woah.....let's not say things we can't take back.

I agree with dlmvii

[gennss]

Not a fan of donpachi or dodonpachi. They're pretty good but other than the killer bullet patterns it all feels very generic this day in age.

I'd recommend most shooters on the dreamcast all of which exist in arcade format as far as i know.

Particularly
Ikaruga
Trigger Heart Exelica
Psyvariar 2
Shikigami no Shiro 2
Karous (most ppl don't like it but its weird enough to be interesting)

[marurun]

When I started in shmups I liked R-Type, Gradius, Life Force/Salamander, Raiden, Kyukyoku Tiger II and other shooters which seemed logical, meaning there were gun turrets that shot at you. Bullets never just flew out of nowhere. Raiden can, at times, start to show budding signs of what would eventually become bullet hell, but is quite manageable overall.

To this day I can't get down with the scoring-based bullet hell shmups. They seem totally crazy. In some washes of bullets turn into gems or points. I also have trouble with the tiny hitbox. It makes dodging easier, but really, if a bullet 1/4 the size of your craft hits you anywhere you're going to die. So I guess for me, these newer shooters are less "realistic", or at least less logical. They make less sense. It's hard for me to get into the role. In Gradius and R-type, and even Darius, I can imagine, sort of, that I'm the pilot and I'm the one man/woman who can save the world in my advanced fighter/flying fish/magic carpet. With these new shooters I can't imagine anything of the sort. They're abstract like puzzle games only more hectic and they make my eyes hurt.

[Unleaded Logic]

Cave games are usually a good bet, my favorites being
DoDonPachi (the best)
ESP Ra De
Progear (I don't normally like hori's, but this is a notable exception)
Blazing Star (This being the other) not cave though
Guwange
Dangun Feveron
Donpachi (Though, honestly, if you can play the sequel, it's better in every way)
Vasara, also not a cave game

Thanks for all your replies so far guys! Yesterday I tried ESP RA De (Was there a sequel to this on Dreamcast?) and Guwange....I plan on trying some more tomorrow! If you got more suggestions, keep em coming!

[dlmvii]

Cave games are usually a good bet, my favorites being
DoDonPachi (the best)
ESP Ra De
Progear (I don't normally like hori's, but this is a notable exception)
Blazing Star (This being the other) not cave though
Guwange
Dangun Feveron
Donpachi (Though, honestly, if you can play the sequel, it's better in every way)
Vasara, also not a cave game

Thanks for all your replies so far guys! Yesterday I tried ESP RA De (Was there a sequel to this on Dreamcast?) and Guwange....I plan on trying some more tomorrow! If you got more suggestions, keep em coming!

THe sequel was actually on the ps2, called espgaluda, also quite good. I liked to slow time power you could use too. I remember the last boss being bitch hard too. If you have a way to play the ps2 ones, the best are

Mushihimesama (!!!)
Espgaluda
Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou
Thunder Force VI
Caslte of Shikigami 2
Raiden III
R-Type Final
Ibara (not as good as the others)