Shmupping essentials

[TheRev]

I started this thread on a forum for children...

Anyways when I say Shmupping Essentials I refer to shmups that define the Genre, So Space Invaders, Xevious, Gradius those are a given.

I'd also toss in Raiden, Batsugun (the first maniac Shmup?) and Do Don Pachi.

So, what would recommend as an essential shmup for new comers and enthusiasts alike?

[dunpeal2064]

Battle Garegga, definitely. It was out a year before Dodonpachi and featured screenfulls of bullets, extremely dynamic rank, player suicides, etc.

R-Type is a pretty obvious one.

Also, something by Psikyo. Dragon Blaze is their best work, but also one of their last, so I don't know if I'd call it "defining"

A bit more of an obscure one would be Omega Fighter. This 1989 shooter actually features a scoring system similar to Ketsui, where point-blanking enemies created a multiplier. There were a lot of scoring tricks to the game at the time, and its pretty fast-paced.

[Ghegs]

I really wouldn't recommend Garegga to beginners. Start with something that's a bit more flashy and has a more traditional gameplay, Raizing rank can come a bit later.

Space Invaders and Xevious haven't aged all that well. Yes, they're important to the genre, played a huge role to gaming in general and absolutely need to be mentioned when talking about the history of games...but for playing today? Not so much. Space Invaders is extremely simplistic and slow-paced, and the music in Xevious can drive a man insane.

For "essentials" that are still fun to play today: Gradius, R-Type, Twin Cobra, Raiden, Rayforce, Strikers 1945, Thunder Force III (or IV), Dodonpachi, Giga Wing...

We actually did this thread in the shmups forum back in 2005.

[DocHauser]

Not necessarily the best game from each year, but to give an idea of how things progressed from the late 1970s...

Galaxian (1979)
Centipede (1980)
Galaga (1981)
Xevious (1982)
Gyruss (1983)
Gaplus (1984)
Gradius (1985)
Darius (1986)
R-Type (1987)
Image Fight (1988)
Dragon Breed (1989)
Raiden (1990)
Xexex (1991)
Varth (1992)
Batsugun (1993)
Gunbird (1994)
DonPachi (1995)
Battle Garegga (1996)

[Weekend_Warrior]

Galaga and R-Type

[TheRev]

Sokyogaruntai I think next to Garegga at least is Raizing's best shump and it has a bit of everything.

I also think Taito's ray series is worth a look. Rayforce/Galatic Attack/Layer Section is a fine example of a shmup and Sokyogaruntai sure borrowed a bit from that.

While I think Radiant Silvergun is vastly overrated, Ikaruga is worth a look treasure took the Silhouette Mirage concept and put it in a shmup to great effect.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am not as into shmups as some of you, but I would throw in Compile's Zanac (NES) for its inclusion of a "smart" difficulty scale. (Also...it is aweome.) I would also include one of the Alest games...Super Aleste (a/k/a Space Megaforce) (SNES) is my personal favorite.

[dtrack]

river raid

[fastbilly1]

Per DocHauser list, anything that starts with a G is good...

[TheRev]

Per DocHauser list, anything that starts with a G is good...

G-Darius

which probably has the best music in the Series.