Topic: Arcade SHMUP High Score Thread

@Lroy 2 very different games but both are highly recommended. Both offer many hours of gaming. I'll give you my opinion on both when I get home tonight.

@OorWullie Thanks buddy. To be honest, I think the fact I have been torn on ENTER THE GUNGEON for so long and having just checked out a positive video review which actually turned me off the game?! - means I'll probably pass on that one for now. But I'd really appreciate any guidance on SKY FORCE RELOADED.

Essentially, my natural inclination is to pick up a Hamster arcade shooter I don't own already such as LAST RESORT or ZED BLADE. However, I keep hearing some of the modern shooters on Switch are really good and SKY FORCE RELOADED is a game I see quite a few folks on my friends lists are playing. Is it as good as the traditional arcade shooters? Many claim to be but seldom have the same charm and solid gameplay.

Perhaps I should wait for those other two upcoming modern shooters to hit? Forget the name now but I know you said you were buying them both. One is that horizontal pixel art shooter and the other is that bullet hell one that looks bonkers ☺️

@Lroy I finally picked up 9 parchments (it's really nice that the gold points stack with offers!)

@GrailUK I tried the demo of that as I like the developer and think HAS-BEEN HEROES is largely misunderstood and hugely underrated. However, I really didn't find the demo for NINE PARCHMENTS all that enticing.

Whilst I do have a few disappointments with My Nintendo and this newly revised Gold Points rewards scheme is no exception. I agree at least it is something.

@Lroy Zed Blade is pretty cool, it has one of the most 90s techno soundtracks imaginable. You should demo both it and Last Resort on MAME and see what you like best, that's what I do with a lot of these ACA releases.

@wasilewski Oh yeah absolutely, I now do that with all the arcade games available on Switch. I try to spend an evening, at least once a fortnight, on my RetroPie running MAME and other arcade emulators. I then add or remove the games I enjoy to my Switch wishlist.

I will be buying both LAST RESORT and ZED BLADE. It's just a question of when. Soundtrack for ZED BLADE brings back all sorts of vague memories of misspent youth. I now recognise so many of the Neo Geo soundtracks but back in the day I didn't know those sound samples were from arcade games. I heard them used in drum and base clubs ☺️

@Lroy Shock Troopers had an ok drum n bass soundtrack, I was surprised when
I first heard it.

@wasilewski Yes, that was the main other game I had in mind. When I heard that and ZED BLADE - last year I think when I really started getting back into Neo Geo and arcade gaming - I recognised the music instantly despite having no memory of playing either game in the past.

I may be getting the origin of this back to front but essentially I had no idea back when I was hanging about in clubbing circles (my god, that is so NOT me now) that the music samples used by the DJs were often lifted straight out of games like these.

So, my Gold Points were burning a proverbial hole in my pocket, lol! Took a chance on SKY FORCE RELOADED and decided now was the time to pick up MAGICIAN LORD too.

In regards this week's challenge on MUTATION NATION. I've not played it as much as I would have liked. Combination of other demands on my time and the fact I seem to have very unexpectedly fallen into a FIFA-sized hole this month. Got the game when it was heavily discounted on Amazon on Valentine's Day and much to my surprise - having stepped away from the series for a number of years - I am really enjoying it. Currently playing the manager mode and playing as a club in the lowest league. Will see how far up the divisions I can take them.

Anyway, will likely have another couple of sessions on MUTATION NATION as I haven't been able to improve my current score and I set that on my first couple of tries? I know lots of tips and video footage has been posted on here though so will see if that can assist me. Some great scores posted by @grailUK @masterleon and @qualitybeats - doubt I'll be able to get anywhere near them, lol!

Already looking forward to the next game or are we taking a break after this? I'm cool to carry on as we are but will go with majority.

@Lroy You made a good choice with SkyForce. There is a lot of grinding involved but once you upgrade your ship a few times and it doesn't feel as puny as at the start the game becomes a lot of fun.. I've put a fair few hours into it now and really enjoy playing the levels over and over as the various objectives you need to achieve make each run a challenge, especially once you start unlocking the harder difficulty levels. It has great graphics, sounds, lots of variation between levels and just feels really satisfying to shoot down enemies. It's something different to what we have so far. I'm confident you'll enjoy it.

@OorWullie Is SkyForce the best top down shooter on the switch right now?

@Aurumonado Modern shoot-em-up, yes for sure. Horizontal or vertical, as modern shooters on Switch go it's in a league if it's own. If you enjoy the gameplay and the ship upgrade system then it can offer potentially tens of hours of gameplay. Some folk will be put off by grinding but the grinding becomes fun when you reach an adequate level of power which doesn't take too long individual levels vary quite lot and are fun to play, especially on higher difficulty levels..Since your always collecting stars which are used for upgrades, you're constantly becoming more powerful. I've already put in around 10 hours and I've got tons still to do and unlock, I know I'll be playing this for a good time to come. I really like it and it complements my ever growing retro collection very nicely. Im a huge fan of retro shoot-em-ups though, I love the arcade challenge and chasing high scores. Steredenn looks like it will be an amazing retro inspired modern shooter with a gameplay hook that also offers a nice alternative.

@OorWullie Ya what I'm looking for is a modern vertical shooter. My current modern horizontal shooter is SineMora Ex but I've always preferred the vertical ones. I guess I'll spend my gold coins on SkyForce!

@OorWullie Cheers buddy, dipped into SKYFORCE RELOADED late last night for a few runs. I can already see a lot of the positives you mention and am glad I put my skepticism for modern shoot-em ups to the side and gave it a chance.

@Aurumonado Welcome and I'd be keen to hear more on SINE MORA EX. I had it on my wishlist for months but kept bumping it down as the Switch got classic arcade horizontal shooters like BLAZING STAR, PULSTAR and R-TYPE on the horizon. Aside from the modern graphics, does SINE MORA EX offer compelling gameplay?

@Lroy Ya I really like it. The scoring is a little weird but it has a cool story and the gameplay is really tight. I'm new the the genre and Sine Mora is a lot more accessible than other bullet hells (for example I played Chaos Field and Ikaruga on gamecube and lasted 5 min and 6 min respectively before I gave up).

I'm not expert in the genre, but I really like accumulating attack bonuses over time and then trying to hold onto them in the harder levels and that's really what Sine Mora has boiled down to for me.

@Aurumonado if you’re new to shmups check this guide on tactics to use while playing https://goo.gl/Fi2zE

@wasilewski Whoa thanks a lot! That's really comprehensive!

@masterLEON

@Aurumonado Perhaps I'll stick it back on the old wishlist then. Thanks.

Long shot but be nice if something arcade related got a mention for Switch in the upcoming direct tomorrow. If yes, most likely a small clip of Hamster games incoming or DLC games for NAMCO COLLECTION or a separate second collection. Actually, Capcom's STREET FIGHTER II Collection may well get some screen time?

Any hopes from you fellas? I'm probably most excited for FIRE EMBLEM Switch along with any totally new and out of the blue game announcements.