Need your help Shmup fans. Outside of Space Invaders in Mortal Kombat 3 and the mini-game from No More Heroes 2, I have never played a shmup. There's a ton of them on the VC. There's a ton of them with good ratings on the VC. So I want to ask: which Shmup is the best? I classify "the best" as having the most enemies on screen, most choice of weapons and best graphics. I'd prefer a top-down shmup to a side-to-side.
Or, is there a shmup coming down the pipe that I should wait for instead?
Star Parodier is a good choice if you want to try a shmup, or should I say: cute'em up. It's vertical, top-down, very responsive, has a very well-composed soundtrack, has three characters to choose from, all three have their respective weapons, three difficulty settings, three endings [Easy having the worst ending, and Hard having the best ending] and it has tons of replay value. It's also very cute. I highly recommend it.
Or, if Star Parodier isn't your choice, you could always go with LifeForce or Axelay [which both have horizontal and vertical scrolling stages]. Not a fan of Axelay, tbh, but it might be right for you. Detana!! TwinBee is also a good cute'em up candidate.
I say Super C or Contra 3. That series always appealed to me more than any shmup, I can't say why though.
Edit: Most levels are side-to-side but there are some top-down levels. But without jumping, those levels are inferior. There's a decent choice of weapons, lots of enemies, and trust me, you won't CARE about graphics when you're into it. (Super C's got decent graphics for the NES, and you certainly can't complain about Contra 3.)
If you are truly hardcore than Super Star Soldier might be right for you. It has nice graphics, cool powerups, and punishing difficulty. If you are new to shmups then try Final Soldier which is a little easier and has a better soundtrack.
One of the most underrated shooter is Bio-Hazard Battle on the Sega Genesis. It feel like the most unique shooter on the VC.
[How come nobody else is mentioning Star Parodier? Not that I'm complaining, it's just I'm surprised that I'm the only one that's mentioned it, considering how highly regarded it is]
Gate of Thunder is nice, I admit, but it's a horizontal scroller.
Ha, I see it's not easy even among shmup fans to pick one out. x)
I like the style of Star Parodier from what I saw of the video and the review. It's hard to choose among the really difficult selections because I can be hardcore with games, but I'm not certain that getting my face beaten repeatedly with one of the toughest genres will be for me or not.
Edit: Most levels are side-to-side but there are some top-down levels. But without jumping, those levels are inferior. There's a decent choice of weapons, lots of enemies, and trust me, you won't CARE about graphics when you're into it. (Super C's got decent graphics for the NES, and you certainly can't complain about Contra 3.)
I own the physical SNES cartridge of Contra 3, but I was leaning more towards a spaceship/plane shooter. Also have Gunstar Heroes and Metal Slug 1 on the VC for that genre of shooter too.
I second Soldier Blade and Blazing Lasers. I owned them both on my TG16 and bought Soldier Blade on VC because it was so fun. It's very accessible to newbies. R-Type is another classic but there are a few different versions on VC I think, check the reviews.
By the way, you should really track down a copy of Ikaruga (GameCube) if you want to only buy the best shmup available. I know this isn't available on the Virtual Console, but it's an amazing game and ruthlessly difficult.
That said I still recommend the Soldier series highly based on the criteria you asked for -- readily available on Virtual Console for low prices, vertical scrolling, lots of action, great weapon choices, and excellent music/graphics. Soldier Blade is my favorite, but Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier are also great choices.
Simply due to my love for The Guardian Legend, I'd have to recommend Zanac. From what I hear, the gameplay is quite similar to the shooting stages in The Guardian Legend, which were very good.
I say Super C or Contra 3. That series always appealed to me more than any shmup, I can't say why though.
Edit: Most levels are side-to-side but there are some top-down levels. But without jumping, those levels are inferior. There's a decent choice of weapons, lots of enemies, and trust me, you won't CARE about graphics when you're into it. (Super C's got decent graphics for the NES, and you certainly can't complain about Contra 3.)
Uhh, wrong type of game man. Contra is a run 'n gun game. We're talking about shumps here, such as R-Type, Gradius, etc.
I say Super C or Contra 3. That series always appealed to me more than any shmup, I can't say why though.
Edit: Most levels are side-to-side but there are some top-down levels. But without jumping, those levels are inferior. There's a decent choice of weapons, lots of enemies, and trust me, you won't CARE about graphics when you're into it. (Super C's got decent graphics for the NES, and you certainly can't complain about Contra 3.)
Uhh, wrong type of game man. Contra is a run 'n gun game. We're talking about shumps here, such as R-Type, Gradius, etc.
Ah, ok... they're pretty similar though. (I thought that a run'n gun would qualify as a shmup, since you do shoot 'em up...) In that case, Gradius 3 is quite enjoyable. And MUSHA.
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Topic: Best Shmup on the VC?
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