Topic: SHMUPS ?

Are there any good SHMUPS (preferably bullet hell type) for the Wii or Wiiware ? I know there are quite a lot for the VC but I played all the good old ones. I need something new and shiiiiny
The only one I know is Castle of Shikigami 3, but that can't be all can it ?

I know it's not the question you were asking, but if you haven't played Ikaruga for the Gamecube, get it get it get it.

Yep already played that one and indeed it is a gem of a game.

Shikigami 3 is the only bullet hell game as far as I'm aware. I assume you already know about Gradius ReBirth since it's hardly inconspicuous... Everything else of any worth is on the VC. :[

edit: I'm just speaking about the EU region here btw

Star Solder R on WiiWare (http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/games/wiiware/star_soldier_r) -- It's supposed to be pretty solid, but only includes the 2- and 5-minute high score modes instead of the actual campaign game that most people wanted. For the same price, you can get some very solid shmups on Virtual Console that have more options and replay value.

Blast Works at retail (http://wii.nintendolife.com/games/wii/blastworks) -- Some people love it, others hate it. This is very different from a traditional shmup because of the inspiration from Tumiki Fighters: when you defeat enemies you can actually attach them to your ship to improve your shields/firepower. Includes an in-depth level creation tool, but requires time and effort to see good results. The four unlockable Kenta Cho games are really neat additions... and instead of unlocking them yourself you can just download a save file from GameFaqs with everything opened already. Since it can often be found very cheap, I think it's worth trying.

Geometry Wars Galaxies at retail (http://wii.nintendolife.com/games/wii/geometry_wars_galaxies) -- This isn't a true Shmup, but is an incredible game that might scratch the same itch for you. If you enjoy free-roaming dual analog shooters with insane arcade action and high-score challenges, then it's definitely something to consider!

Other games to consider, although I don't know enough to comment:

• Ultimate Shooting Collection (http://wii.nintendolife.com/games/wii/ultimate_shooting_collection)
• Illvelo
• Gradius Rebirth (http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/games/wiiware/gradius_rebirth)
• Monkey King

Thanks for your reply ejamer. Blastworks and Illvelo really got my interest although I'm having a hard time getting some info on Illvelo, but that's not something a dose of the good ol' google can't fix

Glad to help.

It's kind of a shame that Wii doesn't have more great Shmups... but there are some cool niche ones available. I guess having lots of great Virtual Console Shmups from older consoles helps to make up for that though. The TG16 alone has given me access to a ton of new games that are really enjoyable.

For what it's worth, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time with BlastWorks and definitely fall into the "love it" camp. Sadly, none of my levels or ships were worth sharing -- I'm totally amateur at designing. You can see some of the better user-created levels from YouTube or from the BlastWorksDepot website though.

Castle of Shikigami 3 is a fantastic bullet hell shmup. It's hilarious, and there are 10 characters to play as, and over 50 storylines to go through. It's on the easy side for the genre, but that doesn't mean anything since it's BULLET HELL. The gameplay between characters is extremely varied and it encourages you to play 2 player to unlock everything (although you don't have to thanks to Dynamic Change mode).

EDIT: It should also be selling cheap now too.

They're not bullet hell, but if you love shmups, you HAVE to have Lords of Thunder and Gate of Thunder.

Not really a shmup, but definitely bullet hell, is Blaster Master: Overdrive on WiiWare.

I'm not particularly good at shmups but I do love playing them. Anyway:

Ultimate shooting collection is a nice collection of 3 bullet hell shmups from milestone. They are the same developers who made Illvelo but that game keeps getting delayed. Shmup fans are pretty divided on milestone games but they are among the few develpers out there still putting out arcade and console shmups.

Blast works is also really cool. The design in the premade levels isn't as tight as kenta cho's actual shmups but still not bad. The main thing that makes it good is the blastworks depot which lets you easily download user levels on your wii. You're not forced to use friend codes like that warioware game.

Monkey king I've heard is terrible so I'd probably stay away from that.

Star soldier R is actually pretty cool if you want to play for score. We all wish it was a full game but what they give you is actually really well done and something to keep coming back to.

Gradius Rebirth is quite good if you've ever liked a gradius game. Plus has an online score attack mode and replay saves that make it stand out a bit more.

I agree, and there are many other excellent Shmups on Virtual Console. (My personal favorite is Soldier Blade for TG16.) But none of them are "new and shiny" so didn't want to mention that earlier.

By the way, I LOVE seeing people discuss niche genres like Shmups here in the forums.

(Warning: Fantastic dialogue translation and very little gameplay ahead!)
[youtube:_ctO54vkuaA]
If this isn't proof that Castle of Shikigami III isn't the most awesome bullet hell shmup on the Wii so far, I don't know what is.

"...Space is an ocean of space!"

(Not to mention 10 characters each with totally different play styles, over 50 fully-voiced and hilarious storylines, awesome 2 player mode and Dynamic Change mode, and 3 extreme-difficulty modes.)

R type is my favourite SHMUP on the VC. Check it out:

I come back to it more than any other game on the VC. It's so addictive

Here's two videos I shot for my Virtual Turbo site not long before I joined NintendoLife. They'll give you a good idea of what you can expect from Lords of Thunder and Gate of Thunder. Watching them reminded me how tough it was to play the games with one hand and work the video editing keys on the laptop keyboard at the same time. LOL.

Wow... normally I'm not really a fan of vertical shmups but that is really looking good. I never heard of those games before which is a bit strange since they look awesome, but that"s probably since I never gave much attention to the TG-16.

It's a shame really that the genre has become niche. It would be great to see some high-profile, refreshing shmup releases like we had with Ikaruga on the gamecube. Well we've got Sin and Punishment coming which is also great and a bit shmup like

Yeah shmups are a niche genre largely because they place a lot of restriction on what a shmup is supposed to be. Thus not allowing the genre to grow in either gameplay or audience. Theres tons of bullet hell stuff out there and its to the point that traditional style hasn't been seen nearly as much. Add that to most developers of shmups are Japanese and most of these games don't get brought to other countries messes things up even more.

But shmup gaming on an NA wii seems to the best way to play shmups besides an imported 360. A lot of great VC titles, some wiiware titles, and even disc releases let us play a great variety of shmups. shmups do and should have a lot of variety between them and should be able to appeal to a wide variety of tastes. However, many don't want that variety and want just as many bullets out there as possible and complex chaining systems.

Commercially shmups seemed to be doing best on the tg16 era and even with saturn and playstaion 1. Lots of great games that played very differently.

These days it seems besides the few modern releases we might get its the indie pc and xbox indie devs who are bringing back the variation and new ideas the genre needs. Hopefully the indie guys and start getting bigger deals to bring there projects to consoles.

Time to revive this topic!

Even though it's not WII-related, anyone else excited for Radiant Silvergun to hit on XBLA this year? No more having to play a crappy MAME emulation or shell out $200.00 for a Japanese Saturn copy on eBay.

I'll probably get a demo when it becomes available. Not exactly an expert at bullet hell shooters (I'm very awful at them) but for some reason I've had an interest in this one for some time.

I'm not an expert by any stretch either cheetah, but I still love em. I play Gigawing and a few others on MAME and Trigger Heart Exelica on XBLA. I love our console generation, but I miss not living in an area/being old enough for the arcade generation as well.