Cold's List of Good Shmups
Under constant revision
This is a list of all the good STGs I've played, varying from the best games ever made to some I reccomend more out of curiosity closer to the bottom. Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments :)
This is a list of all the good STGs I've played, varying from the best games ever made to some I reccomend more out of curiosity closer to the bottom. Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments :)
121 Games
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BEE STORM gets a lot of shit, but for being a sequel made by a completely different dev with wildly different systems, it aint that bad. Fair play to IGS.
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A fantastic spiritual sequel to battle garegga with a fantastic, unique art style, fun mechanics and great music. It would be way higher if it weren't marred by visibility issues, and unfortunately there only being one decent way to play it - on an Arcade PCB. Still, incredibly cool.
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Completely unhinged and bonkers to an extent where its almost purely curiosity. If you gaze into the abyss, sometimes the abyss stares back.
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Einhander has really cool systems and great music, but the level design and such just isnt enough to push it over the edge of just being a cool game. The JP cover art is also amazing and i cant believe IGDB changed it.
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Na-nanannanananaaa- Katamari STG
There's very little to Tumiki fighters, it's extremely short, quite easy and doesn't really demand repeat playthroughs much - but it doesn't need to be. For the short duration and low challenge, it's packed with charm and the hook of it basically being katamari, but a shmup, definetly carries it.
There's very little to Tumiki fighters, it's extremely short, quite easy and doesn't really demand repeat playthroughs much - but it doesn't need to be. For the short duration and low challenge, it's packed with charm and the hook of it basically being katamari, but a shmup, definetly carries it.
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Absolutely evil, and has perhaps the stupidest scoring of any shmup i've ever played. But it's adorable...
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Dad shmups should suck.
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An approachable, generally good shmup with no real weaknesses, besides maybe being a bit bland. Having such a fucking cool ass title maybe elevates it a few spots, frankly.
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The game is mid as hell but the soundtrack is absolutely absurd. Legitimately has some of the best production ive ever heard in... anything.
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Tatsujin Oh is the purest test of old school shmup challenge there is, and has wonderful presentation. If the game wasn't legitimately 3 times as long as it needed to be, it would be way, way up there, arguably around thunder dragon 2 levels.
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Gets Brownie points for sheer coolness and FEESH, but frankly I can't justify putting this any higher. It's aesthetic is amazing, but the stages aren't.
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I need to play a lot more Senjin to make a true judgement on it. But it's good.
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Gloriously mad.
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PSIKYO's best game by a ludicrous margin, Dragon Blaze is best they got at basically every facet of development. A neat, and extremely well realised gameplay gimmick married with their best art direction, a harsh, but engaging difficulty curve, and good stages and bosses - it works really well. The core hook of firing off dragon shot never, ever gets old.
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The best non-japanese made STG. It's close between this and Zeroranger, but this edges out thanks to it's better designed gameplay systems, scoring, and the excellent mission mode.
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AC Asian version - Japanese versions are hell
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Lumines, but with a darker edge and for shmup fans. How the fuck does something this good basically have no presence anywhere???
Arguably not a shmup at all, granted.
Arguably not a shmup at all, granted.
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Futari is great. On balance, probably the most perfect of Cave's shmups and will always be grazing the top of community lists. But the vibe of Mushi 1's fairytale quality in particular i feel is lost a little here, and I appreciate a bit more variety in my shmups. Unquestionably a fantastic time though, and liable to rise on this list again in future.
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This is a weird one. A large part of the reason for this, is that despite being a 1993 title for whats effectively the master system, GG Aleste 2 (which is this game's actual name wtf backloggd) is a remarkably mature feeling shmup, with a lot of the kinks of early design worked out whilst retaining a huge amount of the pure simple appeal. Also has frankly fantastic pixel art and one of the best Soundtracks of this lineage ive ever heard, and great pacing. The bonus levels are also a delightful meme.
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In particular, Cardinal SIns
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RFJ is about 15 minutes long, and by the time you've finished it it feels more like 50. This is a game that throws everything at you as quick as it can, bullets, levels, the music - running at a BPM way above anything reasonable. It's 15 minutes of the most frenetic shooting you'll ever play.
If games like Ketsui and Garegga are fine wine, RFJ is a shot of absinthe stuffed straight down the gullet. I wouldn't want it any other way.
If games like Ketsui and Garegga are fine wine, RFJ is a shot of absinthe stuffed straight down the gullet. I wouldn't want it any other way.
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Cave's final STG, as of time of writing, and practically, the last we're going to get. It gets a lot of flack for the anime girls and a not-incredible 360 port, but SDOJ works really well as an inversion of DOJ's tropes and aesthetic, and also as one final, triumphant STG from the masters of the genre.
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ZR is a weird game for this list because on gameplay alone it might not make the list at all - but it's presentation and integration of story elements that spin the tropes of the STG genre is absolutely incredible.
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Has taken me a recent replay to truly appreciate how fucking good PCB is. Easily the best purely conventional touhou, with a great vibe, great bosses, absurdly amazing music. A bit melancholic, a bit majestic. God bless Zun.
The final boss' themes are absolute god tier.
The final boss' themes are absolute god tier.
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Brutally dificult sequel to Rayforce that doesn't quit work as well but still absolutely rocks.
Ceramic heart one of the best tracks in the shmup genre.
Ceramic heart one of the best tracks in the shmup genre.
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The effective sequel to Battle Garegga. It's also the King of Fighters of Raizing STGs. It's also a homage to Escape from new york? There's time travel?
Batrider honestly has no right to work as well as it does. It's not as good as Garegga, and I do think it maybe leans in a bit too hard to the inscruitable, mad side of Raizing's games - but its presentation is top notch, there's a ludicrous amount of stuff to do and explore, and it plays incredibly well, even having more beginner friendly options and the soundtrack (of which basically spawned Japanese Music House Basiscape) is amazing. The Apotheosis of Raizing, whether you're into that or not, you've gotta respect the madness.
Batrider honestly has no right to work as well as it does. It's not as good as Garegga, and I do think it maybe leans in a bit too hard to the inscruitable, mad side of Raizing's games - but its presentation is top notch, there's a ludicrous amount of stuff to do and explore, and it plays incredibly well, even having more beginner friendly options and the soundtrack (of which basically spawned Japanese Music House Basiscape) is amazing. The Apotheosis of Raizing, whether you're into that or not, you've gotta respect the madness.
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Rayforce for cool people.
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If you can spot the pattern of this list - scrappy, interesting stuff often gets rated higher than polish. Sol cresta is the apotheosis of that. Technical mess and probably not meeting all the potential it has... But great fun.
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K tiger is Hishousame's sister title, coming out a few months later and carrying a similar design ethos, whhilst being much harder, longer, and not quite as good. But still, a fantastic classic shooter with a great degree of challenge, and incredibly fun checkpoint recoveries in particular.
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Ridiculously awesome conceptually with some messy execution, Shippu Mahou Daisakusen is still really fucking good. It's music and presentation in particular are top-tier
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Far and away CAVE's most underrated game, ESPgaluda 2 is for my money a straight upgrade over the original - much harder, better music, with exceptional stage design and some of CAVE's best boss fights. The 360 port also has a fantastic amount of different ways to play, most of which are great.
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There's probably a universe out there where Same3 is Toaplan's best game. It's got fantastic music, great stage design, fun vibes and everything Kyukyoku tiger has. But it's also a cruel, cruel game. Sniper boats, nigh impossible recoveries, super long length, impossibly fast bullets and bosses that you have to point blank to basically hope to beat. It's fuckin great.
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Considering how old this damn game is, Fantasy Zone remains a shooter with a great deal of charm, some unique and interesting ideas, and strong gameplay throughout. Holds up incredibly well and will remain cute forever.
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Mushi>Futari is a bit of an odd take but 1.5 really makes the original the better game i'd say. Stage 4 is one of the best stages have ever designed, and the game as a whole embraces a great simplicity in a lot of ways other cave stuff (particularly futari) just doesn't.
Also just a sweet little fairytale of a shmup.
Also just a sweet little fairytale of a shmup.
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G Darius' PC release is by far the best version of the game released, with both main versions, the PS1 port, exhibition mode and lots of cute shit. Wonderful.
You will see the creation of new lives...
You will see the creation of new lives...
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Ridiculously good backgrounds, music, and frenetic gameplay. Apparently the macross 2 movie is shit but this game rules, could maybe be higher if it was a bit more freeform like Thunder Dragon 2 and not so ridiculously tightly routed.
Incredibly, stupidly rad. NMK releasing this in the same year as Thunder Dragon 2 is outright remarkable.
Incredibly, stupidly rad. NMK releasing this in the same year as Thunder Dragon 2 is outright remarkable.
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A truly unique adaptation of an already kinda weird old shooter in Slap Fight, MD's new arrange is truly fucking great, and yuzo koshiro's music is wild as well. Turns slap fight from a
pretty good curiosity into a classic.
pretty good curiosity into a classic.
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the slow, methodical R-Type formula sped up a bit and made far more forgiving in terms of recovery - whilst being incredibly groovy and with the series' best level design. 3, 2, 1 LETS GO
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Metal Black 2 - it's not as cool, nothing is, but on a mechanical level it's both unique and fantastic. And whilst it's not metal black, it's presentation is still batshit and awesome, just in its own way. G.rev's finest.
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GGA3 is a love letter. A couple of old STG devs, including Manabu Namiki and Kaz Nakashima from Raizing, basically got together and produced a truly pleasant love letter to the STG genre. For the game gear in 2020. It's too long, extremely laggy with slowdown on, and has like one bad level, but is also just a super special experience.
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9 Comments
TBH Tom, if it didnt look like shit, it would probably be top 5
i see that looking like shit didn't stop it from getting to top 5
Nope >:)
blue revolver's desc still says it edges out zeroranger btw
TF4 at the bottom of the list is so funny
goddamn i was spending quite a lot of time trying to come up with a good list. but i gave up after seeing this. pretty much on point.
@zombiehunter837 - make your own list! i'd like to see it. this is all very subjective and i like seeing others tastes :)
tomzacz
2 years ago