DragonGrafx-16's shoot 'em up collection

[DragonGrafx-16]

I'd just thought I'd keep a complete list of every shoot 'em game I own. I'm only including physical copies and digital copies that I paid money for. I'm only counting games with auto-scrolling and/or weapon power-up systems.

*denotes a reproduction copy. I'm going to give each game a score S+ being best, F being worst (in my opinion). Game that I have not really spent much time with won't be rated. Systems ordered from oldest to newest.

 

V = vertical H = horizontal B = both O = other

 

NES/Famicom:

1943 [V] | A | A solid shmup on the system, but I prefer 1943 Kai (which I don't own yet) on the PC Engine.

Abadox B+ | Really freakin hard... music is composed by the same guy that did the music for Contra. I can't get past the second stage. Did I mention it's hard? lol

Adventures of Dino Riki [V] |no rating| I've owned this since the early 90s. I haven't played it much as it was originally my brother's game. It's a running shmup, but you can jump!

Alpha Mission [V] | D+ | A pretty forgettable port of an arcade game from SNK.

Capitan Skyhawk [O] | C | Has an interesting sorta isometric perspective but the gameplay is rather bland.

Dragon Spirit: The New Legend [V] | A- | Not really a port of the arcade game, more like a remix. It's pretty forgiving with continues, unlike Dragon Spirit on PC Engine/TG-16 which has none. My only issue is the lack of drums in the stage music.

Gun-Nac*  [V]| SSSSS+ | My favorite shmup on the system also favorite game on the entire NES/Famicom library. Love the fact there are infinite continues (something most Compile shmups have in common). 4th favorite shmup of all time.

Gradius [H]| A+ | A classic for sure. I just suck at horizontal shmups (except for Air Zonk), so I don't play it much.

Gun.Smoke [V] I haven't played enough to rate yet. Seperate fire buttons for left and right side of player is a unique feature of this game.

Gyruss [O]| S | Not a traditional shmup but  it does have a basic power up so I'm including it. I prefer this to the arcade original. Also love the chiptune Bach music...

Image Fight [V]| A- | A solid port of the arcade game by Irem.

Legendary Wings [V]|no rank| I've owned this game for like 15 years but not really played it much. Can't get past the first stage.

MagMax [H]| D+ | Cool as hell cover art, but the game is boring. But hey you can turn into a giant mech by collecting parts, so there's that.

Section Z [H]| C+ | a convoluted maze of a shmup. I wanna blow stuff up not go through a maze.

Seicross [H]| D | A sort of shmup/racing game hybrid though it falls short of being a solid game.

Sky Shark [V]| A- | One of the hardest vertical shmups I've ever played. Port of a Taito arcade game. Has music composed by legendary chiptune composer, Tim Follin. I've never seen stage 2 but the music is great so I don't mind getting stuck.

Star Force [V]| C+ | Pretty much the same game as Star Soldier but it's a Tecmo game.

Super Spy Hunter (Battle Formula) [V]| S+ | An amazing game by Sunsoft. Not really a Spy Hunter game, but it was branded so in the west. This game has some of the best music on the NES. That Sunsoft bass!

Super Star Force [V]| I have no idea what to do in the game. It's like an adventure game with shmup gameplay. Does not help the text is in Japanese.

Star Soldier [V]| C+ | The first game in Hudson Soft's legendary Soldier series, but this game is kinda bland. Though, every series must start somewhere.

Stinger (Twinbee 2) | A+ | I don't love it as much as the other Twinbee games but it's still really good.

Tiger-Heli [V]| C | It's okay, but with the other games I own, why play it?

Thundercade [V]| B | Perhaps the only solid Micronics shmup on NES. There's aren't too many motorcycle shmups. lol

Twin Eagle [V]| D- | The animation of water tiles make me nauseous so I don't play this game. I'm sure there's better ports of this game elsewhere.

Twinbee [V]| S+ | I don't own the actual cartridge but it's on a bootleg cart. I'll make an exception for this one.

Twinbee 3 [V]| S+ | I absolutely love this game. Shame it wasn't released in the west. It's currently the only console shmup I've ever beaten.

Xevious [V] [D] I just hate this game. I appreciate it's significance to the genre. But that 2 second music loop in the game drives me up the wall.

Zanac | A- [V]| a great shmup on the system, but the AI system can sometimes make a level impossible. Otherwise a pretty good game. I love the title screen music.

 

PC Engine/TG-16:

Dragon Spirit [V]| A | Overall a great port of the arcade game. Has great music and gameplay. My only issue is the lack of any continues.

Final Soldier [V]| S | The third game in the Soldier Series. I like it more than Super Star Solider. Great music and gameplay. Only issue is some minor slowdown.

GunHed (Blazing Lazers) [V]| S+ | This game is similar to Super Aleste (Space Megaforce) both are made by Compile. Shares a title with a movie and a manga but has nothing to do with either of them.

Heavy Unit [H]| B+ | A pretty hard horizontal shmup. At least it has infinite continues. You can also transform into a mech.

Override* [V]| S+ | Some think this game is too fast. Sure it takes some time to get used to but I like it.

PC Genjin: Punkic Cyborgs (Air Zonk) [H]| S+ | My favorite horizontal shmup. It's silly and crude, but I love it! Has amazing music!

Psycho Chaser [V]| A | An interesting shmup where you play as a running android. You can switch weapons that have different firing effects. I haven't really got into it yet.

Soldier Blade [V]| SSSSSSSSSSSS+ | My favorite game of all time! The music... the boss fights... EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!

Super Star Soldier [V]| A+ | The first Soldier game released on the PC-E/TG-16. I always get stuck on Stage 2. I think it's to hard for just a second stage. You might as well start the game over if you die in it as you really need the powerups from the first stage.

 

Genesis:

Grind Stormer* [V]| S | A great game! I tend to prefer playing it in V-V mode. (power ups work kinda like Gradius)

Task Force Harrier EX [V]| S | The first shmup I bought on Genesis. Much more forgiving than Grind Stormer.

Twin Cobra [V]|B-| The second shmup I bought for the system. A bit of a disappointment. Not bad, just not amazing.

 

Game Boy:

Nemesis [H]| A | A great shmup on the Game Boy, even if it pretty much is the same game as Gradius.

R-Type DX [H] | S | That title screen music! (which sounds a lot like something from one of the Ninja Gaiden games) Not been past stage 1 in R-Type !. Technically A GBC game but works in the original Game Boy.

 

Game Gear

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

SNES/Super Famicom:

Earth Defense Force [H] I've not played enough to rate. But the first stage is really hard.

Gradius III [H]| A | It's a Gradius game so it's a classic. Suffers a bit from slowdown.

Super Aleste (Space Megaforce) My favorite game on the system. This game is pretty much is a sequel to GunHed (Blazing Lazes).

Super Nova (Darius Force) | A+ | This game should have just been called Darius Force in the west. I like it more than Gradius III. Has less slowdown.

Super R-Type [H]|no rank| I've not played this much. I've heard it suffers from some pretty terrible slowdown.

UN Squadron (Area 88) [H]| A | Sort of like a shmup RPG. You can level up. I've not played it too much. Western title is stupid though.

 

PS1:

Gekoih: Shooting King [V]| SSSSSSSSS+ | My second favorite shmup and latest in my collection. Also my only shmup for the system.

 

Saturn:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

N64:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

PC (DOS) Making an exception here as I did not buy these games but I need to include them because they are some of my favorites.

Overkill [V] | A+ | Love the soundtrack! Great Adlib sound. A controller with turbo is a must!

Tyrian 2000 [V] | SSSSSSS+ | My third favorite shmup of all time. Amazing soundtrack! Great upgrade system... and so many levels! The last episode is downright silly... and BEER!

 

PS2:

R-Type Final [H] |no rating| I haven't played enough of this game to rate it yet. Great graphics though.

 

Game Boy Advance:

Iridion 3D [O] [B+] Has a weird fake 3D perspective. I've heard the second game is a standard vertical shmup. I should look into it.

 

Xbox:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

Game Cube:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

DS:

Nanostray [V] | S+ | My only shmup on DS. I've gotten pretty far in this game. Kind of like Pshyco Chaser with weapon swapping. Though I would kill for a standard forward spreadshot.

 

Xbox 360:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

Wii:

BlastWorks [H] |no rating| Very weird game where you collect the remains of enemy ships. I've not played it yet.

 

PSP:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

PS3:

Raiden IV: Overkill [V] | A | I also on this on PC. My only shmup on the system. Sound was too loud for my speaker system so I had to turn it down. Great game though.

 

3DS:

(I own no shmups for this system)

 

PC Windows (modern)

 

1917 - The Alien Invasion (haven't played yet)

Astro Avenger III [V] Was a budget title. But it's not bad for what it is. I've not played it in years so I won't rate it. It's my only physical copy of a shmup for PC.

Deltazeal [V] | A+ | A great game. Not played it much. Would not be out of place along side late 90s arcade shmups.

Demon Truck (haven't played yet)

Fire Arrow Plus (haven't played yet)

HellStar (haven't played yet)

Jet Buster (haven't played yet)

Phoenix Force (haven't played yet)

Raiden III [V] (haven't played yet)

Raiden IV: Overkill  [V] | A | similar to PS3 version

RefleX [V] haven't played enough to rate

Satazius [H] | A | similar to Thunder Force III/IV

Sine Mora [H] haven't played enough to rate

Sine Mora EX [H] (haven't played yet though it must be similar to the standard game)

Velocty Ultra (haven't played yet)

Xiizeal (haven't played yet)

Zanggeki Warp (haven't played yet)

Zenodyne R (haven't played yet)

Zenohell (haven't played yet)

 

So 65 titles (64 if you don't count Raiden IV (PC and PS3) as two separate titles.)

 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by DragonGrafx-16

[DragonGrafx-16]

Added this to my collection. A pretty neat vertical shmup where the power ups attach to the ship and change it's appearance. The second game, on the PC Engine, is cool too but is pretty expensive. Even more than Soldier Blade.  I would love to include pictures of every game in my collection... but there's just so many games in my collection!

[DragonGrafx-16]

I'll think I'll make a compromise and just take one big photo of the entire collection one of these days...