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Shmup Report 5

A month or so before my Thunder Force VI arrived from Play-Asia I decided to relive the classic Mega Drive games one after the other. This trilogy is so awesome that I had to include it in this chapter of my shmup diary, but it doesn't mean I haven't played other quality shooters as well in October and November.

Almost all of this selection is old school, but I dare you not to agree with me when I say this is what video games are all about. All games discussed below were beaten with 1 credit only (1CC), with the exception of DonPachi.

Shmups forever!

1942 (NES) – I think 1942 was Capcom's first big hit in the arcades, at least I recall reading this somewhere. One day, after I had bought the Capcom Generation 1 compilation for the Saturn, I decided to see how the NES port stood up against the original game. It's a rather poor port, though I must admit it was fun back in the day. This time I was able to finish all 32 levels in my first attempt, while realizing the score counter resets after the 999.999 mark!

Transbot (Master System) – This could've been a very nice game. Graphically above average for an 8-bit shooter, Transbot was unfortunately designed with no end in mind, looping endlessly after you reach the underground area and defeat the ED-209 clone. Fluid scrolling and a somewhat interesting power-up system are not enough to keep you awake, so it gets boring very fast.

Gradius (PC Engine) – First chapter of one of the most classic shooters around. Some people consider this the perfect home port of the original arcade hit. I agree it's pretty decent if you take out the horrible slowdown that occurs whenever you power up your ship with 4 options (the tentacle stage sometimes almost stops to a hault!). The PC Engine version has an extra "skeleton" stage that blends really well both musically and graphically with the rest of the game, though I kinda feel that Konami reduced the length of the last two stages in order to accomplish that. Let's check if this is true when I get the chance to play the Gradius Deluxe Pack.

Zero Wing (PC Engine CD) – One of my favorite shmups of all time is Zero Wing for the Mega Drive, so it's no wonder it was also one of the first titles I got for my PCE CD library. So how does it compare to the MD port? Let me just say that the cartridge version is slightly better, even when considering the two extra stages found in the PCE CD. The MD game has more parallax and a better soundtrack, with the advantage of having 3 loopable difficulties. The rearranged CD music doesn't do justice to the original compositions, which surprisingly sound more rock-pumping in the cartridge version.

Parodius Da! (SNES) – Gradius fans rejoice, for we have a whole series of spoof games based on Vic Viper material! It's not for all tastes (or Gradius fan tastes for that matter), but it does hold quite well as far as challenge goes. Absurd stage and enemy design is the rule here, in an adventure that's 11 stages long – with one exclusive to the SNES port – and pays total homage to the first entries in the Gradius series. Now for Gokujou, shall we?

DonPachi (Saturn) – A fellow shmupper once declared that Cave games "rape" people. Yes, if you want to get "raped" by a shooter, go play Cave shooters. To this day, I can't help but agree with this statement whenever I fire up DonPachi for some intense shooting action. Simply put, these games punish players the more perfectly they perform in the game. No deaths when completing a stage means higher difficulty in the next stage, and rank only retreats after you die. It's cruel, but I haven't given up yet.

Air Diver (Mega Drive) – For an action simulator in the same vein as G-Loc, Air Diver is very simple, short and – most importantly – beatable. Seismic could've made it less choppy, with at least a little more variety for the enemies. It's not a great game by any means, but I really dig the soundtrack. All stage tunes have an After Burner feel to them, and I wonder what they'd sound like when treated with a little bit more care.

Thunder Force II (Mega Drive) – This is where it all started. In what would become one of the greatest shmup series of all time, Technosoft decided to put more speed and rock into the scrolling genre. The top-down levels are a big let down, but fortunately they were abandoned in the sequels. This is still one of the most difficult Thunder Forces, an enjoyable and humble game whose formula evolved to what 9 out of 10 shooter fans know today.

Thunder Force III (Mega Drive) – A great deal of attention was drawn to the Mega Drive when Thunder Force III was released, initiating this console's shmup reign during the 16-bit era. It was something absolutely new for its time: great graphics, jaw-dropping smooth scrolling, fast action and awesome music. There are actually people who prefer this over the fourth installment, which was responsible to raise the bar for difficulty, something that Thunder Force III admittedly lacked when played in default settings. The "mania" level is there however for everybody to behold.

Thunder Force IV (Mega Drive) – Top Mega Drive shmup? Top shmup of the 16-bit generation? Yes, some might say. Suffice it to say when you start the console you're granted with one of the coolest shooter intros ever, a feeling that remains throughout the whole game. Everything that made the third title so awesome was improved for TFIV, something that pushed Sega's machine to its limit. Occasional slowdown was the result of such achievement, but even so it's hard not to be overwhelmed by this game's daring scope.

Thunder Force VI (Playstation 2) – This was a major 2008 release from Sega, who acquired the rights from defunct Technosoft. It pays a very kind homage to the classic TF games, and tries to continue the legacy from where Thunder Force V left off. There are 3 ships to choose from, and the real challenge only appears when playing in harder difficulty levels. Disappointingly short, the game at least boasts intensity while it lasts, with an unremarkable soundtrack that is the actual real letdown. But hey, it's still Thunder Force. Let's cherish it so that a new one comes up in the future!

Now for a video treat featuring brief scenes of all shooters from this diary excerpt! Enjoy!

[ I still can't post this in "high quality"... As soon as I can I'll revert the link to a "high quality" video ]

Text posted by Kollision on December 15th 2008