To complement the comprehensive guides to the impressive Sega Saturn and Playstation Shmups libraries, we’ve updated and expanded this Dreamcast 2D Shooter guide.   We now have more of the newer post-mortum shooters included and hopefully made it a bit more informative.  If you have anything to add, just let us know in the comments!

While it only started out with a few shooters from Psikyo and Capcom (most of which looked like nice 2D Saturn games), the Dreamcast gathered quite a library by the end of its life. In fact, MOST of the 2D shooters for the console were released well after the Dreamcast was “dead” in the United States.  So yes, if you wish to play most of these, you will need to learn how to play Dreamcast imports. But if you are a shooter fan, you will not regret investing in some of these Dreamcast gems.

Ikaruga

A pseudo-sequel to Treasure’s Radiant Silvergun, this mind-bending shmup is incredibly popular and combined high-precision shooter action with the color-matching gameplay element found in Treasure’s adventure game, Silhouette Mirage. Ikaruga still blew away every expectation that the shump community had while the rumors of a Radiant Silvergun sequel were discussed. Ikaruga is brutally difficult, but the gameplay is refined to near perfection. It has developed a strong cult following (much like other Treasure games) and is a common way to show up a shmup expert’s skills.  Treasure understood this challenge and included tutorials and a trial mode.

Ikaruga is a traditional vertical scrolling shooter like Radiant Silvergun, but there are a few twists. Like Silhouette Mirage, your ship and every enemy is assigned one of two polarities: dark or light. While your ship can switch back and forth between light and dark, the enemies are static. White enemies fire white bullets, and black enemies fire black bullets. As the player you have a choice: by choosing the same color as an enemy you can absorb their bullets and charge up your super weapon. By choosing the opposite color as an enemy you can double the damage you inflict, but their bullets will kill you. If you want to score big you need to kill enemies in groups of three according to color, “chaining” these groups together.  Since bosses retreat after a set period of time, it’s also possible to make it through the game without firing a shot, so some attempt to make it through by merely avoiding one color while absorbing the other.

The challenges in Ikaruga are nearly endless, and Treasure did an unbelievable job of presenting the player with all sorts of interesting and unique situations. The game even features a TATE mode where   the game can be rotated into a horizontal shooter and artwork featuring ship designs.  While every gamer will not be up for this gaming wonder, it’s definitely worth looking into if you want a challenge.
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Under Defeat

At the time of its release, Under Defeat was billed as the last Dreamcast game to be officially released.  And while this claim was a bit premature, this title would definitely have been a high point to end on.  Under Defeat is a retelling of WWII, where you play as a German-speaking helicopter pilot in a uniform reminiscent of the Nazis.  The enemy is a group known as the Union, who speak English and use WWII-era equipment and vehicles in an attempt to take you down.  The gameplay is done in vertical SHMUP style with 3D graphics, and follows a traditional system of controls.

That said, it also features different optional weapons with varying levels of firepower and recharge rates.  The weapons not only can deal massive damage but serve to add additional multipliers to score, so figuring out the best way to get points is part of the fun.  Multiple resolution modes can be jumped through on the fly as well, so there’s a large variety of ways to view the game, which is pretty cool for a game generally considered traditional.

And while the bosses can be a challenge, the player doesn’t actually have to kill them.  With each one comes a countdown.  Once it hits ‘0,’ the boss self destructs, for fewer points than would be given for beating them.  There’s also an alternate game mode known as 2-1 which flips the stages and increases the difficulty for those who make it through the game.

Three versions were presented when the game released, though they were functionally all the same.  The Limited Edition included a bonus soundtrack, while the Sega Direct version included the soundtrack, a poster, and a sticker.  The standard version was game-only.
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Bangai-O

Originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, Bangai-O(or Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh) is much better known as a Treasure release on the Dreamcast.  The game features 44 levels, where a brother and sister named Riki and Mami pilot an enormous robot named Bangai-O as they fight a group known as the Kosmo Gang, know throughout the universe as an evil band of fruit smugglers.

Ok, so it’s a little odd, but what you end up getting is a non-traditional title with large stages, two characters you can flip between with different attacks, and a massive amount of firepower.  If you like quirky Japanese storylines and getting to destroy a lot of stuff, this is probably the game for you.  The Dreamcast version added new enemies, bosses, different level layouts, and utilizes an ‘Explosion Meter,’ which keeps track of the number of explosions to give better fruit from killed enemies.

Keep in mind that when you start playing, the starting AB control scheme is considered terrible(even the manual acknowledges it isn’t as good).  Changing to the ABXY scheme is recommended for everyone, and is the preferred.
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Border Down

G.Rev’s first post-mortem Dreamcast shmup featured a new twist on the shooter genre. Your performance actually determined the branch of each stage you would play in.  The game is a horizontal shooter with a system of keeping score based on time, number of points accumulated in a stage, the hit-counter from boss fights, and so on.

Border Down features a unique “border system”, each stage has a green, yellow, and red border and these have 3 parts. Consequently, there are three different paths you can follow, each with different challenges. If you die, you go down a border: green to yellow, yellow to red. If a player dies on red, then the game ends.  One border is not necessarily harder than another(though enemies tend to fire faster on yellow and red, these versions also tend to be shorter), its a matter of personal preference and it differs from level to level.

The bosses in Border Down look especially cool and the explosive effects are very satisfying. In some stages you see battles occurring in the background and that makes you feel like part of a group rather than a lone fighter against a vast armada. Overall, the game looks very slick as you would expect from a late Dreamcast shooter.

A limited edition of the game was released, including a soundtrack CD and different cover art.  Both versions received a very limited release.
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Zero Gunner 2

Zero Gunner 2 is actually one of my favorite shooters, but that’s mostly because I’m not very good at most of them. This helicopter shmup is not overly challenging, so I find it to be the game I pop into the Dreamcast when I need to blow some stuff up without having to stress out. I would also recommend Zero Gunner 2 to those looking to get started in the shooter genre.  It offers nine levels of difficulty to play on and includes three different helicopters to play as.  There are 7 levels, which is brief enough for those who aren’t used to the genre to continue to the end.

One of the best parts of this game is the ability to change the direction your ship can fire. Holding down X or B prompts a cross-hair like cursor in the center of the screen, and using the D-pad while the cross-hair is visible rotates your ship around the cross-hair. If you have enemies coming in from the back left and right diagonals, simply rotate your ship around to fire at them instead of waiting for them to come into your line of fire. This also serves to spice up the conventional vertical or horizontal scrolling most shooters must abide by.

Certain parts of the stages, mostly during boss battles, will occur from a diagonal position, and the direction is constantly twisting and turning, adding a very fun but not frustratingly difficult aspect to the gameplay.

While Zero Gunner 2 has 3D styling, it operates on a flat axis with no vertical movement, so it is a pure 2D shooter at heart. While your ship itself is small, everything else is beautifully detailed. Enemies are characteristically tremendous, and litter the screen with weapons fire.

Overall, the gameplay feels comfortable after only a few levels, and definitely serves to breathe new life into what some call a tired genre.
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Mars Matrix

If you are looking for a challenge that depends more on dodging and a never-ending rain of bullets as opposed to the puzzling elements of Ikaruga, Mars Matrix is where you need to look.

Mars Matrix fills the screen with intricate backgrounds, dozens of independently moving objects, and intense arcade action. Your tools in dealing with an onslaught of bullets from all directions are a fairly standard laser gun, a powerful pulse weapon, and a special attack that can allow your spacecraft to inhale incoming fire and return it in a fierce volley.

Mars Matrix also offers a 2-player mode where two pilots can lay waste to the Red Planet in tandem. And then there’s the glorious Shop Mode. Picking up the gold cubes also nets you experience points, which you can then spend in the extensive Shop to buy more levels, ships, continues, options like ship speed and GHB gauge speed, and even ship and background colors. Mars Matrix has an extremely high replay value at it will be quite a while before you unlock everything.
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Triggerheart Exelica

This is one of the more recent releases for Dreamcast, not seeing release until early 2007.  The game focuses on Exelica and Crueltear, two ladies in the Triggerheart team fighting a war against the Ver’Mith.  A portal opens and the two are accidentally sucked in, finding themselves trapped on Earth.  While making themselves comfortable on their new home, a second portal opens, and the Ver’Mith come streaming through.  So now it’s up to the two of them to save our planet.

The game is a vertical shooter with 3D style, though it’s a 2D experience.  While it’s graphically not as impressive as the Xbox Live port, the Dreamcast version did add a Story Mode and Arrange Mode to add more replay value to the game.  Players must choose which of the two leads to run through the game’s 5 stages, with both having different standard weapons.  To add more meat to the game, both characters can fire anchors to catch enemies, and can then use them as shields, clubs, and even projectiles by hurling them into other enemies for better scores.  Just watch out, because the higher the score you acquire, the harder the boss at the end of the level.

When it released, Triggerheart Exelica also had a special edition release, including a guide book and soundtrack.  A phone card and poster were also included if ordered from Sega Direct.
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Castle Shikigami 2

This beautiful shooter is the sequel to the game known as “Mobile Light Force 2″ in the Western territories. Castle Shikigami 2 enables players to control flying humans instead of ships. It isn’t ground-breaking in any respect, but is a good game to pick up for shooter fans.

The scoring device for this game is called a Tension Battle System (TBS). Your score multiplier increases the closer you are to an enemy or bullet. Therefore, to get the highest scores, you must destroy enemies while brushing up near an enemy bullet or enemy (Think of it as Crazy Taxi meets shmups). To compensate for putting your character in harm’s way, your character’s shot power and shot pattern are enhanced while you are close to your enemies and their bullets.

In addition to the TBS system, some basic mechanics of the shmup genre have been altered. For one thing, you have a life bar, as opposed to dying as soon as you are hit, as in most other games of this type. You can be hit twice and still live; get hit a third time, and your character dies. Also, your “bomb” is not what you may think. As opposed to the usual “blow everything on screen up” type bomb, you have a character-specific move that, while powerful, requires a bit of strategy to use effectively.

There are five difficulties to play on, and an unlockable “extreme mode” for those who make it through the game.  Once again, a special edition released in Japan with a soundtrack and trading cards, while the Sega Direct version included a phone card.
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Psyvariar 2

To earn points in Psyvariar 2, you must destroy your enemies and also “buzz” their attacks, meaning get as close as possible to their bullets without actually getting hit.  Large portions of your ship are invincible, save for a couple of pixels in the center.  This means to get the best scores, you have to willingly risk death and pray you take nothing straight up the middle.

While the original Psyvariar was disappointing, Psyvariar 2 brings the real deal to the Dreamcast. While the shmup is flooded with a tremendous amount of “bullet hell”, the game’s controls are tight and responsive enough to give you a chance at staying alive.

Also, between the 2D/3D backgrounds and the wonderfully polished character/mecha designs, Psyvariar 2 also features a great deal of eye candy to keep you entertained.  Unfortunately the Dreamcast version would go without some of the features made available in the PS2 and Xbox ports, but that doesn’t mean the game was unpopular.  In fact, the Dreamcast version’s the most sought after.
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Twinkle Star Sprites

A port from the Neo-Geo original, this game wonderfully combines gameplay elements from both the shooter and puzzle genres to make one charming game.   Twinkle Star Sprites plays like a vertically scrolling shooter, but you actually play head to head against another player in split screen fashion. By destroying lots of enemies in one go (chain combos) you send more bad guys over to your opponents half of the screen. Once this process begins, it is very similar to modern competitive puzzle game like Puyo Pop Fever and Tetris Attack.

There are also bosses to contend with, Death Attacks if the match stretches on too long or if a player is idle for thirty seconds, and different kinds of attacks which can be created by reflecting enemy shots(creating Reverse Attacks or Extra Attacks).  To further instill competition, whenever a player takes damage, their opponent gains back half of that amount in health, helping to extend the match.  If you are a shooter fan that is stuck in a rut, nothing will give you a breath of fresh air like Twinkle Star Sprites.
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Last Hope

This game started as a homebrew project for the Neo Geo AES  by German independent game developer NG:DEV.TEAM.  The DC version was published via redspotgames.  It centers on the impending destruction of Earth, which can only be defeated by a single ship, the Z-42 Warpstar, which can be warped behind enemy lines to destroy the alien leader.

To do this, you have to pilot it through horizontally aligned levels, wielding a shield that can be rotated around you in full circular motion to deflect enemy fire.  The game is similar to R-Type in presentation, but features fully hand-drawn backgrounds across its six stages, and it runs at a smooth 60 frames per second.  Controls are simple, with one button to shoot and two to rotate the shield pod to the left and right.  The game features four difficulty settings.

Unfortunately, it’s difficulty has actually been one of its greatest criticisms, as shrapnel from exploding enemy ships was often the same color as enemy bullets.  To counter this criticism(as well as a few others), the development team has been working on a retooling, known as Last Hope: Pink Bullets, which does include pink bullets, as well as faster ship speed, lower difficulty, and slightly altered colors to make the game brighter.  The original version released alongside a limited edition version, which included the soundtrack.
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Trizeal

Trizeal is a vertical shooter ported from the Naomi board arcade version, combining 3D graphics with classical 2D gameplay. In the game, your spacecraft can be morphed into 3 models supporting different shooting types, including front missiles, homing rockets and wide shot.  Backgrounds are also played with a bit to show distant ships or things coming in from various angles, giving a sense of depth to the screen.

Trizeal delivers a steady stream of enemies to blast through. Bonuses can be “chained” together in combos to build up your weaponry, so you won’t want to share too many of them with your friend in two-player mode.  Also included in the Dreamcast port are several levels not in the arcade release, a score attack mode, and a sound test.  Both Omake Mode, where levels are short but enemy patterns are much faster, and Lifting Mode, where you have to juggle a stone on your ship to gain points, are both unlocked by beating the six stages of the game.  A ship from Triangle Service’s older game, XII Stag, is also hidden in the game.
While a sequel was released in 2007 under the name Exzeal, a Dreamcast port has not been officially announced.  That doesn’t mean it’s not rumored however, so keep your ears open for this one.
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Chaos Field

This vertical-scrolling shooter puts its own interesting spin on some aspects of the traditional shooter formula. Unlike most other shmups, Chaos Field features very few enemies on screen at one time. Large enemies that could be boss characters in other games are the majority of what you will see in Chaos Field — each with many points that must be destroyed before the player can advance.  Generally this style is known as “boss fest.”

In order to defend yourself, you have the traditional unlimited blaster, and a blade for clearing the incoming bullets (kinda like a windshield wiper). You will find this device indispensable, as often the screen becomes entirely filled with gunfire that must be eliminated to survive.

Finally, there is the ability to switch between an “Order” Field, and the namesake “Chaos” Field. Switching to the Chaos Field renders your craft’s fire more powerful, but makes enemy fire more damaging. Luckily, this is not a one-hit-you’re-dead affair. You are allowed to take more than one hit, and the amount is variable via the options screen.
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Gunbird 2

If you are familiar with Psikyo’s Strikers series of shooters, Gunbird 2 won’t offer you many innovations – in fact you will notice many similarities. While it is a typical Psikyo shooter, it  doesn’t have much to excite shmup fans that are addicted to Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga.

The game definitely looks a little long in the tooth graphically as it could easily pass for a Sega Saturn game like its prequel. In terms of gameplay, there is not much depth or strategy. You simply power your gun up as high as you can and try not to get shot.  Humor seems to be the real focus of the game.

To give you a little variety and replay value, players are offered the selection of four base characters, with two hidden characters, including Morrigan of Darkstalkers fame. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses that include differences in such categories as firepower, homing shots, and close range attacks.

Additional levels and more original gameplay elements would have made this one a must own title. Instead, we are left with a mediocre title that only keeps shooter fans mildly entertained.
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GigaWing & GigaWing 2

Giga Wing casts off the strategic elements that fans of the genre often look for in favor of exaggerating the action. Instead of shooting at you in big bursts, the enemies totally blanket the screen with fire that simply cannot be avoided with slick maneuvering and well-placed shots.

To combat this wave of fire, you have a tool that creates a force field around your aircraft to repel the countless projectiles back at your foes and produce oodles of items to snatch. You can also wipe the screen clean with smart bombs, which produce similar results.

There are several different planes to choose from, each with different standard weapons which can be upgraded via appropriate power-ups, but not a great deal of variety is added to the game because of this, because fighting your way to the end is really just a matter of using your reflect force at every opportunity and dropping bombs whenever the screen gets cluttered.

You are given unlimited continues and when you use one you pick up at the exact same point you left off, so there’s not much incentive to be careful where you fly or to deploy your bombs conservatively. Pretty much anyone can pick up this game and beat it on their first attempt with the proper amount of patience.

You won’t find a huge difference between GigaWing and GigaWing 2 other than the fact that Capcom pushed the graphics a bit further. While the original GigaWing was based off the older CPS2 arcade hardware and looks like a Saturn 2D game, Gigawing originally ran on the Dreamcast-friendly Naomi arcade hardware. With this new hardware, GigaWing 2 took cues from games like Radiant Silvergun with its 2D sprites on top of 3D backgrounds. Unfortunately, the graphics alone weren’t enough to boost Gigawing 2 above its predecessor.
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Radilgy (aka Radirgy, Rajirugi, or Radio Allergy)

This is an odd game.  Much like Chaos Field, you have three different ships to choose from and the gameplay is said to be like a cross of Chaos Field and Mars Matrix. If you’re just playing for survival, it’s not a very tough game for experts. Going for the big score is another story though. It’s a huge challenge to keep the multiplier meter going, especially during a boss battle. It’s tough enough just to destroy the bosses before timing out.  The gameplay also borrows heavily from its brother, Chaos Field such as the ability of the player’s ship to swing a sword to cause damage, and destructible enemy fire.

The graphical style is very unique for a shoot-em-up as it sports an anime-style, cell-shaded look that some have compared to Jet Grind Radio, but I think it looks more like a hand-drawn, Macromedia Flash-like style.

Radilgy breaks the mold from traditional shmup style and will stand out in a crowd. While it’s not one of the better Dreamcast shooters, collectors will probably want to pick it up.  A Sega Direct special release included a phone card, while another included a phone card and a refurbished Sega Dreamcast.
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Karous

With this release, the Dreamcast was officially dead to third party titles.  Featuring a visual style and some gameplay elements similar to Radilgy, this vertical shmup included a strange system known as the D.F.S. Bomb.  Wheranever a bomb is used, a shield goes up around the player which can then be used to kill enemies, garnering more experience points for them.  Both the weapons and shield can be upgraded after getting so much experience points, up to level 100.  Weapon levels are also treated as experience multipliers, and the sword generates more so if you’re going for a high score, that’s the way to go.

To further gameplay, there’s an interesting item system which can upgrade weapons, affect speed, recover health and shields, or fill the SP meter, so the Bomb can be used again.  Enemies and their shots aren’t very quick, and there’s a very limited number of enemy types, so after a couple of levels, you’ve seen everything.  Enemy waves also don’t vary much, so don’t expect a sudden change in gameplay.
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DUX

DUX is a horizontal shooter, developed and released by HUCAST.net & KonTechs Ltd.  A mysterious new material, named DUX, has been discovered, and a ship has been built out of it to fight a war against a group known as the Spiritual Spacers.  However, the material isn’t exactly stable, so they have to find a real nut to pilot it.  That’s where you come in.

This region free game includes six levels, an upgradeable weapon system that can be charged up for more power, and an upgradeable shield pod(yes, like R-Type) device that can be launched as a weapon if necessary.  The scoring system features a similar risk/reward system to Psyvariar 2, though this time your ship’s a bit bigger than a single pixel.  The game’s graphics are an interesting point of contention: you either love them or you hate them.  Still, backgrounds can be disabled by choosing the “perfect” video selection in the Options menu, and if you really like the images, the game was designed with the Dreamcast VGA box in mind.

Unfortunately the game apparently had some bugs when initially released, though word is that replacements are free.  A special edition was also released that included the game’s soundtrack.
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Honorable Mentions

Drill
While it is possible to find the demo for this vertical shooter on the Internet, the production team making it apparently fell apart soon after its release when the lead programmer was given offers to work on titles for the Nintendo Wii.  So it appears Drill will never be released.

Rez
Some folks may debate whether this rail shooter should be on the list alongside all the scrolling shmups present on the Dreamcast.  That still doesn’t mean it’s not at least worth a mention, especially considering how many people seem to love this game.  REZ features the player as a hacker in a computer world, attempting to destroy viruses while stopping the central computer, Eden, from shutting down.  But killing enemies also adds beats, causing the player to affect the music.  Throw in the multi-colored wireframes that make up the game, and it makes for one unusual, but incredible, experience.

Aside from the huge amount of stand-alone shooter releases, a handful of non-shmup Playstation games included “mini-shmups” hidden in distant corners for players to encounter. Here are a few of the most notable ones -

“Tiny Phalanx” (Zero Divide)

Somewhere within the coded confines of this long-forgotten 3D fighter, the developers, for whatever reason, saw fit to hide a bite-sized side-scroller that’s pretty much exactly what the title suggests – a “mini” reimagining of the 16-bit shooter Phalanx. While only three stages long, it plays almost exactly the same as its inspiration, featuring several of the latter’s weapons, enemies, and backdrops – the graphics have been slightly improved, however, and you now have a supply of bombs to save you in a pinch. While it’s definitely nothing mind-blowing, especially if you already have the original on the SNES or GBA, it’s definitely one of the more interesting “hidden” games out there, and at least an encouraging sign that even developers working during the era when it was “3D or Nothing” still had some love for sprite-based gaming.    To access Tiny Phalanx, while the Zero Divide disc is booting up, hold the Start and Select buttons on controller two – once the shooter starts up, you’ll play using the second controller.

“Groovy Arche” (Tales of Phantasia)

While all that Westerners ever got of the first game in the Tales series was the subpar GBA port, the Japanese were able to play not only the Super Famicom original but a PS1 remake which included, alongside other extras, a side-scrolling shooter minigame where you play as Arche, the witch character, flying on her broom. It’s a short section (a score attack run, really), lasting around three minutes total, but there are plenty of point bonuses to rack up (nearly all of which are vocally announced in the background), based on everything from simply not dying to killing enemies quickly, along with several weapon types to use. It’s not the most impeccably-tuned shooter ever, but it is cute, and a nice diversion from the RPG goings-on of the rest of the game – it was eventually released on its own as a mobile phone title. On the PS1, you access it by talking to a robot located in the future’s Thor City.

“Versus Steely Dan/Lovers” (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

While Capcom’s take on the long-running manga’s most popular story arc is primarily a fighting game, the Playstation version, unlike its Dreamcast counterpart, includes a “Super Story Mode” which not only features (duh) extra story elements, but several mini-games, including a side-scrolling shooter, which can also be unlocked and played on their own. You actually play as 2 characters at once, controlling each one’s attacks with separate buttons – the “main” character can power his laser up with items, and while the other has fixed power he is invulnerable to damage and can attack in any direction. In “SS” mode it’s encountered relatively early on, in Chapter 13 – to unlock it, you’ll need 600 Jojo points.

“Galaga” (Mortal Kombat 3)

Whatever you may think of the Mortal Kombat series, one can’t deny the developers’ apparent fondness for hiding some interesting stuff in their products – this time around, among other things, there’s a variation of Galaga waiting for you if you get tired of ripping internal organs out of people. It’s stupidly hard, if not impossible, especially due to the fact that you receive little to no invincibility when respawning, but you do get to hear the “toasty!” sound bite whenever you die, as well as “that was pathetic” when you lose all your lives.    To play it, at the “Versus” screen before a match, player 1 should enter “6-4-2” (silhouette – question mark – yinyang), while player 2 should enter “4-6-8” (question mark – silhouette – Shao Kahn). A message should appear to inform you that you’re being transported to the “Realm of Rellim Ohcanep” (apparently the last names of two of the game’s developers spelled backwards, a la “Noob Saibot”) – the current credit will be lost when all your lives are gone. This mini-game is also available in other MK variations.

“Loading Screen” (Ridge Racer Revolution)

Leave it to Namco to toss in references to their back catalogue wherever they possibly can – while the game is loading up, you can occupy yourself with the bonus level from Galaga. Also, if you don’t shoot any of the aliens during the roughly 30-second segment, you’ll unlock the ability to set the time of day for the race in the “Other” screen.

Two-dimensional shooters are some of the most intense old-school games out there due to the precision, reflexes, and memorization needed to survive these adrenaline rushes.  For fans of the shmup genre, the Sega Saturn is a must-own console due to its excellent exclusives, a healthy dose of high-quality cross-platform ports, and plenty of 2D processing power.  Racketboy’s newest contributor, BulletMagnet, walks us through the Saturn’s impressive shooter lineup from the excellent all the way to the mediocre.

Radiant Silvergun

One of the few Japan-only shooters that even non-shmuppers might have heard of, Radiant Silvergun is best known for the high sale prices it attracts on eBay, but the relative few who have actually experienced it can tell you that there are many other reasons why shooter fans ought to make it their mission to try this title at some point in their lives. Not only was it the first scrolling shooter to come forth from cult developer Treasure (better-known in the West for Silvergun’s pseudo-sequel, Ikaruga), but down to this day there’s simply no other shmup quite like it.

More than perhaps any other game of its ilk, Radiant Silvergun embodies an “epic” spirit – from its relatively lengthy structure (an hour or more per complete run-through) to its grandiose and pretentious story (accompanied by a symphonic classical soundtrack, to boot) to its seven-simultaneous-weapons setup to its bevies of bosses, and their impeccable ability to make you exclaim “you want me to steer my ship WHERE, and do WHAT?”, this game does its darndest to make you feel like you’re doing something more important than just pressing buttons in front of a screen. This tone extends past its trimmings right into the core gameplay – Silvergun is challenging (though mostly fair, thanks to precise control and a small hitbox) even when played with a “just try not to die” mindset, but if you want to really get anywhere in it you’ll have to devote yourself to mastering its scoring system, which primarily involves only shooting enemies of a certain color, and a lot of memorization. Since your weapons power up based on how well you score, you’ll need to learn the game inside and out – playing it “casually” is NOT an option if you’re looking for “legitimate” one-credit clear.

The Saturn port, aside from being pretty much arcade-perfect (the unusual graphical blend of sprites and polygons, by the way, still impresses), adds a handful of nice extras, most notably a “Saturn Mode,” which not only further(!) lengthens the game and includes additional dialogue and opening/ending anime sequences, but allows you to save your powered-up weapon levels between runs if you’d rather just blast through everything without worrying too much about chaining enemies. Be that as it may, however, some shooter fans will still be turned off by the undeniably overbearing nature of Silvergun’s scope, ambition, and challenge – this is understandable, as it’s definitely not intended to appeal to everyone to begin with. That said, if you’re a shooter fan you still need to track down Radiant Silvergun, just to see what it’s all about – after all, the only way to know for sure whether it’s for you is to play it yourself.
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Batsugun

If the ability to wield fictional weapons of mass destruction (hopefully without being preemptively invaded) is your primary motivation for playing a shooter, then boy is Batsugun the game for you. The final shmup release of iconic developer Toaplan, Batsugun set a new bar for just how much havoc players were allowed to wreak onscreen, and it’s still quite the display of pixilated pyrotechnics 15 years after its initial arcade release. In a historical context, many shmuppers credit it as the title which bridges the gap between “oldschool” and “modern” shooters.

The copious weapon fire isn’t the only thing that looks great – the detailed, colorful spritework here is some of the company’s best, though along with your uber-powered weaponry it can sometimes make it tricky to spot enemy bullets (and their arsenal is almost as ‘roided up as yours). Otherwise, the game is pretty well-balanced – along with utilizing regular old power-up items your weapons will “level up” after you’ve destroyed enough stuff, and henceforth never dip below that level if you die, which helps to prevent you from being left with inadequate weaponry at an inopportune time. The game is also relatively generous with bombs, though stingy with extends – be advised, though, that the scoring system is one of the most arcane you’ll see, requiring, among other things, certain command motions to be entered at certain times to reveal certain bonuses. Believe me, you’ll never figure out most of this game’s hidden tricks on your own, so don’t be ashamed of looking them up in an FAQ.

The Saturn port is superb, and includes both the “regular” and “Special” versions of the game from the arcades – the latter, among other things, gives you a smaller hitbox, stronger bombs,  and several truncated (and tricky) “loops” to fight through after finishing the initial five stages. It also has an optional arranged soundtrack (good) as well as the complete elimination of the arcade game’s slowdown, which can make the loops in Special even tougher (bad), although it also adds in a very fast autofire button to help you deal damage more quickly. All in all, one of the Saturn’s essential shooters, especially considering that it was never ported to anything else.
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Battle Garegga

While shmups aren’t usually considered a particularly “controversial” gaming genre, Battle Garegga, Raizing’s most famous creation, fits that bill not due to its thematic content but because of how brazenly it challenges players to forget everything they know about how to play a shooter. Garegga is the game that made the word “rank” a household term for shmuppers – of course, from the genre’s beginnings many such titles have been built around some sort of “rank” system, which adjusts the game’s difficulty based on the player’s performance (i.e. Gradius gets harder as you power up more), but Garegga’s take on this setup is one of the most extreme and unconventional in the entire genre. Whether it’s regarded as an abomination or a revelation depends upon whom you ask.

On the surface Garegga looks like a pseudo-WWII shooter, albeit a remarkably well-crafted one – the detailed sprites are superbly evocative of the game’s gritty world (note to today’s developers – this is how to use a muted color palette effectively), and the pulsing, apprehensive soundtrack adds tensity to the atmosphere with just as much aplomb. Once you start playing you’ll love adjusting your options on the fly and blasting away everything in your path, but after awhile you’ll likely notice that the game seems to be angry with you. This is because Garegga’s rank system will penalize you with steadily increasing difficulty for almost ANY action you take, and will only lighten up if you lose a life. While the detailed workings of its system are far too complicated to go into here, the basic gist of playing Garegga “properly” is to get by as long as possible on as little as possible – hoarding powerups, bombs and lives will only make the game impossible later on. To make it all the way through, you’ve got to, among other things, spend your bombs on blowing away background scenery for points, to take advantage of the generous extend rate – so as to have more spare lives to sacrifice to keep the rank down (in other words, not playing “for score” isn’t an option). Very few games force such conditions on a player (most of those that do, incidentally, are also by Raizing), but if you take the time to get used to it, Garegga is a tough-yet-satisfying experience like no other.

This title was only ever ported to the Saturn, which makes it all the more fortunate that said port is so excellent. Arcade-perfect in terms of presentation and gameplay (though having to unlock the original’s slowdown is a bit annoying), it also includes some great extras – code-free hidden character selection, various rapid fire settings, and even a pair of unlockable superplays are but the most notable of them (unfortunately, the “red ball” option for the hard-to-see bullets isn’t worth much). Unfortunately the game is a bit tough to find, and expensive when found – regardless, anyone who considers himself brave enough to take this game on, and is willing to play by its unique and demanding rules, absolutely must pick this up. Just make sure you’re prepared.
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DoDonPachi

Regarded by many as the definitive “manic” shmup (and by some as the definitive shmup, period), DoDonPachi remains arguably Cave’s most iconic and popular release. On the surface it might look like a prettier version of DonPachi, with the same core component of planes, chains and lasers, but play it for a bit and it’s clear that you’ve got a whole other class of shooter on your hands.

First off, you can now choose to add an extra jolt of power to either your shot or your laser at the start, giving you an opportunity to “tweak” each plane a bit to your personal play style (as well as soften the blow of a power down a bit, as your “juiced-up” amenity isn’t sent back to square one after dying) – additionally, the frustration level has been reduced, as most of DonPachi’s “sneaky kills” have been eliminated, and the opportunities to chain enemies have been expanded. In this way, heavy memorization is needed to score well, but not to survive, which gives both “hardcore” and “not-so-hardcore” shmuppers an opportunity to play and enjoy the game in their own way. A handful of other scoring techniques (most notably keeping a surplus of bombs) gives you even more to mess around with at your discretion, and the butt-rock soundtrack fits perfectly with the onscreen chaos (though unfortunately there are too few tracks).

The Saturn port turned out pretty well – though the graphics and sound are not quite arcade-perfect (most noticeable in the pixellated explosions), otherwise it’s just as enjoyable. The main “bonus” on offer is the Saturn mode – though its exclusive extra level (a sort of “stage zero”) and slightly reduced difficulty are nothing to write home about, the fact that it lets you face off against hidden boss Hibachi at the end of each run is a nice treat for players who would have had trouble meeting the requirements to get to him otherwise. This version is also cheaper and easier to find than the PS1 port (especially considering it got a “SataKore” re-release), so even though it’s not as refined in terms of presentation, it’s still well worth playing.
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Layer Section

Also known as Rayforce, Galactic Attack, or Gunlock depending upon which region/console you’re playing it on, Layer Section is considered one of Taito’s marquee shooters by fans of the genre, not to mention the recipient of one of Acclaim’s precious few acts of benevolence toward the gaming community (namely publishing this in the West and leaving it intact). This shmup was the first to utilize a “lock-on” subweapon  mechanic – a small cross-hairs floats a fixed distance in front of your ship, and any enemies that can be seen approaching from below you, in the background, that make contact with it will be “locked on.” From here, hit the B button and all targeted enemies will have homing lasers hot on their heels, saving you the trouble of having to deal with them at your level – additionally, the more baddies you can latch onto before vaporizing them all at once, the more points they’re worth.

Sound cool? Good, as you’ll need to learn to make good use of this feature, since aside from your basic blaster it’s all you’ve got – no smart bombs or other “get out of jail free” cards here. Your ship is also a fairly bulky target, and since many enemy attacks come from the background beneath you, it can be tough to judge exactly when it’s safe to pass over them versus when they’ve arrived on your plane and pose a threat. Additionally, while powerups are relatively common and dying doesn’t set you back TOO far, items will scroll off the screen in no time if you don’t get to them quickly, which can be hard to do with said unwieldy ship during a firefight. Obviously, scoring well (and survival, to an extent) is a matter of rote memorization, since you’ve got to know where to maneuver the lock-on to catch groups of speedy enemies, as well as get to spots where your chunky craft is (hopefully) safe from enemy assaults.

The Saturn version is a pretty bare-bones straight port of the arcade release, but all three localizations do offer the essentials, including tate mode. The nicely-done sprites are always at least solid to look at (especially considering the game’s original release date), and Zuntata’s soundtrack is fast-paced and energetic while also projecting ominous and creepy undertones, a unique and effective blend. Adding to the overall atmosphere is the game’s stage structure – there are no “breaks” between levels, as you move straight from one phase of your mission to the next, and are given a recap of how far you got at the “game over” screen – it’s a small thing, but it’s quite effective at pulling you into the game’s world, making you feel more a part of the ongoing action, as opposed to just shooting random things in random places. Finally, whichever version you pick up this game is pretty inexpensive, so by all means track it down and try it out.
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Soukyugurentai

One of Raizing’s few products to utilize 3D graphics, Soukyugurentai takes the “lock-on” mechanic pioneered in Rayforce and gives it a shot in the arm – now, instead of a stationary “spot” floating out in front, your ship casts a wide, laser-lined “net” (two variations per ship, actually, which can be switched between at any time) to latch onto bunches of enemies at once. Additionally, you can lock on to enemies up on your level as well as those down below you – careful though, since unlike in Rayforce, to activate the “net” you have to stop shooting and hold the fire button down, which can leave you vulnerable. As a tradeoff, though, you do have a supply of bombs to bail you out if need be.

As you’d expect, locking on to multiple enemies before letting loose on them multiplies the points they’re worth, but you also need to do your best not to use the lock-on blindly without thinking, since nailing fewer than four enemies at a time with it will get you either no point bonus at all or an outright reduction in each enemy’s value (be especially careful at bosses if you want to score well – the lack of a visible life meter makes it tough to time their deaths towards obtaining maximum rewards). Also, like its cousin Battle Garegga, Soukyugurentai more or less forces a certain play style on you via its rank system – most notably, since powering up your “regular” shot makes enemies meaner, you’ll want to try to get by almost exclusively via your lock-on. It’s not as extreme a poke in the ribs as Garegga, but still worth noting.

All that said, the graphics hold up remarkably well for a 32-bit 3D title, and the score, done by Hitoshi Sakamoto of Radiant Silvergun fame, has his usual symphonic flair, but is balanced out via some electronic injections this time around – it perfectly suits the “dramatic, but not epic” ambiance of the game as a whole. Playing for high scores can be tough, since each ship’s lock-on has varying maximum scoring potential, not to mention that you need to hoard bombs (which, to make them appear more often, also requires you to keep the rank as low as possible) to take advantage of a very high “surplus collection” bonus. The Saturn version, ported straight from the ST-V cart, is pretty much spot on – it also includes a stage attack mode, a nice selection of options (some in need of unlocking), and a one-stage demo of Battle Garegga if you buy the “Otokuyo” re-release. Inarguably superior to the PS1 version, and not overly expensive, most any Saturn shmupper ought to have this one in their collection.
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Twinkle Star Sprites

A wacky cross-breed of the shooting genre with another type of game – in this case, the “puzzle” set, a la Puyo-Puyo – Twinkle Star Sprites is also notable for being one of the most two-player-friendly releases in all of shmup-dom. After all, causing mass onscreen chaos via a cutesy anime avatar is all well and good, but even more satisfying when a pal (preferably one who gets snarky when it comes to “those weird Japanese games you play”) is on the receiving end.

Twinkle is set up, ostensibly, like most “versus” puzzle games, with each player (or the computer) having a vertical “well” on either side of the screen – however, instead of dropping blocks or blobs, each side controls a character which can move, shoot, and bomb freely inside their area. As formations of enemies fly in from the top and sides, the goal is to figure out how to destroy the whole mess in one shot by setting off a chain reaction, i.e. “I need to weaken this guy before setting that one off,” or “I need to wait until this group is stretched out to that side, to nail that other group over there along with them.” Large enemy chains send over fireballs that your opponent must either dodge or shoot to send back at you – especially long volleys, massive chains, or built-up charge shots can also send indestructible character-specific attacks over, or even a huge “boss” enemy to give your opponent grief. Also, as was mentioned, all the characters are cute as can be, so being handed bitter defeat by a pig-riding moppet or a sentient hairball gives the game an even nuttier ambiance – make sure not to go TOO hard on any friends you have over to play this (until they get the hang of it, anyway).

Otherwise, the graphics and sound are nothing too special, but set the stage well – the Saturn package, considered by many to be the best version released, not only includes (alongside the straight NeoGeo arcade port) a Saturn mode with an extra character, less slowdown and additional voicework, but a second disc crammed with art galleries and other fan-friendly content. The only real complaints I can mention are a) Sometimes the chaos onscreen can make it hard to keep track of things, b) You pretty much need someone to play against to get full enjoyment from this title, and c) No language option, so we can’t immerse ourselves in the glorious Engrish dialogue from the arcades. Aside from that stuff (and the somewhat steep price), Twinkle Star Sprites comes highly recommended.
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Strikers 1945

Psikyo’s most prolific series started here, and it gets a nice conversion to the Saturn – the presentation is slightly downgraded from the arcade version, but nowhere near enough to make any real difference, especially seeing as it plays so faithfully. That said, the only real “extra” here is a “fighter index” where you can listen to a guy talk (in Japanese, of course) about the airplanes featured in the game – nice for history buffs who can speak the language, I suppose, but the rest of us will just get right to the game.

Otherwise, Strikers sticks to the standards of the series, and Psikyo’s output as a whole – you blast your way through a combination of random- and set-order stages, all brimming with unfriendly orange bullets. The setting is, ostensibly, World War II, but you’re able to select several aircraft (including prototypes that were never actually produced) from both the Axis and Allied sides, who have apparently united to face a greater threat – I don’t recall my school’s history books ever mentioning giant mecha rampaging around in the 40’s, but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention that day.

As with most Psikyo shooters, memorization is as important to success as your dodging skills are – the bullets are pretty fast and your hit area is pretty big, so you’re best off knowing in advance which patterns are navigable and which you’d best avoid altogether or bomb through. Scoring is straightforward except for the gold bars some enemies leave behind – watch them closely and you’ll see them sparkle and glint, and the shinier they are when you snag them the more points they’re worth. Unlike its sequel, the Saturn port of Strikers is considered the superior version over the PS1’s, and is not prohibitively costly to buy, so it’s a no-brainer for Psikyo fans and a pretty sure bet for most others.
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Gunbird

Don’t worry about your repressed memories of the botched PS1 localization, Mobile Light Force, suddenly resurfacing to haunt you – the Saturn port of Gunbird is far more competent. Unfortunately it never saw daylight outside of Japan, but it’s not super-expensive to import, so if you’re looking for perhaps the best home version of the game don’t be afraid to keep an eye out for it.

While Western gamers are likely more familiar with the sequel, which was ported and localized on the Dreamcast, the original Gunbird is one of Psikyo’s earliest titles, and lacks many of the accouterments of its successor – no charge meter, no hidden characters, no coin chaining, just shooting, bombing, and surviving, without much else on top of it. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this if you don’t mind the memory-reliant style of Psikyo’s games, and the attractive graphics and charming, slightly goofy anime ambience are nice touches as well. Just be aware that some outdated amenities also make an appearance here, such as an “auto power-down” at max shot level, and notable bomb delays for some characters.

Aside from not being totally butchered on the gameplay front (and yes, tate mode is here too), the Saturn iteration of Gunbird has a nice set of extras for the fans, if not “serious” players – the character index, where the VA’s for the cast talk at you, is ample fodder for the geeks, though the real highlight is the art gallery, which includes an extensive collection of both official and fan-made artwork. The only usual Psikyo feature I miss is separate score tables for each difficulty level, but otherwise if you’re looking to play Gunbird this edition is probably the one you should check out first.
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Sengoku Blade

Aside from having the latter half of its name mangled in various ways by translators (“Blaede,” “Braid,” etc.), this game is notable as one of the few Psikyo ports to make it to the Saturn but not the PS1 (though it eventually reached the PS2 bundled with its predecessor, Sengoku Ace). Aside from that, it’s semi-unique as a rare Psikyo side-scroller – their first one, in fact. Most importantly, though, the Saturn served it well.

Blade plays like most other Psikyo shooters, except turned on its side – disregarding the change in perspective, the main thing to set this game apart from its cousins is its feudal Japanese setting, and the great artwork and music used to set the mood (obviously historical accuracy is not the aim, though, unless the prominence of robotic samurai and the dress code for Shinto shrine maidens have been drastically altered in the historical record). There are two final stage routes to choose, both individual and team endings (almost all of them incredibly silly, especially if you can read the dialogue), and the ability to increase score items’ value by catching them at the right moment, but the setup is otherwise pretty tried-and-true in nature.

The one problem inherent to this game that’s not already an issue for most Psikyo offerings is the fact that you’re controlling a vertically-oriented character in a horizontal shooter, which can make dodging a bit more difficult than usual. Otherwise, the Saturn port is a solid if slightly expensive acquisition, containing an exclusive playable character (Marion, from Gunbird) and a second fan disc filled to the brim with artwork and other such content. Not to mention that this is the only shooter I can ever recall playing to feature a chain-smoking ring-tailed lemur – if that’s not enough to at least make you curious, well, I give up.
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Cotton 2

While her first two games (Cotton and Cotton 100%) were nothing special all around, the pint-sized witch with a deadly sweet tooth made a fine showing during the 32-bit generation, starting with this title. Another exclusive ST-V port to the Saturn, it perfectly preserves the rich graphics and unique gameplay of the arcade original – it’s also compatible with the 1M or 4M RAM cart, which adds a few minor bells and whistles, though it’s by no means vital to the experience.

While it appears at first glance to be just another side-scrolling cute-em-up, no other shooter plays quite like this one does – for one thing, aside from the usual shot and bomb you have a “grab” button, which allows you to, indeed, grab and chuck enemies (and some other things) if you get in close. However, the way this was really intended to be used is in conjunction with the “seal” system, the game’s real bread and butter – you see, Cotton (or Appli, if you’re playing simultaneous two-player) has a set of “special” shots, in the same manner that fighting game characters have special moves. With a quick quarter-circle or double-tap, your witch of choice will send out various spreads or condensed blasts – moreover, if one of these finishes off an enemy, it won’t vanish but will remain onscreen for a few moments “sealed” inside a ball of magic. This is your opportunity to either a) grab and chuck it at another enemy, which will itself be sealed, and start a chain for points, or b) further abuse the poor critter by blasting it some more, causing it to eventually release a health item (yeah, you’ve only got one life and a health meter in this one). You’ll also want to be conscious of which “element” your shot is powered-up into, as it affects how your sealed enemies behave when you interact with them.

In the end, Cotton 2’s uniqueness, its main appeal, will also be its downfall for some – the special shots, which must be input from a neutral pad position and are tough to pull off on the run, are NOT optional to use, as your “regular” shots aren’t powerful enough to carry you through on their own (mapping the various special attacks to individual buttons IS available…once you beat Hard mode to unlock it). The “sealing” system, while not as memory-intensive as some other scoring gimmicks, is still oddball enough to put off many, since there’s little actual shooting involved – of course, if that’s not enough to chase you off, the “cute anime witch (and scantily clad fairy companion)” subject matter might do it. Regardless, Saturn shmuppers in the mood for something off the beaten path ought to look for this one – as a bonus, it includes a Saturn Mode with some rearranged enemy patterns and graphics, and a few options (some requiring unlocking) not found in the arcade version. Collectors will want to try to find a copy which includes a 1998 mini-calendar.
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Cotton Boomerang

I was tempted to combine this and Cotton 2 into the same few paragraphs, but in the end I just couldn’t quite manage it – despite their similarities, the games are too different to lump together while doing both justice. While you’re still unleashing the wrath of a cutesy character to seal enemies and chain ‘em for pointage, Boomerang is a marked improvement on Cotton 2 in many areas, and likely a better buy for many players, despite being a ways more expensive and hard to find.

Most notably, Cotton 2’s life meter has been replaced with a “team” system – at the start you choose 3 characters (out of 3 variations each of Cotton and Appli, plus fan-service fairy Silk and goofy talking hat Needle), and each of them serves as one of your “lives,” with the next taking over after the previous bites it. Also importantly, you can now map most of your special shots to the extra buttons on the controller from the start, eliminating the frustration of not being able to pull off a command motion under pressure. Your “regular” firepower has also been juiced up a great deal – if you’d rather not deal with the sealing and chaining at all, you’re free to blast your way through most tough spots the old-fashioned way. Your “grab” move can now instantly seal enemies, as well as cancel bullets – the latter can also be accomplished by a powerful new charge shot. You’ll certainly need these new tools, as enemies are more aggressive than before, sometimes filling the screen with junk to dodge. In the interest of space, let me assure you that there’s a bunch more stuff that’s been altered and tweaked for Boomerang that I haven’t ample room to list – to summarize the big picture, you’re doing a lot of the same basic stuff you did in Cotton 2, but almost all of it feels much more user-friendly and enjoyable.

Of course, Boomerang also has its share of annoyances. First and foremost, the only way to switch characters (other than dying) is to use a bomb – this seems like a silly oversight, as bombing to get out of a jam might leave you with a character you don’t want for that area, while switching to one you DO want will cost you a bomb you’d rather have saved for later. This inconvenient setup is highlighted by the fact that each character has a fixed “element” now, so if you want to take advantage of certain scoring opportunities you’ll have no choice but to grin and bear it. Don’t think of killing characters intentionally either – the only way to earn a vanquished teammate back is to catch a seldom-seen flashing teacup in the end-of-stage bonus round, which takes as much luck as skill. Pinpointing the hitbox on the relatively large sprites can also be tricky, though playing as the pint-sized Silk or Needle obviously makes it a bit easier. Finally, a lot of the graphics from Cotton 2 are recycled here, so if you’re expecting a visual overhaul, forget it. In spite of all this stuff, I still recommend Boomerang highly – despite the inevitable blow that comes to your manhood if anyone else sees you play it (“dude, is that a fairy shooting at pumpkins?”), you just might not care.
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Game Tengoku

While Jaleco is generally not noted for its shooters (come to think of it, what ARE they noted for?), that didn’t stop them from putting out Game Tengoku (aka The Game Paradise) in the arcades during the Saturn era, and bringing it to the console soon after. Moreover, this isn’t just any old “serious” shooter, but a “spoof-em-up” in the tradition of Parodius – moreover, while it includes several characters and references to Jaleco’s product library, it’s also a parody of arcade culture and video gaming as a whole, in which you blast (and are blasted by) everything from flying arcade machines to UFO catcher toys to karaoke song lyrics.

Putting the nutty presentation aside, the game itself is fairly standard vertically-scrolling fare – the main feature of note is the scoring system, which requires you to collect score items (which just so happen to resemble eggplants) in rapid succession to increase their point value. Unfortunately, the design beyond this point feels rather haphazard, as enemies come flying (and shooting) from all directions without warning, and frequently frustrate as you dart around in an attempt to snap up the eggplants before their value is reset. Character balance is also off, as one or two stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of usefulness. It’s certainly not a completely broken game, but doesn’t reach far above average when judged on gameplay merits alone.

Whatever the game’s weaknesses, however, you can’t say Jaleco didn’t put their all into the Saturn port – not only does it include the original arcade version (intended for vertical-screen “tate” mode, also included), but a Saturn mode optimized for horizontal “yoko” screens, crammed to capacity with a new playable character, several additional stages, cutscenes between levels, and LOADS of voice acting (with a cast including several notable VA’s, especially if you’re an anime fan – if you’re into that you might want to track down the Special Edition of the game, which comes with an original anime VHS). Both game modes also include a time attack option for those looking for a quick play. Everything looks and sounds good, and the kookiness and humor shine through even if you’re not overly familiar with the references (or the language). In short, if you’re going to buy this game you’re going to do it more for its personality than how it plays – however, that’s really not as bad of a deal as it sounds, as there’s loads of said personality here.
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Parodius Series

In similar fashion to the venerable Gradius, the 32-bit ports of the Parodius games aren’t quite as indispensable these days thanks to the release of Parodius Portable on the PSP, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Saturn has the entire series available and is a gracious host to boot. The first and oldest entry is on the Konami Antiques MSX Collection, the second and third are on the Gokujo Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack, and the final two (Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius and Sexy Parodius) got their own individual releases.

For the most part, each of the games plays pretty similarly to Gradius, their inspiration/lampooning target – the powerup bar (careful though, it now includes a “booby prize” slot which will remove all your enhancements if you activate it), annoying gunpods and stupidly easy final bosses are all present and accounted for, though a handful of changes and extra stuff (most notably the shootable powerup bells from Twinbee) also make an appearance. What gives these games most of their appeal, however, is the presentation – while all of the games were at least graphically solid on technical merits alone when they were released, when you’re piloting a missile-riding, carrot-shooting bunnygirl while battling hordes of multi-colored penguins and airships with pirate-hat-wearing kitty-cat faces, that likely won’t be the first thing on your mind. From the segments which outright parody Gradius and other Konami shooters (i.e. Moai heads with sunglasses and other accessories, an invincible “walker” that resembles a Vegas showgirl) to the utterly random stuff that makes you wonder what the programmers were smoking (just make it to the first boss of Gokujo and you’ll see what I mean), you’ll rarely, if ever, find yourself with nothing onscreen to keep your attention. The soundtracks, which feature goofied-up “remixes” of everything from classic Konami tunes to the William Tell overture, only serve to add to the madhouse atmosphere.

The gameplay differences between each are relatively minor – Parodius, Da, and Gokujo, for their part, all play more or less like “classic” Gradius games, with most of their good and bad points intact. Sexy mixes things up a bit by including a “mission” structure with branching paths – each stage has an additional task for you to complete aside from just finishing it, and whether you succeed or fail determines which stage you go to next (and how much intermittent cartoon cheesecake you see). Jikkyo, the only Parodius other than the original which wasn’t an arcade release, has a more traditional stage structure, but also several additional scoring tricks (such as finding invisible fairies) and extra features (including a minigame or two) not seen in any other release. All said, if you like Gradius and silliness, you’ll be in heaven here – even if you don’t, trust me when I say that you still need to play these games at least once, to see what happens when the shmup genre puts a proverbial lampshade over its head. Believe me, it’s quite a sight to see.
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Gradius Deluxe Pack

Well, one certainly can’t accuse this compilation of false advertising – it’s got arcade-perfect ports of the first two Gradius games, and aside from a new CG intro, not much else. Of course, if you’re a Gradius fan that shouldn’t be an issue, not to mention that, if you can find a copy that still has it, the Saturn version comes with an exclusive Vic Viper paper cutout model for the collectors. While this compilation isn’t considered as essential as it once was thanks to the release of the PSP’s Gradius Portable, purists note some presentational imperfections in the latter, so some might still prefer this edition.

In case you need a quick synopsis, the original Gradius (aka Nemesis)introduces the classic weapons set and the standard power-up bar, and while the presentation has obviously aged some and the stages are shorter than later entries in the series, it’s still got plenty of earnest, no-frills appeal left in it, and not just due to pure nostalgia either. Gradius II: Gofer No Yabou (gotta love Engrish) offers a new coat of paint for both the graphics and sound (including the now-famous announcer – “Speed Up!” “Shoot the Core!” “You Need Some Practice!”) as well as several selectable varieties of power-up bar (and the force field…yep, you can ditch the near-useless forward shield). Most shooter fans will agree that everyone ought to play these classic games at some point, to see where one of shooting’s most legendary series began.

At the same time, it’s worth noting that, being arcade games, these titles were definitely designed as quarter-munchers – if you lose a life (and your power-ups) at certain spots, it can be incredibly difficult to recover. While neither’s difficulty is as blistering as that of the arcade version of Gradius III, the “ice chunks” stage of Gradius II will still frustrate many, and it’s hardly alone. If you don’t mind the checkpoint structure and emphasis on precise, predetermined actions over spontaneity, you’ll be right at home with the good old Vic Viper here, and likely for most of the rest of the series on other systems.
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Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack

One of the most famous “cute-em-up” series ever released (and perhaps the very first one, depending on how strict your definition is), Twinbee banishes pretty much anything remotely dramatic from its ranks, replacing asteroids and aliens with puffy clouds, flying vegetables, and bright colors. This set, also released for the PS1, takes the series’ last two arcade entries, Detana Twinbee and Twinbee Yahho! (and yes, they do pronounce it “yah-hoe” in the game) and sends them to home consoles together. Both share many of the same central mechanics, inherited from the earliest of their forebears, most notably the “bell” powerups, which must be “juggled” with the player’s shots until they change color and turn into the pickups the player wants – many have disparaged this recurring feature, as it’s tough to avoid shooting (and unintentionally changing) a bell you want when you’re being assaulted by malevolent silverware from all sides, though others welcome the challenge in “really earning” your prizes.

Detana (aka Bells and Whistles) plays very similarly to the original Twinbee (aka Stinger), containing many of the same powerups (the trailing options, the shield, etc.) and “bell chaining” scoring system, though it does give you a piercing charge shot in addition to your usual weapons. The main thing it adds, however, is a jolt of personality – not only have the graphics and sound drastically improved, but the Bees’ pilots and other characters are given a place in the spotlight via brief inter-stage cutscenes and other interludes – in otherwords, the game’s bright and colorful world finally truly shines through, and as a result this entry still stands as the most popular Twinbee title released to date. Yahho! further pumps up the presentation (if you ask me, it’s one of the best-looking and -sounding “cartoony” games out there), and tosses a few more features into the mix, such as the choice of four charge shots at the start, and additional collectible weapons that can be held in your Bee’s arms (if you still have them, that is).

Both games are pretty much arcade-perfect in terms of overall presentation and playability, though Detana, curiously enough, does not have its original vertical-screen orientation available, one of the few Japanese-released Saturn/PS1 shooters to be neglected in that area (Yahho! was originally played on a horizontal screen, so there’s no such issue with it). Don’t be completely taken in by the cute looks, though – while the games aren’t as frustratingly challenging as some others, they’ll still steal a life or two (or three) from you very quickly at certain spots if you’re not prepared. Despite their imperfections, these games are still a good choice for anyone who doesn’t mind a well-presented cute-em-up.
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Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus

Perhaps the most sought-after of Konami’s 32-bit arcade shooter compilations, Salamander, the slightly more obscure sibling of company flagship Gradius, gets its due here, together with its variant, Life Force, and its sequel, Salamander 2. This series, while similar to Gradius in several ways, departs from the former’s conventions most notably by a) Featuring both side-scrolling and vertical-scrolling stages, b) Making more frequent use of “organic” settings, c) Granting you an instant respawn rather than sending you to a checkpoint after dying, and d) With the exception of Life Force, employing a more “traditional” power-up system.

While you’re still piloting the iconic Vic Viper craft here (or the Lord British on the 2P side, during simultaneous multiplayer), as well as using many of the same weapons, in Salamander there’s no power-up bar or “cashing in” generic collectibles for the upgrade you want – instead of needing 5 glowing trinkets to get an option helper, for instance, you just collect an “option” item, and boom, it’s yours. This setup has both advantages and disadvantages – while you can power up more quickly now, there’s also more potential for getting stranded if you die and the upgrades you need for the area simply aren’t around. This is compounded by the instant respawn system – instead of going back to a checkpoint and (hopefully) an opportunity designed to get you back on your feet after biting the dust, you’ll just have to pray that the specific items you need come along PDQ – technically you’re able to re-collect your options, but in many cases they’ll scroll off the screen before you can reach them at your now-lowest speed. Life Force has almost the exact same layout as Salamander, except with a slightly reworked presentation and a return to the old Gradius power-up system, with all its good and bad points intact.

Salamander 2, the most coveted part of the collection for many, retains its predecessor’s basic gameplay and powerup systems, with a few additions – for one, if you collect two powerups for the same weapon it will temporarily become more powerful. Also, you can now use the B button to sacrifice one of your options and unleash a homing laser to (hopefully) clear the screen out for you a bit – additionally, you’ve been tossed a bone in that your options won’t go offscreen when you die, but will “bounce” back in from the edge and allow you to actually get to them this time. As you’d expect, the graphics have gotten a nice shot in the arm, as has the overall ambiance – wait till you see what’s in store for the old “brain” boss at the end of the first stage. As with most of Konami’s other 32-bit ports, the games are all perfect or close to it – be aware, though, that this collection tends to be pricier than the others. Of course, this is somewhat softened by the fact that the PS1 version tends to go for even more. Unless you’re willing to sacrifice screen size for portability (and the inclusion of Xexex) via the PSP compilation, Gradius fans might want to diversify their collection here.
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Kingdom Grand Prix

Also known as Shippu Mahou Daisakusen, this is actually the middle entry in Raizing’s “Mahou” series (sandwiched between Sorcerer Striker and Dimahoo), and the only one to get a port to a “mainstream” system. This is especially odd considering that Kingdom is far and away the most unusual game of the bunch – in brief, it’s an unlikely hybrid between the shooting and racing genres. Yes, you read right.

The game stars the four original Mahou characters, plus four others who haven’t been seen since, all competing in a flying race for a prize from the king – of course, this race is a bit different from the usual fare in that you’ve got a bunch of enemies shooting at you the whole way through (thankfully, of course, you can shoot back with one of two collectible weapons per character, or even ram them for damage). Of course, you’ve also got the other racers to deal with, and while you can’t shoot them you can spend a bomb to trip them up or try to ram them into a stray enemy bullet. As unique as this play style is, it’s still something of a tough sell – watching rivals pass right on by as you fight off an unavoidable boss is frustrating, and trying to strike a balance between combating enemies and keeping your speed up (which is done either by moving to the top of the screen or holding down the fire button for a boost – both are risky when done too frequently) is tough to do when your fellow racers can beat you just by cruising. You can technically finish the game without winning the races, but you’ll get a bad ending and lower scores for it.

Still, the gorgeous sprite graphics, fun characters (including some of the enemies – the vampire boss’s antics are particularly fun to watch), and nice variety of stages are worth experiencing, and while the Saturn port doesn’t offer any major extras, it does have a code to enable “shooting mode,” in which you just play through the stages as you would in a “normal” shooter, with the racing elements removed. Despite my criticisms of said racing, the stages are obviously built around it, and feel somewhat empty without it, especially with no real scoring system to speak of. All told, Kingdom is certainly noteworthy for its attempt to rock the boat in a somewhat cookie-cutter genre, though players will have to be willing to crunch down on some tough nuts baked in to fully enjoy it.
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Thunder Force V

Techno Soft’s most successful series (sorry, Herzog fans) slathers on a 3D coat of graphical paint this time around, but hangs on tight to its traditional 2D gameplay. As per usual, you’ve got your standard cannon and tailgun for starters, with upgrades for each and 3 additional weapons to collect, which can be cycled between at any time – pair them with up to three “CRAW” options (they’re collected individually this time around) and it’s up to you to use the appropriate armament at the appropriate time, and of course avoid being shot down while you’re at it.

In addition to the standard features listed above, there are also two noteworthy gameplay additions in place – for one, you can now hold down the B button to activate your “Over Weapon,” which powers up the weapon you’re currently firing, at the cost of weakening your CRAWs, to the point where a single enemy bullet can destroy them if you use it too often. Second, there’s a simple scoring system in place, namely “kill big enemies faster, get more points.” This is actually a mixed blessing thanks to the uncharacteristically unbalanced weapon selection – the “Free Range” weapon can not only be steered to fire in any direction, but it’s by far the most powerful enemy-killer you’ve got, to the point where many bosses go down in seconds if you get in close enough. Nothing else in your arsenal can begin to compare, so if you lose the Free Range and can’t get it back, you’re in for a tougher haul and much lower scores.

That being what it is, the Saturn port of TF5, with its extra scrolling layers and other graphical gimmicks, actually holds up better than the PS1 edition in terms of presentation, which is especially unusual considering the latter system’s typical dominance when it comes to 3D graphics. Of course, the fast-paced electric guitar synth is here too, and gets you in the mood for some blastin’. The game also got a SataKore reissue and usually isn’t overly pricey…unless you set your sights on the “Special Edition,” which includes a music CD featuring a selection of remixed tunes from previous games in the series. While few players name this TF entry as their favorite, most still consider it worth a go, especially for fans of the 16-bit entries.
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Hyper Duel

A somewhat obscure Techno Soft arcade offering, Hyper Duel’s main draw is your ability to transform each of the 3 selectable ships into a humanoid mech at any time – hold the A button and you fire shots as your “ship” form, hold B and you’ll instantly transform and start blasting as a robot, generally with a more condensed, powerful stream of bullets that can be aimed as you move. While pressing either button, hold down the other at the same time and you’ll execute one of two special attacks (depending on which form you’re in), draining a refillable meter as you do so. Other than the ability to collect two types of (often quickly-destroyed) option helpers, that’s pretty much the game in a nutshell.

As always, Techno Soft’s penchant for cheesy “pump you up” music and lots of explosions carries the day – the first boss, for instance, continues to swing its tentacles at you for a bit after it’s begun to succumb to the inevitable, and you’ve got to wreck it a bit more before it’s finally vaporized for good. Similar over-the top laser barrages and such serenade you throughout the journey – then again, what would you expect from a game with a title like “Hyper Duel”? Equally shallow, unfortunately, is the “scoring system,” if you can call it that – if you sit completely still at any given time, your score starts climbing on its own. Exciting! For fans of Thunder Force and other games like it, though, this one still comes recommended…

…if you can find it. And, moreover, afford it. The title apparently received a very small print run, and seldom-seen copies of Hyper Duel can fetch prices to rival (and sometimes exceed!) Radiant Silvergun, the poster child for “sell your firstborn and left arm to play” games on the Saturn. If you decide to take the plunge, the port of the arcade original is thankfully faithful, and is accompanied by a Saturn mode which plays pretty much the same (though you now have the handy ability to lock your shot’s direction in “robot mode”) but improves the graphics and sound – while the 3D render on the cover might make you fearful of a sub-par polygon treatment, rejoice, as it sticks to sprites rather than forcing the extra dimension, as was in vogue at the time. Hardcore Techno Soft fans, if you want to express your love for your favorite shmup developer and have some cash to burn, here’s about the best opportunity you’re likely to get on that front.
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Blast Wind

Speculation abounds as to exactly what the origins of this title might be – while there’s evidence that Blast Wind was intended to be one of Techno Soft’s relatively few arcade (and vertically-scrolling) releases, there’s no indication that said release ever came to pass. In any event, the game eventually wended its way onto the Saturn, and in the process became one of the system’s few shmup exclusives that isn’t an arcade port. It’s a tough one to track down, too, and pricey (while not as costly as Hyper Duel, you’re still likely talking triple digits for a complete copy), so if you want to play it you’ll probably have to be both patient and willing to pay up.

As for the game itself, each of your two available planes (automatically assigned, depending on whether you use the first or second controller) has two weapons (a “stronger straighter” one and a “weaker wider” one), each assigned to its own button, so you can switch between them at will depending on the situation. Powering up is more of a formality than anything else, as there are loads of items and it only takes a couple to get to full blast, so you’re unlikely to be caught with a pea-shooter often – if that weren’t enough, grabbing a powerup gives you a few moments of invincibility and stretches out columns of energy to each side of your craft, giving you a brief opportunity to sweep the screen clean (though there are also plenty of bombs provided). Otherwise there’s not much to it, aside from some fixed-value point items (which still provide enough to net you several extends) or an occasional defensive option orb to distract you from blasting the heck out of everything that moves, and a bunch of stuff that doesn’t while you’re at it.

If the aforementioned paragraph makes the game sound simple and easy, that’s because it is – most shmuppers should have little trouble one-crediting it with a little practice, though upping the difficulty’s always an option. The game is also rather short even for a shooter, though the ability to take an alternate path through each stage adds a bit of variety. The graphics, for their part, aren’t a huge step above the 16-bit level, but aren’t a distraction either, and while the soundtrack is vintage Techno Soft electronica, the voice samples are so muffled that they’re largely unintelligible. All in all this isn’t a bad game, certainly, but the limited scoring system and challenge, coupled with the high price, drag it short of a must-have.
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Shienryu

While under-the-radar shooter developer Warashi has gone the anime girl route (and how) recently with Trigger Heart Exelica, back in the day, like so many of its fellow shmup makers, it stuck to relatively innocuous settings for its shooter offerings – yeah, there were characters and a plot in there someplace, but whatever. There are planes, there are tanks, there are shiny things to collect – you need more? Some might fault Shienryu for doing TOO little to stand apart from the pack (especially the Raiden games, themselves frequently cited as the definition of “standard shooters”) in this regard, but anyone hungry for some solid old-fashioned blasting will likely be right at home here.

As was mentioned, this game plays similarly to Raiden, though it also borrows some features, most notably its weapons, from its pseudo-prequel, Daioh – you’ve got three collectible armaments, fixed-value point items, relatively quick enemy bullets, checkpoints during stages (but instant respawn at bosses), plus you start on Earth and end up in outer space. A few key elements have been adjusted, however, and arguably improved – for one thing, your hitbox is a bit smaller here, and bombs grant instant invincibility, giving players a bit more leeway on the defensive front – enemy bullets are also a bright blue color, and generally easier to see (well, except on blue backgrounds, anyway). The graphics, while not quite as detailed as those of Raiden II, are still nice-looking, with lots of shrapnel, and a bit of fantasy influence for good measure (the main enemy, as the title suggests, is a dragon-mech). Music is nothing special, but explosions are satisfying.

The main complaint one might have about the game, incidentally one also inherent to Raiden, is that the appearance of some of its features, especially its rarest power-ups (most notably the seldom-seen shield item), is annoyingly arcane – it’s largely a mystery why they do or don’t appear at given points. Other than that it’s pretty solid for what it is – the Saturn port, for its part, lacks the extra mini-modes from the Geki-Oh PS1 port, and obviously doesn’t include the pseudo-sequel from Double Shienryu on the PS2, but it’s the only version to both retain tate mode and save high scores, making it the preferred pickup for purists.
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Sonic Wings Special

Not to be confused with the arcade release Sonic Wings Limited, this game is something of a console-only “greatest hits” compilation of stages, characters, and enemies from previous Sonic Wings games. Created by Video System, many of whose employees moved on to Psikyo later on, this game has a feel similar to the latter company’s works, but also a charm all its own.

Sonic Wings (aka Aero Fighters in the West) always had a relatively simple setup, and Special is no different – all told, it’s a relatively “textbook” vertical shooter. About the only notable things here from a gameplay standpoint are the occasional point items (which are worth more when collected near the top of the screen – careful not to be kamikaze’d though) and the branching paths you can take through the last few stages. What the game lacks in innovation, however, it makes up for in variety and personality – you’ve got a healthy selection of planes (and wacky pilots, ranging from a ninja to a dolphin) at the start, and can unlock a bunch more. While the balance is a bit off, it’s still fun to try everyone out, as well as read what they say (if you can understand Japanese text) in between stages. There are a handful of other quirky occurrences in-game, from the altered appearance of the point items (play as the ninja and it’s a “yen” symbol, while it’s a “dollar” sign for the American ace) to being attacked by a giant monkey in space – in spite of this, the game still feels low-key and unpretentious, content to be the simple shooter it is. If you yearn for the days when the phrase “what’s my motivation” was attributed to actors instead of gamers, this might provide a breath of fresh air for you.

On the Saturn the package is solid, if unspectacular – it does include a “time attack” mode where you try to defeat several bosses in order as quickly as possible, which is a nice diversion if you want a break from the main game. It also comes with a mini-CD which includes a couple of songs supposedly performed by one of the game’s characters (an idol singer) – in case you need to hear it from me, it’s nothing worthwhile unless you’re a collector. In short, if you want a shooter that will grab your attention in ways you’ve never seen before, you’d best save your money for another title. However, if you want to balance out your shooter collection with something a little more old-fashioned you could do a lot worse (and a lot more cost-prohibitive) than this title.
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Image Fight and X-Multiply

While Irem is obviously far and away best-known for the R-Type series, it also released a small collection of mostly-unrelated shooting titles that, while not as popular, still frequently developed cult followings of their own. Most of these offerings, despite their various unique qualities, didn’t stray all that far from the latter’s old-school memory-based core structure, and the pair featured in this collection are no exception. As a bit of trivia, both of the player ships from these two games (plus several others) were given cameos in R-Type Final, namely the “Daedalus” (Image Fight) and the “Crossing the Rubicon” (X-Multiply).

That said, interestingly enough, Image Fight (which was supposedly an inspiration for Radiant Silvergun) is actually one of Irem’s few vertical shooting productions, though it’s still certainly no more merciful than any of its more famous cousins. You can collect either blue (fixed-direction) or red (aim-able) options as well as a handful of other power-ups, which, while they attach to the front of your ship like R-Type’s force pod, can only defend against one hit before being destroyed (which might be a good thing, as you can’t collect anything to replace your current weapon until it’s been shot off of you). Your options, though, are indestructible and can even be “boomeranged” at enemies, and your speed can be adjusted between four levels at any time. Despite these various amenities, however, you’ll almost certainly find yourself dying quite frequently (and being sent back to checkpoints) until you learn the layout of the stages.

X-Multiply is more akin to R-Type in terms of its side-scrolling structure and emphasis on using an invincible bullet-blocking attachment to help you through, but if you thought that the latter’s occasional organic backdrops and quite-possibly-phallic enemies were creepy, X-Multiply ventures even further into the dark, Giger-esque sub-realm of science fiction, with plenty of floating eyeballs and grotesque humanoid faces to keep you wondering what disturbing scenario you might encounter next (the plot, if you’d care to know, actually places you inside a human body, a la “The Fantastic Voyage,” except this body has been infected by an alien). Heck, the game’s not even normal enough to give you a regular ol’ force pod anymore – now, when you snag an item, a pair of tentacles spring out of your ship, and can be “steered” depending on which direction you’re moving in (and no, they can’t be detached). While this one isn’t quite as merciless as Image Fight, you’re still in for a challenge – both this port and the PS1 version are considered close to perfect, so if you’re a glutton for punishment they’re waiting with open arms.
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Guardian Force

The Saturn’s only entry in the rather uncommon “tank shooter” subgenre, Guardian Force puts you in control of (obviously) a tank, which can rotate its turret to fire in eight directions – when you get right down to it, that’s this game’s most notable single feature. Of course, you’ll need to make near-constant use of it, as the screen scrolls in several different directions and enemies sally forth from every which way, keeping you on your toes.

You’ve constantly got a standard cannon firing in whatever direction happens to be “forward” at the moment, but as it’s pretty weak you’ll be depending on the five collectible weapons (each of which can be powered up to ten levels, and has its own unique bomb) and two types of missiles to see you through. The main scoring system is similar to the “medaling” found in Battle Garegga, where you’ll want to reveal score items one by one to continually increase their value until it’s at its maximum – of course, speed-killing midbosses for extra points is also fun. The visual presentation is solid if a bit generic (including the menus, which don’t include anything notable in terms of extras, as this is more or less a straight arcade port), and the music’s only notable for its rather frequent use of bells and gongs, which give it a slightly surreal feel.

Guardian Force is something of a minor pariah even among the shmupping crowd, not only because of its lack of personality but also because playing it feels a bit disjointed. Movement is pretty fast, which is good for getting out of the way of patterns you’ve memorized but bad for weaving through those you haven’t, making learning the game a matter of trial and (lots of) error. Granted, it’s nice to know that touching most enemies (as opposed to their shots) won’t damage you, and that certain “instant” attacks are explicitly telegraphed, but even at that the game can be quite frustrating if you don’t know what’s coming – and sometimes even when you do. One could certainly do worse than Guardian Force, especially when searching for a curiosity to fill out one’s library, but it’s not something to pawn one’s soul for.
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Bokan to Ippatsu! Doronbo Kanpekiban

While many “serious” shooter players will likely stay away from this one just because of its subject matter, Bokan stands a cut above the usual licensed game fare. Based on the Tatsunoko anime “Yatterman” (while also including references to other “Time Bokan” spinoffs), you play, not as yet another faceless ace pilot, but a trio of bumbling costumed villains, out to pit their silly animal-based mecha against the heroes’ silly animal-based mecha in a battle for old-school anime supremacy. Even those unfamiliar with the subject matter should enjoy the vivid graphics and goofy humor, as long as they don’t take the title too seriously.

You’ve got a selection of six vehicles at the start and receive three more to choose from later on – while the balance is a bit off, all are still fun to mess around with (and somewhat necessary, since you can’t use the same one two stages in a row), especially since collecting enough “skull” icons during a stage enables you to turn into a giant, invincible harbinger of destruction for a limited time. You’ve also got an unlimited supply of bombs (it’s good to be the bad guy), but it comes with a catch – not only do they not give you invincibility (or cover the whole screen), and take a few moments to load before launch, but if you’re hit while getting one ready, instead of just losing a bit of life meter your vehicle will be blown to bits, leaving your team with nothing but a bicycle to ride and one hit away from a game over.

There’s plenty of scenery to blow up, and you receive either skulls or point items depending on whether you bomb or shoot them, so you do have some ability to play for either score or survival, though the game is rather slow-paced and non-intense to begin with. This fact, along with the silly thematic trappings, will likely make this one a non-option for the more “hardcore” set (the theme song alone will likely be enough on its own to scare many off), but if you’re just looking for a bit of fun this is a solid pickup. Aside from some minor presentational tweaks this version and the PS1 port are identical, so snag whichever you can find cheaper.
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DonPachi

Rising from Toaplan’s freshly-smoldering ashes, Cave’s groundwork-laying first shooter appears here, complete with all of its trademark wanton laser-y destruction, but while the Saturn port looks good, it unfortunately suffers from downgraded sound (an especially tragic shortcoming, considering the game’s infamous announcer…“Keep your finger on the trigger, rookie!”) and excessive slowdown.

Also, while there’s plenty of off-the-cuff bullet dodging to be done, the game still relies on “memorize or die” moments a lot more than most any other Cave title, so it might hark back a bit too far for some players’ liking.

If you’re going to get this port it’s definitely not a total waste, especially if you like tinkering with display options (the game gives you plenty of those), but you’d still probably be best off looking for the better-handled PS1 port, unless the Saturn’s your only option.
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Gun Frontier

One of three shmups released on the Saturn under Xing’s “Arcade Gears” label, Gun Frontier is technically the direct predecessor of Metal Black, though the two games share nearly nothing in common. While this game’s unusual ship design (most of the “ships” are shaped like old revolvers or other guns of some sort) wouldn’t suggest it, the title is also considered the main inspiration for Raizing’s Battle Garegga – the detailed backgrounds, elongated bullets, bomb fragments, and napalm spread super weapon certainly appear to foreshadow that later title.

While this remains the best port of the game (and was the only one for a long time, until the recent Taito Memories collections on PS2), the painfully slow ship movement and stiff-as-a-board stage layout (i.e., the power-up carriers move way too fast for you to get most of them unless you know they’re coming…bombs are too slow to save you in a pinch…certain enemies will give you endless grief unless you kill them before they launch, etc.) do a lot to date it. With the port you do, however, get a friendlier rapid fire rate (a bit too friendly for some hardcore players, actually) as well as a sound test, and it comes with a “Gamest Gears” booklet for the collectors if you can find one with all the original packaging.
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Metal Black

Rumored to have been cobbled together using the leftovers of a scrapped Darius game, this largely unknown Taito offering ended up serving as inspiration for both G Darius and Border Down, most notably via your ability to mash buttons for fun and profit during super-powered “beam battles” with bosses (yep, this is the first game to feature it). Otherwise, it’s a pretty basic side-scroller – your only weapon, aside from the super beam referred to earlier, is a straight-ahead double-shot, and your only power-ups are molecules of “Newalone” that float around periodically – you’d better know where they tend to show up, as using the super beam (once activated, you can’t cancel it until you’re completely drained) also brings your main shot back to square one.

The trippy visual and sound design is among Taito’s most striking and creative (how about a boss that hatches out of the moon like an egg?), and trying to grab all the drifting Newalone before the boss can get it (it’ll use it to power its own weapons up) is fun, but your limited available defense against truckloads of cheap deaths from all directions ratchets up the frustration quickly. It’s not too hard to find thanks to a SataKore reissue, so it might still be worth picking up for some, especially if you’re picky about the visual specifics (or bugs, in the US release) that turn some off to the Taito Memories PS2 port.
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3 Wonders

As the title suggests, this is actually 3 games in 1 – a platformer, a puzzler, and the reason this thing is listed here, a side-scrolling shooter titled “Chariot” (off to the side, if you’ve ever wondered where Marvel vs. Capcom’s elfish assist character Lou comes from, this is the place). The stylish fantasy-themed graphics are a nice change of pace from most typical shmup settings, and the ability to use your regenerating Gradius-esque trailing options to block bullets, damage enemies, or fuel power shots is cool, but even with those abilities you’ll still have a heck of a time maneuvering your rather bulky character out of the way of many of the game’s patterns.

All told, despite its strong points, the game just doesn’t feel fleshed-out enough to quite stand on its own – thus, it’s more or less where it belongs, as one third of a pre-packaged compilation. Additionally, the Saturn version is hard to track down and on the pricey side, so you might just want to try it (along with a bunch of additional games too) on the easier-to-find and cheaper Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2…although, as with the other “Arcade Gears” releases, there’s a collectible booklet here if you’re of the packrat mentality.
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Darius 2

The original arcade release of Darius, one of Taito’s more famous forays into the shooter realm, offered little to set it apart from its side-scrolling competitors at the time, save for three notable features – one, the ability to choose from several branching stage paths to progress along; two, the unusual enemy designs, most of which are giant mechanical versions of various fish and other water-dwelling critters; and finally a “widescreen” cabinet featuring three horizontal monitors displaying the game at once. The game never really received an “arcade-perfect” port, largely due to the complications that the multi-screen setup brought to the table, but its sequel, which plays similarly albeit with a few minor tweaks, eventually got one on the Saturn, about seven years after its original release.

The “solution” to the display dilemma featured in this version, which was brought overseas to Europe but not the U.S., is to give players the power to zoom their viewpoint in (which limits how far ahead you can see) and out (which makes spotting bullets difficult) at will – obviously this is hardly an ideal implementation, but in retrospect it’s probably about the best option available for a “direct” arcade port. Beyond that, while the zooming mechanic, if nothing else, is fun to toy around with, the game underneath really isn’t helped by it, and remains quite simple and outdated by today’s standards, leaving Darius II as more of a curio than an essential for Saturn shmuppers. Sort of like one of those novelty singing fish you hang on your wall, but robotic and packing heat.
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Darius Gaiden

Widely touted as the first Darius game to “rock the boat” its predecessors sailed in to any significant extent, Gaiden (brought intact to the West by Acclaim, along with Rayforce) sticks to a more traditional single-screen display (which, obviously, made the porting process from the arcades a good deal smoother) and offers an improved (and increasingly surreal) presentation over its forebears. Players are also treated to a stock of (pretty cool-looking) smart bombs for emergencies, as well as the ability to temporarily “capture” midbosses for some help in their continued battle against those naughty space fish. On the surface, Darius finally appears to be on its long-overdue way into the “modern” shooter era.

Unfortunately, in spite of its improvements, it’s also as shameless a quarter muncher as you’re likely to encounter, with a rank system that’s frustratingly eager to leave you high and dry (it never lightens up once raised, no matter how many times you die/power down), certain bullet patterns that are nearly impossible to get through without a bomb or shield, and boss fights that take an eternity to end, even when tackled with a pumped-up autofire cheat (which most “serious” shmuppers refuse to go without when playing this). There are plenty of stages to see, wacky enemies to fight, and thrills to be had here, but even though the game itself isn’t hard to find or afford (especially compared to the PS1 version), they still come at a price.
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Fantasy Zone

While Sega and Sunsoft’s contribution to the “cute-em-up” niche has gotten somewhat lost over the years when compared to the likes of Parodius and Twinbee, the game has still been popular enough to spawn several sequels, remakes, and compilations – this Saturn offering, though, is simply a perfect port (an unusual feat, back in the early days of the “Sega Ages” collections) of the game that started it all. This title plays most similarly to Defender, taking place from a side-scrolling perspective – while your ship is always moving forward, it can actually be turned around (something dozens upon dozens of pilots in other shmups apparently never figured out how to do), and the screen will then start moving in the other direction (the stage will loop if you go far enough). Your craft, named Opa Opa, is apparently similar to the Bees from Twinbee insofar as he’s apparently “alive” – not only can he sprout legs and walk around, but he can even buy stuff from the shops he encounters as he searches (with the help of a handy radar display) for enemy bases and bosses to take down with either a standard shot or a ground-based bomb.

The relatively simple but colorful graphics are perfect for the theme (and have held up surprisingly well for a game this old) and even with the auto-movement everything plays a good deal better than, say, the top-scrolling Thunder Force II segments, but there are still some irritating aspects to deal with – for one thing, most power-ups you purchase only last a short time (and everything is instantly kaput when you die), meaning that you’ll spend a lot of your time with the default weaponry (especially since the price of every item goes up the next time you want to buy it). Your ship is a pretty small target and not too hard to maneuver, but when the screen gets loaded up and you’re not holding a speed up, you’re likely in trouble. This port, aside from faithfully reproducing the arcade original, includes a few extras, most notably a Replay Mode – unless you’d prefer to snag the recently-released series compilation on PS2, this one’s a no-brainer for cute-em-up fans.
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Gekirindan

One of many little-known Taito shooters with a small but devoted fan following, this a fairly standard vertical setup, though the plot (which involves chasing your cybernetic adversary through different eras across time) is at least somewhat different. As with most Taito products the game looks nice, though the soundtrack, while not bad, is mostly remix after remix of a single theme (to be fair, Radiant Silvergun does much the same thing and is rarely criticized for it). You’ve got three planes to choose from, and a small selection of collectible weapons for each, but you’d better hold onto them, as re-powering up after dying is often an ordeal – faintly-colored bullets also have an annoying tendency to get lost in the background at times.

Oddly enough, playing on the 2P side actually loosens up the rank, so remember that if you want to maximize your chances of clearing it. Supposedly some Toaplan staffers had a hand in this, and there are a few references to their products here if you look, but you’ll have to suffer through a chuggy port (ready for pre-boss loading?) to do it. However, to date, despite its problems, this is the only port of Gekirindan to include tate mode, which might influence some in its direction.
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Thunder Force Gold Pack 1

The first of two 16-bit-era Thunder Force compilations released on the Saturn, this volume offers Thunder Force II and Thunder Force III for your blasting pleasure. In case you haven’t played them on the Genesis/Mega Drive, TFII is a combination of the overhead-view “arena” levels of the first Thunder Force (which never made it beyond a set of Japan-only computer systems, and remains quite the obscurity to this day) and the then-new side-scrolling sections that became the series’ standard. The graphics are obviously a bit dated twenty years on, and while a nice selection of collectible weapons are available (including a single CLAW option, which became two and three in later entries), if you lose a life you lose everything else long with it. This can be especially frustrating in the overhead levels, since you’re always moving forward automatically and can only steer and shoot – most of your weapons require you to be heading towards your targets to hit them, leading to frequent point-blank deaths. The side-view sections are, if nothing else, a bit more comfortable, but are still outdated by today’s standards.

TFIII is, for many players, the game that truly began to define the series, and certainly to popularize it. As referenced earlier, it deep-sixed the overhead portions of its predecessors completely, as well as allowed the player to choose one of several stages to start on. You can also adjust your speed on the fly, shields last until you’re hit a few times rather than running out on their own, and you only lose the weapon you’re using when you die (all these features were to be carried on through the rest of the series). As expected the graphics have been spruced up some, and the “high-octane” ambience, complete with fast-paced electronic music and lots of explosions that TF is known for, is demonstrably in effect. Both ports on the Saturn are nearly perfect (the only complaint is the inaccurate sound), and actually reduce the slowdown present in the originals as well – if you don’t have them on the Genesis and don’t mind the semi-occasional laser-to-the-face from nowhere, this is a solid package.
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Thunder Force Gold Pack 2

The remainder of the 16-bit Thunder Force games make the trip to Sega’s next system here, featuring Thunder Force AC (an arcade-released retooling of Thunder Force III, later ported to the SNES as Thunder Spirits) and Thunder Force IV (brought to the US as Lightening Force). The former plays nearly identically to TFIII, and includes the same weapon set, though two of the stages are different and the level progression is always in a set order. The sound has also been rearranged a bit, but otherwise most everything that was in TFIII is here, just shifted around some.

TFIV, on the other hand, is considered the pinnacle of the series by a sizeable percentage of fans – the graphics are some of the most impressive ever to appear on the Genesis, and this time you can actually choose the order of all four initial stages, rather than just where you begin. The weapon selection has been shuffled a little, but is balanced well – also, partway through the game you gain a powerful charge shot, though you need CLAWs to use it. Stages are now larger vertically, which gives you more space to move around, though it can occasionally allow enemies to sneak up on you (or powerups to sneak by) from above or below, offscreen. As with the first Gold Pack the slowdown’s been cut – this time, though, the sound has been brought back up to par, and everything else has remained faithful to the originals. An interesting bonus feature is also on offer – you can unlock the ability to play TFIV using the ship (and weapons) from TFIII/AC. Since there are none of TFII’s overhead levels to deal with here, this is probably the preferred pickup for “modern” Thunder Force fans, though it’s also pricier than the first volume.
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Strikers 1945 II

You may have been a bit thrown off by the original Strikers 1945 being up so much higher on the list, but it’s strange how unpredictable any given port’s quality can be.  While the first two Strikers games (which are largely identical in terms of how they play, except that this one adds a power meter which must be at least partially filled for you to use a charge shot) were each sent home on both the Saturn and PS1, their ports turned out quite differently on the two systems.

As you’ve probably read above, the first Strikers got perhaps its best treatment on the Saturn – for who knows what reason, however, the sequel is plagued by slowdown on Sega’s console, and performs better on the PS1, making that conversion the preferred pickup if you have the choice. Granted, this version is hardly unplayable, but the odd downgrade in quality from the first game’s appearance on the system certainly doesn’t do it any favors.
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Layer Section II

Released to Westerners on the PS1 as Raystorm, this follow-up to the well-received original is considered at least slightly inferior on its own merits by many, and a less-than-welcome guest on the Saturn by most. While Taito originally planned to give the game 2D graphics like its predecessor, the industry’s shift to 3D eventually proved unavoidable, and while the polygons don’t look bad at all considering the game’s age, the new “uphill” perspective and cluttered masses of rough shapes make some bullets and enemies hard to spot and avoid. An additional annoyance is the fact that, when you stop moving, your ship “drifts” slightly towards the center of the screen, which can make precise dodging more of a chore than it should be.

There are, however, some nicer additions here as well – you now have multiple ships to choose from, the ability to lock on to enemies on your level as well as below you (theoretically, you could possibly clear the game, and score well, without actually shooting much), and the means to deliver extra-heavy damage to bosses and other large enemies if you can sink your entire stock of lock-on shots into them at once. You also get a limited-use screen-clearing bomb, as well as a semi-worthless (uber-worthless if playing for score) “auto” option for your lock-on, which maps it and your “main” blaster to the same button. The Japan-exclusive Saturn version has an extra selectable craft and a stage attack mode as well as a few exclusive CG clips, but the presentation and overall execution are generally considered inferior to the Playstation port – pick up that one instead, if you can.
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In the Hunt

Looking for something a little less Defender and a little more “Das Boot?” This unique Irem side-scroller (Japanese title Kaitei Daisensou, or “Torpedoes Armed and Ready”) stakes its claim on two interesting features to set it apart: first, it puts you in control of a submarine instead of an aircraft, which means that sometimes you’ll have limited space to move around in, thanks to shallow water and such. Second, the screen doesn’t scroll automatically, but rather gives you “GO!” signals, similar to many beat-em-ups, once you’ve blasted enough enemies to move forward on your own (stages have a time limit, so you can’t sit idle for too long). The graphics are reminiscent of Metal Slug, and very detailed (makes sense, as many of those who contributed to this title eventually worked on Slug at Nazca), and watching everything slowly crumble to bits as you blow it all up just makes the settings that much more attractive.

Your sub can fire a few collectible torpedo variations in front, as well as mines (if you’re underwater) or missiles (if you’re surfaced) to the sides, which gives you some decent destructive potential, but any enemy that manages to get a shot off will still give you headaches, as your sub is relatively large and slow – this is gratingly compounded if the area you’re in further limits your movement. Further, while the Saturn port keeps the look of the arcade original, it’s also got more slowdown than either it or the PS1 edition – both of them made it to the West, so it’s hard to justify buying this one over its counterpart.
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Skull Fang

One of Data East’s few shmup offerings, as its subtitle suggests this vertscroller is actually a sequel to Kuuga (known to Westerners as Vapor Trail), which was granted a port to the Genesis back in the day. The key feature on display here is the ability to adjust how fast the screen scrolls via your plane’s throttle – while making your way through the stages it’s more of a curiosity than anything else, but once you get to the bosses things get interesting, since they can speed up and slow down just like you can. There’s a time limit in effect, so to bring your adversary down before it’s up you’ve got to make near-constant use of the throttle to stay on his tail and keep him within range of your weapons.

This is also one of the few shooters to give you a handful of Street Fighter-esque “command motions” – you can use them to flip your plane around to shoot at a boss from a different angle. If all of this sounds a little too offbeat for your tastes you do have the option to make the speed adjustment automatic, as well as trade in the command motions for a traditional bomb, but the game feels awfully sparse without them, and the ugly presentation doesn’t help matters. This one will probably be a bit too offbeat and uninviting for most, but a handful of enterprising shmuppers might enjoy the departure from the norm that this title brings to the table.
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Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus

This sequel to the Taito original was actually developed by Takumi, perhaps best known for Giga Wing. Unfortunately, while many fondly remember the first Kyukyoku Tiger (aka Twin Cobra) as a classic helicopter shooter, fewer speak of this title with much fondness, thanks to its outdated presentation, unbalanced weapons (there’s never much reason to use anything except the “green” one – especially since you have to mash the buttons like mad to get any worthwhile performance from the other two) and seemingly oversized hitbox (considering the amount of bullets you’ll have to deal with), which serve to bring it down several notches.

Also, the 3 “modes” highlighted on the packaging are misleading, as only the original “Arcade” mode, which keeps the original vertical screen, is worth bothering with (unless you like playing in wobble mode). If you’re still interested, make an effort to somehow try before you buy.
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Capcom Generation 1

Even many non-shmuppers have at least heard of Capcom’s most successful classic shooter, 1942 – this collection plants it and its two earliest sequels (1943: The Battle of Midway and 1943 Kai) onto one disc, along with a selection of bonus content. The original 1942 is about as basic of a shmup as you could hope to find – you can move, shoot, grab a handful of simple power-ups, and use a limited amount of loop-de-loops to get out of tough spots. Enemies and backgrounds frequently repeat (though considering the game’s age, it’s not too out of the ordinary for that era), and those tiny bullets seem a lot bigger when you’ve got a full-sprite hitbox.

1943 not only improves the presentation, but dramatically changes the basic workings of the game – you’ve still got your loops for a quick escape, but instead of multiple lives you’ve got a single “fuel” meter, which will slowly and constantly decrease on its own, and drop a big chunk when you take an enemy hit. While you’ve got several nice new powerups to play with (which will themselves run out of ammo after a short time), you’ll frequently be forced to forego them to collect fuel refills instead – most of the power-ups you encounter here can be “juggled” a la Twinbee when shot, which can make getting the item you want (or need) tough when you’re being peppered by small fry. 1943 Kai keeps the basic mechanics of its predecessor, but “remixes” the presentation, weapon selection, and stage layouts. The Saturn and PS1 ports found on this collection are generally considered the most faithful available, especially since few (if any) others contain tate mode – if you want the ideal olde-tyme shooting experience, this is the one to go for.
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Capcom Generation 3

How much you might be persuaded to pick up this collection is directly proportional to how fond you are of Capcom’s very early work – along with action-puzzler Pirate Ship Higemaru and hybrid oddity SonSon, the package features two shooters, Vulgus (Capcom’s very first game) and Exed Exes. The former, as you might expect, is shooting simplicity incarnate – you’ve got a pea-shooter and a limited supply of missiles that can pierce through enemies, and that’s it, as there are no powerups to speak of except missile refills. There are only a few enemy varieties (which will frequently swarm you like nobody’s business, thanks to your meager armaments) and background graphics sets, and the only scoring technique to concern oneself with is nailing vertical columns of baddies with a missile for bonus points. As a bit of trivia, the “Yashichi” (pinwheel-ish) icon, which shows up in several other Capcom games as a bonus item, first appeared here, as an enemy.

Exed Exes is slightly more advanced than Vulgus, most notably for its early use of parallax layers in its graphics as well as simultaneous 2-player action, but it’s still pretty basic. Your only weapon is still a basic frontal shot, though this time you can collect items to give it a little bit more oomph – you also have a bomb supply, but it only eliminates bullets, and doesn’t damage enemies. There are a few “bonus” sections where you can turn enemies into point icons as well as a few simple Zanac-esque bosses, but as in Vulgus you’ll frequently find yourself swarmed. In the same manner as the other Capcom Generations shooters, these are probably the best ports of the games available, but again, be aware that you should be a fan of older, simpler titles before plunking down for them.
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Capcom Generation 4

While some might be hesitant to consider the three games in this compilation (Commando, Mercs and Gun.Smoke) as “pure” scrolling shooters, they might as well be listed here for the sake of completeness. Each of these top-view games involves controlling a gun-wielding human character, as opposed to an airplane or spaceship – also, with the exception of Gun.Smoke, the screen does not automatically scroll but must be advanced by the player. Commando, the earliest of the titles, gives you a machine gun and a limited amount of grenades to pick off hiding or covered enemies – while the gun can be fired in eight directions, there’s no way to lock your shooting direction, making focusing your fire on a target difficult. Also, your grenades can only be thrown straight ahead at a fixed distance, limiting their usefulness. While the game’s influence on future titles, such as Ikari Warriors, certainly can’t be denied, for most it will likely seem dated – its sequel, Mercs, while keeping the same basic structure, has a bit more of a modern feel, with several collectible weapons, vehicles, and a screen-clearing smart bomb to replace the grenades, as well as much-improved graphics and slightly more player-friendly mechanics overall.

Gun.Smoke, while more of a “traditional” shooter in that it scrolls by itself, is probably the most unusual of the three – as your cowboy strolls through the stages you actually have three shot buttons, used to fire at either an angle to the left or right or straight ahead; hitting two of the buttons at once will aim your shots at a halfway point in between their “normal” directions. You’ll be juggling between them constantly as you try to pick off all the guys shooting and hurling dynamite from every which way, relying on a few powerups (including some that increase the speed and range of your initially quite-limited guns) to see you through – prepare to blast every item-containing barrel you come across, as the game is plenty challenging. Once again, the Capcom Generations ports of these games, on either the Saturn or PS1, are considered the most faithful if you want the definitive experience, next to playing them on an actual arcade machine.
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Dezaemon 2

This curiosity is actually part of a rather long-running series of “create it yourself” shooter builders released on several systems, sort of the shmup equivalent of the RPG Maker or Fighter Maker games. Obviously you’ll need to understand Japanese (or be willing to undergo lots of trial and error) to get the most out of the tools it gives you, as well as an enormous load of memory card space to save your creations, so the probable audience for the title outside of Japan is automatically somewhat limited.

The other possible draw for shmuppers here is that the disc includes a handful of “sample” games that you can play from the get-go, including a pair based off of Athena obscurities BioMetal and Daioh, but there’s only so much gameplay depth that the core engine can offer, though the possibilities in terms of presentation are nearly limitless. If you’re the creative type and are able to sort through the menus this one might be worth your while to track down.   Recently, there has also been a homebrew effort to compile a number of fan-made games that you can download at play via the Dezaemon 2 Save Game Manager.
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Sol Divide

Psikyo bucks two of its usual trends here, not only opting for the side-scrolling route once more but also exchanging its traditional sprite-based look for digitized-style graphics. While many complain about the latter I honestly don’t think they look too bad, considering how some other similar efforts have turned out – once you get into the actual game, you’ve got three characters to choose from, and each can shoot, slash, and use a limited stock of magic spells to slay dragons, wizards, and a whole bunch of other fairy-tale nasties.

Sadly, the basic execution of the formula is, simply put, off – your characters are even bulkier here than they were in Sengoku Blade, and dodging attacks is a huge pain, especially considering that your main shot is pretty weak – moving in close for melee combat is often a necessity. To make matters worse, you’ve got a life meter instead of stocked lives, and almost no invincibility time after taking a hit, which makes it easy to get overwhelmed, flattened, and frustrated in short order, even with health pickups available. Speaking of short, the game is quite brief even by Psikyo standards – it is worth noting, though, that the Saturn port, like the PS1 release (which made it stateside, though without the ability to save any data), includes an “Original” mode alongside the arcade version, which tosses some additional RPG elements to the mix. That said, unless you want the most full-featured version, it’s hard to recommend searching for the Saturn port when you could instead import Psikyo Shooting Collection Volume 3 for the PS2, which includes this game (sans Original mode) along with one of Psikyo’s more celebrated shooters, Dragon Blaze.
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Konami Antiques MSX Collection

First things first – if you’re set on acquiring this compilation, the Saturn version is the one to go for if you can, since its PS1 equivalent was split up into three volumes and is thus tougher and pricier to track down in full. That said, while there’s certainly a sizable bunch of Konami’s hard-to-find older products (30 in total, a full third of which are shooters) from the Japan-only MSX computer system on offer, including some system exclusives, the limitations of the original hardware are likely to tax even declared fans of “old-school” gaming.

The selection includes a half-dozen side-scrollers (Gradius, two variations of Gradius II, Salamander, Parodius, and Super Cobra), three vert-scrollers (Knightmare, Twinbee, and Sky Jaguar) and one free-scroller (Time Pilot). There’s not enough space to review them all individually, but then again many of them share the same problems, most notably choppy scrolling and sketchy hit detection – obviously at least some of these issues stem solely from what the programmers had to work with, but it doesn’t make most of the titles any more enjoyable, especially in comparison to more sophisticated offerings. Everything is technically playable (some titles moreso than others), but it seems a stretch to assume that many players would bother with most of these stripped-down conversions when there are so many other, better-executed shooters they could be playing, especially on the Saturn. This is a worthy pickup if you’re a gaming history buff or have fond memories of the MSX from back in the day, but just be aware that when the title says “antiques” it means it.
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Space Invaders

I’ve always wondered, over the course of video game history, which single title has received the most remakes, re-releases, and rehashes in all – if it’s not number one, Space Invaders must be darn close to the top of that list. Anyway, this Japan-only release features the old-school blasting we’ve come to (repeatedly) know and love, along with a few display options and an exclusive Versus mode, which features a Twinkle Star Sprites-esque split screen and improved graphics, as well as the ability to send your opponents’ invaders down faster (or eliminate a bunch of your own at once) by picking off aliens of a certain color.

In the end, though, the bare-bones and decades-old core of the game remains intact, and unless you’ve never owned any other port of Invaders before (or are a huge series fan) there’s little reason to spend much effort finding it, especially if you’ve moved on to more “modern” iterations, a la Akkanvader or Space Invaders Extreme. If you can’t get enough of classic Taito, though, there was also a release of this that was paired with Puzzle Bobble 2X, in case you’re looking for both games (or greater collectability).
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Cho Aniki

The full title of this one is WAY too long, so I won’t bother typing it all – anyway, if you’ve ever heard of the Cho Aniki (“Super Big Brother”) games, you know what to expect – a highly…unique blend of utter randomness and goofy pseudo-homoeroticism. For people who will buy a game solely for how weird it is, this one is a definite must-have; looking past the trimmings to the gameplay front, unfortunately, you end up spending most of your time phasing between yawn-inducing, repetitive stage segments and “why won’t it die” bosses, frequently wondering how in the world you’re expected to maneuver your huge character around the screen safely.

The sparsely-animated digitized graphics are far from pretty, but they certainly serve to add to the bonkers atmosphere of flying bodybuilders and other nonsense – the music, though, believe it or not, is actually rather catchy, for its part. This Cho Aniki entry also made it to the PS1 in nearly-identical form, so if you’ve got an inexplicable hankering for some airborne beefcake, there it is – don’t expect anything even remotely noteworthy beyond the inherent oddness, however.
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Steam Heart’s

First of all, no, that apostrophe is not a typo (at least not on my part, anyway). Second, this vertscroller is most famous for being one of the few commercially released “hentai” (literally “pervert,” the term denotes a game or other product with sexual content) shooters, and the only one on the Saturn (unless you care to count the likes of Cho Aniki). Originally released on the PC-88, the graphics (and, more importantly, the scrolling) have been upgraded in this port, and the hentai anime scenes between stages have been toned down – in fact, there’s even an “arcade” mode included, which you can play through with the “story” cut out completely.

While you do get some rather impressive firepower (including a few weapons exclusive to this port) to keep yourself occupied during the “interactive portion”, as well as the handy ability to quickly boost out of the way of oncoming threats, it’s still obvious, as with most such games, that the shooting wasn’t the developers’ main focus in this title, as the attack patterns and scenarios you encounter are largely unsatisfying, especially juxtaposed with the many superior shooters available on the system. Perhaps the game’s most amusing feature, however, is a two-player mode – I can only wonder…how many people who bought this game ever intended to acknowledge their purchase, let alone play it, with another person present? Truth be told, I’m afraid to ask.
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Macross: Do You Remember Love?

One of the longest-running and most popular anime ever produced, Macross (aka Robotech) has spawned a wide variety of video game offerings over the years, with predictably mixed results. This 2-disc Saturn side-scroller (and no, that second disc isn’t extra fan content – you have to switch discs halfway through, a la the PS1 Final Fantasy games) corresponds to the movie “Do You Remember Love?”, which is more or less a condensed retelling of the first part of the TV series. The overall presentation is somewhat forgettable, but the between-stage movie cutscenes look quite good for the most part, especially considering how the Saturn usually condensed such interludes to heck and back – since the game is pretty short, even spread across 2 CDs, that’s likely where most of the available space went.

The game itself is pretty pedestrian – you’ve got the usual trio of transformations with some differing characteristics (plane, mech, and half-and-half) that can be toggled between, though in several instances you’ll be limited to one or two of them. Other than that you’ve always got a spitball gun, a supply of short-ranged bombs, and an unlimited stock of homing missiles at your disposal. You can tweak the specifics on each a bit in between stages, but when you get right down to it the game largely consists of holding and releasing the missile button every time something enters the screen – also, since your onscreen avatar is so huge (especially in “Battroid” mode), some enemy spreads are pretty much undodgeable. The only power-ups are occasional life meter refills, and there are no points or scoring here either. When all is said and done I think it’s safe to say that, as is frequently the case with products like these, only card-carrying fans of the anime need apply here.
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Terra Cresta 3D

The main draw of the original Terra Cresta was the ability of the player to control not just a single craft but several, collected one at a time, merged together into a super-ship – of course, the means to temporarily separate them and spread their waves of death across most of the screen or unleash an invincible phoenix when grouped didn’t hurt either. That same base component is here in slightly modified form, but sadly that’s really all that the game has to offer, and a lone gimmick of that nature just doesn’t “make” a game as well as it did back in 1985.

The 3D graphical update doesn’t look too bad overall, though the Star Fox-esque perspective that you’re forced into for boss fights is unnecessarily awkward. Also, the game does not have a point – I mean that literally, as the game not only lacks a defined scoring system, but ANY score or points at all. Especially considering that even its predecessor (and ITS predecessor, Moon Cresta) contained this basic shooter element over a decade before, this is a pretty baffling exclusion, and it takes a big bite out of the desire to replay and improve one’s performance. As a result, the product as a whole feels tragically incomplete.
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Tukai! Slot Shooting

An unknown entity even among most shooter fans, this Japan-exclusive odd duck mixes Space Invaders, a slot machine, an “ochi” puzzler, and a truckload of multicolored sea creatures into one stumper of a chimera. While the screen doesn’t scroll, you are free to move your dumpling-like character anywhere on it – the thing is, the playfield starts half-full of pastel-colored crabs and other critters, and more continue to fall with time, as in Puyo Puyo or any number of puzzle games. As you might guess, if they touch the top, the game’s over – the trick is to shoot 3 falling crustaceans of the same color in a row, which will cause the slot reel on the top of the screen to randomly award you a cycling-color bonus piece, which, when shot, will eliminate everything of that color off the screen, and possibly set off a chain reaction among the remaining pieces. There are a few more variables present, but that’s the basic idea.

As unique of an amalgamation as this title is, the parts don’t come together very well – for one thing, the game really doesn’t reward luck and skill equally, as once you shoot one set of 3 your best strategy is to stop shooting as long as possible, wait for the slots to line up, and hope for a bunch of bonus icons to appear in rapid succession – shooting anything else in the meantime, even another set of 3, will only delay any potential rewards, so odds are you’ll end up doing as much waiting (and hoping) as actual shooting. Movement is also on the clunky side – getting underneath nearly-landed pieces to pick them off is difficult and dangerous, as getting squished immediately ends your game. When all is said and done, I can only recommend this thing to hardcore fans of all that is both weird and Japanese.
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Planet Joker

This title (which appears to have no connection to Visco’s subpar shmup Earth Joker) is a rather rare find, but considering that it’s frequently derided as the worst shooter on the Saturn, demand for it is hardly overwhelming. In a nutshell, you’re cast as the pilot of a selection of crudely-realized 3D mechs, floating over Silpheed-esque “tilted”-perspective backgrounds, battling other poorly-rendered machines of death with a handful of weapons, bombs, and an invincible shield meter.

The bulky onscreen character and the fact that you can’t hit enemies too near the edges of the screen give it a clunky, unrefined feel, and the near-complete lack of challenge or excitement only compounds the boredom. Oh, and don’t even ask what the game forces you to do while fighting the final boss. Seek this one only if you’re a collection completist.
Find Planet Joker on eBay

Tempest 2000 (a non-2D bonus)

I had to throw in one more game into this Saturn old-school shooting fest even though it isn’t a 2D game like the rest.  This update of the classic vector shooter keeps most everything faithful to the original, but also adds in a bunch of uber-cheesy techno beats and a handful of modes to choose from – “Traditional” (Tempest pretty much as you remember it), “Plus” (which allows 2-player mode and a few other additions), and the main event, “2000”, which slightly retools the graphics and includes a sizable amount of new stuff. Some of the extra features of the latter mode include a selection of power-ups (including a “jump” ability and an AI helper), new enemy types to deal with, a limited save feature, and a new set of challenges, dubbed “Beastly Mode,” that you can try your hand at after finishing the normal game.

There’s also a unique “Duel” mode which allows you to play against a friend – I can only imagine how many arcade gamers from the olden days might have used this to determine supremacy amongst their ranks. Plus, in any mode you can use the X, Y, and Z buttons to switch between 3 zoom levels at any time – too bad the viewing angle isn’t adjustable, though, as some hills and valleys can make enemies and bullets hard to spot until they’re on top of you. Also, a warning to those used to the delicate tap dodging of contemporary shooters – here you’ve got to hit the directional buttons pretty hard to make your ship register movement, though a decent joystick might be of some help if you’ve got one. Whatever the annoyances, though, this is still pretty much a sure pickup for fans of the original Tempest.
Find Tempest 2000 on eBay

Additional Credits: Thank to shmups.com, satakore.com, Segagaga Domain, and Hardcore Gaming 101 for helping me to fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of the Saturn’s shmup collection in addition to providing some of the screenshots.

If you’re ever wondered what Rez would be like in 2D, Space Invaders Extreme is one of the closest examples you will find.   That’s right, this is not another one of those vanilla Space Invaders remakes.  The masterminds at Taito and Square/Enix have put a fresh spin on the pioneering game to bring it more into the league of the modern arcade shooters on XBLA and PSN like Geometry Wars and Everyday Shooter.  Much like Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s masterpiece, Space Invaders Extreme is a wonderful mix of rapid shooting, a juxtaposition of colors, and a dynamic audio experience that is partially created by you’re the rhythm of your shooting..

Gameplay: 9

While most of the stages in Extreme have the classic Space Invaders enemy patterns, they usually have a unique spin on them in order to keep things fresh and interesting.   There are also a variety of special weapons (lasers, bombs, wide shot, etc) that keeps your appetite for destruction going strong.

Every so often, you will see a flashing rainbow UFO traveling across the top of the screen.  If you shoot it, you are thrown into a bonus stage that takes more liberties with the enemy patters and gives you different objectives to meet within a short period of time.  If you are successful in meeting the goal, you are treated to a Fever Mode back in the normal game that gives you rapid-firing bonus weapons for a limited amount of time.  Not only does the Fever Mode let you fly through some of the level quickly and easily, but it also give you the opportunity to rack up your score – especially with the Jackpot bonuses for shooting UFOs.

Also at the end of every stage, there are bosses to defeat.  Even the bosses remind me a bit of the ones in Rez.  Nothing too difficult (at least in the first part of the game), but a bit more challenging and engaging than your standard enemies.

Space Invaders Extreme also does a great job of increasing the difficulty as you progress through the levels.  Later levels don’t simply get faster, there are also more complex enemy formations, shielded enemies (require more than one shot), and some new types of enemies that will require you to shoot a bit more strategically.

I also felt that Space Invaders Extreme was a very fair game.  I had many moments when I struggled to get past a level, but it was always my fault.  It seemed that if I didn’t stay focused on both what I was shooting at and what projectiles were coming at me, I would get in trouble (primarily when your bullets quickly return back to after bouncing off of certain shields).   I guess many of these game concepts apply to most shmups, but I think it is especially true in this case.

The scoring system in Space Invaders Extreme is also very deep when it comes to chain combos and such.  However, to be honest, I have yet to really memorize/pay attention to them to the point of optimizing my scores just yet.  If you are a modern shmup fan, you’ll probably catch on a lot quicker and will appreciate what Taito has done with the game.  If you’d like to read a more detailed explanation of the scoring system, I would recommend RyanDG’s lengthy review on Arcade Renaissance.

Technicalities aside, Space Invaders is full of extremely fun, challenging, and satisfying gameplay.  Like most great games, it’s extremely easy to pick up but you can spend a long time mastering your skills.

Graphics/Presentation: 8

Space Invaders Extreme is oh so colorful.  It is definitely inspired by the likes of Geometry Wars, Meteos and Rez, but it still has its iconic Space Invaders charm.  The backgrounds are interesting and colorful, but nothing that will blow you away.  To be honest, Extreme could have made a bit better use of the DS hardware while maintaining the 2D look and feel, but I’ll let them off the hook for being a budget title.

The overall presentation and menu system has a modern look that suits the game well and is easy to navigate.  Not big surprise coming from Taito and Square/Enix, but it’s still appreciated.

Audio
As I mentioned before, the audio in Space Invaders Extreme seems to be heavily inspired by Rez, but doesn’t quite go far as far as they could have – It’s more like a watered-down Rez vibe.  Still very good, but there’s room for improvement.  (From what I’ve heard, the PSP version has better audio)

Multiplayer : 7

I heard a few guys in the forums talking about how they liked the multiplayer (whether it be online or local wireless) as it reminded them of a vs puzzle game setup like Puyo Puyo Fever.  Because that word of mouth and my adoration for the single-player game, I had very high hopes for the multiplayer modes.  Now, don’t get me wrong, the Multiplayer mode isn’t bad, it’s just not as good as the single-player mode, in my opinion.

As I mentioned before, some of the aspects that make the single player mode so good is the flood of weapons, bonus rounds/fever modes, and bosses that are sprinkled throughout the core gameplay.   It seemed to me like the Multiplayer modes lacked most of that.

You still have the weapon upgrades, but they seem far less abundant and I often found myself trying to peck away at a bunch of shielded enemies with my normal weapon.  I suppose that’s all well and good if you’re an old-school Space Invaders purist, but it got a bit old for me.

From what I’ve heard and read, the key to success in the multiplayer mode was supposed to be shooting the UFOs (which are more abundant) in order to hurt your opponent.  The impression I got was that the more UFOs you shoot, the more enemies will show up in on your opponents screen.  I was trying to watch for this effect, but I just couldn’t see any difference between when I shot lots of UFOs and when I didn’t shoot any.  If this does have some effect on opponents, the developers should have given us a visual cue to this effect like having some enemies swoop from our bottom screen to the top (where we can view our opponent) , much like Puyo Puyo Fever.

Considering how the Bonus Rounds and Fever Modes worked in the single player mode, I was thinking it would be logical to transition that to the Multiplayer just like (again) Puyo Puyo Fever.

Again, most of these complains are due to high expectations and nitpicking.  In the end, my wife has bugged me numerous times to play against her.  That’s gotta be worth something.

Value: 10

If Space Invaders Extreme was $30, I would probably only recommend it to fans of old-school 2D shooting.  However at the budget price of $20, I have to recommend this gem to anyone that would frequent this site.  I’m far from a shmup expert, but I thought Space Invaders Extreme is one of the best values on the DS right now.  The game also happens to be very easy to find even in big retailers like Wal-Mart or Target.
You can also order it easily at Amazon.com

Overall: 9

The bottom line is that if you are into old-school games with a modern flair, Space Invaders Extreme is practically a required purchase for your DS library.  While I haven’t played the PSP port, I would strongly recommend PSP owners give it a try.  At $20, you really can’t go wrong with Space Invaders Extreme.

The Sega Dreamcast has one of the most loyal followings of hardcore gamers and more than seven years after Sega announced the end of its hardware run, the Dreamcast is still slowly being supported by a handful of devoted developers. The latest game be announced is DUX, a new 2D shooter from the team at HUCAST.net.

Racketboy.com regular, HeavyMetalMe took some time to discuss this upcoming release with René Hellwig of HUCAST.net and was able to share some details about the game and many of the thoughts that went into designing this colorful game.

If you haven’t heard of this game just yet, you may want to check out the development blog and watch the gameplay trailer.

HeavyMetalMe: For those who don’t know, who exactly is the DUX development team? Where are you located, and how long have you guys been around? Does anyone there have any prior credentials?

René Hellwig: The whole DUX development team is from Germany. I’m from Hannover, Martin Konrad comes from Michelstadt nearby Frankfurt and Andre Neumann is from Wittingen nearby Hannover. Martin has a lot programming experience, especially with making GGT for GameGear. GGT is an Turrican like game and shows what you can technically do with the Game Gear, so I recommend to take a look at it when it’s finished. Andre is pretty well known in the Amiga and C64 remix scene and did a lot of nice remixes and original music. As for myself, I mainly have gathered experience with Last Hope for NeoGeo since 2001.

HeavyMetalMe: Before we get into the games, what is it that leads NG:DEV.TEAM and HUCAST.net to continue developing games for NeoGeo and Dreamcast?

René: Fun. Different games can satisfy different needs and with the current so called next gen a lot of genres were displaced to a niche market. To be more specific, the Neogeo is the most power 2D gaming machine with its almost endless amount of cartridge storage. So it’s probably the best system to make 2D low-res games for.

The Dreamcast is a very nice console as well- has enough power to handle 2D gameplay needs and has one of the friendliest user base I know of. Additionally, it’s not very complicated to program the Dreamcast.

HeavyMetalMe: How did your new game DUX come to be? What was the inspiration? What exactly does DUX mean, and what’s the story line?

René: The main inspirations for DUX are R-Type II and Pulstar. And also Pink Sweet from its look but not gameplay-wise. R-Type III can be also included but you then I could include every R-Type ever made, because most people won’t notice the difference. Every time you have a pod in horizontal shooter, someone will calling it R-Type clone. I found it kinda sad, that some people cannot make the see difference because R-Type is not just game, it’s an sub-genre.

HeavyMetalMe: How far along is DUX currently? How much is complete, and how much is left?

René: I started developing this game in January this year so it’s about a couple of month and when the games will be finished it will take a half a year of development time. The first 2 stages a near completion and all the remaining stages are roughly made about 75%. This may sound much but most of the complicated stuff is already done so it won’t take much time anymore.

HeavyMetalMe: From the images you’ve posted on your blog, DUX appears to be a typical horizontal shoot ‘em up. How does DUX differentiate from other titles within the genre?

René: With DUX I want to combine the typical horizontal shooting genre with modern features. So the game will have a not so simple scoring system and more bullets simultaneously on screen then in any other game of the R-Type sub-genre. Don’t expect a Mushihime Sama like bullet hell though.

HeavyMetalMe: Last Hope received a fair amount of criticism for its game play and difficulty. What steps, if any, have been taken to avoid this with DUX?

René: DUX will very different to Last Hope in all the mentioned regards. It will feature a moderate difficulty and multiple checkpoints within every stage that will make game progression more comfortable, so even when you dislike most memorizers I think that DUX is worth a look. On screen visibility is an important factor too. There were many complaints that you can hardly distinguish between foreground/background and glowing shrapnel from bullets. With DUX all these problems are solved.

HeavyMetalMe: Are you currently open to, or have already taken suggestions for the game play of DUX from ordinary games?

René: I’m not too sure about this. P.N.03 has been one of the inspirations when it comes the very whitish and clean look. Maybe its to scoring aspects is an inspiration too.

HeavyMetalMe: How many stages are planned? Do you have any details on difficulty levels, player stock, extended play, or possible loops?

René: 6 stages. There may be some loops to make it harder when you already have finished the game on its 1st loop but that’s unsure for now. Since DUX will feature a scoring system you can play the game on pure survival and/or to increase your score at the same time. You already can do this with Last Hope but DUX pays more attention to the scoring system. So you will even get score when soaking up enemy bullets with your pod, and destroying some of the enemy in a certain manner to increase score and many more.

HeavyMetalMe: Who is composing the music for DUX? Was the offer proposed to Rafael Dyll, who did Last Hope’s soundtrack?

René: Andre Neumann is composing it. And the music already sounds great, maybe even as nice as Last Hope’s soundtrack. That’s a matter of taste though. Anyhow, the Stage 2 music of DUX is already my favorite atmospherecal soundtrack. With NG:DEV.TEAM however we will collaborate with Rafael Dyll to make sure the sound quality will be alright in our Neogeo games.

HeavyMetalMe: With NG:DEV.TEAM, you guys released Last Hope yourselves for Neogeo CD and AES. How did it work out that redspotgames released the Dreamcast port? And will all releases for DUX be through you?

René: We wanted to have the DC port of Last Hope published by an outsource so we could have more time developing games. Unfortunately, that didn’t work too well so we had more trouble, then we would have had without an publisher. That’s one of the reasons why I will publish DUX by myself. Every game retailer is welcome to stock DUX of course.

HeavyMetalMe: Last Hope saw a very limited AES and limited edition Dreamcast release. Do you have a quantity already planned for Dreamcast? Any plans for another limited edition release?

René: I will initially produce 1000 pieces of DUX. There’s not limited edition intended and I don’t think I will ever do that with a HUCAST.net release. Many people were disappointed they couldn’t obtain a limited edition of Last Hope for Dreamcast so I don’t want to see those faces sad again.

I’m open for non-significant limited special editions through, so as a bonus, a poster will be included with every preorder of DUX. The poster will look just like the cover art, which shows the DUX ship fighting against the first stage boss enemy.

HeavyMetalMe: How do you feel about the current going price of Last Hope? According to Wikipedia, a copy sold on eBay for 550 euros, or 730 dollars. Does that affect you setting the price for DUX?

René: Not at all. The Last Hope cartridge is a collector’s item made and only interesting for those collectors and NeoGeo home-cartridge enthusiast. DUX will be reasonably priced at 20 EUR.

HeavyMetalMe: How does it feel to be one of the only businesses developing NeoGeo and Dreamcast games? Do you anticipate or welcome any competition?

René: It feels good. However, I welcome any competition with Dreamcast game development and hope this will be more strong in future. The canned Drill looked promising but it never came out, so there’s not much hope. Non shmup-wise I’m looking forward to Rush Rush Rally and hope it’s as much fun as it looks by its screen. I always had something left for a good top-down racer as I already was playing such games on the Amiga 500.

As for NeoGeo I don’t think there will be ever any proper competition, which is kinda sad. I don’t even know why I think so, but who else should be so frivolously to make full-scale Neogeo games like we do with NG:DEV.TEAM.

HeavyMetalMe: Any concrete release dates or pre-order dates for DUX as of right now?

René: Pre-orders are already open as of this month. Release date will hopefully be in July.

HeavyMetalMe:What are you plans for the HUCAST.net shop? What will you stock and when do you anticipate it opening?

René: I intend to stock any quality independent console games mainly for Dreamcast and NeoGeo. Currently when my game shop will open in May/July, I initially will feature Last Hope and DUX of course. I’m looking forward to stock more games though.

HeavyMetalMe:What’s on the agenda for NG:Dev.Team and HUCAST.net after DUX? Will you continue making games for both NeoGeo and Dreamcast?

René: Indeed. With NG:DEV.TEAM a vertical scrolling shooter will be ready next year. With HUCAST.net I’m currently completely occupied with DUX so time will tell.

Racketboy: I want to personally thank both René and HeavyMetalMe for their time in putting toghether this interview and I wish the best of luck to the team at HUCAST.net on their upcoming release. If you would like to pre-order your copy of DUX, check out the official site.

Presented by: Fastbilly1, Marurun, & Racketboy
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club

We have a special treat for you this opening week. We’re going to be looking at the arcade classic Defender and the home port for the Atari 2600. Read on to find out more about Defender and what our plan is for the next 2 weeks.

History

Williams Electronics threw the gaming world a curveball when they released Defender in 1980. The game featured an unheard of control array for a standard upright game and a difficulty that remains formidable to this day. Very few games can claim the title “Hardest Game Ever” and only one other can claim “Over a billion dollars in the Arcade” – take a guess at which one.

Defender is a simple (hah!) game about saving the world from an invading race of mutants. While it does build on what previous coin poppers laid out for it, Defender takes the game to the next level. To summarize the difficulty, during testing the highest score obtained was 50,000 points. The programmers almost did not add any stages past that because they felt no one would ever reach them. When the game was debuted at the AMOA (Arcade Manufacturers of America) trade show in 1979 it was blasted as too complicated and no one thought it would catch on. Both Defender and Pacman were predicted to fail in the arcades. Ironically those are the only two coin-op games to break the one billion dollars mark.

Recommended Ports

The best way to play Defender is obviously on the original hardware. However, since most of us don’t have the space or proper salary for one or more arcade cabinets, if that, we will have to settle for ports and emulation.  (Learn how to emulate and configure Defender)

The home port we are going to focus on is the Atari 2600 one, as it was the most prevalent one on the market. While it may not technically be the best port, the Atari 2600 version of Defender is fairly faithful to the original game and an impressive show of how the Atari 2600 can indeed handle a complex and difficult game. Changes to the control scheme were one of Atari’s biggest concessions, along with changing the plain mountain background to a more colorful, if blocky, cityscape. Among the sacrifices necessary to make the game playable with the single button Atari controller is the elimination of hyperspace and having to fly off screen and hit the fire button to use a smart bomb. You’ll have to own the Atari cartridge or emulate this one as it hasn’t shown up on any of the Atari TV game collections such as the Flashback. Here’s a video for a look at the Atari 2600 port in action

The most available modern arcade port and the best legal alternative to the original arcade cabinet would be either the version found on the Midway Arcade Treasures discs or the Xbox Live Arcade version.

Atari 2600	PS2/PS3	Gamecube/Wii	XBox	XBLA

Controlling the Game

Defender features a joystick and five buttons. The joystick is a classic 2-way stick mounted vertically, meaning the stick only goes up and down. To move left and right you have to use the reverse button (turns you around) and the thrust button (propels you). The reverse button is right by the stick, accessible with the thumb of the left hand. The hyperspace button is in the middle of the panel, forward a bit, below the 1 and 2 player buttons. Smart bomb, thrust, and fire are in a cluster placed properly for right-hand access. The location of the hyperspace button has made for Defender teams, featuring the player and the so called “Hyper Space” position. To help you out, take a look at the pictures linked below. The text is a little fuzzy due to low quality images so refer to the description above to confirm button locations.

It should be noted that in most home ports the controls were simplified so that a d-pad or joystick controls the ship in four directions instead of two – taking away the thrust button. Just hold left or right to lay out extra thrust. This makes the game easier to control but reduces the tactical possibilities available for the truly nimble. The hyperspace function was also removed in many home ports.

Gameplay

The controls make it sound easy, right? Well, mostly you’re just flying around, shooting enemies. In addition shooting down enemies and staying alive by avoiding contact with enemies and their bullets, however, you additionally have to try to keep all your humanoids from getting abducted by enemy landers. Destroy the lander and the humanoid falls. If he falls too far he dies. You can catch the falling humanoid and drop him off on the ground for extra points, not to mention the score bonus for having more surviving humanoids left at the end of the level. A successful abduction by a lander results in a mutant which, as you’ll read next, is more than enough reason to keep them from getting captured.

The enemies you’ll face are just despicable enough to show you why “old school” is the only school when it comes to crushing difficulty. Intentionally programmed to give you false hope is the best way to describe the AI in Defender. You have your standard stupid, enemy bombers. You have pods which, when shot, blow up to become a swarm of tiny, erratic swarmers. To top it all off, if you don’t wipe out the enemy wave quickly enough, a baiter will hunt you down with precise shots and deadly speed. And of course there are the landers, destined to grab a humanoid when you least expect it. Let the lander get away and you’ll end up facing a mutant, an erratic and aggressive foe.

The levels scroll by smoothly and wrap around, making it feel like you have an infinite space to fly in. You have a radar display at the top of the screen which shows you, with colored dots, where you are and what’s going on around you. It can be extremely helpful assuming you have time to look at it. You probably won’t. And don’t get too pissed off as cheap deaths are to be expected.

The goal of the game is simply to get the highest score possible, and like most classic arcade games it goes on forever. The score only runs up 999,999 and rolls over to 0 if you pass it. If you are feeling adventurous, or just think you are that good, you can go for the world record. Hosted on Twin Galaxies the current record for marathon gaming is 79,976,975, set by Chris Hoffman back in 1981 (standard game settings). If you end up beating that you will have accomplished something monumental and there might be a documentary out there with your name on it…King of Kong anyone?

Strategy and How To Play Effectively

The best guide I have found so far on how to play Defender is on the useful site, Strategy Wiki. Not only does it have clear and concise tips, but since it is a wiki, you can also contribute to it as well.

• Characters
• The Scanner
• Beginning Strategies
• Reverse Strategy
• Hyperspace Strategy
• Smart Bomb Strategy

Additional Resources for Defender Information

• Defender Wikipedia Entry
• GameSpot’s Greatest Games entry on Defender
• The Killer List of Video Games Defender page
• The Ultimate History of Video Games
• Arcade Fever: The Fan’s Guide To The Golden Age of Video Games
• Supercade: A Visual History of The Videogame Age 1979-1984
• Collecting Classic Video Games

Together Retro Goals & Discussion

Instead of posting in the comments section of the blog, we will be using the forum for all of our discussion in order to keep things more organized. Since older arcade games like Defender are rather straightforward, our main “goal” here will be to get a respectable high score.

• Defender General Discussion
• Post Your Defender High Scores