Best shoot em up games ever?

[BarbaricAvatar]

In some form of order:
Crimsonland (PC)
Beat Hazard (PC)
Chicken Invaders 4 (PC)
Llamatron 2112 (PC)

How is chicken invaders 4? Is it a more diverse game than its predecessors?

Nope. It's much the same as CI3 but with more weapons and upgrades.

[maximo310]

In some form of order:
Crimsonland (PC)
Beat Hazard (PC)
Chicken Invaders 4 (PC)
Llamatron 2112 (PC)

How is chicken invaders 4? Is it a more diverse game than its predecessors?

Nope. It's much the same as CI3 but with more weapons and upgrades.

I used to play the CI3 demo a lot back in the day, but I just kept forgetting to purchase the full game. Maybe its time to finally get an installment of the series.

[burningdoom]

I'm not a fan of shooter.  That's mainly because I suck at them.  However, I just got Terra Cresta and I'm enjoying it so far.  Probably not the best ever, but I like it.

I like Legendary Wings too.

Yeah, Legendary Wings is very cool. Love the fantasy style of it.

I keep seeing this game lately.  I guess I should finally pick it up.

I think a big reason I have a soft-spot for the game, too, is because I've always been a comic book fan as far back as I can remember. And in my head as a little kid, I thought I was playing Hawkman the game.

[gokurin]

Jamestown is the best western shump I've played.
Very high production values, great music, graphics, and gameplay.

Otherwise, Touhou (any of them).

[maximo310]

Jamestown is the best western shump I've played.
Very high production values, great music, graphics, and gameplay.

Otherwise, Touhou (any of them).

Is Touhou any good? I've heard that it has alot of really slow and dense bullet waves compared to some of the other shmups on the market today.

[gokurin]

Jamestown is the best western shump I've played.
Very high production values, great music, graphics, and gameplay.

Otherwise, Touhou (any of them).

Is Touhou any good? I've heard that it has alot of really slow and dense bullet waves compared to some of the other shmups on the market today.

I like it, but that may not reflect the shump community.
Touhou may be slower, but the pattern design makes up for it. Oh, and the music and art design are both pretty good.
...plus it's free, that always helps.

[maximo310]

Jamestown is the best western shump I've played.
Very high production values, great music, graphics, and gameplay.

Otherwise, Touhou (any of them).

Is Touhou any good? I've heard that it has alot of really slow and dense bullet waves compared to some of the other shmups on the market today.

I like it, but that may not reflect the shump community.
Touhou may be slower, but the pattern design makes up for it. Oh, and the music and art design are both pretty good.
...plus it's free, that always helps.

Oh they are free?! I guess I'll download some and try them out and see how I like it.

[evilnick]

I'm not a fan of shooter.  That's mainly because I suck at them.  However, I just got Terra Cresta and I'm enjoying it so far.  Probably not the best ever, but I like it.

I like Legendary Wings too.

Yeah, Legendary Wings is very cool. Love the fantasy style of it.

I keep seeing this game lately.  I guess I should finally pick it up.

It's an odd duck, but for the money it's a great game.  You should easily find it for $5-$10. 

I really need to make a list of games that are high VALUE.  It may be some type of Fun/$ type rating.  This would fit perfectly in there.

I did indeed find it for about $5.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  After cleaning my NES and getting the game running as it was supposed to (you know, not glitchy), my son and I played it for about half an hour or so, and I found it to be extremely difficult.  The side-scrolling levels are interesting (my kid stumbled into that, I managed to avoid them), but I think player movement is too rigid compared to enemies. 

I have to agree, it really is an odd duck.  And the man has wings, so that makes this a pun.

[betelgeuse]

Some of my favorites in no particular order. These were the type of games I use to play in the arcades.

R-Type
Lifeforce
Twin Eagle
Silk Worm
UN Squadron
Side Arms
Twin Cobra

[abe]

Astebreed on the PC is pretty awesome. You pilot an awesome mecha with projectile weapons and a sword. The perspective also changes frequently throughout each level, so you often go from sidescroller to top-down and back in the middle of a level. I'm not sure how it compares to some of the other stuff in this thread though. My experience with shmups is pretty limited.

[breezer0029]

One of mine is Einhander for ps1 ! great game

[badATchaos]

I enjoy Crisis Force, Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings 1 & 2. I love the unique special bombs for each craft.
Hard to say whats 'best.' Can't really compare older games with newer ones, and some people like more difficulty while others like less.

Edit: forgot GunNac

[koemo1]

How about galaga? Or doesn't that game count?

[maximo310]

How about galaga? Or doesn't that game count?

Yep, that works as a fun early shmup.

[pordox]

Axelay was and is still one of my favorites. Interesting Weapon System and great variety in stage design and gameplay (alternating between vertical and horizontal stages). And the music, aaahw such beautiful tunes ^^
The only downside are the sound effects for the weapons. They sound so weak and puny.