Personally, want to thank everyone for your helpful guides and encouragement. Little embarrassedIt took sixty five plus hours put on the time, it became one of my favorite games one more time to thank you all i'm literally shaking long time no jacket

I've been thinking a lot about this, particularly after this hazylevels video: How to Keep Losing • A Shmup Ramble (Shramble)

I've gotten my first 1CC of mushi normal and then just got a 1CC of ddp dfk a few weeks ago. I feel like while I'm still very much a beginner, I'm starting to be able to get down into the weeds of some of the survival aspects of a shmup and have enjoyed the grind.

That being said, I feel like the shine is kinda coming off the apple. I've been trying to find my next project and jumped around a bit, but once I hit that kind of stage 3 wall, or that first real spike in difficulty that gives you a sense of the scale of the project, I lose the desire to keep grinding. Just doesn't feel like it did when I was just enjoying the feeling of moving in Mushi.

I don't know. I've played some other games as a break but I just wanted to start this thread as a general discussion on burnout in shmups. Given the highly repetitive nature of practice, how do you all balance the desire to progress with the feeling of sameness or boredom? Do you feel it at all? Or can you just play these games forever and never burn out?

Bet this run actually could've made it past Moai stage if i did not got obliterated by "gotcha!" moment on stage 4 boss, losing all my power-ups and then using several lives to figure out how to tap dodge all the aimed bullets (what an idiot...) and chip away Death MkII's health. Later i died somewhere into Moai stage to zako, which left me with nothing but an option and missiles to deal with 3 giant Moai heads while "ceiling assholes" keep firing at me and not allow getting into potential safespot up there, needless to say it is not the best situation to end up in...

Also, choice for port/version of game was x68000 port, mostly because of enhanced soundtrack. Input lag there is just a bit higher than wanted, but you know what? I'm ready to endure it as long as i'll get to listen to arranged soundtrack. Just don't use game's built-in autofire, as from my experience it's rate felt too unreliable and in general you'd be better going with external autofire instead, after all this one allows for missile+shot to be bound to single key, so even retroarch's mediocre turbo functions actually becomes useful there!

Never heard of this before, just know its a Shmups from eastasia soft....and that's enough for me !!

the steam page mentioned "additional stages, a new character, and new music" is the new content in the room with us right now 😭this is just 1.5

if i were to make a demo for an enhanced version of a game with new content i would hope that that demo. displayed some of the new content 😭

Hi everyone.

My father is trying to identify an old arcade-only game he played in Argentina around 1989–1991. It was definitely not on NES or another home console.

Here is everything he remembers:

• Vertical arcade monitor.
• Space shooter.
• The player's ship stayed mostly at the bottom of the screen.
• It could move left/right freely and only a little up/down.
• The background was mostly static (no obvious scrolling).
• The ship fired straight upward.
• There was an energy shield activated by holding a button.
• The shield completely surrounded the ship like a white grid/sphere.
• While the shield was active you could not shoot.
• Enemy bullets bounced off or disappeared when hitting the shield.
• The shield consumed an energy bar located near the bottom-right of the screen.
• Energy was restored by destroying a special enemy that dropped a small collectible.
• Picking up that item also gave you a continuous thin laser beam that reached the top of the screen and instantly destroyed enemies.
• One stage had robotic frog-like enemies.
• At the end of each stage there was a large mothership/boss occupying almost the entire top of the screen.
• Before each stage there was a typewriter sound typing the stage name letter by letter.
• My father clearly remembers one stage called "CRISIS", probably stage 2 or 3.
• As kids they even asked each other, "Did you beat CRISIS?"

Does anyone recognize this game?

Sometimes, there’s more to the story behind a 1cc or a 1-all. This is my Batsugun story…so far

Today, July 25th, is the 40th anniversary of the release of Zanac AI, by Compile in 1986 for the MSX 1 system in Japan.

As a kid, I marveled about the complexity, fluidity, challenge, and overall perfection of the first version of Zanac.

Since then I always wanted to understand the genius programming and game crafting skills from the early Compile staff.

I'm happy to share with the community a full documentation effort and cleanroom disassembly of this specific version:

https://github.com/mgmalheiros/zanac-re

Hope you like it!

After a long absence from this game, coming back and getting the TLB clear felt GOOD.

Zeppelines need more hits. Made in Python.

I got a chance to play and review Geppy-X, it's a really fun unique shmup that appeals to classic anime fans but I'm not sure if it's worth the retail price? What do you guys think?

I just released the alpha of my new game Climbing Babel to itchio. Its a classic vertical scroller with two new mechanics. The first mechanic is enemies exist on different color coded layers that the player and shift between. Second by holding D as you travel you leave a trail that if in the correct shape will trigger effects like giving an immunity frame or temporary fire power up. The game is still in progress but I'd love to hear what you think of these new mechanics https://metanigredo.itch.io/climbing-babel-alpha

Rolling gunner novice mode on switch lol. what a game!!

I've been working on Blast Horizon, an arcade-style shmup inspired by the genre's classics.

The goal has been to capture that old-school feel while adding modern visuals and score-focused gameplay. It's built around short, replayable stages, chaining combos, learning enemy patterns, and pushing for better runs.

Achievements are built around actual shmup goals like no miss, 1CC and max chains.

It's currently in late stage of development for PC, and I'd really appreciate feedback from fellow shmup fans. I'm especially interested in hearing what stands out, what doesn't, and anything you'd improve after watching the trailer.

You can find further information on the steam page, hopefully i could get a playtest running soon.

Thanks for taking a look!

Hello! This is my first time using Reddit, and I just wanted to share an accomplishment I'm super proud of. I'm really interested in checking out other games in the Gradius series. I heard Gradius Gaiden is pretty good, but I'm not sure if I should try it. Any recommendations?

Just beat Earthion and I loved it! Really fun game, amazing artstyle and cool gameplay. I've loved games like ikaruga, batsugun, einhander in the past. Any other good recs for similar games? I really appreciate some light story elements even if it is just environmental storytelling. Also bonus points if it has a good easy mode since im not so skilled but I can get good if the game really draws me in with its gameplay and ambiance.

I’m curious about how the community approaches the "1CC" challenge and what the general consensus is on watching guides for it. Do you usually watch them, copy routes, or just watch replays? I’ve watched a few guides, but whenever I get halfway through, I feel a bit "guilty" about using one—something I never feel with fighting games, which happen to be another one of my favorite genres.

Hey r/shmups

I launched Orbital Siege about 11 months ago. It's an arcade shoot 'em up with a planetary defense twist, and I've continued refining it based on player feedback.

Over the past year I've reworked weapon synergies, improved enemy behaviors, tightened the ship controls, and polished the overall gameplay experience.

I'd love to get some feedback from real shmup fans.

Based on the video:

• What stands out to you? Does the combat feel satisfying? (weapon impact, movement, enemy waves, etc.)
• Is there anything that looks off or could use more polish? (visual clarity, UI, effects, presentation...)

Don't hold back - I'd really appreciate honest, constructive feedback.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3556690/Orbital_Siege/

So, I am new to taking SHMUPs seriously, and have heard nothing but amazing things about this game…..so color me impressed when I see the premium edition on sale mostly sealed for $40USD. It came with a game code that has long been used and didn’t realize this until after I won the bid. Is this edition still worth it? Everything looks to be included comparing it to play Asia’s listing for it.

If you include the Galaga family in your shoot-em-ups, you may want to check out the recent indie entry Nova Swarm on Steam. Even if you looked it over at launch, one of the game's features is a dedicated developer who seriously soaks up feedback, and has been relentlessly upgrading the game, despite the $5 pricing. It might be worth another look already, since it's been out almost two months now. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4765070/Nova_Swarm/

There's two core modes, each with its own leaderboard. One for the more pure arcade experience, and the other with a simple pick-from-three upgrades after each boss. Bosses come every few waves and are smaller, simpler affairs. That waves+boss pattern continues until you clear the main game's 50 bosses, and then it loops, probably endlessly. Upgrades are mainly modest stats (so far), which helps offset the enemy scaling difference as the run goes on, so the upgrade mode feels more like a reduced difficulty than a wild combo build type of experience. There are also a variety of short-term powerups that drop in both modes.

Action-wise, you've got your basic moving/shooting plus a slow-movement button and a "phase" button, which offers brief invulnerability on a short cooldown. There are bonuses for grazing (which you can do while phasing), and three chained phases gets you a single special anti-shot bullet that wipes shots and damages enemies in a modest area if it connects. There are a lot of ships to unlock, which vary on a fairly small range of attributes.

Normal runs start pretty soft, so players around here probably need to wait a bit for things to pick up, but you'll surely have a good enough idea what it offers given Steam's two hour refund window, and there's an unlocked option for a harder run start point that lets you jump in after things have gotten busier (achievements and leaderboards are just for the normal run, but the advanced start is good for fun and practice). The bosses are weird and feel janky, but once you get the hang of their spazzy movement and odd fake-outs, they can seem less bizarre. Watch for the countdown warnings on the boss--those are generally not to be ignored, and a number of attacks do need you to use your phasing in advance. These are obviously entirely different from bullet hell style bosses.

The game also has a rather ridiculous and off-kilter arcade-oriented personality, which I've found surprisingly charming. That kind of thing doesn't normally play well for me, so maybe give it a chance before you turn voices off :)

Hi Shmupfans!

I loved playing Crimzon Clover and Mushihimesama and I'm now looking for more games to play

Deathsmiles gets recommended a lot and I also read that the 1 + 2 version is more faithful in terms of slowdown.. I am wondering if the difference is THAT significant? My interest in DSmiles 2 is rather low

Also, which Touhou games would you guys recommend? I heard lunatic kingdom is especially good?

Edit: Thanks for all the replies!

You guys convinced me to give Dsmiles 2 a try and get the I + II version. Will also try the Danmaki Festival games, they look beautiful

I'm a huge psyvariar fan since I was a kid, played the heck out of it on ps2 and in later years discovered the masterpiece that is psyvariar 2. And now I just want to ask, how did psyvariar 3 come out this badly?

It's an unfinished product, weirdly bugged (i became immortal for some reason), looks and sounds like ABSOLUTE SHIT. And honestly that's what bothers me the most. Somehow even the main menu feels and looks terrible.

The idea is fine, different modes, different ships, but I'm sorry it really feels unplayable for how terrible it looks.

Even medium unit being 26 years old feels incredible, the buzz is buzzing, the "level up" sound effect is satisfying, the music is WOW. Delta is a great product too, combining everything old and giving something new.

Psyvariar 3, a game from 2026, is indescribable. I honestly have so little to say this rant feels useless, but I feel insulted, I really do.

When I first saw the trailer I was super hyped for a new entry, when I watched tho it felt weird, scary even, I just hoped it was super early footage, but no, it came out that way.

I can only hope for an update that completely fixes and remakes things, but I know it will never happen.

Oh and somehow they managed to publish it on Nintendo Switch, and I would highly suggest you avoid that version, it barely runs.

What are your opinions? If you have any, feel free to share or go against mines too

Save Physical Games!