Best SHMUPs for the MiSTer

[vibes]

So many posts, and not a single mention of Parodius, the undisputed absolute best shmup ever?

I thought you were all cool...

But really, though, I highly recommend:
Parodius Da! (NES, PCE, SNES, PS)
Gokujou Parodius (SNES, PS)
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (SNES, PS)
Sexy Parodius (PS)

All of these games except Jikkyou were originally arcade games, but the SNES versions of all those games are my personal favorite versions. The PS versions are also really great, and basically arcade perfect.


Oh, and there's also the first Parodius game, on the MSX, which is alright, too.

[pomegran]

Atari 800
Dropzone

Good man! The only way to play Dropzone is on the Atari! Even Archer MacLean agreed it was the best version

[dennis808]

So many posts, and not a single mention of Parodius, the undisputed absolute best shmup ever?

I thought you were all cool...

But really, though, I highly recommend:
Parodius Da! (NES, PCE, SNES, PS)
Gokujou Parodius (SNES, PS)
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (SNES, PS)
Sexy Parodius (PS)

All of these games except Jikkyou were originally arcade games, but the SNES versions of all those games are my personal favorite versions. The PS versions are also really great, and basically arcade perfect.


Oh, and there's also the first Parodius game, on the MSX, which is alright, too.

I agree completely! Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius on SNES is amazing.

Also worth mentioning are the amazing Gradius ports on the X68000 core; I personally like the PC-Engine version of Gradius the best, but the X68000 version is really close to it's arcade counterpart.
And speaking of X68000; Cho Ren Sha 68K is an impressive (doujin/ homemade) shmup that deserves more players.
The PC and X68000 versions can be freely downloaded here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190726062 ... nload.html
Well worth the trouble of figuring out the amazing X68000 core.

[mahen]

- Disposable Hero (Amiga)

[MiSTer_Kirk]

Atari 800
Dropzone

Good man! The only way to play Dropzone is on the Atari! Even Archer MacLean agreed it was the best version

There were quite a lot of titles where the Atari bettered other systems, especially the C64. Bruce Lee, Ballblazer, Rescue on Fractalus, Elektra Glide, Koronis Rift, The Eidolon, Drelbs, Alley Cat, Encounter, Spy vs Spy games, Jet Boot Jack, Mercenary games. That is just a few titles. In the right hands, the Atari was given the love it deserved.

[lamarax]

A couple of additionally remembered/newly discovered gems (not hidden as per MJR ):

NES:

• Zanac, not to be confused for Xanax (oh wow! is all I can say about this one, but it's by Compile, so that's to be expected)

Mega Drive/Genesis:

• Gaiares Save the planet!

Mega CD:

• Robo Aleste Don't miss the intro/story on that one!

Posting them here for reference, so that I won't forget their names a second later

[lamarax]

Just noticed this bit in your post:

The PC and X68000 versions can be freely downloaded here:

Oh wow! You've unearthed the long lost PC version of Cho Ren Sha 68K!

I'm sure many people will thank you, if you share this find on the staple shmups forum.

[lamarax]

Update! due to the X68000 beta core release:

• ChōRenSha 68K (of course)

• Mahou Daisakusen (better than its CPS2 sequel: Dimahoo, IMO)

• ZugyĀ (kinda twin-stick shooter feeling, but highly recommended nevertheless!)

*There's also Xadlak and Xadlak Plus, but they won't (properly) run currently.

Disclaimer: I'm only quoting titles not already present in some form on other cores available.

---

[Edit on 20/12]: Just a couple more excellent dōjin shmups for the X68K which came to my attention:

• Illumination Laser (very "QUTE-esque" before even QUTE came to exist; sound needs fixing in the core)

• Otoko Dama (barebones, but quite substantial)

[RalphJB]

Psychic Storm- PC Engine CD

[barfood]

Changed the permission settings for the list https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/ ... GDTuEveFqE, feel free to edit!

[softtest9]

Looks like nobody has mentioned Stargunner yet. It's a really cool game for DOS. It worked pretty well in ao486 last time I tried.

[mineral55]

I'm no schmup connoisseur but I highly recommend the Parodius series as vibes mentioned. Stinger on the NES is a great one as well

[Yim]

One on MSX needs to be try.
It was done by M-Kai before Judgement Silversword on Wonderswan

I gave this a go after you recommended it and liked it a lot. I wound up making an English translation patch for it, which as of today is available for download.

[431Unknown]

Astro Warrior on the SMS needs to be on this list. Simple but still fun game.

[clarkkent]

Best shmup for me is Galaga 88. At the moment only on PCE and X68000, hope for the arcade core!

Also playing Gradius on X68000.

[xFlesk]

Amiga has bunch of great, quality shmups:
- Banshee
- Apidya
- XP-8
- Project X
- Deluxe Galaga
- Stardust and Super Stardust
... to name a few

[wark91]

One on MSX needs to be try.
It was done by M-Kai before Judgement Silversword on Wonderswan

I gave this a go after you recommended it and liked it a lot. I wound up making an English translation patch for it, which as of today is available for download.

Thank you !!

[Newsdee]

I can add some favorites of mine... (edit: added even more A2 games)

Genesis
Twinkle Tale

MSX
Knightmare

Apple II
Alien Typhoon
Gorgon
Phantoms Five
Plasmania
Sneakers
Space Eggs
Star Blazer
Wavy Navy

A few of these were written by Nasir Gebelli... who later was hired by Square to become the lead programmer for the FInal Fantasy games (up to VI)!

Macintosh
Crystal Quest
Mission Starlight
Sky Shadow
Spectre
Stellar 7

[mikekim]

couple to add to the list:

Neo Geo:
Ironclad
Last Resort
Viewpoint

[lamarax]

We all know a bunch of great shmups on the PS1, but let me point your attention to-

• Sōkyū Gurentai

It's awesome and runs fine on the beta core!

[JPS]

Two pages of shmups and no Thunderforce 3 (Mega Drive) and no Einhander (PSX)? Gynoug (Mega Drive) is also worth playing.

[barfood]

Added PSX Shmups to the list:

Cho Aniki
Darius Gaiden
DoDonPachi
DonPachi
Einhander
G-Darius
Gaia Seed: Project Trap
Geki-Oh Shooting King
Gradius Gaiden
Harmful Park
Image Fight & X-Multiply
In the Hunt
Kyuiin
R-Type Delta
Raiden DX
Raiden Project
Raycrisis: Series Termination
RayStorm
Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus
Sexy Parodius
Soukyu-gurentai Oubushutsugeki
Strikers 1945 II
Thunder Force V
Zanac X Zanac

[killersquirel]

A couple of Atari 2600 games to add to the list are:

Millipede (One of my top 3 shooters on any system)
Laser Gates
Megamania
Turmoil
Vanguard
Carnival

[NeoNIcoN]

Xenon 2 on amiga isnt that great of a game but the music itself makes it a must play.
You can also add to the list the arcade versions of Toaplan V1 games :
Zero Wing
Hellfire
Truxton

[Ashfall]

Intellivision:

Astrosmash
Buzz Bombers
Night Stalker
Space Armada
Worm Whomper

[Nickola]

My 30cts contribution to this thread.

MD/ Genesis
- ThunderForce III (does not suffer the slowdowns of 4th game)
- Gynoug

PCEngine/TG16
- Super Star Soldier

[Bunsen]

I added some Shmups for the Atari 800 (some games need some extra RAM, so an 800 ist not sufficient).

Classic commercial games:

• Asteroids
• Super Cobra
• The Tail of Beta Lyrae
• Screaming Wings
• Attack of the Mutant Camels
• Gridrunner
• Galaxian

After market (homebrew) games:

• The Last Squadron
• X-8
• AtariBlast!
• Oxygene Be
• Battle Eagle
• Callisto
• Scramble
• Bosconian