Well, it's been a while, but I thought of four more awesome games to throw out, two for the SNES and two for the Genesis. So let's skip everything else and get those hints out! \ ^_^ /
For the first title:
1) It's a side-scrolling shooter on the Genesis, released by Technosoft in '92
2) It's the fourth entry in the series and the last released in the SNES/MD generation
3) You select between four stages at the start of the game
4) You can swap between weapons and upgrade them on the fly, but you lose / downgrade whatever weapon you had selected when you die.
Think you know it?
Let's see what it is!
Lightening Force / Thunder Force IV - Technosoft / Technosoft - 1992 - Side-scrolling shooter
Sometimes it surprises me how much enjoyment I manage to get from a genre I am so unbelievably bad at, and this game is no exception. Despite it being rather 'easy', from what I've been told anyway, I've still yet to beat it, but that doesn't change how much I enjoy the title.
The first thing that ALWAYS strikes me about this title is how pretty it is, especially since it incorporates a GREAT parallax scrolling effect in the background that makes everything stand out more.
(Sooooo pretty. Q_Q)
The second is the extreme vertical freedom you have in most stages, as you can (usually) move up and down roughly two to three screens worth of space, allowing you more freedom to avoid enemies and attacks (sometimes).
There's also the game's unique weapon system, where, instead of having a single weapon that gets replaced when you find new pickups, all of your weapons are stored in a bar you can freely cycle through to get the best weapon for the job at hand. Each weapon also levels and degrades independently of each other, so you rarely find yourself completely underpowered for an area after death.
(Level 2 first and second weapon, level 1 third, you get the idea.)
I have been told in the past that LF/TF IV is inferior to the third title, but, having played both, I just never managed to enjoy the third game as much, despite their similar mechanics. Anyway, if you have a Genesis/Mega Drive and are open to side-scrolling shooters, give this game a look. The Thunder Force series in general is quite solid, this being my favorite entry in the series, and while it will never be as well known as R-Type or Gradius, or even Darius, it still remains . . .
an awesome game you should know about
For the second gameu:
1) It's a Genesis / Megadrive port of an arcade title
2) It's developed by Namco
3) It's a vertical shooter
4) It's inspired by Greek mythology
5) There's a lady-type person trapped behind a wall, yo! :o
Got a guess?
What's behind that spoiler tag!
Phelios - Namco / Namco - 1990 - Vertical Shooter
Who loves Greek mythology? Rez loves Greek mythology! Is it true? Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes it's truuu-oooo~ I do, I do, I dooo-oooo~~ And that's why, when I saw this game in a local pawn shop as a kid, I knew I had to own it. I got to ride Pegasus, I got to fight Medusa and a giant harpy, Artemis needed saving -- it was awesome! I mean, the whole affair is crazy inaccurate from a mythological standpoint, but I didn't really care. Turns out I still really don't.
From a mechanical point of view, Phelios isn't anything particularly special outside of the material it drew inspiration from. You fly around on Pegasus and fire energy shots from your sword at things you don't like, collecting occasional powerups that heal you or give you temporary weapon powerups, like a pretty sweet wave shot and Gradius-style Options.
You also have a much appreciated health bar, greatly alleviating the annoyance of one-hit kills so present in the genre, though colliding with solid objects will still instantly kill you (as I recall). There's also the ability to charge your shots, which fills up the sword on the right and drastically increases the damage you deal, not to mention allows your shots to pierce multiple (weaker) enemies.
(Pewpewpewpew!)
But really, nice as these mechanics are, it's the setting that really makes the game. I loved the feeling of chasing down the 'big bad' and fighting famous mythological monsters, from Medusa to Gryphons to the titan Typhon himself at the end of the game. I also really love the first stage, flying over Greece and into a giant temple. The game even attempted to insert a bit of narrative into the experience that I appreciate, with each stage ending with Typhon being a jerk or Artemis urging you on, providing a little bit of story to the game, minor though it may be. Typhon has quite the fetish it seems as well.
It culminates in a particularly interesting way in the final stage, where you have to collect pieces to upgrade your sword so you are strong enough to face Typhon, something I've never seen in another shooter (EDIT: Though R-Type Final and III have story-ish final boss fights). Your final weapon is all kinds of crazy too, replacing your normal charge shot with a crazy plamsa deathball. Which, of course, I used a Game Genie to give myself at the start of the game, because I'm terrible at shooters and it made me feel like the God Apollo probably should be.
So in closing, if vertical shooters are more your fare than horizontal ones like Thunder Force IV, Phelios might be an interesting title to pick up. It's solid mechanically, though it offers relatively little that could be considered new to the genre, and it's a lot of fun playing through the mythology-inspired world. I wouldn't put it on par with Star Soldier or Recca (neither of which are Genesis titles, I suppose. <.<), but Phelios is still . . .
Game numbah 3!
1) It's an SNES game developed by Manfred Trenz (Turrican) for the Super Famicom
2) Mixes on foot and spaceship side-scrolling shooting
3) Like Thunder Force, you can cycle between multiple weapons with their own levels
4) Your character reminds me of the Doom-guy when on foot
5) The (non-reproduction) game is rather pricey
What could it beeeee now~~
*Drumroll*
Rendering Ranger:R2 - Rainbow Arts / Virgin Interactive - 1995 - Side-Scrolling Shooter
This is a game I consistently find on lists of overpriced games that are simply not worth the entrance fee, and, for the most part, I can generally agree with that, especially if you are a collector after an in-box copy and avoiding reproduction carts. Fortunately, however, I ran into this title through emulation without knowing ANYTHING about it, so I went in without the title needing to prove anything to me and was actually quite satisfied with it. The game is challenging while being fully completable, the weapons are (almost) all useful in their own circumstances, the game sounds great, and the flying stages are a lot of fun, while the foot stages are decent enough (though never exceptional).
Looking at the title itself, the game is split between two modes, on-foot and flying side-scrolling shooters, as you fend off a robot invasion. Most mechanics are shared between the two modes, and you power up your weapons like most space-based shooters, collecting variously colored icons to get new weapons and power up the ones you have. Much like Thunder Force, you can swap between the weapons you own at any point and each has important special properties to it, like ricocheting bullets or spread fire, and death only reduces the power of the weapon you are currently using. Each weapon also comes with a unique smart bomb that regenerates over time -- one weapon, for instance, shoots a high-powered laser beam that continually damages enemies within it, while another shoots a quick shockwave.
(Boooooomba!)
You also have a healthbar like in Phelios and can take several hits without dying, instagib pits on foot excepting, and you can additionally get a shield from collecting health pickups while at max health. This gives you a lot of tankiness in the game, which is always appreciated when you play as poorly as I do, especially because, despite how much effective health you will have between the bar and shields, running headlong into danger WILL get you killed and there are NO continues in this game -- you've got five lives and they damn well better carry you to victory.
Well, unless you are like me and hunt for secrets everywhere and find a bunch more.Which you then promptly lose because you can't play space shooters for trout. ._. Also, does anyone else think your character looks like the Doom guy? Anyone?
(Maybe I'm just insane.)
The first two stages take place on foot, but once you start the third stage the game turns into what feels almost like a Thunder Force clone, which is all kinds of acceptable to me, and it alternates off and on from there. As I said before, all of the mechanics from the foot stages are present in the flying ones, from the smart bombs to the healthbar and shields, but a rather unique mechanic comes in with the ability to change the direction you are facing. You'll always be moving forward, but you can turn around and fire behind you, which becomes very important in later stages (the second to last area in particular) when enemies come from all sides.
The game looks and plays GREAT during these flying sections, and some of my favorite Shmup stages ever are in this game -- stage 7 in particular, though stage 3 and 6 are great as well. These stages have a great mix of mechanics, music, graphics, and difficulty I just adore.
In the end, R2 isn't an amazing title, and as I said before it certainly isn't worth its price tag, but I found it to be an enjoyable experience overall, and if you enjoy either gameplay type the game presents, I'd can only recommend that you give this one a try. It is a satisfying experience to complete, and though far from the best the SNES has to offer, it is still . . .
Annnnnnd finally, game number 4!
1) It's a side-scrolling shooter from Konami on the SNES
2) Octopuses may be involved
3) Excessive silliness is most DEFINITELY involved
4) It's the fourth game in its series
5) That's the way~~ (uh-huh uh-huh) I like it~~
What'chu think?
That's exactly what it is!
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius - Konami / Konami - 1995 - Side-Scrolling Shooter
Man must never underestimate the Konami.
Never. ._.
While I do enjoy the Gradius series to some degree, Gradius II in particular, Konami was never a company who's shmups I had much love for -- I much prefer Irem's R-Type series and Tehnosoft's Thunder Force. I'd even tried out one of the earlier Parodius titles on the . . . NES I believe, but it was still rather 'meh'. Imagine my surprise when I loaded this gem up one day and found something to rival R-Type III for my favorite shooter on the SNES.
If you are unaware, the Parodius series is a silly cross-over spin-off of the Gradius series, where you take control of various Konami characters flying through funny stages, collecting sometimes ridiculous powerups, and fighting (to put it lightly) amusing bosses. You know, kind of like this:
On top of these features, each character has a different weapon loadout, so using the Octopus isn't the same as using, say, the neutered cat, who, to my amusement, throws homing balls everywhere.
The best part of this game, though, is the announcer. This is one of the SNES games that has voice samples in it that sound great. This man is SOOO hype for anything I do, like sometimes he goes nuts for no reason as I'm flying through empty space and I'm all:
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It's not an important feature, especially since I have NO idea what he is saying/yelling, but it adds some seriously amusing flavor to the game and is a great addition.
Unfortunately, that's about all I have to say about this entry, but that's not because of poor quality, more that the game is really just a BETTER Gradius. It follows all of the same rules, collecting powerups to move the upgrade bar to which upgrade you want and then activating the bar, with missiles and lasers and ripple beams and shields and whatnot. If you are a Gradius fan, play this game; if you are a side-scrolling shmup fan, play this game; if you are looking for something quirky to play, play this game! I really like all four entries on this list today, but I think this is easily the best of the group, and it is most definitely . . .
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