@Karasu I JUST played Dimahoo tonight – that’s really not a word you usually see twice in one day. Nice call, I was thinking about adding a dragon-themed STG, maybe Dragon Blaze or Dragon Saber, and withheld from the latter cuz I thought you might suggest it
Avoiding stuff that’s already mentioned:
Kyokugen (MSX2)
Power Strike 2 (SMS)
Power Strike 2 (GG)
I guess I haven’t played that many verts, especially ones that’ll run on a pi.
Edit: I didn’t think about the brief properly, these all play vertically but display horizontally so they won’t work for a vertical setup.
Hellsinker
Alltynex Second
Power Strike 2 (MS)
Stella Vanity
Perfect Cherry Blossom
@tokucowboy I came really close to including Dragon Saber, oddly enough! Consider it my #6.
Likewise, it was a close one for me with Dimahoo-- I go back and forth between it and Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen as to which one I prefer, but I’ve been playing Dimahoo a bunch lately, so it made the list.
Here’s a rundown of some of the upcoming STG projects being made by veteran devs for vintage hardware: Earthion: headliner of the vintage shmup renaissance? | Retronauts
Radirgy 2 got delayed until late March… good for DOJ fans, I suppose.
Cave opened pre-registration for their smartphone Touhou game, which will be out in Japan on November 22 (and might finally kill the company if it doesn’t hit: https://gensoueclipse.jp/
Here’s a cute and very Ordyne-ish new indie STG with some neat gimmicks, released at the tail end of the Steam shmup sale (& planned for Switch): Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi
@gsk Here’s a cute and very Ordyne-ish new indie STG with some neat gimmicks, released at the tail end of the Steam shmup sale (& planned for Switch): Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi
This looks neat! Seems it’s the same dev as Puzzle Battler! Mirai, which is quite good.
@gsk Cave opened pre-registration for their smartphone Touhou game, which will be out in Japan on November 22 (and might finally kill the company if it doesn’t hit: https://gensoueclipse.jp/
Been debating getting myself set up to play Japanese iOS games, might have to do so soon!
Just want to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my inquiry about vertical shooters. I made note of all of them and hope to get to play them over the next several weeks.
Taito‘s made-up Darius holiday is approaching, so there’s lots of Darius events/promos happening atm:
The 3-screen version of Darius II is this week’s Arcade Archives release—the game was primarily designed for 2 screens, with the 3-screen version being produced in smaller quantities as a conversion kit for arcade operators with 3-screen Darius/Ninja Warriors cabs; it was missing from the Darius Cozmic Collection, so if you specifically want this version, you can now grab it standalone. (It’s also on the Taito Milestones 2 compilation released for Switch a month or so ago.)
Darius Extra MD, the enhanced revision of the Mega Drive Mini Darius port that was released on MD-compatible cartridges and as a Darius Cozmic Revelation promo bonus, is now available for standalone purchase on PS/Switch, ¥660:
ダライアス EXTRA Ver. | My Nintendo Store（マイニンテンドーストア） 
Other promos/events include a soundtrack release for the original music produced for Darius Cozmic Revelation, trading cards for various PC releases, sales on JP storefronts, etc: worth singling out is Sagaia (Game Boy), another promo-exclusive release that was eventually made available as a standalone in Japan, and is currently just ¥100: サーガイア（ゲームボーイ版） ‐ダライアス コズミックコレクション‐ | My Nintendo Store（マイニンテンドーストア）
SLG’s Irem Collection vol.3 is up for pre-order: this one contains Dragon Breed, Mystic Riders and Mr. Heli (arcade/PCE): Irem Collection Volume 3 – Strictly Limited Games
The next DOJ Rinne Tensei stream is scheduled for October 19, 19:00 Japan time: it’ll cover the new arrange BGM, the super easy and “Luna Tour” modes, etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkNrvusipSg
The recent ultra-gimmicky indie STG Eigengrau is coming to Switch on November 2 Eigengrau for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site If you like the more puzzle-box-y games like the Murasaki series or even Radiant Silvergun, you might wanna check this out; you can also get the full game and/or demo on itch: Eigengrau by Martin Mauersics
Speaking of Murasaki, devs Katatema have a new game due to release on October 25: a more casual STG named Pudding (Purin to Takekoto), which looks to have a quasi-RPG/ADV element (and JP-only text…)
DOJ Rinne Tensei news from tonight’s stream:
- the alternate BGM options are a brand-new stereo mix by Manabu Namiki, and a full arrange by Super Sweep; Super Sweep will also be releasing their AST on December 15: 怒首領蜂大往生 臨廻転生 -再生録- | SweepRecord and the CD included with the LE will contain the new stereo-mixed tunes
- the superplayer-penned guidebook they’re throwing in as a first-print bonus now has a title: DODONPACHI DAIJOUBU
- the “daionjou” super easy mode has auto-hyper/bomb on hit, easier bullet patterns with slower bullets, automatic hyper without having to grab the item, 1 loop with Hibachi at the end, etc
- Luna Tour is a pick-up-and-play mode set up like a stamp rally: there are 18 different “tours” for each doll/fighter combo across three modes, with each spot on the “tour” essentially being a ~ 1min chunk of the game, and winning/losing will automatically adjust the difficulty up/down for your next retry. The aim is to collect all the stamps and unlock the extras for completing each rally; the stamps/unlockables were illustrated by Akimaki Yuu, current illustrator on the ZUN-penned Touhou Chireikiden manga.
- there’s one more big reveal scheduled for next month…
pretty cool ngl
Radiant Silvergun‘s PC port as a for-real release date, it’ll be out on November 3: Radiant Silvergun on Steam
I bought my first Windows machine ever last week so I‘m starting on the list of Windows games I’ve compiled over the years. I started with ZeroRanger and it is real good! I know there are cool things to uncover but I was able to go in essentially blind. I beat Green Orange skull-with-an-eyeball for the first time last night and was able to make it through a couple of the “inspired by” stages on the one life I had left. I have two more continue orbs to earn.
@TracyDMcGrath et. al. Do you have any recommendations for how to maximize my enjoyment? Do I keep plugging away at stage 4 and try to beat Green Orange skull-with-an-eyeball with more lives? That is pretty challenging for me!
@Naaaaaaaathan Don‘t have too many suggestions, it’s a tough game but you’ll start to get the hang of the stages after a few plays. The only thing I can think of is to play around with the different load outs. Some are really good for specific stages so play around with them if something seems too hard
@gsk Earthion
I’m extremely ambivalent if a new game released in 202X runs on a “real” Genesis, or only has the aesthetics and styling. But this looks hot to death.
This week‘s Arcade Archives release: Daioh, a never-before-ported vertical STG in the Toaplan vein by Athena, released in arcades in 1993. The Japanese and international versions play quite differently, and they’re both included here: the JP version uses two buttons and has you swapping out shot/bomb types with a traditional pickup system, whereas the international version uses six buttons, with each weapon mapped to an individual button and available to use at will.
It’s also a predecessor of sorts to Shienryu, which some might know by its JP-only Saturn port, the internationally-released PS conversion, Gekioh Shooting King or the Simple 2000 port for PS2, which was bundled with a polygonal sequel, Shienryu Explosion—that release was published in Europe as Steel Dragon EX.
Hamster‘s release stream for Daioh featured a guest appearance by the game’s programmer, Tsutomu Tabata, who revealed the underpinnings of the game’s rank system, which have to be read to be believed: Wayback Machine
Silvergun’s on Steam now, ICYMI:
Kaminari Games‘ Macross STG got delayed again, it’ll now be out March 14 in Japan. (There‘s an international version in the works but it’ll be missing certain content due to Macross‘ ever-present rights issues, so if you want it, buy the JP version.) This game’s been playable at a few Japanese events now and I‘ve not heard a single positive thing about it. I’d link to a trailer but in the year or so since this game was announced, they’ve showed maybe three seconds of official in-game footage…
Hazelnut Hex, a cute indie hori danmaku game released on Switch & Itch last year, is coming to Steam & Japanese eShop on November 30: Hazelnut Hex on Steam
There’s another DOJ Rinne Tensei dev stream scheduled for November 22, 17:00 Japan time: it’ll go over the three new character-specific arrange modes, the custom settings and more, including the reveal of yet one more big inclusion that they teased on their last stream (it might be DDP3/Tamashii, an obscure Asain revision): https://youtube.com/live/XMvGpaLRRDI
The former director of the Mega Drive Mini and Game Gear Micro unveiled their new indie game at a con last weekend: Choyoku Senki Estique / Changeable Guardian Estique, a horizontal tranforming-mech STG being developed by a handful of veteran STG devs, including multiple former Compile members; of particular note is Takayuki “Gemini” Hirono, architect of Compile’s house style and programmer on the likes of Zanac, Aleste, Guardian Legend and Blazing Lazers, among others. They were selling a one-stage ROM on CD-R at the event, which they’re in the process of preparing for mail order… I acquired a copy, and as you’d expect, it’s extremely promising, and they’re talking up their desire to create something with zero flicker and advanced techniques to push the on-screen colour count beyond its usual limits.
Terarin’s latest upcoming game, the faux-3D Missile Dancer 2, has a demo on Steam; it should be out on PC & Switch in January:
Also coming to Steam: XELAN FORCE, a Famicom-style vertical STG bashed together by Pixel Co. Ltd in a few months to sell at a Japanese retro con scheduled for this weekend; it doesn’t have a release date on Steam, but it sounds like it’ll probably be available before the end of the year:
Final Exerion, the revival of Jaleco’s inertia-laden arcade/Famicom game Exerion that recently hit Switch, will be out on Steam on September 23:
Irem Collection vol.1‘s out now—it contains the arcade and FC versions of Image Fight, the arcade version of X-Multiply and the PCECD-exclusive Image Fight II, and it’s out for PS5 & Switch, with PS4 & Xbox versions coming later:
it has the same silly button mapping issues that so many of Ratalaika’s reissues tend to have (broken “enhancements”, buttons arbitrarily triggering when they shouldn’t, default bindings making it impossible to properly map everything, etc.) Maybe they’ll fix it, maybe they won’t! Look forward to vols #2~~~~~5, yall