Question about Doujin Shoot (and Cute) 'Em Ups

[Wuffykins]

Actually, to be perfectly honest, this'll be a two questions, with the first part sounding completely off the wall, but number two will be perfectly normal and predictable. Here goes:

1) How many buttons do you need to play?

Okay, Context Time!
Well, thanks to some PC-stick issues* and hands that easily cramp up when playing by keyboard, I've decided to make an arcade stick out of an unused USB keyboard, and, well, I just need to know how many, umm, 'Action' buttons one tends to use in the Average doujin shmup (the ones assigned to the Z-X-C row of the keyboard). I'm thinking it's around 3-4 for the most part, but as this'll be my all around Doujin Stick I just want to make sure I won't be short a button if I pick up a future title.

2) Suggestions of fun or noteworthy games to play?

Oh yeah, it's the typical conversation starter. Currently I've got a hold of Crimzon Clover (this is the main issue causing game) and the Gundemonium Collection (via Steam, and which I can play), but I must admit I'm curious for other titles to be on the look out for. I've heard of Trouble Witches, Twilight Insanity, Hellsinker, and something called... err, "Touhou" was it?... but I'd like to hear more about them before I sink in some cash to import. That, and suggestions of any other titles that are insane fun, be they of the Manly Mecha or Cute Witch persuasion, would be certainly appreciated (especially if there are available demos floating somewhere).

So, thoughts?

[*] I'll remain quiet on the technical issues for two reasons: 1) I've already done more than enough troubleshooting and I'd prefer a simple plug & play solution (which is impossible at this point), and 2) I find that putting together an arcade stick is incredibly fun (albeit not exactly cheap), and I'd probably do it even if my current stick didn't have issues.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Most use four buttons at most I think.

Crimzon Clover is coolest one I've seen but I don't exactly play a lot of 'em.

If you're having joystick problems you could try using joy to key which turns your input into keyboard presses. I use it for all my roms.

 

[Wuffykins]

If you're having joystick problems you could try using joy to key which turns your input into keyboard presses. I use it for all my roms.

Tried that and found out that Crimzon Clover is coded to ignore the keyboard when there's input from a joystick and vice versa, leaving me the option of moving or shooting at any given moment, not both (have to emulate the joystick movement, buttons are recognized just fine).

Thankfully my current stick works great with games like Jamestown and under Mame, Doujin games are just the exception it seems.

But still, thanks for the input!

 

[TehCookie]

The only one I played was Touhou, but I just played the first few levels on my friends computer and pretty much just used the arrow keys and shoot. I doubt many others will have lots of buttons, they will probably just have attack, special attack and maybe something else.

Touhou is insanely fun but also evil. The best way to describe it is going outside when raining and trying to dodge the rain. Seriously it's ridiculous, but also ridiculously fun.

The evil part is it's cult like fanbase, don't go to the darkside. I already lost my friend to it.

 

[Volothos]

The only one I played was Touhou, but I just played the first few levels on my friends computer and pretty much just used the arrow keys and shoot. I doubt many others will have lots of buttons, they will probably just have attack, special attack and maybe something else.

Touhou is insanely fun but also evil. The best way to describe it is going outside when raining and trying to dodge the rain. Seriously it's ridiculous, but also ridiculously fun.

The evil part is it's cult like fanbase, don't go to the darkside. I already lost my friend to it.

Damnit I was gonna say that! :< I'll say it anyways!

Play it play it play it!

Also would I have fallen to the dark side of the fanbase if i occasionally use a meme?

 

[evilneko]

Also would I have fallen to the dark side of the fanbase if i occasionally use a meme?

Yes, because you're Nazrin.

 

[Volothos]

Also would I have fallen to the dark side of the fanbase if i occasionally use a meme?

Yes, because you're Nazrin.

Wait what? How am i nazrin? D:

 

[TehCookie]

The only one I played was Touhou, but I just played the first few levels on my friends computer and pretty much just used the arrow keys and shoot. I doubt many others will have lots of buttons, they will probably just have attack, special attack and maybe something else.

Touhou is insanely fun but also evil. The best way to describe it is going outside when raining and trying to dodge the rain. Seriously it's ridiculous, but also ridiculously fun.
The evil part is it's cult like fanbase, don't go to the darkside. I already lost my friend to it.

Damnit I was gonna say that! :< I'll say it anyways!

Play it play it play it!

Also would I have fallen to the dark side of the fanbase if i occasionally use a meme?

Nah, I consider the darkside to be the people on /jp/ or men who go to conventions dressed as little girls. It's not a game it's a way of life. Those people are hilarious, though I may be part of the darkside since I don't find them creepy or disturbing. They're just hilarious.

 

[LilithSlave]

Oh hooray, my kind of topic.

and something called... err, "Touhou" was it?... but I'd like to hear more about them before I sink in some cash to import.

You've heard a lot about Touhou for a reason. The games are quite amazing. They're not the most difficult STGs, but they offer a well rounded and entertaining experience.

If not going in chronological order, in which you should start with Embodiment of Scarlet Devil or something before it.

I recommend the game Imperishable Night for starters. It's a very approachable Touhou game.

Also, Mushihimesama is another very important Bullet Hell title. Of course, much harder than Touhou at the hardest difficulties. But certainly very playable at the lower ones. And a very important, well done, and entertaining STG title.

And it's definitely a cute em' up with super moe voices.

Keio Flying Squadron is a cute em' up I'm a diehard, hardcore fan of. I think it's really fun. Unfortunately, while being fun and cute, it's more of a novelty game and not one of the better designed STGs out, more on the average side. And it is a super expensive and rare title, both the Japanese and English version. I don't recommend getting it unless you are a collector.

Also, the Sega CD version is the STG game. The Sega Saturn version is a platformer aside from a short few STG levels which aren't difficult. And the ultra-rare PlayStation version is a rather mediocre and boring monopoly-like board game. And only good for a super collector and fan.

 

[Wuffykins]

[picture snip]

Hmm, excessively high scores and a copious amount of bullets? Count me interested.

Also, Mushihimesama is another very important Bullet Hell title.

Funny how you should mention the one title that escaped my PS2 collection as I wasn't willing to bump my ebay bid by 5$ ... and that happened to be the lowest price I've ever seen it listed at by far *sniff* (My consolation is that I scored a copy of Ibara for about half the usual price you see on ebay nowadays, so it was a somewhat fair trade off that day). But moving on...

I shall definitely try Imperishable Night then, as though I am a great fan of this style of game I can't say that I'm very good at it. 'Approachable' sounds like it shall suit me nicely. Any other suggestions of the genre in general?

 

[hopeneverdies]

I started with Imperishable Night and got really good at it, and while it's sort of easier because it has probably the easiest Easy Mode, you can get plenty of lives, and the patterns aren't as hard as other games, it's a bit more complex when taking into account familiars and how they affect bullets and Time points.

Scarlet Devil is somewhat harder, and more popular but it's also incredibly archaic compared to every game afterwards.

Ten Desires is supposed to be easier. And it is as the patterns aren't terribly hard. But it's really stingy with lives which makes minor mistakes somewhat damning.

If they weren't the most difficult games in the series, Subterranean Animism and Undefined Fantastic Objects would be my recommendations as they are incredibly good. Very hard, but also really well made games with great characters and great music. The final boss of SA shoots suns at you and has sirens go off when she declares a spell card. However, while their Normal difficulties are both really tough, Easy is not too bad for either.

I think Perfect Cherry Blossom is a good fit. I would put it ahead of Scarlet Devil in terms of difficulty, but well below SA and UFO. It's Easy Mode is not very far below Normal. There's a definite difference, but that line becomes blurred the furter the game progresses. It's not as complex as IN and the scoring system actively helps you out at least.

Mountain of Faith is also not bad. It's about equal with PCB in hardness, but the power and bomb systems are very different, the bombs are all generic but useful. However, Marisa C is incredibly fun to play, if hard to master and I believe it has the best overall soundtrack in the series.

Once you think you've acclimated to the series, I'd at least try Shoot the Bullet and Double Spoiler, where you have to photograph the boss as they shoot at you. They're not like the other games in that you go on a scene by scene basis as opposed to six stages and you can try each scene over and over again until you succeed. However some people don't like that.

If you want to go retro, the last two games from the PC-98 era, Lotus Land Story and Mystic Square, are rather good. Both aren't too high on difficulty, and MS feels a lot like a Windows era game. They also have some good music (Alice Maestra for LLS, while MS sports Romantic Children, Plastic Mind, and Alice in Wonderland. Guess my favorite character)

I wouldn't play Story of Eastern Wonderland or Phantasmagori of Dim. Dream for any purpose but shear novelty and completion though. SoEW is really dated, kind of buggy, and your hitbox seems bigger than normal. PoDD is obsoleted by Phantasmagoria of Flower View which is the same style of VS split screen shooting, but a billion times better. Though I think it's style of pre battle conversations for the last two fights should have been retained in later games.

 

[Iori Branford]

Nyu Media [http://nyu-media.com/] is the latest entrant to the international doujin publishing ring. Not long ago they released Satazius [http://nyu-media.com/products/satazius/], a Gradius-like with a lot more balance and polish. Next will be the eXceed trilogy [http://exceedseries.com/]; the Ikaruga-like second game has a demo out now. Then Ethor Vapor [http://nyu-media.com/products/ether-vapor-remaster/] some time later.

Ring^-27 [http://www.dlsite.com/eng/work/=/product_id/RE082335.html] is kindly provided on the international DLSite for cheap.

This guy's [http://nightstrikers.blog114.fc2.com/] free Caravan Star games are takes on the so-called "caravan" challenge mode where you try to 100% the single stage within a few minutes.

For more which haven't been picked up yet, including free ones (recommended: Blue Wish Resurrection Plus, Cho Ren Sha 68k, Eden's Aegis, Patriot Dark) go to http://www.sk8tokyo.com/shmup/ and watch it regularly.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

I've played most of the Touhou games, and they're pretty fun, just don't look too closely at any of the character portraits...And if you liked Gundemonium, I think the same team made Acceleration of Suguri (GamersGate and PSN.) There's also a bunch of good stuff by CAVE on iOS, though the smartphone's smaller screen probably wouldn't help...

 

[Kotaro]

Generally, you'll just need Z and X (though some use C as well).
The Touhou games are amazing, and I highly recommend them all. 11 is my personal favorite, though that's one of the hardest ones... Best place to start would be 8 or 13, which are the easiest.
Also, try out the Gundemonium games. Steam and PSN both have them for about $10 for all three. The first one, Gundemonium, is really good, though GundeadliGne is also decent. Hitogata Happa is okay, but the difficulty curve on that one is insane, even for the genre.
Lastly, I have to mention XOP and XOP Black. You can get the Ultra version remakes of both for $4.50 on the creator's website.

 

[Wuffykins]

Nyu Media [http://nyu-media.com/] is the latest entrant to the international doujin publishing ring. Not long ago they released Satazius [http://nyu-media.com/products/satazius/], a Gradius-like with a lot more balance and polish. Next will be the eXceed trilogy [http://exceedseries.com/]; the Ikaruga-like second game has a demo out now. Then Ethor Vapor [http://nyu-media.com/products/ether-vapor-remaster/] some time later.

Ring^-27 [http://www.dlsite.com/eng/work/=/product_id/RE082335.html] is kindly provided on the international DLSite for cheap.

This guy's [http://nightstrikers.blog114.fc2.com/] free Caravan Star games are takes on the so-called "caravan" challenge mode where you try to 100% the single stage within a few minutes.

For more which haven't been picked up yet, including free ones (recommended: Blue Wish Resurrection Plus, Cho Ren Sha 68k, Eden's Aegis, Patriot Dark) go to http://www.sk8tokyo.com/shmup/ and watch it regularly.

You have just made my freakin' day. Or week even. I ... I'm just really giddy going through all the linked info. Thank you kindly.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Funny how you should mention the one title that escaped my PS2 collection as I wasn't willing to bump my ebay bid by 5$ ... and that happened to be the lowest price I've ever seen it listed at by far *sniff* (My consolation is that I scored a copy of Ibara for about half the usual price you see on ebay nowadays, so it was a somewhat fair trade off that day). But moving on...

The're making an HD remake so don't spend to much money on any ebay auction if you see it again.