ProTip: Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 is essential because Thunder Force 4 has NO SLOWDOWN. The entire game runs at full speed, and you don't appreciate how amazing that is until you play and the action gets intense. I am a bit grouchy that Technosoft couldn't put all their TF games onto one disc, but there's no denying this is a must for shooter fans.
Please tell me they kep the intended slowdown parts, though... otherwise this port is the opposite of essential and instead makes the game borderline unbeatable.
This is the best list for Saturn shmups on RU-vid. I purchased Soukyugurentai based on what you had to say about it. I loved it so much I continued buying more games off this list and I now have most of them. Still missing Layer Section 2, Gold pack 2, and Hyperduel, but I’m having so much fun with the other 7 games that I’m in zero hurry. Thanks for your recommendations, dude. Love the channel.
That's awesome!!! I'm glad I was able to introduce you too some awesome shooters. I would like to eventually do a 20-11 list for Saturn Shmups because there's some excellent ones that didn't make the top 10 too.
Hyperduel is definitely not worth its asking price. I would only maybe consider paying that much for Silvergun or Garegga. HD is a decent game but nothing more than that.
Great list! I agree with some of your choices, others not so much, but every game on this list is indeed awesome. I'd personally include Strikers 1945 II, love that game.
Wow, first off I LOVE your channel! I'm beyond envious that you live in Japan and all these games are more or less readily available to you. I really enjoy your game hunting videos and pretty much everytime you visit one of those used game stores I have to wipe the drool away and remember to blink lol. But yeah, the Saturn is a very hard console to select just 10 shooters on. There are easily 5 to 10 others that could reasonably be included in a list like this. Several shmups like Thunder Force V and Darius Gaiden came very, very close to making it in. But I'm flattered you watched my vids and keep up the good work yourself on your channel :)
Thanks! I'm considering doing a top 25 redux video for this and my top pinball machines vid. There's a few other videos I want to make before then, but we'll see how things go over the next half a year or so.
@@wigglesarcade8261 amazing! I’m here for ALL of it. Loved your Dreamcast shmup top 10 as well! And your Panzar Dragoon top 5. And your Raizing top 5. Shit… all your vids. Quick and dirty arcade games have become my jam as a busy adult and channels like these are awesome. Love your passion and the little bits of comedy thrown in. Keep it up!
Great list and commentary! As you said the Saturn's shooting games are soo good. You left out Thunder force V and Darius Gaiden. On any other console that would have been crazy but on the Saturn it's okay.
Especially toward the bottom of the list there were several games that just barely didn't make the cut, including those two. What's crazy is that I could easily make a part 2 for this list and still comfortably be in the "still worth playing" range. It's just crazy to me how many really good SHMUPs are on the Saturn.
I always hear people say get the Xbox version (radiant silver gun, Capcom arcade fighters etc.) and I've followed that advice all the way. However I find i rarely pick them up for very long because the controls just aren't right or intuitive. The Sega Saturn controller makes the experience as much as the game i think.
Don't know if I'd have put sonic wings in the top 10 and leaving shienryu off the list is a crime, great vid sir and earned yourself a subb, right I'm off to play radiant silvergun
Two amazing ones for sure! Definitely check out the others on this list and many that didn't. There are so many good ones on the Saturn. Glad you found a way more accessible way to play them :)
@@wigglesarcade8261 thanks! I imported a few from your list and I’m impatiently waiting for their arrival now.. and I admit I had to resort to other means for.. Hyperduel for example ha. You weren’t kidding about the prices. The Saturn has always had a mystique to me. I’m a “hardcore” gamer but Saturn glory has alluded me all these years. Rectifying that now and it’s great fun.
I was getting a little twitchy when Layer Section II appeared, but thankfully the first one showed up later on. I personally would have included one of Psikyo's games rather than Sonic Wings, which is great but was essentially their practice run for the Strikers series. Cotton Boomerang is another one which probably deserves at least a mention on a Saturn best-of. I think a Saturn best shmup list probably needs to be 15-20 entries long, lol.
I plan on doing a part 2 this year that will address 11-20. Should make a lot of people happy that were bummed about specific titles not making this one.
Me watching this... "Layer Section 2?? Really over 1??".... then you get to 1 "oh thank god he's not nuts". Then garegga is number 2..... " NOOOOOO!! DON'T DO IT!!" YUP....HE DID IT. Lol, i hear you, everybody loves silvergun. To me, it's a gimmick shooter, basically hellfire except easy. I like it, but it's either 9 or 10 if it even cracks my top 10 (my #1 is Batsugun). I think I would've had Sengoku Blade on this, maybe Cotton 2/boomerang. I'm lukewarm on hyperduel myself. Not bad or anything, just like others more on the system. Gunbird is underrated too.
You mention some really good Saturn SHMUPS that I don't hear a lot of people bring up. I typically get called out for not including Thunder Force V or Darius Gaiden. This is precisely why I need to make a part 2 to this list eventually ;)
@@wigglesarcade8261 the only saturn shmup i don't have is hyperduel, and I'll get it eventually. Luckily i bought most of them in the 90s early 2000s, so I didn't get taxed as much lol.
Cool video. We've ALL got different opinions on this! lol I've got Radiant Silvergun on the Sega Saturn and it's the shmup I play the least. It looks nice but I play Darius Gaiden WAY more. I keep Radiant Silvergun as a trading title for something else that might come along but I do agree that it is presented beautifully and the asthetic is unique almost like Panzer Dragoon. Soukyugurentai is definitely a deep cut that deserves it's place on this list.
great video. However I have to disagree and say that the TurboGrafX is the best SHMUP console. More unique games and ports with less bullet hell patterns and more classic arcade shooting goodness. But the SATURN as top choice is acceptable aswell :)
I would have to throw the Xbox 360 on there as well for an Honorable Mention. I imported every Region Free Shmup I could and wow, just an incredible line up of games plus the ones we got here at home too.
It irritates me to see people thumbing a video like this down. Why, because Strikers 1945 or Sengoku Blade didn't make the list? While I may have enjoyed Game Tengoku more than Battle Garegga, you give reasons as to why each game is in the list. Just because it doesn't exactly match up with my personal top 10 doesn't mean I'll thumb this video down. Well, maybe if Planet Joker or Steam Hearts were in your top 10, because that would be absurd.
A bit controversial with Hyper Duel, as I would think Darius Gaiden would be the better choice, but of course, it's your list of favorites. I haven't quite wrapped my head around Silvergun yet, but I hope to eventually. Good choices overall, though. Question about Layer Section II, since I only have the PS1 release: does it have the alternate OST, or is that exclusive to the PlayStation port?
Awesome video! I never heard of many of these. I do feel like the list could have used a little more variety, I was surprised there wasn't a single 'cute em up' mentioned. Oh well, you introduced me to quite a few new games, for that you get a subscription. :)
That's awesome! Introducing someone to games they've never heard of is one of my favorite things. There are some great cute em' ups on the Saturn, but everything considered they're just not as good as the games on this list. That doesn't mean they aren't fun though because they absolutely are! I really appreciate the sub :)
Great list. I fully agree that Radiant Slivergun is amazing. I actually got it on the day it came out for the Saturn import. It's music by Hiroshi Sakamoto is great and I actually prefer it to the 360 version. Thunderforce 4 is great but I like TF 5 better. The music is amazing and I love the weapons. I'm just sad we never got TF 6 over here. I'll never understand that since it would have taken little effort to bring it over.
Dodonpachi definitely raised the bar, personally I think it's so good because not only is it smooth as a great ost. But I don't think it would nearly be great if it didn't have that hint of Toaplan behind it..
That's definitely the way to go considering how ridiculously expensive many of the better Saturn games have become. As soon as the disc drive on one of my Saturns dies I'm ordering one in a heartbeat. Probably should get one beforehand.
The Japanese Saturn is an excellent machine for shooters. Still, you can point any weapon you want to my head, but I would never say the Saturn is THE definitive machine. The TG16/PCE, Genesis/MD, PlayStation and X68000 (and of course arcade PCBs themselves) are also top class for several reasons, and they deserve credit for significant contributions toward the greater good of arcade-style shooting.
If you really want to get technical the arcade is the king of shooters, but in terms of game consoles my pick is the Saturn. All those other platforms absolutely deserve recognition and I plan on doing lists for each of them at some point. LOL even the SNES has some commendable SHMUPS. The Homer meme was mostly meant as a joke.
Wiggles ha, no worries. I think a lot of the machine preference comes not only down to quantity and quality, but also which companies gave it hefty support and with which titles. And yep, the SNES has some quality ones too. Axelay is awesome, but I also have a pretty soft spot for any Konami 3D STG.
some great picks! I just imported a saturn a couple months ago but haven't picked up any shmups yet. my first might be the detana twinbee collection but will have to see about picking up some of these... I did really dig thunder force ac on switch so might have to look for the TF collection, that one was fun. I have radiant silvergun on switch, it is quite tough! given what it's going for on saturn these days it's just as well.
Layer Section above DoDonPachi?! Also the Saturn is my favorite console of all tile but I do think the 360 edges it out in terms of best shmup library.
Idk... Modded DC (with after EOL shmups) and modded PS2 (including backwards compability) libraries aren't bad... PCE is supposedly great but haven't gotten into it much. But yeah this could've been a longer list too. X-multiply, Blast Wind, Game Tengoku, Cotton series, Gekirindan etc. Gonna be THAT guy... I don't like Garegga all that much (not the biggest fan of Yagawa).
There was this game I used to play when I was a kid on arcade. It was a space shoot them up and, if I can remember correctly, you could pick one of tree different ships. I would usually go for the green one and its strongest attack was a kind of thunderstorm (and every attack the ship had would also be green. It's shots were green and "half-moon-shaped" and so was that thunderstorm)... I also remember that right before you'd start the first mission a narrator would say something like "mission one: rumble" (or something like that, I couldn't speak english by then) with "hoarse robotic voice". The graphics were kinda "3D-ish" if I can can remember correctly (kinda like Layer Section or Ace Combat 3). I also believe that there were figures being sold on those ships but I'm not entirely sure about that last part. Sorry for the terrible description but I'm 30 now and I'm looking for a game I used to play like 20~22 years ago. Does anyone has a hint on what game could it be? Thanks in advance.
He sounds like a more obnoxious version of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. The fact that he constantly says "shmups" instead of shooters or shoot'em ups makes him all the more annoying.
Omg I almost cry, sonic wing special is one of my most nostalgic PS1 games, I've been searching it for 2 days and I found it here Thank you so much for making this list
PC engine is one if the all time greats, but in terms of quality and quantity it doesn't touch the Saturn. I find the Genesis/MD and PC Engine to be way more comparable in regards to shooters.
I can't get into some of the Treasure Shmups like Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. I feel like with Treasure Shmups, I have to really think what gun to use like in RS, and Ikaruga with it's switching beams to inflict more damage and to avoid damage. They are not bad games at all, they just don't work for me. For fast-arcade games, I want to rely on twitch gameplay first and foremost.
Homer is right to pull a shotgun on a Nintendo fanboy who'd even dare to THINK that the SNES came within striking distance of the Sega Saturn. Hell, they probably don't even know what the PC Engine was 😂 God damn Nintendroids.
Lmao!! I like a lot of the shooters on the SNES, but whenever someone claims its the best for the genre I have to laugh. And yes, the PC Engine is a god tier console for SHMUPS as well.
@@wigglesarcade8261 I'll go on record right now as saying that the SNES, along with the Turbo Grafx 16 are better consoles for shooters than the Saturn. Nearly all of your picks are a bunch of dull, uninspired, generic bullet hell shooters. I'd take Axelay, R-Type 3, Space Megaforce, Rendering Ranger R2, Super Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie, etc. with their interesting and varied weapons, levels, and enemies over any of that boring crap. You didn't even include the Cotton games or In the Hunt on Saturn. I guess they're too imaginative for your tastes.
I can't stand it when you youtubers exaggerate the last word if your senteennccee. Other than thaaaaaat. Nice video with some solid picks for the sega Satuurrrrrnnnnn! Stop that!
Not in the top 10, but that just shows how insane the Saturn's SHMUP library is. I eventually plan on doing another Top 10 Saturn Shmups that will essentially be 20-11. It might make the cut, who knows ;)
Batsugun, Raystorm, Rayforce, Thunderforce 3+4, Dodonpachi (x2) and Radiant Silvergun have already been ported to switch. I hereby demand all the other games to follow.
muchi pork is better than dodon pachi but parodius and truxton are top games toaplan is teh king of shmups not cave and probably technically teh best shmup is Air gallet and where is Cho shen Ra??
I write a script for each of my videos; not much of an off the cuff type of person. Downside to that is my cadence is slightly different than when I'm talking normally which throws off my breathing when I'm reading the script. In short, I need to learn how to breath more when I'm recording for these videos lol
Wiggles well to my ear’s I found it deeply annoying. You seem to be trying incredibly hard to sound disaffected and it sounds very contrived and affected. In a very silly way. Like a parody of a mopey youth. But it’s not parody,
@@iwanttocomplain ouch! Well just for you I promise to try harder, reach new plateaus of quality in my narration, and remember to breath! I wouldn't want to offend your delicate ears again! Don't know if I could live with myself if I did...
Wiggles always strive for authenticity and accuracy. It’s worth noting that Radiant Silvergun is not a perfect game. It’s very, very long. Very difficult and a little in the complicated side in terms of mechanics.
I knew it, radiant poxy silvergun. As someone who owns a copy of this, personally, I think this is way over rated. Battle Garrega is.a way better game by a country mile. Radiant silver gun is ok, it’s ok but that’s it. Not so nice game play but great effects and graphics. Don’t believe the hype. Batsugun is better amongst others. I’m not a fan of ikaruga which is no surprise in reference to radiant.
I would say the ps2 is king because the compilations. For layer section 2 or ray crisis it runs best on ps1 also the sequel ray storm not available on saturn. Donpachi also available and best on ps1
I can see Layer Section 2 running better on the PS1, mostly because the 3D, but I feel like the Saturn would run Dodonpachi better. The PS1 and PS2 definitely have some great shmups though.
Yikes. Not to be "that guy" but this list is unimpressive. Over half those games are more or less carbon copies of one another. Just the same old vertical scrolling bullet hell boredom with not a single novel idea amongst them. I would absolutely take the SNES over the Saturn any day when it comes to the shooter genre. It has the best Compile shooter ever created with Space Megaforce. Axelay is one of the best shooters ever made with plenty of innovative weapons, levels, and bosses that do stuff that are far more interesting than just shooting a barrage of bullets at you. Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie completely destroys that Technosoft shooter with the mechs. R-Type 3, Bio Metal, Rendering Ranger R2, Gradius 3, all of the Parodius games, Firepower 2000, Wild Guns, Star Fox, Pocky & Rocky, Cotton 100%, the list goes on and on with far better shooters that are also far more varied from one another. The Turbo Grafx 16 would be a close second to the SNES with a number of legendary Compile shooters such as Spriggon, Super Star Soldier, Blazing Lazers, Final Soldier, etc. Hudson's own Soldier Blade is amazing. Air Zonk has unbelievable firepower. Gate of Thunder puts those overrated Thunderforce games to shame. Of course Lords of Thunder tears the Saturn a new bloody hole all while electric guitars are screaming in the background. You didn't even mention some of the better Saturn shooters like Cotton 2. In the Hunt is amazing too and definitely has better visuals than any of the other Saturn shooters you mentioned. Unfortunately it is one of the rare occasions where the Playstation version is probably a bit better than the Saturn version.
Agree 100%, what this guys says. SNES has much more interesting and progressive shooters, Axelay, R Type 3, Macross, Star Fox, Rendering Ranger are just a few completely amazing shooters, some of the best ever made, I don't like bullet hell shooters, they bore me and the Saturn seems to have too many. Although that said Hyperduel not being one, looks awesome.
The Mortal Kombat series where utterly terrible games which only became popular amongst the immature, because of the digitized brutality .. you really want to use THIS as a comparison? xD
I rate Amiga's Battle Squadron, Wings of Death and Apydia above the lower ones of this list ... and honestly all these Saturn games have terrible background music .. unstructured, monotone and annoying like J-Pop.
