Currently, indie shmups are equally popular with the traditional big companies series. Stuff like hellsinker and touhou project is much better at hooking outsiders in
I mean, very few big companies even make shmups nowadays. This is similar to metroidvainas, as Konami no longer makes games, and Metroid has been Dormant until recently.
I got into shmups during the first year of pandemic. My favorite shmup are Sora, G Darius, QP Shooting Dangerous and Dodonpachi series. I also prefer horizontal shooters due to movement.
I'm a sucker for shmups that have an extensive upgrade system and wide variety of weapons and accessories for the player's craft or whatever. Some of my favorites are Jets'n'Guns, Nova Drift, Hyperspace Dogfights, Tyrian / Tyrian 2000, and the old Apogee title Stargunner. which was the first game of this type I ever played. Really enjoyed the video! Thanks for putting all the effort into presenting this nice l'il history of my favorite game genre!
With Gradius 3 being what I played most as a kid, I’m also a sucker for extensive upgrades. Just picked up Jets n’ Guns 2 thanks to your comment and I’m having a blast.
Very nice informative video. I played a few on console when I was a kid, such as Gradius, Tiger-Heli, Macross, and then a bit of Strikers 1945 II and III in the arcades. I never really got hooked into the genre though. But now I am tempted to take up shmups on a more serious note, because I find myself easily losing interest on games that require a couple of dozens of hours to finish.
I feel like shmups are a genre that hasn’t really evolved with the times. Nobody cares about points anymore, and gaming has become more mainstream, so most people are scared off by the difficulty. And the games haven’t done enough to be distinct from each other, so it feels like the same game with a different coat of paint. Not to say they are, but the changes aren’t always as noticeable compared to something like an rpg or platformer. And they are also typically short, which can’t fly in a world with 300 hour rpgs, and since nobody cares about points, they aren’t as repayable as you think. Which is a shame, since this genre helped pave the way for the gaming as a whole.
Great and interesting comment. I just got into shmups recently and oh boy what I fell in love with the "gameplay density" they offer. A 5m level packs the same amount of joy as several hours of modern gaming. Hyper Demon is another fascinating game I found in the same sphere as I was researching shmups. Not a shmup but a modern take on the shmup spirit in 3d I'd say. I wish this term "gameplay density" and these "dense" games get more exposure as people get sick of modern AAA games that so often are disappointments.
I think the fact that most of them are full on bullet-hells is one of the main problems. Most people just do not like that type of design because it's overwhelming. Shmups are not what they used to be.
1:48 what makes sine mora unique from any other horizontal shmup? Is it just the same copy and paste formula with different levels and graphics/bosses and enemies?
Good video, it´s a shame shmups and videos on shmups are so niche, but I guess that means most of the people in the community are more passoinate than other more mainstream communities.
