Friday 30 March 2012

SHMUP PICKUPS FOR MARCH 2012



Shmup Pickups for March 2012

Been a good month of pickups. Nothing too expensive, and some just outright cheap lucky eBay snipes.

Predator 2 (PAL)
Sega Master System
Arena Entertainment

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Predator 2 PAL front cover

 Upon completing my PAL/US Sega Master System shmup collection awhile back. I really thought there were no more I needed to pick up, except Japanese releases and Sega card variants. My good friend and fellow shmup collector, Kollision.. discovered otherwise. So I thank him.

I'm not sure how "traditional" a shmup this is but it has forced scrolling... Probably sucks I'd imagine.


After hitting Arrow Flash hard over the course of the Shmup League Game #2, I had a surge of eBay mega drive hunts. As a kid I only ever played Sega machines if friend owned them. I owned all Nintendo until the PS1. I have had the pleasure of catching up the last few years.

Here are the results of my finds. Phelios I bought from Genki:

Phelios (JAP)
Sega Mega Drive
Namco(t)

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Phelios Jap front

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Phelios Jap reverse

Other than the arcade release of Phelios, this was a home console exclusive to the Mega Drive. Released in 1990.

Gynoug (JAP)
Sega Mega Drive
NCS

Gynoug Jap front


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Gynoug Jap reverse

Artwork from Gynoug manual

Known as Wings Of Wor in the US, Gynoug was a replacement for a PAL copy of the game I own.

Hellfire (JAP)
Sega Mega Drive
Toaplan/NCS

Hellfire Jap front

Artwork from Hellfire manual

Another JAP replacement for a PAL copy. Hellfire was released in 1991.

Tatsujin (JAP)
Sega Mega Drive
Toaplan/Sega

Tatsujin Jap front




Tatsujin Jap reverse



Tatsujin Jap cart

Also known as Truxton in other regions. An impressive Vert shmup. 1989!


Forgotten Worlds (JAP)
Sega Mega Drive
Sega

Forgotten Worlds Jap front





Forgotten Worlds Jap reverse

Yet another JAP replacement for a PAL copy. Perhaps time for a trade off?


Gunhed (JAP)
PC Engine
Hudson

Gunhed Jap front




Artwork Gunhed manual



Gunhed Jap Hu-card



I think many people either know or may have guessed that this game had a massive impact on me. In part it was the first shmup I played that made me go.. "Oh.. i want more games like this". 

Recently myself and Gmintyfresh played it in our AvsG series. I was playing on the US version called Blazing Lazers and I finally have a replacement for it.

Mars Matrix (JAP)
Sega Dreamcast
Capcom

Mars Matrix Jap front



Mars Matrix Jap reverse



Mars Matrix spinecard



Mars Matrix is the current AvsG series game we are playing. An awesome (I can't stress this enough) vert shooter from Capcom. So happy to finally discover this game and get it in my collection too.

PopCap Arcade Vol 2 (PAL)
Xbox 360
PopCap

PopCap Arcade Vol 2 front



PopCap Arcade reverse close up of Heavy Weapon


A compilation of XBLA games. I picked this up for Heavy Weapon.

Sega Mega Drive Collection (PAL)
Xbox 360
Sega

Sega MD Collection PAL front

Also known as Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. This release has the shmups, Super Thunder Blade on and the Arcade versions (unlockable) of Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone & Zaxxon.


My final pickup to show this month was a good price and didn't include the Limited Edition game.

The Espgaluda II faceplate that came with the Japanese limited edition of the game.

Espgaluda II LE faceplate in retail box





Espgaluda II LE retail box reverse artwork






























Sunday 25 March 2012

THE RGF SHMUP LEAGUE GAME #3: SONIC WINGS 2

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GAME #3 - SONIC WINGS 2/AERO FIGHTERS 2 - 23rd March - 11th April -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vertical scrolling, 10 levels with 2nd loop. No checkpoints.
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This game can be played on the Neo Geo MVS-AES-CD & via MAME.

All submissions are to be done on default settings with 1 credit:

Difficulty: 4 or pick MVS setting on the home versions.
Lives: 03

No continues

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SCORE SUBMISSION:

The following info is needed for submission:

Player name - Initials - Score - Stage Reached - Character/ship used - Region & Format

eg. AmidstStorm - AMS - 120,550 - Stage 2 - F-14 - JAP MVS (Japanese Neo Geo MVS)
eg. AmidstStorm - AMS - 86,400 - Stage 1 - Ninja - MAME
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BONUS POINTS:

Any player who manages to clear the 1st loop, so have to submit a score reaching stage 2-1 or higher, will receive 3 bonus points.
Any player who manages to clear the 2nd loop, will receive an additional 2 bonus points, for a maximum bonus of 5 points.
Once a bonus is achieved. All future high score submissions won't affect the bonus.
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As the shmup league enters into it's 3rd competitive game we welcome 3 new players, who joined during Game #2. kollisionBR, coffeejoerx & Grunthos.

It's been a quick start to the Sonic Wings competition with some high scores showing face already. I'm currently having a battle with the brick wall known as Stage 6. It's driving me mad. I can pass the stage but just not consistently.

Here is my first credit score:

AmidstStorm - AMS - 355,200 - Hi-en - JAP MVS

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I'm looking to perhaps clear the first loop of this game, but being as we're playing on MVS arcade settings, the rank system can become quite brutal if you're doing well and haven't lost any lives.

SHMUP LEAGUE STANDINGS AND RESULTS AFTER GAME #2

My personal progress for game's 1&2 are as follows:

Sexy Parodius
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1st credit score, 72,500
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Final submission, 456,500 (Stage 5)

Arrow Flash
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1st submisson score: AmidstStorm - 180,620
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Final submission score: AmidstStorm - 859,510 (1CC)

It's been a fun competition so far. Friendly for the most part and some close scores here and there. Here's how the first two games shaped up and the current high score table after two games played:

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High Score Ranking - Game #1: Sexy Parodius - (25th Jan - 24th Feb)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Score Ranking - Game #2: Arrow Flash - (1st Mar - 20th Mar) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photobucket -----------------------------------------------
THE RGF SHMUP LEAGUE TABLE 
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For the original thread visit here

Saturday 3 March 2012

SHMUP PICKUPS IN PICTURES - JAN/FEB 2012

JANUARY PICKUPS

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From top left to bottom right:

Strike Force Hydra - Playstation (PAL)
Super Dropzone - Playstation (PAL)
Sexy Parodius - Saturn (JAP)
Crimzon Clover - PC (JAP)
Trouble Witches - PC (JAP)
Bike Banditz - PC (JAP)
Radirgy Noa Wii - Wii (JAP)
Shikigami No Shiro III - 360 (JAP)
The Hunt For Red October - NES (PAL)


FEBRUARY PICKUPS

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From top left to bottom right:

Gyruss - NES (US)
Magmax - NES (US)
Dragon Spirit - NES (US)
Alpha Mission - NES (US)
Defender II - NES (US)
The Adventures Of Dino Riki - NES (US)
Air Fortress - NES (US)
Cobra Triangle - NES (US)
Retro Force - Playstation (PAL)

Under Defeat HD - 360 (JAP)