Intro to Shoot 'em ups (aka shmups, bullet hell)

Ойындар

I am the one to blame for all of the gameplay in this video.
When I said the genre was about "dodging and movement" I should have said "positioning and movement."
A couple of channels with a lot of shmup content:
STG Weekly / stgweekly
Studio Mudprint (look for the Bullet Heaven playlists) / serraxor
Some written articles about 2d shoooters
www.racketboy.com/retro/shmups...
www.racketboy.com/retro/the-be...
www.racketboy.com/retro/games-...
www.cubed3.com/news/26558/1/in...

Пікірлер: 96

  • @LinieEber
    @LinieEber4 жыл бұрын

    "Random bullets are evil and I hate them" Wow man, those words could come from my mouth

  • @marcusrichie8617

    @marcusrichie8617

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hello are you still active ? This account haven’t posted in a year hope he’s okay

  • @WomanSlayer69420
    @WomanSlayer694203 жыл бұрын

    “Fixed, directed, and random” In other words, Static patterns, aimed patterns, and bullshit patterns.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    RefleX has a boss that locks you in place and pummels you with unavoidable shots until you die. I still get more angry about random bullet patterns.

  • @KesorodaBlk
    @KesorodaBlk5 жыл бұрын

    Best tactic for bullet weaving: Focus on where your ship/character is, and keep firing. You'll stay alive if you don't worry about whether or not you're actually hitting the enemy or not. Easy example of this is in Gradius V against the Tetran in Stage 2. It's easy to learn by just moving slight up and down.

  • @user-yk1cw8im4h

    @user-yk1cw8im4h

    3 жыл бұрын

    Sometimes the strategy is to kill the boss quickly though, like killing them under 2-3 seconds with your overpowered weapons

  • @jonasbaymak5892
    @jonasbaymak58926 ай бұрын

    its nearly 2024 now and me and my friends still love this genre.

  • @ikagura
    @ikagura4 жыл бұрын

    This genre was here since the dawn of videogame's history and is still here today

  • @brettchalupa
    @brettchalupa Жыл бұрын

    Really fantastic intro to the genre, thanks for making it!

  • @midnightflare9879
    @midnightflare98793 жыл бұрын

    Best pickup line ever: *I can 1cc Lunatic!* Works every time

  • @blushingralseiuwu2222
    @blushingralseiuwu22224 жыл бұрын

    I still remember the first time I 1 cc a shump game (Touhou 16), it feels so amazing. To the point that I almost 1 cc all windows touhou game except UFO and 15.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    Figuring out a solution for a pattern that always gave you trouble is great, isn't it? That's one of the main reasons I play these games.

  • @TheElectricUnderground
    @TheElectricUnderground5 жыл бұрын

    Awesome work man! I think this video is a great introduction for new players

  • @capnkraken
    @capnkraken5 жыл бұрын

    Great beginner’s guide! More often than not I hear “directed” patterns described as “aimed” and “fixed” as “static,” but that’s just a nitpick. Good work!

  • @jakylgaming7121
    @jakylgaming71215 жыл бұрын

    Very good video man, after watching I actually went on the Playstation store after and had a look at what games were available. Good job man.

  • @onemorequarter1087
    @onemorequarter10872 жыл бұрын

    Excellent video,commentary and advice. Couple more shmups to check out now. Thanks man👊

  • @UnboxRacing
    @UnboxRacing5 жыл бұрын

    A list of the games featured would be good. You are right, Studio Mud prints Bullet Heaven is awesome and he is a great guy.

  • @reagandow850
    @reagandow8505 жыл бұрын

    What an awesome, extremely helpful video. While I’m far from a beginner with shmups, I’m far from expert too! I really like the way you broke things down in the last half of this instructional. The older I get, the more I appreciate these type of games. Bullet hell games are just gorgeous and playing vertices shoot em up games on “Tate” mode with the flip grip on my switch is amazing and great practice (Flip grip = Best $12 ever spent) is the bees knees!! You’ve given me some great food for thought and since I just found you channel last night I can’t wait to dig into your collection of stuff. I’m so pumped. This could be my favorite channel of 2019 for sure!!cant type/too much more to watch!! 😝

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    Wow, thanks very much! That means a lot. Makes me wish I had more bullet hell games on my channel. I'm working on one right now but you know how long it can take to get a really good playthrough of those things. Of the other videos on my channel, maybe try the Hammerfight one. There's also the Crossed Swords videos if you like niche arcade games. They're all the same playthrough but with different flavors of commentary: text, voice, or comment-free. I hope you find something you like!

  • @Primate541
    @Primate5415 жыл бұрын

    I was just watching this to look into other shmups I haven't played. I certainly wasn't expecting to find huge tips on how to beat Alice/Youmu in PCB. I've been playing them for a while and my mind is blown that some of their fixed/random seeming spells are targeted.

  • @poledra4153

    @poledra4153

    2 жыл бұрын

    I remember this spell card in EoSD Sakuya stage 5 mid-boss that was so difficult i just bombed through and that i learned after beating the game it was just aimed bullets

  • @gameprisesongprise1836
    @gameprisesongprise18365 жыл бұрын

    Nice work!, great explanation, also the comparison with the rhytm games was about right as the time playing those is very short but they share the amount of time people play it trying to do a better score and coming with better timing, on another note i'd like to say something esle about the strategies but i guess that comes with practices and experience though the info about the bullet pattern and their behavior is more than enough to start playing without problems :D, and again great video

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    Hey, it's good to hear from you! I haven't seen you much on Steam or Discord, I hope you've been doing well.

  • @kumrogames
    @kumrogames3 жыл бұрын

    Great intro to shmups video! very cool!

  • @thomasgarrison1088
    @thomasgarrison10883 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for posting this! I've always been interested in this genre, but found it overwhelming and never really gave them enough of a chance before

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'm glad the video was helpful for you! Have you found a game that appeals to you?

  • @thomasgarrison1088

    @thomasgarrison1088

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren Yeah, I think I'll start with Fast Striker on the PS4. It's just got a look and style that really appeals to me (especially the music) and I like that it has different player ships and enemy formations in each difficulty level. I think that will help keep it interesting and provide a good, gradual difficulty increase while I get used to the gameplay. It's also on sale right now for super cheap (

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@thomasgarrison1088 Rival Megagun is best when you have a friend to play it with, online or otherwise. The single player campaign is just fine though. The AI opponents sometimes dodge in ways that a human couldn't, but they're not invulnerable or anything. I think the story dialog can be pretty funny too. The only reason single player isn't really my thing in that game is because I prefer more structured levels. Gameplay is classic style, which means fewer and faster bullets. I think the game has a Discord channel as well. Hope that helps!

  • @happycat4838
    @happycat48384 жыл бұрын

    I'm brand new to these style of games, and it was really neat and helpful to see this video! I hope to go to the store after work today and get a few to try. I've always loved games where movement is the most important aspect (coming from a fighting and action game background), and I feel like I've walked into a whole new, fun world with these style of games!

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    Hey, sorry for the late reply! It's great to see more people get in to this genre. Did you find any games that fit your play style?

  • @happycat4838

    @happycat4838

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren Well I guess that makes two of us for late replies, I never got a notification for this until just now. I did, yes. I got Deathsmiles and Otomedius Excellent on the Xbox 360, and they are both really fun.

  • @ptitcka
    @ptitcka5 жыл бұрын

    So much insight, thanks for sharing!

  • @AdrianaGaming
    @AdrianaGaming5 жыл бұрын

    great vid! dropped a big like!

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

  • @Ambreil
    @Ambreil3 жыл бұрын

    Not once have I heard shot em ups as shmups but I love it

  • @Ryan-mn2dd
    @Ryan-mn2dd3 жыл бұрын

    nice video my dude

  • @hitomidiaconchuk5149
    @hitomidiaconchuk51494 жыл бұрын

    awesome,entertaining and helpful af

  • @_afska_
    @_afska_4 жыл бұрын

    You can try MouseWars.io, it's an online cursors battlefield where you battle other players with your computer’s mouse as your avatar in short matches, choosing between several different attacks and avoiding the ensuing bullet hell.

  • @sebs2306live2
    @sebs2306live25 жыл бұрын

    Great video man ! I Subbed you.

  • @coregamedev
    @coregamedev4 жыл бұрын

    Great video!

  • @rougoku1895
    @rougoku18955 жыл бұрын

    Hello and thanks a lot for this video ! I'm a rhythm game player myself and was looking for some tips to start up with shmups since the gameplay looked appealing and I love the OSTs. I've played 2-3 after watching it and completed 1 of them completely. I was wondering if a difficulty chart for shmup existed in order to start getting more experience now, instead of judging only by visuals. And also, I was wondering if it was better to complete a lot of different games or to try and score on a specific one before moving out. Thanks a lot :)

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    As far as I know there isn't really a difficulty chart for shmups. Difficulty in shmups is kind of complicated. Not only do most of them have multiple difficulty settings, but the difficulty of a survival run is often very different from that of a score run. That being said, there are a few things you can look for. If a game series was originally made for the arcade, it's probably very difficult. Example: the Raiden series. If you can cancel enemy bullets pretty much at will, you can probably complete it with no problems. Example: anything by Siter Skain. Same goes for any game that is very generous about the number of hits you can take before you lose. Games like that are pretty much made to be played for score. Indie games vary a huge amount and as you say it's not easy to tell just by looking at gameplay. The only way I know to figure it out is to ask someone who's played a lot of shmups about where the game is difficulty-wise. For info I recommend shmups forum. That's its name, it's shmups.system11.org, and it has a pretty good community. When it comes to the decision to play a game for score, whether to do it and how serious to get is a personal thing. That's why I'm a little hesitant to give concrete advice. Maybe a rhythm game comparison would help. There's probably a difference between a song you want to complete and a song you want to get all perfects on. For the latter, you need to be able to listen to it countless times. You need to be very comfortable with the game engine and willing to deal with any frustrating aspects it might have, and you might need to do research if the game doesn't tell you everything about how it works. It's almost a different game altogether, and it's something you don't do unless you really want to. Assuming that at least one of the shmup games you've played has a scoring system beyond just shooting everything, I recommend you try playing that for score a bit to get a feel for what it's like. That's the only way to find out if it's something you'd enjoy. Also to use the analogy again, your goal doesn't have to be all perfects. It's fine for a full combo to be good enough. Whatever your approach, playing for score is going to be time consuming. I think it's also very satisfying but I would never insist that everyone who picks up a shmup game play for score. I feel like my advice was all over the place and I apologize for that, but I hope some of it is useful.

  • @rougoku1895

    @rougoku1895

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren It was very useful, thanks a lot for taking the time to write an answer ! :D

  • @anusmaster3107
    @anusmaster31075 жыл бұрын

    hold shift for focused movement

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    That's true in the Touhou and Len'en series, but there are a lot of shmups where it doesn't work like that.

  • @pexalt8009
    @pexalt80095 жыл бұрын

    Touhou players leave a like

  • @LinieEber

    @LinieEber

    4 жыл бұрын

    Pay me

  • @johngavalas74
    @johngavalas74 Жыл бұрын

    Jamestown is so good I'd love to see ether vapor come to switch

  • @jakylgaming7121
    @jakylgaming71215 жыл бұрын

    Game of the day on my Discord today mate. Hope it get this awesome video more views. My discord link in my channel description.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    Yep, I saw it on the Discord channel. Thanks very much!

  • @banana_pancake7171
    @banana_pancake71713 жыл бұрын

    hell, I'm a touhou player and have played quite a lot on this genre, but, it's a nice recommendation.

  • @BlueflagAlpha
    @BlueflagAlpha3 жыл бұрын

    Even after playing the same game more than hundred times, im still bad at dodging bullets and always make last minute move that got myself killed

  • @NewportBox100s
    @NewportBox100s3 жыл бұрын

    Steam has so many great shmups.

  • @scaryhours2220
    @scaryhours22204 жыл бұрын

    Hello Regdren im just getting into this genre and was wondering is this the same thing as twin stick?

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    The two have some things in common, especially the part about dodging bullets being extremely important for surviving. They're different in that most shmups don't let you control what direction you fire, at least not directly like in twin sticks. Instead you have one directional stick for movement and the other buttons are for various tools such as different shot types, bombs, adjusting speed and such. Where you shoot still matters in shmups but overall the gameplay is more centered on the dodging. Also Shmups are a bit more structured while twin sticks tend to be more free form. Compare the footage in this video to the gameplay in my Total Carnage video (a twin stick game) and you'll see some differences. kzread.info/dash/bejne/gJagvJOnodTLm6Q.html

  • @scaryhours2220

    @scaryhours2220

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren oh man thank u so much for the info because I am just getting into these genres and wasnt sure the difference. But i recently saw a playthrough of a game called Nex Machina and it was so incredible I instantly needed to play it so i bought it and am hooked. After this I purchased Geometry Wars 3 from best buy and will soon be purchasing Alien Nation. So these are definately twin stick shooters from ur info and i love them but i also like the bullet hell shmups type now like Shikhondo and Sine Mora Ex, these take a more linear approach but are still incredibly fun and actually seem to have medatative properties and a kind of slow down matrix affect on my mind when bullets fill the screen and im dodging. U are great for ur help I really appreciate it. Take care my friend.

  • @yehwat527
    @yehwat5272 жыл бұрын

    Most shmups: Guns and Ships 2hu: Gorlz

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    2 жыл бұрын

    Dodonpachi Resurrection: Gorls who are also guns and ships

  • @202Pasha
    @202Pasha5 жыл бұрын

    Like the ethervaper remaster ost

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks very much. It took me a while to decide on a soundtrack.

  • @bigspicemax5101
    @bigspicemax51014 жыл бұрын

    Nice vid

  • @soratheorangejuicemascot5809
    @soratheorangejuicemascot58094 жыл бұрын

    So.... Anything good for steam or mobile? Anyways, I discovered these few shmup games called senko no rpnde, sora and maiden&spell. Are they good for beginners? They are mostly a pc but I also need one for mobile.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    Steam has plenty of shmups. The ones by Cave are not really for beginners, but Jamestown is pretty good as a starting shmup. Imperishable Night is also beginner friendly.The ones you named are good games, they're just a bit different from the usual shmup formula. Senko no Ronde and Maiden&Spell in particular play more like a hybrid between shmups and 1 on 1 fighting games. As for mobile, consider Bullet Hell Monday and Aka to Blue.

  • @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren bullet hell monday is on the list. Aka to blue looks so beautiful but I can't get it right now.

  • @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren also the reason why I ask you is that one shmups is never enough. I got acceleration of suguri 2 but I am aware that I would crave more, hahahaha.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@soratheorangejuicemascot5809 Yeah I know what you mean. When get into shmups I just want to play all of them. If you want shmups that are big on visuals, the Danmaku Unlimited games have strong graphics and are on both Steam and Mobile.

  • @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    @soratheorangejuicemascot5809

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren aside from fighting game, shmup is part of my childhood and I want to get into it again. Anyways, very much appreciated all this recommendation.

  • @tomasjakubik8541
    @tomasjakubik85414 жыл бұрын

    What kinda controller do you use?

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    Since I play on the PC most of the time, I use a keyboard. I like the control it gives over my movement. There's nothing wrong with controllers if you're used to them, though.

  • @randomlad7851
    @randomlad78513 жыл бұрын

    I actually don’t wanna comment but it’s 68 comments when i type it You get it P/s Great vid

  • @Doriayinn
    @Doriayinn3 жыл бұрын

    nice video, whats the name of this game 5:37?

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    The name is in the lower right, "Perfect Cherry Blossom." It's also known as Touhou 7.

  • @Doriayinn

    @Doriayinn

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Regdren ohhh thank you man, and sorry, I thought those words meant some kind of game mode or statistics haha, thank you again

  • @henning2794
    @henning27945 жыл бұрын

    What game is it at 6:50?

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    That game is Crimzon Clover World Ignition. Same game as 1:23

  • @mitul509
    @mitul5093 жыл бұрын

    Recommend me slow and dense bullet shump, I don't like fast bullet with too much pattern learning, I like reflex.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    3 жыл бұрын

    Sounds like someone has been burned by Raiden. Or worse yet, Psikyo games. Even most of the dense bullet shmups have some pattern learning since the way through some of that stuff is not something most people can work out on sight. If you want more of a reflex oriented game, try something from the Tale of Alltynex colection. It's not full of dense bullet patterns but they tend to be built so that you can use your tools to push through stuff on reaction. Or if you have to have something slower, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is not bad. Everything except the true final boss is pretty slow.

  • @ihaveadream7858

    @ihaveadream7858

    3 жыл бұрын

    Touhou 7 PCB has mostly slow, dense and reading-heavy bullet patterns. I would recommend it if you like slow and dense patterns.

  • @matteste
    @matteste5 жыл бұрын

    But there is one I cannot recommend for anyone to start with. Hellsinker (if they can find it that is, quite an obscure title). Love the game, but damn, it has quite the learning curve.

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    5 жыл бұрын

    I agree. Any game where the number you should use for scoring is up for debate is probably not for beginners.

  • @reagandow850
    @reagandow8505 жыл бұрын

    Woo hoo! My view flipped the counter to 1k!! Where’s my cookie? 😝

  • @poledra4153
    @poledra41532 жыл бұрын

    I only play touhou (the game in 5:05 and other places) I'll maybe try others, but i want to 1cc(1 continue/credit clear) all of them first Random patterns are weird : some can be "easily avoided and make yiu feel like a pro, others just destroys you.

  • @bjfifi
    @bjfifi4 жыл бұрын

    Lol yay touhou is in the vid

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    "This video is going to show all kinds of shmups," I said. "Touhou is just a small part of the genre, I should avoid using too much footage of it," I said. Later: "I want to show this specific thing in a way that's easy to understand. Where can I find clear examples of what I'm talking about?" And behold, Touhou takes over the tactics section.

  • @randomlad7851

    @randomlad7851

    4 жыл бұрын

    Regdren my favorite shmup game is Sky Force Reloaded (2016 remastered version). It really bring back memories playing the classic Sky Force on my dad’s phone, while it comes with new challenge and also more bullethell Do u know dat game? How do u think about it? Any tips?

  • @Regdren

    @Regdren

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@randomlad7851 I tend to play keyboard control shmups but that's just a preference thing. Free mouse or touch control can be very liberating, and it's great that games such as Sky Force give people that option. Unfortunately I haven't played Sky Force Reloaded myself so I can't really give tips for that game in particular. What I can do is make a video about practicing for shmups in general, if you'd like.

  • @randomlad7851

    @randomlad7851

    4 жыл бұрын

    Regdren thx Wish the game still updating :(((

  • @randomlad7851

    @randomlad7851

    4 жыл бұрын

    Regdren one thing i like at sky force is that they doesn’t give u a cool bullet storm or/and big freaking laser that cover half of the screen. All it gives u at the end is just a automatic shotgun(i say that because even fully upgraded, your plane just shoot a steam of bullet that spread or sth based on plane use, and its not even that big. Even the laser whip that awarded by doing some sort of things(not gonna spoil cuz i want u to try the game by yourself) its only a very thin laser that deal ridiculously high damage but required accuracy. They also focus on game’s graphics so much that you sometimes see the battle like an art that even the background is already beautiful. They not only focus on your plane and make it the only star. They make everything looks shine

  • @synapticflow
    @synapticflow4 жыл бұрын

    I know this sounds odd. Shmups are my favorite type of videogames. I'm 47 and have playing since the golden 80s. But I HATE HATE HATE bullet hell! Why? They look far more foolishly unrealistic by comparison. Seeing a hundred oversized energy balls coming at my ship just looks dumb to me. It's like a game of pattern dodging instead of a battle. They simply do not appeal to me at all.

  • @ShotOfSelf

    @ShotOfSelf

    4 жыл бұрын

    I hated them at first too but grew to love them for the different gameplay experience. Try Battle Garegga, sorta bullet hell but with realistic bullets and missiles instead of pink balls.

  • @ianjacka469

    @ianjacka469

    2 жыл бұрын

    Do you know some easy enough for a noob old school side-scrolling or vert-scrolling games that have modern graphics. I'm trying bullet hell but my improvement curve is so slow it's soul destroying.. Where the emphasis is more on shooting enemies than bullet dodging. The only 2 I've been able to play so far are Sky Force Reloaded and Natsuki Chronicles

  • @user-yk1cw8im4h
    @user-yk1cw8im4h3 жыл бұрын

    Shmups are a lot better than fighting games which are boring as heck

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