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The Top 5 Most Innovative Downloadable Shmups By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman While it’s easy to create a list of awesome shooter games, often times you’ll never get to play the games in the list do to age or rarity of the game. Add to the fact, that with all the shooters you can find now, it’s often hard to find one that’s not overtly generic or formulaic. For these 2 reasons, I decided to compile a list of shooters that were not only very interesting, but also very easy to find. And in the age of the internet there’s no easier way to obtain a video game than by download, as the store basically comes to you. Unlike our other top 5 lists, there are no caveats here. I basically feel like I gave the list enough limitations in the title alone. So, let’s get to the part you’ve came here to see, the games list.
5) Gate of Thunder (Wii VC/Turbografx-CD): Though Gate of Thunder was known for its amazing soundtrack and being on America’s first CD based game console, that’s not the reason I picked it. Despite having a soundtrack that was rated one of the best game soundtracks in its day, the game is pretty generic all around. However, one thing that did amaze me about this game was the ability to shoot backwards. Your ship’s gunpods could be oriented to either fire forward in order to take out bogeys in front of you or switch to fire backwards, thus killing whatever space trash was following. This wasn’t a clever gimmick or convenient option either; you needed to switch shots to live. This nifty little innovation alone brings Gate of Thunder to the number 5 spot.
4) Axelay (Wii VC/SNES): Konami and shooters pretty much go hand in hand; from Gyruss to Gradius and finally to Contra, Konami knows how to make a good shmup. Axelay is no different. Not only is it beautiful for it’s time, it’s also very challenging and fresh. The game takes a step away from the normal shmup system of gathering power ups to upgrade your weaponry, but offers a new and better upgrade system. Your ship essentially starts out with 2 different weapons that fully powered, which actually lose a level of power up when hit. This fascinated me the first time I had seen this, as it simulates what really should be going on a dogfight. It’s more believable for a ship to get weaker as enemy fighters whittle its life away, much like Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing losing stabilizer and nav-com functions during the Death Star battle. Another amazing innovation in the game is your ship’s secondary weapon, as in Gate of Thunder you’re not just limited to shooting forward. This time the gun will actually rotate around causing a cascading ring of bullets to dispatch foes that come at you from all directions, even from the side.
3) Triggerheart Exelica (Xbox Live Arcade/Arcade/Dreamcast/PS2): If I were to compile a list of my favorite shmups this one would be on top. However, this is a list of most innovative shooters for download, so Triggerheart Exelica is at number 3. The game is a standard bullet hell shump with an amazing twist. Along with your main gun, you have an “energy anchor” that can be used to overtake enemy ships. Once you capture an enemy ship, you'll then begin to spin with it and the enemy's ship can then be used as a: shield, battering ram or projectile weapon (by releasing your anchor midspin). Your anchor can also be used an actual anchor, so you can attach to larger enemies such as bosses and be able to target your opponent while you dodge their shots. This new twist adds a lot of depth and even more challenge (as you can try for a no anchor run, which I actually think is possible with practice), setting it apart from the average bullet hell.
2) Rez (Xbox Live Arcade/Dreamcast/PS2): Rez is a game that's really not for the uninitiated (or sober). The game is essentially an on-rails shooter done in a bright vector art style, much like style of the original Star Wars arcade machine. However, it has a very interesting musical component. Whenever you shoot down bogeys, your shots will create a series of musical notes that play along with the energetic trance background music. You gun works in two ways, where you can either do single shots and trigger only a note or two. Or you can hold the gun down and target a sequence of enemies which makes a more substantial riff. The game isn't overtly difficult, so it's more of an electronica simulator than a shooter (though the last 2 levels of the game do get pretty intense). While incredibly ballsy and innovative, this game is really only for some and not for all (since I couldn't seem myself playing this game completely sober).
1) Ikaruga (Xbox Live Arcade/Arcade/Dreamcast/Gamecube): Ikaruga is a beautiful game. It really shows that Treasure is the best at making shmups. Your ship has a sort of “polarity” (either white or black) which you can switch at will. Enemies come in either black or white and will fire bullets of their same color. Getting hit by a bullet of your opposite color will kill you, while getting hit by a bullet of your same color will charge up your power shot meter. This amazingly smart system adds so much depth and difficulty to the game. Add to the fact that shooting your enemies with opposite polarity causes more damage to them, and you've added the need for true strategy in a twitch shooter. The game easily takes the number one spot, as it forces you to relearn everything you thought you knew about shooters. It'll blow your mind and make you stand in awe of it, it truly is playable art.
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