[PleasantOne]

I've been scouring the interwebs, trying to find some sort of definitive list of vertical shooters, but no luck. So I thought I'd ask here... What are the decent vertical shooters on PS2? (or PSX, or even Xbox and GameCube, to save me from having to ask the same question in three forums)

I just picked up Castle Shikigami and Mobile Light Force 2...

I know Ikaruga is on GC and coming to XBLA...

Anything else, I'm in the dark about, so help would be appreciated

[trunks982]

I think Raiden III is a vertical shooter.

[whoknows]

I think Raiden III is a vertical shooter.

It is and awesome IMO although some people don't like it for whatever reason.

[bardockkun]

I loved Raiden III, only problem was I spent months playing Ikaruga and Raiden III just felt like the ships moved slower compared to it. Though minor complaint and still enjoyed the hell out of it.

[Chacrana]

Raiden III's not very good if you've played a decent shmup. Unfortunately, the decent shmups are all in Japan, so you'd have to make your system import-capable to get at 'em. I dunno how you do that, though.

[LordVila]

Silpheed, Giga Wing (DC), Mars Matrix(DC), Chaos Field(NGC), 19XX, Rez (has shooter elements), Radiant Silvergun(Saturn), Nanostray(DS). Those are the ones I can think of right off hand that haven't been mentioned so far.

Also http://www.shmups.com/ is a good resource and with a little detective work you can find even more vertical shooters.

[Chacrana]

Right, but most of those aren't even on the PS2, Rez isn't a vertical shmup, and Silpheed sucks...

[LordVila]

I realize that, I was just trying to give him more information since the PS2 has some scarce vertical shooter offerings in America. I edited my post to make it clear what system they were available for.

Sorry for the confusion.

[IceBlueShoes]

Not a vertical shooter but still a good shooter. Gradius 5. Will keep you busy for a good long while.
ALso the Gradius 3+4 pack is good as well I hear.
Good luck finding either though.
R-TYpe is another shooter, but I personally don't like it...

[Kapwanil]

Yeah, essentially a lot of the vertical action you could be enjoying will involve a bit of a monetary investment, usually so you can play imports on, say, your PS2, your DC, or even a Saturn. Sometimes it just costs some money, sometimes it goes into areas not open for discussion on CAG, so it all depends.

If you don't mind the classics there are probably a handful that you might find enjoyable via a lot of the classics compilations for the PS2. However, it takes a dedicated person to pick up some of the vertical SHMUPs in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 or Vol. 2 and enjoy them. However, if you got a kick out of ones that really beat you stupid, you can't go wrong with the 194- series or in Gun.smoke on Vol. 1, if I recall.

If you do end up sprucing up your PS2 to play imports then there are some magnificent ones out there. Mushihimesama, Homura, Ibara, Twinkle Star Sprites...can't go wrong with a lot of them. Prices are another issue, of course, but if you can grab the budget versions (if any copies are still left) then good job! Good luck with whatever you want to search for, though. Most titles by Cave should do you right.

[Nixon's Revenge]

It is and awesome IMO although some people don't like it for whatever reason.

I loved Raiden III, only problem was I spent months playing Ikaruga and Raiden III just felt like the ships moved slower compared to it. Though minor complaint and still enjoyed the hell out of it.

I'm in the same boat and when you're as starved as I am for a PS2 shmup, you'll take anything - having a good one is just icing on the cake.

[aihuman]

Dodonpachi daijouju on PS2,coming soon to xboxlive.

[Chacrana]

Dodonpachi daijouju on PS2,coming soon to xboxlive.

Uh uh, coming soon to Xbox 360 retail disc, not XBLA.

[PleasantOne]

If you do end up sprucing up your PS2 to play imports then there are some magnificent ones out there.

Unfortunately I'm playing PS2 on my PS3. I wish I'd kept my PS2 to... spruce it up... good way of putting it Maybe when they get even cheaper, I'll pick one up again

I don't have any of the classic systems anymore, either :( Though I never did have anything like a Dreamcast or a Saturn, as some people have mentioned games for already.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations I'll be taking a look at all of them soon.

[ninjaridebikes]

Just snag a cheap slim ps2 from craigslist or a pawn shop and then invest in some swap discs.

The xenocide files section of shmups.com has a nice list of PS2 shooters but I think it's missing a few. Some that I can think of are..

Mushihimesama
ESPgaluda
Ibara
and Homura

Also, the 360 seems like its going to be the next big shmup console so keep an eye out for DoDonPachi, Ketsui, Shikigami No Shiro 3, and an unknown project from Treasure.

"Radiant Silvergun 3" ?! >;D

[bstan21]

Raiden Project on PS1 is good, you get RP 1 and 2.

[Javery]

Twin Bee FTW!!!! (it's not on PS2 though)

[PlasticSolution]

Taito Legends 2 has a few:

Gekirindan
Grid Seeker
Gun Frontier
RayStorm

Horizontal:

Darius Gaiden
G-Darius
Insector X
Metal Black

I think that covers it. Some are generic, some are really good, but it's only $10 at circuitcity.com ($15 elsewhere). There are almost 40 games so there's not much to lose.

[Nixon's Revenge]

Just snag a cheap slim ps2 from craigslist or a pawn shop and then invest in some swap discs.

Are there any swap discs that are inherently better than the other(s)?

[Chacrana]

I use Swap Magic, but I hear others use SwapMagic.

[GTmaster39]

Just got Silpheed: The Lost Planet off ebay for 7 bucks after reading this thread. Totally forgot about that game.

[sparklecopy]

the best vertical shooter ever is Radiant silvergun. Dodonpachi is good, and so is MUSHA for Genesis.