Hardest turbo/pce shooters? Shooters tier list?

[PukeSter]

I've been playing R-Type and I realize that I may never even beat Stage 4. I've beaten Side Arms , gradius iii (snes), Aero blasters. Do I have any hope?

What are the hardest pce shooters? Easy ones? Is there a tier list for shooters?

[FraGMarE]

R-Type is all about memorization.  I can make it to stage 7 before I have to start concentrating on dodging stuff.  You basically find safe spots (at least until they're not safe any more) and then move to the next temporary safe spot.  Try watching and play through and see what weapons are being used and where the player is positioning the ship.  I recommend playing with the powered up Ring Laser pretty much the entire game.  Oh, and if you die... you're fucked.

Rayxanber II and III are insanely hard, if you're feeling masochistic. 

Aeroblasters still gives me a hard time once I hit about stage 5, with that pac-man zero gravity control.

[imparanoic]

I believe image fight 2 is stupidly impossible hard to play ( never play it),
Nezrx is pretty hard
for experts gradius v (ps2) and ikarua (gc) are very hard but they don't cheat

[esteban]

I am going mention games that are challenging, but not the "hardest":

I consider Raiden a challenging game. Why? Well, beating the damn game takes a major commitment (for me, anyway). It is NOT the "hardest" by any means (I think you can actually get pretty far spamming bombs and re-spawning like a noob)...but actually 1CC'ing the game, that's not something that you do in an afternoon. Plus, there are some enemies that whip around faster than your ship halfway through the game that you have to react to immediately, this keeps you on your toes (since enemies prior to this were quite predictable).

L•Dis is another game that was actually challenging to beat, for me. Perhaps it is because it's cute-me-up dressing = makes you think "cakewalk" and then you realize that you are not even. Close to mastering the game.


A game that I genuinely would put in the "hardest" category would be Tatsujin...I have always had a rough time with that game. Familiarity doesn't make it easier for me. I have beaten the Genesis version.

If it makes you feel better, it took me a long time to beat R-Type. I don't use FAQs or hints or guides or videos and it was trial and error for R-Type (slow progress, but steady).

[Otaking]

Tatsujin
Rayxanber II
Image Fight II

[NecroPhile]

I'll just put this here......

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15284

[PukeSter]

I'll just put this here......

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15284

Well at least I beat Aero Blasters...

How many are in the easy-medium range?

[reson8er]

I find Tatsujin, Nexzr and Image Fight to be the hardest for me. Though I've made a decent amount of progress in Tatsujin and Nexzr.

edit: After seeing Necro's link, I feel pretty good about my choices. These are some damn fine games that want nothing more than to destroy you.

[cjameslv]

I'll just put this here......

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15284

rofl necro, guess the op could have did a search, but then he would have of had to necro'd that thread to post his comments.

[SuperGrafx]

If you're looking for a fun and easy shooter, just pick up Ordyne.
Tons of fun with loads of humor (or is it humour?) and character!

[cr8zykuban0]

I think psychosis and legion are some hard ones for me. dont like how psychosis suffers from slowdown

[mitsuman]

If you're looking for a fun and easy shooter, just pick up Ordyne.
Tons of fun with loads of humor (or is it humour?) and character!

More silliness than humour. But it is a fun game to just turn on for a bit and play.

[esadajr]

I'll just put this here......

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15284

Well at least I beat Aero Blasters...

How many are in the easy-medium range?

I'll just put this here......

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15284

Well at least I beat Aero Blasters...

How many are in the easy-medium range?

Imo, Coryoon and MC would be in that category. Cotton and Parodious would be in the Medium-Hard range.

Difficult or not, the PCE made me love shooters.

[sosoyo180]

Aero Blasters and Psychosis are relentless!! (For me...)

Also the final boss in Soldier Blade has been kicking my ass for FOUR MONTHS. The rest of the game wasn't even that hard! And then this guy comes in with his mirror show!

K sorry I know this wasn't the place for my micro-rant but I needed to get it out...

[geise]

Rayxanber II is only hard because of the slowdown in level 4.  That game is also all about memorization.

I would have to say the hardest to me is Image Fight.  That's mostly cause I haven't devoted enough time to it.

[Flare65]

Heavy Unit for PCE was tough...  I never finished Psycho Chaser.  Has anyone here finished those?

[esteban]

Heavy Unit for PCE was tough...  I never finished Psycho Chaser.  Has anyone here finished those?

Heavy Unit is really unbalanced...the beginning is ridiculously tricky, like, the first few moments of the game are literally going to scare away most folks...but then, later, when you power-up, you can stomp all over your opponents.

And, to be honest, some parts of the game seem genuinely interesting (Heavy Unit is not just another generic shootemup...you have a mech, and can walk, and the enemies/stages are OK).

But there is no learning curve...it will shift suddenly from TOO HARD to TOO EASY to MODERATE....

I'm pretty certain I beat PCE Heavy Unit years ago. However, it might have been on MAME (1999-2000, ha!)


I actually enjoy Pyscho Chaser but I have not beaten it. I actually haven't gotten more than halfway through it, I reckon, because I was chatting with someone (whom I trust implicitly) about it years ago and they were able to pinpoint my progress. He thought the game was one of the "under-appreciated" and "rarely-discussed" and I concur...

[Flare65]

I'll have to play em again sometime when I have some spare time.....work is killing me right now.  Always wanted to beat Psycho Chaser.

[grache]

Difficult or not, the PCE made me love shooters.

Shooters went from one of my least favorite genres to my most played after I got my PCE.

Tons of fun with loads of humor (or is it humour?) and character!

"Humor" in American English, "Humour" for the rest. Here's the story behind the difference.

It's good that I use my insomnia to get important things done. 

[johnnykonami]

My friend and I are getting our asses handed to us in Lords of Thunder.  It's been a while since I've played a shooter, though.

[wolfman]

ROCK ON

Definitely the most hardest, craziest shooter I´ve ever played. Intentionally missing power-ups to survive in the game is something I have never come across and really gives you a hard time, as the screen is COVERED with them...

[PukeSter]

ROCK ON

Definitely the most hardest, craziest shooter I´ve ever played. Intentionally missing power-ups to survive in the game is something I have never come across and really gives you a hard time, as the screen is COVERED with them...

TheBrothersDuomazov has a review for the whole game, including a guide for the horiffying Level 3 Maze.

http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/2009/07/rock-on.html

[wolfman]

TheBrothersDuomazov has a review for the whole game, including a guide for the horiffying Level 3 Maze.

http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/2009/07/rock-on.html

Yes, I know. But I was so horrified already by the beginning of Level 3, that I stopped playing it. I got so enraged by dying so many many MANY times, that I decided not to touch it again.

[PukeSter]

One game that pissed me of is Atomic Robo Kid Special. It's 45 minutes a playthrough, but die on the final boss and you're screwed. It's so cheap and fast.

Shame cuz I like the game. The final boss makes it impossible. The only way I would beat this game again would be to have a save-state at the final boss. Unless there is a way to recover.

[PukeSter]

One game that pissed me of is Atomic Robo Kid Special. It's 45 minutes a playthrough, but die on the final boss and you're screwed. It's so cheap and fast.

Shame cuz I like the game. The final boss makes it impossible. The only way I would beat this game again would be to have a save-state at the final boss. Unless there is a way to recover.

I'm now older, handsomer, and wiser. I have finally beat the game even after dying on the final boss. Stupid big arm.

Sorry for the NecroPhile post in advance...might be interesting to continue the thread?

[GoldenWheels]

I think psychosis and legion are some hard ones for me. dont like how psychosis suffers from slowdown

I couldn't make it anywhere in Legion. I remember saying the words "cheap shit!" a lot, and then the click of the power button.

[Alt-Nintega]

Raiden for TG-16. Anyone oppose? Go suck it because Karl Marx says so.

[ToyMachine78]

I agree. Raiden and Tatsujin are both up there in my book. Both have the same issue of slow player ship, fast enemy bullets.

[csgx1]

I think psychosis and legion are some hard ones for me. dont like how psychosis suffers from slowdown

I couldn't make it anywhere in Legion. I remember saying the words "cheap shit!" a lot, and then the click of the power button.

Legion requires a lot of memorization otherwise you won't get very far.  One of the later levels is absolutely brutal with so many things to dodge and such a narrow space to navigate through.  Definitely has a lot of cheap kills through out the game but beatable with memorization and persistence.

[EmperorIng]

Most PCE shooters in my experience are pretty easy. After a week's worth of practice you're usually good enough to 1CC a shooter without thinking too much of it.

Paranoia/Psychosis is a snooze until the final level, which is actually a little bit challenging. The second loop is nuts though, but that's for the hard-core. Heavy Unit has a hard beginning and an easy everything-else-for-the-rest-of-two-loops, even Kyuukyoku Tiger is pretty boring until the second half of the game.

Legion is a hard game because it's a lousy game. Poorly-designed and oozing with Telenet """quality"""
To its credit, it's one of the hardest PCE shooters, but not for reasons that are worthwhile.

Rayxanber II is a game that is exceedingly strict on memorization and execution, and it is also one of the hardest games on the system. It's an acquired taste, since it goes far beyond IREM in terms of memorization so it can seem excessive in terms of "be in this exact spot at this exact time." Since it has no power-up levels to speak of, recovery is fairly painless though.

The Konami games at higher loops are pretty worthy of the label of "hardest." On the plus side, games like Gradius II, Salamander, etc. are actually fantastic games, programmed by competent devs so their difficulty is a welcome challenge as opposed to eye-rolling, head-shaking frustration offered by lesser studios (see: Telenet).

I recently beat Compile's Xevious remake (Fardraut) and it's a fairly tough game, because it seems to relish in belching bullets all over the screen - a little sloppy at points honestly, because it seems like you NEED a shield to get through some parts. Since I could 1CC it though, it can't be that hard. 

[esteban]

I recently beat Compile's Xevious remake (Fardraut) and it's a fairly tough game, because it seems to relish in belching bullets all over the screen - a little sloppy at points honestly, because it seems like you NEED a shield to get through some parts. Since I could 1CC it though, it can't be that hard. 

I haven't beaten Xevious on PCE (I have on FC), so I am curious to see what it will be like.

[EmperorIng]

It feels harder than the arcade mode on PCE (which is probably the best pre-PS1 port of Xevious), though I haven't put serious effort into PCE's arcade mode.

Fardraut's worth it though for that wistful, teary-eyed ending:

[esteban]

I hope I can see you some day.

That is pretty haunting, actually.





ALTERNATIVE ENDING MESSAGES:

I hope I will experience happiness some day.

I hope this throbbing pain in my chest will disappear some day.

I would like to have at least one friend before I die, some day.

What is this concept of "love" that you speak of?

Number 5, alive!

[TheClash603]

It feels harder than the arcade mode on PCE (which is probably the best pre-PS1 port of Xevious), though I haven't put serious effort into PCE's arcade mode.

Fardraut's worth it though for that wistful, teary-eyed ending:

When it sees you, and it will, you are going to regret beating Xevious.