Let's have at it: What's the *best* vertical shooter?

[tosui]

I'm a fan of 1941 & 1942, and I've been looking for a good port. I'm still looking :p

It seems like vertical shooters (shmup type) on the iPhone are either:

1) Automatically shooting (e.g,. SpaceX (http://appshopper.com/games/spacex), SkyThunder (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-thunder-lite), Sky Force (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-force-reloaded)) (Personally, I find these games to be basically "dodge" games - not shooters since I'm not shooting - the AI is!!)

2) You shoot (e.g., SkyFighter lite (http://appshopper.com/games/skyfighter-lite), Blue Skies (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/blue-skies-lite)) (I prefer these, because as the player, I'm doing more! I like tapping frantically :D)

I know there are many other shmups in the App Store, but I think I've named a few of the better ones. So the question remains:

What is the best vertical shooter?

[rhcpdrummer]

zen bound

[tosui]

zen bound

Well played.

(Seriously though, Zen Bound needs more missiles.)

[ChrisJefferson]

rRootage

[le'deuche123]

Sentry Alpha!

[PointOfLight]

First of all, tosui, I commend you on impeccable taste. I've suggested in at least two different reviews I've done of vertical shooters that people should study the likes of 1942 before making their own. I would say the closest I've seen so far on the iPhone is Sentry Alpha, though from my experience on the PocketPC you'd probably like Skyforce as well if you haven't already played it. Personally, I'm hoping we see either Claygun (http://www.claygun.com/) or DragonBird (http://www.umobilegame.com/dragon.htm) one of these days. Despite the popular opinion towards Skyforce Reloaded, I thought Claygun was the best shooter to hit the PocketPC.

[TRIPLE BEAM DREAM]

Sentry Alpha!

second that :D

[Big Albie]

second that :D


Triple that...no pun intended Triple Beam Dream :)

Disclaimer: haven't played SkyForce yet.

[Prab]

zen bound
Good one.. lol

[Prab]

Actually I have not found my perfect vertical shooter game yet. I used to play this arcade vertical shooter game where you collect powerup orbs and they get attached to the back of your plane (like a snake game). There are different kinds of powerup orbs and each gives you different powers (higher attack, different kind of attack, missiles, etc).

Basically, I like my plane to be really powerful when playing these games. And I dont see this in any of the current games. SpaceX is interesting because you have many things to buy, but it becomes more of a resource management / strategy thing. Whereas all I want to do is collect gazillion powerups and shoot everything thats on the screen :-D

[PointOfLight]

The biggest problem I had with SpaceX was that the game play was pretty standard, so the fun came in getting power ups to your weapons. Once you were maxed out in that area, the game really wasn't fun any more.

[Phi6]

rRootage

Yes, second that

[Big Albie]

Yes, second that

rRootage was the first shooter I d/l on my device, and I still play with it. It's only missing sounds and an save/resume function to make it great.

[RM imagery]

why not have a poll?

or even better, a poll dancer can never hurt:D

seriously tho - we should have 2 polls:

1 - vertical shmups as discussed now. Sentry Alpha gets my vote.

2 - 3D flying forward shooters like ExZeus, Zero Chance, Iron Man, Rebel Onslaught, etc...

after checking, it seems as though there are few quality horizontal shooters on our idevices, which were extremely popular over the years - silpheed, gaiares, r-type and soldner-x (awesome! now in the ps3 store) to name a few...

[iago]

Centipede. I think that's the only one to have the vertical shooter mechanics right.

[lazrhog]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

[Big Albie]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

Hey, welcome back to the forum! An updated rRootage would be great...I know I've been looking forward to one. It's still among the best in terms of touch controls.

[Scottola]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

noiz2sa, noiz2sa, I've heard and played that before.

Aaah, ha, it was on my Tapwave Zodiac if I'm not mistaken :)

[fiskadoro]

Another vote for Sentry Alpha.

I like the accellerometer control over using a finger. I also like the way the ship you control and the enemies are small, so you have a large playing area and the ability to scroll off screen.

Too many of the vertical shooters seem to cram too many things into the small iPhone screen and feel claustrophobic, but that's just my humble view.

[ChrisJefferson]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

doit doit doit doit doit doit doit doit doit! :)

[Steve2000]

Sky Force obviously. It's not even close.

[s0mah]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

Does that come with a side of sound effects, plz?

ps

Someone port Radilgy for me thx. It looks like this:

cvVlwBJ9Oug

[aleceiffel]

Sentry Alpha!
agreed

[caywen]

Wow, it's quite a surprise to see Sentry Alpha being discussed so much here. I'm really both gratified and humbled at some of the comments I'm seeing here. I personally think Sky Force is a heck of a game, and a pretty high standard to compare a vertical shooter to. That 2D/3D hybrid engine is nifty.

Some other vertical shooters are coming out, and believe me, within a few months, Sentry Alpha is going to start looking kind of ghetto. Because of that, I'm hard at work at a followup release :-)

Cheers,
Kevin

[Big Albie]

Wow, it's quite a surprise to see Sentry Alpha being discussed so much here. I'm really both gratified and humbled at some of the comments I'm seeing here. I personally think Sky Force is a heck of a game, and a pretty high standard to compare a vertical shooter to. That 2D/3D hybrid engine is nifty.

Some other vertical shooters are coming out, and believe me, within a few months, Sentry Alpha is going to start looking kind of ghetto. Because of that, I'm hard at work at a followup release :-)

Cheers,
Kevin

For what it's worth, I did a quick comparison on the other thread between Sentry Alpha and Sky Force. Plenty of people still believe Sentry Alpha is the better shooter. Here's the thread (scroll down) http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=6348&page=6

[caywen]

Big Albie,

Yeah I saw that. Great comparison, right on the money! I think Sentry Alpha definitely has a different feel despite being the same genre. I did try my best to make the experience unique and tried to avoid too much screen chaos. That's just my personal preference - I never did like bullet hell, though I understand the appeal.

Cheers,
Kevin

[PointOfLight]

Okay, I just tried Skyforce Reloaded, and while I haven't been able to spend much time with Sentry Alpha yet, I give my +1 for it being the better game. Skyforce has better visuals (though I do like the look of SA), but the gameplay of SA is better from what I've experienced so far. I guess I got spoiled having experienced Skyforce on a device with a real control pad, but to me it loses a lot when I have to control it with my finger. Plus, it did seem a tad sluggish, which I imagine had something to do with those fancy graphics :)

[currymutton]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

Please do so!!!

rRootage needs only sound and speed improvement, i.e.

No vote yet: Dropship, Blue Attack!, SA, rRootage, Space DeadBeef (longish), iDracular(???) keep me busy when I can find time for them. So BA, you are right on the other thread, I need something else...

[RM imagery]

Wow, it's quite a surprise to see Sentry Alpha being discussed so much here. I'm really both gratified and humbled at some of the comments I'm seeing here. I personally think Sky Force is a heck of a game, and a pretty high standard to compare a vertical shooter to. That 2D/3D hybrid engine is nifty.

Some other vertical shooters are coming out, and believe me, within a few months, Sentry Alpha is going to start looking kind of ghetto. Because of that, I'm hard at work at a followup release :-)

Cheers,
Kevin

hey Kevin,

Would you consider adding touch control to your next game? I love games that offer both methods...

[thinkdontpray]

i would kill for someone to do a iphone enhanced version of either raiden or raiden 2. hell, id take a straight port and pay 5 bucks for that!

oh man, so many memories from high school. wasting away my money and my free perioid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfvmt2okNAU

[Ventura]

Would you consider adding touch control to your next game? I love games that offer both methods...

Yeah I'd like to see that too. I'd much rather use my finger than tilt to control movement.

[tosui]

hey Kevin,

Would you consider adding touch control to your next game? I love games that offer both methods...

Yeah I'd like to see that too. I'd much rather use my finger than tilt to control movement.

I'm all in for that.

Also, I love being able to actually *tap* to fire, rather than the "always on" option a lot of games have. Any possibility of this in the new version?

[tosui]

For what it's worth, I did a quick comparison on the other thread between Sentry Alpha and Sky Force. Plenty of people still believe Sentry Alpha is the better shooter. Here's the thread (scroll down) http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=6348&page=6

Thanks for pointing that out, Big A! Very nice comparison & very helpful. I'd recommend it for anyone perusing this thread.

(Shameless excuse to use the word "peruse" :D Next I'm gonna try for "unctuous"! - Sam & Max fans know what I mean :p)

[le'deuche123]

Wow, it's quite a surprise to see Sentry Alpha being discussed so much here. I'm really both gratified and humbled at some of the comments I'm seeing here. I personally think Sky Force is a heck of a game, and a pretty high standard to compare a vertical shooter to. That 2D/3D hybrid engine is nifty.

Some other vertical shooters are coming out, and believe me, within a few months, Sentry Alpha is going to start looking kind of ghetto. Because of that, I'm hard at work at a followup release :-)

Cheers,
Kevin

I really like sky force, but sentry alpha is just a more "mature" shooter if that makes sense....Calibration is also spot on...Kudo's on SA it's beautiful..

[caywen]

hey Kevin,

Would you consider adding touch control to your next game? I love games that offer both methods...
I definitely will consider touch control in the next game. However, I'm not thrilled with the current style of touch control employed by most vertical shooters, so I will experiment with some alternative methods to see if I can do any better.

-Kevin

[Big Albie]

Bottom line, the key difference between Sentry Alpha (accelerometer) and Sky Force (touch) are the controls and what you're comfortable with. For me, the controls are just as important as the graphics, and they can make or break a game.

[romulus]

actually i have not found my perfect vertical shooter game yet... Basically, i like my plane to be really powerful when playing these games. And i dont see this in any of the current games. Spacex is interesting because you have many things to buy, but it becomes more of a resource management / strategy thing. Whereas all i want to do is collect gazillion powerups and shoot everything thats on the screen :-d

++++100!!!

[Pal Van Marrsterhausen]

I'm a fan of 1941 & 1942, and I've been looking for a good port. I'm still looking :p

It seems like vertical shooters (shmup type) on the iPhone are either:

1) Automatically shooting (e.g,. SpaceX (http://appshopper.com/games/spacex), SkyThunder (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-thunder-lite), Sky Force (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-force-reloaded)) (Personally, I find these games to be basically "dodge" games - not shooters since I'm not shooting - the AI is!!)

2) You shoot (e.g., SkyFighter lite (http://appshopper.com/games/skyfighter-lite), Blue Skies (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/blue-skies-lite)) (I prefer these, because as the player, I'm doing more! I like tapping frantically :D)

I know there are many other shmups in the App Store, but I think I've named a few of the better ones. So the question remains:

What is the best vertical shooter?

If your a fan of 1942 try the newly released ifighter lite.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=308614334&mt=8

[Ben!]

I'm bumping this because I sort of had the same quesiton. I've found a ton of new games becuse of this thread and I'd love any suggestions (since it's been a long time since this thread was active).

[eugekava]

SkySmash and Roswell are two outstanding games.

[Ben!]

Thanks! I'll check them out. By the way, I downloaded rRootage and it absolutely does not work on my device. No sound (not sure if the dev ever got around to adding that) and the screen flickers so much that the game is completely unplayable.

[The Bat Outta Hell]

Tyrian.

[tzual]

Radiant.

[Ben!]

Tyrian.

I just searched that and, upon seeing the icon, decided I'd hate the graphical style (looked like some geometry wars-esque wireframe stuff which has been done to death at this point). After checking out the screens, this really looks great. Downloading the lite version now!

EDIT:

Radiant.

And then I see this, which looks exactly like what I just described as played out, except that it looks awesome. The unfortunate thing is that there's no lite version. I really do think something like that is a necessity, because how can I justify spending anything on a vertical shooter when I've just found like 10 games with lite versions to try before I buy?

[abruce42]

Well its not vertical, but its the same type of frantic shooting gameplay: Minisquadron

[Grubjelly]

Best tilt: Skyforce (original)
Best Touch: Space Invaders IG

I haven't played Tyrian, Sentry Alpha, or a few others that were mentioned here.

[Guise]

I keep meaning to submit a new version of rrootage to the appstore. Had a version that runs full speed sitting on the mac for ages ! Right I'm gonna do that this weekend :). I should also submit noiz2sa too I guess as that is complete too !

Hey, welcome back to the forum! An updated rRootage would be great...I know I've been looking forward to one. It's still among the best in terms of touch controls.


Yes! Been hoping for an updated and playable version of rRootage since I discovered Kenta Cho's games and got a 3g. noiz2sa would be awesome, too. Can't wait, and thanks.

[Clouds]

Well played.

(Seriously though, Zen Bound needs more missiles.)
i know right?

[ktfright]

My game dang! Not another paper game is a shmup. Not a traditional vertical shooter, but it gets the job done.

[ktfright]

I'm a fan of 1941 & 1942, and I've been looking for a good port. I'm still looking :p

It seems like vertical shooters (shmup type) on the iPhone are either:

1) Automatically shooting (e.g,. SpaceX (http://appshopper.com/games/spacex), SkyThunder (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-thunder-lite), Sky Force (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-force-reloaded)) (Personally, I find these games to be basically "dodge" games - not shooters since I'm not shooting - the AI is!!)

2) You shoot (e.g., SkyFighter lite (http://appshopper.com/games/skyfighter-lite), Blue Skies (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/blue-skies-lite)) (I prefer these, because as the player, I'm doing more! I like tapping frantically :D)

I know there are many other shmups in the App Store, but I think I've named a few of the better ones. So the question remains:

What is the best vertical shooter?

I seem to like the ones where you hold to shoot.

[funkynubman]

zen bound

Oh yeah, but I can't get past the last SuperLaser Megaboss. I just keep running out of inferno-bombs every time.

[Grubjelly]

I'm a fan of 1941 & 1942, and I've been looking for a good port. I'm still looking :p

It seems like vertical shooters (shmup type) on the iPhone are either:

1) Automatically shooting (e.g,. SpaceX (http://appshopper.com/games/spacex), SkyThunder (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-thunder-lite), Sky Force (http://appshopper.com/games/sky-force-reloaded)) (Personally, I find these games to be basically "dodge" games - not shooters since I'm not shooting - the AI is!!)

2) You shoot (e.g., SkyFighter lite (http://appshopper.com/games/skyfighter-lite), Blue Skies (lite) (http://appshopper.com/games/blue-skies-lite)) (I prefer these, because as the player, I'm doing more! I like tapping frantically :D)

I know there are many other shmups in the App Store, but I think I've named a few of the better ones. So the question remains:

What is the best vertical shooter?

There's a dedicated laser button in Skyforce which you can tap frantically, although it will only fire a certain amount of times.

[MasterChief3624]

I'm having a ton of fun with Internal Force (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/internal-force/id298826003?mt=8)

But it's mostly a dodging curtain-shooter. But I love them bullet-hell game <3 :cool:

[thewiirocks]

There should be more love for SkyDragon (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skydragon/id307753579?mt=8). It has its flaws, but for the most part it's an awesome J-Shmup.


Insane Power-ups? Check.
Cool looking bombs? Check.
Over the top anime sprite artwork? Check.
Awesome boss fights? Check.
Bullet hell? Check.
Touch Controls? Check.


If it weren't for niggling little problems like the health readouts being at the bottom of the screen, I think we'd hear a lot more about this title.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skydragon/id307753579?mt=8

[ktfright]

nice.:D

[PointOfLight]

SkyDragon has been on my "to buy" list for a long time, so maybe it's time I just broke down and bought it :) I also grabbed Internal Force last night, so we'll see how that one goes.

[Oliver]

Siberian Strike from Gameloft is my favorite shooter. Good looking even with intro video and voice acting, 2D/3D graphics, voice acting during gameplay, gameplay with different variations, strange humor. You get it all :) There’s even a lite version: http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/siberian-strike-lite/id319104738?mt=8

[don_k]

Space Invaders Infinity Gene

[PointOfLight]

Siberian Strike was a lot of fun. For some reason people griped about the 2D / 3D mix, but I thought it looked pretty good. Another one I've really enjoyed is iFighter. The lite version actually came out long before the paid version, but I decided to wait and just picked up the paid version when it came out. No regrets at all.

Lite Version (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifighter-lite/id308614334?mt=8)
Paid Version (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifighter/id314099570?mt=8)

[ktfright]

my game A Shoot Shoota got released today. It has a retro feel like tyrian, but it plays like a makeshift arcade game.

[Aspargusman]

Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Yes. definitely get this one

[jak56]

radiant anyone?

[ktfright]

Radiant looks cool at first, but then you realize that it's a very basic shooter. The gameplay is also really slow.

[mattll]

Space Invaders Infinity Gene

this game is sooooooooooo great

[dumbname]

rRootage

[one f jef]

Radiant looks cool at first, but then you realize that it's a very basic shooter. The gameplay is also really slow.

It has a lot of charm besides that. The between mission dialogue is laugh out loud funny and it has some replayability with the different weapons you can get.

Sure, it's no Infinity Gene, but I felt I got my money out of it and then some.

[PointOfLight]

radiant anyone?

I personally enjoyed Radiant, and I'm probably going to embarrass myself by saying this, but there was one point fairly early on that I got stuck, so I didn't find it too easy. I haven't tried Infinity Gene yet, though, so I don't really have a reference point for comparison.

[Stook]

I've been having fun with Radiant.

[MasterChief3624]

So I was about to buy SkyDragon, but for some reason, it's been pulled from the app store?

It shows up, but when I try to buy it, it says the item is no longer available :(

[PointOfLight]

So I was about to buy SkyDragon, but for some reason, it's been pulled from the app store?

It shows up, but when I try to buy it, it says the item is no longer available :(

That's a bummer, because SkyDragon was on my list of games to buy. I sent the developer an email, so we'll see if they respond back or not. I'm guessing probably not. It also looked from their web site that they had a pretty wicked RPG for the iPhone as well, though I can't tell much about it since the web site isn't in English. I'll let you know if I hear anything about SkyDragon.

[MasterChief3624]

That's a bummer, because SkyDragon was on my list of games to buy. I sent the developer an email, so we'll see if they respond back or not. I'm guessing probably not. It also looked from their web site that they had a pretty wicked RPG for the iPhone as well, though I can't tell much about it since the web site isn't in English. I'll let you know if I hear anything about SkyDragon.
Thank you very much. I would appreciate that a lot. It looked like it was an amazing game and I really really want to play it D:

[paulm12]

MONSTERS AGAINST ALIENS!!!
seriously though, its my fav, and i hav almost all mentioned here

[PointOfLight]

Thank you very much. I would appreciate that a lot. It looked like it was an amazing game and I really really want to play it D:

I actually got a response back from the developer already. The synopsis is "we took it down to upgrade, and it will be back at some point". I don't know why they'd have to remove a game from the store just to do an update, but there you have it.

[MasterChief3624]

I actually got a response back from the developer already. The synopsis is "we took it down to upgrade, and it will be back at some point". I don't know why they'd have to remove a game from the store just to do an update, but there you have it.
Oh wow, quick response. All right, thank you very much :)

Any word if it will be the same name and everything?

[PointOfLight]

Oh wow, quick response. All right, thank you very much :)

Any word if it will be the same name and everything?

Nope, he didn't really get into much specifics about it.