The Beginner’s Guide to Shooting Games by Blackbird
This is a guide originally written by Blackbird, reposted here to posterity.
Contents
Introduction – Select your battleship
A frequent question I get when I demo Crimzon Clover is: “I’m looking to get into the shooting game genre. Where do I start?” I am glad you asked, because I want more people to develop an appreciation for shmups! Allow me to present “The Beginner’s Guide to Shooting Games”, which should give you a thorough overview of the genre and get you started right away. While I don’t claim to be an expert at playing these games, I have found a lot of useful techniques which my be helpful to you if you’re just starting out. I’ll also be keeping this article updated to maintain it’s relevance and incorporate user feedback. If you just need to figure out which shmup to start with, skip to section 4 at the end of this article! To get started with shooting games, shmups, STGs, or whatever you want to call them, you need four things:
1. A platform to play your games on. If you are reading this sentence on a computer or a mobile device then you already have one!
2. A controller. There has been a lot of discussion about the best way to play shmups. I’ll go into more detail about this later on.
3. Persistence. Shmups can be pretty tough if you’ve never played the genre before. It might take a little time to get good at them if you’re first starting out. Do not be discouraged if you can’t play like a Japanese superplayer right away. If you keep playing regularly, anyone can get good (Yes, even you!). Remember, no one is great at a game the very first time they play it.
4. A shmup to play. I will include a list of popular shmups later in this article, and rate them by approximate difficulty!
Section 1 – Selecting a platform
The platform you decide to play on will influence what shmups are available to you, and also how expensive the hobby will be for you. You should pick a console that fits your budget and the kind of shmups you want to play most. To start with, you should use whatever console you have available. You’re reading this on a computer of some kind, so you already have the PC platform, or at least a mobile device! Generally speaking, the best platforms to get for shooting games are: PC/Windows – There are an array of great shmups on the PC, and many of them are even free! You can also use emulation to test out many of the classic arcade shmups that were never ported to home consoles and are no longer widely available. The inexpensive nature of this platform makes it a great place to start, because you can get a feel for the style of shmups that you might like most without spending too much. XBox 360 – Many of the most popular bullet hell shooting games have great ports on this console. If CAVE games are your jam, then you’ll want to start here. If you want to get really hardcore, you can consider importing a Japanese XBox 360 to ensure maximum compatibility with all the available shmups on the platform, as a few of the most popular ones are region-locked. The cost of games on this console varies, but there are great shmups at all price points. Sega Saturn – The classic Sega Saturn has a superb roster of 32-bit arcade shmups. The console itself is not too expensive to purchase online, but the games themselves can be. Some of the most coveted shmups on this console are expensive collector’s items, but there are a handful of inexpensive gems, too. (edited)
iOS – There are several competent mobile ports of the most popular bullet hell games on the iOS platform. iOS games tend to be dirt cheap, but you need to select your games carefully or you might end up with shovelware or game content trapped behind a “freemium” paywall. iOS shooters also tend to be easier than their console equivalents because touch controls make movement very swift. It is not the same as a more purist arcade experience, but some players will enjoy the lenient difficulty and the convenience of being able to play anywhere. Arcade PCBs – For many games (especially older ones before ports reached arcade parity), the definitive version is undeniably the original arcade version. This will give you the most authentic experience with retro shooters. However, it is also the most expensive way to collect shmups, making it suitable only for dedicated hobbyists. You can also collect by budget. As a general guide, this list will order platforms in order from least expensive to most expensive: PC (assuming you already have a PC) iOS Most older consoles – Saturn, Genesis, SNES, NES, etc. (unless you get rarer collector’s games) Newer consoles – X360, PS3. Arcade PCBs/Cabinets .
Section 2 – Selecting your controller
The best controller to use for shooting games has been the subject of some debate in the STG community. Some purists will insist that you should use an arcade stick only. If you want the most authentic arcade experience, there is some merit to this, as the tactile feedback of the controller is an essential part of the overall experience with the game. However, keep in mind that there are extremely skilled players using all different kinds of control methods. Prometheus, the Western record holder for the popular shmup DoDonPachi, achieved his records using a keyboard, and strongly favors their precision. Another high level player, GUS, has completed Mushihimesama Futari Ultra (one of the most difficult shmup modes ever made) with the stock XBox 360 controller, a controller widely considered to have a terrible, imprecise directional pad. Don’t feel like you must have an arcade stick in order to be good at shmups. It is far more important to pick a controller that you are comfortable with. The best controller is the one that distracts you the least, so that you can fully focus your attention on learning and playing the game. You will improve much more quickly that way. From the standpoint of simply playing well, arcade sticks, game pads, and keyboards are all equally good, because player skill is ultimately more important to the outcome of the game than the input method. That said, there is no harm in learning how to use an arcade stick or a new controller if you want to, just be prepared for the extra layer of challenge from familiarizing yourself with the new controller on top of learning the game itself.
Section 3 – Being persistent
If you are struggling with a shmup, how do you get better? The main thing is to not freak out when you see a crazy shot pattern, but rather to calmly analyze it and to look for ways to simplify the problem. I will try to cover a few broadly applicable techniques for playing shooting games, as well as a few strategies and guides for practicing them. .
3A – Recognizing shot patterns and how to dodge them
With a few exceptions, there are about 5 different types of shot patterns in shooting games. Learning how to quickly recognize and avoid each pattern will inform your play. Here are the subtypes:
Aimed Bullets: These are by far the most common type of bullet in shmups. An aimed bullet is fired directly from the enemy unit towards your ship’s hitbox. Sometimes it will be a single bullet, sometimes it will be a row of bullets, and sometimes it will be a whole fan of bullets, but however the pattern actually works, the attack is ultimately targeted at your initial location. This means that, by controlling your position on-screen, you control where these bullets go. For single shots, you can often dodge them just by briefly tapping left or right on the directional stick (or up and down if the game scrolls horizontally). For broader waves, you can position yourself near the sides of the screen and bait or “herd” the bullets off screen quickly so that they don’t get in your way later.
Static Bullets: This is probably the second most common shot pattern in shmups. Static patterns are fixed shot patterns that always occur in the same way. In bullet hell games, these are often iconic patterns that flood the entire screen with concentric waves of bullets, rotating laser beams, or the like. The best way to dodge these is to memorize the pattern and position yourself ahead of time – look at the negative space in the pattern and see which areas of the screen are the most open and safer to move around in. Sometimes static patterns will be combined with aimed volleys at the same time. In this case, you will need to find a gap in the static pattern large enough for you to maneuver around the aimed bullets at the same time. Static bullets are a danger because they always shoot at the same places, and you’ll ram right into them if you don’t anticipate their field of fire.
Random Bullets: This is the most difficult bullet type to dodge, because you can’t predict it! Random bullets often take the form of a spray of bullets with a randomly generated direction. The best way to avoid them is to get out of their field of fire entirely. If that’s impossible, then you will need to pay careful attention to your positioning and watch for oncoming bullets. Random bullets become very dangerous if they are moving at high speed!
Aimed-offset Bullets: These are pretty uncommon. They are like aimed bullets, except the initial firing direction is offset from your ship, so that the bullet leads you. It’s very tricky, and if you keep moving, you will often run right into them! You can often avoid these bullets simply by stopping for a moment. Offset bullets become much more dangerous when combined with volleys of regular aimed bullets at the same time. In this case, you will need to carefully manage stopping and starting your movement to avoid both types.
Homing Bullets: Another uncommon shot type. These bullets will home in on your current location and actively chase you around the screen. Usually, these types of bullets are slow. The best way to avoid them is to circle around them and halt their momentum, or to bait them off screen. In rare cases, homing bullets might be very fast, which makes them considerably more dangerous. In this case, you might want to consider bombing or speed killing the enemy that can fire them in order to reduce the danger. Homing bullets are also very difficult to avoid if there are other bullets on screen that restrict your mobility and make sweeping motions dangerous.
That covers all the major bullet types. If you can recognize what type of bullet you are up against, then you can come up with a strategy to counter them more easily. .
3B – Advanced dodging techniques for aimed bullets
Sometimes you will encounter situations (in bullet hell games especially) where enemies will fire a constant stream of aimed bullets at you, so much that they form a line or “wall” that chases you around the screen. If your initial position is bad, the bullets will trap you against the side or corner of the screen. One way to avoid this is by “streaming” the bullets. If you position yourself against one side of the screen and move your way to the other side by slowly tapping the directional buttons, with the bullets barely behind you, you will usually be able to destroy the enemies firing the bullets as you cross the center of the screen, ending the stream of fire before you are trapped. This can also be called “tap dodging” because of the movement technique used. In situations where a stream of bullets is about to trap you, you can also use the “cutback” technique. By rapidly moving upwards on the screen, you can create a wider angle of fire between the last shot the enemy fired and the next. You can then rapidly move back down and escape to the other side of the stream using the gap you just created. This can be very difficult to do consistently, though, making it a technique for advanced players to master!
3C – Where to look on-screen
This is another question that pops up often. “Where should I be looking on screen?” A common mistake new players make is to always look at their hitbox. This is a bad idea, because focusing your view on the small area just outside your ship prevents you from seeing oncoming attacks in time to avoid them, or reacting to changes in your environment. Instead, you should look towards the upper area of the screen whenever possible – specifically at any enemies that are appearing, so that you can quickly determine what kind of bullets they are firing at you and how to avoid them. When you are moving, be sure to look ahead of your ship’s movement path so that you don’t collide with any existing bullets as you move. Try to get an intuitive feel for where your hitbox is, and resist the urge to look directly at your ship unless you have to. Use your peripheral vision to track the position of your ship and avoid bullets by comfortable margins when possible. Only look at your hitbox if you are in a situation that requires very precise control, like maneuvering through a dense pattern of bullets.
3D – Using your resources.
Another common mistake new players make is to hoard their resources excessively. Many shmups give you a stock of “bomb” items to allow you to escape dangerous situations that you didn’t anticipate. At the same time, you almost always lose your stock of bombs when you die. The bombs can save you from a dangerous situation, but they don’t do you any good if you don’t use them in time and die with a full stack of bombs! I recommend placing the bomb button right next to the primary shot button so that you can reach it instantly when needed. Bomb preemptively if you feel that you can’t read a pattern correctly, are feeling overwhelmed, or if you feel like you are going to be boxed in by bullets. They are there to be used! Saving bombs for score is for high scoring runs, not learning the game. As you get more comfortable playing, reduce the use of your bombs only to the most troublesome spots in the game, until finally you won’t need any bombs unless it’s an emergency (or the scoring system uses them).
3E – Other common mistakes of new players.
In addition to dying with bombs in stock and focusing too hard on the hitbox, there are a few other mistakes that new players commonly make. One of them is trying too hard to “thread” a pattern. Many new players see a gap in a static pattern or fan of bullets and try to thread through it. However, this is risky if the gap is too small for the player to fit through, and limits your potential movement options/escape routes. Wherever possible, you should also consider “macro dodging” or moving completely around the bullets entirely, rather than moving through them. High level players have a saying that they only “dodge” (actively move out of the way of) around 10% of bullets, while they simply “avoid” the rest just by passively positioning themselves out of the line of fire. You can avoid a lot of risk just by getting out of the way quickly rather than trying to force through a difficult pattern.
New players frequently make movement errors as well. Avoid moving into the corners. Once you are there, it is much easier for enemies to box you in with aimed bullets. Where possible, start offset from the center and use a “U-shaped” movement pattern to sweep from one half of the screen to the other, leaving yourself more options to escape being trapped. Avoid making too many random movements or dodging bullets by excessively wide margins as well. While playing, remain composed and avoid bullets with tight, controlled movements. Wildly sweeping around without a plan is the quickest way to collide with incoming bullets. Another pitfall to avoid is bad positioning. When learning a game, you should take care not to position yourself too close to the edges of the screen, especially the top edge. Enemies typically enter the play area through the edges of the screen and can collide with you with no warning if you are too close. Only position yourself on an edge after you have played the game a few times and can confidently know that enemies will not emerge from there. In a vertical shooter, the safest position for learning a game is towards the bottom-center of the screen (but not all the way on the bottom edge, sometimes enemies can come from behind as well!)
3F – Practice techniques.
The quickest way to master playing shmups is to pick a game you really like and practice it! By playing a game over and over, you can learn that game’s bullet patterns and memorize how to avoid them. If the game has a practice mode, you may consider playing and learning just one stage at a time. I find it easier to memorize one stage at a time rather than playing the whole game at once. Identify particular patterns or areas that cause you problems and practice them repeatedly until you have a concrete strategy that you can execute every time. If the game does not have a practice mode, consider using emulation and save states to isolate and practice problem areas. By stringing together the sections you have “solved” you will eventually be able to master the whole game! Furthermore, once you have mastered one game, you will develop the transferable skills that will let you succeed at any other shooting games you try.
3G – Making a route.
Routing is the process of putting together the sections of a shmup that you have mastered into a continuous strategy. Think of a route as a kind of outline or plan for how to solve each area. Ideally, you will have a route for the entire game, and you will only deviate from the route and improvise if something unexpected happens. This way, you will be calm while playing and have a plan for whatever the game throws at you, to the point where you do things almost unconsciously. This makes you as prepared as possible to take action when things go wrong (and they will). Developing a route is the product of practice, but you can shortcut this by looking at examples from other players. Go on popular video sites and look up 1 credit clear runs of your favorite game. You will almost always find an example video from a high level player who has already figured out how to complete the game. As a new player, you don’t need to emulate everything that player is doing, (especially since these videos often contain risky scoring techniques) but you can grab general ideas or dodging tricks from videos like this. The knowledge is out there, so learn from it and grow your abilities even faster! .
Section 4 – Finding your shmup
To start with, I recommend checking out a broad variety of cheap or free shooting games on the PC. Each game you play is going to present you with a different flavor of the genre, and many players are very particular about the features that they enjoy. Some players really love dense bullet hell patterns, some love games with dynamic rank and deep scoring systems, and still others prefer a sense of nostalgic exploration and wonder. You will want to experiment for a bit to find “your shmup”, a game that strongly appeals to you and that you will be motivated to develop your skills with. If you try a few games and find that you are completely addicted to shmups, then you can start to think about getting into the more obscure games and hardware.
Now this is info available for all of you who mgiht be starting out in the journey of shmups, if you're like me, maybe you're better with visual stuff than reading like we all had to do when we started out more than a decade ago. In the 2000s we had to search throguh tons of threads in forums just to find answers that might had been incorrect. To this day, the legacy of said forums is still alive and it lives throguh this server and other. I'm a firm believer in learning by doing, so I'll add 2 games that I absolutely recommend to any beginner: . (edited)
Beginner Games to get you started: Barrage Musical ~ Basic Danmaku Tutorial (it DOES HAVE English support from the main menu!)
Barrage simulation 296 (Freeware title, No translation, Japanese only, still a perfect step 2)
GLOSSARY for SHMUPS!
You might perhaps come across the forums we used to live on (and many here still do!) and/or started conversations with people who mention words you mgiht not know. Words such as "streaming","cutbacks", "tap dodging", "jerking", "safe spots", etc.
When a community has been going for 40 years, its easy to take this dialect for granted, but fear not humble beginners, we have glossaries to check those definitions which I'll link right now.
Shmups Forum (System11/ "The Farm") Glossary
Shmups.wiki (the best resource for detailed info about shmups online! Worked on by fellow shmuppers)
Sega-16 (Arcade Enthusiast forum)
If you have recently started your journey as a shmup pilot, then you might have realized that Shmups are usually a LOT more complex than one would initially think and that the most popular arcade shooters (Shoot 'em ups/SHMUPS/STG games) usually have a deep layer of depth to them that are not initially noticeable. It's easy to fall into the Dunnin Kroeger effect and thinking you know everything in a game, but then you see a superplay and realize you know nothing about the game you're playing.
This is NORMAL! Don't fret and don't stay in the "Valley of Despair", that's why we're here, to help each other out and enjoy this hobby that we all appreciate. If you feel uncomfortable or you need deep mechanics explained to you then you can check the Shmups.wiki Project! It's being mantained by the members of this community and we're happy to welcome help from anyone who is interested.
https://shmups.wiki/library/Main_Page
You can check the "List of shooting games" Tab to see what games have had updates and have a pretty lenghty list However, we are aware that the wiki project will take some time and its still a WIP, so in case you can't find the game you're looking for there you can check the "Shmups Farm" which contains info and discussions for everything you might need regarding shmups. From info on developers, arcade knowledge, emulation, correct emulation settings (more on this later), game availability, game buying guides, score mechanics conversations, and many other things. If you are young (and chances are you might be considering the influx of new people) then this forum might be older than yourself, but the knowledge is as good as ever in most cases.
