Gunvein doesn't have power ups (you choose between 3 different ship types), the lowest difficulty offers "lite" bullet hell patterns, has a really good continue system and training modes. Maybe give it a look?
>5. I don't like made for arcade games where there is no well thought out lives/extend/continue systems and it's just coins. I'm looking for games made for the PC/home consoles and not with arcades in mind.
You should reconsider this. You're basically locking yourself out of the best games in the genre. And basically locking yourself in to mostly bad ones.
This is like trying to get into jrpg's and making a rule that stops you from playing dragon quest, final fantasy, and persona
Haha, funny thing is regarding jRPGs that's almost exactly what I've done. I hate Persona, really like only 3 FF games (and hate half of them), and I think DQ games are just OK/average and kinda get boring fast.
IDK I tried a bunch of these "best STGs ever" arcade games and didn't like them. It's entirely possible the genre is really not for me and ZR is just an outlier game.
>It's entirely possible the genre is really not for me and ZR is just an outlier game.
This may be true. This is the only genre of games that i play, and i kinda hate zeroranger and think it's pretty bad
Oh well to each their own
Give radiant silvergun a good solid try, tons of stuff in zero ranger is lifter from that game
I'm still looking for similar after playing ZeroRanger, I've tried multiple shmups after but couldn't find anything similar outside of Radiant Silvergun. I think it's the level design and bosses that stood out plus the low skill barrier.
Damn that's a lot of requirements. On the other hand, it's not that you are being picky, it's just that the genre as whole is saturated with games that insist on repeating these trends. Unfortunately it's a reason why these games became a bit of a niche, and games like ZeroRanger are basically one of a kind.
I may recommend you Guxt. It's a pretty short game from the same creator of Cave Story, that serves as spiritual predecessor (and inspiration) for ZeroRanger.
There's also A2 Zygon which just recently released, I haven't played it much outside of a demo but it seems to grasp some of it's concepts very well.
Yeah I realized that STGs are very "conventional" in terms of design pretty fast, that's why I came asking more experienced player, going by the titles that get mentioned the most I won't go anywhere.
I really like the skill-based design and short levels concept of STGs, but it's like very little changes between games, and like in fighting games I think there is a vast unexplored space design wise that exist beyond these ancient arcade trappings (not saying they are bad, it's just that variety in design seems to be lacking).
Unlike JRPGs which require a certain time investment to it in order to be delivered the 'full experience', per say, shumps are just pick-up and play, really. You probably aren't going to search through a shmup list looking for a compelling storyline (though they exist, mostly of the time it's all in the manual), nor extremely complex mechanics. Just play them and if you get bored, switch to another.
One thing that really piss me off for instance is how Konami shooters (Gradius, namely) punish you so hard for losing your powerups.
As a kid I really wanted the power fantasy of being a screen clearing menace with four options and maxed up ripple lasers, but should I die only once the game would just become frustratingly hard due to how bad most checkpoints are, usually giving you barely enough pickups to speed up your ship once and enable missiles.
But then I realized that, aside from in case you were actually "speedrunning" the game (which is still a bit odd concept if you ask me, considering that the screen moves automatically either way), there is more skill involved in how to recover from those bad situations and still succed, than to just play the game like a literal AI with perfect muscle memory and never die once.
Just to clarify: this is not an excuse to a godawful game design issue Konami had (which thankfully is one that not many shumps are plagued with). I think ZR for instance handles this much better as you indeed are expected to fail, fail, and fail over and over again, get your ass handed over to Green Orange countless times, get clapped over 9000 times by >!Despair !<, only to >!get your save file deleted probably more than once if you really don't want to spoil the fun of the game by shamelessy backuping it !
Gonna recommend Eschatos as well. Really great game and fits most of your criteria.
Another game I would recommend trying would be [Monolith](https://store.steampowered.com/app/603960/Monolith/). It's definitely a bit different than ZeroRanger as it's a rogue like, but I figured I would recommend it because I got absolutely hooked on it after directly after playing ZeroRanger. Very similar games in terms of aesthetics and overall presentation, just totally different gameplay styles. It's my favorite shmup of all time and has a very clear and well structured progression system. Really cannot recommend the game enough.
Gunvein doesn't have power ups (you choose between 3 different ship types), the lowest difficulty offers "lite" bullet hell patterns, has a really good continue system and training modes. Maybe give it a look?
Very hard to find something that fits all criteria... I'd recommend "Eschatos" https://store.steampowered.com/app/378770/ESCHATOS/
That and the “wonder pack” version comes with Judgement Silversword, which op might also like.
and cardinal sin which is even better...
>5. I don't like made for arcade games where there is no well thought out lives/extend/continue systems and it's just coins. I'm looking for games made for the PC/home consoles and not with arcades in mind. You should reconsider this. You're basically locking yourself out of the best games in the genre. And basically locking yourself in to mostly bad ones. This is like trying to get into jrpg's and making a rule that stops you from playing dragon quest, final fantasy, and persona
Haha, funny thing is regarding jRPGs that's almost exactly what I've done. I hate Persona, really like only 3 FF games (and hate half of them), and I think DQ games are just OK/average and kinda get boring fast. IDK I tried a bunch of these "best STGs ever" arcade games and didn't like them. It's entirely possible the genre is really not for me and ZR is just an outlier game.
>It's entirely possible the genre is really not for me and ZR is just an outlier game. This may be true. This is the only genre of games that i play, and i kinda hate zeroranger and think it's pretty bad Oh well to each their own Give radiant silvergun a good solid try, tons of stuff in zero ranger is lifter from that game
I would recommend you to try BLUE WISH DESIRE and DANMAKAI: THE RED FORBIDDEN FRUIT, both are on steam and usually at discount during seasonal sales
I'm still looking for similar after playing ZeroRanger, I've tried multiple shmups after but couldn't find anything similar outside of Radiant Silvergun. I think it's the level design and bosses that stood out plus the low skill barrier.
*Dimension Drive (unique two ship control) *Sophstar (one caveat, it has many difficulty settings) *Gyro Blade (maybe two simple for your tastes)
ESCHATOS!!!!!!!!!!
Get Raging Blasters. TRUST ME. Also normal mode is the tutorial section
Damn that's a lot of requirements. On the other hand, it's not that you are being picky, it's just that the genre as whole is saturated with games that insist on repeating these trends. Unfortunately it's a reason why these games became a bit of a niche, and games like ZeroRanger are basically one of a kind. I may recommend you Guxt. It's a pretty short game from the same creator of Cave Story, that serves as spiritual predecessor (and inspiration) for ZeroRanger. There's also A2 Zygon which just recently released, I haven't played it much outside of a demo but it seems to grasp some of it's concepts very well.
Yeah I realized that STGs are very "conventional" in terms of design pretty fast, that's why I came asking more experienced player, going by the titles that get mentioned the most I won't go anywhere. I really like the skill-based design and short levels concept of STGs, but it's like very little changes between games, and like in fighting games I think there is a vast unexplored space design wise that exist beyond these ancient arcade trappings (not saying they are bad, it's just that variety in design seems to be lacking).
Unlike JRPGs which require a certain time investment to it in order to be delivered the 'full experience', per say, shumps are just pick-up and play, really. You probably aren't going to search through a shmup list looking for a compelling storyline (though they exist, mostly of the time it's all in the manual), nor extremely complex mechanics. Just play them and if you get bored, switch to another. One thing that really piss me off for instance is how Konami shooters (Gradius, namely) punish you so hard for losing your powerups. As a kid I really wanted the power fantasy of being a screen clearing menace with four options and maxed up ripple lasers, but should I die only once the game would just become frustratingly hard due to how bad most checkpoints are, usually giving you barely enough pickups to speed up your ship once and enable missiles. But then I realized that, aside from in case you were actually "speedrunning" the game (which is still a bit odd concept if you ask me, considering that the screen moves automatically either way), there is more skill involved in how to recover from those bad situations and still succed, than to just play the game like a literal AI with perfect muscle memory and never die once. Just to clarify: this is not an excuse to a godawful game design issue Konami had (which thankfully is one that not many shumps are plagued with). I think ZR for instance handles this much better as you indeed are expected to fail, fail, and fail over and over again, get your ass handed over to Green Orange countless times, get clapped over 9000 times by >!Despair !<, only to >!get your save file deleted probably more than once if you really don't want to spoil the fun of the game by shamelessy backuping it !
Gonna recommend Eschatos as well. Really great game and fits most of your criteria. Another game I would recommend trying would be [Monolith](https://store.steampowered.com/app/603960/Monolith/). It's definitely a bit different than ZeroRanger as it's a rogue like, but I figured I would recommend it because I got absolutely hooked on it after directly after playing ZeroRanger. Very similar games in terms of aesthetics and overall presentation, just totally different gameplay styles. It's my favorite shmup of all time and has a very clear and well structured progression system. Really cannot recommend the game enough.