Stopped buying retro games some time ago but I want just one more Shmup...

[Max P.]

Please help me decide.

Narrowed it down to:

Ikaruga?
RSG?
Battle Garegga?

If it helps my favourites are: R-Type, Tiger-Heli, Side Arms, Layer Section and Soukyugurentai (#1).

Oh, and I really did not enjoy Dodonpachi or Strikers 1945...

Seen many people slate the "too much thinking" aspect of RSG to make me nervous of splashing out...

PS - do they all have TATE mode?

[Pilotwings]

Wouldn't advise RSG either its way to complex with all the weapons,chains,price etc.

Ikarugas just reeks brilliance for me. Ok its lethal hard to begin with but once you get in to it its worth it.

But since you like Souky then i would probably advice you get Garrega.

[gordon]

Ikaruga: short, brilliant, tough-as-nails, pattern-learning essential
RSG: epic, hard (but not as hard as Ikaruga), but expensive.
Battle Garegga: the one I'd buy last. Ace, but not genius.

Up to you, really. I'd go for Ikaruga every time. And then Gradius V. And then RSG.

[mezzanine]

Just play Battle Garegga in MAME if you want to avoid buying older games.

[NeoStuey]

Battle Garegga gets my vote.

[DarkSavior]

Id go radiant every time - far better than Ikaruga IMO and although it has complex chains, etc you can finish it without em, just lose a LOT of lives RSG just feels beyond every other shooter to me (well I haven't played them all and is in a different class to the other two you listed.

[Max P.]

Just play Battle Garegga in MAME if you want to avoid buying older games.

Heard of Mame but not for me. I like real consoles, in nice shiny boxes with real Hu-card, carts and CD's thanks very much!

[^Katsu]

Battle Garegga gets my vote.

They are all fantastic shooters, I sold my RSG.... Great game but very slow paced, fits an awful lot in though

Ikaruga is great but if you have a 360 you can download it soon hopefully, more puzzle than straight up shooter, but oozing with quality.

But Battle Garegga I have played through & through for many many years and is the only reason my Saturn is still here... It just does it for me really? I even got Battle Bakraid for more Raizing'ness but it pales in comparison, Souky is also one of my faves just sold the STV vers still got the PS1 & SS versions.
If you ever get a supergun I would advise Armed Police Batrider as that is the only shooter in the same Raizing style / league and Dimahoo is worth a blast, steer clear of Brave Blade as its probably not your cup of tea & slllllllooooooooow

Never used Mame myself so cant comment

[Kubrick]

Since you did not like Strikers 1945, I'd suggest either of the Treasure games over Garegga.

Ikaruga is TATE, Radiant isn't since it's a "normal" 4:3 game.

[rmoxon]

Id say Ikaruga just becuase its a masterpeice... you could at least try the other two on mame first if that would help as well though.

Radiant Silvergun is alot harder than Ikaruga in my opinion, at least Ikaruga starts out fairly easy.

[mezzanine]

I like real consoles, in nice shiny boxes with real Hu-card, carts and CD's thanks very much!

If you don't have a modded (real) XBOX either then you don't have much choice I suppose. Garegga on the Saturn is pretty much tate only btw, I never play my original because I don't have a tv suitable for putting on it's side.

[rmoxon]

Its also worth pointing out though that if you have a 360 Ikaruga will be on live soon.

You wont get a shiny box for it though of course.

[Max P.]

Thanks for all the opinions. No 360 - retro only here, newest console I have is a DC bought on launch day. Modern games, or the idea of playing old games on emulation leaves me dead. Sorry.

[S3M]

Radiant Slivergun is the king when it comes to shooters.

If you loved Soukyugurentai then you will like RSG. Only RSG is much bigger and more prettier. The same composer also did the music for both games as well. Everything about RSG is just pure class. The Saturn version also has tons of extra's not in the acrade version, including a couple more levels.

Battle Garegga is great but not as good as RSG.

Ikaruga is good but it is insanely hard and has a very bland graphical look, it's also very short. It certainly didn't deserve the dev name of RSG2.

[Atticus]

Battle Garegga is, IMO, the greatest 'no frills' shooters out there. If you want extra layers of strategy, it's tough to choose between Ikaruga & Silvergun. Despite the difficulty, both can be played on different levels (straight up shooting or strategic chaining) to varying degrees of success.

Personally I'm not a fan of overly complicated shooters, but I get enough enjoyment from Ikaruga and Silvergun for it not to matter (though I've finished neither ).

Souky & Garegga are quite different so getting Garegga on the strength of Souky might be a bit of a gamble.

If I could only own one I'd go for Radiant Silvergun, just for the sheer spectacle of it. It pulls off every graphical trick in the book, has an epic soundtrack, the bosses are distinctive and loads of fun to fight, and everything about it just adds up to create one of the greatest showcases for any console ever.