Stahlfeder and Airgrave (PS1)

[gordon]

Thanks to the excellent Mr Ikobo, I've pretty much collected all the HuCard shoot 'em ups I'm ever going to play, but I'm now getting a nagging itch for PSX shooters. This is probably going to lead to collecting a few of the less well known ones - including the two in the title (both by the same company IIRC). I have all the usual suspects already, but these two look decent on Youtube.

Has anyone played either of them? Are they worth seeking out?

[moonwhistle]

I had them both some time back. I think they're both pretty bad. I hated the ugly jagged polygons, 4:3 screen ratio and dull gameplay. Might be worth a shot if you can find them very cheap otherwise I'd say they're best avoided.

[gordon]

Cheers - I think I'll steer clear for now, then. I'll apply my under-£10-and-I'll-buy-them rule.

[meppi]

Got Airgrave several years ago and barely played it since, not a good shmup at all I'm afraid. I wouldn't even call it mediocre.

There are much better shooters to be found on the PSone, not all of the true classics but very enjoyable nonetheless.
Bokandesuyo comes to mind, which I really like. It's a bit like The Game Paradise.
Kyuiin is a great one as well, with not so good graphics, and I have a soft spot for Gaia Seed although it might not be for everyone.
Night Raid can be fun as well, again not a game for everyone.

Gradius Gaiden, Cotton Original, Zanac X Zanac, Toaplan Shooting Battle Vol.1 (doesn't play on PS2), Raiden DX and Project, Xevious 3DG+, Harmful Park and the Donpachi's all are top notch in my book though.

[gordon]

Ta. I have all the ones in your final paragraph (+Night Raid), but have been looking for a cheap Kyuin or Bokandesuyo without much joy on eBay. Glad to hear they're recommended, though - I'll keep searching.

Gaia Seed - now you're talking. If I can find it for under £50...

[meppi]

Be warned that Gaia Seed wouldn't look out of place on the Super Famicom though.
It has this Phalanx vibe to it in the way ships and bullets look and feel.
I really love it even though I can't put my finger on what makes it so special to me personally.

As for a couple games in other genres that I would recommend, even though you probably have a couple of these already.

Captain Commando, Ore No Ryouri (must have, one of my favourite games ever! ), Umihara Kawase Shun (same ), Chippoke Ralph (well known by now).

Fuun Goku Ninden: platformer in the style of SonSon 2 with the same setting and characters, although not as good as that one.

Money Idol Exchanger, same game as Money Puzzle Exchanger which borrows lots from Magical Drop but ads the money count system to the gameplay.
Very addictive!

[MisterBubbles]

I dont have the PSX game, but it did download gaia seed off the japanese PSN and can say it's a pretty awesome game, was 600 yen , so 3 quid odds bargain.
Also enjoyed Philosoma. Gordon check out the japanese PSN if you have a PS3 just too see what you can collect.

[gordon]

@MisterBubbles: Will do - I have Philosoma, but that seems like a good, cheap way to enjoy Gaia Seed.

@meppi: Yep, I have all of those apart from Money Puzzle Exchanger, which looks like my kind of thing. I love Magical Drop, it's one of my favourite arcade-style puzzle games...

[MisterBubbles]

yes gaia seed is 120 quid on most sites, so if you find it for 50 give me a shout LOL, seen some mint copies go for 200 odds, its a pretty rare game.
I know it's not the same as owning the actual disc, but i guess its how much you want it?

[Baseley09]

Nothing too wrong with Stahlfeder imo, perhaps it gets a bit monotonous, but its certainly a fair bit ebtter than the scathing Gamefan review.

[dvdx2]

Thanks to the excellent Mr Ikobo, I've pretty much collected all the HuCard shoot 'em ups I'm ever going to play, but I'm now getting a nagging itch for PSX shooters. This is probably going to lead to collecting a few of the less well known ones - including the two in the title (both by the same company IIRC). I have all the usual suspects already, but these two look decent on Youtube.

Has anyone played either of them? Are they worth seeking out?

Stahlfeder is ok- far too easy and abit bland. It does have a great soundtrack though

Ps1 shooters to get? Raystom/Raycrisis, einhander, zanac vs zanac, TFV are great

Gaia seed is fairly average and again way too easy

[gordon]

What's a good price for Thunderforce V these days? Can you get it for under £20?

And "way too easy" is the kind of shooter I like.

[moonwhistle]

What's a good price for Thunderforce V these days? Can you get it for under ?20?

And "way too easy" is the kind of shooter I like.

You might be able to get the US version for around ?20. The Saturn one generally goes for alot more. I think it's a pretty ugly game to be honest. I much prefer parts 2, 3 and 4.

[JazzFunk]

^I remember getting a Jap PS1 TFV for £5 from CEX, about eight years back. It's not that great a game, and doesn't half look rough (and if it looked rough eight years ago, I can't imagine what it'd look like now).

Still, I remember it being alright, not as good as the MD games, but playable, but an abomination when put against other PS1 2.5D shooters like R-Type Delta.

[meppi]

I don't have the PSone version of Thunderforce V, but I do have the Saturn one and I love it.
But I've always heard that the PSone port is nowhere near as good even though it has a few extra's.
It would be a good buy if you can't get the Saturn one, but I wouldn't pick the PSone port over the original as it might not give you the impression the game deserves.