Retro Arena: SNES Shoot 'em ups

[Leon Retro]

GRADIUS III - KONAMI - 1991

U.N. SQUADRON - CAPCOM - 1991

SUPER R-TYPE - IREM - 1991

SUPER ALESTE - TOHO - 1992

AXELAY - KONAMI - 1992

PARODIUS - KONAMI - 1992

R-TYPE III - IREM - 1993

POP'N TWINBEE - KONAMI - 1993

Here we have eight well known shoot 'em ups for the SNES. Which one do you like the most?

[DeathAdder]

Parodius!

Love the series, well, apart from the original which hasn't aged well.

Generally I prefer horizontal shooters to vertical ones. The exception to that is Zarlor Mercenary.

[CMcK]

Out of that lot it has to be R-Type III. Probably the best hori on the system. Being an exclusive to the system clearly helped as it suffers from far less slowdown than other SFC shooters and was designed with the consoles strengths in mind. Although I could live with out the mode 7 nonsense.
Shame it's so expensive for an original cart these days. My repro, courtesy of Yakumo, will suffice.

[Colin]

For me I'd go for Parodius, brilliant game. I will never, ever understand the love for Axelay though, I genuinely can't stand it. And like a fool I keep going back to it thinking I must be missing something as so many people rave about it, and every time I'm left thinking it's a load of old ****e.

[dataDave]

I'm not sure, probably U.N. Squadron. I'm craving to play R-Type III, but I need to wait for an SD2SNES whenever I'm allowed to buy one.

[S3M]

I pick POP'N TWINBEE as it's a SNES exclusive game with a great sense of humour and wonderful art style. Not a fan of the arcade ports included in this list as the arcade versions always blow the SNES home ports out of the water.

[importaku]

Seeing as Macross isn't on that list it will have to be R-type III instead, plays wonderfully and has a lot of cool set pieces as i never got to play it back in the day i was suprised how good it holds up in 2018 no nostalgia to cloud my judgement. Also love parodius but i have rinsed the first game so many times that it lacks the wow that it used to have when i first played it but it's still indeed a classic, the mix of classical music & weird bosses is still fun as ever.

Shame Konami let all their best franchises die, a new parodius game would be so good using newer tech.

[Nico87]

Probably Cotton 100%

[_SD_]

Of course it’s the super happy joy fest that is Pop n’ Twinbee....

[chojin]

Parodius for me, I'm with Colin when it comes to Axelay, in fact I feel that way about U.N. Squadron too, of course I own both games though

[Leon Retro]

Parodius!

Love the series, well, apart from the original which hasn't aged well.

Yeah, the original MSX game isn't great, but all the other games in the series are something special. Easily one of my favourite series' of games.

mind. Although I could live with out the mode 7 nonsense.

Yeah, I don't like that aspect of the game.But the fact that it's designed for the SNES is definitely a good point overall.

I will never, ever understand the love for Axelay though,

Great music. Beautiful graphic design. Smooth gameplay. Lots of creative flair. It's easy to see why people have always raved about it. I even have an Axelay framed poster.

I pick POP'N TWINBEE as it's a SNES exclusive game with a great sense of humour and wonderful art style.

Yeah, wonderful art and music. It's another magical gem from Konami that shows of the SNES hardware.

Not a fan of the arcade ports included in this list as the arcade versions always blow the SNES home ports out of the water.

I'd say the SNES verson of UN Squadron is better than the arcade original.

Shame Konami let all their best franchises die, a new parodius game would be so good using newer tech.

It would be interesting to see what a developer could do with a Parodius game these days. They could really go to town with the graphics and effects to deliver something really crazy.

Probably Cotton 100%

Well I did say "well known games", but if you live in Japan, maybe Cotton 100% is held in high regard? I haven't seen it mentioned much, even by people who imported games.

[Gradius]

I do like Axelay but I think it’s the music that really does it for me more than the game. I love the Parodius series but the bloody bells just wind me up. I’ve played Gradius III loads and I prefer it to the arcade version.

I think I’d have to chose R Type III though, great game.

[Leon Retro]

I do like Axelay but I think it’s the music that really does it for me more than the game.

Yeah, the music tracks are brilliant. I think every component of the game blends together perfectly to create a truly satisfying experience.

but the bloody bells just wind me up.

I just think they're a funny feature designed to help keep the game interesting.