I rarely beat the first stage no matter what game I play

Practice, practice, practice

Find a shmup you really like and play it into the ground, preferably an easier one like Super Aleste or Blazing Star

>>11889391 (OP)
Play Compile games, they are made so the first stage is very beatable, enough to hook you instead of just making you say "well fuck you too, game".

>>11889391 (OP)
you go to an arcade where you like the atmosphere and you hang out, the game in that scenario is like playing pool or darts, it's an activity to occupy yourself while you enjoy being out of the house. giting gud is a bonus.

>>11889493
I have definitely never seen a gradius machine out in the wild, at least not in this century

>>11889391 (OP)
play them on MAME. set game speed to 75% to give you extra reaction time, then gradually increase speed once your happy.

>>11889410
Wholehartedly recommend blazing star. Start with with dino ship with the full r-type kit of pods and bits, move on to windina after, then one of the pro ships. I think anyone can enjoy blazing star.

>>11889929
i think this is what kids call "based retard" these days. ie true but rly outlandish

I've been playing Truxton on MAME for a while, drives me crazy. I'm not really a dedicated shmupper but I enjoy the earlier stages then it just kicks my butt with the enemies just soaking up hits. And anyone know the best way to use bombs in that game? Are you screwed if you waste them getting out of jail?

just try to reduce the amount of bombs and identify patterns

>>11889391 (OP)
The biggest trick there is, is don't look at where the bullets are on the screen. Look at where they aren't, and just worry about staying in those spots. Don't look at where you're shooting, just keep shooting. Also only use bombs defensively, since they usually wipe out the screen.

Anyway, last thread we were talking about controllers a bunch and this new one dropped and is making waves. I might pick one up

>>11890212
Damn those look sleek. Are those Saturn replicas?

>>11890215
Well I mean like inspired by Saturn, I guess obviously they are not since they have twin sticks

>>11890215
mostly, they just have 4 button nintendo face buttons instead of the 6 button sega layout

>>11889410
>>11889465
>Super Aleste
This. Compile shmups are great for casual play. Lower difficulty and, more importantly, flexible, less punishing health systems.

>>11890218
They look really cool. What systems are they compatible w? I guess I could just look it up

>>11890218
What is the name? I’m an idiot who doesn’t know how to use google reverse image search

>>11890229

>>11889391 (OP)
>I rarely beat the first stage no matter what game I play
I've been playing these games since the 80s and have never 1cc'd a single one. I think the fun is in trying to beat your own high score, if you end up surviving for a long time that's incidental.

Pick easy games to start out with.
As a rule of thumb, cute-em-ups are usually easier than other shootemups.

Specific recommendations:
- Star Parodier (Turbografx16, vertical)
- Flying Hero (SNES, japan only, vertical)
- Coryoon (Turbografx 16, horizontal)
- Steel Empire (Genesis, horizontal)

Do a quick checkup on your input lag and try to shave off the easy gains.

Practice, yes, but more specifically, you'll have to memorise many of these games.
Shmups are similar to percision platformers in this way.
The games I recommended are more forgiving and will give you an easy entry.

picrel is star parodier btw

>>11890242
Ty

>>11889493
Aren't American gradiua machines rigged?

I love this box art

>>11890242
Damn I may look at these if they are in stock around Nov and see if I could snag one for a discount since I’m in no hurry but these things look pretty pretty guud

>>11890212
>controller
The dpad placement is too left/high. The saturn pad, for example, allows your thumb to sit at a comfortable 45 degree angle, this makes it ergonomic to move in all directions. The dpad of the controller pictured, bias the right side and make its harder to press left. Over time this makes your response time slower and creates unbalanced thumb fatigue.

The biased placement of the dpad is to accommodate the analog stick which is inferior than a dpad to play shmups. So all in all the layout of this controller pictured is the worst of all worlds.

You lose, lose, lose, and lose, until maybe the 12th time where you begin to realize you're actually too retarded for this genre. Then you play something else.

>>11889391 (OP)
Short answer: just play more.

Long answer: do a web search for "shmup beginners list".

Personally, I would pick a shmup based on what seems cool, rather than what seems easy to beat. Part of the fun of the genre is the grind, and it's more enjoyable to grind a game you think is cool. If you're not into grinding then play a different genre, in my opinion.

>>11889391 (OP)
snort some good cocaine and play Aleste; stop bitching about how to be better but improve practicing.

>>11892067
>snort some good cocaine

Well, now this board makes 50% more sense.

Oh, Gate of Thunder was basically created for newbies. You can try that as an entry game!

>>11892017
This.
Although the genre is extremely difficult, people rarely play those games for extended periods of time like they do with other genres.

>>11889465
Compile honestly sucks and I have never been impressed by any of their games. I have no idea how they are so well regarded, everything they make feels extremely awkward and like shit.

>>11889391 (OP)
My problem is I can't see all the bullets. I was trying one the other night and the boss was firing pink shots and then after a bit start shooting green and I just can't keep track of both colors. All of a sudden I'd get hit and have no idea the screen had been coated with green bullets.
I just can't get good at shmups. Very frustrating because there's a lot of top notch sprite work in these games AND sick music.

>>11892213
Are you looking at your ship? Don't do that. Look more towards the middle of the screen between your ship and the incoming bullets and dodge with your peripheral vision. Also what this guy said: >>11890212
The only time you need to glance at your ship is during really dense patterns but as a beginner your focus should be on macro dodging, i.e. staying in the open spots of the screen.

TLDR you lack screen awareness.

This is a good read if you're trying to get into the genre, I think I'll eventually sit down one day and update it cuz when it was written they didn't have shit on Steam but now everything recommended is available and you don't have to hunt for rare games anymore

https://vsrecommendedgames.miraheze.org/wiki/Shmups_101

>>11889391 (OP)
When you lose all your lives, start over from the very beginning. Keep doing this until you get to a new area.

>>11890215
No. It's a PS1/2 replica shaped like a saturn pad. Why? I have no idea. Pretty pointless to make this without a 6 button layout.