TOP 5 HARDEST Shoot Em Ups on the Sega Saturn

Welcome to my BRUTAL SHMUPS series, this week with my Top 5 Hardest Shoot Em Ups on the Sega Saturn. Every episode I will cover a new console focusing on the hardest, most brutal Top 5 shmups on the system. The Sega Saturn was the king of shooters during the 32bit era with almost 60 shmups released for the system. In Japan it was a gaming console for shoot em up and fighting game enthusiasts with near arcade perfect ports of some incredible games like Batsugun, Battle Garegga, and DoDonpachi - some of the hardest shooters of the time. Companies like Psikyo and Raizing released some incredible ports and Cave was no slouch in delivering a great port of their bullet hell masterpiece. And these are my Top 5 picks for the hardest shooters of them all on the Sega Saturn. Do you agree? Or which shmups would you pick instead? Let me know in the comments!
If you're a big fan of Sega in general I highly recommend checking out one of my favorite gaming channels - Sega Lord X as well.
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Games featured in this video
Battle Garegga
DoDonpachi
Radiant Silvergun
Soukyugurentai
Strikers 1945 II
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[@sigmapath1935]

"I just want a quick hit of that crack pipe a couple times a day." Great line.

[@MegatechBody]

Absolutely criminal that Souky still isn’t as celebrated as it should be. It easily deserves a space among the greats. It’s such a well paced experience that equally rewards memorization, skill, and rank abuse. Great show. I loved your telling of your journey through each title. Can’t wait to dig through your previous content.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Megatech Body Fully agree it’s my top 3 fav game to play on the Saturn. It’s well known in the correct circles at least. I think most Shmup fans see it as one of the best on the system. That says a lot in the company of Garegga and DDP. It’s just not quite as brutal but then what is 😂. But yes whenever someone asks me first Shmup to get on the Saturn that’s still not crazy money and I always say Souky or Layer Section if they are newer to shooters.

[@MRrZero]

8:43 LMAO. These metaphors are killing me.

[@ShmupJunkie]

😅 I don’t know where I randomly came up with that one 💦

[@ezeepeezy]

Incredible games, brother, you're driving my desire to own a Saturn higher and higher!

[@ShmupJunkie]

EZ Peezy Saturn had an amazing library of shooters. And the console is pretty cheap to get. The problem was many games are crazy money. But now that the MODE came out you can load and play! Been waiting forever for a good flash drive for the Saturn.

[@Renegaiden_]

Dude these videos are A-1 quality content. The commentary, the footage, the sound of enjoyment you have from making the content, the time and care put into everthing here. I will always come back for more. Thank you!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Renegaiden Thanks so much for the awesome feedback. My goal was always to share my passion for this genre and older games with everyone. You’re right I have been enjoying myself with these. Sometimes a bit too much 😅. But it’s this kind of feedback that keeps me looking forward to making more to share. I’ll keep it up long as I’m able.

[@retrothundr]

“The way you get the game back to a manageable level....you die.” Great video!

[@ShmupJunkie]

RetroThunderGaming Pretty much! The rank system is really unusual and adds a lot of unorthodox strategy for a shooter. Having to never power up too much and suicide at key moments to keep the game in check.

[@Supa.Nintendope]

I’m here for this glorious quality content. 😁

[@ShmupJunkie]

And I appreciate you being here 😎 thanks dude 💪

[@pl0y]

same tho

[@charlibiris]

I’m here to fart and listen

[@Jac2Mac]

One thing to note about Dodonpachi is that you HAVE to beat all the stages without ever losing a life, or you won't be able to go to the second loop and will get a bad ending instead.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Yeah and the second loop is waaay beyond my pay grade haha. At least not without insane amounts of grinding and practice. One day I may at least get the proper 1cc on it as the first loop is definitely doable if I put the time in. But for now bad ending is all I get 🤣

[@wargameboy72]

That's the perfect description of Radiant Silvergun. A brilliantly executed slog!!!!! I like Radiant Silvergun quite a bit, but the game is to long! Your Not fighting difficulty, your fighting boredom!!! A battle of attrition!!! But back then that's what people wanted, JRPG's that lasted hundreds of hours. Padding run time was a sign of quality. Thank God we know better now. Anyway, great video, Bro....

[@ShmupJunkie]

One of the lessons I’ve learned about RSG since making the video long ago is that playing it correctly does make the game a lot less of a slog. I didn’t do a great job powering up my weapons early game so it took way too long to kill bosses. Don’t get me wrong the game is still super long, but once I forced myself to play the way Treasure intended, the bosses became much more reasonable and killable quickly. That helped a lot for what it’s worth. Not focusing on chaining and not powering up was a death sentence. It made an already long game too long by dragging out boss encounters. It was partially my lack of skill and playing correctly.

[@OMGmyFACE]

11:17 Instantly got my ears perked up! Hitoshi Sakimoto soundtracks are the absolute best!

[@fernfernacelli]

TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Start 0:30 Battle Garegga 5:31 DoDonpachi 10:58 Radiant Silvergun 15:50 Soukyugurentai 20:43 Strikers 1945 II 26:17 Mention of Image Fight 27:38 Conclusion 27:26 End I'm a huge fan of your videos; I come back to them as a reference for when I'm catching up on any shmups I may have missed. I'd been a shmup fan since my very first; Space Invaders on the Atari 2600, and then Zanac for the NES. Thank you for all of this awesome shmup content... cheers! \m/, (*o*) ,\m/

[@hexagonsun33]

i wouldn't call myself a serious shmup player, but i do enjoy them sporadically. great to see you covering the whole brutal spectrum. LOVING THE VIDEOS!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Compared to many, even I wouldn't be considered a serious player 😅... well in terms of scoring and achievements etc. I just play them a lot for fun and have been forever. Enjoying them casually is my favorite thing to do so you're in good company. I do plan on doing some videos focusing on entry level games vs just the brutal ones.

[@krathoon2338]

I finally found my old copy of Deathsmiles for the XBOX 360. That was a pleasant surprise.

[@daedelous7094]

Hopefully sometime we'll see releases of these games on Steam, Dodonpachi Resurrection is already out but I'd love Radiant Silvergun HD to come out there (rather than being trapped in XBLA) and Battle Garegga too. Funny thing is, Dodonpachi looks TAME compared to it's sequels, ESPECIALLY Daioujou.

[@opaljk4835]

Finally bought a Saturn and an ODE and I’m getting every god damn shmup for that lil bastard

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

I would have nominated Deta na! Twinbee. I don't even think the second loop is humanly possible

[@ShmupJunkie]

Right on the money. That’s one of the hardest shmups ever made for the arcade version. I tried to avoid direct arcade ports as then I’d have Gradius 3 on here too. So I’m saving them for a top 5 hardest arcade special!

[@ThoughtformsOfTheSubconsciousM]

Awesome video!! The Saturn is my favorite system ever, bar none. The STG collection on there is unrivaled. Would love to see more videos on Saturn STG's from you someday! Keep up the great work man👍

[@ShmupJunkie]

For sure there’ll be more Saturn vids it’s one of my all time favorite systems for STGs as well. There’s still a lot more to talk about. These were just my top 5 hardest but plenty other awesome games like Batsugun.

[@ThoughtformsOfTheSubconsciousM]

@@ShmupJunkie Absolutely, I look forward to it!

[@djs7734]

Great video, as always. I'd love to see you review every Saturn shooter as you've done with the Mega Drive and PC Engine.

[@ShmupJunkie]

You know it’s gonna happen. I was thinking of changing it up a bit and doing a Saturn vs PSX shootout comparing the best exclusives and the arcade ports. But I haven’t decided yet. Either way it’d be a beast of a video.

[@jamesreid7433]

THIS!

[@jamesreid7433]

Would love a ranked "Every Saturn shooter." Your PC Engine complete shooter video is something I come back to again and again.

[@AlexDzindzik]

Love your channel, and keep up the good work! God bless you, my friend!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thanks! I love when people find my older videos like this as I had so much fun with them.

[@romario9158]

Amazing as always.

[@krathoon2338]

These SHMUPS show how good the Saturn hardware was with 2D graphics.

[@HandsomeRob7]

Another awesome video

[@ShmupJunkie]

Hey thanks man. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm already knee deep in mega drive now so it's coming next!

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

Only recently found your channel, and it's nice to see someone who actually plays shooters discussing them. I used to play more shooters, but still do at times, and still own hundreds if them, including these. Very nice to see someone else not so into Radiant Silvergun. I very much agree that it's very polished, but really overstays its welcome, and I honestly don't like the scoring chain color system. I like to blow everything up, and that's one of the things I love about Soukyugurentai. It's all about maximum destruction rate. Give me Galactic Attack and Soukyugurentai all day. I'd love to see a video about some more really strange and obscure shooters like Meta-ph-list, Calcolo, Trigger Heart Excelica, or Gondomania. I mean, no shooter has a more compelling reason to battle than Gondomania, and I've never met another person yet who has actually played Meta-ph-list or Calcolo unless I made them at my house. Anyhow, I like your point of view. As I saw in one of your other videos, I've always thought of each video game as little signposts along my personal timeline, each recalling another time and place, and memories of the people in my life at that time and even now. They add a lot of flavor to memory, and I'll always love them for that.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thanks I appreciate that and glad you are enjoying them. I'm definitely more a fan of Rayforce and Souky versus RSG though I admit it is a good game, maybe just not one of my favs. I am honestly not well versed in some of the later, more obscure shooters as once things became a bit oversaturated with bullet hell for my taste I checked out for a long time. I did thankfully get back into it years ago and found some that I enjoy quite a bit after giving them more time, so I am catching up. I admit I haven't heard of those aside from Trigger Heart, so I've added them to my list to at least look up, as I enjoy learning about new ones I haven't seen. And with Steam there are just a ton.

[@jankmedia1985]

lol, I'm happy to see what your #1 is. I played that the other night and was like, "I hope this game is viewed as tough cause I didn't think I was THAT bad at shmups..."

[@ShmupJunkie]

I'm not even sure I ranked them in any particular order, that'd be a tough call because they're all so dang hard. I can't finish any of them legit if I'm out of practice and haven't played in a while. Or at all haha. The only game I've played that kind of trumps them all in how ridiculously hard it is was in my Neo Geo video with Last Hope. If I did an all time most ridiculously hard shmups video across all consoles it would certainly make the list.

[@retroheed6226]

Yet another great video 👍 I've seen Garegga at a friend's house and it sure looks tough. Silvergun I also seen at a friend's years ago and it was cool, but the length of it is now putting me of it tbh. I'm looking forward to getting Soukyugurentai.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Garegga is amazingly fun but yes it's one of those games that's extremely hard past a certain point. I think you'd really enjoy Souky the most it's an outstanding game. And it's manageable up untiil that Submarine level haha. If I ever play Silvergun again it will be in shorter bite size pieces and with a save state after I finish a level. Trying to beat it in one sitting was exhausting

[@daviddefortier5970]

The short screen reasoning for strikers being difficult is a point made.. you must try playing mar matrix. Wide screen vertical scrolling hell. I never felt so hopeless on any shmup as this one

[@ShmupJunkie]

You should totally check out my top 5 hardest video for Dreamcast I made. Mars Matrix was the headliner and I had a blast doing that one. Xoxak homages and all. You know the game so you’ll definitely appreciate it.

[@djf7]

Best video yet! I forgot how hard Strikers was until you just showed it. Hasn’t played it in along time. Soukyugurentai is awesome. My favorite on Saturn! I would say do either mega drive or snes for the next one.

[@ShmupJunkie]

djf7 Yeah I hadn’t played strikers in a long time either. That last boss was rough 😅 definitely took a few runs of that final level to get it figured out. Thanks man I’m glad you enjoyed it. That’s the guest vote for Snes! Plenty so far for MD. But I’ll get to every one eventually 😅

[@ShmupJunkie]

Mastema that’s cool thanks for the heads up! Didn’t know that. Wonder who did the port of that one. I’ve never played III so it’s worth checking out.

[@salvatoredidio9424]

@@ShmupJunkie Say thx to you're Emulator while the second Loop of Strikers IS reaallyy funny ;-)

[@earlspencer7863]

You put in a lot of work for these videos. I commend you Sir.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thanks! It really is. I’d guess somewhere between 40-60hrs in a week to make one depending how complex. But it’s a labor of love so the time flies when I work on them.

[@krathoon2338]

Thank God for the Beetle Saturn emulator.

[@MrSoy_]

Great video. Take care.

[@mintyretro]

i had only heard of a couple of these, never played any though so its great to learn about them and see some awesome footage... absolutely brutal. I need a Saturn!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Minty Retro First they brutalize your wallet in what they usually cost. Then they brutalize your dignity when you play 😂. I’m sure you’ll have one eventually the consoles are cheap. It’s many of the games that get you. Thx for watching man glad you got some fun out of it.

[@volvoguy804]

Love Soukyugurentai! Awesome music! First played it through Mame years ago. Got my hands on a Saturn a couple of years ago and it was the first game I purchased.

[@KingLizzardsGameLounge]

Excellent video mate. I knew of most of these but never owned a Saturn as yet, I was overloaded at work and missed the entire era and damn am I gutted looking at these shooters, they all looked amazing. All just made the hunt list (along with SEGA Saturn, which I have actively been hunting for a few months for Fighting Games and Shmups - Japanese version of course). The only game I do have from the list is a PS2 version of 1945 I & II, which is a game I'm a big fan of, having played it before, and yes it's damn tough, never beat it, YET! Seriously enjoyed this video mate and can't wait for the next. I would LOVE to see some AMIGA 500 shmup love but not sure if you can do that or have one. The Arcades and the Amiga500 are where my love of shmups grew with the likes of Silkworm, SWIV, R-TYPE, R-TYPE II, Apidya, Xenon, Xenon II : Megablast, (my favourite from the AMIGA 500). Can't wait for the next video dude!!!!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thank you man I always appreciate your great support and glad you enjoyed it. Strikers II is tough anywhere. I think the PS2 version has a Tate mode right? So that would help a lot! Amiga is one of those systems I always admired from afar as a kid but never had or knew anyone that owned one. It had so many unique and gorgeous looking games that I always wanted to play. I would have to emulate it if such a thing exists. My knowledge on it is also near zero so I have a lot of research to do and would likely ask for advice on Amiga forums somewhere. But it would be a great learning experience too. When I do get to it I will have to mine you for some info and suggestions!

[@KingLizzardsGameLounge]

I'll load it up and check for TATE mode, I'd be happy to contribute towards A500 as I was big in to Amiga back in the day.

[@Dojonpachi]

Great video! Voting for Megadrive next, and would say there's a clear must-have for brutality on the system: Undeadline.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Noted! One vote for the MD haha. Oh yeah I'm not looking forward to that one kicking my ass... not sure if I'd ever beaten it in the past. Eliminate Down is a real beast too! Everyone says Gairies which I haven't played in ages, so will check that out too. No shortage of shmups on the MD it was a pretty awesome library not far behind the pc engine in how many awesome ones it had. I'm a fan.

[@evilashxero]

In all fairness, RSG's Arcade Mode is decently shorter than the normal mode. Great vid, btw.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thanks. I’ve always kind of had a love hate relationship with RSG despite knowing it’s a killer game. I think I’m also way out of practice and it’s not the kind of game one can just kick up again. If I don’t chain and level up properly it becomes too cumbersome to progress. Yet played properly it’s a different game. So half of it is my lack of familiarity after finishing it all those years ago.

[@CrossingRover]

As a millennial who just got a Saturn a few months ago, I'm looking to get out of my comfort zone and play a genre I've never experienced. Obviously these are the most ball-busting shooters on the system, what's a good starting point for a complete beginner? *Edit* I tried Radiant Silvergun because I hear everyone praising it, but my attempts were absolutely pathetic. Seems like it wasn't a great choice to pop my proverbial cherry.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Ha no Silvergun is a very hard game. Saturn in general is a pretty mature shmup platform. Layer Section is a good starting point. It’s not easy but it’s reasonable until farther into the game and it’s also beautiful. Grab one before they get too expensive. I usually recommend that game as a first Saturn purchase.

[@dankhill6851]

Believe it or not, Radiant Silvergun was my first Shmup ever, I've progressed to nearly beating Ikaruga! I'd recommend Radiant Silvergun.

[@FKSvienna]

When it comes to vertical bullet hell-ish shmups, there is only one right answer IMO: Batsugun. It was my first, and it was such an ideal fit at the time, it got me hooked forever. Optional overlooked beginner side-game: Gekirindan. But once you get started, it is hard to stick to one. It's probably best to try all sorts of shmups and subgenres, to see what really suits you best.

[@maxduncan7090]

Good old rank can be a killer in any shmup. Toaplan rank can be devastating.

[@ShmupJunkie]

And the whole rank thing started with Zanac when Compile pioneered the idea, at least as far back as I know. But man there is rank, and then there is RANK! Garegga really made it a key part of the game just to survive. Even worse was Pink Sweets that game is jut vicious. Old Yagawa up to his tricks lol.

[@SegataNoKen]

Shared 👍

[@ShmupJunkie]

SegaSaturnSNK Hey thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it enough to share it. I had a great (but quite brutal) time with these this week.

[@ahgodamit]

There are a few of these that I actually had never heard of. Fantastic video!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thx man. I usually recommend Souky to a lot of people and many don’t know it. But it’s one of my favs on the Saturn. It’s a really good game.

[@ahgodamit]

I think expense is the reason that I have been so far behind checking out a lot of Saturn and PC Engine shooters. I probably need to just try some emulation so I don't miss out on these.

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@ahgodamit no joke. Souky and Layer Section are two of the few still not super expensive and luckily a couple of the best on the system. LS especially it’s not as brutal and a spectacular game.

[@ahgodamit]

Well, I need some shooters for my Saturn, so I will have to snag one sometime next year. 👍

[@davy_K]

Great selection....In DDP if you do well enough you qualify for the 2nd loop!! All the way through the game again.....and it's a LOT tougher - THEN you have to beat the true last boss. Insane game. You did very well to get the 1-ALL that you achieved. Better than me at any rate! :) You can check out the second loop in the Saturn mode options.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Yeah I watched Mark's 2-ALL of DDP and it's not something I'll ever have the wherewithal to grind at that level. I was happy just to make it through the first and can watch the TLB on other longplays haha. Although I did learn the Saturn port is missing slowdown making it even harder than arcade, so I do want to play the "correct" version at some point and see how I do by comparison. Or maybe not, at least for now I can blame the Saturn version for sucking 😂.

[@bl85gamer]

Another amazing video man 👏🏼 my vote for next week goes to NeoGeo as I'd like to explore that library at some point 😊 How do you do it sir? Battle Garegga completely kicked my ass 😅 I'm gonna listen to you and use my bombs and let myself die so I can progress through it 😅

[@ShmupJunkie]

Bruno L Thanks dude. You were playing BG for score though that’s a whole different beast. Higher your score the harder it gets too 😅. I was avoiding medals and points and it still got out of control toward the end levels 😂. Didn’t manage my rank well enough. But yeah don’t overstock on bombs use em or lose em.

[@dangunheadachron1603]

Thanks for the shout out dude. Glad to help out. 😂

[@ShmupJunkie]

Any time man, your comment gave me a good laugh. I'll be doing some fun PC Engine vs Mega Drive game comparos in the next weeks that should be fun too.

[@thesmoness]

Radiant Silvergun is for me

[@sudacagamer]

I know you did the neo geo top 5 but I hope to see a dreamcast top 5. Great video. i used to think Aero Fighters (specially part 3) were tough on level 8 but these guys surpassed themselves with Strikers 2.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Sudaca oh I totally will. Can’t get by without highlighting Ikaruga, Mars Matrix and some others. Plus Gunbird 2 which is pretty much the hardest Psikyo game after Dragon Blaze. It’s gonna take some time to play through those 😅

[@arronetchells4363]

Picked up a copy of Soukyugurentai for £40 on the Saturn, which is around $55 and man do I love it, but like the man said, it does kick your ass but being a shmup masochist, I say bring it on!! Cheers for bringing this absolute gem to my attention!! Hidden gem video suggestion?? 🙏

[@markb5775]

Japanese Sega Saturn is the all time king of shmups and Silvergun is the best shoot em up ever imo. Battle garegga is next for me to try, great list though!

[@ShmupJunkie]

The all time king of arcade perfect shmup ports without a doubt. 🤟 I play it second most next to my pc engine shooters. It was the first console with the power to do the arcade games justice totally agree. I wish I loved silvergun more it’s a masterpiece but I can’t get past the length. It’s more a personal thing. Garegga is amazing I wish I was better at it 😅. Need way more practice. But that’s my kind of shmup that plays fast and has lots of twitch dodging. I enjoy it every time I play it but need to improve my rank management.

[@Rey-kk8qd]

Awesome review of my favorite console's explosive shmups (my fave genre) since finally buying a Saturn in 2015 (Genesis is a close #2 now). We must all play Sega Saturn or Segata Sanshiro will beat us up!! 😜 Keep up the great vids! Subbed from 🇨🇦

[@ShmupJunkie]

And there are so many more great ones, these were just the hardest. I play my Saturn shmups the third most after the mega drive and pc engine. They were all different and excellent in their own way. If you love shmups the pc engine was also incredible with over 100 of them very worth checking out. I don't mind being beat up by Sanshiro san, but he doesn't get to have my Saturn shmups. 😅

[@Rey-kk8qd]

@@ShmupJunkie Awesome! I try to collect mint CIB when possible and when finding the lowest price, the key is to ask the seller kindly if he's willing to sell a bit lower! My 5 yr old girl enjoys retro gaming with me thankfully and her favorite are the Saturn "cute em ups". Christmas nights into Dreams is her fave Saturn game currently 🤩

[@Rey-kk8qd]

And yes, there are sooo many fantastic shmups on the Saturn with Strikers 1945 II, Batsugun and Shienryu being the top 3 from my growing collection (In the Hunt would've been #3 if it wasn't for the slowdown!). Hope to get Souky, Radiant, Sengoku Blade, Thunderforce Gold pack 1&2 this year. Got Battle Garegga last Nov and its such a glorious game but dodging those realistic looking bullets and rank system is a bit** and adds to the replay value!!😱

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@Rey-kk8qd Souky is awesome one of my favs. Highly recommend getting a good copy while it’s still not too expensive. Battle Garegga was designed to be sadistic no surprise. In the Hunt is definitely a PS1 purchase I’d go that way if you choose to buy it. It runs much better.

[@jonathanlisowski5618]

Dodonpachi "spraying the screen like a teen on pornhub"... You had me literally laughing 😂😂😂 out load for probably a good minute with that one. That made my night! Thank you.

[@ShmupJunkie]

🤣 old school videos of mine. I guess I gotta bring back some of that slightly inappropriate humor sometime. I always had fun making scripts for the top 5 hardest videos.

[@chadmolitor6691]

Thanks for the list of cool games. Just got my Saturn last week and I'm looking forward to playing some shooters all weekend long! It would be cool if you made a few lists of games you play just for fun too one day. Not just games that whoop your ass lol.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Oh yes, please don't use this list as the games to play as they are hard as hell. Definitely check out Souky here, along with Layer Section/Galactic Attack. Total classic. Batsugun for sure. As they were all Saturn exclusive aside from Arcades. Along with Darius Gaiden. Those were some of my favs on the system you couldn't play anywhere else.

[@chadmolitor6691]

@@ShmupJunkie I definitely plan on checking out Souky. It looks pretty badass. Darius Gaiden also seems great, I Played it for about 5 minutes the other day. Awesome effects in that game! I've always wanted to play Batsugun, since the mame rom doesnt have sound this is my first chance. Got myself a stack of burned games to go through and give a go.

[@chadmolitor6691]

@@ShmupJunkie alright, Soukyu Gurentai and Darius Gaiden are both super badass. I can't believe I waited so long to buy a Saturn. Having fun with Sexy Parodius and Cotton Boomerang as well. I never thought I would get into those two since they're so cutesy. But they're awesome. Thanks for the suggestions.

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@chadmolitor6691 Awesome. Glad you got those they’re good choices. All still reasonably priced unlike many Saturn games. The collections are all still cheap like salamander, twinbee, etc. Even Thunder force V which is a must. Only games like batsugun, silvergun, and hyper duel are the pricey ones. Layer Section is also still pretty inexpensive. Not for long though get em while you can lol

[@chadmolitor6691]

@@ShmupJunkie Well I picked up the Pseudo Saturn Kai to begin with, so price isn't exactly an issue right now haha. And after staring a neo geo MVS collection this year - my bank account is already hurting a little for the moment. So far I'm surprised at just how many great titles there are! Thunder Force V is excellent too. I'll probably start scooping up some actual copies here by end of summer just to get the good feels of having actual original copies.

[@jessicaguiavalladares349]

I like all the shmup you talk about. I love dodonpachi and soukyugurentai. For dodonpachi I like the first stage mid boss and soukyugurentai's gambiter boss (gambiter is the first and true final boss of soukyugurentai). I am a big shmup fan. I like your video.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thank you, I'm glad you do and I hope to keep making many more for everyone.

[@jessicaguiavalladares349]

Oh YEAH. And the boss you call favorite dude from soukyugentai was victimizer. He is the 4th boss of the 4th level of soukyugentai and i love him too

[@RedLP5000S]

I own a Jap Saturn for the sole purpose of being able to play Symphony of the Night. I might have to invest in some of these shmups now. If I can afford it that is.😅

[@DrunkDudley]

Hey amazing channel, i just got recommended to your channel by a friend on twitter, will you do reviews on top 5 hardest Dreamcast Shooters & will you cover like the best shooters released in the recent years on modern platforms? or hombrev released games on retro hardware like Dux,Sturmwind,Fast Striker etc. Thanx a novice shmup lover

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thanks! Just started making these videos over a month ago so I'm just getting things figured, but you can bet I'll be doing the Dreamcast for sure in this series. Some of my favorite homebrews are on the Dreamcast especially NeoXYX which I love playing. I'll go back and forth between this series and other stuff including recent releases too as I get to them. Glad you enjoyed these and I think you'll enjoy the next one as well. Mega Drive is coming up next and there are some serious hidden gems that aren't very common.

[@DrunkDudley]

Nice, i'll look forward to it.

[@jankmedia1985]

The thing I love about DoDonPachi is that on Normal 'Saturn', it really isn't too difficult, except for the secret boss, that's just absurd, lol. Great way to learn the levels without the game being too frustrating.

[@listerofsmeg884]

Amusing about the name of Darius in the UK. If you use the official name, it's a retired soccer player. If you use what I always called it, it's a reality TV singer from 15 years ago 🤣

[@danmakuman]

Badass list bro and I'm totally with you on every single game. Those bastards are basically impossible to me lol

[@ShmupJunkie]

DANMAKUMAN VGM It really does seem that way some of these are insane. It’s only playing a level continuously until you figure out all the patterns that it becomes semi manageable. Then the later levels hit and it still kicks your ass 😅. I’ve yet to ever see that special bee 🐝 at the end of DDP. At this point I’d enjoy it kicking my ass just to see it proper

[@bonggzilla]

Cant wait for the 360 version of brutal shmups :-D

[@ShmupJunkie]

That one is going to be special I’ve got some great plans for it. Already baking 😁

[@bobsteave1236]

Love your content man, someone who gets it.

[@ShmupJunkie]

bob steave thanks I’m always glad when new people find my channel and are enjoying it. If you ever have suggestions for other types of series you’d like to see I’m always looking for some.

[@bobsteave1236]

​@@ShmupJunkie I have recently found this "neoxaquas" youtube channel that is another arcade/ challenging older games for all the systems your content focus's on. Maybe just browse his channel and do some videos on some of the games he just plays live. All sorts of classics, and gems like the GnG series. He is a guy who has been playing all the same systems and game styles as your channel and also has a 2nd weekly SHMUP based show to boot. ALSO Doing Marathon runs of all the games you can beat back to back is cool to do on TWITCH. Like maybe have a couple nights a week you do "all 3 ninja gaiden" games and go for PBs or look for upcoming races like "the super 16" or "the big20"

[@ShmupJunkie]

bob steave the amount of content there is nuts. I’ll sub so I can check some out later. It takes so much time to record and edit my style video I pretty much can barely put one out a week. But I’m new to this so over time I’ll get faster and maybe have time for other stuff too like podcasts or twitch. I’ll see how it goes I guess and what people like. I think there would need to be 2 or 3 of me to pull all that off and still make these videos too 😂. But I have considered some of your thoughts like a podcast and posting some gameplays too. If I do I may try something different as there are already so many longplays and score runs being posted it doesn’t feel like I’d be adding anything new that isn’t already done better. But I do have some ideas. Those are some good suggestions though and I’ll check out the channel now. Maybe it’ll spark another idea as well.

[@bobsteave1236]

@@ShmupJunkie Man, i used to think you have to obtain god like WR lvl scores or speedruns to have a good following on twitch , but am finding that there are tons of more semi casual people with good personalities that are passionate of there games that have more views then the flat pro gamers with no spark. maybe after your youtube starts to go up naturally over time , you could start putting at the starts/ ends of your videos about doing lets plays of games over on twitch. I understand its tons of work doing youtube videos, but I guess lots of people on twitch say it feels a lot less like work streaming a bit at night while gaming. I was having fun watching that "aquas" guy i mentioned on twitch blind 1cc steal empire for megadrive the other night and it was really cool. Another guy was just playing all the games he knew in a big list and just beating them back to back with some misses and it was great. So don't let those super scores / WR runs make you feel unimportant. There are lots of guys like me who like to feel the struggle with the players rather then be talked down to from the TOP TOP players.

[@MOXIEchannel]

Excellent video. i tried dondonpachi and i confirm it's impossible! :O For me it's the same, SMD or NEOGEO ;)

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thank you man. Yes DDP is very hard lol. But it's also fun even when you don't get too far... or at least I think so. Mega Drive coming up next!!

[@jszekerj]

I vote for Genesis/MD next! Awesome list, now I have more shooters I want to buy that are way to expensive and way too hard to justify spending so much for me to get my ass whooped on. hahaah

[@ShmupJunkie]

You know which one may make the MD list or be a contender? Grind Stormer. Far as I recall it's not an easy game by any stretch. I think you learned that when you played it haha

[@pl0y]

bro is this channel new? its fuckin good. you deserve more subs.

[@ShmupJunkie]

phishyy yeah very new. Just a few months or less. Thx I’m glad you enjoy it. KZbin is a harsh mistress to get started. But the few hundred subs I do have are great. I’m happy to see people enjoying my videos.

[@pl0y]

@@ShmupJunkie people certainly are enjoying your vids dude lol. keep it coming.

[@stpierreorama]

I just got done beating Strikers 1945 II on normal. The last level only took me like 100 tries maybe more😁. What a fun and beast of a game! I like the flat pancake plane the best.

[@ShmupJunkie]

That final stage and boss is brutal I don’t recall how many tries it took me either. I’m not looking forward to the Dreamcast top 5 where I have to try and get through Gunbird 2 again 😅 that damn game is even harder than Strikers

[@glenolivier8099]

It's always been a back and forth for me on whether Radiant Silvergun or Soukyugurentai is my fave Saturn STG; both are incredible experiences. Also: you should try and find Soukyugurentai Otokuyo, a revised version of the game that fixes most of the slowdown.

[@ShmupJunkie]

RSG was definitely too long for my taste even if it is really cool and epic. I didn’t know about that version of Souky I’ll check it out. I didn’t think any slowdown in it was too bad. Not compared to something like in the hunt anyway. But yeah I love the game.

[@ElsweyrDiego]

@@ShmupJunkie once you level up all the weapons in rsg, every boss lasts less than 1 minute. it becomes very, very easy. try with a save game from the internet and you'll see

[@yousefslimani99]

Yeah I played "Stickers 1945" and believe me I found it very difficult to beat it!!

[@anman2151]

Sega Saturn have some amazing 2D shooter so after playing resogun on PlayStation 4 mind of 2D shooting on saga Saturn

[@ShmupJunkie]

Resogun is a very cool game, I still have it loaded on my PS4 too

[@johngavalas74]

Man id have a "blast" at your house with all those shoot em ups and yes pun intended

[@theunkemptvaper6866]

I just subbed bro I've seen a couple of your comparison and brutal shooters vids, good stuff. You're probably never gonna see this comment but I was wondering where you picked up that Sengoku Blade art book or special edition box or whatever it is. Oh and awesome collection dude I wish I had the funds for a collection like yours. I really like the shelving you're using as well. Awesome.

[@ShmupJunkie]

I see all my comments! 😂 And I respond that’s how I role so thank you and I’m glad you found me. I have a lot of these brutal vids I made and am working on more. I appreciate those who take the time to comment after watching them as they’re a lot of work. That box is the Japan special release of the Psikyo Vol 3 collection it’s not really available anymore. I got it when it released and now it’s on eBay for ridiculous prices I think. It’s not worth all that but the box art is definitely an attention grabber! 😂

[@theunkemptvaper6866]

@@ShmupJunkie yeah I'm probably just going to buy the Saturn release and call it a day but that's also expensive. Great vids man keep up the good work.

[@thuggeegaming659]

I have a physical copy of Soukyugurentai. It's very good! And very hard. I never beat it, but I got pretty far in it.

[@tylerwerrin41]

Ha, I've been blowing through all your Top 5 hardest shmup vids today; totally agree on DoDonPachi. It's also features my favorite weapon system of any shooter (altho Gaiares is a very close #2). Never 1CC'd (or even 10CC'd) DoDonPachi, don't think I ever will. The sequels are great, too - check em out on MAME if you get a chance!

[@ShmupJunkie]

You’ll eventually come across the top 5 I did for Xbox360. Pretty much all Cave games lol.

[@Fattydeposit]

I'm 100% with you on Radiant Silvergun's length. It's why I have no urge to return to it nowadays (similarly with Gradius V). For me, the perfect length for a play session for a shooter might be around the 25 minute mark.

[@ShmupJunkie]

There have been some exceptions over the years where it's so entertaining and exceptional I don't mind, but anything past 45min to an hour for me is pushing it in one session... at least for a shooter. RS is longer than that I think. It was cool the first time through but I can't do the whole thing anymore.

[@Fattydeposit]

@@ShmupJunkie I think I'm probably older than you and am generally lacking the stamina to play for long bursts these days..which sucks ass because intense action games have always been my very favourite. Anyway, thanks again for producing these excellent videos. You really do have impeccable taste.

[@ShmupJunkie]

-SG6000- I’m older than I look. No spring chicken anymore that’s for sure 😂

[@josetrochez5982]

I want to "like" your video man, but i really, really like that number where it is. lol

[@ShmupJunkie]

lol I caught it in time. It won’t stay that way for long so just come back and hit the like in a day or two. In the meantime 🤘🤘🤘

[@josetrochez5982]

@@ShmupJunkie done! Haha!! I love all your videos man!!! You rock!!!

[@andy7666]

I rate DDP on Saturn, it gets slagged off and its fugly sure but I just dig it was ported back then. I have Donpachi where you can see its bare bones and core of DDP, I'll own it one day.. I'm proud to own Sokyogentretai.. A nice spiritual successor to Layer Section 1 and 2. The PS(?) version has lots more inbetween level animations and chatter which is interesting but the Saturn is the best imo, that Saturn power man.. Radient Silvergun is like the ultimate shooter to own on Saturn, I have a ""backup" of it somehow but again, will own own day.. I focused on 360 shmups and now we have a PS4 epic port every other week, and then the Switch collections? My lord, I need another job!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Supposedly the Saturn and PS1 ports of DDP had issues, they were missing slowdown and some bullets were larger so it made a hard game even harder. Which is fine as I can blame the game now for sucking at it haha. I love Souky it's one of my favs on the system too. I admit that my channel and hyping all these games is not a good way to save any money. 😅

[@CousinHubertRetrogaming]

@10"13: the guy says in japanese: "Ato wa Shuryoku kantai ni makasete, yukkuri yasumi kutae". "From now on let me manage the main attack squadron and please go rest at will " :D

[@ShmupJunkie]

Mat Ten so basically we will take care of the rest your mission is over 😁. Thanks for that.

[@CousinHubertRetrogaming]

@@ShmupJunkie i decided to learn japanese at 35 yo and 6 years later it's quite useful i can comprehend most of what i read in a game. Best decision of my life! Expands the realm of enjoyable gametypes by 100fold (those japan only games you thought were only good for the garbage bin before you could understand them ☺️)

[@ShmupJunkie]

Mat Ten Learning Japanese is top on my list when I can retire someday 😅. I actually spent my whole young life playing Japan RPGs even though I couldn’t understand them lol. But it’s definitely much nicer when I have a translation. Very good idea to learn I agree. I’m looking forward to it one day myself. I imagine though learning to read is a whole level harder than speaking since the characters are so different.

[@CousinHubertRetrogaming]

@@ShmupJunkie i can give you lots of tips and tricks. Learning the basic "children syllable alphabet" takes only 2 weeks. Then,learning the chinese characters, takes a year if you work everyday for 30min-1hr.

[@lock7852]

If you put galactic attack where strikers is thats my top 5 saturn shooters,great list,silvergun is too long tho for sure.Saturn is def the king of the 32bit imo

[@ShmupJunkie]

Certainly is. It’s closer than most people make out as the PS1 had a lot of really great exclusives too like Delta, Einhander, Gradius Gaiden and Zanac X Zanac. If one prefers console type shooters they’d even prefer it. But for the STG arcade ports Saturn was definitely tops.

[@jan-niklashoffmann4683]

Super nice channel, more content pls love this shiet zap zap

[@ShmupJunkie]

Jan-Niklas Hoffmann 😂 Thanks. Lots of shooting and brutality here for your enjoyment. More coming every week!

[@matthewc994]

Yeah Radiant Silvergun could have been directed by Oliver Stone.

[@orwellNoirNomad]

I like your video,and I tried Battle Garegga personally. In my opinion, a good bullet hell game should allow players to play through NMNB (No miss, no bomb). In one chapter there is no way to do that so I save 5 bombs until that stage. The best I can do is tool assist no miss. However, for dodonpachi they are cave series and can be done with NMNB with practice (Sorry, but I can only play through this with tool assist) and other games. Anyway, these are really hardcore games and bring me joy and pain

[@ShmupJunkie]

Bringing you pain is the very reason Battle Garegga exists 😂 it was made by Yagawa. Yes it’s a very different game I don’t think no miss no bomb is possible in this type of game. Because you have to die on purpose and use strategy to keep the rank from becoming impossible. It’s a very different way to play. The skill in Garegga is to be able to 1cc it while also losing lives so the rank doesn’t go crazy. It’s just as difficult but a different idea. Either way I can’t do it 🤣

[@orwellNoirNomad]

@@ShmupJunkie Anyway, they're just entering a new area,maybe just not find out how to design shmup games. Maybe they are just arcade games to eat as many coins as possible. While for some players dying is definitely frustrating. One of the most terrifying design in battle Garegga is that in one chapter there is no bomb supply. Garegga feels like the game design problem. However, in my opinion this is a steampunk game, which including a huge amount of ww2ish things like propellers, flamethrowers, and many inspiring enemies. In sum, it can be a good game but the difficulty design is terrible.

[@joshuah5542]

:/ I’m gunna go broke.. your reviews are legit as hell, per usual!

[@ShmupJunkie]

They need to start putting me on the payroll 🤣... seriously though 🙊

[@joshuah5542]

I took a lazy look and didn’t see a sega cd shumps vid ..

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@joshuah5542 I have two videos for mega drive but not CD yet. There are very few to choose from. The top 5 would be about the only 5 😅 but a couple of them are really good like Bari-arm

[@joshuah5542]

Haha it’s the truth! I’m being very needy, how about a Top 5 cute em up .. you know ... for the ladies ;)

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@joshuah5542 If cute em ups are for ladies then take me for a romantic dinner cause I love those games. And some of them like Parodius are still hard as hell.

[@freddyr8318]

Hey Sir. Great Video. I must say, I am not a pro at traditionel shoot em ups, but I beat a few😃. What is your opinion about the Sega Mega Drive? Besides the PC Engine, it is the best 16 Bit Shooter Console of all time, so I would like to know your Experience with this valid system. Keep on the good work.

[@ShmupJunkie]

Thank you and that's a good question. A perfect question because my new video coming this weekend will be on the Mega Drive! For 16bit consoles, absolutely the MD was fantastic. The games are not as difficult overall as many on the PCE, but it had a very large amount and some amazing games. You'll get to see some good ones next video coming soon. the Mega Drive is on a higher tier than the SNES in terms of shmups no question. SNES had some very good ones, lots of quality, but not very many compared MD.

[@freddyr8318]

@@ShmupJunkie Thats the great thing about old consoles. During their era, every system had its own flavour. The SNES was my console as a child (im born 84). But it was more the Adventure Console (Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy etc.), the Mega Drive was more the Arcade Action System. Today, every system is more or less a Gaming PC

[@protox4418]

Thunder Force 4, the best side shooter. Radiant Silvergun, the best shumups.

[@carlosalexandrearaujodossa9117]

Excelente vídeo pena que ele tem um fim 👏 , Saturno é uma máquina em relação a jogos de nave 👍

[@kendonl.taylor5111]

@Shump Junkie Radiant Silvergun is not only the hardest Shoot Em Ups, but also depressing.

[@RedRanger2001]

I think these games in this video can also be played on MAME... Oh, and Strikers 1945 is also available on the PS1...

[@BlueflagAlpha]

You should do a live stream while finishing radiant silvergun since the game is very long

[@ShmupJunkie]

I was going to try the arcade mode next, as I heard that's much more reasonable. See what's included and what is cut out.

[@Fularu]

I was surprised to see the lack of Layer Section mention. Game can be brutal. Also Were you playing in Saturn/Adventure mode for Radiant Silvergun? Because the Arcade mode doesn't last 3 hours

[@ShmupJunkie]

I just did Raystorm US version for my PS1 video last week. Now that game is hard! At least to 1cc. I always found Layer Section yo be easy at first and then it gets hard farther in, a very good progression, but not unfair. It’s one of my fav Saturn games. But not as hard as for me as the ones here. I played the full Saturn mode on RSG yeah not the arcade. I actually like RSG I was just complaining, but it truly is brutally long for a shmup.

[@Fularu]

@@ShmupJunkie This is why you should play the Arcade mode because then it'S your typical arcade shmup length. Saturn mode is really a shmup RPG with weapon levels, rearanged (and much longer) levels, more boss rushes and so on. A very interesting take on the genre anyway. To be honest I vastly prefer Layer Section to Raystorm (and RayCrisis which I found very disapointing) and while Layer Section's difficulty ramps up smoothly, by the time you reach the tunnel boss it's already zooming from everywhere. Nice video btw and great channel.

[@ShmupJunkie]

@@Fularu I’m totally with you on Rayforce that’s always been my fav of the series though Raystorm is still cool too. I’ve not played the arcade before on RSG for whatever reason but I’ll try it next time. It’s like I want all the extra content and it’s cool but by the end I regret it haha. It’s a cool idea honestly but it’s a marathon. It could’ve used some ways to save the game between stages doing that.

[@kbxthegamemaster06]

lol I've read about the rank thing in Battle Garegga on Wikipedia. So when I played it I was try to make the rank go up as high as I can get it. Apparently I haven't seen enough.

[@ShmupJunkie]

KBXTheGameMaster Yeah you don’t want the rank high 😂. That’s what happens to me toward the end and it starts kicking my ass. The M2 port recently for PS4 is awesome because they added the side menus with all the scoring and rank details so you can track it better.

[@thuggeegaming659]

Any plans to make a video about all the shmups on the Sega Saturn?

[@ShmupJunkie]

Hell yeah there is. You can count on it this year 👍🏻

[@thuggeegaming659]

@@ShmupJunkie Awesome! Looking forward to it :D

[@iliariano3126]

Can you test please the shmup Mushihimesama?

[@almostliterally593]

You really need to try Strikers 1945 Plus on NEO•GEO MVS!

[@ShmupJunkie]

Oh I know! I've heard it's a lot of fun but not too tough. That's fine with me after getting my ass kicked on these videos lol. I have a NeoSD so it's there whenever I'm ready to hit it.

[@yousefslimani99]

So you know about retroarch emulator!! 21:27 Believe me "Retroarch" is one of my favorite emulator of all time!!

[@JohnyRedcrow]

Which controller do you feel like is best for shmups on saturn ?

[@Nathan-rb3qp]

Radiant Silvergun is also on the Xbox 360 & Xbox One.

[@nikkiwileman7033]

Would like to see ya do a top 5 brutal Dreamcast shooters vid?

[@ShmupJunkie]

Oh it's gonna happen, guaranteed. Dreamcast has some bangers. Ikaruga, Mars Matrix, Gunbird 2 to start.

[@nikkiwileman7033]

@@ShmupJunkie expecting border down in there aswel

[@southtownplays4787]

😂 you know your a nerd when your hair's stand up a little when you hear the name Do don Pochi

[@JohnyRedcrow]

Havent beat dodonpatchi yet but ive beaten Donpatch!

[@DragonGrafx-16]

Soukyuu Gurentai has problems playing on a NA Saturn (using a Pseudo Saturn cartridge). The game has an unfinished English mode that causes the game to glitch out badly on NA systems. I play the Soukyuu Gurentai Otokuyou version instead because it removed the English mode and doesn't glitch out.

[@ianswift3521]

well... i think Guardian Force should've been listed. as well as Gekirindan. They both are far harder than Radiant Silvergun and DoDonPachi, which are both on the lower-middle difficulty range as far as shmups go, and yes I even mean for chaining properly not just bulldozing through and finishing RSG.

[@BalsticMaker12]

Are there any interviews with any Psikyo guys? Like... WHY DO THEY LIKE CHUNKY HITBOX IN POST-BATSUGUN ERA!?

[@ShmupJunkie]

If there are interviews I'd like to see them too. They aren't bad but certainly not Cave level tiny. Usually the answer with these developers is to torture the players better lol. Seriously though most of the time it's more likely due to the arcade format. The game has to be brutal and eat quarters, so it's either flood the screen with bullets, or make the hitbox a bit bigger to make avoiding them harder. Psikyo games always have fast bullets which makes them harder still from what I noticed.

[@johngavalas74]

Still trying to figure out how to do the massive sword swipe on radiant silvergun on switch gotta play for 7 hours straight to unlock unlimited credits that's my only glimpse of hope on beating it 😭

[@rollerxcore]

I need to spend WAYYYY more time With Battle Garregga, congrats for seeing that end screen! Some great tips on Dodonpachi! Radiant Silvergun is far too much of a slog for me to enjoy, factored in with the 3d visuals makes it to overrated. I love watching people play Souyki, but i cant get the hang of the web! Strikers what a great series! I have finally snagged myself a saturn a copy ! and boy does this look a lot harder than i remember!!!!!! I still need to get gooder, to be as good as you! but ill have fun trying! great list!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@ShmupJunkie]

Rollerxcore I’m glad you enjoyed the vid. These games were tough it was a rough week getting through them. I’m having an easier time so far with the mega drive games. BG is hard af I don’t think credit spamming at the end to finish it really counts 😂. I did alright up until about the last couple levels. Same with DDP I can’t get the special boss on proper arcade mode. But both games are crazy fun I do enjoy them. There are others far greater than I at these... maybe they never leave their houses? Lol jk

[@edgeninja]

I could never get into bullet Hell games. Maybe if I still had the hand-eye coordination of a 16 year-old and tons of time to kill. But I'm in my late-30s now and just don't have the patience for games that are purposely designed to make you wanna throw the controller.😵