• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Shooters on the DS... are there any?

Scenester

Member
I was thinking about what kind of game I wanted to see on DS and I realised that there dont seem to be any 2d shooters that I know of... (I have heard of Nanostray but I hear it isnt very good)

So GAF, do you know of any decent shooters on the DS? Out now or in development, and some import recommendations as theres probably heaps of shooters out in Japan.

Thanks!
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
just nanostray. which is pretty awful, yeah. though it's got nice music and the best 3d graphics on ds, for whatever that latter quantity is worth.

none of the shooters on gba are much good either, though gradius galaxies is probably the pick of that litter.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
No. Nanostray is the only one and Nanostray 2 seems to be the only upcoming one.
 

Mar

Member
You could probably call Rainbow Islands Revolution a shooter. A slow, swipe at the screen shooter.

I unfortunately bought and finished the game. I'd recommend avoiding it at all costs.
 

Scenester

Member
Bummer :(

Oh well theres heaps of good stuff coming out on DS soon. Like Castlevania: POR. So I guess I'll just hang out for that. :p

Further to my original question, is Treasure working on anything at the moment?
 

Tarazet

Member
drohne said:
just nanostray. which is pretty awful, yeah. though it's got nice music and the best 3d graphics on ds, for whatever that latter quantity is worth.

none of the shooters on gba is much good either, though gradius galaxies is probably the pick of that litter.

Actually, Iridion II is the pick of the litter. It's by the same forces behind Nanostray, but it's much more inspired and playable.
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
i think i'd choose nanostray over iridion II, if it came down to it -- both games have similar problems, and while they may have been easier to tolerate in a gba game, that isn't relevant if you're choosing between them now.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Scenester said:
Bummer :(

Oh well theres heaps of good stuff coming out on DS soon. Like Castlevania: POR. So I guess I'll just hang out for that. :p

Further to my original question, is Treasure working on anything at the moment?
They made Bleach and are working on Bleach 2nd. Bleach is horribly unbalanced though, something they said they are working on for the second.
 

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
drohne said:
i think i'd choose nanostray over iridion II, if it came down to it -- both games have similar problems, and while they may have been easier to tolerate in a gba game, that isn't relevant if you're choosing between them now.
Allow me to be picky, but aren't you deeply involved in the shooter genre? I'm just wondering if Nanostra/Iridion II are genuinely bad or you just feel there are much better options available, albeit not necessarly available to your common gamer.
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
it's been ages since i've played iridion II, but nanostray has real problems -- wonky collision detection, even wonkier display priorities, underpowered weapons (so often the mark of an inept shooter), and a lame scoring system. i don't hate nanostray for its failure to resemble a serious arcade shooter -- that would be irrelevant and unfair, and my tastes are pretty broad anyway.
 

Tarazet

Member
drohne said:
it's been ages since i've played iridion II, but nanostray has real problems -- wonky collision detection, even wonkier display priorities, underpowered weapons (so often the mark of an inept shooter), and a lame scoring system. i don't hate nanostray for its failure to resemble a serious arcade shooter -- that would be irrelevant and unfair, and my tastes are pretty broad anyway.

I've played both pretty recently, and Nanostray is a lot more repetitive and glib. Plus the power-up vacuum is really pathetic.
 

alistairw

Just so you know, I have the best avatars ever.
SuperEnemyCrab said:
Any word on Raid over the River? Is that still in development? I remember a short clip of it and was impressed.

I will be shocked if it ever makes it to shelves. Pleasantly shocked, but shocked nonetheless. I've dealt with Nibris to set up interviews, and they're just hopeless.

I'll refrain from commenting on whether or not the video is real though. I think a lot of people have their own opinions on that :D
 

MadOdorMachine

No additional functions
jj984jj said:
No. Nanostray is the only one and Nanostray 2 seems to be the only upcoming one.

There's that "Raid Over The River" game. Don't know what the status is on it though.

Edit - Whoops. Someone beat me to it.
 

Tony HoTT

Banned
The scoring in Nanostray is absolutely ****ing retarded. I mean you can't use your powerful shot at all otherwise you won't get anywhere near enough points. I honestly don't know how they thought of it. I sold the game.

Hopefully Nanostray 2 fixes some of that stuff because they game did have potential with the music, graphics, etc. But Drohne is completely right on this one.

I wouldn't mind seeing the second one span both screens. Having giant bosses take up the entire top screen would be pretty interesting. Shit I'd like to see any vertical shooter in tate mode on DS just to see if it would work alright.
 

CorwinB

Member
I found Nanostray pretty enjoyable in its story mode, but if you like beating high scores I'd have to agree with other posters : the scoring system is retarded.
 
Another game that was anounced ages ago is World Reborn: Unification
170-1.jpg
170-2.jpg

It's a sequel to a GBA game (World Reborn) that wasn't released and I doubt this one will make it.
 

aku:jiki

Member
Tony HoTT said:
I mean you can't use your powerful shot at all otherwise you won't get anywhere near enough points. I honestly don't know how they thought of it.
Personally, I like (hate) how the more you shoot, the less you score! :lol ****, that's one of the worst shooter ideas I've ever seen...
 

callous

Member
If you play Nanostray not to get a good score but simply to complete it, it's a very pretty and quite enjoyable shoot 'em up. The enemy patterns can be repetitive and the weapon switching is so annoying that I just didn't bother with it, but I still really enjoyed going through the whole mission mode. Did I mention that it's insanely pretty? Oh, btw, this is not a pixel-perfect shoot 'em up for sure, but I had very few problems with collision detection. Never once bothered me.

I play shooters a lot, but I play them to complete them, not to get high scores. Just to give you some background.
 

Scenester

Member
neopokekun said:
Another game that was anounced ages ago is World Reborn: Unification
170-1.jpg
170-2.jpg

It's a sequel to a GBA game (World Reborn) that wasn't released and I doubt this one will make it.

Holy crap that looks like some VGA Share/Shovelware from 1993 that would run great on a 486 with 16bit Soundblaster sound!
 

dallas

Member
drohne said:
none of the shooters on gba are much good either, though gradius galaxies is probably the pick of that litter.
Koutetsu Teikoku / Steel Empire is a pretty nice jpn/eu gba release - an upgraded remake of the genesis game i believe. I like the aesthetic (the whole air pirate/steampunk thing) though i haven't put enough time into it to say if it's better than gradius.

21725.jpg

21727.jpg
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
i've never much liked the genesis version of steel empire -- dunno how different the gba version is. the graphics have clearly been redone.
 

Scenester

Member
It looks like my best bet for decent handheld shooter action is to buy a PSP and fill it up with roms and shit. Which is sad really.
 

oblo

Member
Nanostray is a lot of fun eventhough the flaws that have been pointed out are very true. The game isn't shit, not great or classic either, plain good would be what I call it.
 

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
psp + roms would get you tons of great stuff, but a psp would also give you access to gradius collection, the assorted shooters on capcom's classics packs, star soldier, and sengoku cannon. the last two being imports. star soldier is solid all around, if perhaps too easy -- you play it with your psp sideways. sengoku cannon is probably the ugliest and least-polished game ever, and it's got tons of slowdown besides, but it's a really well-designed arcadey shooter underneath. it improves dramatically if you can overclock it.

it's fair to say that psp's shooter library is better than the combined shooter libraries of every other handheld...but not because the psp's shooters are all that great. it's the first portable with enough screen space to handle a really intense shooter, though it's unclear if anything better than sengoku cannon will ever fill that niche.

edit: oh, forgot every extend extra, which is essentially a shooter, though it involves no shooting
 

johnl

Member
Just a warning, don't be tempted by R-Type III on GBA. Just don't. The cover art will warn you off anyway.
 

johnl

Member
Now I would LOVE to see Bangai-O on DS. It would work pretty well, don't you think?
D-Pad for moving and stylus for shooting. Or the buttons if you're more traditional. Mmm.
 

demi

Member
_dementia said:
Bangai-O would be nice on DS, but resolution am cry.

Danny Phantom looks pretty soulless and boring.

Well I certainly hope you didn't expect it to be something.
 
Top Bottom