MindWanderer - When was the last time you’ve been in an arcade? The first game with a definite endpoint was Crystal Castles, in 1983 (followed by 1984’s Marble Madness, Paperboy, 1942, et al.). Continues date back to at least 1984 (Cheyenne was one). And games where you were assured of getting to the end if you plunked in enough coins go back to at least 1987 (e.g. Double Dragon). The last game I remember that didnt’ have a definite endpoint was APB, and they were very passe at that point. I’m not criticizing, I’m just saying that the arcade philosophy you cite ended a lot sooner than you thought.
Mekhazzio - It depends. Sinistar was a beast (if you weren’t fully loaded with bombs by the time he was finished you were screwed; “Run! Run! Run!”-ning would only delay the inevitable). Kicker, a.k.a. Shao-Lin Road, was a cakewalk. Sharpshooter is a romp and perfectly suited for kids. Not so much Rambo. I maintain that it’s not the time period, it’s the company (and to a lesser extent when they made the game; compare the early days of Capcom to Street Fighter 4, for example).
Oh, and what you say about trance states and bullet clouds is even more true of the modern shmups, particularly Cave’s monstrosities. Most of them were never release in America; the closest thing we have is probably Giga Wing. It still does get intense, especially the final level.
Meeko - You can’t get triple in the original game.
'90, IIRC, is the same game on console, so named because that’s how long it took to get to console.
Oh, before I forget…
Stink Fish Pot - My advice? Get the game on emulator, and get a good cheat file. Either infinite lives or invinciblity (preferably the latter) will do. Don’t worry, there’s no honor in classic shmups. As far as I know.
That’s just Namco for you. No matter what the era, you can always count on two things 1. groundbreaking innovation and 2. difficulty out the wazoo. The only non-driving game of theirs I’ve ever played that I’ll classify as easy is Time Crisis 2, and even that took me an average of about 5 credits to get to the end. Some of them are downright painful (if Galaga '88 is your idea of impossible, don’t even look at Dragon Spirit or either Rolling Thunder).
BTW, there are three other endings. :eek: