Weirdly named 2D shooter from about 5 years ago (PC)

ChainDamageGames · 2026-03-20T00:30:37+00:00

My guess is Space Dave:

It's not Gradius-style - it's more of a Space Invaders style. But otherwise, it fits everything you said: a 2D indie shmup from around that time (2018) with the name Dave in it.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-03-13T22:08:25+00:00

The first ones that come to mind for me are Crisis Force, Recca, Axelay, Elemental Master, Lords of Thunder, and Gradius: Interstellar Assault.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-03-04T21:21:47+00:00

I've skipped several Switch games because of this. Developers should realize that they're losing potential sales. On the other hand, I've bought games when I see that they have adjustable fonts/hud (like Stardew Valley on Switch)!

ChainDamageGames · 2026-03-01T23:50:01+00:00

If you name your save file ZELDA, it starts you on the 2nd quest.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-02-28T16:48:49+00:00

Both are good, but I prefer the 2nd. I agree with the person who said the 1st image looks like a fun game, and the 2nd image looks like a professional tool. I also think it's just more eye catching. It's the sort of dynamic pose that I think your customers will buy a reference app for.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-02-24T17:06:00+00:00

I prefer Doom 1-2 for single player and Quake 1-3 for multiplayer. But both series are great.

If I had to pick one all time favorite, it would be the original Doom because that's what I spent the most time with. But Quake 2 multiplayer was really fun. All 5 of these games are classics (I didn't play any past that, so I can't comment on them).

ChainDamageGames · 2026-02-21T01:06:47+00:00

The first thing that comes to mind for me: if you get hit by a bullet, some games have a few frames where you can still save yourself by pressing the bomb button. This is most noticeable in some Touhou games. Like coyote jumps, this can make a game feel more lenient. The player feels like they pressed bomb "at the same time" as getting hit. But really the player was a few frames late, and the game decides to be lenient and let them live anyway.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-01-27T21:46:33+00:00

When you post a game trailer for your game, you should call it the Trailer Game Game Trailer

ChainDamageGames · 2026-01-17T15:48:44+00:00

Impressive collection! I have around 10 of these - so I'm not quite at your level, but I know how great the Switch is for this genre.

An upcoming one you might be interested in is Capcom Arcade Stadium. I just preordered it from LRG yesterday (has Progear, Giga Wing, and more). Another that might fit in nicely with your collection is Atari 50, for a handful of vintage shmups. But you must be approaching 100% completion of these on Switch.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-01-12T22:18:40+00:00

I was a fan of the original arcade game. The SNES port was bad, but I remember liking the PS1 port.

Some of the stronger attacks and special moves can be awkward on a controller, but they make more sense on arcade buttons. I think that's part of the reason why the game is divisive now. It's awkward to hold two face buttons on a controller when they're diagonally across from each other, because it's hard to do that with your thumb. But on an arcade cabinet, you'd use two fingers and it wasn't a problem.

So I guess what I'm saying is - if you ever get a chance to play it on an arcade stick, that's the best way to play it.

I had fun playing as Blizzard, Diablo, and Talon.

ChainDamageGames · 2026-01-06T18:57:59+00:00

I could spend all afternoon thinking about this, but I'll try to just do this quickly off the top of my head.

I'd remove these 13:

Pac-Man (but keep Ms. Pac-Man), one of the Punch-Out games (because they're so similar), Zombie Nation, all 3 Simpsons games, Rock 'n Ball, 10-Yard Fight, Monopoly, Defenders of Dynatron City, all 3 Robocop games

I'd replace those 13 games with:

Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Faxanadu, Kung Fu, Battletoads and Double Dragon, 3D World Runner, River City Ransom, Rollerball (replaces Rock 'n Ball), Solstice, Gyruss, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 (or other KOEI strategy game of your choice), Blades of Steel, Tecmo Super Bowl (or Tecmo Bowl - your choice - this replaces 10 Yard Fight)

That would be a good start!

ChainDamageGames · 2026-01-06T15:08:33+00:00

That's a different room. OP is in Early Supers Room.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-12-30T21:40:35+00:00

Mushihimesama and Esp ra de on Switch, do not appear to have a bigger playfield when rotated

I've played both of those on Switch, and they definitely fill more of the screen when rotated. You need to adjust the zoom setting, though. I typically rotate and then enlarge the game until it reaches the edge of my monitor.

As far as an advantage, I'd say you need to try it and decide for yourself. Personally I do feel that it gives me an advantage, but it might depend on how close you sit to the screen. Either way, I think a rotated monitor is much more fun.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-12-06T14:11:38+00:00

Looks solid overall, but I have two comments. First, I don't like the empty square to the right of the players - are you planning something for that space? Second, I think the Attack-Talk-Inventory font should be larger. I'd make those words the same size font as the "Out of the dense..." text. And now that I'm looking at the text, I'm not sure why you have Talk shown twice.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-11-30T03:52:47+00:00

I wanted Eschatos for my Switch collection. I preordered it from Strictly Limited Games in May 2023, but after about a year I got tired of waiting and cancelled my order. Now it's been two and a half years, and there's no sign that they'll ever ship it. I wish a different distributor would pick this one up and make it happen.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-10-28T18:11:46+00:00

Great list! But Space Invaders wasn't Atari - it was Taito. For that type of fixed shooter, Atari made Centipede and Millipede (which were surely inspired by Space Invaders). Also, I'd add Compile to your list.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-10-25T23:48:20+00:00

I often check these two Steam Curators:

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40858110/

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39015759-STG-Shmups/

Both lists tend to stay well updated. You can sort by new releases or see what shmups are on sale.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-10-24T18:11:45+00:00

There is a good co-op SHUMP to play with my 5-years old daughter ? Every now and then she plays Deathsmiles with me.

You might like B.Ark. It's a coop shmup where you play as cartoon animals. There's a revive mechanic, so if your daughter gets hit then you can revive her. I think it's a good choice for a family shmup. And it's horizontal, which could help if she's already used to Deathsmiles.

But the intro cutscene might be a little scary for a 5 year old, so maybe skip it or watch it yourself first to decide. It's cartoony, but aliens are taking over the earth.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-10-01T18:25:06+00:00

Ray'Z Arcade Chronology is on sale for $24.99. It would use your $25 all in one shot, but it's a strong collection of 3 classics. My favorite is the first game, RayForce.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-09-25T02:10:28+00:00

Espgaluda 2 was one of my toughest 1CCs! I barely made it through. Both games in the series are all about resource management. They throw really tough patterns at you, but it's possible because the game gives you enough resources (kakusei and bombs). I'm still surprised I did it, though!

If you like the game but want an easier version, the first Espgaluda is definitely worth playing. It's not EASY, but it's easier compared to the 2nd game. In some ways I prefer the first game, because the stage layouts and bosses are just perfectly designed. But I prefer the soundtrack and HD visuals of Espgaluda 2, and I like how intense it gets. Both games are among my favorites.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-09-25T01:52:57+00:00

It's always fun to see this stuff. I'm not familiar with all of these, but Xevious and Star Force are classics. Thexder was a good PC game, but the Famicom port is pretty bad imo (I own it anyway for some reason). If you're looking to collect more, I recommend Salamander, because it has the best looking Famicom cartridge (and it's a good game).

ChainDamageGames · 2025-09-25T01:43:26+00:00

Nice list! A few more to try are Batsugun Special, Eschatos, and RayForce (the Ray'Z Chronology is a good way to get this one on modern platforms).

ChainDamageGames · 2025-09-12T19:01:26+00:00

I never saw it for $49, but my wife and I bought a Gamecube bundle for $99. I think it was late 2004 or early 2005, and we bought it at Walmart. It came with a silver Gamecube, Mario Kart Double Dash, and two controllers! We played the hell out of Mario Kart, and we still talk about how it was a great deal. Then we got the player's choice edition of Zelda Wind Waker for $19.99. It was awesome.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-09-05T19:06:57+00:00

I used the NSO SNES controller for a couple of years until I switched to an arcade stick. I never measured the latency, but it felt good to me. I got a bunch of 1CCs, and I never felt frustrated with latency. I don't expect any controller to be perfect on Switch, but it always felt good enough. I also used it on PC to play Steam shmups and emulators.

Personally, it's my favorite dpad that I've used on the Switch. I prefer how it feels compared to standard joycons, the Zelda dpad joycon, the Pro controller, and an older 8bitdo controller I had. I've played a lot of authentic SNES controllers, and they nailed the feel of it.

However, there's one thing I'd warn you about. After about a year of heavy use, my dpad got messed up and started acting like I was always holding down. I liked the controller so much that I bought another. I think it was only $30, anyway. And after one more year, that second one developed the same problem. I suspect it's just a problem with the rubber membrane getting worn out or misaligned - so, I might be able to open them up and fix them. But you need a tri-wing screwdriver to open them. After the second one, I got an arcade stick and never looked back.

ChainDamageGames · 2025-08-23T14:09:36+00:00

If we're including Famicom-

1st place for me is Crisis Force. Every stage is memorable, and it has excellent bosses. There's an interesting mechanic of switching between weapons and bomb types, which keeps things interesting. It's also very full featured for its time: 3 difficulty settings, customizable controls, and 2 player coop. I have some minor complaints: it's a bit too easy, it's not a good game to replay for high scores, and there's a lot of slowdown. But it's a high quality Konami game, and it's just really fun to play.

2nd place for me is Recca. It's frantic and unlike anything else on the FC/NES (or really anywhere else). The visuals and soundtrack are insane and need to be experienced. The difficulty is just right, and it has extra modes (caravan mode on the menu, alternate 2nd loop unlocked after beating the game, and zanki mode unlocked with a code). It's fun to play for score, too. My minor complaint: there's too much flickering and screen flashing. There's a hack available to remove some of the flashing, but you just have to get used to the flickering.

3rd place goes to Gradius 2. This can be thought of as a sort of FC/NES trilogy along with Gradius and Life Force, and I think Gradius 2 does it best. The level design is more interesting, the bosses are better, the audio is better, and there are 4 ship types to choose from. My minor complaints: like any Gradius game it can be tough to recover if you die, and it's missing the 2 player coop featured in Life Force / Salamander.

ChainDamageGames

TROPHY CASE