Any Good Scrolling Shooters that AREN'T "Bullet Hell" Games?

[American Tanker]

Just trying to see if there's still anyone on this planet that understands the difference between your garden variety shoot-em-ups and bullet hells.

So the two that come to my mind right off the bat are Tyrian(which I've played via its open-source remake OpenTyrian) and Jets'n'Guns(which I've played the Gold version of via Steam).

The two main factors I'm looking for are #1) the screen's not coated in bullets, I can actually see the scenery I'm tearing through; and #2) I'm not instantly destroyed by the slightest scratch, I can expect to be able to shrug off a few hits without dying horribly.

Is there anything out there like this? At all?

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

Raptor: Call of the Shadows is the only game that comes to mind, although I don't know if that entirely fits the bill.

https://www.gog.com/game/raptor_call_of_the_shadows_2010_edition

And if you want a truly random and obscure answer, how about Global Defense for the Sega Master System?

http://www.mobygames.com/game/sega-master-system/sdi-strategic-defense-initiative
(This game would be the entire opposite of what you're looking for)

 

[veloper]

Try these 2:

SATAZIUS

Velocity 2X

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Old game, but I've just been playing Thunderforce 3 on the Sega Megadrive, and it still absolutely rocks the fuck out of the genre.

Just a superb game, as fun today as it was then.

 

[Nismu]

Stargunner perhaps?
I don't remember it being too hard and it was nice game and nowdays seems to be free too.

 

[09philj]

I've a great fondness for the flash game Starwish [http://www.kongregate.com/games/xdanond/rpg-shooter-starwish]. Somewhat janky, and the visuals aren't great, but it's got heart.

 

[beyondbrainmatter]

Try Cybattler and Hyper Duel. Blazing Star on the Neo Geo also is a good horizontal scroller. For a more frantic experience, I can't recommend Batsugun enough. It's placed right between old school shooters and more modern bullet hell shooters. Batsugun might not be up your alley, but it really is worth giving a shot imho.

Cybattler:

Spoiler

Hyper Duel:

Spoiler

Blazing Star:

Spoiler

Batsugun:

Spoiler

 

[American Tanker]

Raptor: Call of the Shadows is the only game that comes to mind, although I don't know if that entirely fits the bill.

https://www.gog.com/game/raptor_call_of_the_shadows_2010_edition

Funny, I tried Raptor once but was ultimately put off by the difficulty.

But other than that, yeah. I'd say it fits.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Suguri? It's borderline bullet hell, but you can prevent the screen from getting filled with bullets if you know where enemies will appear, dodge bullets when they do appear, and you have a health bar.

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

Funny, I tried Raptor once but was ultimately put off by the difficulty.

But other than that, yeah. I'd say it fits.

Yeah, it definitely has a strong difficulty curve, particularly later on when you get into the later sectors. Key thing I found was you needed to be very careful with weapon purchases, and try to maximize your kills (while minimizing damage/repair costs).

http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Raptor:_Call_of_the_Shadows/Weapons_and_Shields

Midway through the first sector I think I'd try to make sure I had a combo of the... plasma cannon, micro missiles, and autotracker minigun (and the starting guns).

Sounds kind of complicated, but I remember it as actually being something of a rather chill and relaxing game.

 

[cleric of the order]

1944 is also pretty good i liked it back in the day but it's old and likely hard to emulate.
starwish is a nice free example if you can handle the animu

 

[DeadProxy]

No ones mentioned R-Type? Sure, it's a 1 hit kill, but totally manageable. In R type final, there's 101 ships to unlock and a bunch of levels and paths to go through, they all look pretty beautiful...just good luck finding a copy. There's an r type collection on the psn store somewhere that will let you swap between classic and redone visuals too I think.

 

[WindKnight]

Always been extremely fond of Axelay and Cybernator/Assault Suits Valkan on the Snes, and Musha Aleste on the mega drive.

If Possible, get a translated Valkan over Cybernator, as the western version dropped the character portraits and elements of the final level

 

[beyondbrainmatter]

1944 is also pretty good i liked it back in the day but it's old and likely hard to emulate.

Hard to emulate? No. No, it's not. Also, 1944: The Loop Master is from 2000, so it's not that old.