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Shooters are one genre that have prospered greatly in arcades and while they take many forms, there have been so many notable titles to come along that it’s hard to track all of them. What makes a shooter a shooter? What does STG stand for? What is the difference between bullet-hell, memorizer, caravan, and dodge’em shooters? A new article on Racketboy.com offers a beginners guide to the shmup, answering these questions and more. It covers which games and their innovative features that influenced other titles in the genre as well as what it is that makes the shooter great in the first place. Certain companies are also given attention, as some have produced more shooters than others. Not all arcade shooters are mentioned and it’s not the point to mention all of them, especially if they didn’t contribute anything significant.
So if you find your knowledge in the area lacking in this area, the Shmups 101: A Beginners Guide is a great place to start.
Racketboy is a great site. They write articles with tons of good information.
Cheers to linking this! A great (and long) article written by on the best in the community (BulletMagnet) with input from the shmups forum.