Well, the last thread (
here) has been dormant for long enough that a new thread is warranted.
To start off with, allow me to show you a rather unusual shmup, from WELL back to about 1987 or 1988:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0XrdZgtp7cMakyou Senshi in Japan,
Gondomania here (with a remixed main theme and re-ordered bosses, at that). It may not be obvious from the above playthrough at first (mostly because the player is very sparing in using any weapons she has that aren't the daggers), but you had two weapons at your disposal. Your airbike guns (unlimited forward range, but always a fixed amount of shots), and your throwing weapons (the daggers are an infinite supply, but have lousy range; everything else is a fixed amount). As to how you get around the fixed amounts...each enemy destroyed drops a coin of varying amounts; I think it's anywhere from 5 to 20, depending on the enemy in question. Meanwhile, new airbikes, throwing weapons, and other power-ups (weapon recharge, speed boosters, armor, 1-ups, invincibility) are laying around on the ground, but must be purchased with the coins you picked up beforehand. It's also a rotary stick game--turn the knob on the joystick to aim your throwing weapons. The throwing weapons, by the way, range from effectively daggers upgraded in range and/or speed (swords, axes, double-bladed axes) to triple shuriken, grenades, firebombs, and shrapnel generators.
Now, if we could just figure out a way to make a Touhou game with this kind of weapon conceit. Well, without the airbikes (I doubt Touhou players would be happy with losing out on forward shots until they can buy a new supply), but still with the limited rotatable weapons...
