Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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Learn how to Get Good at Shoot Em Ups in 7 Days! Is that even possible? Become a bullet hell shmup maestro all in a single week? Yes, in just 7 Days you can go from shmup mediocrity to proficiency by practicing the right skills.

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I think the way shoot em up skills are often taught is backwards to say the least. Very inefficient and demoralizing, treating shmup mastery like work. However, learning to shmup can be an exciting experience and a way to expand your enjoyment of the STG genre. I wanted to both share how I approach learning a new shooting game and also see how far we could push things in one week.

I help you choose the right Shoot Em Up to start with and offer my suggestions, then guide you step by step in what to practice each day to get good fast. What and how to practice to take your shooter skills to the next level... and enjoy yourself doing it. No matter the era, whether old school 16bit PC Engine, Mega Drive and SNES retro games, to more modern bullet hell on Switch, Playstation and Xbox consoles, these tips will apply to you. Konami or Cave, Gradius or Dodonpachi or Touhou, arcade or console, you'll find useful suggestions for beginner and intermediate players alike. Shmup School is in session and you've got 7 days to graduate!

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Learn to Shmup in 7 Days?
01:40 - How to Explore
03:50 - Learning your Ship
06:02 - Dominate the Screen
09:07 - Dance with the Devil
12:46 - Dodging Bullets
18:17 - Cheat Like a Pro
22:54 - Putting it all Together
24:17 - What Now?

Some of the Shmups showcased in this video:
Gradius Series by Konami
R-Type by IREM - Arcade / PC Engine / PS1
R-Type Final 2 - Switch, PS4, Xbox, Steam
Thunder Force 4 - Mega Drive
Thunder Force 5 - Sega Saturn and PS1
Blazing Star and Pulstar - Neo Geo
Dodonpachi, DOJ and SDOJ by Cave - Arcade and Xbox360
Deathsmiles by Cave
Mushihimesama Futari by Cave
Batsugun and Grind Stormer by Toaplan - Arcade / Saturn / Mega Drive
Tatsujin by Toaplan - Arcade / PC Engine / Mega Drive
Natsuki Chronicles, Ginga Force and Eschatos by QUTE
Cotton Reboot - Nintendo Switch and PS4
Cotton 2 and Boomerang - Sega Saturn
Soldier Blade - PC Engine
Bullet Hell Monday - mobile gaming

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Check out these awesome links to learn even more Shmup Skills:

The Electric Underground and Mark_MSX "How to Shmup" Series: youtube.com/watch?v=z4AA8GRDalc&t=1232s

Full Extent of the Jam Bullet Hell Tutorial by ProMeTheus
drive.google.com/file/d/10gOoljOemz5pbnwYRMbTfr6sWlQLr-l-/view

Shmups for Beginners Training Challenges by abrslam and the shmup community
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MZz8Q_8HdGyh2QU9BX4lNgyVAP9JZxxuy_YYbOLf1CM/edit#gid=0

Thank you to Jaimers for the amazing gameplay!
Gameplay used in this video:

2-ALL Dodonpachi Arcade: youtube.com/results?search_query=jaimers+dodonpachi

Natsuki Chronicles Extreme Arcade Mode All Clear: youtube.com/watch?v=t5T5DGB7Bh4&t=1982s

Ketsui Deathtiny PS4 Arcade Mode 2-All: youtube.com/watch?v=ZSivsrTNdho

Touhou Gameplay:

Touhou 7 Perfect Cherry Blossom Easy 1CC by Meg: youtube.com/watch?v=Oen4TG9SFlk&t=1536s

Touhou 8 Imperishable Night Easy 1CC by PaStef: youtube.com/watch?v=pfvUBChhY3M&t=742s