Favorite stages?

[adverse]

What are your guys favorite single stages from the shooters you've played?

I'm a big fan of Mushihimesama Futari's Stage 4.  The background has gorgeous colors, along with the well-designed enemies.  In particular the mantis/caterpillar enemies were an interesting re-imagining of the dragons from Mushihimesama stage 4. 

Stage 4 is also pure fun, especially the higher you can get the rank, as bullets fly from left and right and you cut from one side of the screen to the other to avoid them.  Then you have the well-placed bomb effect items (mantises, statues, moths) which save you just in time.  Add to that the fun mid-boss and you have a really solid level IMO.

[Sycada]

I agree that stage 4 on Futari is fantastic but I actually prefer stage 3 myself. The scoring on all those nests and towers is so satisfying in maniac mode when you get the right rhythm.

[SuperPang]

The train stage on Ibara
The massive beetle thing on Mushihimesama

always stage 3 for some reason

[markedkiller78]

There are tons, but I?ll go for this as my current fav:

MMP L4. The fighter jets at the beginning dropping & all the diagonal bullets towards the end are particularly good & the boss is rock hard. The wire mesh thing in the middle, with the single helicopters dropping below it is crap though.

Others that spring to mind are:

Esp Galuda L2 ? The trains & music rock
DDP L4 ? Blowing the buildings up at the beginning & the big tanks appearing behind them
Ibara L1 - I love blowing the buildings up
MF1.5 L2 ? The stupid lobsters coming in from the right & left & massive iceicles make for so much scoring as do the big flying fish things at the end (worst boss ever at the end of L2 though)
Ketsui L1 ? Blowing up the buildings again

[drboom]

Ketsui - Stage 5 is fantastic - lots going on and so many places where you are challenged by tough bullet spreads that the level just seems so perfect - a small, perfect game in its own right. Not to mention the fantastic music which really makes the stage complete.
Mushihimesama - Stage 4 - Great music, great enemy placement and killing off the centipedes at the end is so much fun in Maniac and Original.

Those would probably be my two favorites, but honorable mention goes to Progear stage 1 - great layout, good music, easy enough that you can enjoy all of it - and to Futari's stage 3 - tons of enemies, great music and a pretty fair difficulty level. Just alot of fun blowing up those piles of bugs on the right and left which radiate bullets (or whatever bugs radiate) and turning them into multiplier points.

[innerpattern]

stage 4 of Guwange. It's all the cool stuff from the first three stages combined into one and the boss is great fun.