Completionist hardships

I try to beat all the games I pick up, especially the ones I like a lot. It is almost a compulsive thing with me. When I say beating a game this usually means beating the last boss and seeing the end credits. But with shmups it's not really that simple. Because of their arcade like nature they can often be beaten within an hour. If they come with unlimited continues which often is the case, it's all but guaranteed.

To say that I have beaten a shmup after simply having seen the ending credits feels very wrong to me. I have barely began mastering the game's mechanics.

So on how many continues would I have to beat the game to feel like I have really completed it? One seems to be the natural answer but to 1cc a shmup can be a real challenge. And on what difficulty? Normal is usually considered the standard difficulty. It's by this reasoning I have convinced myself that I have to 1cc on normal difficulty every shmup I start playing.

It took me a while to accomplish this goal with Espgaluda 2 but I finally did the other day. So now I can move on to the next space shooter. I have a few waiting for me in my pile of shame but I have a feeling it will probably be Dodonpachi Resurrection for iPhone if Cave just get around to releasing it sometime soon. They promised it would be out this summer...