Djinni. Dude. You don't play shmups and FPS for the story. Sure it can be a plus, but to criticise a weak or non-existent story in those genres is tantamount to criticising FPS for not having RPG-style stat-based character development.

Story? Really, Marc?

I played the crap out of this as a kid in the arcades, and I've still got my copy of the NES port. So much fun!

I think you are missing the point guys. I was being overly critical on my playthrough, and expected modern things like cutscenes, etc. That's not the best way to look at classic games. The problem was me, not the game itself. I thought I pointed that out later on in the article, but I guess it wasn't as clear as I had hoped.

The way you've written the article, one could be forgiven for thinking you are criticising old games for not being as technologically able as modern games, or being poor in plot development. Really, just read your opening and concluding paragraphs. You make it sound like the only redeeming factor of old games is the nostalgic connections.

In most games, current and previous generations, you only need about half-a-page of backstory following a cookie-cutter mould (alien invasion, zombies, ancient evil, etc), another two pages worth of in-game cookie-cutter plot devices to progress the game (get to Alpha before enemy, guard a VIP, assemble ancient artifact, etc) and that's really all you need for a story. The only genre that wants a story is the RPG, for obvious reasons. Note the word "want" rather than "need." Even in RPGs, there need not be a deep plot for the game to be exciting, as Pokemon, Diablo, and other dungeon crawlers have shown.

Any story beyond a thin skeleton serves to enrich the universe, provide some atmosphere for the setting, and ease casual gamers into the game.

I only mentioned the lack of story in passing, about half a sentence. Lack of story is not the primary reason Twin Cobra was underwhelming to me; it's because it's an average shoot em up. I have played and enjoyed many games quite like it. I shouldn't have mentioned the lack of a story at all, it seems to have pushed a few buttons I had no intentions of pushing!

It's not so much that you criticise the lack of story; it's that you also don't make one of two appropriate concessions, combined with (as mentioned) opening/closing paragraphs that mention "nostalgia goggles." You could have acknowledged it was an old game, or that shmups aren't played for their story anyway.