Shoot Em Up
Here we have all the games in the Shoot Em Up Section.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Tate, meaning vertical, scrolling shoot em up from Capcom’s classic stable of WWII plane blasters. Good, solid arcade mechanics and plenty to keep the guns ratatating in both smaller planes and the big, bad boss versions.
Playstation
Shoot Em Up
Tribute to Dezaemon as gamers get to become construction kings of the 3D shooter. The ultimate dream of fans of the genre from Star Fox to Star Blade. Now its possible to prove you could do it better.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Highly imaginative vertically scrolling outer space blast with a nice, chunky feel to the sprites and bosses with good use of the hardware to produce fine backgrounds too. Very commendable.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Granted most modern shooters end up in a screen full of rainbow coloured bullets (though that said old school shooters were never short of a projectile or two.) But Cave has certainly grabbed Genki’s goat in going for a World War style of isometric background buildings as detailed polygon biplanes float into place having caught the eye with a neat bit of scaling. Plenty of on ground action as pilots fly their female characters through the on-screen onslaught. Superb stuff demonstrating Cave’s rich arcade heritage.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Granted most modern shooters end up in a screen full of rainbow coloured bullets (though that said old school shooters were never short of a projectile or two.) But Cave has certainly grabbed Genki’s goat in going for a World War style of isometric background buildings as detailed polygon biplanes float into place having caught the eye with a neat bit of scaling. Plenty of on ground action as pilots fly their female characters through the on-screen onslaught. Superb stuff demonstrating Caves rich arcade heritage.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant PS4
Shoot Em Up
Granted most modern shooters end up in a screen full of rainbow coloured bullets (though that said old school shooters were never short of a projectile or two.) But Cave has certainly grabbed Genki’s goat in going for a World War style of isometric background buildings as detailed polygon biplanes float into place having caught the eye with a neat bit of scaling. Plenty of on ground action as pilots fly their female characters through the on-screen onslaught. Superb stuff demonstrating Caves rich arcade heritage.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Aleste is a well-respected series which has survived more skirmishes than the Millennium Falcon. This includes four versions of the game on the cart in: Aleste (Mark III), GG Aleste (Game Gear), GG Aleste II (Game Gear) and Power Strike II (Master System.)
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Aleste is a well-respected series which has survived more skirmishes than the Millennium Falcon. This includes four versions of the game on the cart in: Aleste (Mark III), GG Aleste (Game Gear), GG Aleste II (Game Gear) and Power Strike II (Master System.)
Mega Drive
Shoot Em Up
Not your standard shooter as Robo Kid uses a unique firing system and the levels vary from horizontally scrolling to maze type. Sound range of weaponry to rip into the bosses. Feels very fresh: a different kind of blaster with the shadowy jungle level particularly innovative.
PC Engine HU Card
Shoot Em Up
Not your standard shooter as Robo Kid uses a unique firing system and the levels vary from horizontally scrolling to maze type. Fresh in a crowded PC Engine market place.
Mega CD
Shoot Em Up
Full motion video shmup in a similar vein to Slipheed seeing you battling your fighter to the far away planet of Prism in order to get the super weapon to save the earth again!
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Few can forget the into the screen appeal of Axelay that has lost little of its lustre as the lava boss vents his wrath. Nor the ED209 robot boss capturing the 90s appeal of Robocop. But below the clever programming is a very solid shooter with as much polish on the gameplay as the graphical pizzazz.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling shooting action as the players ship is encircled by sphere shields to try and survive. The enemies seem to fly at you like swordfish or flying fish and it’s a good idea to keep hammering the fire button to keep them at bay. Keeping blasting ensures a path through land based defences too.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
PC Engine Super Grafx
Shoot Em Up
One of only three SG blast fests and with the other two being Aldynes and 1941, Battle Ace was always going to be hard pushed to jostle for a place higher up the winners podium. Still BA makes a valiant attempt opting for an an internal Elite style view out from your space ship. The gameplay is far less cerebral than Braben’s opus, more on the lines of After Burner’s Top Gun triggger happy gameplay. Perhaps just pushing the Super Grafx hardware a little too far? But good for a short arcade style thrill.
Complete with slip card case and registration card. Slight creases on manual edge. Slight peel on spine of Hu Card case sticker. Light scuffing to card slip as is common.
Miscellaneous Games
Shoot Em Up
A vertical scrolling shooter from master blasters Sega with clever programming and tasty chip tunes. Can’t go wrong with Sega’s hertitage.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
The Switch carries the mantle of the modern day refuge for shoot ’em ups with this double pack of Bullet Soul (Dankon) and Bullet Soul Infinite Burst. Not wishing to dampen its many pyrotechnics, but Genki may be getting a little long in the tooth as the Normal mode seems more than ample evidence of its bullet hell. Yet for those made of stronger stuff there are also Burst and Caravan modes, which may well require a pad or joystick made of stronger stuff. Independent eye movement isn’t mentioned as a requirement on the box, yet would definitely be an advantage.
XBOX 360
Shoot Em Up
Moss unleash quite a beast in this version of bullet hell that seems to be connected direct to hell with its dark overtones and gothic splendour. Certainly not lacking in imagination as bosses utilise their full 3D capabilities to put the willies up players ships having to share the same screen space that feels positively claustrophobic during such encounters. Splendid character design and a heart beat in sync with Akiba culture chic. A real otakus dream realised in glorious gothic graphics.
Playstation
Shoot Em Up
Arcade classics 1942, 1943 and 1943 Kai on the one CD which is great to see as, aside from the 1941 Super Grafx conversion, until this release the home versions had been a tad disappointing. Thankfully Capcom’s back catalogue is well worth cashing in on.
Sega Saturn
Shoot Em Up
Arcade classics 1942, 1943 and 1943 Kai on the one CD which is great to see as, aside from the 1941 Super Grafx conversion, until this release the home versions had been a tad disappointing. Thankfully Capcom’s back catalogue is well worth cashing in on.
Playstation
Shoot Em Up
Arcade classics 1942, 1943 and 1943 Kai on the one CD which is great to see as, aside from the 1941 Super Grafx conversion, until this release the home versions had been a tad disappointing. Thankfully Capcom’s back catalogue is well worth cashing in on. This particular version comes with a splendid art book detailing enemy planes from the games.
PC Engine Super CD ROM
Shoot Em Up
CD based sequel to the HU Card based Air Zonk with crazy power ups turning you into various guises including a sushi chef firing out all manner of sushi rolls. Packed with humour: one sublime moment among many sees an alarmed looking fish being persued by a guy wielding a sashimi sign in the obligatory underwater level. The dodgy rockabilly style intro song is just about eclipsed by the enka (traditional Japanese) style continue song – sang as Denjin trudges brow beaten along a winding road.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Roughly translating as ‘Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console! Highly imaginative, very wacky digitised graphics to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Drifts away from the shooting action of its predecessors for a one on one fist fest taking place in mid air – reassuringly with female characters too. Although the fart attacks are no way to treat a lady.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Two game package in Choaniki and Ai Choaniki of PC Engine fame making the transition to the Switch. To those who have yet to encounter it, Choaniki is a very wacky shooter from Japan. Expect the unexpected in a Kikikaikai style. Never a dull moment in this blaster with a cult following. Ai Choaniki roughly translates as ‘Love Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console. Highly imaginative characters and bosses to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Playable as Adon or Samson.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Graphically pleasing with liberal use of colour as you guide Willow on her broomstick quest for wish-granting sweets accompanied by her fairy friend Silk. Success is rewarded with an appropriately off kilter end of level tea break. Intriguingly Willow gets to select her favourite weaponry before the offset and in game Silk can be used to attack along with the fire dragon, star frenzy or lightning assaults depending on which crystals have been collected.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Two superb 16 Bit versions of Cotton in the orthodox Super Famicom Cotton 100% and the out of the box Panorama Cotton of Mega Drive fame. Both worthy of this tribute and executed supremely with the colourful, comic bosses a real treat for retro fans.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Two superb 16 Bit versions of Cotton in the orthodox Super Famicom Cotton 100% and the out of the box Panorama Cotton of Mega Drive fame. Both worthy of this tribute and executed supremely with the colourful, comic bosses a real treat for retro fans.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Two superb 16 Bit versions of Cotton in the orthodox Super Famicom Cotton 100% and the out of the box Panorama Cotton of Mega Drive fame. Both worthy of this tribute and executed supremely with the colourful, comic bosses a real treat for retro fans.