Shoot Em Up
Here we have all the games in the Shoot Em Up Section.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Adopts the 3D style of the Mega Drive version in this continuation of the predominantly 2D series with a rich heritage. Visual splendour in game and in the seamless anime cut scenes will full voice actor cast. The control system does take a wee bit of getting used to, but other than that its business as usual for Cotton on her witch’s broomstick.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Happy days are here again with this sublime compilation full of awe and thunder as Taito raids its back catalogue and pulls Rayforce, Raystorm, Raystorm Neo HD, Raycrisis and Raycrisis HD out of the hat. The originals fit like a nice par of slippers whilst the HD versions demonstrate the raw power of the Taito tech heads with retina burning lasers looking truly stunning.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Happy days are here again with this sublime compilation full of awe and thunder as Taito raids its back catalogue and pulls Rayforce, Raystorm, Raystorm Neo HD, Raycrisis and Raycrisis HD out of the hat. The originals fit like a nice par of slippers whilst the HD versions demonstrate the raw power of the Taito tech heads with retina burning lasers looking truly stunning.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Happy days are here again with this sublime compilation full of awe and thunder as Taito raids its back catalogue and pulls Rayforce, Raystorm, Raystorm Neo HD, Raycrisis and Raycrisis HD out of the hat. The originals fit like a nice par of slippers whilst the HD versions demonstrate the raw power of the Taito tech heads with retina burning lasers looking truly stunning.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Happy days are here again with this sublime compilation full of awe and thunder as Taito raids its back catalogue and pulls Rayforce, Raystorm, Raystorm Neo HD, Raycrisis and Raycrisis HD out of the hat. The originals fit like a nice par of slippers whilst the HD versions demonstrate the raw power of the Taito tech heads with retina burning lasers looking truly stunning.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Genki’s bugbear with Rolling Gunner is the difficulty in taking in the stunning, stainless steel mega bosses and seamlessly scrolling backgrounds in this super Switch side scrolling shooter. The soundtrack hits all the right notes too, inspiring players to keep blasting when it seems like every pixel is out to get you.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Genki’s bugbear with Rolling Gunner is the difficulty in taking in the stunning, stainless steel mega bosses and seamlessly scrolling backgrounds in this super Switch side scrolling shooter. The soundtrack hits all the right notes too, inspiring players to keep blasting when it seems like every pixel is out to get you.
PSP
Shoot Em Up
Konami declares its unrelenting love for gamers from the old school with this bumper compilation responsible for many a blistered thumb. Includes five games on the wee UMD are the organic looking Salamander parts one and two, plus Life Force, Xexex and Gradius II. Konami have enabled the games to fully utilise the PSP’s screen, but they can also be played in their original dimensions for the PSP purists. Also includes a gallery to savour memories of old. The appropriately daunting front cover remains with the Salamander boss – a classic retro image. Yet its Xexex that is the surprise package here with its R Type style detachable pod making for exhilarating gameplay. Sometimes its best not to go back, but this time its good to be back. And Xexex absolutely insists you go back.
XBOX 360
Shoot Em Up
Unusual twist on the shooter genre with G Rev putting a isometric slant on proceedings as two players (or the CPU plus one player) battle it out amongst some huge, spiraling bosses trying to deflect shots onto opponents. Occasion power ups lead to a vast transformation of your ship to unleash the mother of all shooter assaults on a suitably dwarfed opponent. Being Naomi based would have made for a fine DC conversion, as such the 360 takes more DC refugees under its all encompassing wing.
XBOX 360
Shoot Em Up
Unusual twist on the shooter genre with G Rev putting a isometric slant on proceedings as two players (or the CPU plus one player) battle it out amongst some huge, spiralling bosses trying to deflect shots onto opponents. Occasion power ups lead to a vast transformation of your ship to unleash the mother of all shooter assaults on a suitably dwarfed opponent. Being Naomi based would have made for a fine DC conversion, as such the 360 takes more DC refugees under its all encompassing wing.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
The Switch once again steps up as the bastion of all shooters of yesteryear. Alfa System’s very high production values shine through as you once again take to the skies in super human form to battle the Shikigami Castle which is hovering menacingly above Tokyo. Adrenalin fuelled shmup fiends will relish the multiplier opportunities pushing reflexes and retinas to the extreme levels of endurance.
PS2
Shoot Em Up
Competent conversion of the until now Dreamcast exclusive that keeps its arcade roots in the high adrenalin, verticle on screen action. Whilst still lacking the wow factor in terms of visual impact, gameplay has clearly been made the all important goal of the developers for which praise is deserved. Besides you’re not given much chance to admire the scenery as you need your eyes to work independently to avoid the on screen onslaught. Also includes five mini bonus games not found on the DC where you must shoot the right balloons for example with more precision shooting required as well as evasive skills. A sort of training for the main event with high scoring being the goal.
Mega CD
Shoot Em Up
Giddy, on the rails shooting action which works well and looks very impressive on the Mega CD. Unrelenting action as your ship skims the surface of far away planets. Not for those who suffer from motion sickness. Starfox for the Sega CD.
PS2
Shoot Em Up
High production values with fine attention to detail in the landscapes all interlaced with top draw GCI cut scenes adds up to a superlative sapping experience. A strategical element is added to the frantic, frenetic shooter action in that wing weapons must be selected in accordance with the level awaiting. Half way through the level the mother ship will drop in though for a well needed health boost and a opportunity to reconfigure for the intelligent bosses that vary their assaults. As is the way with modern shooters, dicing with death is actively encouraged as the multiplier spirals out of control by shooting the ships when they are really too close for comfort.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Highly impressive dog fight game which convinces of depth very well as you lead your squadron into the screen. The cloud formation and perspective combine very cleverly and give a real sense of motion. A beady eye must also be kept on the sea in order to drop a skimming bomb into enemy vessels to give them a few problems to deal with rather than taking pop shots at your fighter plane.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
With the series having started as Moon Cresta, followed by Terra Cresta, we now have Sol Cresta and the outer space galaxy setting looks superb as a background to the frantic on screen blasting action. Vertically scrolling and making fine use of modern hardware to flip around some serious hardware that our vessel must take down. Great to see so many fine shooters being released for all to savour.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
With the series having started as Moon Cresta, followed by Terra Cresta, we now have Sol Cresta and the outer space galaxy setting looks superb as a background to the frantic on screen blasting action. Vertically scrolling and making fine use of modern hardware to flip around some serious hardware that our vessel must take down. Great to see so many fine shooters being released for all to savour.
🥇Game of the Week
Brilliant Mega Drive
Shoot Em Up
Going back to the halcyon era of the crack MD developer Wolf Team and re-releasing this 1992 space-based, side scrolling shoot em up. Genki thought we had mis-spelled its Mega CD sister title Sol Feace all these years, but Sol Deace only made it to North America on cart form apparently. The chip tunes alone are something to behold and the waves of enemy swarms judged perfectly by the developers before the boss rush.
NEO GEO CD
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling shmup with great characterisation to spice up the on screen onslaught. Impressively imaginative interactive backgrounds also add much to the intrigue. The series is known as Aero Fighters in the West.
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
The legendary 16 and 32Bit shoot em up Sonic Wings gets rebooted for a revival flight in this updated retro reunion with the cityscapes looking superbly rotoscoped. The plane theme is done too perfection with a variety of planes and pilots to add to the explosion excitement, all looking very militaristic in TATE mode.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
The legendary 16 and 32Bit shoot em up Sonic Wings gets rebooted for a revival flight in this updated retro reunion with the cityscapes looking superbly rotoscoped. The plane theme is done too perfection with a variety of planes and pilots to add to the explosion excitement, all looking very militaristic in TATE mode.
Sega Saturn
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling shmup with smashing characterisation to spice up the on screen onslaught. Twelve colourful characters in all to choose from in this very special package.
Sega Saturn
Shoot Em Up
Up there with the best of Saturn blast fests, which is no mean feat. Unique lock on system allows you to unleash untold destruction. Massive bosses. Clever sprite scaling makes for a great looking Tokyo to fly over as enemies scale in and out of range. Lovely attention to detail as shrapnel plummets to earth.
PC Engine HU Card
Shoot Em Up
Genki doesn’t remember any shortage of 100 Yen coins, nor 10 Pence pieces for that matter; just a strange, cigarette burnt machine in the middle of the local toy shop. A must for any self respecting retro heads collection as a true piece of gaming history. Subtitled ‘The Revival Day’, additions include powerups and vector graphics.
PC Engine Super CD ROM
Shoot Em Up
Superb shooter where players get to customise a mean mecha robot instead of relying on power ups to blast bits out of the opposition. Like Assault Suits Valken on the SFC, fellow fighters will come to the players aid as the plot unfolds through the slickly produced cut sequences. Backgrounds are full of inspiration and very well executed with parallax scrolling to put many programmers to shame. A master blaster.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Fast and frantic shooting action as the submarine drops bombs and launches torpedoes to try and keep on top of things. The speed the Famicom shifts the non screen action around impresses and the sprite based simplicity keeps the gameplay uncluttered and adds a visual charm. Plus the distinctive underwater locales keep this feeling as fresh as the school of angler fish awaiting.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Classic old school shooter from the kings of the Famicom era Hudson that ruled the roost with fast paced, arcade shooting action, to paraphrase from the era. Superb box art and good, wholesome gameplay.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Classic old school shooter from the kings of the Famicom era Hudson that ruled the roost with fast paced, arcade shooting action, to paraphrase from the era. Superb box art and good, wholesome gameplay.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
The Famicom’s answer to Star Wars as pilots take a cockpit view of this shooter to take down a suspiciously familiar looking man-made star. A simple cursor approach with a radar, but due to a lack of license, you’ll have to hum your own theme tune as you take down the enemy hordes.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Highly collectable original Famicom version. The graphical limitations made programmers work hard on gameplay where Star Soldier excels. The robotic brain pays a visit at the end of level mutating into a bigger, badder boss as you progress. The whole epic series started here.