Shoot Em Up
Here we have all the games in the Shoot Em Up Section.
Nintendo 64
Shoot Em Up
Enter the Star Wars inspired world of Fox McCloud to nimbling manoevre your Star Wing through obstacles whilst blasting anything that moves. Nintendo magic.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Beautiful gaming world looking straight out of a Miyazaki anime such as Porco Rosso with all manner of flying contraptions that keeps the action fresh. In the Mega Drive version players had two vessels to choose from: the land bombing plane or the air mine depositing Zeppelin each whose advantages must be weighed against the needs of the mission ahead. Lovingly presented in a wartime movie style, the overall package oozes quality of a bygone era now lovingly brought to the burgeoning roster of Switch shooters.
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
Beautiful gaming world looking straight out of a Miyazaki anime such as Porco Rosso with all manner of flying contraptions that keeps the action fresh. In the Mega Drive version players had two vessels to choose from: the land bombing plane or the air mine depositing Zeppelin each whose advantages must be weighed against the needs of the mission ahead. Lovingly presented in a wartime movie style, the overall package oozes quality of a bygone era now lovingly brought to the burgeoning roster of Switch shooters.
Playstation
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling tribute to the Capcom 194x series but still a refreshing change from the reoccurring outer space theme. Improved aurally and visually over the prequel, with little sign of any slowdown regardless of the relentlessness of the on going aerial assault. A competent conversion of the coin grabbing arcade.
PC Engine CD ROM
Shoot Em Up
Outer space meets the Atlantic Ocean in this vintage series full of robotic aquatic creatures of the deep that appear to be rejected prototypes for Tomy’s latest toy range.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Conversion of the arcade monolith based on part two with an extra intro level. Tough and unforgiving, but the true shmup fan wouldn’t have it any other way. Never has Genki been so grateful for slowdown to get out of the many tight fixes that must come with trying to contain the expansion of the Bydo Empire in R-Type.
PC Engine Super CD ROM
Shoot Em Up
Hudson have performed a commendable job of converting the Seibu Kaihatsu sprite shooter adding in the CD quality soundtrack over the standard Hu Card release. Only those most grizzled gaming vets need apply – especially if you can keep your eyes on two different areas of the screen at once and have a steady trigger finger when it comes to the surface bombs. (Apologies for the poor cover images – the reflective cover doesn’t scan well.)
PC Engine HU Card
Shoot Em Up
As the first in the series on the Engine, this hasn’t aged quite as well as Final Soldier and Soldier Blade, but its nippy gameplay has withstood the test of time. Eight intense levels as you fly over a giant spaceship not knowing where the next attack will be launched from. One hit takes out your upgradable weapon, the next – destruction. Has two and five minute score challenge modes for those who wished to brush up their skills for the gaming equivalent of Woodstock – the Caravan contest. Updated to the PSP, but that brain boss keeps haunting us.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Granada, Psychic Storm, Gaiares and Avenger make for a roster well-worth revisiting and not just for vintage gamers. Gaiares will delight many yet to sample its charms, yet all stand tall in this fine back roster from cult cracker Telenet.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Granada, Psychic Storm, Gaiares and Avenger make for a roster well-worth revisiting and not just for vintage gamers. Gaiares will delight many yet to sample its charms, yet all stand tall in this fine back roster from cult cracker Telenet.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Kiaidan 00 was a rare PC Engine title even back in the day, so its happy days many can discover its power laser rays. Final Zone II is a gritty run and gun overhead scroller – you can almost taste the metal of the grenade pin in your mouth as you pile in all guns blazing. Browning is also of the PC Engine stable along side Legion, which shows Telenet’s fair hand at shoot em ups.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
Kiaidan 00 was a rare PC Engine title even back in the day, so its happy days many can discover its power laser rays. Final Zone II is a gritty run and gun overhead scroller – you can almost taste the metal of the grenade pin in your mouth as you pile in all guns blazing. Browning is also of the PC Engine stable along side Legion, which shows Telenet’s fair hand at shoot em ups.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
A vintage vertical scroller that pulls up its bar stool and satisfactorily sups its tipple, safe in the knowledge that what it does, it does very well. Don’t expect any favours, but it does make a great adventure.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Actually a port of ThunderForce III the seminal Saturn and more Mega Drive title of this era. Richly detailed mode 7 backgrounds compete for your attention amongst the swarms of enemy vessels. Not quite up to the mighty source material of ThunderForce III, but not much is.
🥇Game of the Week
Game of the Week Switch
Shoot Em Up
Flying Shark, Fire Shark, Tiger Heli, Ultimate Tiger, Out Zone, Fixeight, Batsugun and Dogyuun make up the dream team for the first instalment of crystallised, sheer shoot em up fun with Out Zone and its sequel Fixeight being run and gun to give blasting variety. A real pleasure to get introduced to the others with Dogyuun being an arcade exclusive we had yet to encounter. Not that Genki would have been brave enough to drop in a few hundred Yen coins to be subjected to public scrutiny of ones shooting tactics.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
The line-up reads like the tattooed sleeve of an arcade veteran: Zero Wing, Hellfire, Slap Fight, VV, Tatsujin, Tatsujin Oh/Truxton II, Vimana and Daisenpu. Serious shooting action from the days of no consumer compromise and it makes no apologies for it. A true pleasure to sample those not previously released outside the arcades. Just grateful its not 100 Yen a pop with Genki’s success rate.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
A mouth watering compilation of Flying Shark, Sky Shark, Fire Shark and Wardner no Mori in various Famicom, Mega Drive and Arcade incarnations to savour. Fire Shark shows Toaplan in fine fettle with the player taking the controls of a fighter plane with some stupendously powerful weapons to pick up and power up including the gratifying flamethrower in this WWII airborne shooter. Brash, big sprites and nice attention to detail at ground level with soldiers running around and vehicles getting stuck and no hint of slowdown. Just watch the reverse, gunner. Wardner no Mori is no stranger to Mega Drive fans and adds nice variation in this solid platform game set in a spooky forest where the lead man shoots fire from his fingers to scythe through to a cinder the evil ghouls and demons lying in wait. Strangely compelling in spite of the coin op based, money grabbing difficulty requiring pixel perfect jumps.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
A mouth watering compilation of Flying Shark, Sky Shark, Fire Shark and Wardner no Mori in various Famicom, Mega Drive and Arcade incarnations to savour. Fire Shark shows Toaplan in fine fettle with the player taking the controls of a fighter plane with some stupendously powerful weapons to pick up and power up including the gratifying flamethrower in this WWII airborne shooter. Brash, big sprites and nice attention to detail at ground level with soldiers running around and vehicles getting stuck and no hint of slowdown. Just watch the reverse, gunner. Wardner no Mori is no stranger to Mega Drive fans and adds nice variation in this solid platform game set in a spooky forest where the lead man shoots fire from his fingers to scythe through to a cinder the evil ghouls and demons lying in wait. Strangely compelling in spite of the coin op based, money grabbing difficulty requiring pixel perfect jumps.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Ensuring future generations understand why ‘All Your Base Are Belong To Us’ with Zero Wing leading the assault, backed up more than admirably by Hellfire: the arcade machine from the vintage year of 1989. Also released on the Mega Drive and PC Engine, the anime cinematics and ripe old gameplay with selectable shot direction and the possibility to have two players simultaneously a feature to write home about of its era. One unique feature of Zero Wing the tractor beam that allows you to suck up enemy vessels into your ship to fire them out again or use them as a shield. Then the bonus Horror Story is a real treat for fans of the era: a delightful B movie horror feel to this platform shooter complete with ghosts that look like rejects from Mr Vampire and priestess on floating clouds from Chinese Ghost Story on the oriental themed level one with spooky musical score. The main character looks like the lead from Slime World and can be joined by a friend for two player co-operative play. Further delights include the ghost ship level. A rare non-shooter release from Toaplan, but this conversion has preserved the characteristic difficulty.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
Switch version and eagerly awaited shmup port of the Naomi board based Dreamcast blast that also found a home on the 360 and PS2. The crux of this shooters story is the ability to capture enemy ships and either use them as a shield or send them spinning off out of control with a deft joypad flick. The home version includes the original arcade mode, along with a story, arrange and training modes plus the chance to tweak with the controls and screen dimensions. Story mode adds speech to the levels along with various endings depending on which character the player selected. Arrange is a mish mash of the arcade and story modes that must be completed on a measly single credit.
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
Standard version of the eagerly awaited shmup port of the Naomi board. The crux of this shooters story is the ability to capture enemy ships and either use them as a shield or send them spinning off out of control with a deft joypad flick. The Switch Enhanced version includes plenty of extras over the Dreamcast original, like the PS2 port. Story mode adds speech to the levels along with various endings depending on which character the player selected. Arrange is a mish mash of the arcade and story modes that must be completed on a measly single credit.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Insane amount of projectiles on screen as the wee witches avoid the harmful ones whilst swooping on their brooms to grab the power ups needed to keep reciprocating the bullet barrage. Lovely graphical style to suit the witches theme.
PS4
Shoot Em Up
Insane amount of projectiles on screen as the wee witches avoid the harmful ones whilst swooping on their brooms to grab the power ups needed to keep reciprocating the bullet barrage. Lovely graphical style to suit the witches theme.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Lushly pastel shaded vertically scrolling shoot ’em up from the reliable Konami stable. Off – shoot of the Gradius and Parodius series. Shooter heads may find its frivolous gameplay a little easy, but everyone will enjoy the ride.
Sega Saturn
Shoot Em Up
Lushly pastel shaded vertically scrolling shoot ’em up from the reliable Konami stable celebrating ten years of Twinbee. Off – shoot of the Gradius and Parodius series. Shooter heads may find its frivolous gameplay a little easy, but everyone will enjoy the ride.
Playstation
Shoot Em Up
Lushly pastel shaded vertically scrolling shoot ’em up from the reliable Konami stable celebrating ten years of Twinbee. Off – shoot of the Gradius and Parodius series. Shooter heads may find its frivolous gameplay a little easy, but everyone will enjoy the ride.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Play as an octopus, bunny girl or tropical fish amongst the bizarre characters in Konami’s charming Parodius series. Areas include on a Japanese motorway, inside a cake and a UFO catcher game. Very refreshing in an era of too many games that take themselves far too seriously. Hats off to Konami for its self depreciating humour. Known in Japan as Gokujou Parodius.
Sega Saturn
Shoot Em Up
An interesting look into the psyche of the Japanese game developer with some bizarre and often culturally confused imagery ensuring the action remains fresh and invigorating. This is actually a compilation of the two Super Famicom versions Parodius and Ultimate Parodius souped up for the Saturn. Also known as Gokujyo Parodius.
PC Engine HU Card
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling helicopter based blaster. Think 1941 with copters for planes. Taito once again showing its expertise in crafting very competent shooters. Also known as Kyukyoku Tiger.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling helicopter based blaster. Think 1941 with copters for planes. Taito once again showing its expertise in crafting very competent shooters. Also known as Kyukyoku Tiger.