My Top Scrolling Shooters

This is a genre I only got properly into a couple of years ago, after playing MUSHA on Mega Drive. I then decided to find more shooters on the Genesis / Mega Drive and also played a few on Dreamcast.

I didn't play them much back when I had a Sega Mega Drive (SMD) and didn't play them on PC so I still don't know a whole lot about this genre.

I loved, but never really played Thunder Force 4 properly back in the day - I just went through on 99 lives and enjoyed the spectacle. These days I'm using the Thunder Sword to wreck bosses in 4 hits.

It can get tiring after a while but for short bursts of entertainment it is the definitive arcade game genre.

Looking into the SMD (and Master System) back catalogue, it turns out there are a few decent one's I'd missed out on.

So here are my recent favourites within the genre.

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1: Thunder Force 4 - Mega Drive - Technosoft (1992)

Best intro on the system. Best pixel art. Best music. Difficult but easy to get 99 lives (press d-pad+button+start to enter options, set life stock to 0) and just enjoy the scenery.

Trying to win you can just use the ‘Hunter’ and concentrate on dodging. Rock solid bosses.

2: Power Strike 2 - Master System - Compile (1993)

Played these games last year for the first time. Have known about Compile for about 2 years and I love them now. Blistering pace. Power Strike is much faster than the Robo Alesté series.

3: R-Type - Master System - Irem Corp. (1987)

Better than a Spectrum for graphics and sound... So I was very impressed. If also a little disturbed and unable to play back then for it’s difficulty. It turns out it's a really solid classic of the genre which is still really fun to play. It's slow pace means it's fair game for Irem to fill the screen with bullets to make up for it.

The artwork must have been influential and it still gives me goosebumps to see those Giger cyberpunk aliens.

4: Fantasy Zone - Master System - SEGA (1987)

This is even harder than R-Type but the ship physics and gameplay is impossible to improve upon. Another game which requires a potion of concentration.

5: MUSHA - Mega Drive - Compile (1990)

It all about the weapon upgrades. You have to constantly get all the different weapons in a Compile game (if you keep losing them like me), otherwise you can't power up your secondary weapons. You can take damage and will momentarily flash if you lose your secondary weapon, giving you a chance to recover. Also, your arms can absorb hits, temporarily removing one of your floating probe weapons. So although punishing past level 5, success is always within reach. Refined gameplay by a top tier shoot em up developer.

The music is cheesy, but it's good.

6: Super Fantasy Zone - Mega Drive - SEGA (1992)

Actually kind of easy once you get the swing. Otherwise, 3 lives on no continues. You will be playing the first level a lot. But a load of upgrades and weapons and interesting bosses and art style make this game very moorish.

7: Ikaruga - Dreamcast- Treasure (2001)

I like the presentation with the camera circling the ship as it flies through corridors before levels with 3d backgrounds.

The difficulty is a bit low once you figure out how to absorb bullets and the smart gun is a bit superfluous for the first stages at least. Then there is a lot of scenery dodging.

This game gets quite repetitive due to there being mostly just 2 colours for most of the time on screen and uninspired enemy placement.

But the visual spectacle and excellent sound effects make it worth replaying.

8: Trouble Shooter - Mega Drive - Vic Tokia (1991)

You have a woman strapped to your back and she can turn around to fir backwards or forwards. Vic Tokai games are so out there and fun to play from the music to the artwork, the pace never drops (apart from annoying pre-level weapon select menus.) Once you understand which weapons and special attacks to use and when, it becomes alot easier.

9: Empire of Steel - Mega Drive - Flying Edge (1992)

I always liked how they made it look like and old film at the beginning and in-between levels. This game is just solid. Not too difficult until you get to the speeding tunnel levels.

Choose from a blimp or plane. Nice graphics.

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I don't really know any more modern scrolling shooters. Not sure why that is, but maybe it’s because as a genre, the games don’t differ all that much, going back to Defender in 1981 by Williams. Just keep firing and dodging the bullets.

Defender - Williams (1981)

Honourable mentions:

Robo Alesté - Mega CD - Compile (1993)

You can chuck two spinning blades out at diagonal angles and chop things with them too, which is cool.

1942 - Arcade - Capcom (1984)

They always had these in swimming baths for some reason. Looked too hard and I needed my money to buy sweets but the visual spectacle had to be admired, back in 1987.

Still haven’t played:

Border Down -Dreamcast - G. rev (2003)

Thunder Force 5 - Saturn - Technosoft (1997)

Radiant Silvergun - Saturn - Treasure (1998)

Sturmwind - Dreamcast - Duranik (2013)

Can’t remember the name of: A witch flying broomstick (dragon?) maybe PS1 or Saturn game but not Cotton.

I’ll be honest, I’m no aficionado and probably still haven’t played some of the best ones and there are loads on the Dreamcast so please feel free to comment and highlight your favourites.

These are (probably) my top 10 and the platforms I play them on:

1. MUSHA (Genesis)
2. Galactic Attack (Saturn)
3. DoDonPachi Resurrection (Steam)
4. Mushihimesama (Steam)
5. Thunder Force IV (Genesis)
6. Battle Mania Daiginjou (Genesis)
7. Thunder Force III (Genesis)
8. Gley Lancer (Genesis)
9. Robo Aleste (SEGA CD)
10. Deathsmiles (Steam)

So in general, I mostly enjoy the Aleste and Thunder Force series, as well as anything done by Cave. Aside from them though, I also am a fan of other Genesis titles like Grind Stormer, Steel Empire, and Whip Rush; indie gems such as Astebreed, Crimzon Clover, and Strania on steam; the Raiden series; and of course, the famous Treasure stuff like Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, but I do prefer their beat 'em ups and run 'n gun games more.

@Renegade_Fury: I'm going through (as many as I can) fighting games on the Mega Drive now, which is not really that much fun... But, if I do a blog on that, expect Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyou Toitsusen / Sunset Fighters (Brazil). Spelt Yuyu Hakusho on the Brazilian version intro screen so I'm still not sure how it's actually spelt. But expect that game very near the top of an SMD top ten fighting games list.

I need to try again with Gunstar Heroes as I was a bit impatient with it.

I have Gley Lancer but I think it got sidelined by other games without giving it a fair shake, so I'll look at that one again, also the other ones you mentioned.

I really want to remember that cute-em-up Cotton-like game though.

There are also some Super Nintendo scrolling shooters that look good, including something from Compile. I know, I was shocked too.

@jackamomo: are you thinking of Gunbird? It has a character on a broom.

@iwilson1296: It was actually a horizontally scrolling shooter.

But Gunbird 2 on Dreamcast is definitely in my haven't played yet category, thanks for reminding me.

@jackamomo:

only other one i can think of is Magical Chase but that's on the turbo grafx 16 and the only other horizontal cute em ups i've played are the Parodius games so i'm at a loss on that one.

Battle Squadron and Hybris came with my Amiga Forever DVD disc.

@jun_aka_pekto: Battle Squadron is on Mega Drive but they changed something to make it impossible and I mean impossible.

Battle Squadron on the Amiga also got pretty hard at the later levels. I never did finish it because the game ran on a single floppy disk (not hard-drive transferable) and you know how easily a floppy disk got corrupted. I bought the game 3x or 4x because the floppy disk always got trashed. There wasn't a 5th because by that time the game had disappeared from store shelves.

I was surprised to see the game bundled with Amiga Forever in ROM format. Of course now, Battle Squadron is available for mobile too.

Nice list. Fantasy Zone and R-Type two of the best Master System games for sure. R-Type ported all over the place, but I grew up with that version.

Probably my favourite videogame genre few of may favs:

1. Dodonpachi (ARC)

2. Cyvern (ARC)

3. Sol Feace (MCD)

4. Lords of Thunder (MCD)

5. Keio Flying Squadron (MCD)

6. Bio Hazard Battle (MD)

7. Gynoug (MD)

8. Pop "N" Twinbee (SNES)

9. Axelay (SNES)

10. Bio Metal (SNES)

Honourable mentions:

Deathsmiles (ARC, XBOX360)

Triggerheart Exelica (ARC, DC)

Guwange (ARC, XBOX360)

@dragonps: Thank you!

It was Keio Flying squadron I was trying to remember.

Also, in honorable mentions, I wanted to include The Adventures of Batman and Robin flying stages. I know everyone says they are boring but I like the fact that it is one of the only ever scrolling shooting games (just stages in this case) which includes momentum. I find this quite exciting.

I am seeing very few scrolling shooters with momentum, although tAoBaR has perhaps a tad too much. This is something I've wanted for ages in scrolling shooters.

@jackamomo: No problem glad I jogged your memory :)