Shoot 'em ups are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives.
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Irem as an arcade video game in 1984, and distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
Vendetta, known in Japan as Crime Fighters 2 (クライムファイターズ2), is a 1991 side-scrolling beat-'em-up arcade game developed and published by Konami. It is the sequel to 1989 Konami's Crime Fighters, although it was marketed internationally as a stand-alone game with no previous connections.
The following article is a broad timeline of arcade video games.
Pit-Fighter is a fighting game developed by Atari Games and released as an arcade video game in 1990. It was Atari's first fighting game. The Japanese release was published by Konami. Home versions were published by Tengen.
Legendary Wings is a fantasy-themed shoot-'em-up / platformer arcade video game released by Capcom in 1986. The player takes control of a young soldier equipped with magical wings who must save the world from a malfunctioning supercomputer. A home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released exclusively in North America in 1988. The original coin-op version is included in Capcom Classics Collection for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and in Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PlayStation Portable.
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Street Fighter is a 1987 arcade video game by Japanese developer and publisher Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in the Street Fighter series. It was a commercial success in arcades and introduced special attacks and some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as the six-button controls and the use of command-based special moves.
A beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, while a number of modern games feature more open three-dimensional (3D) environments with yet larger numbers of enemies. The gameplay tends to follow arcade genre conventions, such as being simple to learn but difficult to master, and the combat system tends to be more highly developed than other side-scrolling action games. Two-player cooperative gameplay and multiple player characters are also hallmarks of the genre. Most of these games take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical, science fiction or fantasy themes.
Salamander 2 is a 1996 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Konami. It is the direct sequel to Salamander (1986) and the third game in the Salamander series, which itself is a spin-off of the Gradius franchise. Up to two players control two starships — the Vic Viper and the Super Cobra — as they must destroy the alien race Doom before they wipe out all of the planet Gradius. Gameplay involves shooting down enemies, collecting power-up items, and avoiding collision with projectiles or obstacles.
Arabian Magic is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash arcade video game developed by Taito and released in 1992. It was included in Taito Legends 2 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.
A side-scrolling video game is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics during the golden age of arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to 3D graphics during the fifth generation.
Arabian Fight (アラビアンファイト) is a scrolling beat 'em up video game released in arcades by Sega in 1992. Running on the Sega System 32 arcade system, the game displays pseudo-3D sprite-scaling graphics and supports cooperative multiplayer for up to four players.
Dynamite Düx is a beat 'em up developed by Sega AM2 and released by Sega as an arcade video game in 1988. Produced by Yu Suzuki and with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, the game uses the Sega System 16 arcade board, the same board used for Golden Axe and Altered Beast. It was ported to the Master System, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in the following year. A Mega Drive version was planned but never released.
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, commonly abbreviated to Sapphire in English, is a shoot 'em up developed by CAProduction for the PC Engine CD-ROM² System. It was published in 1995 by Hudson Soft exclusively in Japan. The story follows an all-women police force in 2092 traveling through time to intercept terrorists committing crimes across the past and future. The player takes on the role of a police officer and controls their spaceship through waves of enemies and powerful bosses.
The Ninja Warriors is a beat 'em up video game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Taito in Japan and North America in 1994 and by Titus in Europe in 1995. It is a follow-up to Taito's 1987 arcade game of the same title, and shares similar gameplay. The player can choose between playing as one of three ninja androids, each with different attributes and a unique set of moves including jumps, dashes, throws, and other attacks. The game was developed by the same team at Natsume that later developed Wild Guns (1994).
The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Dark Seal (ダークシール) and Dark Seal II are isometric role-playing beat-'em-up video games released for arcade by Data East in 1990 and 1992 respectively. The first game was localized in English under the title Gate of Doom and the second one as Wizard Fire.
Dino Rex is a fighting arcade video game developed and originally released by Taito in Japan in November 1992. Set during the 25th century BC on a prehistoric South America, players assume the role of a warrior commanding his dinosaur companion as he enters a tournament held by the current titular king in order to become the next ruler while facing matches against other rivals. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main three-button configuration, featuring special moves and combo techniques.
GG Aleste is a 1991 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Compile for the Game Gear. An entry in the Aleste series, the game follows Ellinor Waizen piloting the Galvanic Gunner space fighter craft to face against the invading Moon Child army. Its gameplay follows the same conventions as earlier Aleste titles, with the player fighting waves of enemies and bosses, while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles.
