A platformer is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels with uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, gliding through the air, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines.
Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter, space flight simulator, and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagonist Fox McCloud. Gameplay involves many adventures around the Lylat planetary system in the futuristic Arwing fighter aircraft, in other vehicles, and on foot. The original Star Fox (1993) is a forward-scrolling 3D rail shooter, but later games add more directional freedom.
Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. Metroid Prime is the fifth main Metroid game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).
The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner, originally released in Japan as Tobidase Daisakusen, is a 1987 third-person rail shooter platform video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer Disk System. It was later ported to cartridge format and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Jet Force Gemini is a 1999 third-person shooter developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console. The game follows the story of three members of a galactic law enforcement team as they try to stop a horde of drones led by an insectoid called Mizar. It features a single-player mode where the player must explore a galaxy and save Tribals, a race of survivors who have been enslaved and imprisoned by Mizar, and places strong emphasis on shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The game also includes a multiplayer mode where two to four players can compete in traditional deathmatch games.
Mischief Makers is a side-scrolling platform game developed for the Nintendo 64 gaming console by Treasure, and published in 1997 by Enix in Japan and by Nintendo internationally. The player assumes the role of Marina Liteyears, a robotic maid who journeys to rescue her creator, Professor Theo, from the emperor of Planet Clancer. The gameplay is displayed in 2.5D, based on grabbing, shaking, and throwing objects within five worlds and 52 levels.
Star Fox, known as Starwing in PAL regions, is a 1993 rail shooter game developed by Nintendo and Argonaut Software, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The first entry in the Star Fox series, the story follows Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox team defending their homeworld of Corneria against the invading forces of Andross.
Star Fox: Assault is a 2005 third-person shooter game developed by Namco and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the fourth released title in the Star Fox series. The game was released on 15 February 2005 in North America, on 24 February 2005 in Japan, on 29 April 2005 in Europe, and on 16 June 2005 in Australia.
Battle City is a multi-directional shooter video game for the Family Computer produced and published in 1985 by Namco. It is a successor to Namco's 1980 Tank Battalion, and would be succeeded itself by the 1991 Tank Force.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is an action-adventure game developed by Tose and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the sequel to Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest: Shōgeki no Shippo Dan for the Game Boy Advance. It was first released in Japan, and later in North America. It is a spin-off of the Dragon Quest series.
Contra is a video game series produced by Konami composed primarily of run and gun-style shooting games. The series debuted in February 1987 with the Japanese coin-operated arcade game of the same name, which has since spawned several sequels produced for various platforms.
Gradius is a series of shooter video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper.
Iridion 3D is a quasi-3D rail shooter video game developed by Shin'en Multimedia. A launch title for the Game Boy Advance portable game console, it was released in North America on June 11, 2001 and in Europe on September 21. The player controls a single starship defending Earth from the alien Iridion. The game spans seven levels from Earth to the aliens' home planet, each following a linear path that culminate with a boss.
X is a 1992 space combat simulation video game developed by Nintendo and Argonaut Software and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy in Japan. The player assumes the role of the VIXIV starship as it must protect the planet Tetamus II from a mysterious race of aliens. Gameplay involves completing missions assigned by the "Training Academy Coach", ranging from protecting bases from enemy fire or delivering cargo to a certain area.
Space Invaders Virtual Collection is a 1995 compilation video game developed and published by Taito in Japan for the Virtual Boy. It includes direct ports of the arcade game Space Invaders (1978) and its direct sequel Space Invaders Part II (1979), alongside 3D remakes that take advantage of the Virtual Boy's hardware capabilities. Both games feature a number of alternative gameplay modes, such as score attack and time attack modes.
Perfect Dark is a 2000 action game developed and published by Rare for the Game Boy Color. As a direct prequel to its Nintendo 64 counterpart, the game follows agent Joanna Dark as she completes her training at the Carrington Institute research centre and uncovers information against rival corporation dataDyne. The gameplay revolves around shooting opponents and completing objectives such as rescuing hostages or recovering items. The game also includes a multiplayer mode where two players may compete against each other in several deathmatch modes.
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through the eyes of the main character. This genre shares multiple common traits with other shooter games, and in turn falls under the action games category. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have proven fundamental to allow a reasonable level of immersion in the game world, and this type of game helped pushing technology progressively further, challenging hardware developers worldwide to introduce numerous innovations in the field of graphics processing units. Multiplayer gaming has been an integral part of the experience, and became even more prominent with the diffusion of internet connectivity in recent years.
Falsion is an on-rail 3D shoot-'em-up produced by Konami that was released for the Family Computer Disk System in 1987. It is one of the few games compatible with the Famicom 3D System peripheral.
Blaster Master is a platform and run and gun video game released by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a localized version of a Japanese Famicom game titled Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight, which was released on June 17, 1988. The game was released in North America in November 1988 and in Europe on April 25, 1991. The game is the first in the Blaster Master series, and it spawned two spin-off games as well as two sequels.
Blaster Master Zero is an action-adventure platform video game developed and published by Inti Creates for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch. The game is the second reboot of Sunsoft's Blaster Master for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and was released worldwide in March 2017. It was subsequently ported to Windows in June 2019, PlayStation 4 in June 2020 and Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in July 2021.
