Donkey Kong 3 is a shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo. It is the third installment in the Donkey Kong series and was released for arcades worldwide in 1983, the Family Computer in 1984, then in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. The gameplay departs from previous Donkey Kong games, and it stars an exterminator named Stanley instead of Mario. The game was a modest financial success in Japan, but its commercial failure in the United States rendered the Donkey Kong series inactive until the release of Donkey Kong (1994) and Donkey Kong Country.
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game released by Jay Geertsen in 1989. Designed for the Motorola 68000-based HP 9000 running HP-UX, it was ported to Mac and MS-DOS before being released commercially by Sega who ported it to arcades and then to several Sega consoles. The game was subsequently ported to other home computers, including the Atari ST.
Salamander, retitled Life Force in North America and in the Japanese arcade re-release, is a scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Konami. Released in 1986 as a spin-off of Gradius, Salamander introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Some of these later became normal for future Gradius games. In Japanese, the title is written using ateji, which are kanji used for spelling foreign words that has been supplanted in everyday use by katakana. Contra, another game by Konami was also given this treatment, with its title written in Japanese as 魂斗羅.
Sunset Riders is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1991. It is set in the American Old West, where the player(s) take control of bounty hunters who are seeking the rewards offered for various criminals.
Virtua Fighter Kids is a 1996 installment in the Virtua Fighter fighting game series, and a super deformed version of Virtua Fighter 2. It was developed by Sega AM2 on the ST-V arcade board, unlike Virtua Fighter 2's hardware; it was also ported to the Sega Saturn home console.
Bonanza Bros. is a 3D-style, 2D side-scrolling stealth action game developed and released by Sega in 1990. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the Sega System 24 arcade system board. It was ported to various home systems, including the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-CD, and several home computers.
R-Type II is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Irem. It was released in arcades in 1989. It is the sequel to R-Type, and the second game in the R-Type series.
Captain America and the Avengers is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and released by Data East in 1991. It features the Avengers team of Marvel Comics characters in a side-scrolling brawling and shooting adventure to defeat the evil Red Skull. The game received ports for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy and Game Gear. A different Data East game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Gun.Smoke is a vertically scrolling run and gun video game and designed by Yoshiki Okamoto and released in arcades in 1985. Gun.Smoke centers on a character named Billie Bob, a bounty hunter going after the criminals of the Wild West.
Savage Bees is a vertically scrolling shooter released as an arcade video game in 1985 by Capcom.
Panorama Cotton is a 1994 rail shooter video game developed by Success and published by Sunsoft for the Mega Drive exclusively in Japan on August 12, 1994. Panorama Cotton is the third entry in the Cotton series and made a major departure from the original gameplay formula of prior Cotton entries; instead of being a side-scrolling shooter like the others, it is a pseudo-3D shooter in the style of Sega's Space Harrier.
Power Drift is a kart racing game released in arcades by Sega in 1988. More technologically advanced than Sega's earlier 2.5D racing games, like Hang-On (1985) and Out Run (1986), in Power Drift the entire world and track consist of sprites. The upgraded hardware of the Sega Y Board allows individual sprites and the background to be rotated—even while being scaled—making the visuals more dynamic.
Terra Cresta is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Nihon Bussan in 1985. The player controls a flying craft to destroy the Mandler army before they destroy all of humanity. Gameplay involves shooting enemies and collecting different ship parts that each provide their own unique weapon, such as a wave gun or a double shot. It is the sequel to the 1980 fixed shooter Moon Cresta, Nihon Bussan's first big hit in arcades and the second installment of the Cresta Series.
Hyper Duel is a 1993 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed by Technosoft and released for arcades in Japan by Taito. It was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1996. In the game, the player controls one of three characters piloting transformable fighters called Buster Gears, whose mission is to recover or destroy a prototype unit stolen by terrorist forces. The player can switch between a compact spaceship and a humanoid mecha. The game runs on the TEC442-A arcade system board.
Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Success and originally released in Japanese arcades in 1991. The first installment in the Cotton series, players assume the role of the young witch Cotton who, alongside her fairy companion Silk, sets out on her broomstick on a quest to defeat several monsters and get her Willow candy. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting mixed with role-playing game elements using a main two-button configuration. It ran on the Sega System 16 hardware.
Groove on Fight: Gōketsuji Ichizoku 3 is a 1997 Japanese video game for the arcade and the Sega Saturn. It is a fighting game developed by Atlus, and the fourth in the Gōketsuji Ichizoku series. The game has artwork and designs by famed artist Range Murata. The game has a darker tone and is set in the future with only two characters from the prior games returning. Though the game's art and visual style was praised, critics were more lukewarm about the overall gameplay, giving it average scores.
Sol Divide is a scrolling shooter developed by Psikyo and released as an arcade video game in 1997. Ports were published for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and later PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Cotton 100% is a 1994 scrolling shooter video game developed by Success and originally published by Datam Polystar for the Super Famicom. The second installment in the Cotton franchise, it is a follow-up to Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. In the game, players assume the role of the titular young witch who, alongside her fairy companion Silk, sets out on her broomstick on a quest to defeat several monsters and get her Willow candy. Its gameplay is similar to the first game, mainly consisting of shooting mixed with role-playing game-esque elements using a main four-button configuration.
Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams is a 1997 scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Success and published by Tecmo. The fourth installment in the Cotton franchise, it is the arcade sequel to Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. In the game, players assume the role of either the titular young witch or her rival Appli who, alongside their companions Silk and Needle, sets out on a quest to defeat several monsters and retrieve the missing "Bluewater Willow" candy to Pumpkin Kingdom. Its gameplay is similar to the first game, consisting of shooting mixed with fighting and role-playing game-esque elements using a main three-button configuration. It ran on the ST-V hardware.
Magical Drop II is a 1996 puzzle video game developed and published by Data East for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It was later ported to Neo Geo CD, Super Famicom, and Sega Saturn. It is the second entry in the Magical Drop series. In the game, the player takes control of one of several characters, battling against computer-controlled opponents before facing the villainous Empress in a final encounter. Gameplay is similar to its predecessor Magical Drop (1995) albeit with improvements; the objective is to clear the screen of constantly advancing colored 'drops' via a character placed at the bottom of the playfield, which can grab drops and make them disappear by putting them as a column of three or more drops of the same color. Two players can also participate in a competitive versus mode.
