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.
Ikaruga is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation using a specially designed fighter called the Ikaruga which can flip between two polarities, black and white. This polarity mechanism is the game's key feature and the foundation for its stage and enemy design. All enemies and bullets in the game are either black or white. Bullets which are the same color as the player are absorbed while the others will kill the player. The game features both single-player and cooperative modes.
Progear is a 2001 horizontally scrolling bullet hell arcade video game developed by CAVE and published by Capcom for the CP System II board. Set in the fictional kingdom of Parts, players assume the role of children controlling a plane equipped with the titular propelling engine to overthrow the Metoruin sages and their new world order. It was the sixth shoot 'em up game from CAVE, their first horizontally oriented shooter, and their eighth video game overall.
Radirgy is a shoot 'em up video game developed by MileStone Inc. and released for the Sega NAOMI arcade platform in 2005. The story follows schoolgirl Shizuru Kamigusa in an age filled with radio waves which she is allergic to. She must save her father, who is developing a remedy for her sickness, from terrorists who have taken control of his company. The game features bullet hell gameplay elements and a distinct cel shaded graphical style.
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.
Deathsmiles is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game by Japanese developer Cave, released in late 2007. It has heavy occult and gothic influences. It is the second Cave shooter to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor. It was the first Cave shooter released in North America on a console, and the first one in Europe. Cave has also released it for iOS. A sequel, Deathsmiles II, was released to Japanese arcades on May 14, 2009. A compilation of both Deathsmiles I and Deathsmiles II was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 16, 2021.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a shoot 'em up game released as part of the Space Invaders franchise. The game blends the series classic characters and gameplay with the concept of evolution. The game was developed by Taito and distributed by Square Enix. The game was released for iOS on July 27, 2009, after first appearing on Japanese mobile phones, and was later released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in September 2010, and for Android in September 2011.
Earthworm Jim HD is a high definition remake of the original Earthworm Jim video game. While the original was released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis and then ported to many other platforms, the remake was released digitally through XBLA on Xbox 360 on June 9, 2010, through the PSN on the PlayStation 3 on August 3, 2010, and for Windows Phone 7 alongside its launch in October and November of 2010. While critics had mixed feelings with regard to how well the game had aged, they generally praised the new content, mainly the cooperative multiplayer mode.
Akai Katana is a bullet hell shooter video game developed by Cave that was released on August 20, 2010 in arcades. A video game console port, Akai Katana Shin, was released on the Xbox 360 on May 26, 2011 in Japan. Rising Star Games released the game in North America and Europe on May 15, 2012.
Senran Kagura Burst is a hack and slash video game developed by Tamsoft, and the first entry in the Senran Kagura series. It was originally published for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan as Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows in 2011; an expanded "director's cut" version was released in 2012, and received Western releases in 2013–2014. A remake, Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal, was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2018 and Microsoft Windows in 2019.
PlatineDispositif is an independent Japanese video game developer, consisting solely of an individual with the pseudonym AEjuMurasame. The genres of the games are varied, but mostly consist of titles imitating early and mid 1990s console productions such as traditional shooters and metroidvania games. Most of his games are released for PC in varying forms, but some have been rereleased through the PlayStation Network.
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection is a 2011 video game co-developed by NetherRealm Studios, Other Ocean Interactive and Code Mystics and published by Warner Bros. Games. It is a compilation of three classic 2D fighting games in the Mortal Kombat series: Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat II (1993) and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995). The game was created after an ambitious previous incarnation, an HD remake project titled Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection, was cancelled. Arcade Kollection was released as a downloadable title for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in August 2011, and for Microsoft Windows on February 1, 2012.
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a 2010 role-playing video game developed by Idea Factory and published by Compile Heart in Japan, NIS America in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for Sony's PlayStation 3. It is the first installment in the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, and is followed by Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2. The game is a take on the seventh generation era "console war" among the three major home video game consoles: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
Crawl is a brawler indie game by Australian developer Powerhoof. Up to four players and bots in local multiplayer advance through randomly generated dungeons with one player as the hero and the others as spirits who possess traps and monsters in the environment to kill and thus replace the hero. The game received a Steam Early Access release for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms in August 2014, and a full release for those three as well as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2017 and a release for Nintendo Switch on December 19, 2017.
Sol Cresta is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by PlatinumGames. It is the fifth and final entry in the Cresta series, following the Japan-exclusive 1997 game Terra Cresta 3D for the Sega Saturn and the first game in the series to not be developed by Japan-based studio Nichibutsu. The title was released as the first under PlatinumGames' label of "Neo-Classic Arcade" range, a label that refers to the modernization of classic arcade games. It was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows in February 2022.
Ghost Blade is a 2015 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and originally published by German studio HUCAST Games as an independent commercial release for the Dreamcast. It was re-released between 2017 and 2018 by JoshProd. A high-definition version titled Ghost Blade HD was also released for PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Controlling one of three fighter crafts, the player fights to protect Mars against the corrupt artificial intelligence Shira. Its gameplay consist of five stages, with players gathering collectible items and defeating enemies to build combos and maintain a high-score, while avoiding collision with their projectiles and obstacles.
