A platform game 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 consisting of 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, air dashing, gliding through the air, being shot from cannons, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in The Legend of Zelda series, fall outside of the genre.
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was first released in North America in October 1988, and in the PAL region the following year.
Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Metroid creatures.
Shoot 'em ups are a sub-genre of shooter video games, which are in turn a sub-genre of action video 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.
An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform games. Multiplayer online battle arena and some real-time strategy games are also considered action games.
The action-adventure genre is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, and can be used in combination with other tools such as grenades for indirect offense, armor for additional defense, or accessories such as telescopic sights to modify the behavior of the weapons. A common resource found in many shooter games is ammunition, armor or health, or upgrades which augment the player character's weapons.
Dragon Slayer is a series of video games developed and published by Nihon Falcom. The first Dragon Slayer title is an early action role-playing game, released in 1984 for the NEC PC-88 computer system and ported by Square for the MSX. Designed by Yoshio Kiya, the game gave rise to a series of sequels, most of them created by Falcom, with the exception of Faxanadu by Hudson Soft. The Dragon Slayer series is historically significant, both as a founder of the Japanese role-playing game industry, and as the progenitor of the action role-playing game genre.
Castle Shikigami 2 is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Alfa System for the Sega NAOMI arcade system board. It was subsequently ported in Japan to the Nintendo GameCube, and then later to Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows PCs. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 2 by XS Games as Castle Shikigami 2, and in Europe as Castle Shikigami 2: War of the Worlds. XS Games also published the first game in the series in North America and Europe, but under the name of Mobile Light Force 2.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, known in Japan as Anubis: Zone of the Enders, is a third-person shooter hack and slash video game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. The sequel to Zone of the Enders is based around mecha combat with the player once again controlling the "Orbital Frame" Jehuty. Unlike its predecessor, the game is now centered on action elements with the player not needing to protect civilians in need and instead Jehuty contains more weaponry than in the previous game.
Punky Skunk is a side-scrolling action-platform video game developed by Ukiyotei and published by Visit in Japan on 1 November 1996 and later by Jaleco in North America in February 1998 exclusively for the PlayStation. Taking place on a set of island archipiélagos where the wolf Badler and his legion of mouse-like Chews are threatening to pollute the locations through industries and machinery, players assume the role of the titular main protagonist in an attempt to overthrow Badler and his BB Brigade army with the help of his companions Nash and Kelly. Its gameplay mainly consists of platforming using a main three-button configuration.
An action role-playing game is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
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 was has since spawned several sequels produced for various platforms.
A side-scrolling video game, sometimes shortened to side-scroller, is a game in which the action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and 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 video arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to 3D graphics during the fifth generation.
The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo, which released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS) on April 14, 1986. The game was one of the early games released for the system, and the second original game after The Legend of Zelda. The game was released outside Japan for the first time on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Europe and Australia in May 2014 and in North America in August 2014.
Wild Guns is a 1994 space Western shooting gallery video game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Set in the Wild West with steampunk and sci-fi influences, the story follows Annie and her bounty hunter Clint, seeking revenge for the death of her family. The player controls either Annie or Clint sidestepping and jumping in the foreground while shooting down enemy robots in the background and dodging enemy bullets. These gameplay mechanics combine elements from third-person shooters and light gun games.
Syobon Action, also known as Cat Mario, and Mario from Hell is a Japanese freeware platform game released in February 2007. It is known for its levels designed to cause extreme frustration due to innocuous-looking objects that suddenly kill the character. Though the game is a parody of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System, it adds elements from other Mario games such as Super Mario World.
Gundemonium Collection is a set of three shoot'em ups created by indie developer Platine Dispositif. English language versions were released on Steam and the PlayStation Network by publisher Rockin' Android on August 4, 2010. Destructoid explains "All the games have Trophies to collect and include a feature that allows uploading your play sessions to YouTube." According to Metro, "There is a back story that links all three games".
Metroidvania is a subgenre of action-adventure video games focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series Metroid and Castlevania, with games in the genre borrowing from both series. Typically based on two-dimensional, sidescrolling platform gameplay, Metroidvania games feature a large interconnected world map the player can explore, though access to parts of the world is often limited by doors or other obstacles that can only be passed once the player has acquired special items, tools, weapons, abilities, or knowledge within the game. Acquiring such improvements can also aid the player in defeating more difficult enemies and locating shortcuts and secret areas, and often includes retracing one's steps across the map. Through this, Metroidvania games include tighter integration of story and level design, careful design of levels and character controls to encourage exploration and experimentation, and a means for the player to become more invested in their player character through role-playing game elements.
