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.
Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone is a side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade game produced by Technōs Japan in 1990. It is the third arcade game in the Double Dragon series. Unlike the previous two games in the series Double Dragon 3 was not developed internally at Technōs, but development was instead contracted to the company East Technology, resulting in a game that looks and plays differently from its predecessors.
Out Zone is a run and gun arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, North America by Romstar and Europe in August 1990. Set in a future where an alien race from the fictional planet Owagira are threatening to wipe out humanity after multiple failed attempts to defend Earth against their attacks, players assume the role of cyborg mercenaries recruited by the United Nations in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invaders.
1943: The Battle of Midway is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Capcom. It was the first follow-up to Capcom's earlier 1942. Like 1942, despite the game being created by Japanese developers, it has the player-controlled Americans attacking the Japanese air fleet; this was due to being one of the first Capcom games designed with Western markets in mind. The game's name is a reference to the Battle of Midway, which occurred in June 1942.
Aero Fighters, known as Sonic Wings in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter originally released in arcades in 1992 by Video System and was also released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It was the first in the Aero Fighters series, and a spiritual successor to the 1991 Turbo Force.
Hyper Dyne Side Arms (サイドアーム) is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and released by Capcom as an arcade video game in 1986. The player takes control of a flying mecha suit who must battle an alien army. Side Arms uses a two-directional attacking system similar to Capcom's previous shoot-'em-up Section Z.
The Simpsons is an arcade beat 'em up developed and published by Konami released in 1991. It was the first video game based on the Simpsons franchise to be released in North America. The game allows up to four players to control members of the Simpson family as they fight various enemies to rescue the kidnapped Maggie. It was a commercial success in the United States, where it was one of the top three best-selling arcade video game machines of 1991.
Star Force, also released in arcades outside of Japan as Mega Force, is a vertical-scrolling shooter computer game released in 1984 by Tehkan.
Rygar is a video game created by Tecmo in 1986 and originally released for arcades in Japan as Argos no Senshi. It is a side-scrolling platform game where the player assumes the role as the "Legendary Warrior", battling through a hostile landscape. The main feature of gameplay is the use of a weapon called the "Diskarmor", a shield with a long chain attached to it.
Air Buster is a 1990 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Kaneko. It was published by Namco in Japan and Sharp Image Electronics in North America. Two players control the "Blaster Fighter" star ships in their efforts to destroy a mysterious mechanical fortress orbiting Earth, with plans to take control of the planet. The Blaster Fighters can equip one of seven available weapons, which will change the ship's firepower and abilities, such as diagonal shots, homing missiles and small drones that follow the player's ship.
B-Wings is a vertically scrolling shooter first released as an arcade game by Data East in 1984. The game was ported in 1986 to the Family Computer. It was Data East's very first home release for the platform.
Fighter & Attacker is a 1992 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco.
Xexex, released as Orius in North America, is a 1991 side-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game by Konami. It draws on Irem's R-Type and Konami's other shoot 'em up Gradius, while adding the tentacle mechanics of Irem's other shoot 'em up XMultiply. It did not see a home port until 2007, when it was included in the compilation Salamander Portable, released only in Japan for the PlayStation Portable.
Thunder Cross (サンダークロス) is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released by Konami in 1988. It used a "layered scrolling" background, a new 2D graphics technique at the time. The game spawned a sequel, Thunder Cross II, in 1991. Owing to several similarities, Space Manbow (1989) may also be considered a spin-off.
Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer (グリッドシーカー) is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Taito. Players control one of three different modern fighter crafts and can collect enemy bullets using shielded guns known as Grids.
Crime Fighters (クライムファイターズ) is a 1989 side-scrolling beat-em-up released by Konami for the arcades. The players takes control of a duo of undercover police officers who are assigned to rescue a group of kidnapped damsels from a crime boss and his army of punks.
Nostradamus is a vertically scrolling shooter released by Face in 1993.
Strike Gunner S.T.G (エス・ティー・ジー) is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up video game originally released on the arcades in 1991 by Tecmo, and then later ported for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The Super NES version was released in Europe under the title Super Strike Gunner and was published by Activision.
Vimana is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo and Europe in June 1991. It is notable for being one of the few titles by Toaplan that has not received any official port to home consoles as of date and for its unique combination of science fiction with brief Hindu references. In the game, players assume the role of the titular warriors taking control of powerful ancient space fighter crafts in order to reclaim their home planet by fighting against military machines gone wild. The title received positive reception from critics and reviewers alike after release in regards to the gameplay. However, it was considered a flop in arcades. As of 2019, its rights are owned by Tatsujin, a company founded in 2017 by former Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge and now-affiliate of Japanese arcade manufacturer exA-Arcadia alongside many other Toaplan IPs.
Rastan Saga, known as Rastan in North America, is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash action game originally released by Taito for arcades in 1987. The game was a critical and commercial success, and was ported to various home platforms.
