R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the R-Type series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful alien race bent on wiping out all of mankind. The R-9 can acquire a glowing orbicular device called a "Force", protecting it from enemy fire and providing additional firepower. The arcade version was distributed by Nintendo in North America; it is the last arcade title Nintendo distributed.
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.
1943: The Battle of Midway is a 1987 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Capcom.
Star Force, also released in arcades outside of Japan as Mega Force, is a vertical-scrolling shooter computer game released in 1984 by Tehkan.
RayForce is a vertically scrolling shooter by Taito for the Taito F3 arcade hardware and released in 1994. It was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, Microsoft Windows in 1997, then rereleased for iOS in 2012 and Android in 2017.
Vertical Force is a 1995 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the Virtual Boy by Hudson Soft in Japan and by Nintendo in North America. The player controls a starship, the Ragnarok, that must destroy a malfunctioning supercomputer on a human colony planet before it wipes out all of mankind. Gameplay is similar to Hudson's Star Soldier series, featuring power-up items that increase the player's abilities and parallax scrolling. The player can move their ship farther into the background to avoid enemies and obstacles in the way.
Burning Force is a 1989 third-person shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. A home conversion for the Sega Genesis was released worldwide a year later. The player assumes control of the woman space cadet Hiromi Tengenji, a pilot training to become a member of the Space Force, who must complete each level by shooting down enemies with her airbike and avoiding projectiles. Gameplay is similar to Space Harrier, featuring a fixed camera position behind the player and having similar mechanics. It runs on the Namco System 2 arcade hardware.
Thunder Force II is a scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft. It was first released in Japan on October 15, 1988 for the X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game console and released in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Thunder Force II was one of the six launch titles for the U.S. Genesis release. The Genesis port was later included in Thunder Force Gold Pack Volume 1 for the Sega Saturn. It was also re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on December 16, 2021. It is the second chapter of the Thunder Force series.
Thunder Force IV, known in North America as Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar, is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Technosoft for the Mega Drive in 1992. It is the fourth installment in Technosoft's Thunder Force series, and the third and final one created for the Mega Drive. It was developed by the team at Technosoft that ported Devil's Crush to the Mega Drive rather than the team that developed the previous Thunder Force games. Like its predecessors, it is a horizontally scrolling shooter, but it also features extensive vertical scrolling with large playing fields.
Thunder Force V is a 1997 Japanese side-scrolling shooter video game developed by Technosoft for the Sega Saturn. It is the fifth game in the Thunder Force series. Unlike previous games in the series, Thunder Force V uses polygons to model the larger enemy ships and some of the scenery, in addition to sprites. In 1998, Thunder Force V was ported to the PlayStation as Thunder Force V: Perfect System.
D-Force is a 1991 vertical scrolling shooter video game developed and published in Japan by Asmik for the Super Famicom and later localized and published in North America by Asmik Corporation of America for the Super NES. It involves an Apache helicopter set on defeating an evil Middle Eastern dictator. There are seven levels which feature six countries. Some of the levels involve switching altitudes in order to attack enemies from a different height, which uses Mode 7, one of the main features of the Super NES.
Gunhed, known as Blazing Lazers in North America, is a vertically scrolling shooter game by Hudson Soft and Compile, based on the Japanese film Gunhed. The title was released in 1989, for the PC Engine in Japan and re-skinned for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America, with Gunhed unofficially imported for the PC Engine in Europe. In the game, a fictional galaxy is under attack by an enemy space armada called the Dark Squadron, and this galaxy's only chance for survival is the Gunhed Advanced Star Fighter, who must destroy the Dark Squadron and its Super Weapons. The gameplay features fast vertical scrolling and a wide array of weapons for the player to use.
Hellfire is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by U.S.A. Games. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998 where a space matter known as Black Nebula created by robot dictator Super Mech spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies, as players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer taking control of the CNCS1 space fighter craft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies with the fighter craft's titular weapon.
Space Harrier II is the sequel to Space Harrier, developed and published by Sega. First released on October 29, 1988, it was one of the original launch titles released for the Mega Drive in Japan and one of the six Sega Genesis launch titles in the United States the following year. It was also later released on the Wii's Virtual Console in December 2006, and on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in April 2022. Like Altered Beast, another launch title for the Mega Drive, Space Harrier II features digitized human voice recordings during gameplay, and is also an example of some of the Mega Drive's early sound, composed by Tokuhiko Uwabo. A graphically enhanced version included with the Sega Genesis Mini 2 was released October 2022.
Thunder Force VI is a 2008 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation 2 by Sega. The game places the player in the role of a starship that must eradicate the Orn Faust empire before they destroy all of Earth. The player must complete each stage by shooting down enemies and avoiding collisions with them and their projectiles, using an arsenal of powerful weapons to destroy them. It is the sixth and final entry in the long-running Thunder Force video game franchise, and the only one to not be developed by series creator Technosoft.
USAAF Mustang is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade game originally developed by NMK, and published by UPL in 1990. It was ported a year later to the Mega Drive by Taito, while being renamed Fire Mustang. NMK also developed the Mega Drive version.
Zed Blade is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by NMK and originally published by SNK on September 13, 1994. It is the only game created by NMK for the Neo Geo arcade platform. In a science fiction setting, players choose one of three characters to attempt to overthrow an army of enemies led by the on-board supercomputer at the automated Yggdrasil space station and seize full control of it once again.
Omega Fighter is a vertical scrolling shooter developed for the arcades by UPL and released in 1989. While similar to most other scrolling shooters, Omega Fighter was unique in its gameplay, level and enemy focus: rather than flying over multiple levels, the player faced up against an enormous space battle cruiser which contained every level. A Sega Genesis version was planned but never released.
P-47 Aces is a 1995 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. It is the sequel to P-47: The Phantom Fighter, which was released earlier in 1988 on multiple platforms. Taking place after the events of the first P-47, players assume the role from one of the four fighter pilots conforming an elite squadron sent by the United World Armies taking control of airplanes to make a dent against the enemy on battle. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 32 hardware.
Super Spacefortress Macross is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed NMK and published by Banpresto. Based upon the 1984 anime film Macross: Do You Remember Love?, it is the first arcade entry in the Macross franchise. In the game, the players control the VF-1 Valkyrie variable mecha fighters, piloted by Hikaru Ichijyo and Max Jenius, in a battle against the Zentradi alien race.
