Side-Scrolling Shooters?

[c0nfu53d]

Salamander
Side Arms

both of the above are well known arcade games but I have give a mention to a lesser known Game Boy title.

Burai Fighter

[Sputryk]

Hmm..., worthwhile side-scrolling shooters...

Sexy Parodius <arcade>

Prehistoric Isle 2 <arcade>

Uridium <c64>

Zynaps <spectrum>

Sky Kid <arcade>

Scramble <arcade>

I think that's an entertaining enough starter for you.

[TMR]

Do i win anything? =-)

Bully's Star Prize tonight - it'sthe speedboat!

Woohoo! Also, Turbo Boat Simulator (C64, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC). =-)

As for games worth playing, quite a few decent ones have been named already but i'm going to say Io (C64) since it's my favourite game ever (it seems hard but work through and learn the patterns, there's only a few random elements) and add a few more like Zybex (C64 or Atari 8-bit, the latter is easier), Enforcer (C64, by Manfred "Turrican" Trenz), Star Sabre (Amstrad CPC, 128K version for preference), Relentless (Amstrad CPC), More Tea, Vicar? (Spectrum), Slayer (C64, ST or Amiga but i'd go with the C64 version personally), Catalypse (C64), Chronos (Spectrum version), Thunderforce 3 or Thunderforce 4 (Megadrive).

Stuff i have a soft spot for that aren't necessarily brilliant games so mileage is more likely to vary include Killer Cobra (Amstrad CPC), Scout (C64), Zarkon (Amstrad CPC), Lethal (C64), Transmuter (Spectrum version), Humanoid (Atari 8-bit), Subterranea (C64 and where Humanoid nicks it's background graphics from) or Insector X (Megadrive non-cutesy version)

And i'll agree with joefish about Project X (Amiga, PC) and X2 (Playstation), good looking and indeed sounding games but the difficulty is set to "painfully hard Euroshmup" so not much fun to play.

[joefish]

Admit it - you only mention Transmuter to try and put people off Spectrum games for life!

[c0nfu53d]

Admit it - you only mention Transmuter to try and put people off Spectrum games for life!

Just about any spectrum game would do that

[TMR]

Admit it - you only mention Transmuter to try and put people off Spectrum games for life!

No, i really like the thing despite the difficulty spike those cave stages cause... but at the same time i understand that not everyone else does after we talked about it! The Amstrad CPC version seems to be buggy (the level order seems to get mangled, that might just be down to how it was converted to a disk image) and the Atari 8-bit one really doesn't take advantage of the hardware, but, whilst it isn't the first game i'd choose to play, the Spectrum version is okay in my book. Killer Cobra on the Amstrad CPC is in a similar boat, it scrolls at a mentally fast pace so won't suit everyone but i've always enjoyed it.

[davyK]

The Gradius games are among the best. Console-wise I can recommend the Gradius Deluxe pack for Sega Saturn (JPN) which has the 1st two games on one disc. They are both excellent games and they set the trend for many other series. The Deluxe pack is available for PS1 too and I believe it's just as good on that console. The NES got a pretty solid port of Gradius 1 - it flickers and slows down in places but still plays really well.

Beware of later entries in the series though as they became too tough for their own good. PS2 has Gradius III and IV on one disc but you would probably be better going for Gradius V which was a return to its earlier glories - developed by Treasure.PS1 also got the wonderful Gradius Gaiden which many say is the best of the lot - import only though.

And if you like Gradius then you might like the Parodius series (Gradius Parody games). The SNES got some decent ports of these but best to play them on the 32-bit consoles - both PS1 and Saturn got these (import only - though I know Saturn got Parodius Deluxe Pack with 1 & 2 on the same disc in PAL. I have the Saturn versions of all the Parodius games and they are excellent but they are very Japanese and not to everyone's tastes. There's Deluxe Pack with 1 & 2 and the Oshaberi "Chatting" Parodius and finally Sexy Parodius.

R-Type is another famous series. PS1 is probably the best console for this. It got RTypes - which has 1 & 2 on the same disc, and the wonderful RType Delta. These got excellent PAL ports too - running full screen. The daddy of RType games is RType Final with hundreds of ships to unlock on PS2. It has split opinion between fans but I love it. RType Final and Gradius V are why I bought a PS2.

The SNES got Super RType which is OK but not the greatest version and the excellent RType III : Third Lightening

Darius is another big series. Sega Saturn got Darius 2 and Darius Gaiden though Gaiden can also be played on one of the Taito Legends discs. Darius 2 is an unusual one because the arcade cabinet was 2 screen wide - the Saturn version lets you zoom in and out in real time to facilitate this and it's a pretty cool feature of that game.

Fantasy Zone is another excellent title by Sega. It got released on everything from Master System to Saturn and there's a collection for the PS2 on import. I have the Sega Ages version for Saturn and it's lovely. It's in the cute-em-up genre though and might not appeal to everyone's tastes.

Going back a bit further you should try some of the classics like Defender, Stargate (aka Defender 2) , Dropzone (and Super Dropzone on SNES) and Scramble

FInally, if you have a Dreamcast check out the superb Sturmwind which was an indie game released in 2013. It's eye-burstingly beautiful and has a massive 16 levels which is really unusual for a shooting game. Well worth a look.

[sscott]

Blood Money, Menace, Agony, Project X, X-Out, Apidya, Z-Out all on the Amiga are excellent games.
It's an area the computer was very strong in.

Ah yeah, Blood Money was great on the ST.

Can also add Anarchy on the ST/Amiga to that list.

Bloody money was great but got nails later on

[sirpigmeat]

The Gradius games are among the best. Console-wise I can recommend the Gradius Deluxe pack for Sega Saturn (JPN) which has the 1st two games on one disc. They are both excellent games and they set the trend for many other series. The Deluxe pack is available for PS1 too and I believe it's just as good on that console. The NES got a pretty solid port of Gradius 1 - it flickers and slows down in places but still plays really well.

Beware of later entries in the series though as they became too tough for their own good. PS2 has Gradius III and IV on one disc but you would probably be better going for Gradius V which was a return to its earlier glories - developed by Treasure.PS1 also got the wonderful Gradius Gaiden which many say is the best of the lot - import only though.

And if you like Gradius then you might like the Parodius series (Gradius Parody games). The SNES got some decent ports of these but best to play them on the 32-bit consoles - both PS1 and Saturn got these (import only - though I know Saturn got Parodius Deluxe Pack with 1 & 2 on the same disc in PAL. I have the Saturn versions of all the Parodius games and they are excellent but they are very Japanese and not to everyone's tastes. There's Deluxe Pack with 1 & 2 and the Oshaberi "Chatting" Parodius and finally Sexy Parodius.

R-Type is another famous series. PS1 is probably the best console for this. It got RTypes - which has 1 & 2 on the same disc, and the wonderful RType Delta. These got excellent PAL ports too - running full screen. The daddy of RType games is RType Final with hundreds of ships to unlock on PS2. It has split opinion between fans but I love it. RType Final and Gradius V are why I bought a PS2.

The SNES got Super RType which is OK but not the greatest version and the excellent RType III : Third Lightening

Darius is another big series. Sega Saturn got Darius 2 and Darius Gaiden though Gaiden can also be played on one of the Taito Legends discs. Darius 2 is an unusual one because the arcade cabinet was 2 screen wide - the Saturn version lets you zoom in and out in real time to facilitate this and it's a pretty cool feature of that game.

Fantasy Zone is another excellent title by Sega. It got released on everything from Master System to Saturn and there's a collection for the PS2 on import. I have the Sega Ages version for Saturn and it's lovely. It's in the cute-em-up genre though and might not appeal to everyone's tastes.

Going back a bit further you should try some of the classics like Defender, Stargate (aka Defender 2) , Dropzone (and Super Dropzone on SNES) and Scramble

FInally, if you have a Dreamcast check out the superb Sturmwind which was an indie game released in 2013. It's eye-burstingly beautiful and has a massive 16 levels which is really unusual for a shooting game. Well worth a look.

cheers! Yeah i think gradius seems a good place to start, I've got the mame version at the moment, thinking of investing in a PS3 soon to be able to play PS1/2 back catalogue. Might play a few of the older games like defender in short bursts at the same time.

I played Parodius on saturn, one of the few i've completed and really loved the sense of humour.

[crusto]

Don't forget the Gradius collection for PSP. That's lovely! The PCE was also home to an excellent port.

[n1nty]

Borderdown on the good old dreamcast, still one of the best scrollers in today's world.

[Sputryk]

Here's a challenge - can anyone name a side-scrolling shooter that uses an aerial-view rather than a side-view?

Off the top of my head, probably forgetting some formats and trying to skip titles already named; there's Uridium's sequels Uridium Plus (C64) and Uridium 2 (Amiga) as well as loads of games that have similar gameplay like Eon (C64), Psycastria (BBC and C64), Battle Star (C16), W.A.R (C64, it's vertical everywhere else and the preview is more playable), The Last Survivor (C64), Agent Orange (Spectrum, C64, CPC), Lunari (C64), Thunderbolt (C64), Erebus (C64), Arcade Flight Simulator (Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC), Terrafighter (C64) or GWNN (C16, the pre-release version called Challenger has working enemy graphics).

And there are some fixed direction scrollers as well, f'example Thundercross (C64), Zarkon (Amstrad CPC), Gladiators (C64), Lethal (C64), the horizontal scrolling parts of Re-Bounder (C64), Starforce Nova (C16 and C64), USL (C64), The Vice Squad (C64), Radius (C64 and Amstrad CPC) or my own GR9 Strike Force (C64) and Millennium Assault (C64).

Do i win anything? =-)

Could be wrong - it's been way too many years since I played it, having been duped into buying it by the guy in the shop and, indeed, I no longer have it anyway - but isn't W.A.R. on the Spectrum top-down?

[TMR]

Here's a challenge - can anyone name a side-scrolling shooter that uses an aerial-view rather than a side-view?

W.A.R (C64, it's vertical everywhere else and the preview is more playable)

Could be wrong - it's been way too many years since I played it, having been duped into buying it by the guy in the shop and, indeed, I no longer have it anyway - but isn't W.A.R. on the Spectrum top-down?

It's top down yes, but the question was about horizontally scrolling shooters and the other versions (for the Spectrum, CPC and BBC if memory serves) are all a similar, vertically scrolling gig; i suspect that the C64 version is different because the Uridium clone formerly known as Ad Infinitum turned up at Martech when they were looking for a C64 game in a similar vein to the other versions and, after a spot of reworking, it was given a quick rename. Like almost every Uridium clone it really isn't a patch on the original, although it's better than the other versions and more enjoyable in the original Ad Infinitum flavour.

[sirpigmeat]

Started on Gradius last night on MAME. Plugged it into the stereo on full blast, sounds great. My skills are pretty flabby at the moment though. I feel like one of those fat guys who say their going to run the marathon next year and have to get into shape. Queue training montage.
I'm also really missing an arcade stick. Seems wrong on the D-Pad. Might pick one up.

[psj3809]

both of the above are well known arcade games but I have give a mention to a lesser known Game Boy title.

Burai Fighter

Great shout. Still play this a lot to this day. Was a great shooter on the gameboy (Now have the music going through my head)