Raiders of the Lost Art

After getting our fill of recent Xbox Marketplace title, Omega Five, we at Tech-Gaming have been
mourning the loss of a nearly forgotten genre- the shoot ‘em up. Affectionately
called the ‘shmup’, by fans, the only other recent title that has scratched our
blasting itch was last year’s  PS2 title,
Raiden III. As we explore some of our
favorite shmups, we follow the ebb and flow of the genre’s colorful history.


River Raid (Atari
2600), 1982
– Designed by Carol Shaw, the first female video game designer,
River Raid was an amazing title. Most
modern shmups fall into one of two camps- 1) memorization- where player success
is determined by how well a player can recall the levels and 2) skill based- randomized
shooters that depend on quick reflexes instead of just level recollection.
Working with just 4k of ROM, Shaw generated the game’s ‘river’ using a pseudo-random
number generator. With this, the river would always be consistent from game to
game, but random enough so that as players worked their way through the game,
the land and water formations would not repeat. Enemy movement, however, was
randomized, ensuring long-lasting appeal. While few 2600 titles are still
captivating in today’s modern age, River
Raid
loses almost none of its appeal.
Factoid:
Germany listed the game as “harmful to
minors” until 2002.


Tiger Shark (Sega
Genesis
), 1990 – While other
shmups may showcase flower-ettes of enemy bullets, bursting with skyrocket-like
beauty, or offer deeper challenges, Tiger Shark gets the balance right.
Toaplan, a Japanese developer known for shooters like Sky Shark and Twin Cobra,
found perfection with this title. Released during Operation Desert Storm, Tiger Shark struck the perfect balance
between playability, difficulty, and addictiveness. The game features a single
biplane pitted against waves of tanks, boats, jeeps, and aircraft. Over a
multitude of landscape, players can power-up one of three different weapons- a
spread shot, a powerful narrow shot, and the flamethrower. Many an hour was
spent imagining the destruction of Hussein’s bunker with this title.
Factoid:
Once beaten, you can play Fire Shark on a much harder difficulty level.


Bangai-O (Sega
Dreamcast) , 2001
– While most praise Ikaruga’s minimalistic gameplay,
developer Treasure’s real shining moment was Bangai-O. Veering from true shmup dynamics, in this game, players
have complete horizontal and vertical control over their ship. Battling
gravity, players use one of two weapons, a geometric laser and homing missiles
to blast everything in sight. Play is further enhanced by smart bombs which
power is exponentially increased by the number of enemy bullets nearby. Gamers
must wait until the annihilation is imminent to release their fury- a mechanic
seen in recent Xbox Marketplace title Every
Extra Extend Extreme
.
Factoid:
Bangai-O was originally released for the
Nintendo 64 under the name
Bakuretsu
Muteki Bangaioh.

Genetos (PC), 2007 – No
discussion of shmups would be complete without a mention of this title. Genetos
is an extremely creative shooter than evolves- you start out playing a Space Invader clone, where dispatched
enemies drop green pellets. Collect enough of these pellets, and both your ship
and the gameplay evolves. Soon you’ll be playing a variation on Galaga, then a vertical scroller, and
finally, a danmaku, (Japanese for ‘bullet
curtain’), the name given to a game where the entire  screen in filled with enemy fire.
Factoid: The demo can be played through in six minutes.

Still got the itch? Here’s a list of resources where games
can be downloaded, studied, and mastered.

Shoot The Core – The Site for PC Shmups; nearly a hundred
demos and a few full games are available here.

Japon: Histoire du Shotting Game – A French documentary of the shmup, with subtitles.

Shmups – One of the most exhaustive shooter sites on the ‘net.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

14 comments

  1. Great article. I love the old skool shooters!!!

  2. Cool article, dude. I would have liked to see Radiant Silvergun. Spring for a copy!

  3. No pic for Genetos? Watching Frenchie doc right now.

  4. Ikaruga FTW!

  5. Nice article. I just bookmarked the site.

  6. 194x series, Thunderforce, R-Type and Gradius!

  7. I never played any of these, but I enjoy shotting game. Man, that Bangai-o screen looks crazy. You can’t tell what’s going on.

  8. Long live the Shmup! I used to love those games when they were popular, Now they make them so infrequently.

    You could play them for 10 min, or for hours.

  9. I wish they made games like those still. I think I played Sky Shark, and loved it. I played one with a lock-on laser for the PS1, that was a favorite, too.

  10. Back in the day I played one with a cute little anime witch on a broomstick.

    Nowadays, I get my fix of the virtual Console; it’s shooter heaven.

  11. Liked the article. One thing I like about tech-gaming is that I don’t see the same old press releases and corporate info that the other bloggers post. Seems like you guys know your stuff and actually do a little investigative research. One thing I’d like to see more of- interviews.

  12. I love shmups. TG-16 was the system of chice. Check out the VC; also Nanostray 2 for the DS may be cool.

  13. Raiden Project for PS1 had a lock-on almost liquid-like weapon. A great shooter, that a bit hard to find now. Multiple difficulty levels for any player, too.

  14. River Raid brings me back to the days before my voice deepened and my balls dropped. A more innocent time. Just me and my joystick.