Favorite 80s shooters

wyo

King of Spammers
10 Year Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Posts
10,108
Flying Shark
Fire Shark
Slap Fight
Salamander
Gradius series
UN Squadron
Tatsujin
Hellfire
1942
1943

Toaplan, Konami, Capcom. I never really got into Irem shooters.
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Not gonna front. I always show respect to the older 70's and 80's videogames for being the first but shooters didn't really get good till the 90's. Some of the best shooters of all time were made in the 90's. 90's all day and every day.

The best arcade games were in the 90's.
 

Tron

Test
15 Year Member
Joined
May 20, 2004
Posts
8,135
Salamander
Gradius
Galaga 88
R-Type
Hyper Dyne Side Arms
Forgotten Worlds
Time Pilot

Still the genre didn't really pickup until the 90's.
 

Gremlin

Hi, I'm Gmegbln
10 Year Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Posts
669
Robotron :cool:

Fantasy Zone is prolly my favorite.
I like Section Z a lot, and Capcom had some other interesting sorta-shmups like Gun.Smoke and Speed Rumbler (another favourite)
R-Type, I think X-Multiply would slide in to 80s status.
Konami shit obviously (Gradius, Salamander)
If scalers count, Space Harrier and Galaxy Force.
Anything Toaplan did also stands out compared to their contemporaries

Like @RAZO said, pre-90s shmups don't hold my attention very well, too primitive for me personally
 

oliverclaude

General Morden's Aide
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Posts
7,688
Xevious - Frankly, I was surprised how much I grow to like it. But I also like Zanac, so maybe it's not that surprising after all... My favorite way to play it is via the PCE IFU: I put a CD into the tray and listen to electronic music through earphones, while still hearing the special effects of the game in distant resound. Hehe, love it!

Darius II - The most atmospheric title. Period. I wish, that I could play it extensively on a dedicated three screen cab, but as of now, my favorite version is the Mega Drive one.

Zanac - This one is pure adrenaline. I love every single Compile STG, but if I had to take just one on a desert island...

Galaxy Force II - Thanks to the SEGA AGES 2500 I could catch up on this gem on my PS2. It's like Star Wars entirely drawn by Moebius. The alternating feeling of weightlessness and thrust, when you pilot through fanciful planets filled with lava streams, waterfalls, labyrinthian caves and tunnels is captivating. It's also so short, that you can pop it in anytime you want. Classy game!

Hellfire - A personal fave, maybe because it's so rigorous and simple like a, hmm... a cliché'd German? Well, I'll skip the denial part.

X-Multiply - Just wanted to be original with this one, so it's mentioned here instead of R-Type. I'd also like to mention, that my most favorite R-Types are those not made directly by Irem: Last Resort, Viewpoint, Pulstar etc. That's not the 80s, though. Which reminds me: I hope this thread gets a worthy sequel.
 

Gremlin

Hi, I'm Gmegbln
10 Year Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Posts
669
X-Multiply - Just wanted to be original with this one, so it's mentioned here instead of R-Type. I'd also like to mention, that my most favorite R-Types are those not made directly by Irem: Last Resort, Viewpoint, Pulstar etc. That's not the 80s, though. Which reminds me: I hope this thread gets a worthy sequel.

X-Multiply doesn't get enough love IMO - I like it way more than R-Type
Using player movement and physics to manipulate the player's tentacles for both offence and defense is absolutely brilliant and really forward thinking for 1989
 

sr20det510

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Posts
1,730
I played Life Force everyday afterschool for months until they switched the game up for a 2 screen Punch Out machine at my local liquor store.

That game along with Sky Shark were pretty enjoyable and memorable arcade games.
 

norton9478

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Posts
34,074
I never played it until the Capcom compilations, but Vulgus is unexpectedly satisfying and addictive.

 

norton9478

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Posts
34,074
Growing up, I played a lot of Konami's Stinger (Twinbee II). It is one of the easiest shumps to 1CC.
 

Ralfakick

J. Max's Chauffeur,
20 Year Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2001
Posts
3,733
Galaga is the arcade king and the home console award goes to Lifeforce I’d say

I like Halley’s Comet a lot now, Galaga 88, and I did and do find some enjoyment with Vanguard as well.
 

Tarma

Old Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2001
Posts
7,137
Twin Cobra probably.... I've always appreciated R-Type, but I wouldn't class it as my personal favourite of the era.

Afterburner II is up there as well for me.
 

Jeneki

Enemy Chaser
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Posts
1,164
Gyruss is probably my favorite wave-based shooter. The way your ship moves, along with enemies flying around in formations, just feels right.

Something I've noticed about several 80s shooters, and 80s arcade games in general, is that survival alone isn't enough to hook me on games that just loop stages forever. But when I study how to get the bonuses they get quite a bit more interesting. Seeing those bonus points pop up when I pull off a risky move is nice feedback. Using Gyruss as an example, doing quick kills as a formation converges at one point gives a bonus, but it also piles a bunch of bullets on that point, giving a satisfying risk vs reward.
 
Last edited:

Burning Fight!!

NIS America fan & Rent Free tenant
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Posts
4,336
Twin Cobra rules. Honestly there's too many cool shooters to mention that easily gets me addicted every time, but I shamefully cannot tell if they're late 80's or early 90s lmao.
 

Gremlin

Hi, I'm Gmegbln
10 Year Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Posts
669
Something I've noticed about several 80s shooters, and 80s arcade games in general, is that survival alone isn't enough to hook me on games that just loop stages forever.

Absolutely this. I don't like games with infinite loops, it changes the idea of scoring from a trial to a marathon and I immediately lose motivation when I realize that to be the "best" I'd have to play for hours. I way prefer a game having a finite window to maximize your score instead of it becoming "how long can someone keep playing until they fuck up"
 

roker

DOOM
20 Year Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2003
Posts
18,871
Anything by compile

Anything by Compile sounds about right.

Fuck Gradius/R-Type, although I respect the music and their place in history. Just not into those games.

Forgotten Worlds is 80s? if so, then that's my favorite hands down. Especially the PCE CD version.

Edit: Feels like it shouldn't count, but Space Mambo for the MSX was great (musically and graphically and gameplayically)
 
Last edited:

wataru330

Mr. Wrestling IV
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2003
Posts
9,607
Gyruss and SkyShark are the ones I go back to, most often.
 

Heinz

Parteizeit
15 Year Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Posts
22,330
I quite like Battle Shark, hard as nails bullshit with a joystick though.
 

Tarma

Old Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2001
Posts
7,137
Forgot to mention Toaplan's Flying Shark - one of the first proper shmups I ever owned (Firebird's port to the ZX Spectrum). Really looking forward to the Shottriggers release this April.

Honorable mentions to Zaxxon and Buck Rogers and the Planet of Zoom... neitther have probably aged well, but both are two of the earliest shmups I remember playing... those and Space Invaders.
 
Top