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Post by bonesnapdeez on Aug 26, 2018 15:13:07 GMT -5
 This is a genre I enjoy immensely. For the uninitiated, "fixed" shooters are basically the non-scrolling single-screen shmups of the older days. Games where a ship fires (usually upwards) at "waves" of combatants. In a great many of these games the player is locked along an axis, only able to move left and right. Space Invaders is the defining game of the genre. Other examples include: Galaxian, Galaga, and subsequent sequels Centipede, Millipede, and subsequent sequels Demon Attack
Exerion
Gorf
Moon Cresta
Ozma WarsPhoenix and PleiadsSatan's Hollow
Astro Blaster
Astrosmash
Demons to Diamonds...and many, many more... Of the bunch, Phoenix and Gorf are probably my favorites, as they feature varied levels and great final boss "mothership" battles. Any fans of this stuff here? |
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Post by Sarge on Aug 26, 2018 17:33:01 GMT -5
I don't play them that often, but I love Gyruss. Such a cool game, in both its arcade and NES form.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Aug 26, 2018 18:19:56 GMT -5
Yeah Gyruss is woke af. Dat soundtrack.
It's one of those arcade ports that was a FDS game in Japan, but an NES cart in North America. Doubt there's substantial difference between the two though.
Speaking of the NES... Galaxian and Space Invaders are actually on the Famicom but were never localized. I'd guess they were considered to be too primitive by the time the NES started gaining steam in North America.
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Post by toei on Aug 26, 2018 20:22:06 GMT -5
My experience of the genre is limited to Space Invaders, which I owned in LCD form as part of a keychain back in the day. I played it a lot more than my crappy Tiger LCD games, because the basic gameplay is that much more solid and addictive.
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Post by Ex on Aug 26, 2018 21:18:05 GMT -5
I'm not a huge fan of this shmup format, although I can understand its appeal. When I was a kid, I was really into Galaga on 2600, and Centipede in the arcade. The Centipede cabinet in our laundromat's small arcade was cool, it had one of those roller balls to control the game with. If you want to include Breakout in this genre, than that's another one I enjoyed a lot as a kid.
If you want to include Qix in this genre, I played a lot of those naughty arcade games that ripped it off. You know the ones with naked women (ecchi or real) hidden behind the board. You revealed the picture by playing the game well. Know what I'm talking about? I hope you don't.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 26, 2018 21:37:09 GMT -5
I remember thinking when I was younger that the ship-stealing thing in Galaga was one of the coolest things ever. I still think it's an absolutely fascinating risk-reward mechanic.
Does Asteroids count in all this? Because I've always found that game really impressive. I love the sense of momentum, and how the asteroids break apart into smaller pieces. It's also why I have such a love for Solar Jetman, which takes a lot of cues from that game and turns it into a proper explore-'em-up.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Aug 27, 2018 8:33:35 GMT -5
One thing I think is neat -- some of these old shooters are almost true scrolling shmups, by utilizing a moving background.
Moon Cresta is probably the most notable example of this, but I love how it looks in Planet Patrol for the 2600. Note how the ship is only actually moving up and down.
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Post by Ex on Aug 27, 2018 8:49:17 GMT -5
The interesting thing to me there, is that the screen appears to be scrolling right to left. Which is the opposite of pretty much every other scrolling horizontal shooter out there.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Aug 27, 2018 9:09:00 GMT -5
Yeah you can find some oddball right-to-left stuff released before the standards were codified.
Jungle Hunt, the Taito platformer, is a classic example.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 27, 2018 11:02:41 GMT -5
I liked some of the shooters that actually let you change direction, like Chopper Command or Defender. I know they're not single-screen, but they're still pretty great.
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