I've done a few Top 10s over the years, but as I'm winding down Arcade Throwback this year they also give me an opportunity to quickly cover some of my all time favourites from each genre. So here, in no particular order, is Arcade Throwback's Top 10 shoot 'em up of all time.
Galaxian
There's something almost comforting about
Galaxian's familiar formula. The game is barely any different from
Space Invaders, but in 1979 it was by far the most visually and aurally appealing game in the arcade. That initial ditty still puts a smile on my face today. Compared to Space Invaders, in Galaxian the player is in far more peril from the get go. There's no cover and the aliens start dive-bombing you almost straight away, but who doesn't get a kick out of destroying a flagship and both its escorts when it's millimetres above your ship.
1942
In a genre that is full of crazy over-the-top weapons, enemies and locations, there is something refreshing about 1942's simplicity. There have been many sequels and remakes over the years, but none have quite lived up to the purity of the original. It also started a trend for having shmups based on World War II fighter planes, one of which is in this list.
Fantasy Zone
In a genre full of glinting metal spaceships and gelatinous alien monstrosities, Fantasy Zone's cute and colourful graphics are completely out of place, but that's partly why I like it so much. There are other cute 'em ups (Twin Bee and Parodius for example), but for me, Fantasy Zone stands out because it's also a solid shmup.
Saint Dragon
Jaleco's
Saint Dragon is one of a handful of shoot 'em ups to employ a manoeuverable tail into the gameplay, but for me, non did it as well. Careful use of the metal dragon's tail can protect you from all but the fiercest enemy ordinance, but the spray of bullets, leapest metallic panthurs and environment obstacles mean you cannot simply coil yourself up to avoid the flak. This is a great shoot 'em up, which is often overlooked and well overdue a nice, shiny remake.
Blazing Star
The SNK Neo Geo was a wonderful arcade machine, probably best pure sprite-based machine ever made and few games demonstrate this better than Blazing Star. Sequel to the rather poor Pulstar, Blazing Star is busy, beautiful shoot 'em up to behold.
Raiden series
Seibu Kaihatsu's Raiden series is a sublime collection of shoot 'em ups that have survived the death of the arcade and made a happy home for themselves on modern consoles. It's difficult to pick one game in the series over any other, but they all play brilliantly. I just wish that Raiden Fighters Jet compilation for Xbox had made it to the UK.
Radiant Silvergun
When it comes to Treasure's two vertically shoot 'em ups, there's always debate as it which is better, the polarising
Ikaruga or the diverse
Radiant Silvergun. Personally, I like that RSG gives the player loads of choice about how they deal with each enemy encounter right out of the gate. Add in the colour-coded score bonus system and I can't help thinking it has more game than its younger brother. And thanks to the recent (and brilliant) port to home consoles, it's no longer a mythical game nobody's played. Any shmup fan would be a fool not to pick up.
Akai Katana Shin
Released in arcades in 2010, Akai Katana (as it's known here in the UK) is by far the most recent game in this list. I love pretty much all of CAVE's games, but this probably my favourite. Balancing collecting steel to arm your spirit form and energy to power it up takes thought and plannning, which would seem impossible among the chaos of this bullet hell shooter, but a steady hand and a stiff upper pays incredible dividends. Seeing your patience and care pay off in a shower of giant Gs is one of those pseudo-orgasmic experiences that only a select few games can offer.
Gradius series
I love Gradius, although the first game I played from the series was actually Salamander - also known as Lifeforce. These games are tight, precise shoot 'em ups, with brilliant environmental challenges. Ironically, although I'd struggle to pick a favourite among the original arcade games, my absolutely favourite Gradius game is Gradius V, which is a Playstation 2-only game made by Ikaruga developers Treasure.
R-Type
This is the one, the shoot 'em up that has stayed with me longer than any other. I played it in the arcade, I owned it on my Sega Master System, Commodore Amiga 500, Nintendo Gameboy, Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 2 and now Microsoft Xbox 360, with the sublime
R-Type Dimensions compilation.
Honourable mentions
Here are a few other games that almost made it into my top 10:
- Truxton (Tatsujin)
- Galaga
- Ikaruga
- Batsugun
- Mars Matrix
- Progear
- Tempest
- Defender
- Juno First
- Darius series
MTW
If you open up an arcade cabinet, you'll find it contains an awful lot of nothing. There's the power supply, the system board, the coin mechs, the monitor and of course all the switches and wiring for the controls, none of which takes up much space. Now, a pinball table, that's a different story. With the exception of the massive monitor, there's everything you get inside an arcade cabinet, plus all the extra wiring for all of the lights, the mechanics for the flippers, bumpers, kick backs, and other moving parts. It's a busy ol' place. If you have any interest in how these beautiful relics of the bygone days of arcades are constructed, then you'll want to check this out.
