Introduction
Ever since I started playing video games(I was almost 4 years old back then), I've had many opportunities to discover new genres, which were pretty particular around here at the time.
Usually people around my age played one of the most attracted genres: Platformers or Shooters.
For instance, I was at the "Shooter" side, since my first game was Doom and I loved shooting zombies with a shotgun, especially House of the Dead in the arcade near my house.
However, sometime later, I've got to know a person at a swimming club, who introduced me to a new genre, something which hasn't made his appearance in that local arcade which resided inside the city's biggest mall.
Back then, I called these sort of games Plane Fighters, telling my friends "wanna play some plane fighters??", while in reality, they were Vertical Shooters, mostly known today as Shoot 'em Up games.
What is a "Shoot 'em up" game?
Before I will answer that important question, Let's use our imagination for a moment: Imagine yourself at the very start of a long room, where the end is nowhere to be found.
Now, instead of walking on your own, your legs will move automatically, But they'll only walk forward. You can still move yourself to the sides, but your body will still move forward.
Meanwhile, you'll notice a lot of rats appearing in front of you. You have a pepper spray in your hand. Use it to kill them!
And now, imagine the whole process being watched from above, like some sort of plane view.
And here you go! That's a "Shoot 'em up" experience in a nutshell!
So what is a "Shoot 'em up" game, you ask? Well, exactly that! instead of rats and pepper sprays, most SHMUP(short for Shoot 'em up) games in early arcade years had planes, jet planes, and a bit later even flying robots!
Just as its namesake, you shoot enemies which goes down from the top side and the whole game is viewed from a top-down view.
However, some games are designed to be played Horizontally, and they are still being called SHMUPs nowadays.
But why "Shoot 'em up" games? What's so special about them?
Short answer: They are challenging.
Long answer: While some of the fictional stuff which can be seen around these games, can also be found in other gaming genres, there's something particular about SHMUPs which differ them from many other genres.
In the beginning, enemy planes could shoot around 3-4 small bullets at once, and they could be avoided easily.
But some companies noticed that sort of element makes these games too easy. So what's the solution? ADDING MORE BULLETS!
That is why games like R-Type, Gradius and similar, were famous for their difficulty level and people had a continuous insertion of coins to these arcade cabinets, only to finish the 2nd boss!
But that wasn't the peak of difficulty for this genre. Over the years, since arcade hardware had less limitations than before, people could expand their games to their outmost potential.
It went the same with SHMUP games. simple logic? MORE BULLETS!
One of the most recognizable gaming companies at the time(at least in my perspective) who worked on SHMUP games, was a company named Cave.
Veterans around here might recognize them as one of the emperors of Bullet Hell games.
Bullet Hell games? Are those shooter games made in hell?
Hahaha, of course not! In order to explain, Let's think about what we imagined earlier:
Yeah, there are rats, but what if they spit at you HUNDREDS OF BULLETS? That's Bullet Hell in a nutshell.
While the concept of Shoot 'em up games was still kept down the line, what makes Bullet Hell games being hard is not only the massive amount of bullets at the screen, but their size and speed as well.
People who rush ahead with the analog stick might fail quickly at Stage 1. That's precisely why one of the best strategies is to move slowly.
Your supply of fire-rate is infinite, but it all goes down the sewers if one enemy bullet touches you.
But just like in most vertical shooters, you've still got Bombs in your arsenal. they are mostly common in Bullet Hell games for their power to defect all bullets at the screen when they are activated.
However, unlike your normal fire, they are limited. Using them around bosses is the best strategy, since bosses usually have a huge amount of different types of bullets.
Cave made some pretty harsh bullet hell games in the 90s and 2000s, such as DoDonPachi, Guwange, Mushihimesama, and Espagaluda, but even other companies made some pretty nice bullet hell games back at the time.
Is there any other sub-genres beside Bullet Hell games?
Yes! While they aren't focused on the gameplay itself, some SHMUP games use a very particular theme, such as fantasy creatures and animals with adorable faces.
These sort of games are referred as "Cute 'em up" games. The most known examples are TwinBee, Cotton, Parodius, and more!
Well, Parodius can also be viewed as an adult-rated game for its sexual content...
Some SHMUP games aren't taking place in the air at all, but on foot. Games such as Ikari Warriors, Ninja Commando and Guerrilla War, are known as "Run 'n Gun" games.
Other games like Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon can be played from a "into the screen" viewpoint, and they are referred as "Rail Shooters".
What is your best recommendation for a SHMUP game?
If you want to start from some easy games, play the 19XX series, starting with 1942(yeah, that's the game's name). they might look simple, but they are great for beginners.
If you want the most hellish Bullet Hell games, play the Touhou series, starting from Touhou 6(which is the first Touhou game for Windows). Yeah, they are mostly in japanese, but they are famous for being one of the hardest Bullet Hell games ever.
And now, for those who already played quite a few SHMUP games: What are your favorite? Is there a game in particular you want to share here?
Whenever the case, I'll be glad to know your thoughts about this retrospective, and would love to keep the discussion going.
If there's any genre I want to keep alive forever, it's the Shoot 'em up genre!
Ever since I started playing video games(I was almost 4 years old back then), I've had many opportunities to discover new genres, which were pretty particular around here at the time.
Usually people around my age played one of the most attracted genres: Platformers or Shooters.
For instance, I was at the "Shooter" side, since my first game was Doom and I loved shooting zombies with a shotgun, especially House of the Dead in the arcade near my house.
However, sometime later, I've got to know a person at a swimming club, who introduced me to a new genre, something which hasn't made his appearance in that local arcade which resided inside the city's biggest mall.
Back then, I called these sort of games Plane Fighters, telling my friends "wanna play some plane fighters??", while in reality, they were Vertical Shooters, mostly known today as Shoot 'em Up games.
What is a "Shoot 'em up" game?
Before I will answer that important question, Let's use our imagination for a moment: Imagine yourself at the very start of a long room, where the end is nowhere to be found.
Now, instead of walking on your own, your legs will move automatically, But they'll only walk forward. You can still move yourself to the sides, but your body will still move forward.
Meanwhile, you'll notice a lot of rats appearing in front of you. You have a pepper spray in your hand. Use it to kill them!
And now, imagine the whole process being watched from above, like some sort of plane view.
And here you go! That's a "Shoot 'em up" experience in a nutshell!
So what is a "Shoot 'em up" game, you ask? Well, exactly that! instead of rats and pepper sprays, most SHMUP(short for Shoot 'em up) games in early arcade years had planes, jet planes, and a bit later even flying robots!
Just as its namesake, you shoot enemies which goes down from the top side and the whole game is viewed from a top-down view.
However, some games are designed to be played Horizontally, and they are still being called SHMUPs nowadays.
But why "Shoot 'em up" games? What's so special about them?
Short answer: They are challenging.
Long answer: While some of the fictional stuff which can be seen around these games, can also be found in other gaming genres, there's something particular about SHMUPs which differ them from many other genres.
In the beginning, enemy planes could shoot around 3-4 small bullets at once, and they could be avoided easily.
But some companies noticed that sort of element makes these games too easy. So what's the solution? ADDING MORE BULLETS!
That is why games like R-Type, Gradius and similar, were famous for their difficulty level and people had a continuous insertion of coins to these arcade cabinets, only to finish the 2nd boss!
But that wasn't the peak of difficulty for this genre. Over the years, since arcade hardware had less limitations than before, people could expand their games to their outmost potential.
It went the same with SHMUP games. simple logic? MORE BULLETS!
One of the most recognizable gaming companies at the time(at least in my perspective) who worked on SHMUP games, was a company named Cave.
Veterans around here might recognize them as one of the emperors of Bullet Hell games.
Bullet Hell games? Are those shooter games made in hell?
Hahaha, of course not! In order to explain, Let's think about what we imagined earlier:
Yeah, there are rats, but what if they spit at you HUNDREDS OF BULLETS? That's Bullet Hell in a nutshell.
While the concept of Shoot 'em up games was still kept down the line, what makes Bullet Hell games being hard is not only the massive amount of bullets at the screen, but their size and speed as well.
People who rush ahead with the analog stick might fail quickly at Stage 1. That's precisely why one of the best strategies is to move slowly.
Your supply of fire-rate is infinite, but it all goes down the sewers if one enemy bullet touches you.
But just like in most vertical shooters, you've still got Bombs in your arsenal. they are mostly common in Bullet Hell games for their power to defect all bullets at the screen when they are activated.
However, unlike your normal fire, they are limited. Using them around bosses is the best strategy, since bosses usually have a huge amount of different types of bullets.
Cave made some pretty harsh bullet hell games in the 90s and 2000s, such as DoDonPachi, Guwange, Mushihimesama, and Espagaluda, but even other companies made some pretty nice bullet hell games back at the time.
Is there any other sub-genres beside Bullet Hell games?
Yes! While they aren't focused on the gameplay itself, some SHMUP games use a very particular theme, such as fantasy creatures and animals with adorable faces.
These sort of games are referred as "Cute 'em up" games. The most known examples are TwinBee, Cotton, Parodius, and more!
Well, Parodius can also be viewed as an adult-rated game for its sexual content...
Some SHMUP games aren't taking place in the air at all, but on foot. Games such as Ikari Warriors, Ninja Commando and Guerrilla War, are known as "Run 'n Gun" games.
Other games like Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon can be played from a "into the screen" viewpoint, and they are referred as "Rail Shooters".
What is your best recommendation for a SHMUP game?
If you want to start from some easy games, play the 19XX series, starting with 1942(yeah, that's the game's name). they might look simple, but they are great for beginners.
If you want the most hellish Bullet Hell games, play the Touhou series, starting from Touhou 6(which is the first Touhou game for Windows). Yeah, they are mostly in japanese, but they are famous for being one of the hardest Bullet Hell games ever.
And now, for those who already played quite a few SHMUP games: What are your favorite? Is there a game in particular you want to share here?
Whenever the case, I'll be glad to know your thoughts about this retrospective, and would love to keep the discussion going.
If there's any genre I want to keep alive forever, it's the Shoot 'em up genre!
Last edited by RedoLane,
