This obscure 1987 arcade game from Data East was a big influence on many games that came after it, in particular Manfred Trenz‘s Turrican series. It is obviously itself influenced by Nintendo‘s 1986 game, Metroid.
It also displays some similarities to Karnov, another Data East arcade game released the same year.
And, while you may have never heard of this game, it’s safe to say that it’s a bit of a ‘hidden gem’ in terms of old arcade games still worth playing today.
Sega‘s 1990 arcade hit, Alien Storm, is a one, two, or three-player action game with side-scrolling and first-person shooting sections.
Created by Williams Electronics in 1988, Narc is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter that attracted a lot of controversy when it first came out.
Developed by Apex Computer Productions, in association with Transmission Software, and published by Thalamus in 1989, Retrograde is a side-scrolling, progressive weapons shooter written by the same guys who made Creatures.
Retrograde came before Creatures, though.
Shock Troopers is a one or two-player, over-the-top arcade shooter developed by Saurus in 1997. It is a mixture of overhead and isometric style Run-and-Gun action – similar in some respects to Total Carnage and Caliber .50.
This 1991 arcade classic from Konami is a simultaneous four-player, horizontally-scrolling run-and-gun game with a colourful, cartoony, wild western theme.
There are two Metroid games on the Game Boy Advance. One is an original game, called Metroid Fusion, and there’s also this one: Metroid: Zero Mission, which is a remake of the original Metroid.
It was first released in 2004 and features modernised graphics and gameplay, but the same core gameplay as the 1986 original.
Mega Man Powered Up is a 2006 remake of the original NES Mega Man game, only this time with ‘chibi’ style graphics and a host of new gameplay options.
Not least of which is the ability to play the game as any one of Mega Man‘s arch enemies – once you’ve beaten them in a boss fight.
Developed by TOSE and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable in 2006, Ultimate Ghosts ‘N Goblins is a remake of the classic arcade game Ghosts ‘N Goblins (and its even better sequel, Ghouls ‘N Ghosts), combining them together with new levels, new enemies, new weapons, new armour, new bosses, and new 3D graphics.
Asylum is one of those games that looks a bit rubbish, but – when you get into playing it – you gradually realise that it’s actually really rather good.
It’s a scrolling, run-and-gun-style platform game with cartoony graphics and bouncy jumping, and you pick up better weapons and collect bonus items for extra points.
