Nintendo exclusive
Konami · Famicom Disk System, Family Computer Disk System, NES +2
Stinger is a shoot-em-up developed by Konami. It is the North American version of the sequel to Twinbee.
64 rating1 listOften paired


Steer by what it is tap once for more of it, twice for none of it
236 games like Bosconian · 1977 – 2026
Nintendo exclusive
Konami · Famicom Disk System, Family Computer Disk System, NES +2
Stinger is a shoot-em-up developed by Konami. It is the North American version of the sequel to Twinbee.
64 rating1 listOften paired
Timed Sega exclusive
Koei Tecmo Holdings · Arcade, Game Boy Advance, MSX +6
In the game, the player pilots a starship called the Final Star, while shooting various enemies and destroying enemy structures for points. Unlike later vertical scrolling shooters, like Toaplan's Twin Cobra, the Final Star had only two le
57 rating6 listsOften paired


Hudson Soft · Game Boy Advance, MSX, NES +3
Star Soldier is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and MSX. It is the first game in the Star Soldier series. The player pilots the starship "Caesar", t
55 rating9 listsOften paired
Nintendo console exclusive
Andrew Braybrook · Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Atari ST/STE +8
Uridium (released on the NES as The Last Starfighter) is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels, ea
74 rating5 listsOften paired
Timed Sega exclusive
MSX, Master System, PS4 +2
Your planet has been overrun by the meanest mutant vegetation ever created in a genetics laboratory. It's taken over buildings, labs, fighter craft... even people! And it's getting bigger... and meaner... with each passing second. But it ha
74 rating6 listsOften paired
Timed Atari exclusive
Ikegami Tsushinki · Apple II, Arcade, Atari 2600 +13
Zaxxon is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.) The object
76 rating1 listOften paired
Nintendo console exclusive
Konami · MSX, NES, Nintendo 3DS +1
Star Soldier is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and MSX. It is the first game in the Star Soldier series. The player pilots the starship "Caesar", t
55 rating2 listsOften paired


Infinite Dreams · Android, Linux, Switch +5
There are many scrolling shooters but none of them is like "Sky Force". This stunning shoot ‘em up game combines the classic arcade elements with the new possibilities offered by current technology. The new installment in the series just ca
75 rating4 lists16 h main storyOften paired
Atari console exclusive
Imagic · Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Commodore VIC-20 +4
The lost city of Atlantis is under attack! Wave after wave of Gorgon vessels are approaching, each armed with weapons capable of destroying a part of the city. You are in charge of the command posts at the edges of the city and need to defe
79 rating4 listsOften paired
Sega exclusive
Master System, Sega Master System/Mark III
Basic Sega shoot-em-up in which you must guide your ship through three zones while avoiding hazards. Your only weapon are bullets as your only defense, but if you shoot the flashing red pieces on the terrain, chances are that a green ship w
2 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
Nichibutsu · Arcade, Switch
A shooter from the same company who brought you Terra Cresta.
1 list
Timed Sega exclusive
Tose Co. · Arcade, MSX, NES +4
Exerion is a vertical shoot 'em up released by Jaleco in 1983 and licensed to Taito for distribution in the United States. Screenshot from arcade version Exerion is a shoot 'em up game featuring parallax effects and inertia simulation, som
63 rating7 lists
Nintendo exclusive
Switch
Multiplayer competitive spaceship shooting simulator.
77 rating1 list
Nintendo console exclusive
Data East · Apple II, Arcade, MS-DOS +3
Heavy Barrel is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East. Terrorists have seized the underground control complex of a nuclear missile site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players be
69 rating4 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
Square · MSX, NES, Nintendo 3DS +2
King's Knight is a fantasy-themed top-down shooter where four heroes have to unite to defeat a dragon and rescue a princess in despair. It was one of the first games published by Square Soft (now one-half of Square Enix). King's Knight is a
51 rating5 lists


SNK · Arcade, NES, Switch +3
Alpha Mission is a vertical scrolling shooter that has similarities to Xevious, with the use of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
70 rating5 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
Bits Laboratory · MSX, NES, Nintendo 3DS +2
King's Knight is a fantasy-themed top-down shooter where four heroes have to unite to defeat a dragon and rescue a princess in despair. It was one of the first games published by Square Soft (now one-half of Square Enix). King's Knight is a
51 rating1 list


Switch, PS5, Windows +1
Kusan: City of Wolves is a high-octane hardcore top-down shooter where players fight through a brutal urban jungle ruled by gunfire and corruption to save Haru — a girl fitted with a city-grade atomic weapon. Welcome to Kusan: City of Wolv
85 rating3 lists
Sega console exclusive
Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade +8
Sega's take on the 1943 style of vertically scrolling shoot 'em ups was set in the future. Your fighter plane is aged and under-powered, yet you must face down large planes, tanks and ground targets to achieve victory. Each level ends with
7 lists
Timed NEC exclusive
TurboGrafx-16, Wii
Psycho Chaser is a vertically-scrolling sci-fi shooter. The player takes control of the titular battle android. There are multiple weapons which can be picked up and freely switched between, and also power-ups which allow for weapon and ene
2 lists


Windows
Warning Forever is a top-down shooter that pits you against a never-ending onslaught of procedurally-generated bosses which evolve to counter your strategies.
1 list
Nintendo console exclusive
Famicom Disk System, MSX, NES +2
The "system" was created by an organic intelligence body many milleniums ago and began attacking the human race. The earth was thrown into turmoil with only one hope for salvation. Fighter model AFX-6502 ZANAC was perfected by the 256th Rio
74 rating7 lists
Timed NEC exclusive
TurboGrafx-16, Wii
A vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up that configures its difficulty to match the skill of the player. Final Blaster is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up for the PC Engine. The player is part of squadron of fighters sent to save the world from
2 lists
Timed Sega exclusive
Arcade, Linux, Master System +6
In Gain Ground, players control one of a set of characters at a time. There are twenty characters, each with different weapons. To beat a level, players must reach the exit point with at least one character or destroy all enemies on the lev
69 rating10 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
SETA Corporation · Arcade, NES, Nintendo Switch 2
A nuclear powerplant has fallen into the hands of terrorists and you pilot a motorcyle equipped with machine guns that can be improved along the way. Make your way through difficult terrain and battle against loads of terrorists on foot, in
2 lists
NEC console exclusive
Irem · Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Android +12
R-Type is set in the 22nd century, and the player flies a futuristic fighter craft called the R-9a "Arrowhead", named for its shape, and because it is the ninth model in the 'R' series of fighter craft (but it is the first of the series to
75 rating1 list
Nintendo console exclusive
Jaleco · Arcade, FM-7, MSX +6
The player competes in a marathon continuous scrolling horizontal shoot-em-up game across land, sea, air and outer space. You can hold down the fire button for a burst of Charged fire, which is especially essential to defeat the bosses. Th
65 rating7 lists


Game Arts · Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS +12
Thexder is a robot capable of transforming into a jet whose job is to destroy the central computer to save the planet.15 stages are waiting you for in this shooting game.
64 rating8 lists
Timed Sega exclusive
Toaplan · Arcade, Linux, Sega Genesis +4
Zero Wing is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game, notable for a poorly translated English version for Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) that spawned the "All your base are belong to us" Internet meme. Gameplay includes novel features such as
70 rating4 lists1 h main story


Atari Games · Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade +7
The Player controls a spaceship viewed from "above" in a 2D representation of space, by rotating the ship, and using thrust to give the ship momentum. To slow down or completely stop moving, the player has to rotate the ship to face the dir
54 rating4 lists
Atari exclusive
Atari · Atari 2600
Star Ship is a First-person shooter video game cartridge developed by Atari, Inc. for its Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600). The game was one of the nine launch titles offered when the Atari 2600 went on sale. It was des
40 rating2 lists
Timed Sega exclusive
Toaplan · Android, Arcade, Linux +5
Truxton is a 1988 vertically scrolling, shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Toaplan, later ported to the Mega Drive (worldwide) and the PC Engine (Japan-only). Like many other scrolling shooters, the game is set in outer space, where the
69 rating1 list1 h main story
Sega exclusive
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. · Master System, Sega Master System/Mark III
The enemy has built battle fortresses in the farthest reaches of space. There's only one way in... and one way out. Your Mission: To infiltrate the enemy's defenses and destroy their motherships!
3 lists
Timed Nintendo exclusive
Capcom · Amstrad CPC, Arcade, Commodore 64 +10
1942 is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up made by Capcom that was released for the arcade in 1984. The goal is to reach Tokyo and destroy the entire Japanese air fleet. The player pilots a plane dubbed the "Super Ace" . The player has to
73 rating11 lists1 h main story
Timed Sega exclusive
Nippon Computer Systems · Switch, Sega Genesis, Wii
Gynoug, known in North America as Wings of Wor, is a 1991 scrolling shooter video game developed by Masaya and published by NCS Corporation for the Sega Genesis. The game was released in North America and Europe in 1991 and in Japan on Janu
68 rating3 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
Nichibutsu · Arcade, NES, Switch +2
The player rides a motorcycle-like craft, bumping other riders, collecting 'power' modules and shooting blue coins.
6 lists


Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade +4
Sonic Boom is an arcade game shoot 'em up with a vertically-scrolling perspective in which the player is a US pilot, armed with the super-powerful Sonic Boom aircraft. Players must face six levels of cannon-fodder enemies in order to preven
1 list


Nasir Gebelli · Apple II, Atari 8-bit
A single screen shoot'em up, similar to Space Invaders, written by Nasir Gebelli and published by Sirius Software for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit platforms.
1 list
Timed Atari exclusive
Mattel Electronics · Atari 2600, Intellivision, Xbox 360
Launching from repair bay 28 of the Galatea, you guide your Blue Fighter Wing through the Launch Ring at lightspeed, entering enemy territory, sector Delta Five Niner! Your mission: Rescue the Orange Wing Center which was captured alive, be
36 rating2 lists
PlayStation exclusive
PlayStation Vita
Blast through an addictive shooter where one wrong move could be your last. Create incredible black holes using the touchscreen, blast asteroids to pieces using the dual analog sticks and deploy devastating shock waves with motion sensitiv
80 rating3 lists
Atari console exclusive
Exidy · Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision +2
In Venture you control the adventurer Winky who sets out to collect treasure. You start out on an overview map of a dungeon which shows several rooms containing treasure. Since you cannot kill any enemies while rummaging through the dungeon
43 rating4 lists
SNK console exclusive
Visco Corporation · Arcade, Neo Geo
Andro Dunos is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released by Visco in 1992 for the SNK Neo-Geo MVS. The player controls a futuristic fighter spacecraft with different weapon settings that you can switch between, and shoot en
70 rating2 lists
Nintendo console exclusive
Tose Co. · Arcade, NES, Wii +1
Ikki is a Japanese arcade game developed by Sunsoft. It was also released for the Nintendo Famicom.
2 lists


Bitmap Bureau · Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, GameCube +13
Xeno Crisis is an arena shooter in which one or two players take control of battle-hardened marines embarking on a deadly mission to confront an alien menace and get home alive! Run and gun your way through thousands of adversaries as you e
70 rating8 lists2.5 h main story


Windows
ZeroRanger is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up with heavy emphasis on shooting, dodging and... mystery? A menacing alien threat, GREEN ORANGE, has begun its invasion. Only two secondary fighters remain to stand against complete annihilat
90 rating2 lists4 h main story


Game Arts · Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS +12
Thexder is a robot capable of transforming into a jet whose job is to destroy the central computer to save the planet.15 stages are waiting you for in this shooting game.
64 rating1 list
Nintendo console exclusive
Tose · Arcade, NES, Switch +2
Ikki is a Japanese arcade game developed by Sunsoft. It was also released for the Nintendo Famicom.
6 lists
PlayStation exclusive
PS3, PS4, PlayStation Vita
Resogun is a shoot 'em up game. Unleash an explosive array of devastating weapons to obliterate hordes of ruthless enemies while making sure you rescue the last survivors and keep your multiplier going! Push yourself to the limits trying to
84 rating6 lists