Ludography
67/100
Players9 ratings
Viewpoint cover

1992 · Aicom · Shoot 'em up · Shooter

Viewpoint

Timed SNK exclusive

One or two players (in hot-seat or cooperative mode) control a spaceship equipped with a laser cannon which can be charged (by holding the shooting button down) for a stronger blast. Besides the main weapon, three special weapons are available: a wall of fire which wipes the screen up in a wave, a nova-like blast and a circle of spherical-green homing missiles.

Released
20 November 1992
Platforms
ArcadeFM TownsNeo GeoNeo Geo CDPlayStationSega GenesisSharp X68000Windows
Genres
Shoot 'em upShooter
Developers
Aicom
Publishers
Sammy Corporation
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
Science fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB EACB GUSK 12
Languages
English, Japanese

About

Viewpoint is a scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Aicom and originally released in 1992 by Sammy and SNK for the Neo Geo hardware family. The arcade version was met with critical acclaim upon release for its cutting-edge visuals and hip hop-influenced soundtrack, though later ports for the Sega Genesis and Sony PlayStation saw much more mixed reviews.

Keywords

  • shoot 'em up
  • robots
  • shmup
  • alien invasion

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Viewpoint is Sammy's only game for the Neo-Geo Multi Video System hardware. By default, Player 1 and Player 2 can only play one after another; in the Service Mode though, simultaneous gameplay can be enabled. Along with the ship's primary weapons, the player also has access to three bombs: one that can make a wave of fire that starts from behind the player's ship and scrolls "up" the screen, one that makes a powerful circular, nova-like blast, and one that shoots several mini-missiles capable of homing in on multiple targets. The game has six stages.

Development

Viewpoint was developed by Aicom, a small Japanese studio known for games such as The Legendary Axe and The Astyanax. It was published in November 1992 by Sammy Corporation, being their first foray into the market since the early 1980s. The game's isometric-scrolling gameplay was largely inspired by Sega's Zaxxon, with its overall aesthetic taking inspiration from games like Xevious and R-Type. Viewpoint ran on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system board, being Sammy's only game for the system. The game's 3D graphics were drawn entirely by hand, as opposed to using pre-rendering software or 3D hardware.

Viewpoint also saw release on a variety of home platforms, including the Genesis and PlayStation game consoles and the X68000 and FM Towns computers. The former port of the game made its international debut outside North America for the Genesis Mini 2 microconsole in late October 2022. A port for the Sega Saturn was due in 1996; however, it was cancelled. At one point, an 8-bit version for the Game Boy Color was planned, but it was cancelled as well.

Reception

In North America, RePlay reported Viewpoint to be the fifteenth most-popular arcade game in April 1993.

The Neo Geo version received critical acclaim. Viewpoint was awarded both Best Graphics and Best Music in a Video Game in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 video game awards. On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Neo Geo version of the game a 30 out of 40. The Neo Geo arcade version received highly positive reviews from Computer and Video Games, which scored it 95%, and Sinclair User, which scored it 96%.

Legacy

Viewpoint 2064 was announced for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, but Sammy Corporation had development issues, so it was cancelled. A prototype resurfaced in October 2015 on an online auction. An apparently final version of the game was discovered in 2025.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Neo Geo11 January 1992Japan · North America 11 January 1992
Arcade20 January 1992North America · Japan 20 January 1992
Sega Genesis1 November 1994North America
Sharp X6800020 January 1995Japan
Neo Geo CD25 February 1995North America · Japan 25 February 1995
Windows31 May 1999Korea

Editions and related releases

Included in
Sega Genesis Mini 2Mega Drive Mini 2
Ported as
Viewpoint
Built on it
Viewpoint

Games like this

Collections8 collections

Platform libraries

Publishers

Development status

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.