Alien Shooter Twin Power
Steven
Swimsanity feels like an awkward experience because it attempts to be different things to different audiences. From one side, Swimsanity wants to be a tough-as-nails, hardcore twin-stick shooter. It wears its brutal, unforgiving difficulty as a badge of honor, and there are no menu options to adjust the difficulty. However, from the other side, the game also markets itself as a colorful, multiplayer party game that can be played casually with a group of friends. Decoy Games struggles to balance the two sides, resulting in an experience that tries to be everything for everyone.
Eliminate Down is comprised of eight levels. The game scrolls horizontally and features a graphically detailed sci-fi setting. In fact the visuals are one of the first noticeable features about the game. The graphics sport a high degree of detail, especially by Genesis standards. The gameplay is fast and the difficulty is high, but not impossible. Eliminate Down shines by having constant action, creative mini-bosses and bosses on every stage, and a good soundtrack.
Steel Empire is a Genesis shmup with a good amount of character. It handles all the necessary gaming aspects very competently; controls, pacing, sound, and graphics. What sets this title apart from the rest is the unique choice of color palette and art style. This game was steam-punk before steam-punk was cool and the graphics have a rusted look to them (which, by the way, is not a criticism).
Gynoug / Wings of Wor is a hectic rapid fire shooting game that, at times, feels like a bullet hell title. You play a winged character who flies horizontally through the levels, similar to side-scrolling levels from Legendary Wings on the NES. The game consists of six stages with a healthy dose of enemies and big end bosses.
The power-ups system is not overly complex, one color orb gives you a wider shot and another makes those shots stronger, You can also collect bombs which will be vital to surviving some of the harder levels. The game has unique enemies on every area and some great effects like a rocking effect that can give you vertigo. Overall, this is another great shooter that fits in well to any shooter collection. Thankfully, obtaining a copy will not cost arm and leg, the game is fairly affordable.
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Gleylancer is a title that never had a release outside of Japan until Nintendo brought it to the virtual console in 2008. The game is good and definitely worth owning due to the fact that it is very playable despite the language barrier (and like many popular retro imports, an original cart will cost you).
If you are a fan of the classic Sega franchise Fantasy Zone then you are in luck, unless you live in North America. Super Fantasy Zone is a 16-bit entry into this classic Sega series, the game received a release in Japan and Europe, but not North America.
Like its predecessors there are shops that can be found throughout the levels that gives you temporary upgrades. Unless you count Keio Flying Squadron on the Sega CD, Super Fantasy Zone is the best option available for a bright colorful shooter on the Genesis/Megadrive.
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Sub Terrania is a shooter with a twist to the usual horizontal and vertical scrolling. The game gives you free range to move, but it also imposes heavy restrictions on you. Mainly, you have to manage your fuel. Each stage has a set of goals that does not necessarily just consist of killing a boss, often times you will find yourself rescuing hostages a la Choplifter.
If you are craving a typical on-rails shooter where you only have to worry about dodging and shooting, Sub Terrania will get very frustrating very fast. If, however, you have an idea of what you are getting into and you take the time to master the thrust mechanic Sub Terrania can be a very fun game.
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The game is comprised of six vertically-scrolling stages. The graphics are decent and its soundtrack ranks slightly above average. There are three weapon types, missiles and shield power ups, nothing too extravagant. The one issue with the game that can cause frustration is inconsistent difficulty and a few cheap shots that will be thrown at you. For example, in some levels of the game enemies will spawn behind you with no warning, killing any player hugging the bottom of the screen. Some levels are simple and can be beaten on the first try while others may take a few attempts. The part that really amps the difficulty, of course, is the end boss. On its last incarnation the final enemy goes into nightmare mode and becomes a series of eyes shooting non-stop heat-seeking fire and fast moving lasers that can hit almost every inch of the screen. The game does not allow you to continue where you died, but instead at mid-points in the level; the final boss is no exception.
Most of the enemies are the same with little derivation. The various bosses are big and usually their most lethal attack is them quickly lunging at you, not a spread of bullets. Overall this is a good little import shooter for the Mega Drive. It falls short of great by being a bit monotonous and graphically average, yet really never fails anywhere else.
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Twinkle Tale looks great on the Mega Drive and its gameplay makes me think of Elemental Master, but with less restrictive movement. Every stage in the game is diverse and forces you to navigate through various rooms and environments; it is not on-rails so you will not be forced to constantly move vertically or horizontally.
Twinkle Tale manages to keep itself interesting throughout each stage; one level even has platforming elements (minus the jumping) in a scenic sky setting. Twinkle Tale never got a release outside of Japan (but it did receive a fan translation) and it can get rather pricey for import copies.
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If you enjoy retro shooters and importing games (assuming you are not Japanese) owning a Genesis/Mega Drive could be a very rewarding experience. Curse is yet another shooter that never saw the light of day outside of Japan. This game sits right on the bell curve for me in regards to Genesis/Mega Drive shooters.
Undead Line is a tough game that plays a lot like Elemental Master. This is yet another title to add to the list of Japan-only shooters for the Mega Drive. You can choose the order you play the stages in and each level has its own motif, a cemetery, forest, etc. There is a mid-boss and end boss for each stage along with a variety of chests containing power ups to help you out (like a very valuable shield).
Vapor Trail began as an arcade game by Data East and was ported to the Genesis/Mega Drive by Telenet Japan. Renovation saw fit to bring the title stateside. The console port is faithful to the arcade; the game itself is a vertical shooter that puts the player in the cockpit of one of three different fighter planes.
Vapor Trail is a competent game and a fun shooter that features a power-up system based on four weapon types and a shield which takes the place of a bomb that is used in many shooters. Strangely, the game got a sequel in the form of a horizontal mech shooter that was released to the arcade, PSX, and Sega Saturn called Wolf Fang: Kuhga 2001. Following that the series went back to vertical shooting with another sequel called Skull Fang.
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Toaplan! This is another Toaplan game that made its way to the Genesis/Mega Drive. Fire Shark is a sequel for the shooter Sky Shark (an arcade game ported to a variety of platforms). One way to imagine Fire Shark is like Truxton if it had a WWI theme; the games have a very similar feel to them.
Fire Shark is not incredibly difficult, but you do have to be careful since your airplane can only take one hit. Luckily, Fire Shark got a multi-regional release and it can be bought for a reasonable price tag online. The title comes recommended for that reason to collectors, if you are looking for a decent shooter for a rainy day you could do a lot worse.
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Trouble Shooter stars two young heroines, Madison and Crystal as they attempt to stop the bad guys and rescue a hostage. The game is decent enough, if you are looking for something spectacular look elsewhere. Trouble Shooter does manage to distinguish itself from other Genesis/Mega Drive shooters by featuring two jetpack-wearing females instead of a space ship. You can choose your weapons at the beginning of the level and you have the ability to have both girls focus their aim forward or one fire backwards and one fire forward. Trouble Shooter is not a very difficult horizontal shooter. The Japanese- and Korean-only sequel improves on the formula quite a bit.
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The best part about Mega Swiv is the two different control options. Players have the choice between a helicopter (which can fly over certain obstacles) and a jeep (which can shoot in multiple directions), and both can be used at the same time when a second player comes aboard for co-op play.
Nice article. I was a big Sega fan in the 16-bit days, and always enjoyed playing shmups, but never bought any Genesis shmups until a few years ago. Anyway, it might be worth adding the handful of Sega CD and 32X shmups to this list.
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OMG guys, aliens have invaded Earth! Towns, cities, deserts, popular tourist attractions, they're everywhere! Take on the role of Earth's last super soldier or whatever and eliminate the alien menace!
An intense twin stick shooter, blast your way around the world taking on hordes of enemies. Use bullet time to get out of sticky situations. Collect the power ups, but don't forget to keep an eye on your multiplier to get those massive scores!