Platform shooter

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A platform shooter, often referred to as a run and gun, is an early genre of video game that arose in the mid-1980s as a hybrid of the platformer and the scrolling shooter. The genre has properties of a scrolling shooter — the player controls a character on the screen which shoots projectiles at enemies while avoiding their fire and advancing along a scrolling background map — mixed with platformers — the player's character is bound to the ground and must jump over obstacles and onto platforms. Although many gaming sites use the term "run and gun," I prefer "platform shooter" because it more accurately distinguishes the game's mechanic from its theme. For example, Commando is typically referred to as a run and gun, but it actually has much more in common with a scrolling shooter like 1942 than it does with a platform shooter like Contra.

Archetypes of the platform shooter genre include the Contra and Metal Slug franchises. Probably the earliest game to mixed scrolling shooter and platformer mechanics is Moon Patrol in 1982. You move along the ground, jump over pits, and shoot at enemies. However, unlike later platform shooters, scrolling is still forced on the player rather than letting the player control the rate of advancement. Also, the only "platform" is the ground, there are no platforms above or below.

Because the platform shooter is a hybrid genre, there is some overlap between it and more "pure" platformers or shooters. frequently deal with human characters, they have similarities to other beat 'em ups, for example, Shinobi uses close-quarter combat when enemies are close to the player's character. As the hardware improved, more complex games were created by merging the run and gun mechanic with exploration and story. Games like Metroid, Mega Man, and Bionic Commando (NES) have the basic platformer shooter elements, but expand into new genres.

Games

This is a list of platform shooters that are important to me:

Title Released Developer
Bionic Commando 1987-??-?? Capcom
Contra 1987-02-20 Konami
Contra (NES) 1987-02-20 Konami
Rolling Thunder 1986-12-?? Namco
Shinobi 1987-??-?? Sega
Super C 1990-02-02 Konami
Wrath of the Black Manta 1989-11-17 A.I

Links

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