Horror-themed shmups?

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!
xxx1993

Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

Is R-Type the only horror shmup series or are there others? Of course, there's also X-Multiply, which you could consider a spinoff of R-Type. I tend to refer to that game as "Fantastic Voyage meets Alien". Do the DeathSmiles series count?
User avatar
CloudyMusic
Posts: 1247
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:22 pm
Location: AZ, US
Contact:

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by CloudyMusic »

Deathsmiles is a very light-hearted family-friendly version of horror, sure.

Guwange is pretty heavily steeped in classic Japanese horror, too.
xxx1993

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

R-Type and X-Multiply are very heavy on the horror side.
User avatar
Shepardus
Posts: 3505
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:01 pm
Location: Ringing the bells of fortune

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Shepardus »

I remember there being something from Artesneit that may fit the bill, but I don't remember its name. There's also this old thread which names a couple others.
Image
NTSC-J: You know STGs are in trouble when you have threads on how to introduce them to a wider audience and get more people playing followed by threads on how to get its hardcore fan base to play them, too.
1CCs | Twitch | YouTube
User avatar
llaoyllakcuf
Posts: 326
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:15 am
Location: NJ USA

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by llaoyllakcuf »

There are some bio-mech horror shmups mentioned in this thread too:

viewtopic.php?t=59177
User avatar
Doctor Butler
Posts: 612
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:06 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Doctor Butler »

Shoot 1up has gross body-horror shit, like R-type
User avatar
Bydobasher
Posts: 261
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:16 pm
Location: The Bydo Empire

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Bydobasher »

There's Gynoug (a.k.a. Wings of Wor) on the Genesis.
xxx1993

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

Oh, I got another. Does Bio-Hazard Battle count as horror?
User avatar
Bydobasher
Posts: 261
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:16 pm
Location: The Bydo Empire

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Bydobasher »

xxx1993 wrote:Oh, I got another. Does Bio-Hazard Battle count as horror?
It definitely has the kind of foreboding atmosphere I'd associate with horror, though I've never really thought of the game in those terms before. It has such menacing music from the moment you turn the console on.
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by BIL »

If mentioning Deathsmiles, might as well chuck in the Kiki Kaikai and Cotton series plus Twinkle Tale. Not that I disagree with any of them, just requires qualification. Cute little girls shooting dead (but generally also cute) things.

For more feel-bad fantasy horror shooting I might mention Undeadline (MD), where the protagonist is a buff grown-ass mayne. So you know he's not gonna *poof* out of existence when that zombie horde corners him - they're gonna jam their bony digits in every available orifice and tear his screaming head off with an agonising slowness comparable to that dude in Day of the Dead (1985).

"Ch...
ch...
choooke on 'eeem..."

Bydobasher wrote:
xxx1993 wrote:Oh, I got another. Does Bio-Hazard Battle count as horror?
It definitely has the kind of foreboding atmosphere I'd associate with horror, though I've never really thought of the game in those terms before. It has such menacing music from the moment you turn the console on.
I would consider it right on the borderline; ecological scifi/horror. The OST is outstanding, regardless. Discomfortingly skittery (st1), grimly galvanic (st3), and at times just flat-out morbid (st4). Even the relatively tuneful st2 has an offputting quality, less hummable hook than harried mantra. That's an excellent point about the very bootup audio letting you know what time it is!

In R-Type's vein of bodyhorror-suffused xenoindustrial, I think Eliminate Down (MD) deserves some love. Excellently misanthropic settings in there, like a trip through some bleak corpse mulcher (staffed by unstoppable iron behemoths who seem ambivalent to your presence and firepower alike, their bulk threatening to crush your ship like a gnat), a cosmic horror carnival featuring a procession of teratomic entities, and an upper orbit skirmish with an obscenely grasping gigafacehugger. Boss machines have a Hellraiser-esque fondness for marrying twisted humanoid faces/limbs/genitalia with cruel blades, harpoons and claws, and there's also one of the more plaintive zako I can recall offhand:

Join starfleet, they said! Meet interesting new races, they said!
Spoiler
Image


Also a veritable mountain of biomechanical dicks, discharging their Dangerous Seed™ with thrust after unfathomably mighty thrust.
Spoiler
Image


Was Aprinet a front for the Gynoug/Cho Aniki dudes, or something?
Spoiler
Image

Yeah I'm guessing so. Check those nips!
User avatar
schleichfahrt
Posts: 141
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 12:50 pm

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by schleichfahrt »

The Yakouga series fits the horror bill.
Its scariness sometimes backfires a bit due to the home made graphics appeal, but still counts.

They also have a nice haunting music theme they re-use in variations over the series.
When you ruin some enemy, add to score points.
User avatar
Strikers1945guy
Posts: 1051
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:53 am

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Strikers1945guy »

Tossing in my votes for X-Multiply & Undeadline.
Mister Midnight wrote:btw, cant trust them Koreans; remember Pearl Harbor
User avatar
Bananamatic
Posts: 3530
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:21 pm

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Bananamatic »

otomedius
User avatar
z0mbie90
Posts: 639
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:21 am
Location: Sweden

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by z0mbie90 »

Undeadline for MSX 2, Mega Drive, X68000 should count :D It has gravestones and monsters, spooky stuff.
Image
xxx1993

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

Here's a really obscure one. Zombie Nation for the NES.
User avatar
Bydobasher
Posts: 261
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:16 pm
Location: The Bydo Empire

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Bydobasher »

BIL wrote: For more feel-bad fantasy horror shooting I might mention Undeadline (MD), where the protagonist is a buff grown-ass mayne. So you know he's not gonna *poof* out of existence when that zombie horde corners him - they're gonna jam their bony digits in every available orifice and tear his screaming head off with an agonising slowness comparable to that dude in Day of the Dead (1985).
Gee, I never thought of it quite like that . . . now it seems horrifying indeed. Though with Undeadline the real horror is trying to beat that game (at least for me it is, I don't think I ever managed it).
BIL wrote:I would consider it right on the borderline; ecological scifi/horror. The OST is outstanding, regardless. Discomfortingly skittery (st1), grimly galvanic (st3), and at times just flat-out morbid (st4). Even the relatively tuneful st2 has an offputting quality, less hummable hook than harried mantra. That's an excellent point about the very bootup audio letting you know what time it is!
Haha, I love these descriptions: "grimly galvanic", "harried mantra". Makes me want to play this game again (it's not one I've ever gotten seriously into, though I've always found it interesting).
BIL wrote:In R-Type's vein of bodyhorror-suffused xenoindustrial, I think Eliminate Down (MD) deserves some love. Excellently misanthropic settings in there, like a trip through some bleak corpse mulcher (staffed by unstoppable iron behemoths who seem ambivalent to your presence and firepower alike, their bulk threatening to crush your ship like a gnat), a cosmic horror carnival featuring a procession of teratomic entities, and an upper orbit skirmish with an obscenely grasping gigafacehugger. Boss machines have a Hellraiser-esque fondness for marrying twisted humanoid faces/limbs/genitalia with cruel blades, harpoons and claws, and there's also one of the more plaintive zako I can recall offhand
"Bodyhorror-suffused xenoindustrial", goodness, that's a fine label for my favourite shmup series. Anyway, good call on Eliminate Down: it's definitely more grim than I remembered. Man, what is it with the Genesis library? Gynoug, E-Down, Undeadline, Bio-Hazard . . . there was a real edge to these games.
User avatar
Koa Zo
Posts: 1164
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:35 am
Location: Pennsylvania, United States

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Koa Zo »

Defender feels sci-fi/horror to me.
User avatar
BrianC
Posts: 8859
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: MD

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by BrianC »

Abadox?
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by BIL »

^^^ yeah definitely. XMultiply-style xenodemonic bio-horror down to its very title. The former element seems to have been quietly jettisoned from the NES localisation; the game's original subtitle is the overtly diabolic Jigoku no Inner War.

edit: Not to knock Milton Bradley - the game remains remarkably grotesque even in totally secular terms. I still remember seeing the ad in Archie and going "OH WAO THAT AIN'T NORMAL" (I called it "Abado Ex" then :mrgreen: )
Last edited by BIL on Mon Jun 04, 2018 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
geosnow
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:12 am
Location: Obfelden, Switzerland

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by geosnow »

Black heart?
PC Engine Fan X!
Posts: 8415
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:32 pm

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

BIL wrote:^^^ yeah definitely. XMultiply-style xenodemonic bio-horror down to its very title. The former element seems to have been quietly jettisoned from the NES localisation; the game's original subtitle is the overtly diabolic Jigoku no Inner War.

edit: Not to knock Milton Bradley - the game remains remarkably grotesque even in totally secular terms. I still remember seeing the ad in Archie and going "OH WAO THAT AIN'T NORMAL" (I called it "Abado Ex" then :mrgreen: )
The Milton Bradley NES version of Abadox still retains the "Deadly Inner War" catchphrase on the outer title sticker label itself.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by BIL »

Indeed! However, "Jigoku" / "Hell" has strong infernal connotations, far moreso than the ambiguous "Deadly". Obviously it can be used in a "war is hell" sense, ala Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi. But in Abadox, it's among a conspicuous few hints towards the occult. There's also the ghostly and devilish imagery of the final stage, and the FC manual's story revealing a demonic bent in the title itself:
ACSeraph wrote:The last line definitely says something about Abadon though, not Abadox, so there might be some kind of link here.

And I believe the final line says something to the effect of: "It is as though he is fighting against Abadon, the destroyer of worlds." I'm not so sure about the kanji here, this is just my guess. I definitely don't think Abadon is referring to a place.

Judging by the last line I'm pretty sure the connection was intentional, although it isn't explicitly stated. "Sore ha maru de" means "It was as though" or "It was almost as if". I think we were meant to come to our own conclusions about the true nature of the Parasitos.

Also I can confirm it is Earth that is being attacked.
ala X-Multiply, AFAIK nothing supernatural is ever confirmed - in both games, I like to think that was deliberate. Both leave the occult as precisely that: "unseen," unknown, beyond human comprehension. Very cosmic horror! Plenty of dedicated horror games over-explain their mysteries down to useless little nubs.

The NES story shuffles things around so "Abadox" is merely the name of the protagonist's home planet. Doesn't seem much of a stretch that "Hell/Hellish" was quietly dropped for the relatively safe "Deadly." Also possible MB didn't care for the details and were just cranking out a bare-bones translation, of course. :lol:
xxx1993

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

Splatterhouse as a shmup, huh?
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18989
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by BIL »

Undeadline has a Jason Voorhees-inspired enemy type, incidentally - clashes with the medieval-ish setting, but whatever. :mrgreen: Actually the mansion stage they appear in is kinda Evil Dead, with rotting fiends under the floorboards, a pyromaniacal fireplace, and imploding windows offering a great view of flying shattered glass.
Metalsludge
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 4:13 am
Location: USA

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Metalsludge »

There's always that unreleased arcade shmup prototype - Chimera Beast. In that one, you get to play the mutating bad guy creature that wants to eat everything. Ultimately, you help destroy the human planet, and even prevent the humans from escaping in their space shuttle, dooming their race forevers. Pretty nihilistic stuff.

I have heard that one of the designers took a working PCB to arcades for a while for people to enjoy. I think there is a running board open for play in the Galloping Ghost arcade in Illinois. You can play it on MAME.
User avatar
Joe T.
Posts: 367
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:40 am

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Joe T. »

Act Fancer: Cybernetic Hyper Weapon
User avatar
Austin
Posts: 1263
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:32 pm
Location: Fairfax, VA
Contact:

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by Austin »

Just echoing what others have said--

Undeadline, a must for "horror" shooters (at least the MD version, that's what I have played). Also, Abadox on NES is.. sort of fitting. More alien-esque, whereas Undeadline consists of demons, monsters, etc. Deathsmiles is pretty obvious too, great game. I am trying to think of more, but so many that pop in my mind blur the line between horror and something else..
User avatar
XoPachi
Posts: 1299
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 8:01 pm

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by XoPachi »

Galshell and Galshell 2 are supremely horror.
Bananamatic wrote:otomedius
lmao
Please don't remind me of these.
xxx1993

Re: Horror-themed shmups?

Post by xxx1993 »

Bananamatic wrote:otomedius
Otomedius is nowhere near horror or scary to begin with.
Post Reply