The shmups.com Quality Action Games List

[Neon]

This is not a 'what's your favorite' thread, rather it's intended to give recommendations...let's list everything that could be considered a quality game for each console, computer, and arcade platform. Doesn't have to have had an arcade release, as long as it has arcade-style gameplay (i.e., no RPG's, but Gradius 5 can be listed) (Update: including platformer games now). Also, even though I myself don't like Radiant Silvergun, it must be listed because a lot of people like it, for an example...this is for recommendations and not opinions. Arcade section will be limited to arcade-only games for simplicity's sake, even though the PCB's are usually better.

This should limit the 'what are the best dreamcast shooters' threads popping up all the time, and help you find new games you might enjoy (I hadn't heard of Landmaker until Undamned posted about it, this should help avoid occurrences like this).

Arcade

- Shooting

1944
19XX
Armed Police Batrider
Boogie Wings
Dangun Feveron
Dimahoo
Guwange
Progear
Raiden Fighters series
Space Invaders 1995
Strikers 1945 Plus
Strikers 1999

- Platform

Black Tiger (Black Dragon)
Diet Go Go
Spin Master
Top Hunter
Zupapa

- Racing

Scud Race

- Puzzle

Tetris the Grandmaster

Saturn

- Shooting

Batsugun
Battle Garegga
Shippu Mahou Daisakusen

- Fighting

Fighters Megamix
Fighter's History Dynamite

- Racing

Daytona USA
Manx TT
Sega Rally
Winter Heat

- Platform

Nights into Dreams
Keio Yuugekitai

NES

- Run n Gun

Contra

- Platform

Don Doko Don 2
Snake, Rattle, Roll

SNES

- Shooting

Assault Suits Valken

- Platform

Do Re Mi Fantasy
Ganbare Goemon 1, 4
Hagane
Hamelin No Violin-Hiki
Joe & Mac 2
Karura-Ou
Magical Pop'n
Makeruna! Makendo

- Puzzle

Hebereke No Popuun
Panel De Pon

- Racing

Super Mario Kart

Playstation

- Puzzle

Arthur To Astaroth No Nazomakaimura
Battle Balls (By Seibu Kaihatsu, I recall the PSX port has a different name, anyone know?)
Block Kuzushi
Calcolo!
Domino-kun wo tomenaide
Intelligent Qube series
Landmaker
Money Puzzle Exchanger
Mr. Driller G
Tall Infinity

- Platform

Chippoke Ralph no dai bouken
Choukousoku Grandoll
Korokoro Post Nin
Strider Hiryu 2

- Run n Gun

Gunners Heaven

- Racing

Motor Toon Grand Prix 1,2
RC de GO!

- Unique

Ore no Ryouri (cooking)
Power Shovel (bulldozing)

- Fighting

Panzer Bandit
Samurai Shodown 2

- Rhythm

Parappa The Rapper
Um Jammer Lammy
Vib Ribbon

- Shooting

Raiden 1,2,DX


Playstation 2

- Shooting

Dragon Blaze
Raiden 3
Samurai Aces

- Fighting

Vampire Hunter 2
Vampire Savior 2
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

Genesis

- Run n Gun

Alien Soldier
Contra Hard Corps
Gunstar Heroes
Mega Turrican

- Shooting

Fire Shark
Grindstormer (V-V)
Elemental Master
Slap Fight
Thunderforce series

Dreamcast

- Unique

Cosmic Smash

- Fighting

Giant Gram 2000
Virtua Fighter 3 (I've heard both that it's crap, and that some prefer it, we'll include it, what the hell)
Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram

- Platform

Super Magnetic Neo

- Sports

Sports Jam
Virtua Tennis

- Puzzle

Doki Doki Idol Star Seeker Remix
Musapey's Choco Marker

PC Engine

- Puzzle

Be Ball

Multi-Console

- Shooting
1941
1942
1943
1943 Kai
Daisenpu (Twin Hawk)
Dodonpachi
Donpachi
Gunbird 2
Gun Frontier
Gradius series
Ikaruga
In the Hunt (Kaitei Daisensou)
Rayforce
Raystorm
Sengoku Blaede
Soukyugurentai
Strikers 1945 1,2
Twin Cobra (Kyukyoku Tiger)

- Sports
Blades of Steel

- Unique
Devil Crash/Crush (pinball)
Rez

- Platform

Don Doko Don
Elevator Action series
Parasol Stars: Bubble Bobble III
Rainbow Islands

- Run n Gun

Metal Slug series

- Puzzle

Mr. Driller
Pop 'n Pop
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo

- Racing

Chase HQ
Neo Driftout

- Fighting

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Samurai Shodown 3,4
Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash
Street Fighter Zero 3
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Gameboy family


Faceball 2000 (?)

- Racing

Car Battler Joe

- Puzzle

Kirby's Block Ball
Mario's Picross
Mr. Driller 2
Mr. Driller Ace

- Run n Gun

Operation C

- Platform

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Tumble Pop

N64

- Puzzle

Tetrisphere

- Platform

Goemon's Great Adventure


I know there are a lot more games/descriptions to add.

Let's keep it down to only excellent stuff.

[Neo Rasa]

NES

1942: The Battle of Midway
Air Fortress
Captain Skyhawk
Gradius II
Gunnac
Life Force
S.C.A.T.: Special Cyber Assault Team
Sky Shark
Zanac

Sorta shmups that are high quality:

Cobra Mission
Cobra Triangle
Firehawk
Raid on Bungeling Bay

[Shatterhand]

Raid on Bungeling Bay is no shmup. It's a free roaming overhead shooter with a chopper, which is more close to Desert Strike than to anything else.

[steveovig]

Playstation

Power Shovel (nice, arcade ported bulldozing game)
Konami Arcade Classics (actual comp. of Arcade ports, to my knowledge, you can't get these too many other places as home versions)
Tall Infinity (tower puzzle game)
Buster Bros. Collection
Block Kuzushi (import, Breakout clone)
Motor Toon Grand Prix 1 and 2 (one of them is an import)

Game Boy
Car Battler Joe (GBA, Twisted Metal meets Final Lap Twin)
Kirby's Block Ball (GB, Kirby Breakout clone)
Mario's Picross (GB, very unique puzzle game)
All 4 Game and Watch Galleries (GB, GBC, GBA)
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (GBC, loads of extras including lost levels)

Dreamcast

Cosmic Smash (Breakout meets Raquetball
Giant Gram 2000 (fun fighting game style wrestler developed by Sega)
Sports Jam (underrated sports mini-game comp., similar to Decathlete)

NES

Snake, Rattle, and Roll (done by Rare, nice isometric platformer)

N64

Tetrisphere (underappreciated 3D Tetris)
Goemon's Great Adventure (2D platformer)

Saturn

Manx TT (really nice arcade motorcycle racer)
Winter Heat (similar to Decathlete only with winter sports)
Decathlete

[GaijinPunch]

I'm leaving shooters out, as I'm sure there will be plenty of posts on those here.

Arcade
Rodland
Rastan
Bubble Memories
Bubble Symphony
Metal Slug*
Top Secret / Bionic Commando
Alien Syndrome
Gain Ground (unemulated )
Cadash

Saturn
Keio Yuugekitai (maybe long for an arcde-esque game)
Elevator Action Returns
Bubble Symphony
Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru
Mizubaku Daibouken

Playstation
Gussun Paradise
Chippoke Ralph no Daibouken
Captain Commando

Playstation 2
Gekisha Boy

PC Engine
Mizubaku Daibouken
Chiki Chiki Boys
PC Genjin 1-3 (too long for the list?)
Valkyrie no Bouken
Fray CD: Xak Gaiden (action RPG, but I think can pass - mostly action)
Fausette Amour

Shitloads more I can't recall now.

[Davey]

Should we be including a brief description (ala Xenocide files), or at least the genre/subgenre? If I'm understanding the intent of this correctly, we only want to include a minimal amount of information about each game, but I think a list of just names will become less useful as the list grows.

Also, will somebody (you) be compiling this into a single list, or will this thread just grow into a clusterfuck of unsorted duplicates? If there won't be a master list, ignore the rest of this post.

let's list everything that could be considered a quality game for each console, computer, and arcade platform.

Holy shit! I just hope the spirit of the list remains intact as it grows. We've all seen the "Must-have [insert system here] games?" threads where 20 people each list 10 - 30 games. Yeah. Multiply that out by 20+ systems... could be awesome, could be a worthless mess.

Doesn't have to have had an arcade release, as long as it has arcade-style gameplay (i.e., no RPG's, but Gradius 5 can be listed). Also, even though I myself don't like Radiant Silvergun, it must be listed because a lot of people like it, for an example...this is for recommendations and not opinions.

You've been here long enough, I'm sure you've seen enough "Is ______ a shmup?" threads to make you want to pound your face into the wall. My point? What is worthy of recommendation and what is considered arcade-like will vary from person to person. Whoever compiles the list will either have to let a lot of crap in, diluting the list, or risk being called an Arcade Nazi.

Don't get me wrong, I think this could be a kickass reference if it's done right. But that's a big if.

[CIT]

Man, I could probably just list 85% of the games I own, cuz they're pretty much all "arcadey".

So I'm just gonna stick with a couple of games for PlayStation and Super Famicom, since I think those are the systems with the most unknown/lost classics games on them. Maybe something there you don't know about yet:

SFC:

- Assault Suits Valken (mech shooting)
- Firemen (firefighting)
- Ganbare Daiku no Gensan (platf)
- Gourmet Sentai Bara-yarou (beatemup)
- Genocide G2 (mech shooting)
- Hagane (action platf)
- Karura-Ou (action platf)
- Hamelin No Violin-Hiki (platf)
- Ikari No Yousai (multi dirct. shooting)
- Kiki Kaikai: Tsukiyosoushi (multi dirct. shooting)
- Kiki Kaikai: Nazo No Kuro Manto (multi dirct. shooting)
- King of Dragons (beatemup)
- Knights of the Round (beatemup)
- Libble Rabble (weirdness)
- Magical Pop'n (puzzleplatf)
- Makeruna! Makendo (action platf)
- Ninja Warriors Again (beatemup)
- Panel De Pon (puzzle)
- Twinbee Rainbow Bell Adventure (platf)
- Sunset Riders (run&gun)
- Umihara Kawase (puzzle platf)
- Wild Guns (fps)

PlayStation:

- Arthur To Astaroth No Nazomakaimura (puzzle platf)
- Calcolo! (puzzle shooting)
- Choukousoku Grandoll (action platf)
- Domino-kun wo tomenaide (puzzle)
- Gunners Heaven (run&gun)
- I.Q (puzzle)
- I.Q Final (puzzle)
- Korokoro Post Nin (platf)
- Ore no Ryouri (cooking)
- Mad Panic Coaster (rollercoaster sim)
- Panzer Bandit (beatemup)
- Parappa The Rapper (rhythm)
- Strider Hiryu 1&2 (everybodyknowsthisgameistheshit)
- Um Jammer Lammy (rhythm)
- Vib Ribbon (rhythm)

[benstylus]

- Arthur To Astaroth No Nazomakaimura (puzzle platf)

Just a small comment on this one...

It's exactly the same game as Incredible Toon Machine (that old PC game) just with a Makaimura/Ghosts N Goblins makeover.

Even the puzzles are identical.

Either way it's a fun game, so I would recomend you get one version of it at least.

[benstylus]

Amyway, here's my list... I'm not going to include arcade only games because they just aren't practical for most ordinary people to play. Also, I'll limit myself to at most 5 games per system:

Dreamcast
Alien Front Online (Incredibly fun tank shooter)
Charge 'N Blast (Extremely fun blow-em-up)
Super Magnetic Neo (very challenging platformer)
Tennis 2K2 (best tennis game ever)
Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (1 on 1 3D fighting done right)

Game Boy
Blades of Steel (great Hockey game for when you're on the go)
Elevator Action (the different weapons really make this game great)
Faceball 2000 (Link up on this one and have a blast)
Operation C (classic Contra action)
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (an astounding game - even moreso considering the platform)

Gamecube
Beach Spikers (My favorite volleyball game bar none)
F-Zero GX (lightning fast racer with incredible difficulty)
Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventures (it's arcade-style Zelda. What more could you want?)
Mortal Kombat: Deception (Goro and Shao Kahn make this the definitive version)
Pac-Man Vs (This is one of the best party games ever)

Genesis
Dick Tracy (quite good, but gets very hard at the end)
Elemental Master (good vertical Technosoft shooter)
Marvel Land (colorfol platformer from Namco)
Shadow Dancer (my favorite of the Shinobi platformers)
Zoom (Excellent Pac-Man/Amidar style game)

NES
Balloon Fight (Sure it's a joust clone... but it's extremely polished)
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (My favorite NG game)

PC Engine
Devil Crash (One of the finest pinball games ever)

Playstation
Pink Panther: Pinkadelic Pursuit (a practically perfect - if a bit brief - platformer)
Point Blank (loads of Light Gun minigames)
Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman (3rd person cut'em and shoot'em up action)
Starfighter Sanvein (Underrated 'bowl' shooter. Quite good)
Trap Gunner (intense split screen versus action)
The Unholy War (melee combat game from Toys for Bob)

Saturn
Last Gladiator: Digital Pinball (4 very well designed tables)
Mega Man X4 (I consider this game to be the pinnacle of the series)
Sega Rally (deliciously perfect gameplay)
Twinkle Star Sprites (the exclusive Saturn mode is awesome)
Virtual On: Cybertroopers (1 on 1 3D fighting done right)

Sega CD
The Adventures of Batman & Robin (surprisingly fun driving action game)
Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side (fighting could use a bit of work, but overall it's a solid title)
Lords of Thunder (a decent shooter)
Revengers of Vengeance (it's a fighter, no wait, a shooter, no wait, an rpg?)
Robo Aleste (yep, another good shooter)

Super NES/Super Famicom
Cameltry (Interesting game where you navigate a marble by rotating the maze around it)
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shogun Magginesu! (My favorite of the Goemon games - also I believe the first game to feature Impact)
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (one of the most addictive light gun games ever)
Super Mario Kart (The original, and still the best)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (A great arcade game makes its way home)

Xbox
Out Run 2 (simply, yet incredibly fun)

Multiplatform
Grid Runner (PC, PS1, Saturn: sort of a Pac-Man / Tag hybrid... with weapons)
Machine Hunter (PC, PS1: An interesting take on the top down shooter)
Puyo Puyo Fever (Cell, DC, DS, GBA, GC, Mac, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox: Addictive block dropping gameplay with an incredibly fun 'fever' mode)
Revolution X (Genesis, PC, PS1, Saturn, SNES: great to put under the short leg of your couch)
Sega Soccer Slam (GC, PS2, Xbox: Over the top footy action)

[zinger]

Mega Drive / Genesis

(including some games that I don't like, and lacking some that I do like - this list is based on the general opinion with a few revisions on the really crappy games (a.k.a. Whip Rush, Arrow Flash etc:)), no arcade ports listed).

Alien Soldier
Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth)
Bare Knuckle series (Streets of Rage)
Battle Mania series (Trouble Shooter)
Chelnov (Atomic Runner, this is a port but better than the AC original IMO)
Contra Hardcorps (Probotector)
Crying (Bio-Hazard Battle)
Devil Crash MD
Eliminate Down
EX-Ranza (Ranger-X)
Gaiares
Gleylancer
Golden Axe II
Granada
Gunstar Heroes
Gynoug (Wings of Wor)
Herzog Zwei
Kyuukyou Tiger (Twin Cobra, another port but it's very different from the original)
Mega Turrican
Mega Panel
Musha Aleste (M.U.S.H.A.)
Panorama Cotton
Super Shinobi series
Splatterhouse series
Super Fantasy Zone
Thunder Force series
Trampoline Terror!
Twinkle Tale
Undead Line
Wani Wani World
Yu Yu Hakusho - Makyoutohissen

[zinger]

Arcade

(Listing a few games with no ports, or only bad ones)

Armed Police Batrider
Darius Gaiden Extra
Dead Connection
ESP.Ra.De
Great Mahou Daisakusen (Dimahoo)
Growl (Runark)
Mystic Warriors
Osman (Cannon Dancer)
Sunset Riders

[Acid King]

Dreamcast -

Red Dog - Underrated tank combat game.
Sword of the Berserk - Great beat em up.
Last Blade 2 - SNK weapon based fighter
NFL Blitz 2001 - Best of the Blitz games

Plenty more but I don't have my games in front of me.

Alien Front Online (Incredibly fun tank shooter)

I love that game. I just wish they would have put in a split screen mode instead of just onlien play. Does this support system link or anything?

[oxtsu]

RC de GO! [arc.psx]
Chaos Heat [arc]
Scud Race [arc]
Tetris the Grandmaster [arc]
Musapey's Choco Marker [arc.dc]
Fighter's History Dynamite [arc.ss]
Cannon Dancer [arc]
Black Dragon [arc]
Ninja Five-0 [gba]

[Neon]

Also, will somebody (you) be compiling this into a single list, or will this thread just grow into a clusterfuck of unsorted duplicates? If there won't be a master list, ignore the rest of this post.

I will. I have tomorrow off, I'd do it tonight but I'm dead tired.

I like the idea of listing genre/brief description as well.

Gaijin, you didn't read the rules! shame.

[Neon]

Main list half-updated (I'll be back later).

[Neon]

Updated w/new organization style

Reasons your game might not have been included:

- I didn't know what genre it was
- It might have a different name
- I wasn't sure what it was ported to (or, you didn't read the rules

I'm open to any suggestions of course about organization, etc.

Add more games, I'm sure I left out a ton.

[sven666]

seriously whats the point of reccomending huuuuuge lists like this, write down one or two and write a couple of lines about them instead, as it is now i might as well go to gamefaqs and do a search on "genre > action"

does anyone look at a list of +200 megadrive titles and go, wow what a fantastic source of information, i must get them all at once!!?

sorry to be a whiny bitch but 'tis the season

[ST Dragon]

Here are some of the best quality action titles for the major 16/32-bit consoles & computers.

AMIGA
=======

Agony
Apidya
Aladdin
Alien Breed
Alien Breed Special Edition '92
Alien Breed - Tower Assault
Alien Breed 3D
Alien World
Arabian Nights
Assassin
Assassin - Special Edition
B.C. Kid
Banshee
Benefactor
Body Blows
Body Blows Galactic
Body Blows Ultimate
Blastar
Breathless
Chaos Engine
Carcharodon - White Sharks
Chuck Rock
Chuck Rock II - Son of Chuck
Curse of Enchantia
Death Mask
Desert Strike
Disposable Hero
Dybamite Dux
Elfmania
Fightin' Spirit
Fire and Ice
First Samurai
Flashback
Genetic Species
Guy Spy and the Crystals of Armageddon
James Pond II - Code Name Robocod
Jim Power - Mutant Planet
Lion Heart
Mr.Nutz
Midnight Resistance
Moonstone
Myth
Parasol Stars
Project X
Preject X SE '93
R-Type II
Rainbow Islands
Risky Woods
Rodland
Ruff 'N' Tumble
Saint Dragon
Second Samurai
Shadow Dancer
Shadow of The Beast
Shadow Fighter
Silk Worm
Soccer Kid
Sonic Boom
Skeleton Krew
Star Dust
Street Fighter II - The World Warrior
Super Frog
Super Stardust
Swiv
T-Zero
Titus the Fox
Toki
Turrican
Turrican II
Turrican 3
Universe
Walker
Wolfchild
Wonderdog
X-Out
Yo Joe!
Zeewolf
Zeewolf 2
Z-Out
Zool 2



NES
====

Adventures of Bayou Billy
Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja
Batman
Batman - Return of The Joker
Battletoads
Battletoads - Double Dragon
Bionic Commando
CastleVania
CastleVania 2 - Simon's Quest
CastleVania 3 - Dracula's Curse
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
Cobra Command
Code Name Viper
Crisis Force
Double Dragon
Double Dragon 2
Double Dragon 3
Dragon Fighter
Flintstones - The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
Flintstones 2 - The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak!
Gradius
Gradius 2
Heavy Barrel
Hudson's Adventure Island
Hudson's Adventure Island 2
Hudson's Adventure Island 3
Hudson's Adventure Island 4
Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors 2
Ikari Warriors 3
Iron Tank
Kabuki - Quantum Fighter
Kirby's Adventure
Kung-Fu
Life Force
Little Mermaid, The
Mario
Mario 2
Mario 3
Mega Man Series
Mighty Final Fight
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden 2 - Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden 3 - The Ancient Ship of Doom
Parodius
River City Ransom
Robocop
Rocketeer
SCAT - Special Cybernetic Attack Team
Shadow of the Ninja
Shatter Hand
Sky Destroyer
Sky Shark
Strider
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 - The Manhhatan Project
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures 2
Top Gun
Twin Cobra / Kyuukyoku Tiger
Vice - Project Doom
Whomp'Em


SNES
=======


Alien 3
Aero Fighters
Area 88 - U.N. Squadron
Assault Suits Valken / Cybernator
Axelay
Batman Returns
Battletoads & Double Dragon - The Ultimate Team
CastleVania - Vampire's Kiss
Contra III - The Alien Wars
Cho Jikuu Yosai Macross
Choplifter 3
Cybernator
Darius Twin
Darius Force
Demon's Crest
Death & Return of Superman
Doom
Doom Troopers
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donald Duck - Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow
Earthworm Jim 1
Earthworm Jim 2
Firemen, The
Ganbare Daiku no Gensan - Hammerin Harry
Gokujyou Parodius
Gourmet Sentai Bara Yarou
Gradius III
Hagane
Iron Commando - Kotetsu no Senshi
Jim Powers - The Lost Dimension 3D
Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius
Joe and Mac - Caveman Ninja
Joe and Mac - Caveman Ninja 3
Final Fight
Final Fight 2
Final Fight 3
First Samurai
F-Zero
King of Dragons, The
Mega Man 7
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3
Metal Warriors
Musya
Ninja Warriors Again
Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai he
Pirates of Dark Water
Pocky & Rocky
Pocky & Rocky 2
Pop 'N' Twinbee
Realm
Rendering Ranger R2
Rockman & Forte
R-Type 3
Run Saber
Seiken Densetsu 3 / Secret of Mana 2
Shin Kidoesenki Gundam Wing - Endless Duel
Shin Nekketsu Kouha Kunio tachi no Bannka
Sparkster
Spriggan Powered
Starfox
Street Fighter II
Street Fighter Alpha II
Super Adventure Island
Super Adventure Island II
Super Castlevania IV
Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
Super Genjin
Super Genjin 2
Super Mario All-Stars & World
Super Mario Kart
Super Metroid
Super R-Type
Super Star Wars Series
Super Street Fighter 2 - The New Challengers
Super SWIV
Super Turrican
Super Turrican 2
Super Valis IV
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV - Turtles in Time
Twinbee - Rainbow Bell Adventure
Universal Soldier
Wild Guns
Wolf Child
X-Men Mutant Apocalypse
Yoshi's Island


GENESIS
=========

Aero Blasters
After Burner II
Arrow Flash
Alien Soldier
Alisia Dragoon
Altered Beast
Battletoads
Batman - Adventures of Batman & Robin
Battletoads & Double Dragon - The Ultimate Team
Blades of Vengence
Castlevania - Bloodlines
Comix Zone
Contra 4 - Hard Corps
Cutthroat Island
Doom Troopers
Death & Return of Superman
Earthworm Jim 1
Earthworm Jim 2
Ecco 1
Ecco 2
ESWAT Cyber Police - City Under Siege
Eliminate Down
El Viento
Fire Shark
G-Loc Air Battle
Galaxy Force II
Gaiares
Golden Axe
Golden Axe 2
Golden Axe 3
Ghouls & Ghosts
Gley Lancer
Gunstar Heroes
Gynoug - wings of Wor
Heavy Unit
Hokuto no Ken 2
Insector X
Jewel Master
Lost Vikings
Kujaku-Oh 2 - Peacock King / Mystic Defender
Mega SWIV
Mega Turrican
Mickey Mouse - Fantasia
Mickey Mouse - Castle of Illusion
M.U.S.H.A
Ninja Gaiden
Raiden Trad
Red Zone
Revenge of Shinobi
Risky Woods
Ristar the Shooting Star
Rocket Knight Adventures
Rocket Knight Adventures 2
Shinobi 3 - Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Sonic 3
Sonic and Knuckles
Space Harrier II
Splatter House 2
Splatter House 3
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 3
Story of Thor
Strider
Super Street Fighter 2 - The New Challengers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist
Thunder Blade
Thunder Force Series
Tiny Toons - Buster's Hidden Treasure
Toki - Going Ape Spit
Tatsujin / Truxton
Turrican
Twin Cobra / Kyuukyou Tiger
Two Crude Dudes
Universal Soldier
Valis Series
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Wonder Boy IV
Wolf Child
Zero Wing


32X
====

After Burner 32X
Blackthorne 32X
Doom 32X
Kolibri 32X
Shadow Squadron - Stellar Assault 32X
Space Harrier 32X
Virtua Fighter 32X


SEGA MEGA CD
===============

Annet Futatabi
Android Assault - The Revenge of Bari-Arm
Earnest Evans
Eternal Champions
Final Fight CD
Jaguar XJ220
Keio Flying Squadron
Lords of Thunder
Nova Storm
Popful Mail
Robo Aleste
Sengoku Densyo
Shining Force CD
Silpheed
Sonic CD (U)(920)
Sol Feace
Soul Star
Star Blade



PC-Engine / TurboGrafX-16
==========================


1941 Counter Attack (SGX)
Aero Blasters
After Burner II
Air Zonk
Aldynes (SGX)
Bonk's Adventure
Bonk's Revenge
Bonk 3 - Bonk's Big Adventure
Blazing Lazers - Gunhed
Coryoon Child of Dragon
Dai Makai Mura (SGX)
Detana!! Twinbee
Gradius
Heavy Unit
Hyperdyne Sidearms
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
Kyuukyoku Tiger
Legendary Axe, The
Liquid Kids
Magical Chase
Neutopia II
New Adventure Island
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Spirit
Operation Wolf
Parodius
Parasol Stars
Raiden
R-Type Complete
Rabio Lepus Special
Salamander
Shinobi
Soldier Blade
Splatterhouse
Street Fighter II
Strip Fighter II
Super Star Soldier
Tatsujin / Truxton
Tenseiryu Saint Dragon
Tiger Road
Tiger Shark - Daisenpuu
Turrican
Valkyrie no Densetsu



PCE DUO
=========
Ai Chou aniki
Akumajyou Dracula X - chi no rondo
Bonk 3 - Bonk's Big Adventure CD
Chou Aniki
Cotton - Fantastic Night Dreams
Double Dragon II
Download 2
Gate of Thunder
Gradius II - Gofer No Yabou
Image Fight II
Kaze Kiri - Ninja Action
L-Dis
Lords of Thunder
Macross 2036
Metamor Jupiter
R-Type Complete CD
Sapphire - Ginga Fukei Densetsu
Spriggan Serei Senshi - Summer Carnival '91
Super Darius 2
Super Raiden
The Legend of Xanadu
The Legend of Xanadu II
Valis Series
Zero Wing

[Neon]

seriously whats the point of reccomending huuuuuge lists like this, write down one or two and write a couple of lines about them instead, as it is now i might as well go to gamefaqs and do a search on "genre > action"

does anyone look at a list of +200 megadrive titles and go, wow what a fantastic source of information, i must get them all at once!!?

sorry to be a whiny bitch but 'tis the season

First off there aren't 200 quality megadrive titles. Aren't even 20 I doubt, for any console. Secondly it's organized by genre. So when someone asks 'what are the must-play shooters/puzzle games/racers/etc. for Console X, they have a resource.

[dave4shmups]

Well, I'll definately have to check out RC de Go! I've heard of it, but never heard anyone reccomend it before this thread.

PS1 Air Combat deserves mention; it started out as an Arcade game, and spawned a hugely popular series-and it's still loads of fun to play!

Thunder Fox, on both the US Taito collection, and the JP, is one awesome action game-it's like a combination of Green Beret, Shinboi, and a dash of Contra thrown in-there's even shmup stages! Brilliant piece of work by Taito.

[Zaarock]

PS2 God of War, the best 3D platformer action adventure game ever!

[ST Dragon]

I've heard that it's a very short game.

[Davey]

Well, I'll definately have to check out RC de Go! I've heard of it, but never heard anyone reccomend it before this thread.

1 recommendation = have to check out?

In any case, it's an alright game. Good, but nothing special. IMHO, the most entertaining part is hearing the announcer yell "A POOL OF WATER!" every single time your car comes in contact with a puddle. That aside, I find RC Pro-Am more fun.


EDIT: Added recommendations. A few are repeats.

NES
Balloon Fight (Joust clone - what genre is that? Platform?)
RC Pro-Am (Racing)
Stinger (Shooting)
Battletoads (Fighting, platform, racing)

SNES
Tetris Attack (Puzzle)
- see also, Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)
- see also, Nintendo Puzzle Collection (Cube)
- see also, Dr. Mario / Puzzle League (GBA)
Pocky and Rocky (Run n' Gun? Whatever something like Mercs would be)

PSX
Star Sweep (Puzzle)
Money Puzzle Exchanger (Puzzle)
Devil Dice (Puzzle)
Buster Bros. Collection (Shooting?)

Arcade
Saboten Bombers (Platform)
Shock Troopers (Run n' Gun?)

Multiple
Crazy Taxi (Racing) (DC, PS2, Cube, probably more)
Puyo Puyo Tsuu (Puzzle) (PSX, Sat, SNES, probably more)
Puyo Puyo Sun (Puzzle) (PSX, Sat, N64, probably more)
Magical Drop 3 (Puzzle) (PSX, Sat, maybe more)

[Icecap Veiwin]

I see no love for Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA).

[crithit5000]

Later on I'll be sure to put together a list of stuff I think is missing, but since I'm short on time...Why no Ninja Gaiden for NES??!

[subcons]

No one for Cool Cool Toon on Dreamcast?!

Such a great and unique rhythm game that was exclusive to such a great system.

[ST Dragon]

Later on I'll be sure to put together a list of stuff I think is missing, but since I'm short on time...Why no Ninja Gaiden for NES??!

I did mention the Ninja Gaiden series on my list.

[professor ganson]

Neon, a few of these have already been mentioned but warrant repeating.

N64: Pokemon Puzzle League

GB: Kirby Pinball Land

PS1: Toaplan Shooting Battle vol. 1, Zanac Neo, Raiden DX

PS2: Dragon Blaze, Bombastic

NES: Zanac, Kirby's Adventure

XBOX: Metal Slug 3, Geometry Wars, Rallisport Challenge 2

PCE: Alien Crush

DC: Giga Wing, Mars Matrix, Border Down

Multi: Shikigami no Shiro II