Best Horizontal Scroller

[simian]

There's too much love for vertical scrollers here. Those are disgusting perversions of shooters.

What do you think are the best horizontally scrolling shooters?

[Thunder Force]

There's too much love for vertical scrollers here. Those are disgusting perversions of shooters.

Is this trolling, or a joke?

For the record I'm pro-hori, but you have to respect the fact that most of the community prefers verts.

(Anyway, that's not to say we can't still discuss people's favorite horis in this topic...)

[TVG]

man, this forum had had enough polls in one week for the next 5 years.

[Thunder Force]

too many polls/lists = people dry on discussion ideas, presumably.

[simian]

Yeah, but most of the games that top those polls are vertically scrolling.

Me? I grew up on Gradius 3 on the SNES. I like Horizontally scrolling games. I just wanna see them get some sweet, hot lurvin.

[zinger]

Thunder Force series, Hyper Duel, Gleylancer, Gaiares and Darius Gaiden are some of my favourites

[Brian]

The only hori I really ever got into is Sengouku Blade. Of course, I am a Psyiko whore.

[alpha5099]

Thunder Force V, Thunder Force III, Sengoku Blade, Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius, Gradius II, Wings of Wor, Tumiki Fighters, Prehistoric Isle 2, Steel Empire, and Sexy Parodius. They all kick ass.

And the Salamander games are great too, although those vertically scroll half the time.

PS - I've noticed a distinct trend towards hori-hating, but few people express a dislike of vertical shmups. I blame manic gameplay, most games these days are vertical, and most horis are generally older games. Those who are most familiar with manic games have a harder time adjusting to the more sedate style from 15 years ago.

[icepick]

I think that hori are rare, and that's why I like them so much. (Then again, I can't think of any that I've played besides Border Down. Remember: Me = new!)

How about some new manic hori? They could do that, but, it's probably just that so many people are used to vert, now. If you ask me, I say that hori would actually be more intuitive, given that humans' eyes are horizontally-oriented.

Then again, there does seem to be something 'lop-sided' about hori. I mean, in vert, the bullets are raining down (sometimes up and from both sides?) like... rain. In hori, it's as though one side is constantly pushing the player, which is probably why it seems strange. Maybe I'll rewire the D-pad of one of my DC controllers and try Psyvariar 2 in vertical screen mode with the TV still in YOKO orientation...

... Anyway, this is nice, so that I can try out some more hori. 'Sexy Parodius' and 'Sengoku Blade' seem to have calling names.

[system11]

You are not alone.

While I remember playing the old classics in arcades, most of my shmupping was done on home computers and home consoles - on which vertical shooters virtually didn't exist. Even vertical games were always converted to horizontal form - even Galaxian.

[raiden]

Shmups started as verts in the arcade. The only reason horis were ever invented was for home consoles. That´s not to say horis didn´t develop a style of their own, but it´s not like horis are where it all started. Why was Space Invaders a tate game? Well, there was no 3d availlable, so they were trying to give the player a feeling of flying a spaceship in 2d. When you are sitting in a spaceship cockpit, you are looking ahead, and with a 2d screen in front of you, enemies coming from above is the closest approximation to that feeling. Horis, on the other hand, show the ship from the side, which allows for more detail, but also distances the player from the ship, it´s a little harder to identify with the pilot in a hori, the style is more adjusted to "watching" the game. That´s why horis tend to have better graphic and progress more slowly than verts.
It´s not the perspective I don´t like, it´s the slow progressing. Just yesterday I got Hellfire for the Genesis (been exploring oldschool waters a little recently), and that´s a damn fine example for a pretty hectic gameplay in a hori shooter, but that is something rare. Even Sengoku Blade and Blazing Star are slower-paced than most vertical shmups.
My favorite hori shmup so far is Bike Banditz. It combines a Last Resort style gameplay with original manic level design, fresh and detailed graphics and a quick pace.

[Ord]

I prefer verts and it's usually the manic ones at that. I often feel that horizontal shooters rely to much on memorisation like Gradius, R-Type etc, but that's just me. I also hate the fact that you have to watch out for the bloody scenery. Meh!
Fave hori games would be Progear (basically a manic vert turned on it's side), Sengoku Blaede (lovely medieval atmosphere), Gradius V (not as punishing/frustrating as previous Gradius games) and maybe Border Down.

[landshark]

My favorite shooter memories are of me and my friend playing hori-genesis shooters in his grandma's basement on late weekend nights (6th-8th grade).

So many hours were spent doing that, and eating Tombstone/Tortinos pizzas.

Gaireres is the one we played the most. I think there was one called Arrowflash or something like that, as well as WhipRush, and of course Musha (which to this day I'm still not fond of, and is a vert).

[TVG]

i used to prefer horis, but after discovering true tate, i see how shmups are intended to play that way.

i still like horis though, especially TFV and blazing star.

[jp]

Hyper Duel, Salamander 2, Gokujyo Parodius, Thunder Force III, and Border Down get my vote.

[dboeren]

I would like to get more top-notch horizontal games in my collection, such as Salamander and Gradius II. It's hard though, since most of the good horis are older games which rarely turn up for sale. There is also less consensus on what the good titles are, which makes it harder to know what to try out.

[Tony Gradius]

Shmups started as verts in the arcade. The only reason horis were ever invented was for home consoles.

oh yes, sure. thank you, now i know defender or scramble never got an arcade release. don pachi muest be the very start of it.

[Frogacuda]

I'm probably not going to get alot of people with me on this one, but Border Down. Deep but not too deep play mechanics, Thunderforce style gameplay, and a great soundtrack. Lacking in visual style perhaps, but who cares.

Following closely (and sometimes leading depending on what day you ask me) is Fantasy Zone. Frantic action, still pretty strategic and skill based, and again a great soundtrack, it always brings a smile to my face.

In third I'd go with Gradius V. Beautiful level design makes the game.

Honorable mentions go to Darius Gaiden, Progear no Arashi and Biohazard Battle.

[Frogacuda]

Shmups started as verts in the arcade. The only reason horis were ever invented was for home consoles. That´s not to say horis didn´t develop a style of their own, but it´s not like horis are where it all started.

This isn't true, though. Gradius, Fantasy Zone, R-Type, Defender... they all started in the arcade. And they originated alot of genre conventions. Gradius was probably the first shmup to start filling the screen with aimed bullets the way that it did. Also horis originated the powerup as it would come to be.

[Shatterhand]

I have the feeling that we are being trolled hard...

Anyway

I like both genres. I like anything that puts you in the position of shooting enemies and dodging bullets, I guess

My fav horizontals are Space Manbow (MSX), Apidya (Amiga), Gradius Gaiden (PSX), Thunder Force V.

I still think it's a big shame that Space Manbow and Apidya are so unknown , as they are just awesome

[BrianC]

My favorite horizontals are the Gradius series, the R-Type series, Life Force NES, and Thunder Force III-V. But I love verts too and "that too much love for vertical scrollers" comment is borderline trolling. It shows disrespect for vert lovers, even if it wasn't meant that way. Calling verts "disgusting perversions of shooters" is rather silly too. However, I don't think Tate is the only way to play. Tate modes in games are cool, but trying to prove that all shooters were created for tate is just plain silly.

[captain ahar]

my shmuping started with verts and that is what i played. i thought i hated horzes (or whatever the short version is ).

now i play more horizontals than verts, but my love is still equal

favorite horz ( ): pretty much all i have played are part of the Gradius series, Harmful Park owns my <3!

NOTE: i would love to get into the computers (like Amiga, MSX, and the like) so perhaps i will be able to add more variety to my collection later on

[simian]

I have the feeling that we are being trolled hard...

Yup. Damn. Talking about shooters in a shooters forum. I am one devious troll, ain't I?

You people always so welcoming of newcomers?

[the2bears]

You people always so welcoming of newcomers?

Ah come on... it's not so bad

I think many people just didn't understand you were kidding about verts being perversions. You were kidding, right?

Anyway, R-Type is my favourite hori.

Bill

[kemical]

horizontal shooters are anti-ergonimic.. blah.

j/k..
i like In The Hunt the most.

[BrianC]

I have the feeling that we are being trolled hard...

Yup. Damn. Talking about shooters in a shooters forum. I am one devious troll, ain't I?

You people always so welcoming of newcomers?

It's not talking about shooters. It's the fact that you are showing disrespect towards people that like vertical scrollers by saying that there is too much love for them. Also, calling them disgusting perversions of shooters is just plain disrespectful. You can dislike vertical shooters all you want, but please show some respect towards people who do like them. ok?

[TVG]

I don't think Tate is the only way to play. Tate modes in games are cool, but trying to prove that all shooters were created for tate is just plain silly.

no, no, no, i didnt say its the only way to play.
how to explain it..?
let's say its the "default" thing in shmups.
but variety doesnt harm anyone, horis are rare enough as they are, and i like them.
what i dont like much avter discovering tate though is the yoko verts, too limited field of vision.
for some reason it works in takumi games though, cause it just gives you more space to draw pretty patterns with the shields.

[BrianC]

I don't think Tate is the only way to play. Tate modes in games are cool, but trying to prove that all shooters were created for tate is just plain silly.

no, no, no, i didnt say its the only way to play.
how to explain it..?
let's say its the "default" thing in shmups.
but variety doesnt harm anyone, horis are rare enough as they are, and i like them.
what i dont like much avter discovering tate though is the yoko verts, too limited field of vision.
for some reason it works in takumi games though, cause it just gives you more space to draw pretty patterns with the shields.

That comment wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at comments like "horis were designed for consoles and verts were in arcades first", though both horis and verts were in the arcades first before they came to consoles. Tate was designed for vertical oriented games in general, not just shmups. Games with a horizonatal orientation don't need a special vertical monitor. Darius is a hori with a special long hori monitor. I would like to see one of those machines.

Games that handle Yoko well don't have a limited field of vision. A poor Yoko can kill a game, though. Castle Shikigami 2 is a good example of a recent game with a well done Yoko mode, though tate is still better due to the increased detail. The Detana Twinbee Deluxe pack is another example of Yoko done right. No off screen bullets. Also, some older ports like Truxton Genesis change the bullet patterns to compensate for less screen space and it works well. Didn't quite work for Twin Cobra Genesis, though. Then there's the unusual case of Strikers 1945 II where the home ports have slowdown in tate that isn't in Yoko modes (or so I heard), but still have more screen space in tate.

[BulletMagnet]

Er, in an attempt to get back on topic, my favorite side-scrollers off the top of my head are Blazing Star and Harmful Park...I like others too, but those stand out to me personally.

And as a side note, there's a difference between simply preferring verts and outright hating horzies...I fit into the first category, but not the second, and I would take a guess that most of the presumed "haters" here are in the same boat.

[Ganelon]

I thought I preferred verts but most of my most memorable shooters have been horiz. My most played and fave horiz. shooter has got to be Gaiares.