Shmups where you play as a car?

[dark]

This just popped into my mind, but what shmups are there where you play as a car?

I can only really think of Highway Hunter (dos shareware) as a quintessential shmup




Depending on how loose you are with the definition of shmup, Traffic Department 2192 might also qualify (dos shareware)




I can think of several other top down car games where you shoot at stuff, but it is usually in the context of a race (IE: death rally). So I think those are more racers than shmups.

It would be interesting to see a modern take on the idea - something bullet hell/dodonpachi like, that takes place on a highway

Can anyone think of any others?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Battle Formula by Sunsoft.
Most modern shooty car combat game I can think of is Mashed: Fully Loaded.

[AntiFritz]

Not quite a car, but don't some of the teams in batrider (if not all) ride on a motorbike (more like a jetbike though...)?

As far as some kind of racing/shmup hybrid goes you have kingdom grandprix as a good example. Doesn't feature cars or take place on a highway though.

The problem with creating a shmup where you play as/in a car though is you'd probably be fairly restricted with movement. Unless they just ignored any realism (lol realism in a shmup) and allowed you to move around as normal.

[Mortificator]

Last Duel by Capcom. Also, the Batmobile stage in the Genesis version of Batman.

[Acid_Rain]

In Super SWIV for the SNES you can play as a jeep.

[Mortificator]

Oh yeah, that reminds me of Silkworm! You could play as a jeep there too.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

VICE: Project Doom has a couple of shmup stages, the first level of the game is rather a joke but the second one can actually take a bit of effort. As mentioned, Battle Formula (released as Super Spy Hunter in north america to draw sales off the license) is probably one of the better examples, it makes a lot of use of environmental traps and such. The problem is, they're almost all instakills, and they require unforgiving memorization to clear (the pit traps you have to jump over late game are a pain in the ass, too fast or too slow and you die).

Turbo Force has flying cars, but you could replace them with planes and probably have the same game.

[BIL]

Also, the Batmobile stage in the Genesis version of Batman.

Data East's BreakThru is a whole game of those, pretty much (plus jumping).

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I can't believe I forgot Jackal, that one was a lot of fun.

[BIL]

The NES version of Jackal is so good. The AC one's contiguous map is cool, but like AC Contra the aiming controls are terribly laggy about cycling through directions. On the NES you can really bust out the precision rocket strikes on tanks and buildings while doing donuts in the POW camp.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If I'm not mistaken (I've only watched the arcade version, haven't tried it yet), the AC version seems to be lacking in bosses, were the bosses pretty much an NES specific thing?

[BIL]

Yes - including the very last one, which was probably a helluva surprise for anyone used to knocking over the AC version's fort and calling it a day!

I do like the AC's sense of progression through a long, varied and treacherous battleground, but that aiming lag is so annoying. Out of AC Contra, Jackal and Super Contra (all have this issue, due to cycling through 16 directions rather than 8 ) it's only the last one that I consider really worth grappling with, owing to its insane numbers of onscreen enemies, thunderous sound effects and rampant pace making the FC version seem weak. You can actually counteract the lag by avoiding diagonals or only using them while jumping (in Super Contra) but it's an effort.

edit 1: spelling
edit 2: the dreaded accidental cool smiley, break it up 8 and )! D:

[ptoing]

Turbo Force!

[nasty_wolverine]

Battle Formula by Sunsoft.

That game is one of the best stuff for the NES, so much awesome in one game, the music, the crazy stage design, the fully powered up weapon...
it even has a shmup stage...

[Casey120]

Spy Hunter !

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Turbo Force!

Video System Co's Turbo Force Jamma PCB conversion kit was released under the moniker of "Hyper Force" as well in the USA -- so it was commonplace to see both titles of TF & HF at the local arcade joints from time to time. The first time I saw such a Turbo Force setup, the cab sported a three player setup + auto-fire from the get-go was a newly fangled feature in the arcade shmup genre back in the day. The (defunct) local Regency Game Palace had a Turbo Force setup and accepted tokens as the "gold choice" to coin it up/credit it up, indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BulletMagnet]

The two 32-bit "Bokan" shooters (a video of the first one here) have you drive a bunch of tanks and other ground-based vehicles, though there is one flying craft in there.

[dark]

Cool mentions guys. I hadn't even heard of most of these. Looks like the idea to have a shmup with a car has been pretty dormant since the early 90s though - so car based shmups have missed out on the evolution of the shmup - IE: dense bullet patterns, high res graphics, etc

[1up]

[Ruldra]

I'm sure there's a Master System shmup where you start off as a car in the road and eventually you'd get wings and fly the rest of the stage. Can't remember the name though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Surprised the first screenshot in the thread hasn't elicited any mentions of Konami's "City Bomber" yet. Much closer to a shmup than Jackal and The Speed Rumbler, which aren't autoscrollers. It's even a vert!

[TransatlanticFoe]

I'm sure there's a Master System shmup where you start off as a car in the road and eventually you'd get wings and fly the rest of the stage. Can't remember the name though.

That'd be Action Fighter - you start as a bike, upgrade to a car and then take off for the rest of the stage.

Line of Fire on the SMS has you play 3 of the 6 stages as a jeep.

[Ed Oscuro]

Speaking of things, Cobra-Command (not the laserdisc game) is close (one of the vehicles is a jeep).

[A Black Falcon]

Action Fighter for Master System is partially in this category, yeah. Like Spy Hunter and Super Spy Hunter, your vehicle has multiple forms. It's more shmuplike than the original Spy Hunter, though...


Oh, and of course one of the players plays as a jeep in Silkworm, SWIV, Super SWIV (Firepower 2000), and Mega SWIV.

[Gespenst]

No mention of a fanmade remake of Spyhunter yet? Highway Pursuit.

[Welcome2SpecialRound]

Daioh has a flying space tricycar with missiles!



Ships with wheels are really just flying cars after all...

[davyK]

Moon Patrol - though there is quite a bit of jumping too.

Also the 2nd Omake mode in Oshaberi Parodius takes place on a racetrack.

[SePh1r0tH]

You man a tank in Guardian Force. Almost a car..

[BrianC]

As mentioned, Battle Formula (released as Super Spy Hunter in north america to draw sales off the license)

I don't think this is the case. Even the JP version has homages to Spy Hunter (Peter Gunn theme, various weapons like the spiked tires).

[604_degrees]

Tube shooting:
Night Striker on the Sega Saturn.
The Adventures of Batman and Robin on the Sega CD.