Horizontal STGs with worthwhile scoring systems

[Ghegs]

When it comes to shmupping, I prefer horizontal ones. There are a lot of them, many of them are great and considered classics of the genre. The Gradiuses, the R-Types, the Thunder Forces and so on and so forth. There are not, however, that many hori shmups that offer an interesting and well-thought-out scoring system. Certainly far less than there are of vertical shmups with good scoring systems. Why this is, I don't exactly know. But let's list what we do have and see what their scoring systems are like:

(The scoring system descriptions here are not meant to cover the mechanics fully and in absolute detail, they are there to just give an idea on how the game works. Check the Strategy section for detailed information.)

Akai Katana
(Arcade, Xbox 360)

Scoring: (Arcade Mode) Charge ninja bar by collecting energy items from enemies, their energy value can be increased by holding them with the option and hovering them over bullets. Change into ninja mode, gather lots of bullets. Shoot an enemy near the bullets to cancel into gold which will surround you. Wait until the gold is at full value before changing back out of ninja mode to collect. (Thanks to Sapz for this.)

(Shin Mode): Attack with "normal" shots to earn steel orbs; attack with "focused" shots to fill ninja meter (full meter = more orbs earned). Enter ninja mode to launch all steel orbs; enemies and bullets they hit earn katanas, you can attack with your laser to earn more. Transform back to plane mode to launch katanas; enemies and bullets hit transform into gold. Collect gold at close range for the most points.

Demonstration video

Blazing Star
(Neo Geo, iOS)

Scoring: Kill enemies to release medals which increase in value as long as none are missed. Destroy enemies with a charged shot to apply a multiplier to those enemies. Pick up "event items" to temporarily apply a multiplier to all destroyed enemies. Find all hidden items in a stage to get a bonus.

Demonstration video

Border Down
(Arcade, DC)

Scoring: Cancel bullets with laser to increase multiplier, then destroy enemies to apply that multiplier on the enemies' base score. Kill bosses close to when the timer hits 0 for a bonus.

Demonstration video

Cloudphobia
(PC)

Scoring:

Demonstration video

Cotton 2
(Arcade, Saturn)

Scoring: Kill an enemy with a special shot to "seal" it in a magical orb, then pick up and throw it at other enemies to "seal" them, and so on, for a chain bonus.

Demonstration video

Cotton Boomerang
(Arcade, Saturn)

Scoring: Same as Cotton 2, except now you can also repeatedly shoot "sealed" enemies for extra points and enemies can now be thrown in various directions instead of just straight ahead.

Coryoon: Child of Dragon
(PC Engine)

Scoring: Has a caravan mode with all the usual stuff - bonuses are awarded for destroying certain enemies at the same time, or destroying other enemies from within, etc.

Demonstration video

Darius Burst
(Arcade, PSP, iOS)

Scoring:

Demonstration video

Death Smiles
(Arcade, Xbox 360)

Scoring: There are different versions of the game which alter the details, but basically: Destroy enemies to release items, destroying the enemies with the right attack increases the amount of items released. After enough items are collected enter a powered up mode where the items add to a point bonus. When not powered up, collecting items before they hit the ground makes them worth more; when powered up, it's best to let them "split" first, since quantity is all that matters for building the multiplier and cashing it in. "De-powering" when the screen is full of valuable items can allow for a near-instant "recharge" which allows for more frequent power-ups. At higher difficulties and in certain modes enemies sometimes release x-shaped bullets which can be cancelled into additional items by your familiar.

Demonstration video
ST

Death Smiles II
(Arcade, Xbox 360)

Scoring: (Arcade Mode) Destroy enemies with one type of weapon to charge "power up" stock; attack with the other to build multiplier. Attacking at close range equals more rewards: killing background enemies with lock-on awards diamonds, which charge both. Activate "power up" mode to earn additional multiplier items; when multiplier maxes out, enemies drop diamonds, also handy for "recharging". Killing enemies with lock-on and continuing to hold the button/s down spawns homing suicide bullets, which can be cancelled into additional items by releasing the button/s at the last minute. Multiplier keeps until you die.

(IIX Mode:) Same basic idea as Arcade, but all enemies destroyed while powered-up release slow suicide bullets, which can be cancelled into rings by activating the lock-on; most valuable items are left when multiplier is maxed. Multiplier resets when power-up mode ends.

(Arrange Mode:) "Throw" familiar into bullets to cancel them into items, and into enemies to lock-on and destroy them, which results in more bullets. Collecting multiplier items boosts "tension" meter which makes enemy attacks more dense; power-up mode can be extended pretty much indefinitely if you collect enough stuff before it ends.

Demonstration video
GD

Einhänder
(PS1)

Scoring: Destroy enemies quickly to increase multiplier temporarily. Perform unique tasks to activate special bonuses.

Game Type
(XBLIG)

Scoring: Use bullet time to cancel bullets into collectibles.

G-Darius
(Arcade, PS1, PS2)

Scoring: Destroy all enemies in a formation for a bonus. Destroy enemies with a captured enemy for a multiplier bonus. The size of the multiplier depends on how the captured enemy is used. Engage in beam battles with the bosses for the biggest multipliers. Many end-of-game bonuses.

Demonstration video

Hacha Mecha Fighter
(Arcade)

Scoring: Juggle certain enemies for score items and collect other items that increase in value as long as none are missed. Bossmilking.

Harmful Park
(PS1)

Scoring: Kill enemies to release gems which increase in value as long as none are missed. Kill enemies simultaneously to temporarily increase multiplier. Also has a caravan mode.

Demonstration video

Kyotokei
(WiiWare)

Scoring: Kill enemies of the same color four in a row to increase bonus points' multiplier. Absorb enemy bullets of the same color. Kill bosses fast for bonus points. End-of-game bonus for remaining lives.

Demonstration video

Last Hope and Last Hope: Pink Bullets
(Neo Geo, DC)

Scoring: Destroy enemies with a charged shot for a multiplier. In PB absorb enemy bullets with the pod to increase another multiplier.

Lunaria
(PC, download link here)

Scoring: A caravan game with two and five-minute modes. Bonuses are awarded for destroying certain enemies at the same time, destroying other enemies from within and finding hidden items.

Demonstration video

Macross II
(Arcade)

Scoring: A caravan shmup. Destroy enemies quickly to spawn the next wave faster. Find hidden items. Collect excess power-ups for extra points.

Demonstration video

Omega Five
(XBLA)

Scoring: Keep destroying enemies to increase and uphold multiplier.

Orbitron: Revolution
(XBLIG, PC)

Scoring: Combo timer for multiplier

Otomedius
(Arcade, Xbox 360)

Scoring: Level up your character enough times to unlock the highest possible difficulties for every stage. Once that's done, play through any 3 stages at the highest difficulty. Doing so results in a greater number of hidden gems in each stage, and also increases the number of enemies per stage. Destroy as many enemies as possible with fully charged D-Burst attacks. Every enemy destroyed that way will drop a Power-Up Capsule, and each one is worth 1,000 points. The more capsules you collect, the quicker your Burst meters will recharge, allowing you to keep the D-Burst cycle going without interruption.

Parodius

Scoring: There are many Parodius games with their own quirks and special scoring mechanics, but one thing is constant: Destroy enemies to release bells, the yellow bells increase in value as long as no bells are missed.

Progear
(Arcade)

Scoring: Cancel enemy bullets to gain one type of item, then cancel enemy bullets with focus shot to gain a different type of worth more points. Bullets are cancelled when a nearby enemy is destroyed: when using focus shot to cancel bullets into gems, transforming items can actually "chain" into other nearby bullets.

Demonstration video

Razion
(Neo Geo)

Scoring: Destroy enemies to release gold items, the value of which are dependent on how many are on screen at the same time. Collecting also increases multiplier which is then applied to the boss' base score.

Demonstration video

Revolver360
(Xbox 360)

Scoring: Rotate playfield to cluster bullets. Use Laser to cancel bullets, building an overdrive meter. Overdrive converts all bullets on screen into points/multiplier.

Demonstration video

Sengoku Blade
(Arcade, Saturn, PS2)

Scoring: Reveal items from destroying enemies or hidden in a stage, then collect the item at a specific point in its animation. Kill enemies quickly to spawn extra ones.

Demonstration video

Sine Mora
(Xbox 360)

Scoring: Kill enemies without using special weapons for multiplier. Collect medals before they drift off screen to boost value.

Thunder Force V
(Saturn, PS1)

Scoring: Destroy enemies quickly for a score multiplier.

Demonstration video

Thunder Force VI
(PS2)

Scoring: Destroy enemies quickly for a score multiplier.

Demonstration video

Tobi Tsukihime
(PC)

Scoring: Cancel bullets into collectibles

Trouble Witches and Trouble Witches Neo
(Arcade, PC, Xbox 360)

Scoring: Destroy enemies with special item shots to cancel them and their bullets into star coins, which build a point multiplier. Deploy familiar to slow down bullets, and destroy them with "normal" attacks to cancel them and slowed bullets into "normal" coins, which are used to buy more special weapons and other items.

Demonstration video

Warmachine Overload
(PC, download link)

Scoring: Destroy enemies with laser to temporarily increase multiplier. Engage in beam battles with the bosses for big multipliers.

Demonstration video

WispLisp Array of List

Scoring:

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The "kind of/sort of" - list of hori shmups that have some elements of a scoring system, but it's not utilized to a meaningful degree or it's not interesting or it's just plain dumb. This is, of course, somewhat subjective and not meant to imply the games aren't good and fun regardless.

Burai Fighter (NES)
Darius Gaiden (Arcade, PC, PS1, PS2, Saturn, Xbox)
Hyper Duel (Arcade, Saturn)
P-47 Aces (Arcade)
R-Type Delta (PS1)
Zed Blade (Neo Geo)

I've probably missed some games, so feel free to chime in. But to make the list, the game's scoring system needs a bit more complexity than just killing every enemy and checkpoint milking. And marathon gaming is right out. If you see any mistakes, let me know. If you want to contribute a better scoring system description or a good video showcasing it, post that as well.

[BulletMagnet]

I'll try a couple of summaries, someone correct me if I'm off:

Deathsmiles II (Arcade): Destroy enemies with one type of weapon to charge "power up" stock; attack with the other to build multiplier. Attacking at close range equals more rewards: killing background enemies with lock-on awards diamonds, which charge both. Activate "power up" mode to earn additional multiplier items; when multiplier maxes out, enemies drop diamonds, also handy for "recharging". Killing enemies with lock-on and continuing to hold the button/s down spawns homing suicide bullets, which can be cancelled into additional items by releasing the button/s at the last minute. Multiplier keeps until you die.

(IIX Mode:) Same basic idea as Arcade, but all enemies destroyed while powered-up release slow suicide bullets, which can be cancelled into rings by activating the lock-on; most valuable items are left when multiplier is maxed. Multiplier resets when power-up mode ends.

(Arrange Mode:) "Throw" familiar into bullets to cancel them into items, and into enemies to lock-on and destroy them, which results in more bullets. Collecting multiplier items boosts "tension" meter which makes enemy attacks more dense; power-up mode can be extended pretty much indefinitely if you collect enough stuff before it ends.

Trouble Witches: Destroy enemies with special item shots to cancel them and their bullets into star coins, which build a point multiplier. Deploy familiar to slow down bullets, and destroy them with "normal" attacks to cancel them and slowed bullets into "normal" coins, which are used to buy more special weapons and other items.

Addendums to existing summaries:

Akai Katana (Shin Mode): Attack with "normal" shots to earn steel orbs; attack with "focused" shots to fill ninja meter (full meter = more orbs earned). Enter ninja mode to launch all steel orbs; enemies and bullets they hit earn katanas, you can attack with your laser to earn more. Transform back to plane mode to launch katanas; enemies and bullets hit transform into gold. Collect gold at close range for the most points.

Cotton 2: Kill an enemy with a special shot to "seal" it in a magical orb, then pick up and throw it at other enemies to "seal" them, and so on, for a chain bonus.

Cotton Boomerang: Same as Cotton 2, except now you can also repeatedly shoot "sealed" enemies for extra points (in 2 this would result in life refills). Enemies can now be thrown in various directions instead of just straight ahead.

Deathsmiles: When not powered up, collecting items before they hit the ground makes them worth more; when powered up, it's best to let them "split" first, since quantity is all that matters for building the multiplier and cashing it in. "De-powering" when the screen is full of valuable items can allow for a near-instant "recharge" which allows for more frequent power-ups. At higher difficulties and in certain modes enemies sometimes release x-shaped bullets which can be cancelled into additional items by your familiar.

Progear: Bullets are cancelled when a nearby enemy is destroyed: when using focus shot to cancel bullets into gems, transforming items can actually "chain" into other nearby bullets.

Parodius: Yellow bells are most common, but red and other "one-use" bells that can be stored award even more points when collected repeatedly without being used.

Phew...hope that suits your purposes.

[MathU]

I don't really think Darius games belong on there period. They always have this asinine bonus icon system where the icons can be randomly worth next to nothing or a significant part of your score. This can be incredibly frustrating when you're playing for the very highest scores.

For what it's worth, there is maybe a slight bit more to Gaiden than simply destroying everything you can though (when you're not cheating with autofire anyway). Rank control is a factor in capturing minibosses and getting their valuable endgame bonuses. Also if you're including the Taito Legends 2 version, it's on the XBox and PC too, not just the PS2. It even had its own standalone PC port like some of Taito's other F3 games.

[Zaarock]

I don't really think Darius games belong on there period. They always have this asinine bonus icon system where the icons can be randomly worth next to nothing or a significant part of your score. This can be incredibly frustrating when you're playing for the very highest scores.

Er, isn't the point value based on the angle the item is at from the centre of it's rotation in darius gaiden and G-Darius? certainly was in g-darius afaik

[sikraiken]

When I was looking into it through ram and whatnot when we played it for STGT a little while back, it seemed to be random. I might have not looked far enough into it, but it definitely didn't have anything to do with the angle on Darius Gaiden.

[MathU]

Er, isn't the point value based on the angle the item is at from the centre of it's rotation in darius gaiden and G-Darius? certainly was in g-darius afaik

It is absolutely 100% random in Darius Gaiden. There is no way to manipulate it. I'll say "that I'm aware of" just to be safe, but I'm quite an expert on the game.

[Drum]

I love Parodius, and I never really tried playing for score so my opinion may be worthless here, but: I question that it has a worthwhile scoring system. It looks like a total pain in the ass.

[Ghegs]

@BulletMagnet: Thanks, those were great. There's still a few I haven't managed to summarize handily.

@MathU: This is why Darius Gaiden is on the "kind of/sort of"-list. I would say G-Darius and Burst belong to the list however, as they have a more well-rounded approach to scoring.

@Drum: "Pain in the ass" sounds like an apt description of many scoring systems to me. I haven't played them for score either, but the mechanic itself is valid, maybe it's just unreasonably difficult to constantly juggle the bells?

[Drum]

@Drum: "Pain in the ass" sounds like an apt description of many scoring systems to me. I haven't played them for score either, but the mechanic itself is valid, maybe it's just unreasonably difficult to constantly juggle the bells?

Well, I am probably further biased by my belief that the only games where scoring isn't an immense pain-in-the-ass are classic-style arcade games like Asteroids, Robotron and Galaga, but there are degrees here.
Speaking of which, Defender probably belongs here.

[emphatic]

I'd like to add Hacha Mecha Fighter to the list of Horizontal STGs with worthwhile scoring systems, but currently, you need to play the PCB as MAME can't emulate it very well. It has some flaws (only one score based extend, no pickup extends, unmanageable rank) but the scoring is FUN!

[gabe]

Great thread... Sorry, I don't have much to add beyond that.

Thanks for putting it together!

[Ghegs]

Speaking of which, Defender probably belongs here.

Playing Defender for score is a marathon affair though, so that excludes it from the list as per the (arbitrary) rules of the list.

I'd like to add Hacha Mecha Fighter to the list of Horizontal STGs with worthwhile scoring systems, but currently, you need to play the PCB as MAME can't emulate it very well. It has some flaws (only one score based extend, no pickup extends, unmanageable rank) but the scoring is FUN!

I have no idea about the scoring on that one, can you summarize it? There aren't many Youtube videos about the game and a quick credit on MAME didn't help much either. You can juggle the monkey for score items, then sometimes another type of item with an increasing score value appears?

[saucykobold]

red and other "one-use" bells that can be stored award even more points when collected repeatedly without being used.

Not true, actually. I don't know if this is a Twinbee scoring mechanic but it definitely doesn't hold for any of the Parodius games.

[BulletMagnet]

Not true, actually. I don't know if this is a Twinbee scoring mechanic but it definitely doesn't hold for any of the Parodius games.

Gah, you might be right...I remember it being a point of contention during STGT a little ways back, but I probably got my series confused.

[emphatic]

You can juggle the monkey for score items, then sometimes another type of item with an increasing score value appears?

This, and you can also milk bosses until they time out.

[Drum]

Speaking of which, Defender probably belongs here.

Playing Defender for score is a marathon affair though, so that excludes it from the list as per the (arbitrary) rules of the list.

I suck so much ass at Defender that I never really thought about it being possible to marathon, haha.

[DJ Incompetent]

Sine Mora
Kill enemies without using special weapons for multiplier.
Collect medals before they drift off screen to boost value.

Einhander
add:
Perform unique tasks to activate special bonuses

Revolver360
Rotate playfield to cluster bullets. Use Laser to cancel bullets, building an overdrive meter. Overdrive converts all bullets on screen into points/multiplier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF9p0GdDFgU

Game Type
Use bullet time to cancel bullets into collectibles

Orbitron: Revolution
Combo timer for multiplier

WispLisp Array of List
Caravan time management? I can't remember

[KAI]

Tobi Tsukihime
cancel bullets into collectibles

[Hagane]

For Sengoku Blade, quick killing reveals extra enemies and is very important for score.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Darius Burst: more beam dueling, except this time it's also tied into stage long enemy chaining. In the AC version you apparently get big compensation points for using the Origin Hawk due to how incredibly handicapped it is.

[Despatche]

It has some flaws (only one score based extend, no pickup extends, unmanageable rank)

oh, these are anything but flaws, i can assure you.

speaking of which, gundemonium/gundeadligne/recollection are perfect for this list. that developer also has a new thing recently released called bloodvane... does anyone have that game yet?

there's also pilot kids, another hori from psikyo. it had a scoring system involving a multiplier and coins (?) but i haven't been able to play it in a while.

i'd almost like to put ifrit in the "kind of" list, never mind that it's a marathon game. i dunno, "complete loops to increase multiplier" seems as legit as omega five over there.

[Damocles]

It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure that in order to get the max value from grey orbs in Darius Gaiden, you must pick it up right behind the canopy. I believe the popular method is to sit stationary under it and wait for it to run into you.

[MathU]

That's just a myth. Darius Gaiden's gray medal value depends on a random number generator that is partly influenced by your ship's position. However, it is also influenced by a whole bunch of other things, including a frame timer, if you fire your weapon, when you fire your weapon, and even if you destroy something, making it next to impossible to consistently manipulate and force a medal to be worth 51,200 points. It's all luck.

[Drum]

And here was me thinking Darius Gaiden was pointlessly simple - it's actually pointlessly complicated!

[EmperorIng]

see, the thing is, that sounds so utterly batshit crazy that it's impossible to believe that that's really the case.



This is a great list so far - I'm definitely keeping my eye on it!

[Cuilan]

Otomedius (arcade)

Level up your character enough times to unlock the highest possible difficulties for every stage. Once that's done, play through any 3 stages at the highest difficulty. Doing so results in a greater number of hidden gems in each stage, and also increases the number of enemies per stage. Destroy as many enemies as possible with fully charged D-Burst attacks. Every enemy destroyed that way will drop a Power-Up Capsule, and each one is worth 1,000 points. The more capsules you collect, the quicker your Burst meters will recharge, allowing you to keep the D-Burst cycle going without interruption.

[BulletMagnet]

see, the thing is, that sounds so utterly batshit crazy that it's impossible to believe that that's really the case.

You do realize you're talking about a game centered around the concept of killing giant robotic space fish?

In seriousness, though, some of Taito's shooter design decisions across the board do make me scratch my head in disbelief.

[Ghegs]

Alright, lots of updates on the list made. I totally forgot about Gundemonium et al, if somebody wants to write a short scoring summary on those that'd be great.

Otomedius (arcade)

All the Otomedius games loop (practically) indefinitely, don't they?

[Cuilan]

All the Otomedius games loop (practically) indefinitely, don't they?

The arcade version (and by extension, Original mode in the 360 port) has no looping. It's limited to 3 stages per play-through.

Gorgeous mode in the 360 port has looping, as does Excellent.

[dieKatze88]

All Otomedius games give you a points bonus for looping your Power meter.

In addition, score tokens in Otomedius AC/X

So a very valid solution in Otomedius AC is to D-Burst into large bunches of enemies to generate very large quantities of powerups, collect them for 3000 points bonuses every time you loop, and every 60 powerups will refill a D-Burst stock. Using this over and over at the right times will let you near-infinitely generate points.

Hint: Try it on the ice section of the Antarctica stage.