128-502: Crimson Dragon is a rail shooter primarily developed by Grounding Inc. and published by Microsoft Studios as an Xbox One launch title. The game was published in 2013 in the West, with a Japanese release the following year. Set on the planet Draco, the story follows a dragon-riding soldier hunting the source of a disease that threatens Draco's human colony. The gameplay features the player moving an aiming reticle and shooting enemies while
256-534: A post-apocalyptic world . The Panzer Dragoon games have received positive reviews for their art design, visuals, sound design, and atmospheric settings. Saga is one of the most acclaimed Saturn games and is listed among the greatest video games . The Panzer Dragoon series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which humans have begun to recover technologies from the Ancient Age, a world-spanning, hyper-advanced civilization destroyed thousands of years before
384-408: A side-scrolling format. Later notable side-scrolling run and gun shooters include Namco's Rolling Thunder (1986), which added cover mechanics to the formula, and Data East's RoboCop (1988). In 1987, Konami created Contra , a side-scrolling coin-op arcade game, and later a NES game, that was particularly acclaimed for its multi-directional aiming and two-player cooperative gameplay. By
512-401: A black background. It had a more interactive style of play than earlier target shooting games, with multiple enemies who responded to the player-controlled cannon's movement and fired back at the player. The game ended when the player was killed by the enemies. While earlier shooting games allowed the player to shoot at targets, Space Invaders was the first where multiple enemies fired back at
640-405: A broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. The genre's roots can be traced back to earlier shooting games , including target shooting electro-mechanical games of the mid-20th-century, but did not receive a video game release until Spacewar! (1962). The shoot 'em up genre was established by the hit arcade game Space Invaders , which popularised and set
768-472: A different evolved form which impacts their gameplay performance. The dragon is controlled through a standard Xbox One gamepad , optionally incorporating the console's Kinect peripheral. The Kinect functions map body movements to dragon movement and attacking, and uses voice commands to alter its position or activate its special attack. The game includes asynchronous cooperative play through Xbox Live , allowing players to hire each others' dragons and share in
896-524: A disease called Crimsonscale. The protagonist, a resident of the New Amara colony who can tame and ride dragons after surviving Crimsonscale, is drafted by New Amara's government into their Seeker defence forces. On orders from his superiors Sana and Cadmus, the protagonist pursues a dragon called White Phantom, who is spreading Crimsonscale through lesser dragons known as the White Reavers. During his missions,
1024-570: A form of immortality to people at the cost of crippling deformity, with her father being one of its victims. Cadmus pursues Sana at one point, hinting at the cycle Draco is trapped in, and she discovers that the White Reavers are ancient humans converted into dragon-like carriers by Crimsonscale. After killing Dark Phantom, Sana vows to keep Crimsonscale from reaching Earth, while wondering if the infected humans are instinctively trying to reach home. Crimson Dragon met with "mixed or average" reception, with review aggregate website Metacritic giving it
1152-470: A lock-on attack for multiple enemies, as well as a more powerful attack that is aimed manually. Attacks are color coded green or red depending on their effectiveness against a selected target. The dragon can perform a dodge roll to quickly evade attacks, and change its position through standard movement. There are six dragon types with fixed elemental powers, statistics, and skills, as well as a selection of interchangeable secondary abilities. Each dragon type has
1280-405: A main objective, and optional objectives such as completing a battle within a time limit or not taking damage. Clearing a stage rewards in-game currency and experience points , along with items collected during gameplay such as revival gems and food which can be used to raise the dragon between missions. The player uses an aiming reticle to fire at enemies and incoming projectiles. The dragon has
1408-555: A more successful attempt to incorporate a 3D perspective into shooter games; Tempest went on to influence several later rail shooters. Sega's Zaxxon (1981) introduced isometric video game graphics to the genre. The term "shmup" is believed to have been coined in 1985 by the British Commodore 64 magazine Zzap!64 . In the July 1985 issue, the term was used by the editor Chris Anderson and reviewer Julian Rignall . 1985 saw
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#17328799460761536-427: A possible Panzer Dragoon for Microsoft 's Xbox began in 2000. Takayuki Kawagoe was made producer and decided that Panzer Dragoon Orta would be another rail shooter. Mukaiyama, Saga ' s combat designer, directed Orta , and development began in early 2001 at Smilebit, lasting eighteen months. Takashi Iwade, a visual effects artist on earlier Panzer Dragoon games, became the art director, and Takashi Atsu
1664-417: A rail shooter released in 1985, broke new ground graphically and its wide variety of settings across multiple levels gave players more to aim for than high scores. In 1986, Arsys Software released WiBArm , a shooter that switched between a 2D side-scrolling view in outdoor areas to a fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, while bosses were fought in an arena-style 2D battle, with
1792-550: A score of 55 out of 100 based on 39 reviews. Futatsugi and Garren attributed the mixed reaction from players to its online elements, and use of microtransactions. Several gaming websites outside reviews criticized the use of microtransactions in Crimson Dragon , further noting increasing player backlash against their growing presence in gaming. Destructoid ' s Chris Carter liked the gameplay and presentation overall, with his only complaints being occasional camera problems and
1920-529: A shoot 'em up, as opposed to an action-adventure game . The success of Commando and Ikari Warriors led to run and gun games becoming the dominant style of shoot 'em up during the late 1980s to early 1990s, with the term "shoot 'em up" itself becoming synonymous with "run and gun" during this period. Konami 's Green Beret (1985), known as Rush'n Attack in North America, adapted the Commando formula to
2048-526: A shoot 'em up. Some restrict the genre to games featuring some kind of craft, using fixed or scrolling movement. Others widen the scope to include games featuring such protagonists as robots or humans on foot, as well as including games featuring "on-rails" (or "into the screen") and "run and gun" movement. Mark Wolf restricts the definition to games featuring multiple antagonists ("'em" being short for "them"), calling games featuring one-on-one shooting "combat games". Formerly, critics described any game where
2176-456: A shooter for Windows Phone that would promote on the 360 release, sharing characters with the main game. It was planned to release the two simultaneously, but Side Story ended up releasing first. The narrative of Side Story follows Sana on a secret assignment from the New Amara government, where she uses a White Reaver to track the infection path of Crimsonscale carrier Dark Phantom. Her narration further details Crimsonscale's effects, granting
2304-526: A straight line at constant speeds. The player's character can collect " power-ups " which may afford the character's greater protection, an " extra life ", health, shield, or upgraded weaponry. Different weapons are often suited to different enemies, but these games seldom keep track of ammunition. As such, players tend to fire indiscriminately, and their weapons only damage legitimate targets. Shoot 'em ups are categorized by their design elements, particularly viewpoint and movement: Fixed shooters restrict
2432-564: A third-person view, and featured the use of force feedback , where the joystick vibrates. Over the course of the 1990s, a new subgenre of shooters evolved, known as " danmaku ( 弾幕 , "barrage") in Japan, and often referred to as "bullet hell" or "manic shooters" in English-speaking regions. These games are characterized by high numbers of enemy projectiles, often in complex "curtain fire" patterns, as well as collision boxes that are smaller than
2560-555: A wrap-around game world, unlike most later games in the genre. The scrolling helped remove design limitations associated with the screen, and it also featured a minimap radar. Scramble , released by Konami in early 1981, had continuous scrolling in a single direction and was the first side-scrolling shooter with multiple distinct levels . In the early 1980s, Japanese arcade developers began moving away from space shooters towards character action games , whereas American arcade developers continued to focus on space shooters during
2688-408: Is a rail shooter in which players take on the role of a dragon rider, navigating through 26 levels across the planet Draco. Levels are divided into sections lasting a few minutes each, featuring both enemies and environmental hazards. Most levels take place on rails, mixed in with boss encounters in a large open area. Some missions offer alternate paths unlocked on repeat playthroughs. Missions have
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#17328799460762816-446: Is a role-playing game (RPG) developed by Team Andromeda and released for Saturn in 1998. The player controls Edge, a mercenary who encounters a mysterious girl named Azel in an Ancient Age excavation. After being attacked by a rogue military force, he is rescued by an armored flying dragon. Though at first motivated by revenge, Edge becomes embroiled in a conflict over control of Ancient Age weapons, and he ultimately invades and destroys
2944-407: Is a side-scrolling rail shooter with gameplay adapted to phone-based touch controls. Futatsugi acted as producer and director, Ihoroi as writer, Kusunoki as concept artist, Yasunari Hiroyama as lead designer, Hideaki Takamura as lead artist, and Mark Swan as lead programmer. Kobayashi created both the music and arrangements, expressing satisfaction with her work. Side Story was based on the concept of
3072-482: Is a subgenre of shooters in which the screen becomes crowded with complex "curtain fire" enemy patterns. It is also characterized by collision boxes that are smaller than the sprites themselves, to accommodate maneuvering through these crowded firing patterns. This style of game, also known as "manic shooters" or "maniac shooters", originated in the mid-1990s as an offshoot of scrolling shooters. The DonPachi and Touhou Project series are early titles establishing
3200-477: Is notable for using a traditional fantasy setting in contrast to most shoot 'em up games filled with science fiction motifs. R-Type , an acclaimed side-scrolling shoot 'em up, was released in 1987 by Irem , employing slower paced scrolling than usual, with difficult, claustrophobic levels calling for methodical strategies. 1990's Raiden was the beginning of another acclaimed and enduring series to emerge from this period. Run and gun games became popular in
3328-435: Is pursued by multiple factions that want to use her connection with the Ancient Age to build weapons. Ultimately, she destroys an army of dragon-like creatures and the Ancient Age facility being used to produce them, along with an Ancient android who hopes to wipe out humanity. A return to the rail shooter genre, Orta introduced several features inspired by mechanics from Saga , such as maneuvering around enemies and shifting
3456-859: Is still a single axis of motion, making these a subset of fixed shooters. Rail shooters limit the player to moving around the screen while following a specific route; these games often feature an "into the screen" viewpoint, with which the action is seen from behind the player character , and moves "into the screen", while the player retains control over dodging. Examples include Space Harrier (1985), Captain Skyhawk (1990), Starblade (1991), Star Fox (1993), Star Wars: Rebel Assault (1993), Panzer Dragoon (1995), and Sin and Punishment (2000). Rail shooters that use light guns are called light gun shooters , such as Operation Wolf (1987), Lethal Enforcers (1992), Virtua Cop (1994), Point Blank (1994), Time Crisis (1995), The House of
3584-500: Is typically a vehicle or spacecraft under constant attack. Thus, the player's goal is to shoot as quickly as possible at anything that moves or threatens them to reach the end of the level, usually with a boss battle . In some games, the player's character can withstand some damage or a single hit will result in their destruction. The main skills required in shoot 'em ups are fast reactions and memorising enemy attack patterns. Some games feature overwhelming numbers of enemy projectiles and
3712-503: The Geometry Wars series, Space Invaders Extreme , Super Stardust HD , and Resogun . The concept of shooting games existed before video games , dating back to shooting gallery carnival games in the late 19th century and target sports such as archery , bowling and darts . Mechanical target shooting games first appeared in England 's amusement arcades around the turn of
3840-496: The Mega Man comic lines features Panzer Dragoon characters and concepts. The original Panzer Dragoon received overwhelmingly positive reviews, both in 1995 and in retrospective coverage, with consistent praise for its art design, visual effects, music, atmospheric setting, and cinematic cutscenes, though critics were divided by the relatively simple gameplay and the difficulty level. A reviewer for Next Generation wrote that
3968-728: The Panzer Dragoon series and Phantom Dust . He conceived of the project when talking to Microsoft Studios about developing a small-scale game that would use the Kinect peripheral for the Xbox 360 . Futatsugi had previously worked at Microsoft, which was struggling to break into the Japanese market with their Xbox console line. The proposal coincidentally came when his company Grounding Inc had spare development capacity to work on multiple projects. Many Crimson Dragon staff members previously worked on
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4096-509: The AI network controlling the various Ancient facilities around the world. Saga is the only Panzer Dragoon game that is not a rail shooter, combining traditional role-playing elements such as items and random encounters with the setting and motifs of previous games. The combat system mixes real-time and turn-based elements, with the player circling enemies on the dragon to expose weak spots and escape dangerous positions. Saga also introduced
4224-569: The Front Line tank shooter format with unique rotary joystick controls, which they later combined with Commando -inspired run and gun gameplay to develop Ikari Warriors (1986), which further popularized run and gun shooters. Ikari Warriors also drew inspiration from the action film Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), which it was originally intended to be an adaptation of. Contemporary critics considered military themes and protagonists similar to Rambo or Schwarzenegger prerequisites for
4352-475: The Panzer Dragoon series. These included Panzer Dragoon II Zwei director Tomohiro Kondo as lead designer, and lead programmer Hitoshi Nakanishi. Concept art was created by Manabu Kusunoki and Phantom Dust art lead Takehiko Yamamoto, the latter joining later in production. The lead artist was Ryoji Nakamura. Futatsugi acted as director, while Toshiharu Tange and Yutaka Noma co-produced the game. The scenario
4480-494: The Sega Saturn . The fourth, Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002), was developed by Smilebit for the Xbox . Spin-offs include Panzer Dragoon Mini (1996) for the handheld Game Gear in Japan. A remake of Panzer Dragoon was released in 2020. The Panzer Dragoon games are rail shooters , except for the role-playing game Saga . Each follows a protagonist who rides an armored flying dragon, fighting human and monstrous enemies in
4608-416: The Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 and Wii online services, while in Japan arcade shoot 'em ups retain a deep-rooted niche popularity. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2005 and in particular stood out from the various re-releases and casual games available on the service. The PC has also seen its share of dōjin shoot 'em ups like Crimzon Clover , Jamestown: Legend of
4736-430: The vertical scrolling format later popularized by Capcom 's Commando (1985), which established the standard formula used by later run and gun games. Sega's Ninja Princess (1985), which released slightly before Commando , was a run and gun game that was distinctive for its feudal Japan setting and female ninja protagonist who throws shuriken and knives. SNK 's TNK III , released later in 1985, combined
4864-610: The 1980s, and increasingly catered to specialist enthusiasts, particularly in Japan. " Bullet hell " games are a subgenre of shooters that features overwhelming numbers of enemy projectiles , often in visually impressive formations. A "shoot 'em up", also known as a "shmup" or "STG" (the common Japanese abbreviation for "shooting games"), is a game in which the protagonist combats a large number of enemies by shooting at them while dodging their fire. The controlling player must rely primarily on reaction times to succeed. Beyond this, critics differ on exactly which design elements constitute
4992-522: The 20th century, before appearing in America by the 1920s. Shooting gallery games eventually evolved into more sophisticated target shooting electro-mechanical games (EM games) such as Sega 's influential Periscope (1965). Shooting video games have roots in EM shooting games. Video game journalist Brian Ashcraft argues the early mainframe game Spacewar! (1962) was the first shoot 'em up video game. It
5120-507: The Dead (1996) and Elemental Gearbolt (1997). Light-gun games that are "on rails" are usually not considered to be in the shoot-em-up category, but rather their own first-person light-gun shooter category. Cute 'em ups feature brightly colored graphics depicting surreal settings and enemies. Cute 'em ups tend to have unusual, oftentimes completely bizarre opponents for the player to fight, with Twinbee and Fantasy Zone first pioneering
5248-470: The Japanese video game company Sega asked its developers for shooting game ideas to add variety to its forthcoming Sega Saturn console. Yukio Futatsugi proposed the concept for Panzer Dragoon and was made the head of Team Andromeda , a development team that Sega assembled for the project in early 1994. Development lasted almost a year, with a staff of fifteen. With influences including Space Harrier , Starblade , Star Fox , and RayForce ,
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5376-407: The Kinect implementation, but felt there was not enough content or polish for the game to gather more than a cult following. Edge Magazine praised the game's easier levels, while criticizing the game's difficulty spikes as forcing a choice between repeat playthroughs or paying for microtransactions. GamesRadar ' s Ryan Taljonick praised the on-rails sections and graphic design, but faulted
5504-598: The Lost Colony , Xenoslaive Overdrive , and the eXceed series . However, despite the genre's continued appeal to an enthusiastic niche of players, shoot 'em up developers are increasingly embattled financially by the power of home consoles and their attendant genres. Panzer Dragoon Panzer Dragoon is a series of video games developed and published by Sega . The first three games — Panzer Dragoon (1995), Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996), and Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998) — were produced by Team Andromeda for
5632-462: The Sega Saturn in 1996. Developed by Team Andromeda as a prequel to Panzer Dragoon , it follows Jean-Jacques Lundi, a villager who defies taboo to raise a mutant pack animal with wings and a green bioluminescent throat, naming him Lagi. After Lundi's village is destroyed by a flying warship from the Ancient Age, he pursues it with Lagi, who grows into an armored flying dragon. Together they destroy
5760-486: The West on 22 November 2013. An update was released in February 2014, adding online multiplayer and a new harder difficulty level. In Japan, the game released on 4 September 2014, with a unique dragon being offered for download for a month after release. Depending on its reception, Futatsugi was willing to extend long-term support for the game through downloadable content with new dragons and gameplay features. Also dependant on
5888-454: The ability to morph the dragon between different forms emphasizing offense, defense, mobility, and other attributes. Panzer Dragoon Orta was released for Xbox in late 2002 in Japan and in early 2003 in America and Europe. It was developed by Smilebit , which was founded by former members of Team Andromeda. The story follows Orta, a teenage girl held captive until she is rescued by an armored flying dragon during an attack on her town. She
6016-532: The airship and defeat its guardian dragon. Zwei introduced the "berserk" attack, an intermittently available attack that hits all enemies on screen and gives temporary invulnerability, along with branching paths through many levels, and the progressive growth and metamorphosis of the dragon over the course of the game. It also added an extras menu called "Pandora's Box" that would return in later entries. Panzer Dragoon Saga (titled Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG in Japan)
6144-482: The ambition, vision and art that made its predecessors what they were." Game Informer ' s Ben Reeves was also critical of the art and graphics, while also criticizing the music, controls, and shallow gameplay. Writing for the UK edition of Official Xbox Magazine , Jon Blyth praised the gameplay and art design, but faulted the game's microtransactions, RPG elements, and short length. Rob Slusser of GameTrailers enjoyed
6272-477: The amount of changes he made to the soundtrack, finding the choral elements overdone. Despite these changes, all of Kobayashi's music was retained. Woodwind solos were performed by Chris Bleth, percussion by Mark Yeend, Jillian Aversa performed the solo vocal work, and the New York Film Chorale performed the chorus parts. A digital soundtrack album was released by Microsoft Studios's music label alongside
6400-406: The best games of all time by Computer and Video Games in 2000, Electronic Gaming Monthly in 2001 and 2006, IGN readers in 2005, IGN in 2007, and G4 in 2012. Orta was critically acclaimed, receiving praise for its visual design, unlockable content, and faithfulness to the series, while reviewers criticized the short play time and dated, on-rails structure. Opinions of the controls and
6528-484: The blue dragon from Panzer Dragoon , which are rendered with a super deformed appearance and no rider. Most of the levels, enemies and music are modeled after those of Panzer Dragoon and Zwei . Due to the technical limitations of the Game Gear, the camera cannot be controlled and instead rotates automatically. Mini was developed by a third party, with no involvement from Team Andromeda. A remake of Panzer Dragoon
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#17328799460766656-629: The closure of Toaplan, the following year, a number of studios formed from former Toaplan staff that would continue to develop this style, including Cave (formed by Batsugun's main creator Tsuneki Ikeda) who released 1995's seminal DonPachi , and Takumi, who would develop the GigaWing series. Bullet hell games marked another point where the shooter genre began to cater to more dedicated players. Games such as Gradius had been more difficult than Space Invaders or Xevious , but bullet hell games were yet more inward-looking and aimed at dedicated fans of
6784-436: The composer could write pieces timed to specifically match the player's position in each level. The soundtrack was outsourced to Yoshitaka Azuma, who scored the game with a mixture of orchestral and synthesizer tracks. Music composition for Zwei was led by Yayoi Wachi. Additional tracks were composed by Tomonori Sawada, Junko Shiratsu, and Teruhiko Nakagawa. In contrast to the purely orchestral and electronic score of
6912-428: The concept was "an awesome thing that everyone would dream of". The dragons were designed to have an organic appearance, contrasting against the weapon-like creatures of Panzer Dragoon . The dragon breeding system was included based on fan requests. In both versions, the role-playing elements of dragon growth were added to mitigate the difficulty for players and deepen the gameplay. Due to an intended focus on multiplayer,
7040-409: The core features of the Panzer Dragoon series: 3D rail shooter gameplay, divided into levels with ending bosses , controlled through an on-screen targeting reticle , with a choice of two main attacks (a rapid-fire attack and a lock-on homing attack), and a camera that can be rotated by 90-degree increments to face enemies attacking from all directions. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei was released for
7168-483: The core gameplay and its secondary systems, concluding that Crimson Dragon "manages to take riding on a sweet flying dragon and make it a bland, frustrating slog." Shoot %27em up#Types Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games . There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow
7296-501: The course of the Panzer Dragoon series has been repeatedly associated with the history of the Saturn console: the first game was a launch title for the Saturn, and the release of Saga coincided with the end of Sega's support for the console. Both the series and the console were well received critically but saw disappointing sales relative to their rivals. The Panzer Dragoon series has been described as "short-lived and beloved". Though it
7424-458: The dragon between different forms during combat. The game featured large amounts of unlockable content, including a story encyclopedia, side missions, video cutscenes from previous games, and the entire playable game Panzer Dragoon . Panzer Dragoon Mini is a spin-off 2D rail shooter released exclusively in Japan for the Game Gear handheld in 1996. It has three selectable dragons inspired by
7552-462: The dragon flies through 3D environments either on a fixed track or freely within arena-like zones. The dragon can be moved using either a standard gamepad or the console's Kinect peripheral. Crimson Dragon was announced in 2010 for Xbox 360 under the title Project Draco , using Kinect-only controls. After changing platform, standard controls were added and elements of its graphics and music were changed. Several Panzer Dragoon staff worked on
7680-629: The early 1980s, up until the end of the arcade golden age. According to Eugene Jarvis , American developers were greatly influenced by Japanese space shooters but took the genre in a different direction from the "more deterministic, scripted, pattern-type" gameplay of Japanese games, towards a more "programmer-centric design culture, emphasizing algorithmic generation of backgrounds and enemy dispatch" and "an emphasis on random-event generation, particle-effect explosions and physics" as seen in arcade games such as his own Defender and Robotron: 2084 (1982) as well as Atari's Asteroids (1979). Robotron: 2084
7808-400: The early 1990s and the popularity of 16-bit consoles , the scrolling shooter genre was overcrowded, with developers struggling to make their games stand out, with exceptions such as the inventive Gunstar Heroes (1993) by Treasure . Sega's pseudo-3D rail shooter Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom demonstrated the potential of 3D shoot 'em up gameplay in 1982. Sega's Space Harrier ,
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#17328799460767936-503: The emergence of one of Sega's forefront series with its game Fantasy Zone . The game received acclaim for its surreal graphics and setting and the protagonist, Opa-Opa, was for a time considered Sega's mascot . The game borrowed Defender's device of allowing the player to control the direction of flight and along with the earlier TwinBee (1985), is an early archetype of the "cute 'em up" subgenre. In 1986, Taito released KiKi KaiKai , an overhead multi-directional shooter. The game
8064-478: The events of the games. The Ancients used genetic engineering to create living weapons, which were unleashed in a cataclysmic war that nearly destroyed humanity. The mutated descendants of these creatures have merged into wild ecosystems, where they pose a continual threat to human civilization and serve as enemies encountered in the games. Various human factions use recovered Ancient Age technologies, such as ubiquitous floating military airships, to defend against
8192-504: The film The Wings of Honneamise . Panzer Dragoon was released in early 1995 to moderately successful sales. Sega developed two sequels: while Panzer Dragoon II Zwei would expand on the original's rail shooter gameplay, Panzer Dragon Saga would be an RPG to compete with Final Fantasy VII and other PlayStation offerings. Development of Zwei began in mid-1995, months after Panzer Dragoon ' s release. Team Andromeda split into two teams to work on both projects, but due to
8320-558: The film) tries to save after she is kidnapped by the Black Dragon. An English dub was released by ADV Films in 1998. The film was panned for its poor animation, awkward script, and cliché story. The Sega kart racing game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed features a racetrack based on Panzer Dragoon . The Archie Comics Worlds Unite crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog and
8448-649: The first game, Zwei added ethnic or tribal elements. Rather than using prerecorded music, the soundtrack for Zwei is mostly generated via pulse-code modulation by the Saturn's hardware, a technique used again on Saga . Saga ' s soundtrack was composed by Saori Kobayashi and Mariko Nanba, with vocals by Eri Itō and arrangement by Hayato Matsuo . It includes South American, African , Celtic , classical and new age influences. The Verge described it as blend of traditional European and Middle Eastern folk styles with science fiction-like synthesizer sounds. Kobayashi credited Zwei and Wachi with establishing
8576-494: The first games to popularize twin-stick controls was Robotron: 2084 (1982). Space shooters are a thematic variant of involving spacecraft in outer space . Following the success of Space Invaders , space shooters were the dominant subgenre during the late 1970s to early 1980s. These games can overlap with other subgenres as well as space combat games . Tube shooters feature craft flying through an abstract tube, such as Tempest (1981) and Gyruss (1983). There
8704-516: The free roaming controls and lack of mission variety. Jose Otero of IGN felt that the open levels created control issues compared to the rail shooter sections, while also criticizing the game's graphics and AI-companions. Peter Brown, writing for GameSpot , praised the later levels for their design and challenge, but highlighted the camera controls as off-putting alongside the high difficulty. Justin McElroy of Polygon expressed frustration with both
8832-466: The game adequate for a handheld game console , and some of whom were disappointed by the contrast with the Saturn games. 1Up.com called Mini "a dumbed-down, cartoony shooter for kids that bears little resemblance to the epic adventures on Saturn." Saga is often listed among the greatest video games ever made, earning acclaim for its story, graphics, and combat, along with criticism for its low difficulty and short play time. Reviewers praised
8960-400: The game combined "incredible story animation with brilliant, 3D flight graphics", and an Entertainment Weekly reviewer called it a "lyrical and exhilarating epic" that could pave the way for a "transformation" of the videogame industry. Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the "Best Saturn Game of 1995" and placed it 140th in "The Greatest 200 Videogames of their time" in 2006. Zwei
9088-452: The game featuring a variety of weapons and equipment. In 1987, Square's 3-D WorldRunner was an early stereoscopic 3-D shooter played from a third-person perspective, followed later that year by its sequel JJ , and the following year by Space Harrier 3-D which used the SegaScope 3-D shutter glasses . That same year, Sega's Thunder Blade switched between both a top-down view and
9216-479: The game including director Yukio Futatsugi , designer Tomohiro Kondo, artist Manabu Kusunoki, and composer Saori Kobayashi . A spin-off tying into the narrative, Crimson Dragon: Side Story , was developed by Grounding and released in 2012 for Windows Phone . Upon release, Crimson Dragon received mixed reviews from critics. While praise was given to its core gameplay and art design, its graphical quality and progression systems saw frequent criticism. Crimson Dragon
9344-409: The game on 22 November 2013. Kobayashi later stated that she would love to release her original soundtrack mixes if there was fan demand. She included remixes of two Crimson Dragon tracks in her intended musical style on Journey , an album of remixes created by Kobayashi and singer Yumiko Takahashi for their band Akane. The album was released on 29 September 2014 by Brave Wave Productions . The game
9472-413: The game's success, Futatsugi expressed a wish to create a role-playing video game sequel, which would feature a strong lead character and follow on from the ending of Crimson Dragon , which also acted as an introduction to the world and enemies. A spin-off project for Windows Phone , Crimson Dragon: Side Story , was developed by Grounding Inc. and published by Microsoft Studios on 12 September 2012. It
9600-440: The general template for the genre in 1978, and has spawned many clones. The genre was then further developed by arcade hits such as Asteroids and Galaxian in 1979. Shoot 'em ups were popular throughout the 1980s to early 1990s, diversifying into a variety of subgenres such as scrolling shooters, run and gun games and rail shooters. In the mid-1990s, shoot 'em ups became a niche genre based on design conventions established in
9728-431: The genre looking for greater challenges. While shooter games featuring protagonists on foot largely moved to 3D-based genres, popular, long-running series such as Contra and Metal Slug continued to receive new sequels. Rail shooters have rarely been released in the new millennium, with only Rez and Panzer Dragoon Orta achieving cult recognition. In the early 2000s, the genre achieved recognition through
9856-462: The in-production Xbox One , Microsoft decided to shift the game onto the new console. The sudden change came as a shock to Futatsugi, but he was still overall happy to work on a system launch title. The porting process was difficult due to the team's small size. From its announcement through to its eventual release, the game was referred to by journalists as a spiritual successor to Panzer Dragoon . Futatsugi and Microsoft's Phil Spencer did not use
9984-407: The increased difficulty were mixed. Eurogamer called Orta "refined, well designed and intelligent", marking "a real progression in the genre", and GamePro said that its complex and beautiful level design almost overwhelmed the senses. Orta has been consistently listed as one of the best games for the original Xbox, by publications including GamesRadar , Digital Trends , and IGN ,
10112-464: The intended audience, Tange requested a project that would appeal to both "core gamers" and a wider audience in contrast to Futatsugi's earlier work which was seen as very niche. The team found it challenging to create a Kinect-driven rail shooter, as they wanted the game to be approachable for new players. The project became more challenging after shifting platforms due to balancing Kinect-based and gamepad-based control styles. Other changes stemming from
10240-487: The latter describing it as the "pinnacle of rail shooters". Panzer Dragoon: Remake received lukewarm reviews upon release. Critics consistently praised the remake's faithfulness to the original's gameplay and the retention of the original soundtrack, but they were divided by the updated visuals and disappointed by the short play time. Nintendo Life found both the Saturn-era control scheme and an alternative added by
10368-467: The main character and art designer for the previous games, was made the art director, and Katsumi Yokota created the character and cover art. Saga featured full Japanese voice acting, subtitled rather than dubbed in the English-language release. The localizers were given incomplete translations and little supervision, so they inserted their own interpretations and invented names for monsters. By
10496-476: The microtransactions. The four reviewers for Japanese magazine Famitsu enjoyed the gameplay, but several noted low-quality graphics and control issues, and one said the gameplay became monotonous due to a lack of variety. Martin Robinson of Eurogamer praised the art direction despite its technical quality, while criticizing the game as "a thin and troubled tribute to the original [ Panzer Dragoon games], slim on
10624-420: The mid-1980s. These games feature characters on foot, rather than spacecraft, and often have military themes. The origins of this type of shooter go back to Sheriff by Nintendo , released in 1979. SNK 's Sasuke vs. Commander (1980), which had relatively detailed background graphics for its time, pit a samurai against a horde of ninjas , along with boss fights . Taito's Front Line (1982) introduced
10752-432: The mobile game Space Impact , which is considered one of the important games in the history of mobile games . Treasure's shoot 'em up, Radiant Silvergun (1998), introduced an element of narrative to the genre. It was critically acclaimed for its refined design, though it was not released outside Japan and remains a much sought-after collector's item. Its successor Ikaruga (2001) featured improved graphics and
10880-458: The next Panzer Dragoon game. A new Panzer Dragoon was pitched for the Dreamcast, but the console did not meet the technical requirements. There was also a feeling among staff that the original trilogy had reached its logical conclusion. Following the commercial failure of the Dreamcast, Sega left the console market and began developing and publishing games for other platforms. Discussion about
11008-472: The planet to perform a multiverse transference that wipes out the original population. Before the reset happens again, the protagonist leaves behind a message to seek out Amara and the White Phantom in the hope that the cycle will be broken. A post-credit scene shows Cadmus, who found the message, asking the protagonist to help find Amara. Crimson Dragon was directed by Yukio Futatsugi, noted for his work on
11136-487: The platform change were the additions of online elements, Kinect voice commands, and free flight missions. Just prior to release, based on feedback from play testers, the game balance was adjusted with increased experience rewards and lower prices for items, and adjustments to the difficulty. Throughout development, the game used Unreal Engine 3 , with the final levels using a mixture of old and new graphical assets. Futatsugi included dragons over other potential mounts because
11264-422: The platform change, Garren was brought in by Microsoft to redo Kobayashi's score in an orchestral style. Garren described arranging and expanding the score as "a big blur", and was unable to consult Kobayashi about the changes. Speaking in 2017, Kobayashi felt that while the change was not "a bad thing in and of itself", it was unfortunate that the original score went unused. Speaking in 2017, Garren felt guilty about
11392-452: The player against multiple enemies descending from the top of the screen at a constantly increasing speed. Nishikado conceived the game by combining elements of Breakout (1976) with those of earlier target shooting games, and simple alien creatures inspired by H. G. Wells ' The War of the Worlds . The hardware was unable to render the movement of aircraft, so the game was set in space, with
11520-401: The player and enemies to a single screen, and the player primarily moves along a single axis, such as back and forth along the bottom of the screen. Examples include Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Phoenix (1980), and Galaga (1981). In Pooyan (1982), the fixed axis of movement is vertical, along the right side of the screen. In Centipede (1980) and Gorf (1981),
11648-574: The player has to memorise their patterns to survive. These games belong to one of the fastest-paced video game genres . Large numbers of enemy characters programmed to behave in an easily predictable manner are typically featured. These enemies may behave in a certain way dependent on their type, or attack in formations that the player can learn to predict. The basic gameplay tends to be straightforward with many varieties of weapons. Shoot 'em ups rarely have realistic physics. Characters can instantly change direction with no inertia , and projectiles move in
11776-491: The player in a trance-like state. In trance shooters, enemy patterns usually have randomized elements, forcing the player to rely on reflexes rather than pattern memorization. Games of this type usually feature colorful, abstract visuals, and electronic music (often techno music ). Jeff Minter is commonly credited with originating the style with Tempest 2000 (1994) and subsequent games including Space Giraffe , Gridrunner++ , and Polybius (2017). Other examples include
11904-480: The player primarily moves left and right along the bottom, but several inches of vertical motion are also allowed within an invisible box. Multidirectional shooters allow 360-degree movement where the protagonist may rotate and move in any direction such as Asteroids (1979) and Mad Planets (1983). Multidirectional shooters with one joystick for movement and one joystick for firing in any direction independent of movement are called twin-stick shooters . One of
12032-415: The player's flying vehicle moving forward, at a fixed rate, through an environment. Examples are Scramble (1981), Xevious (1982), Gradius (1986), Darius (1987), R-Type (1987), Einhänder (1997). In contrast, Defender (1981) allows the player to move left or right at will. Run and gun games have protagonists that move through the world on foot and shoot attackers. Examples include
12160-549: The player. It also introduced the idea of giving the player multiple lives and popularized the concept of achieving a high score . With these elements, Space Invaders set the general template for the shoot 'em up genre. It became one of the most widely cloned shooting games, spawning more than 100 imitators with only the most minor differences (if any) from the original. Most shooting games released since then have followed its "multiple life, progressively difficult level " paradigm, according to Eugene Jarvis . Following
12288-417: The primary design element was shooting as a "shoot 'em up", but later shoot 'em ups became a specific, inward-looking genre based on design conventions established in those shooting games of the 1980s. Shoot 'em ups are a subgenre of action game . These games are usually viewed from a top-down or side-view perspective , and players must use ranged weapons to take action at a distance. The player's avatar
12416-548: The principle of bullet hells. A bullet heaven or reverse bullet hell is a subgenre characterized by the player character collecting or unlocking abilities and attacks whose visuals overlap and clutter the game screen as the game progresses. They also share a feature of many enemy characters, commonly called "hordes", walking toward the player from off-screen. This genre is generally attributed to Vampire Survivors , released in 2022. A small subgenre of shooter games that emphasizes chaotic, reflex-based gameplay designed to put
12544-531: The project became a 3D rail shooter. The original concept was titled Armored Dragon ( kiko-ryu in Japanese), but Futatsugi, feeling that this was too bland, changed to the pseudo-German translation Panzer Dragoon . The post-apocalyptic fantasy world, featuring ruins and relics of a fallen civilization, was particularly influenced by one of Futatsugi's childhood readings, The Long Afternoon of Earth . The art design, which mixes natural and technological elements,
12672-680: The protagonist discovers the original and prohibited Amara colony ruins, with Sana shielding him from government retribution and warning him to forget about it. In contrast, Cadmus sends the protagonist on missions surrounding the ruins, including finding an ancient body identified as a still-living Seeker. Once the protagonist defeats White Phantom, they see a vision through a portal in Amara, revealing that Draco has become part of Earth's Crimsonscale experiments to discover immortality. With each failure of Crimsonscale to produce perfect immortality, Earth's government reset Draco using alien technology discovered on
12800-416: The release of Konami's Gradius , which gave the player greater control over the choice of weaponry, thus introducing another element of strategy. The game also introduced the need for the player to memorise levels in order to achieve any measure of success. Gradius , with its iconic protagonist, defined the side-scrolling shoot 'em up and spawned a series spanning several sequels. The following year saw
12928-409: The remake to be awkward, and Eurogamer called the new environment art "just as often muddy as it is marvelous". IGN found that the arcade-like structure of the game offered little replay value to a modern player. Former Panzer Dragoon development staff went on to work on multiple claimed spiritual successors to the series, such as Rez (2001) and Crimson Dragon (2013). In retrospect,
13056-411: The responsibility of Katsuhiko Yamada. Zwei was released in early 1996. Saga used the same engine and tools, but with a team twice the size. Akihiko Mukaiyama was brought in to design a combat system that would combine elements of RPG and shooter gameplay. After the combat was finalized, development progressed more quickly, and some staff were moved to help complete Zwei . Kusunoki, who had been
13184-518: The rewards from each mission. There are also online leaderboards where players can post their completion scores. Online multiplayer was added in an update, allowing up to two player to join in on missions. The game also incorporates microtransactions , with revival gems being purchasable with real-world money. Crimson Dragon takes place on Draco, a planet populated by dragons and human colonists; one century prior humans arrived on Draco from an overpopulated Earth, but have since lost contact and now fight
13312-402: The scenario did not focus on a single character. The music of Crimson Dragon was created by Panzer Dragoon composer Saori Kobayashi , with Jeremy Garren of Pyramind Studio arranging her score and adding tracks. Given full creative freedom by Futatsugi, Kobayashi made an effort not to mimic her Panzer Dragoon scores. Her score was written while the game was still intended for the 360. After
13440-400: The series' distinctive sound and shaping her future compositions for the series. The orchestrated ending theme, featuring lyrics in the games' fictional language, was intended to avoid any sense of closure, leaving the story "open-ended". Kobayashi returned for principal composition of the soundtrack of Orta , with additional tracks by Yutaka Minobe. The orchestrated, lyrical ending theme
13568-421: The sprites themselves, allowing the player to fit between the narrow gaps in enemy fire. Bullet hell games were first popularized in Japanese arcades during a time when 3D games and fighting games were eclipsing other games. The flashy firing patterns were intended to grab players attention. Toaplan 's Batsugun (1993) is often considered a pivotal point in the development of this subgenre. After
13696-464: The story's restraint and lack of cliché, as well as the complexity of the characters; even the dragon has been called an "intimate computer companion", drawing comparisons to the later games of Fumito Ueda ( Ico , Shadow of the Colossus , and The Last Guardian ). Game Informer called the game "one of the year's best, and generally considered the Saturn's finest title". Saga was named one of
13824-612: The subgenre, along with Parodius , Cotton , and Harmful Park being additional key games. Some cute 'em ups may employ overtly sexual characters and innuendo. Vertically scrolling shooters present the action from above and scroll up (or occasionally down) the screen. Horizontally scrolling shooters usually present a side-on view and scroll left to right (or less often, right to left). Isometrically scrolling shooters or isometric shooters , such as Sega 's Zaxxon (1982), use an isometric point of view . A popular implementation style of scrolling shooters has
13952-550: The success of Space Invaders , shoot 'em ups became the dominant genre for much of the golden age of arcade video games , from the late 1970s up until the early 1980s, particularly the "space shooter" subgenre. In 1979, Namco 's Galaxian —"the granddaddy of all top-down shooters", according to IGN—was released. Its use of colour graphics and individualised antagonists were considered "strong evolutionary concepts" among space ship games. In 1981 Gorf brought joystick control and (limited) vertical as well as horizontal movement to
14080-414: The term, with Spencer saying there were no direct references, and Futatsugi explaining that the design premise worked best as a rail shooter similar to Panzer Dragoon . Like his other projects, Futatsugi's interest in new technology drove the design. Compared to other titles at the time, Futatsugi was using a fairly small budget, creating the game as a niche title without expecting major sales. Speaking about
14208-480: The time Saga was released in early 1998, Sega had shifted its focus to its next console, the Dreamcast . Saga had a limited release outside Japan, and sales worldwide were poor; it has never been re-released and is now a rare collector's item . After the release, Sega disbanded Team Andromeda; Futatsugi left Sega and joined Konami , while other staff moved to new Sega teams, including Smilebit , which would develop
14336-472: The vertically scrolling, overhead view games Front Line (1982), Commando (1985), and Ikari Warriors (1986). Side-scrolling run and gun games often combine elements from platform games , such as the ability to jump: Contra (1987), Metal Slug (1996) and Cuphead (2017). Run and gun games may also use isometric viewpoints and may have multidirectional movement. Bullet hell ( 弾幕 , danmaku , literally "barrage" or "bullet curtain")
14464-545: The vertically-oriented fixed-shooter genre, while Space Invaders and Galaxian have only horizontal movement controlled by a pair of buttons. Atari 's Asteroids (1979) was a hit multi-directional shooter, taking from Spacewar! the ability for the player's ship to roam the entire screen and to rotate, move and shoot in any direction. The Space Invaders format evolved into the vertical scrolling shooter sub-genre. SNK 's debut shoot 'em up Ozma Wars (1979) featured vertical scrolling backgrounds and enemies, and it
14592-432: The wild mutants and to wage war against each other. Over the course of the series, a succession of characters ride mysterious armored flying dragons of extraordinary power, fighting to prevent humanity from reactivating the most destructive Ancient Age weapons and, ultimately, to destroy the remaining weapons and facilities of the Ancient Age so that humanity can be freed from the threat they pose. The first Panzer Dragoon
14720-433: The work overload this created, Saga was largely put on hold until Zwei was completed. Production took less than a year, since the first game's engine was reused, with a team of between fifteen and twenty people. Tomohiro Kondo, a senior member of Team Andromeda, was the producer and director. Futatsugi originally oversaw both projects' narratives, but, as his attention shifted onto Saga , Zwei ' s story became
14848-532: Was a runner-up for Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s Shooter Game of the Year (behind Alien Trilogy ) and Best Graphics of the Year (behind Super Mario 64 ), and the following year they ranked it number 90 on their "100 Best Games of All Time". Panzer Dragoon Mini was poorly received, with praise for its art style and boss designs but criticism of its pacing and lack of a plot. The simplistic controls and very short duration divided critics, some of whom thought
14976-442: Was acclaimed, with praise focusing on the cutting-edge graphics, gameplay refinements relative to the first game, and the continued strength of the art design, music, and atmosphere, though the low difficulty again received criticism. A Next Generation reviewer praised the game's art direction and plot, saying Zwei ' s "visual sophistication and compelling storylines" compensated for its "less than revolutionary gameplay". It
15104-515: Was again acclaimed as one of the best games in the genre. Both Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga were later released on Xbox Live Arcade . The Touhou Project series spans 26 years and 30 games as of 2022 and was listed in the Guinness World Records in October 2010 for being the "most prolific fan-made shooter series". The genre has undergone something of a resurgence with the release of
15232-459: Was again arranged by Matsuo and sung by Itō. The music continued in the ethnic-influenced style established on the soundtracks for Zwei and Saga , but the Xbox hardware allowed for richer and more varied sounds than the Saturn. Production I.G released a direct-to-video anime short film adaptation of the first game in 1996. The story is altered to include a female character whom Keil ('Kyle' in
15360-421: Was an influential game in the multi-directional shooter subgenre. Some games experimented with pseudo-3D perspectives at the time. Nintendo 's attempt at the genre, Radar Scope (1980), borrowed heavily from Space Invaders and Galaxian , but added a three-dimensional third-person perspective; the game was a commercial failure, however. Atari's Tempest (1981) was one of the earliest tube shooters and
15488-496: Was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1961, for the developers' amusement, and presents a space battle between two craft. It was remade four times as an arcade video game in the 1970s. Space Invaders (1978) is most frequently cited as the "first" or "original" in the genre. A seminal game created by Tomohiro Nishikado of Japan's Taito , it led to proliferation of shooter games. It pitted
15616-462: Was developed by MegaPixel Studio and published by Forever Entertainment in March 2020 for Nintendo Switch . It was released on Stadia on 1 June, with Windows , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , and Amazon Luna versions later in 2020. The remake features updated graphics and an optional new control system that allows players to aim independently of movement with a second control stick. In the early 1990s,
15744-591: Was mainly the work of Manabu Kusunoki, who took inspiration from various sources, including anime and manga. Critics have noted similarities with the works of the French artist Mœbius , of whom Kusunoki was a fan, as well as with Hayao Miyazaki 's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and David Lynch 's film Dune . Futatsugi created a fictional language from a mixture of Ancient Greek, Latin and Russian, apparently inspired by
15872-538: Was released on the Sega Saturn in 1995. It was developed by Team Andromeda , a Sega development group assembled for this project. The protagonist is Keil Fluge, a hunter who stumbles into a battle between two flying dragons, one blue and one black. The rider of the blue dragon is mortally wounded in the fight and entrusts Keil with his dragon and his mission to stop the Dark Dragon from reactivating an Ancient Age ruin of tremendous destructive power. This game established
16000-410: Was revealed under its Project Draco title at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show , shortly after development began. Its final name was revealed in February 2012. Initially scheduled for release 13 June 2012 on the 360, the game was delayed indefinitely and an apology issued. The platform change was announced publicly at E3 2013 . Crimson Dragon was a console launch title in all regions. It was first released in
16128-546: Was the first action game to feature a supply of energy, similar to hit points . Namco's Xevious , released in 1982, was one of the first and most influential vertical scrolling shooters. Xevious is also the first to convincingly portray dithered/shaded organic landscapes as opposed to blocks-in-space or wireframe obstacles. Side-scrolling shoot 'em ups emerged in the early 1980s. Defender , introduced by Williams Electronics in late 1980 and entering production in early 1981, allowed side-scrolling in both directions in
16256-484: Was the lead programmer. Orta incorporated elements from Saga into the series' traditional rail shooter gameplay, with a story co-written by Shigeru Kurihara and Kenichiro Ishii. It was released in late 2002 in Japan and early 2003 in the West. The soundtrack for the first Panzer Dragoon was developed after the rest of the game was largely complete, so that the music could reflect each level's art style and events. The game's "on rails" progression system meant that
16384-454: Was written by Tadashi Ihoroi of Studio Monado. The game was co-developed by Grounding Inc. and Land Ho Inc., with support from Iron Galaxy . Active production began in 2010 shortly before its announcement that year, with the original design only using Kinect controls. Following E3 2012 , both in response to negative feedback around the Kinect-only controls and to bolster the launch line-up of
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