Change your perspective on gaming with some of the best classic TATE titles

For these games, you might want to get it twisted

When it comes to shmups, few do it better than Cave, and while there are plenty of vertical Cave titles to choose from, I can only pick one. I like Espgaluda not just for its masterful color management (more important than you might think), but also for its bullet-time mode that temporarily slows down enemy bullets, and for eschewing the overused tropes of aircraft, sci-fi, and cyberpunk, opting instead for a fantasy/steampunk theme.

Capcom may not have invented the shmup, but it practically defined it for a certain generation thanks to 1942. It was the first game Capcom marketed to Western audiences and the first game it released for the NES. Storywise, there’s not much here. You’re an American pilot in WWII on your way to Tokyo to destroy the Japanese air fleet. The controls are just as simple: Shoot, dodge, and roll to survive all 32 levels.

What would you do if the Earth were invaded by aliens, and you were ready to make your last stand against them? If you were the UN in the year 2097, you would commission a cyborg mercenary to your “legendary space death squad” and send them to the Out Zone, that’s what. Even though this is a Commando-style run-and-gun shooter, Out Zone borrows heavily from shmups with multiple guns and multiple cyborg mercenaries to choose from.

Take a solid base of run-and-gun sci-fi action, add in a dash of pinball and a dollop of Smash TV, and you’ll end up with Nitro Ball, a gameshow where only the toughest bounty hunters can survive the mayhem. Keeping with the pinball theme, you occasionally turn into a ball and bounce around the screen, killing anyone you crash into. The game is only five levels long (each one has a different theme), so you won’t have to worry about wasting a day getting through it. 

If any game can claim to have usurped the crown of the original Breakout, it’s Arkanoid, and for my money, the second game in the series is the best. Honestly, though, there are only a few differences between the two, with the biggest being the option to choose between one of two options for your next level. 

As far as mechanics go, brick breakers are pretty bare bones, and if you want to stand out, you need to do something different, like incorporate pinball or shooter elements into your game. Gunbarich is a spinoff from the Gunbirds franchise (which is a shmup you should definitely give a try), which threads the genre needle while maintaining all the distinctive storytelling and sprite work from the main series. 

Fire Trap has a lot in common with the original climbing game, Crazy Climber. But unlike the 1980 classic, which had blocky sprites and a limited color palette, Fire Trap has bright colors and detailed graphics (at least by 1986 standards). Much like Crazy Climber, you need to climb to the top of a building, but now the building’s on fire and you have to shoot out the flames as you climb. Oh, and the fire also shoots at you.

What can I say about the premise of Angel Kids … Using two joysticks, you control two cherubim holding a sheet in between them to bounce a little girl into the air. Impeding your goal to get to the top are balloons and other random objects that will dramatically alter her trajectory and make it harder to keep her from falling. If you’re playing on a handheld, you’ll have to fiddle with your controls to get this one working, but it’s a fun play.

Although it isn’t the equal of the great fantasy brawlers like Golden Axe or Shadow Over Mystara, Vandyke occupies a similar space. You play as a brawny hero wielding nothing but his boots, briefs, and a big sword. As you slaughter increasingly bizarre enemies, you can upgrade your weapons (I really like the flail you can swing around) and buff your strength. 

Valkyrie has a similar sword and sandals vibe to Vandyke, but with a more Greek flavor rather than Hyborean. It’s also more of an action RPG than it is a run-and-gun with swords. There’s a story to follow (if you can read Japanese), coins to collect, and weapons to upgrade. It’s definitely one of the best this subgenre has to offer.