Zaxxon

This 32X-exclusive sci-fi shooter is similar gameplay-wise to Sega's arcade game Zaxxon. The graphics consist of a diagonally scrolling playfield which creates a pseudo 3D environment. The backgrounds are drawn using 2D scrolling planes, but the enemy and ship objects are drawn using 3D flat-shaded polygons. Although the basic goal of each of the 9 levels is to shoot everything without getting shot, the game has a strategic element. Your basic spacecraft has very little firepower, and can only sustain one hit. To make matters worse, there are very few power-ups. In order to survive, you have to jump on top of enemies and take control of their weapons systems. This system allows for a large variety of player-controllable ships.

The enemy has built battle fortresses in the farthest reaches of space. There's only one way in... and one way out. Your Mission: To infiltrate the enemy's defenses and destroy their motherships!

A Port of Zaxxon for Atari 2600 and Intellivision. This version of the game uses a third person perspective as opposed to the isometric view of the original arcade game.

It's a nightmare, but it's true! Research shows that we are the actual aliens on Earth, and the ruthless Xevions are the original inhabitants. Now the Xevions want Earth back -- minus humans! Their invasion forces are fierce -- the land is crawling with deadly Domogram Rovers; the sky is black with Toroid Patrol Fleets and Zoshi Death Squads. Our puny weapons offer no defense. Earth's only hope is our powerful new Solvalou Fighter Plane. Its pilot will have a single mission: Penetrate the enemy ranks and destroy the Xevious Mother Ship. The mission is dangerous. We can't guarantee success. But at this point, it's do or die! One small problem. We still need a pilot. Any volunteers?

Juno First is a shoot 'em up originally developed and published by Konami Corporation for Arcades. The game was later published by Mylstar Electronics (US arcades), Datasoft Inc. (Atari 8-bit, PC Booter, and Commodore 64), and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (MSX). Juno First is a top down, vertical scrolling shooter in which there is a limited amount of time to defeat the enemies in each wave. The players spaceship starts out with a laser that has a longer reach than the enemy weapons. The enemies start out firing a few bullets at the ship but the amount enemy fire rapidly increases as players progress through to the next waves. Certain enemies fire tracking missile-like projectiles that can shoot additional bullets.

Gaplus is a fixed shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. It was the only other game to run on Namco Phozon hardware, and in the US, a modification kit was later released to change the name to Galaga 3, possibly to increase recognition among fans of the games even though there was no "Galaga 2". Since Gaplus is a sequel to Galaga, it has similar gameplay. The player controls a spaceship, that can now move vertically (limited to halfway up the screen, much like Atari's Centipede) as well as horizontally, and shoots at swarms of incoming insect-like aliens which fly in formation above it and swoop down to attack it in akamikaze-like dive. In this sequel, the level starts over if the player gets killed before all the enemies have come in. When all enemies are killed, the player moves on to the next level. By obtaining certain powerups, it is possible to shoot sixty bullets per screen, the most any Galaxian-related game has.

Gorf actually consists in the Arcade version of five different types of space shooters. The first one ist basically is a Space Invaders clone. In the second one a formation of space ships is hovering at the top of the screen while single space ships will disengage from the formation and dive down at you. The third variant is a Glaxian clone and only available in the Arcade version. In the fourth mini-game the enemy will come out of a circular hyperspace field and attack you. After having destroyed four of your attackers the game proceeds to the fifth game stage. Here a huge mothership is dropping bombs at you from the top of the screen. You defeat the mothership with a well placed projectile hitting it between its two major sections. After that the game starts from the gebinning on a higher difficulty level.

The object of Bosconian is to score as many points as possible by destroying enemy bases and ships. The player controls a small fighter ship that can move in eight directions and can fire both forward and backward. Each level consists of a number of green space stations that must all be destroyed to advance to the next level (a semi-transparent mini-map helps identify their location). Each station consists of six cannons arranged in a hexagon, surrounding a central core. The player must either destroy all six cannons or shoot the core to destroy a station, and in later levels the core is capable of defending itself. Additionally, the player must avoid or destroy asteroids, mines, and a variety of enemy missiles and ships that attempt to collide with the player's ship. Enemies occasionally launch formation attacks — destroying the leader causes all remaining enemies to disperse, but destroying all enemies in a formation scores extra bonus points. A spy ship (worth a random bonus value) also appears occasionally, which must be destroyed or the enemies will go berserk.

Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female player base. The player defends against swarms of insects, completing a round after eliminating the centipede that winds down the playing field.

Moon Cresta is an arcade game released in 1980 by Nichibutsu. A moving starfield gives the impression of vertical scrolling, but the game is a fixed shooter in the vein of Namco's Galaxian. Incentive Software published a version of this arcade game for many 8-bit home computers of the time. Dempa also released a port of both Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta for the X68000. It was also released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on March 9, 2010 and PlayStation 4 (Arcade Archives) in 2014.

Be the new saviour as the Iridion force strikes back! A century has passed since the Iridion Empire was defeated. Humans have populated the old Iridion galaxy giving mankind freedom and peace. Suddenly, all communications with the human outposts are lost. The Iridions are back! Planet Earth is too far away to offer help. The only chance? A lone powerful spaceship...Yours!

DonPachi is a 1995 vertical manic shoot-'em-up originally in arcades and was the first game from the developer Cave. Settings are mainly woodland and enemies are military vehicles and robots, culminating in the final boss, a huge robotic bee. One of three weapon configurations is chosen at start and then leveled up through dropped power-ups. DonPachi was ported to the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1996.

Use creative combat tactics and skill shots to earn high scores as you teleport through city streets and rooftops in an awe-inspiring ballet of bullets. Tear apart your robot foes and use them to fend off the enemy onslaught. Unlock, customize and test weapons before taking on challenges that put your newfound skills to the test!