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114-578: Gunstar Heroes is a run and gun video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega . It was Treasure's debut game, originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1993. The game's premise is centered around a pair of characters, the Gunstars, in their efforts to stop an evil empire from recovering four powerful gems. The characters can fire guns and perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers to fight enemies across each stage. There are four weapons in

228-532: A rail shooter co-developed with Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 and later released on the iQue in China. The game was not released in western territories but grew a cult following among import gamers . While Sin and Punishment was still in development, Treasure started development on a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun titled Ikaruga (2001). The arcade shooter was co-developed with G.rev, and ported to

342-408: 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

456-401: 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

570-405: 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

684-415: A cart" with "murderous action, excellent controls, and imaginative game design." The game's two-player cooperative mode was praised, although some felt there was too much clutter on the screen to tell the player characters apart. The game's graphics were highlighted by several critics, with GamePro calling it "an assault on your senses." Mean Machines Sega felt the sprite rotating and scaling overshadowed

798-504: A following of loyal hardcore fans, which USgamer felt was earned by "a sense of integrity to Treasure's work you don't often see in games of that era." 1UP.com wrote that between Gunstar Heroes and their other Genesis games, Treasure earned a reputation as a "master of hardcore action gaming." Many of the design conventions Treasure used in Gunstar Heroes would return and became characteristic of Treasure's later work, such as

912-694: A genre they were familiar with. They pitched their idea to Konami, but were told it would not sell and it was rejected. Maegawa and his team were growing frustrated with the industry's reliance on sequels to established franchises and console conversions of arcade games to generate revenue. They felt Konami had fallen into this pattern as a large company, growing reliant on sequels in their Castlevania and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Maegawa and his team felt consumers wanted original games, and so in 1992, they left Konami and established Treasure to continue development on their original game. Treasure wanted to develop their game for Sega 's Genesis . Maegawa

1026-567: 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

1140-399: A publishing contract. At first, they were not granted approval because they lacked a track record, but Sega instead contracted them to develop McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (1993). Several months into development, they were granted approval to work on Gunstar Heroes . Treasure staff was split into two teams to work on both games in parallel. They had a staff of around 18 people at

1254-533: A quirky sense of humor and action taken to a level of absurdity. A sequel was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, Gunstar Super Heroes . Run and gun video game 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

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1368-417: 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

1482-539: A rigid hierarchy. Maegawa explained that Treasure operates differently from other companies by not assigning lead designers. While a project leader may create a project plan, most of the game design is done collaboratively between the programmers and artists. Most permanent employees and part-time contractors drift in and out of projects as required. Some individuals have been important figures in Treasure's history: Treasure places emphasis on creating original games in

1596-402: A set of powerful gems. The game features seven stages, of which the first four can be tackled in any order. The stage formats vary; while some feature a typical left-to-right format, others have the player riding in a mine cart along walls, fighting enemies on a helicopter, or playing a board game. Completing a level grants the player an extension to their maximum health . When starting a game,

1710-541: 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

1824-526: 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

1938-533: A signature style early on that became consistent across their work. Their first game, Gunstar Heroes , established what 1UP.com called Treasure's key themes: "creativity, weirdness, and a tendency toward completely absurd levels of action." Wireframe called their style "fast, aggressive [...] featuring bold graphics and surreal dashes of humour." Retro Gamer wrote that they have "consistently excellent art direction" and are renowned for their "action-packed" and "explosive" gameplay. They explained that Treasure

2052-473: A slew of mediocre licensed games. Treasure developed sequels on the Game Boy Advance for their earlier successes, Advance Guardian Heroes (2004) and Gunstar Super Heroes (2005). Treasure followed this with a series of licensed Bleach games for the Nintendo DS . Maegawa explained that his company experiences challenges in developing games based on licensed properties like Bleach , saying that

2166-526: 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

2280-576: 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

2394-739: A variety of games including arcade titles The Simpsons (1991) and Bucky O'Hare (1992), and Super NES games Super Castlevania IV (1991), Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992), and Axelay (1992). In 1991, Maegawa and several other Konami employees began planning an original game that would become Gunstar Heroes (1993) , but their concept was rejected by Konami. Maegawa and his team were growing frustrated with Konami's growing reliance on sequels to established franchises such as their Castlevania and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. The team felt consumers wanted original games, and so they left Konami in 1992 to establish Treasure and continue development on Gunstar Heroes . Treasure

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2508-555: 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

2622-486: Is "at the very cutting edge of artistic freedom, forging its own very particular path and creating a softography guided by nothing other than the whims of the creators." The company is known for taking risks within established genres, borrowing conventional ideas and adding their own creative touches to create something new and innovative. They became recognized for their prowess in 2D game design, with Gamers' Republic calling their output "the finest 2D platform games on

2736-482: 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

2850-477: 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

2964-864: 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

3078-500: 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

3192-515: 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

3306-1000: The Dreamcast and saw a worldwide release on the GameCube . Treasure next embarked on a series of licensed projects. Two of these were based on the Tiny Toon Adventures franchise, Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream (2002) for the Game Boy Advance and the unreleased Tiny Toon Adventures: Defenders of the Universe for the PlayStation 2. Other licensed games during this period included Game Boy Advance games Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! (2003) and Astro Boy: Omega Factor (2003), as well as GameCube games Wario World (2003) and Dragon Drive: D-Masters Shot (2003). Astro Boy: Omega Factor

3420-575: 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

3534-476: The Game Boy Advance . In retrospect, it is considered one of the best action games of the 16-bit era , and one of the best video games of all time by several publications. Gunstar Heroes is a run and gun game played from a side-scrolling perspective similar to Contra . The game can be played in single-player , or cooperatively with a partner. The players take on the role of Gunstar Red and Gunstar Blue as they battle with an evil empire for control over

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3648-530: The PlayStation in 1998. In 1998, Treasure released their first arcade game, the shoot 'em up Radiant Silvergun . Treasure had been hesitant to develop an arcade game for years because of concerns with their commercial viability, but the staff felt Radiant Silvergun had potential and they were eager to develop it. The game was ported to the Saturn later that year. Enix published Treasure's next game for

3762-518: The Sega Saturn technology to Treasure. Treasure were impressed with the system's ability to handle a large number of sprites. They also knew their fan base consisted entirely of Sega gamers, so as the 32-bit era began, they moved development to the Saturn. Even though the Saturn was capable of 3D graphics, they continued to develop 2D games because they had built up 2D sprite know-how. Competition from 3D games did not concern them. First on Saturn

3876-466: 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

3990-430: 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

4104-436: The "frantic, high-density blasting mayhem." Sega Force believed the game's variety prevented it from falling into monotony, and instead, reinvigorated the platform genre. Computer and Video Games agreed, feeling gameplay customization options kept it feeling interesting and original. Some critics praised the player characters' acrobatics and attack maneuvers for adding excitement. GamePro called Gunstar Heroes "chaos in

4218-490: The "sense of integrity" in their 1990s work that was not seen in other games of the era. Maximum: The Video Game Magazine called them "one of the most respected programming houses in the world" in 1996. Gamers' Republic agreed in 1998, writing: "Any action or platform gamer worth his salt recognizes Treasure as one of the finest development houses in the world." In 2005, 1UP.com called Treasure "one of Japan's most famous independent development houses [...] releasing some of

4332-610: 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

4446-530: 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

4560-511: 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

4674-604: The Dice Palace being removed, and it ran at lower frame rate. It was released on March 24, 1995. Sega released Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box in 2006 in Japan, a compilation of Treasure games for the PlayStation 2 as part of their Sega Ages 2500 series. Included on the compilation were Gunstar Heroes , Dynamite Headdy (1994), and Alien Soldier (1995). The games are run through an emulator and include display options for filters and resolutions. The Japanese and international versions of each game were included, along with

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4788-594: The Game Gear ports of Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy , and a Genesis prototype of Gunstar Heroes . A gallery is included with scans of the original instruction manuals, concept illustrations, and design documents. This compilation was released digitally on the PlayStation Store in 2012. The game was ported by M2 to the Nintendo 3DS in 2015 as part of Sega's line of 3D Classics . Gunstar Heroes

4902-483: The Genesis. Both TouchArcade and GameSpy deemed it one of the best side-scrolling action games ever made. Being Treasure's debut game, Gunstar Heroes helped establish their reputation in the industry. Retro Gamer wrote that the game "blew open the state of 2D platform-shooters." Developers at the time borrowed inspiration for titles like Vectorman (1995) and Shinobi III (1993). Treasure also began to build

5016-608: 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. Treasure (company) Treasure grew a cult following for their action games developed during the 1990s, and though initially exclusive to Sega platforms, they expanded to other platforms in 1997. The company earned recognition from critics, being called one of

5130-593: The Month," and the game placed first in Beep! Mega Drive 's reader rankings in Japan. GameFan deemed it their "Game of the Year" and called it a new benchmark for action games. Mean Machines Sega wrote that Gunstar Heroes was setting a new standard for action games on the Genesis, calling it "a stunning title both in appearance and the gameplay it offers." Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed, with one critic calling it "one of

5244-401: The Nintendo 64 because they were interested in the hardware's capabilities. Enix had heard of Treasure's reputation for action games and requested to publish for them in the past, but it was not until Treasure was developing for a non-Sega platform that they sought Enix's cooperation. Mischief Makers was followed by Silhouette Mirage , which was initially released on the Saturn then ported to

5358-459: The PlayStation, fighting game Rakugaki Showtime (1999), but had to pull it from shelves shortly after release because of a lawsuit filed against them. This was followed by the multidirectional shooter Bangai-O (1999) which received a limited release on the Nintendo 64, but was later modified and re-released for the Dreamcast. By 1999, most of the founding Treasure staff were still with

5472-570: The Super NES at Konami. Programmers Mitsuru Yaida and Hideyuki Suganami previously programmed Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992) for the Super NES at Konami. The team felt the Genesis's processor was more powerful, capable, and friendly to experimentation than other consoles. This led them to consider it more suited for action games and the sophisticated graphical effects they were looking to create. The team implemented heavy visual effects in an exercise in design experimentation (not an effort to push

5586-432: The Treasure design philosophy, Maegawa said it "simply, to create the games we want to make" and "creating the things we love in the way we like." The company has generally employed around 20 to 30 people at any given time. Treasure was one of the most celebrated developers of the 16-bit era and grew a cult following during the period. USgamer called them "one of Japan's pioneering indie developers" and explained

5700-435: The abilities of the Super NES. Sega Magazine also liked the sprite scaling, and highlighted its use on the boss "Seven Force." Other critics also felt the bosses were well animated and designed, with some also extending their comments to the player characters' animations as well. Computer and Video Games commended the graphical explosion effects, with other critics praising the sound effects they were paired with for enhancing

5814-459: The action, platform, and shooter genres. They do not have a preference on gaming platforms or 2D vs. 3D gameplay, preferring to choose the most suitable depending on the game they are designing. The company has never viewed sales as much of a concern. They would prefer making the games they want to make, and not what will more likely sell well. Maegawa has preferred to always keep the company small to keep an "independent-minded" mentality, and help

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5928-526: The best Japanese indie studios and 2D game developers. The company's output decreased in the 2010s, with their most recent release being Gaist Crusher God in 2014. Treasure founder and president Masato Maegawa dreamed of working in the video game industry when he was young and began learning computer programming in junior high school. He studied programming in college and was hired by developer and publisher Konami after graduating. At Konami, Maegawa and associates that would later establish Treasure worked on

6042-634: 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

6156-401: The company. Treasure began the 2000s with some early troubles. Gun Beat , a racing game they were developing for Sega's NAOMI arcade platform, was canceled with little explanation. Also, Silpheed: The Lost Planet (2000) and Stretch Panic (2001) for the PlayStation 2 were both critically panned. Despite these hiccups, Treasure did find success with Sin and Punishment (2000),

6270-410: The developers' personalities shine through their games. They expressed disinterest in sequels early in their history, but became more open to it later. They pride themselves in creating original ideas and avoiding imitating other works or being associated with games already on the market. They have made games based on licensed properties to generate revenue to pursue original projects. Explaining

6384-629: 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

6498-400: 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 ,

6612-503: 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

6726-618: The final title. Treasure consisted of around 18 people, most being programmers from Konami. The staff was split in half to work on both Gunstar Heroes and McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure in parallel. The core team behind Gunstar Heroes consisted of six people: two programmers, two graphic designers, and two sound programmers. The staff (known by their nicknames) was composed of main programmer Yaiman, enemy and boss programmer Nami, graphic designers Han and Iuchi, composer Non, and sound effects programmer Murata. The role of game designer did not exist within Treasure; all game design and planning

6840-494: 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

6954-507: The game could have never worked on the Super NES because the boss animations required expanded computing power. The standard enemy characters, designed by Han, were drawn on the screen by combining a top and bottom sprite, allowing for more animation patterns with lower memory usage. Han was inspired by the game Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter (1993) to program the enemies manually rather than with mathematical algorithms. The game

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7068-457: 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

7182-427: The game so players would continue discovering new weapons and devise new ways to complete stages. The processor also made articulated multi-limb enemies possible, like the boss "Seven Force," which was programmed by Nami along with all other bosses. Because moving around large sprites was difficult due to limited video RAM , Seven Force was built by combining circles and squares to make one large character. Maegawa claims

7296-742: The game which can be combined with one another to create different shot types. Development on Gunstar Heroes began among a team of staff working at Konami in 1991. Following an unwillingness of Konami to embrace their original game ideas, the team quit in 1992 and formed Treasure to see their project through. The team wanted to develop their game for the Genesis because of the system's powerful Motorola 68000 microprocessor. Sega initially rejected their proposal, but later granted approval after they had been working for Sega for several months on McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (1993). Treasure worked on both games in parallel, and released Gunstar Heroes worldwide as their first game in 1993. Gunstar Heroes

7410-413: The game's atmosphere. A critic from Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "one of the best looking carts I've seen from Sega in a while." Critics lauded the Game Gear port as a great 8-bit conversion. GameFan felt it was graphically advanced for a Game Gear game. Mean Machines Sega agreed, thinking that the graphics remained true to the 16-bit original despite greater system limitations. The 3DS version

7524-440: 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

7638-431: 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

7752-473: The hardware). Some of that experimenting was done with the system's sprite rotation and scaling capabilities, which evoked a sense of depth. The Genesis had its limitations however, as it could only display 64 colors on screen at once. The team placed extra effort on coloring to compensate. Early backgrounds were drawn with a 16 color palette, but they looked desolate, so ultimately two palettes with 32 colors were used. The team also used programming tricks to make

7866-544: The homing shot can be combined with the machine gun to add a homing effect to the latter, or two lightning shots can be combined to create a more powerful lightning gun. In addition to firing their weapon, the player characters can pull off a series of acrobatic maneuvers including jumping, sliding, and grabbing and throwing enemies. In 1991, several Konami employees led by programmer Masato Maegawa began holding planning sessions at coffee shops for an original game. They were establishing early concepts for an action shooting game,

7980-420: 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

8094-432: 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

8208-441: The most finely crafted, creative, and offbeat action games the world has ever seen." Treasure did not have any large commercial successes, which influenced Retro Gamer to describe their output as "critically acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful." Because of the loyal fan base but low sales, prices of Treasure games such as Rakugaki Showtime and Radiant Silvergun have climbed on the secondary market. The company established

8322-407: The most intense games I've seen on the home video game scene." Both Sega Magazine and Sega Force felt the game was a must-buy for Genesis owners. The game was praised for its fast and furious action. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "one of the most intense carts to date [...] nonstop intensity from beginning to end." Mean Machines Sega agreed, commending the variety in level design and

8436-457: The other producers dismissed the game because its small character sprites contrasted with the more popular large sprites at the time. Senour did ask Treasure to change one boss character because it looked too similar to Adolf Hitler . Gunstar Heroes was released in Japan on September 10, 1993, and released in the West the same month. Sega underestimated demand in Japan where their initial shipment

8550-456: 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

8664-401: 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),

8778-541: The player can choose either a free or fixed firing stance; the fixed stance immobilizes the character when shooting, while the free stance has the player move in the direction they are firing. The player also has a choice of starting weapon. There are four shot types in the game: a homing shot, lightning blaster, flamethrower, and machine gun. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, and can be swapped with others from item drops in each stage. The weapons can be combined with each other to produce unique shot types. For example,

8892-574: 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

9006-491: 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

9120-480: 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

9234-670: The player with double the normal amount of health . The game also supports local cooperative play and includes both the Japanese and international versions. Gunstar Heroes has also been released on the Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , Wii , and Windows . A Sega Forever version for mobile devices was released in 2017. The game was again released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2021. Gunstar Heroes achieved greater recognition than Treasure anticipated. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it their "Game of

9348-415: 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

9462-549: 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

9576-417: 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

9690-548: 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

9804-416: 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

9918-430: The scenery appear like three to four layers were present, although the Genesis only supports two. The team approached Gunstar Heroes with an "anything goes" concept, that led to many ambitious ideas being implemented into the final game. One such concept was the weapon combination mechanic, which was conceived in the early planning stages. They experimented with weapon attributes until the end of development, and designed

10032-421: 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

10146-406: The staff wants to be original but cannot detract too far from the source material and risk disappointing fans. By 2009, the company had 20-30 employees. The number of employees at Treasure had dropped to 16 by 2011. In a 2011 interview, Maegawa explained that Treasure now uses middleware to develop games, no longer using custom programming to push the hardware to their maximum levels. The company

10260-612: 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

10374-550: 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

10488-474: The time, most being ex-Konami programmers. The staff felt they had more freedom working under Sega than Konami. McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure was completed first, but Treasure decided to finish and release Gunstar Heroes first because they wanted their debut to be an original game. North American magazine GameFan were enthralled with the game and secured the first English language interview with Treasure that year. McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure

10602-472: 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")

10716-545: 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

10830-404: The working title Lunatic Gunstar, thinking "Lunatic" was a good description of the game's stimulating action. Sega of America felt the word held a negative connotation, so rejected it. The team also considered Blade Gunner , in homage to Blade Runner , but this was also rejected because of copyright restrictions. Sega of America eventually suggested the word "Heroes," so Gunstar Heroes became

10944-449: Was Guardian Heroes (1996), a beat 'em up that combines elements from fighting games and RPGs. Treasure worked on their next two releases concurrently, side-scrolling platformers Mischief Makers (1997) and Silhouette Mirage (1997). Mischief Makers was released on the Nintendo 64 and published by Enix , Treasure's first game published by a company other than Sega and released on non-Sega hardware. Treasure chose to develop for

11058-430: Was "nearly unrivaled" at the time. Others called it one of the best Genesis games. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "one of the best two-player games ever made." USgamer wrote that its chaotic and brash nature made it the "quintessential classic-era Sega game" in contrast to the more gentle offerings from Nintendo . Nintendo World Report called it "an incredible accomplishment, both creatively and technically" for

11172-421: Was 16 megabits but compressed to fit under 8. Although McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure was completed first, Treasure decided to wait and release Gunstar Heroes first because they wanted their debut to be an original game. It was nearly rejected for an American release by Sega of America, only being approved by Mac Senour, the last producer in the reviewing queue after 12 others rejected it. Senour believed

11286-465: Was a critical success, being praised for its frantic action and advanced graphics. It helped establish Treasure's place in the industry, and introduced several design conventions which would become characteristic of their later work such as large bosses and a unique sense of humor. It was re-released several times, including dedicated ports to the Game Gear and Nintendo 3DS , and received a sequel on

11400-530: 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

11514-493: Was also putting an increased focus on rereleasing their back catalog as downloadable games on the Virtual Console , PlayStation Network , and Xbox Live . Treasure has not released any new games since 2014 apart from re-releases of games like Ikaruga . On June 19, 2022, its 30th anniversary, Treasure announced it was working on a "highly requested" game. They had less than 10 staff by 2022. Treasure does not have

11628-508: Was also released for the Sega Mega-Play arcade board. A Game Gear port was developed by M2 . Sega asked M2 if they wanted to make a Game Gear game after being impressed by their Gauntlet port for the Genesis. M2 wanted to port The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy , but they were ultimately handed Gunstar Heroes . Since the Genesis version pushed hardware limitations, a Game Gear port was difficult. The port had some changes, such as

11742-421: 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

11856-402: Was co-developed with Hitmaker and was critically praised for returning to Treasure's classic side-scrolling action style that had been missing from their recent output. Their next game was Gradius V (2004) which like Ikaruga before it, was co-developed with G.rev . The companies worked under contract for Konami, and the game helped cement Treasure's return to critical successes following

11970-506: 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

12084-408: Was divided into four teams to develop (in order of release): platformer Dynamite Headdy (1994), fighting game Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen (1994), run and gun Alien Soldier (1995), and action-adventure Light Crusader (1995). The variety among these games illustrated unevenness and unpredictability in Treasure's output that would become characteristic of them. In 1994, Sega introduced

12198-455: Was founded on June 19, 1992; the company name came from wanting to be a "treasure" to the industry. Around the time of founding, the company had just over ten people. Even though most of the staff made games for the Super NES at Konami, they wanted to develop Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Genesis because the system's Motorola 68000 microprocessor was necessary for the visuals and gameplay they were striving for. Treasure approached Sega for

12312-634: Was interested in the platform because of its Motorola 68000 microprocessor, which he felt was easier to program for than the Super NES , and more powerful. The team decided to approach Sega for a publishing contract. When they first presented their design documents to Sega, they were not granted approval because they lacked a proven track record. Instead, Sega contracted Treasure to develop McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (1993). Several months into development, they were finally granted approval to work on their original action game. They originally were using

12426-413: Was only 10,000 units. Meanwhile, Sega of America also ordered a small initial print run, as they were not typically confident in games from Sega of Japan. The game was not heavily promoted and spread by word of mouth. GameFan particularly enjoyed the game and published the first English interview with Maegawa. The game shipped in total around 70,000 copies in Japan, and 200,000 overseas. An arcade version

12540-437: Was originally not considered for the series because converting the game's backgrounds into a layered 3D effect was thought to be impossible, but these perceived problems were later overcome. In addition to supporting stereoscopic 3D , the game features two new game modes. "Gunslinger" mode starts the player with a full arsenal of every weapon type and grants the ability to change shot stance at any time, and "Mega Life" mode starts

12654-407: Was praised for the added options and enhancements, with USgamer and Nintendo World Report calling it the best version of the game. The mobile version was criticized for being difficult to play with touch controls. Gunstar Heroes was listed as one of the best games ever made by several publications. Critics have called it a "classic" of the 16-bit era, with IGN writing that its pace and speed

12768-409: Was released next, initiating a trend for Treasure of developing games based on licensed properties. As a small studio, Treasure required the revenue from licensed games to develop original projects. Treasure continued to develop games for the Genesis for the remainder of the 16-bit era because of the system's smooth sprite movement, and grew a following among Sega fans. After Gunstar Heroes , Treasure

12882-546: 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

12996-406: Was undertaken by everyone involved. The team felt they had more freedom working under Sega than Konami. Maegawa got approval to add a Treasure logo when the game booted, which he felt was a rare opportunity for developers to get in that era. Development of Gunstar Heroes lasted around nine to ten months. It was the team's first experience programming for the Genesis, having come off programming for

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