The 2D Shoot ‘Em Up Video Games Defined
They aren’t as popular as the once were, but in the ’80s and ’90s shoot ‘em ups (or “shmups” or “shooters” in their original sense) once saturated the gaming scene as deeply and thoroughly as FPS games do in the present day. It didn’t matter if you were an arcade goer or console jockey, if you had an itchy trigger finger and unchecked xenophobia, it was your go-to genre for committing obscene levels of digital genocide against faceless alien hordes. Big guns and lots of explosion does not a shooter make–not entirely. In order to separate any action game from a legit Shoot ‘Em Up certain criteria must be met.

A typical shmup features a player controlling a lone airborne ship (sometimes robots, human warriors, or fantasy creatures) against an enemy force in horizontal or vertical scrolling battlefields (“fixed” single screen playfields were commonplace in early shooters). Games in this genre usually feature a wide array of weapon and power ups, and amongst them is typically a large, screen-clearing bomb or mega-weapon. New weapons are usually gained by collecting them from destroyed enemies during combat, or by the player selecting them in between stages as they become unlocked. Usually, there aren’t any platforming elements, which separates shmups from action/run-and-gun games such as Contra. One-hit deaths are the norm, thus requiring gamers to deftly pilot their crafts.

Now, let’s take a look at the various types of shooters.

Atari's Asteroids is an example of a fixed screen shooter.

Fixed Shooters/Shoot ‘Em Ups
Fixed shmups such a Atari’s Asteroids and Namco’s Galaga constrain the action to a single screen. These were commonplace during the early days of gaming when technological limitations prevented horizontal or vertical scrolling battlefields.

Konami's Gradius V is an example of a horizontal shmup.

Horizontal Shooters/Shoot ‘Em Ups
Horizontal shooters sees the action take place against a field that scrolls from left to right. Examples of this genre are Square’s Einhander, Konami’s Gradius series, and Red’s Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder. Horizontal shooters saw their heydays during the 16-bit era.

Taito's Raiden IV

Vertical Shooters/Shoot ‘Em Ups
Vertical shooters play against a field that scrolls from top to bottom. Examples of this genre are the games in Capcom’s 1942, and Hudson’s Star Soldier series. Vertical shooters are where you’ll find the most challenging type of shmup: Bullet hell.

Batusgun is one of the definitive bullet hell shooters.

Bullet Hell: The Sado Masochist Sub-genre
Bullet hell shooters (also known as “Manic” shooters) is the exclusive realm of the hardcore; weak-willed, Pansy McPansyingtons need to cuddle up to their mothers’ teats. Unlike traditional shooters in which enemies provide obvious safe zones between their attacks, bullet hell shmups such as Mushihimesama fills the screen with a seemingly never-ending stream of fire. Most manic shooters are played against a vertical scrolling backdrop. The insanity can only be captured with video:

Developers, in an attempt to give the player a fighting chance against the onslaught, include a bit of wiggle room. Your ship’s hit box (the area that tells the computer that you’ve come in contact with an enemy projectile) is much smaller in bullet hell shmups, so you can navigate through the bullet curtain even if a bullet comes in contact with you ship.  In fact, many manic shooters (such as Danmaku Unlimited) reward gamers for zooming head first into sea of brightly colored lasers and missiles by offering huge score multipliers.