Support NeoGAF

[VGEsoterica]

The run and gun genre was huge back in the day both in arcades and on home consoles. It was right up there with the fighting game and the shmup as far as "every company is going to make at least once and try to cash in on the fad" genres go. There were a lot of decent ones, a lot of iffy ones...and a decent handful of "hot holy hell that was good" run and guns too.

IMO Shock Troopers 100% falls into that "holy hell its good" category. SNK and their development partners took the concept of the run and gun...and forgive the stupid pun...ran with it. The gameplay, action and levels are just straight start to finish action packed with amazing layouts and great combat. Plus because its SNK and Neo Geo you know you are going to get some S tier sprite work thrown into the mix. The overall art style and vibe of shock troopers just does it for me with the slightly cartoonish characters mixed with some decent blood and gore effects in the sprites. Just classic SNK

and the soundtrack? A real "chefs kiss" moment.

But that got me thinking GAF? what are the other best run and gun games of all time? Sure we have Contra and Metal Slug...but there must be a ton more. Plus...anyone got any recommendations for modern run and guns? Haven't been paying THAT close attention lately but I'd love to hear the hive minds thoughts!

 

[anthony2690]

I always feel like rapid reload by snk is under rated, loved that game on the psone

I hope one day it gets a port to modern consoles

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Mercs on the genesis was my favorite of this type.

 

[nush]

Mercs on the genesis was my favorite of this type.

Mission mode was an amazing addition, played that more that the arcade mode.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Mercs on the genesis was my favorite of this type.

Mercs is a fun time. If you like that def play the CPS version. A bigger, more impressive Mercs

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Mercs is a fun time. If you like that def play the CPS version. A bigger, more impressive Mercs

CPS?

 

[VGEsoterica]

CPS?

Capcom Play System. Its the arcade board that Mercs started on

 

[VGEsoterica]

I always feel like rapid reload by snk is under rated, loved that game on the psone

I hope one day it gets a port to modern consoles

def underrated and worth a playthrough by anyone into the genre

 

[VGEsoterica]

Mission mode was an amazing addition, played that more that the arcade mode

it def helped longevity

 

[Quasicat]

The run and gun genre was huge back in the day both in arcades and on home consoles. It was right up there with the fighting game and the shmup as far as "every company is going to make at least once and try to cash in on the fad" genres go. There were a lot of decent ones, a lot of iffy ones...and a decent handful of "hot holy hell that was good" run and guns too.

IMO Shock Troopers 100% falls into that "holy hell its good" category. SNK and their development partners took the concept of the run and gun...and forgive the stupid pun...ran with it. The gameplay, action and levels are just straight start to finish action packed with amazing layouts and great combat. Plus because its SNK and Neo Geo you know you are going to get some S tier sprite work thrown into the mix. The overall art style and vibe of shock troopers just does it for me with the slightly cartoonish characters mixed with some decent blood and gore effects in the sprites. Just classic SNK

and the soundtrack? A real "chefs kiss" moment.

But that got me thinking GAF? what are the other best run and gun games of all time? Sure we have Contra and Metal Slug...but there must be a ton more. Plus...anyone got any recommendations for modern run and guns? Haven't been paying THAT close attention lately but I'd love to hear the hive minds thoughts!

I agree…and the best part of the NEOGEO games is that they are on pretty much everything! I have so many NEOGEO games on Xbox only to rebuy most of them on Switch when I got the 8bitdo arcade stick! If only every company protected their legacy like SNK.

 

[Punished Miku]

Shock Troopers 1 and 2 totally hold up. Got them both on Switch. Highly recommended.

 

[cash_longfellow]

The run and gun genre was huge back in the day both in arcades and on home consoles. It was right up there with the fighting game and the shmup as far as "every company is going to make at least once and try to cash in on the fad" genres go. There were a lot of decent ones, a lot of iffy ones...and a decent handful of "hot holy hell that was good" run and guns too.

IMO Shock Troopers 100% falls into that "holy hell its good" category. SNK and their development partners took the concept of the run and gun...and forgive the stupid pun...ran with it. The gameplay, action and levels are just straight start to finish action packed with amazing layouts and great combat. Plus because its SNK and Neo Geo you know you are going to get some S tier sprite work thrown into the mix. The overall art style and vibe of shock troopers just does it for me with the slightly cartoonish characters mixed with some decent blood and gore effects in the sprites. Just classic SNK

and the soundtrack? A real "chefs kiss" moment.

But that got me thinking GAF? what are the other best run and gun games of all time? Sure we have Contra and Metal Slug...but there must be a ton more. Plus...anyone got any recommendations for modern run and guns? Haven't been paying THAT close attention lately but I'd love to hear the hive minds thoughts!

I am a huge fan of retro shooters and twin sticks. I never heard of this game before, but now I am hooking up my Pie to see if this is on there. Thanks for the suggestion OP.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I am a huge fan of retro shooters and twin sticks. I never heard of this game before, but now I am hooking up my Pie to see if this is on there. Thanks for the suggestion OP.

That’s what I’m here for!

 

[Bate]

Shock Troopers surely holds up. I played that with a friend last year.

I loved Dogs of War on the Amiga ages ago. Sadly, many/most Amiga games aren't available on modern storefronts.

 

[F31 Leopard]

I love Shock Troopers 1 but didn't really care for 2. As others mentioned MERCS is a good one too. Some run and guns I enjoyed as a kid other than obviously the Contra series were Midnight Resistance, Ikari Warriors and Commando. Edit: would Smash TV be considered run and gun? That's also one of my favorites.

 

[radewagon]

Shock Troopers is one those games that really makes the case for video game violence sometimes adding some much needed secret sauce. I cannot stand the game with the blood turned off. It's just so boring. But with blood turned on, the game just sings. It's a bloody messy spectacle that begs to be played.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Blazing Chrome and Cuphead are the best of the more recent run n gun games. Blazing Chrome in particular is a love letter to Contra.

Also, shout out to Contra 4 on Nintendo DS. That game is super underrated and maybe my favorite in the series.

 

[wondermega]

Whoa no mention of Gunstar? Collective amnesia going on here. I was surprised we never saw more proper run 'n guns in the 8 and 16 bit days on consoles, actually. It seems like a lay-up to make some money with, especially after Contra really proved the popularity of the genre. I can only think of a few instances, and nothing that was terribly notable, strangely.