Coffee Talk #481: Your Favorite Run and Gun Shooters

I really enjoyed you guys and gals talking about your favorite beat-’em-up games yesterday. Today I’d love to hear about your favorite run-and-gun shooters. Another staple of 8-bit, 16-bit, and arcade gaming, these shooters all had the same concept: run and shoot. Differences in level design, character design, and…

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I really enjoyed you guys and gals talking about your favorite beat-’em-up games yesterday. Today I’d love to hear about your favorite run-and-gun shooters. Another staple of 8-bit, 16-bit, and arcade gaming, these shooters all had the same concept: run and shoot. Differences in level design, character design, and weapons made the best run-and-gun shooters distinct. From Ikari Warriors to Commando to Rambo to Rush’n Attack, these games sucked up countless quarters in arcades and consumed millions of hours on home consoles. Which games in this genre did you like best?

As for me, I have to go with Contra on the NES. The Konami code. The spread gun. The awesome multiplayer. Jumping so high that your partner perishes. Contra is just an amazing classic. I have so many fond memories of this game and I’m sure many of you feel similarly. Playing this game with my brother and my friend Alex Morgan…ah, the good old days.

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favorite run-and-gun shooters?

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

35 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #481: Your Favorite Run and Gun Shooters”

    1. I tried to get into the Metal Slug series, but I just couldn't do it. For some reason it just wasn't any fun for me.

      Granted, this happened like five years ago when I download one of the Metal Slug titles to my Wii console. Maybe the game doesn't age well.

      -M

  3. Could anyone actually beat Contra without the code? Is it even possible?

    Does 1943 count?

  4. Metal Slug was one of my favorites, though I did find another pretty good one called Heli Attack 3. That one's fun, and free. There are other side-scrolling games that are fun, though, and I'm kinda on-the-fence as to whether Megaman counts as a run-and-gun shooter. I don't think it does, though; any thoughts?

      1. See… this goes into my comment. How is Contra a Run 'n Gun if Mega Man is a platformer?

        I'm not trying to be crass, I seriously don't know and spent most of my life without clarification on this.

      2. I think the main distinguishing difference is that most run-and-gun games don't have pitfalls of death.

      3. … but Contra had pitfalls of death. In fact, when playing co-op, your partner (or you) could force the death fall (in the third level, especially) by forcing the level to scroll at an inopportune moment. Some people say it was a design flaw. I say it was genius to do it that way, because then it becomes a race to the top between you and your buddy. Many expletives will be used gratuitously and lasting bonds will form. Genius!

        -M

      4. Lasting bonds of hatred, really. I still remember 2-player Sonic the Hedgehog sessions where I would run off the screen while my buddy was flying around as Tails. He got annoyed.

      5. There are definitely games where it's close, but generally it's a difference in level design and focus. In broad terms, platforms require more precision jumping and have more of a puzzle element. The jumping in run-and-guns is generally not as important.

  5. If anybody is watching the Heat-Pacers game tonight, look for me in the crowd. I’ll be wearing white.

    ;)

    -M

    1. Wow, watching the Pacers being reduced to a high-school caliber team was just all sorts of awesome. Say what you want about LBJ, but the guy is fun to watch and an amazing ball player.

      I hope no one here was disappointed by Indiana's meltdown (*cough* bsukenyan, *cough*)

      -M

  6. I honestly wasn't a huge fan of this genre. Most of the example I can think of I'd call platformers.

    For example, does Ninja Gaiden count? I'd think of Contra as more of a platformer too. The ones I's consider Run & Gun are the ones where you didn't jump like Ikari Warriors, Metal Gear, or even Gauntlet.

  7. I enjoyed Heavy Barrel quite a bit.

    P.O.W for the Genesis, also pretty awesome

  9. I'm not really sure where you draw the line between "platformer" and "run & gun shooter". Contra and Mega Man are both platformers that were also shooters. I could even argue that Mega Man had light RPG elements to it. While we're at it, could Halo and Gears of War be considered "run & gun?" Just because they are first or third-person perspective shouldn't exclude the main premise of the game is running and shooting.

    Long story short; I think it is difficult to pigeon-hole a lot of games into one genre or the other. Regardless of where your definition lies, my favorite shooters of the 8 and 16-bit era were Contra and the Mega Man X series. I don't know why, but for some reason, wall-jumping made Mega Man just so much better… annoying, but better overall.

    -M

  11. Oh gun smoke! Good One slicky! SincE i have Played this recently but ikari warriors but was pretty awesome too! I spEnt many quarters on that cabinet.

    1. I hated that game in the arcade. Mainly because I found the joystick with the clicky knob annoying. I never really found a way to hold it right.

      1. I preferred the NES version because of that issue but before i got that game i fed a lot of quarters into it.

  12. One more. DId anyone play MERCS for the Genesis?

    That was actually the game i was thinking about when i said "P.O.W." in a prior comment.

    Operation Wolf??

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