Shooting game

Batsugun, considered the first manic shooter game, made by Toaplan

Shooting games are a genre of video games where the player has limited spatial control of his or her character (i.e. it is only possible to move on a 2D plane), and the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using long-range weaponry. The name of this genre is usually abbreviated to "STG" (shooting game) in the Eastern hemisphere; the terms "scrolling shooter" or "shmup" are used in the Western hemisphere, due to first-person shooters more or less taking that term over.

The most common types of shooting games are horizontal and vertical. Vertical STGs are games where the screen scrolls forward or backward (like in Touhou). Horizontal STGs are games where the screen scrolls to the left or right. More rarely, there are also games that use both styles; an example is the 3D game Ether Vapor, in which the screen switches between vertical, horizontal and even isometric views.

Shooting games usually feature solely the player character fighting against the entirety of the enemy forces. Most shooting games are split into several stages, with each stage ending with a fight against a boss before one can progress to the next stage. In addition, while the enemies fought may take a lot of punishment before they go down, the player character generally requires only one hit to be destroyed, adding to the challenge.

Examples of STGs include the Touhou series, Galaga, Gradius, DoDonPachi, ESP Ra.De., Mushihimesama, Twinbee, Psyvariar, Shikigami no Shiro, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun, Salamander, Einhänder, R-Type, Giga Wing, Blazing Star, Zero Wing, and many others.