shooters that change direction...

[shadobeni]

Most of the shooters seem to stick to scrolling in one direction and usually the ship always faces that direction. Ie left to right or bottom to top. Are there any shooters out there that switch it up a bit?

I look at an old game like Defender where you can actually turn your ship around and fly from right to left as well as left to right. I find it interesting that in most recent shooters that they don't allow you to turn your ship around (so you can shoot enemies that pass behind you) or simply just have levels that mix it up a bit and switch the scrolling direction.

At least that's my general impression, I haven't played a lot of shooters so maybe it's changed.

[Hobie-wan]

Recca for Famicom. Level 2 goes backwards for a while, but you're still shooting upwards.

Section Z and Sidearms both let you shoot left or right. Dead Moon lets you turn around if the boss goes to the other side of the screen.

Axelay switched between 'vertical pretending to be 3D' and horizontal.

Salamander/Life Force switches between horizontal and vertical stages. So do Forgotten Worlds and In the Hunt.

Gradius III arcade had a stage where you were flying into the scree in a pseudo 3d style, much like the base stages in Contra. The SNES port is just horizontal though.

Philosoma switches between horizontal and 3D. Galaga Destination Earth switches around from vertical, horizontal, and 3D.

That's what immediately jumped to mind.

[pepharytheworm]

How about Fantasy Zone. That's the only one I played you could turn around.

[Dylan]

Abadox for the NES. I think you actually go all four major directions in that game. I want to say that you change direction per level, but that might not be entirely correct.

[MrPopo]

Kolibri for the 32x let's you move left and right like Defender (and a bit of up and down scroll for a slightly larger playing area). Plus, it's the best hummingbird shooter for the 32x.

[Breetai]

I'll add Thunder Force II to the thread. The odd-numbered stages are overhead and let you fly wherever you'd like to go.

[pepharytheworm]

Kolibri for the 32x let's you move left and right like Defender (and a bit of up and down scroll for a slightly larger playing area). Plus, it's the best hummingbird shooter for the 32x.

Is there any other hummingbird shooters let alone hummingbird games?

[Hobie-wan]

I'll add Thunder Force II to the thread. The odd-numbered stages are overhead and let you fly wherever you'd like to go.

Wow, how did I forget that one?

Kolibri for the 32x let's you move left and right like Defender (and a bit of up and down scroll for a slightly larger playing area). Plus, it's the best hummingbird shooter for the 32x.

I almost put that, but then that opens it up for other roaming type shooters. Sinistar, Time Pilot and TP 84, (maybe) Bangai-O, and Jackal. Though I suppose the overhead TF II does as well.

Oh hey, Over Horizon lets you shoot backwards as well.

[Hobie-wan]

Kolibri for the 32x let's you move left and right like Defender (and a bit of up and down scroll for a slightly larger playing area). Plus, it's the best hummingbird shooter for the 32x.

Is there any other hummingbird shooters let alone hummingbird games?

He's making a Penny Arcade reference.

Now of course Kolibri is the finest on the 32X or anywhere else, but apparently it is NOT the only hummingbird video game.

[Ivo]

Jetstrike for the Amiga lets you pilot a huge array of stuff that flies (or, sometimes flies, in some cases), is viewed from the "side" (like horizontal shooters) but lets you rotate around 360 degrees. An older game is Wings of Fury which also lets you rotate.

There's also an helicopter game called "Apocalypse" on the Amiga viewed from the side that has you flying left or right and you turn around when you want (as it is a chopper, only left and right, although it leans forward and back of course).

There are several games that are sort of like Asteroids in that they let you rotate 360 viewed from the top. Some of them are viewed in Isometric instead of straight from the top (like the well-known Desert Strike and sequels).