Top 10 Run 'N Guns for 8- and 16-bit Consoles

[timewarpgamer]

Alright, I've tried this a few times before with my RPG, Shoot 'em up, and Beat 'em up lists. I'm trying to be a little more efficient this time, so I'm going to open up this discussion before I code up a web page that ends up being changed a million times as forum comments flow in. Here's a little guidance, so you know where I'm coming from:

The consoles I'm considering are:

NES (including FDS)
SMS
TG-16 (plus the CD games)
Genesis (and also Sega CD)
SNES

And in terms of defining run 'n guns, I'm trying to stick to Wikipedia's definition; basically, they're games with an emphasis on shooting, where you can fire 360 degrees, and they appear in both overhead and side-scrolling formats. With this in mind, technically Mega Man is a platformer and Metroid is an action-adventure game.

Top 10 First Draft

#1 - Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)
#2 - Contra (NES)
#3 - Contra: The Alien Wars (SNES)
#4 - Blaster Master (NES)
#5 - Guerilla War (NES)
#6 - Super Turrican (SNES)
#7 - Twinkle Tale (Genesis)
#8 - Cybernator (SNES)
#9 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES, Genesis)
#10 - Jackal (NES)

Honorable Mentions

Rendering Ranger R2 (SNES)
Soldiers of Fortune (Genesis, SNES)
Super Smash T.V. (SNES, Genesis, NES)

How's it look so far? Anything that should get dropped? Any additions?

[EDIT]
Here's the final list: http://timewarpgamer.com/top10s/run_n_guns.html
[/EDIT]

[Gooseberrysoda]

Smash TV would be my Number 1, but that's just me.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

No Contra Hard Corps?

[Dylan]

Actually, the closer you get to #1 the more I agree with you. Gunstar Heroes is one of my favorite games ever, let alone my hands down favorite within the criteria given. I haven't played a couple on the list, I'd say put Zombies ate my neighbors higher, but I'm curious as to the other titles. Maybe give them a try soon.

[isaacsquared]

No Contra Hard Corps?

I second that. I had a nice copy I found cheap, was just going to sell it... then I started playing it. No way it leaves the house unless it's packed next to my Nomad.

[timewarpgamer]

Smash TV would be my Number 1, but that's just me.

I love this game, too. The only thing that holds it back in my mind is that the level design doesn't offer as much diversity as the most of the other games in the list. I think the SNES version is easily the best of the bunch, thanks to the 4-button layout on the pads.

[timewarpgamer]

No Contra Hard Corps?

This will definitely get a shout-out in one of the Contra write-ups. It's hard to strike a balance between diversity in a list and just filling the whole thing up with the same franchise.

[timewarpgamer]

Actually, the closer you get to #1 the more I agree with you. Gunstar Heroes is one of my favorite games ever, let alone my hands down favorite within the criteria given. I haven't played a couple on the list, I'd say put Zombies ate my neighbors higher, but I'm curious as to the other titles. Maybe give them a try soon.

True that. There is an insane amount of space between #1 and #2. The list is deceptive that way. Gunstar Heroes is one of the best Genesis games, period.

[Bootaaay]

I'd nominate the PCE/TG16 version of Valkyrie no Densetsu;

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ ... lkyrie.htm

[timewarpgamer]

I'd nominate the PCE/TG16 version of Valkyrie no Densetsu

Damn, good call. I've already got that one in my top TG-16 list:
http://timewarpgamer.com/topgames/tg16.html

Mentally, I was thinking of this as more of an action-adventure title, but now that I reflect on it a little more, it really is pretty linear and you definitely shoot in all directions, so I think that calling it a run 'n gun would be a fair assessment. Silly genre definitions. This one is particularly treacherous.