The Unconverted

TENKOMORI SHOOTING

Nick discovers more lost arcade classics

DEVELOPER: NAMCO YEAR: 1998 GENRE: SHOOT-’EM-UP

■ Fans of lightgun games will often cite Point Blank as a great example of the genre, and it’s easy to see why – it’s packed with variety and humour, and will thoroughly test the marksmanship of any gamer. But did you know that Namco had applied the same gameplay template to traditional vertical shoot-’em-ups? It’s true, and it’s a bit of a forgotten classic too.

Tenkomori Shooting is a rather obscure game in which you need to get a monkey to the top of a tower – four, six or nine stories high depending on the difficulty you choose – by completing shooting minigames. On each floor, you get to choose from a few different games. One might task you with destroying a certain number of enemies, another might require you to shoot targets in a certain order, or maybe give you a limited number of shots with which to hit your target. Succeed, and you’ll advance to the next floor. Fail, and you lose a life.

It’s a fun game design, and just as with Point Blank, you’ll find that the presentation adds a lot to the game. Shooting bacteria is the sort of thing you might find in biologically-themed shoot-’em-ups, sure – but how many shooters have you shooting love hearts at women, or take place in sushi restaurants? Not many, we’d wager. The notable settings actually extend well beyond the comedic and into self-referential territory too, as Namco has included stages based on its own classic shooters such as Xevious and Galaga.

Tenkomori Shooting is one of those games that really flies under the radar, and deserves to be played by a wider audience. The fact that it never got a home conversion is a crying shame – it’s the sort of game that could have been handled by the Playstation, and while it almost certainly doesn’t have the appeal that Point Blank holds as a party game, there’s always a hardcore contingent of shoot-’em-up fans to satisfy. Thanks to the game’s rapid turnaround in objectives and settings, it’s a welcome change of pace that should do exactly that.

■ The goal here is to divide the bacteria into 45 pieces by shooting them. Your goal is displayed both before the game starts and in the bottom left corner. ■ Enemy bullets can kill you, but you won’t lose a life. Instead, you’ll just lose time to complete your objective, which is precious enough to be a problem.

■ The shogun in the back is the target here, and moves around slowly as you try to hit him with your limited supply of shurikens – you only get three. ■ These ninja guards can take two hits, so the ideal tactic is to use your first two shots to remove a ninja and create an opening to hit the shogun.