Euroshmups

Euroshmup is a slang term applied to some shmups, usually in a derogatory manner, as a means to criticize or highlight perceived flaws within that game.

Origin

A semi-derogatory term for European shooters produced during the mid to late 80s. At that point, the gaming industry in Europe was focused primarily on PCs and micro-computers (like the C64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, etc.) and as such, developers didn't necessarily conform to traditional game design used by American and Japanese studios found on consoles and in arcades.

As a result of this dissonance, there are several elements in shooters of that period that are typically seen as flaws and shortcomings by shmup fans accustom to the design standards of Japanese and North American to arcade games.

For this reason, European shmups became stigmatized by these "features". While this has changed significantly in recent years, with European studios releasing games that meet or exceed the standards of Japanese arcade titles (e.g. ZeroRanger, Gunvein, Jamestown, etc.), several titles matching this criteria developing a following among even traditional shmup fans, as well as Japanese studios and fans releasing shooters that share multiple design characteristics with Euroshmups (e.g. [[Fantasy Zone, Gun-Nac, Area 88, etc.), the stigma around European-developed shooters still lingers among many fans.

Definition

Although there is no concrete definition, elements of a euroshmup may often include:

• Ship physics / Ship momentum (inertia)
• Player shields / Health bars
• Unavoidable obstacles or enemies (which are meant to be absorbed with health bars or shields)
• No bullet patterns / Only simple aimed bullets
• Limited weapon ammo, which usually also introduces shops and money management into the game
• Lack of complex enemy ship AI such as ships that curve around the screen
• Extremely high enemy HP
• Very slow player bullets
• A large number of levels often with little variation between them
• No scoring systems

Other examples of these features include Weak firepower (leading to unsatisfying enemy encounters), overly simplistic enemy behavior and level design (leading to less exciting gameplay experience), use of healthbars (replacing the life/extend system) and in-game shops as a crutch to make players be able to beat otherwise barely possible levels, and large player hitboxes.

Games

Some examples of “euroshmups”:

• Raptor: Call of the Shadows (Cygnus Studios, DOS, 1994)
• Tyrian (Epic Megagames, DOS, 1995)
• Jets'n'Guns (Rake in Grass, Windows, 2004)
• Sky Force (Infinite Dreams, Symbian, 2004)
• Sine Mora (Digital Reality, Windows, 2012)
• CYGNI: All Guns Blazing (KeelWorks, Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, 2024)