Tenkomori Shooting

• Title — Tenkomori Shooting • Developer — Namco • Publisher — Namco • Released — 1998 • Genre — Shoot 'em up • Modes — Single-player, Multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade

With Tenkomori Shooting, Namco takes the formula of Point Blank and applies it to the shoot 'em up genre. The game, which can be played by one or two players, draws inspiration from the greatest moments of classic games in the genre, such as Xevious, Galaga, Tiger-Heli, Pang, 1942, Missile Command, Panzer Dragoon, Star Soldier, and R-Type. The interface consists of a joystick and a button, with the screen oriented vertically. The player controls a monkey whose goal is to reach the top of a tower made up of four, six, or nine floors (depending on the selected difficulty level). On each floor, the player must complete a shooting mini-game among the 26 available. The player has a limited time to complete each mission. If successful, they move to the next floor. If they fail, they lose a life. If they lose all their lives, the game is over. Enemies cannot kill the player, but each hit causes the player to lose time. Each mini-game has its own atmosphere and rules. These mini-games include eradicating as many enemies as possible while avoiding other targets, defeating a boss as quickly as possible, squashing all the cockroaches, sending hearts to a singer performing on stage, shooting down UFOs with rockets, and more. If the player performs well, they can unlock bonus stages, one of which is inspired by Time Crisis. The environments are varied, ranging from battlefields to bathrooms, a room filled with ninjas, a sushi restaurant, and more.