Side-scrolling game

From Free net encyclopedia

A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a genre of video games in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right in order to reach their goals.

The most popular sub-genre of the side-scroller is the platform game, which are action games that feature jumping, climbing, and running characters who must be guided through many diverse levels. Games such as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog are among the most famous side-scrollers of this type.

The side-scrolling format is also popular among fighting games, especially the popular Street Fighter series by Capcom. Side-scrolling is even used in certain role-playing games such as the 2D Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or the Korean MMORPG Maple Story.

In recent years side-scrolling games have been largely phased out in favor of 3D games, which allow characters to move in all directions, rather than just forward or backward. Side-scrolling is still a popular format on handheld systems such as the Game Boy, since many games are ports. For the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable there are many games which move in all directions, such as Super Mario 64 DS, as well as side scrollers, such as Sonic Rush.

There are several multiplayer side-scrolling games, including Soldat.

Another popular style of side-scroller is the side-scrolling shooter typified by games like R-type and more recently Jets'n'Guns. In this game style the player usually starts with a basic ship that flies from left to right and aquires Power-ups that allow them to face an ever increasing horde of enemies. The popularity of this genre traces its roots back to such fast paced games as Defender.de:Side-Scroller