History Main / FlipScreenScrolling

Common in games designed for old computers like the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} and UsefulNotes/AppleII which had no special video hardware for scrolling. Even the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem only had enough video RAM for scrolling in one direction (though extra VRAM could be put on cartridges), so it wasn't uncommon for NES games to use some flip screen transitions just to avoid the programming complexities of scrolling vertically and horizontally in the same area. More recent games featuring {{Retraux}} themes may purposefully invoke this.

* ''Cybernoid'' (originally for the UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC) flips from screen to screen when you reach the edge. However, it has a fun unit where an enemy appears just against the side you flipped in from.

** The first UsefulNotes/GameBoy title, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', has exclusively "flip" scrolling in both the above-view ''and'' platforming sections.[[note]]And a glitch in the former can be exploited for SequenceBreaking; for the [[UpdatedRerelease DX release]] they wised up and fixed most of the bugs surrounding the scrolling.[[/note]]

* The UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC oldie ''Mission Elevator'' displays three floors, and scrolls two floors at a time.

* ''VideoGame/{{Adventure}}'', with very confusing warping due to the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}}'s graphics limitations.

* ''VideoGame/{{Faxanadu}}''. Averted in the UsefulNotes/PC88 and UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}1 game it's based on, ''VideoGame/DragonSlayerIIXanadu'', even though those systems lack scrolling hardware.
* With many games that appeared both on the {{UsefulNotes/MSX}} and the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, the NES versions feature continuous scrolling within sub-levels in the horizontal direction only, but their MSX counterparts use flip-scrolling exclusively. To name a few:

** ''VideoGame/TheGoonies'' (the UsefulNotes/PC88 version, based on the NES version, also lacks scrolling)

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosSpecial'' for the UsefulNotes/PC88 flipped the screen not at the right edge, but a few tiles short from the edge. Together with RatchetScrolling as in the NES original, this imposes considerable FakeDifficulty, since the levels make jumping over screen boundaries ridiculously risky.

* ''VideoGame/KidNikiRadicalNinja'' does this in the UsefulNotes/AppleII and UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} versions.

* The UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC port of ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' (known as ''Gryzor'') scrolls by about two-thirds of a screen, in addition to its RatchetScrolling. The {{UsefulNotes/MSX2}} version scrolled at screen boundaries.

* ''VideoGame/AlienSyndrome'' (UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version)

* ''VideoGame/{{Skweek}}'' uses screen-flipping in the UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC and UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer ports.
* ''VideoGame/SmurfRescueInGargamelsCastle'' and ''VideoGame/CabbagePatchKidsAdventuresInThePark'', both UsefulNotes/ColecoVision games, use screen-flipping.

* ''Mad Professor Mariarti'': The UsefulNotes/AtariST version is purely flip-screen; the Platform/{{Amiga}} and Platform/AcornArchimedes versions have horizontal but not vertical scrolling.

* ''Mad Professor Mariarti'': The UsefulNotes/AtariST version is purely flip-screen; the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} and UsefulNotes/AcornArchimedes versions have horizontal but not vertical scrolling.

In the early days of video games, memory was limited and quite expensive, and some games simply could not afford the CPU cycles to present a continuous, smoothly scrolling game world. The world was thus divided into a series of "screens", analogous to rooms with fixed camera positions. Travelling off one side of the screen caused the game to scroll by an entire screen at a time to reveal the next area -- or, if the hardware couldn't afford ''actual'' scrolling -- simply "flip" to the next screen with no transitional effect.

* Atari 2600 ''[[VideoGame/Atari2600Superman Superman]]''

* ''Mad Professor Mariarti'': The UsefulNotes/AtariST version is purely flip-screen; the UsefulNotes/{{Atari}} and UsefulNotes/AcornArchimedes versions have horizontal but not vertical scrolling.

* All the 2D ''VideoGame/{{Hydlide}}'' games, except for the Sharp X1 port of the first game.

* The original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' scrolls in full-screen intervals, both horizontally and vertically. Dungeon maps were explicitly divided into a grid of discrete rooms, but the overworld map was not.

** The first UsefulNotes/GameBoy title, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', has exclusively "flip" scrolling in both the above-view ''and'' platforming sections.[[note]]And a glitch in the former can be exploited for SequenceBreaking; for the [[UpdatedRerelease DX release]] they wised up and fixed most of the bugs surrounding the scrolling.[[/note]] The [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle games]] also use it on the overworld map, but added rooms bigger than the screen in dungeons.

* The original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' scrolls in full-screen intervals, both horizontally and vertically. Dungeon maps were explicitly divided into a grid of discrete rooms, but the overworld map was not.

* ''VideoGame/NazoNoMurasamejo'' has this throughout the game.

** The first GameBoy title, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', has exclusively "flip" scrolling in both the above-view ''and'' platforming sections.[[note]]And a glitch in the former can be exploited for SequenceBreaking; for the [[UpdatedRerelease DX release]] they wised up and fixed most of the bugs surrounding the scrolling.[[/note]] The [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle games]] also use it on the overworld map, but added rooms bigger than the screen in dungeons.

** ''VideoGame/TheGoonies'' (the PC88 version, based on the NES version, also lacks scrolling)

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosSpecial'' for the PC88 flipped the screen not at the right edge, but a few tiles short from the edge. Together with RatchetScrolling as in the NES original, this imposes considerable FakeDifficulty, since the levels make jumping over screen boundaries ridiculously risky.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear1987'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' on the [=MSX2=] use flip screen scrolling, as did the NES version of ''Metal Gear'' and ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge'', the latter of which also had flip screen scrolling on its side-scrolling levels.

** ''MazeOfGalious''

* Many classic {{Adventure Game}}s, including those made by {{Sierra}} use discrete 'screens' with no transition effect between them, with [=NPCs=] and monsters (generally) limited to the screen they resided on.

* ''VideoGame/{{Faxanadu}}''. Averted in the PC88 and UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}1 game it's based on, ''VideoGame/DragonSlayerIIXanadu'', even though those systems lack scrolling hardware.
* With many games that appeared both on the {{MSX}} and the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, the NES versions feature continuous scrolling within sub-levels in the horizontal direction only, but their MSX counterparts use flip-scrolling exclusively. To name a few:

* The UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC port of ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' (known as ''Gryzor'') scrolls by about two-thirds of a screen, in addition to its RatchetScrolling. The {{MSX}}2 version scrolled at screen boundaries.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear1987'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' on the [=MSX2=] use flip screen scrolling, as did the NES version of ''Metal Gear'' and ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge''.

** ''Castle Excellent''/''{{Castlequest}}'' (the NES version still flips between rooms, but rebuilds them all to be wider than the screen)

* Early IsometricProjection games such as ''VideoGame/HeadOverHeels'' work this way, out of necessity.

* The UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC oldie ''Mission Elevator'' display three floors, and scroll two floors at a time.