Line #154 Main/UnexpectedShmupLevel


1	[[quoteright:280:[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milky_way_wishes_ugc.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:Top: What 99% of the game is like.\
3	Bottom: Taking down Nova's gonna need some serious firepower.]]
4
5	A subcategory of UnexpectedGameplayChange often found in {{action game}}s, this is a level in which the PlayerCharacter enters a sequence reminiscent of an old-school ShootEmUp, usually of the side-scrolling space shooter variety. The sequence is usually triggered after gaining access to a certain vehicle or PowerUp. Because of its [[TheClimax climactic]] nature, this is a relatively common gameplay style for final levels and FinalBoss battles.
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7	As the example list shows, there are two very distinct forms of this level:
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9	# A 2D ShootEmUp where your character automatically moves along a left-to-right or bottom-to-top path, shooting down numerous [[{{Mooks}} enemy spaceships]] and collecting power ups. Think of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', ''VideoGame/RType'', ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'', or ''Franchise/TouhouProject''. Usually there's a boss battle at the end against a [[BattleshipRaid giant UFO/space ship/mecha]] or a {{reactor\|Boss}}.
10	# A 3D RailShooter level.
11
12	Can overlap with ActionBasedMission. Compare RPGElements.
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14	----
15	!!Examples
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17	[[foldercontrol]]
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19	[[folder:Shoot 'em Up Examples]]
20	* Level 2 of ''Battletoads'' for Platform/GameBoy is a horizontal-scrolling shmup level. Level 7 of the original ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' would be this, except that you can't shoot anything. Level 4 of ''Battletoads and Double Dragon'' is a turn-and-thrust shooting stage clearly based on ''VideoGame/SolarJetman'' (a previous Creator/{{Rare}} game for the NES), and the final level of the arcade ''Battletoads'' is best describable as a 2D side-view rail shooter. Another horizontal shooter level is "Pot Holing," exclusive to the Platform/{{Amiga}} port of ''Battletoads''.
21	* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'': The TrueFinalBoss of the ''Repentance'' DLC has Isaac grow a pair of wings and changes the perspective from isometric roguelike to side-scrolling shmup. It's not just for show either: items are affected by gravity and tear height can drastically alter the arc of your shots.
22	* The second-to-last boss in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' puts you in an on-rails spaceship boss fight to take down The Dragon's Tripod Terror.
23	* ''[[VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2]]'''s final level in the final episode has [[spoiler:the party fly to the moon on the Flying Armor they've built to fight the demon army head-on]]. You play a vertical shooter before you get to the actual final level. The pickups are speed and various sub-weapons from your party members that add extra attacks.
24	* ''VideoGame/BubbleAndSqueak'': The game is a PlatformGame where the second level, Strawberry Lagoon, has the duo piloting a submarine and shooting fish, octopi, and [[BossBattle a cat in a submarine]].
25	* ''VideoGame/BurningRangers'' is a third-person game based around a firefighter putting out fires, saving people, performing acrobatic movements with jetpacks and fighting giant monsters. However at one section of the game you control their spaceship and fly through a crumbling space station before it crashes into a massive spaceship that just came through a wormhole. Yeah, the game doesn't make a whole lot of sense in retrospect.
26	* ''VideoGame/CaptainAmericaAndTheAvengers'' turns into a horizontal shmup at two points: the middle of Scene 2, flying above a city, and the beginning of Scene 5, flying through space.
27	* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' turns into a HorizontalScrollingShooter for the BossBattle against Ironhead. (This is a ShoutOut to a previous Studio Pixel game, ''Ikachan'', which is however not a shmup but a {{Metroidvania}}.)
28	* In ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'', boss battles have the game suddenly change to a BulletHell-like game where you use the arrow keys to dodge attacks and the mouse to paint when the boss is vulnerable.
29	* ''VideoGame/TheCloserGameOfTheYearEdition'' has one party member's combat mechanics be entirely based around shmup mechanics, with them shooting enemies and collecting powerups until they're overwhelmed by numbers.
30	* In the second ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' there is a bonus where you can play a 2D shooter with Cielo.
31	* ''VideoGame/DarkNebula2'' has one right at the end of the game in which you link up to a space-ship and fly into the sky to do battle with the final boss and escape.
32	* ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife'' has a shmup level once you draw the Rocket Ship.
33	** Its sequel, ''Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter'', has three unexpected shmup levels, one of which contains two consecutive boss fights.
34	* ''VideoGame/DynamiteHeaddy'' has not one, but '''two''' consecutive shoot-em-up levels. At the start of the first, and at regular intervals throughout both, you can select one of three different flight heads for Headdy. The Air Head turns Headdy's head into an airplane and lets him fire 3-way bullets either left or right. The Feather Head gives him a bird head, letting him spit projectiles which arc downward. The Rocket Head turns his head into a missile, letting him fly faster than normal and shoot penetrating lasers straight forward, but he can only face to the right.
35	** This act also has two bosses (only counting bosses that have their own scene, otherwise three)- RecurringBoss Trouble Bruin, now piloting the Wheeler Dealer, and the act’s final boss, Baby Face.
36	* ''VideoGame/FelixTheCat'' on the NES has one of these when Felix is flying his spaceship in order to get The Professor's lair on an alien planet. This is also one of the more difficult levels, as you '''have''' to keep on collecting power-ups in order to keep your spaceship going; unlike the other levels, Felix can't survive without his spaceship.
37	* ''VideoGame/FoxNForests'': The game is mainly a PlatformGame, but the second level of the Summer Season, Tricky Treetops, changes it into an auto-sides-crolling shooter where [[PlayerCharacter Rick]] is riding on Patty's back as she flies him over a burning forest.
38	* ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'' features a spaceship level near the end. Interestingly, your weapons still work the same way as they normally do.
39	* Happens near the end of ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' when the Kid jumps into the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]].
40	* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' has the flyer which is piloted in a vertical shmup against enemy flyers. Option flyer missions unlock additional abilities for the flyer.
41	* In the Super Story Mode of the PS version of ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureHeritageForTheFuture'', the fight against Lovers and its drones is the side-scrolling version of this.
42	* ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'':
43	** ''VideoGame/KidIcarus1986'': The final level, which makes up for the entirety of the fourth world, is a HorizontalScrollingShooter.
44	** ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', which is already mostly a shooting game, has a straight shoot-em-up segment when you use the Lightning Chariot. Oddly enough you can beat many enemies by ramming into them; only shots and asteroids actually hurt you.
45	* ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' games have a tradition of becoming shmups for penultimate battles (which, humorously, makes them ''Expected'' Shmup Levels), usually in conjunction with an EleventhHourSuperpower, starting with the second game in the series, ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', and reaching an apotheosis in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. As it's standard for the series, ''unexpected'' is probably the wrong word, but, let's face it, the rest of the stages are about a cuddly pink thing running around and eating stuff.
46	** ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', the first game, used it for the level 3 boss fight with Kaboola instead. This boss was left out of the rehash of the game in ''Kirby Super Star'', but finally made a comeback in the Revenge of the King mode ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'', now renamed Kabula.
47	** This was used this for the last final boss fight in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror''.
48	** ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' has two types of these. The first is the Rocket Metamortex, which transforms into a rocket ship that goes upwards. The second is [[spoiler:the Starship Metamortex, which brings back the Starship from ''Kirby Super Star'' for a battle with Kracko in Cloud Palace]]. It returns again in the final BonusLevel.
49	** [[OverlyLongGag And again in]] ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand''. [[spoiler:The tradition is played with somewhat this time, if you've been paying attention to the pattern of past games.]]
50	** ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' features this to a larger degree than in past titles, with multiple stages utilizing the Robobot Armor's Jet mode for shooter segments. [[spoiler:Kabula also makes another return as a surprise boss.]]
51	* ''VideoGame/KosodateQuizMyAngel'' in [=PS1=] version has one of unexpected bonus stages where parents must protect their child from mosquitoes in a form of this, if you succeed, the game will reward you an extra heart.
52	* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'''s battle against Palenque (complete with a graphical reference to ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} 2 MSX''.)
53	** Room 21 of the [[BonusLevelOfHell Hell Temple]] requires you to [[spoiler:score enough points on a [[AffectionateParody parody]] of a [[VideoGame/{{Parodius}} parody]] of ''Gradius'']].
54	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Boktai}} Lunar Knights]]'' is a surprisingly enjoyable Zelda/Diablo clone, with a rather unfortunate design decision to cap off every boss fight with a ten-minute-long unskippable really freakin' hard space shooter level. Making the shooter levels even harder is that the DS stylus is used to move your ship ''and'' to fire your guns, so you can only do one or the other at any given time.
55	* ''VideoGame/{{Machinarium}}'' has an in-game walkthrough, but every time you access it you must first complete a shmup {{Minigame}}. Perhaps intentionally, the game is incredibly boring, with one enemy type, no power-ups or alternate attacks, slow movement speed, and controls of limited responsiveness.
56	* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' on the Platform/SegaSaturn ends with two ''brutally'' hard vertical-shooter bosses.
57	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series:
58	** ''VideoGame/MegaManV'' (GB) has a Shmup level right before the final stage.
59	** ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' has this happening twice during the course of the game, first during Tengu Man's stage and then in Wily's Castle.
60	** And the jet ski section of Wave Man's stage in ''VideoGame/MegaMan5''.
61	** ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'' has two of the 8 maverick stages as behind the rail shooters.
62	** ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'' has the second half of Cossack Castle Stage 1. Mega Man rode on the Balloon Adaptor until Shadow Man ambushed him. Rush saved him and Mega Man defeated Shadow Man, enabling the usage of the Robot Master Weapons for the rest of the stage.
63	** Wily Stage 2: Dreadnought in ''VideoGame/Rockman7EP'' is one, much like Cossack 1 from Minus Infinity. In fact, the stage itself is lifted directly from the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' series, with Gamerizer's patterns changed to the Yorogaton Chimera from ''Gradius 4''.
64	* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'':
65	** ''Metal Slug 3'' has a vertical space shooter level as an intro to the last level.
66	** ''Metal Slug 5'' has a level that starts out as a normal one, but becomes an Unexpected Shmup Level in the final section just before the level's boss (which is a giant airplane with turrets and missile launchers).
67	** ''Metal Slug 6'' does this in the San Francisco level. Youu're crossing the (mostly-destroyed) Golden Gate Bridge, fighting aliens left and right, and reach one of two dead ends where you either hop into a Slug Flyer or allow Rootmars, the Flying Alien, to give you a lift.
68	* ''VideoGame/MsPacManMazeMadness'' has a bonus stage called Pier Pressure where Ms. Pac steers a boat through an AutoScrollingLevel while firing rockets at other ships being driven by ghosts that attack her once she gets close.
69	* ''VideoGame/MushroomKingdomFusion'' was going to have a whole ''world'' based on this, but it was replaced with a fantasy / mythological world and the shmup gameplay system was scrapped due to being an example of AuthorAppeal.
70	* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' ''begins'' with this, and alternating between vertical scrolling shooter, multi directional twin stick shooter, forward fixed scrolling flight, and horizontal scrolling shooter before even going to the hack and slash segments that makes up the bulk of the game. Later the game alternates between hack and slash, side scrolling, top down, and the aforementioned shmup segments again in various segments.
71	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'': The game fills the time to the Rank 4 fight by having Travis fall asleep on a train and dream that he's playing a vertical shooter based on the ShowWithinAShow ''Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly''.
72	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'': From Travis' TV in his apartment room, it's possible to access a GameWithinAGame based on ''Bizarre Jelly 5''. Completing it on any difficulty unlocks an anime opening scene based on the game's fictional anime adaptation.
73	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII'': Both the first boss in its second phase and certain giant-sized minibosses over the course of the game are fought with Travis piloting a huge mecha in outer space.
74	* The boss level of the Space world in ''VideoGame/PacManWorld'' and its remake forgoes the platforming gameplay of the rest of the game and has Pac-Man ride atop a small spaceship and fly through space shooting at alien bugs just like the ones from fellow Namco arcade classic ''{{VideoGame/Galaxian}}''. The final boss of the stage is a giant King Galaxian ship that he must destroy by shooting at its eyes.
75	* The SNES game based on ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesOfDarkWater'' have a shump level against a boss called a Feryx, with the players riding on gryphon or eagle steeds and suddenly gaining an unlimited amount of arrows to use on the Feryx. After defeating said boss, the players land and the game goes back to kicking and punching.
76	* In ''Film/TheRocketeer'' for the SNES, the "Chase" and "Armada" levels are side-scrolling shooters. Then again, it's a GameplayRoulette.
77	* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'':
78	** The original game has three of these levels; the first leading to King El Zebulos' castle, the second through the city of the Devotindos Empire, and the third one through space on the way to the Pig Star.
79	** The {{Platform/SNES}} spin-off, ''Sparkster'', has an overhead variant in the seventh stage, that ends with Sparkster and [[EvilCounterpart Axel Gear]] battling each other in giant robots.
80	* ''VideoGame/{{SeGaGaGa}}'' ends with a shoot-em-up segment straight out of ''VideoGame/ThunderForce V'', despite the rest of the game being an RPG/corporation sim. You fight various Sega game systems: the SG-1000, the Master System, then the Megadrive with the Platform/SegaCD reader and 32X.
81	** You can play this sequence as a minigame afterward, and you can select from two ships: the R-360 cabinet you use in the story mode, and the Syrinx, which was meant to be the main ship for ''VideoGame/ThunderForce VI'' on the Dreamcast before it got scrapped. The final boss theme, ''The Justice Ray Part.3'' is also on the "Broken Thunder" soundtrack for ''VideoGame/ThunderForce VI''.
82	* ''Shockman'', normally a poor-man's Mega Man clone, becomes an ''VideoGame/RType''-style shmup in its third and sixth levels.
83	* Most of ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishment'' is a third-person rail shooter, but one level turns the perspective into a side-scrolling affair.
84	* In ''VideoGame/SolarJetman'', the final act after you complete the Golden Warpship is a side-scrolling shmup.
85	* Many ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games, following ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic and Knuckles]]'', tend to have a TrueFinalBoss battle that plays like this as a reward for collecting all of the GreenRocks, getting HundredPercentCompletion, etc. The main character goes {{Super\|Mode}} and flies off to fight the Big Bad by either shooting at it or ramming into it. Or in one case, letting it shoot at you and then ramming the things it shot.
86	** Sky Chase Zone from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' is an odd borderline case, as you're on a biplane and the level is arranged like a horizontal shooter, but you still control and attack like in the normal platforming levels.
87	** ''WebVideo/SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition''[[labelnote:*]]an AffectionateParody of ''Sonic'', taking the form of a LetsPlay of a fictitious UpdatedRerelease[[/labelnote]] has a side-scrolling shooter level (blatantly "borrowed" from ''VideoGame/SeGaGaGa'') in which you fight various Sega game systems. By that point, it's probably the most sensible thing that's happened.
88	** ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' has a hacking minigame that play like an homage to ''{{VideoGame/Ikaruga}}''. [[spoiler:It's also {{foreshadowing}} for the TrueFinalBoss (unlocked by beating the regular final boss on Hard), which plays the same as the hacking minigames.]]
89	** Frozen Base Zone Act 2 from ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' has you controlling an Eggmobile modified by Tails, with the goal being to destroy a set number of targets, upon which you boost into space and fight the boss. Like with ''Frontiers'', this one plays like a homage to ''VideoGame/FantasyZone''.
90	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsEpisodeIJediPowerBattles'', for most of the game, have you playing as various Jedi slicing up enemies with your lightsaber, save for the level in Theed which begins with you taking down a battle droid on a STAP in a cutscene, and then using the STAP to take a shortcut to the city's center, shooting enemy droids along the way froma top-down perspective.
91	* ''VideoGame/Stinkoman20X6'' has this happen on level 9.
92	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
93	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'': Levels 2-3 and 4-3 are this kind of level, with Mario in the Marine Pop submarine for the former and the Sky Pop airplane for the latter.
94	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' has a literally on-rails mission in Pinna Park where one must get water rockets while on a roller coaster to aim and fire at Mecha-Bowser while avoiding Bullet Bills from behind. This is repeated in the same world except with shooting down balloons under a time limit.
95	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'': Because of how the Course Maker works and with the number of bullets and projectiles that can appear on-screen, players can invoke this trope by creating their own shmup levels using Lakitu's Cloud or the Koopa Clown Car. A later update included the Fire Koopa Clown Car for this purpose, and two levels in the 3DS version are designed to showcase this trope (one of them even has the optional challenge for the player to reach a certain score by defeating as many enemies in a row as possible).
96	** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': The first part of the Outer Space chapter and the battle against Brobot have elements of this.
97	** ''VideoGame/MarioPartyDS'': The boss battle against Kamek has the challenger fly across the former's library with the help of a magical book, and along the way they have to shoot ink at flying books and dodge moving bookshelfs (or move through them if they have open sections with few books). Eventually, the player's character reaches the central room where Kamek awaits, and the objective is to shoot ink at his face while dodging his wand's energy projectiles as well as the books he's sending to them (once again, the player does all of this while moving around with the magical book they're traveling with). When his face is fully covered up, Kamek will react aggressively and make several books fall down, and those have to be dodged as well; when one of the books falls onto his head, he loses health and the procedure has to be repeated. Once three books fall above his head, Kamek faints and the player's character wins the fight.
98	** ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'': Kamek's Rocket Rampage plays like a side-scrolling shoot-em-up game. Players fly around the screen in planes and score points by collecting rockets and firing them at Kamek, all while avoiding his attacks.
99	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareIncMegaMicrogames'': One of the boss microgames puts the player (who is driving a spaceship) in a shmup level where they have to destroy incoming enemy ships, and eventually defeat a boss whose weak point is a core that periodically leaves its body for a brief while.
100	* ''VideoGame/ThunderHoop: Strike Back'' have levels in which you're supercharged with energy, sending you hurtling through space as you blast your way past enemy ships, in a game where most of the action is on foot.
101	* While it's tough to consider it "unexpected" given the BulletHell [[Franchise/TouhouProject franchise it's based on]], the World 6-2-4 boss in the mostly Mario-like fan-game ''VideoGame/SuperMarisaWorld'', Kaguya, is a side-scrolling version of the Kaguya fight from ''VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight''. (The level itself is based on the aforementioned ''Super Mario Land'' 4-3, as despite the title suggesting its a straight ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' knockoff, every pre-''64'' Mario game is referenced at times--even ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' and ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins''.)
102	* ''Super VideoGame/SpyHunter'' 's fourth stage is an AutoScrollingLevel on a highway in the sky, and the fifth stage is one-third boat shooter and one third airplane shooter, complete with [[SpreadShot spreadfire vulcan]] and missiles. The boat levels in the first game also count.
103	* The PS (and presumably PSP) version(s) of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' have a pretty elaborate shooter minigame available at a [[TechnoWreckage broken-down hi-tech town]] called Groovy Arche, starring the resident BlackMagicianGirl, you guessed it, Arche, complete with 3 weapons that can be powered up and used simultaneously, bombs, complex scoring system and lots of voice clips unique to the minigame. Too bad it's only 2 levels long and to get to the second one, you need to score high enough in the first one, which is no easy feat. It was popular enough to be made into a separate cellphone game.
104	* The ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}}'' games have this a lot, most notably in ''Turrican II'' where the entire third world is played as rather excellent 2D space shooter, lampshaded with a Force power-up from R-Type seen hanging by the world 2 exit.
105	* The UrExample is the first ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'', which included a space shooter segment inside what was normally an RPG -- published in 1981.
106	* In ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3]]'', of all things, completing the game would let you choose one of a number of rewards (though the game wouldn't tell you what they were until you picked one). They included character bios, fatality demonstrations, particularly hard bonus fights... and a ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''-themed shoot-em-up minigame.
107	* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
108	** There's a form of this in the Yellow SOUL segments during a few of the Mettaton fights, most prominently featured in [[spoiler: [[SuperMode Mettaton EX]]]]. While you are in Yellow SOUL form, you can move like normal, but can fire a magical bolt upward by pressing Z. This is [[spoiler:actually incapable of damaging the target]], but it is excellent at destroying (boxes, bombs) or modifying (disco ball, arms, [[spoiler:legs, and Mettaton's SOUL]]) attacks, making it a strong utility power and by far the most useful SOUL color.
109	** Yellow SOUL color makes another appearance in [[spoiler:the [[FinalExamBoss Asriel Dreemurr]] fight at the end of True Pacifist. Here, you call upon Alphys as a Lost Soul to help you, and she attacks you like the rest of the Lost Souls. However, she uses much of the same attacks Mettaton EX does, so nothing new here]].
110	** [[spoiler:Alphys [[NonActionGuy is not a fighter by any stretch of the definition]], but she was able to construct Mettaton, who is a mild (and ultimately subverted) KillerRobot. If [[BatmanGrabsAGun she had to fight]], she likely would simply use the weaponry she designed and built for him]].
111	* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', the follow-up to ''Undertale'', has the Yellow SOUL mechanic return with the addition of a ChargedAttack, with Susie and Ralsei gaining unique [=ACTs=] granting you faster charging and an OrbitingParticleShield. It shows up primarily in the [[spoiler:[[OptionalBoss Spamton NEO fight]] in Chapter 2]].
112	* ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' and its sequel allow you to pilot the Six Machine through part of a level.
113	* ''VideoGame/WaiWaiWorld'' has a shmup level towards the end, where the player is given the choice of flying either [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] or VideoGame/TwinBee. The sequel has a short one in the middle of the first world and then later stages in the style of ''[=TwinBee=]'' and ''Gradius''.
114	* ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'''s Subwarine (no, that is not a misspelling) underwater levels were this type of level.
115	* ''VideoGame/WarioWare''
116	** The boss game for Dribble and Spitz's level in the first game is a sudden scrolling shooter against a group of very geometric aliens.
117	** In ''[[VideoGame/WarioWare WarioWare: Twisted!]]'', in Kat & Ana's boss stage, you play as a robot who shoots out hands with fingers extended, destroying noses by picking them (nose-picking is SeriousBusiness at VideoGame/WarioWare Inc)
118	** In ''Touched!!'', Ashley's boss stage has you controlling the Earth itself, dodging bullets and other stuff before finally shooting away at an alien mothership, similar to a heavily toned-down version of ''Franchise/TouhouProject''.
119	** Seeing how the game is based around GameplayRoulette, there are 3-second SHMUP sections in all of the games in the series.
120	* Non-videogame example: Keima from ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' plays a horse racing game that suddenly becomes BulletHell.
121	* In ''VideoGame/Rayman3HoodlumHavoc'' the second phase of the final boss fight Rayman jumps into a plane and has to fight the boss to win the game.
122	* Quite a number of {{Mini Game}}s from ''VideoGame/MiniRobotWars'' are like this.
123	* Shows up in several ''VideoGame/BatmanSunsoft'' games:
124	** The "Gotham City Street" stage in ''Batman'' for the Platform/SegaGenesis is nominally a Batmobile driving level, but it actually plays as a horizontal shooter. The later sky stage with the Batwing (also featured in the Platform/GameBoy version) is a more normally styled example, aside from the MonsterClown inflatables.
125	** ''Batman: Return of the Joker'' for the NES also has two shooter stages (2-2 and 5-2) where Batman flies down horizontal tunnels in a JetPack.
126	** ''Batman'' for Game Boy has two Batwing stages.
127	* ''VideoGame/TakeshisChallenge'' has the hang-gliding level, a horizontal scrolling stage which is made all the more infuriating because of the inability to gain height without gusts of wind that can fall victim to shots.
128	* In ''VideoGame/{{Bravoman}}'', the UnderTheSea levels all play shmup style, with the ordinary attacking and jumping controls now producing missiles and depth charges.
129	* The Cloud Land boss battle in ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' combines this with a BattleshipRaid against an airship/zeppelin. Earlier, the River stage is a vertical-scrolling shmup-style level on a raft.
130	* ''VideoGame/FinalZone II'', a run-and-gun shooter, switches to continuous vertical-scrolling helicopter action in Round 3.
131	* In the ''VideoGame/AdventureTime'' video game ''Hey, Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!'', [[spoiler: [[DramaQueen Lumpy Space Princess]] goes on a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum when she finds Finn threw out the home-made ashtray she made for his birthday, and tries to [[DisproportionateRetribution sabotage the Lumpy Space Reactor Core and blow up all of Ooo]]. Finn and Jake proceed to ride Lady Rainicorn through Lumpy Space in order to stop LSP... by blasting her with rainbow-colored lasers. All this while a delightfully-cheesy pop song plays (in the 3DS version).]]
132	* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' you have to shoot a bunch of enemy ships before they let you take off on the Ebon Hawk for the first time. This also has a random chance of occurring every time the Ebon Hawk leaves a planet.
133	* Creator/{{Taito}}'s ''Superman'' UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ends each stage with a HorizontalScrollingShooter section. ''The Death and Return of Superman'', a BeatEmUp by Creator/{{Sunsoft}} for the Platform/SuperNintendo, has similar segments.
134	* In ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', the game transitions from the land-based platforming section to the underwater-but-it-doesn't-much-matter platforming section with a side-scrolling underwater shooter featuring you piloting the ''HMS Gryphon'' and avoiding the Shipwreck Sharks and Cannon Crabs and their shots or shooting them with cannonballs and depth charges. [[spoiler:There's an achievement for getting through using only one ship.]]
135	* ''AVGN'' licensed games:
136	** ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'' has multiple auto-scrolling shooter sequences, such as the ''VideoGame/SilverSurfer1990'' sequence in "Future Fuckballs 2010"(reprised in "[[AllTheWorldsAreAStage Laughin' Jokin' Numbnuts]]"), the [[Film/TheGiantClaw Giant Claw]] fight in "Dungeons and Dickholes" and the shark ride in "Thy Farts Consumed".
137	** The sequel, ''[[VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdIIAssimilation ASSimilation]]'' has a few as well. The first one is "Sush 'Em Up" in Nerd Gaiden, where he mounts a flying tanuki with [[PlayingWithFire fiery]] [[BallsOfSteel testicles]] and fights a [[Anime/MyNeighborTotoro Totoro]] {{expy}} named Scrotoro. A part of "Hippo Hell" turns into a shmup level when the Nerd jumps onto a helicopter. That is immediately followed by "You'll get caught up" which is a straight shmup level that is a reference to the commercial for the 1990's board game "Crossfire".
138	* ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'' has a bubble-shooting underwater section like this right before the final boss.
139	%%* Every chapter of ''WesternAnimation/AstroBoy: The Video Game'' has at least one shmup level.
140	* ''VideoGame/YoJoeBeatTheGhosts'': This is how you move from one level to another. Additonally, it is a good chance to gain additional lives by collecting power-ups and avoiding damage.
141	* ''VideoGame/BladesOfSteel'' sometimes has the player attempt one of these (projected on the arena Jumbotron) in between the second and third periods.
142	* You can invoke this deliberately in ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'', for a game revolves around a LevelEditor.
143	* ''VideoGame/YoshisWoollyWorld'' has a portion of World 3-7 and World 6-7 after Yoshi is transformed into an airplane name Sky Pop Yoshi.
144	* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' has a portion before Battle Glacier in Adventure and Classic modes that involves shooting flying enemies, either with [[spoiler: Dragon Pangu]] as Lilac, who acts as a flying shooter ship with straight line shots, or with one of Zao's tanks as Carol or Milla, which can double jump and can aim with its primary weapon.
145	** The [[VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2 sequel]] features the level "Bakunawa Chase", which involves the heroines guiding Mayor Zao's airship towards the raising Bakunawa after it has been resurrected by [[BigBad Merga]]. The level culminates in a battle against GiantEnemyCrab robot Crabulon.
146	* The first and third ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty'' games have BulletHell shmup segments. YMMV if they're really unexpected though, [[GenreBusting since the games try to incorporate as many video game genres into them as possible]].
147	* ''VideoGame/GunmanClive'' has a shoot-em-up level at the start of the final set of levels when Clive (or Ms. Johnson) climbs onto a rocket to chase after aliens.
148	* Quite common in the VideoGame/{{LEGO\|AdaptationGame}} video games. Titles such as [[VideoGame/LEGOBatman LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham]] have sidescrolling shooter examples, with the player moving left or right in a circular area. Other games, like [[VideoGame/LEGOStarWars Star Wars]] or [[VideoGame/LEGOMarvelsAvengers Marvel's Avengers]] use the rail-shooter type.
149	* ''[[VideoGame/AlexKidd Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle]]'' has the In The Air level, where Alex is required to use the missile-firing Pedicopter to fly over a long distance and get to the castle. The Pedicopter can be used in other levels too, but it's not required there and there's very rarely opportunity for long shmup runs.
150	* The remake of ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' features a few segments that are horizontal shoot-em-up stages when playing as Mercedes. As she is a fairy and the only playable character with a ranged weapon, they suit her quite well.
151	* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' introduces shmup-style autoscrolling in "The Tube", and "Welcome to the Machine".
152	* ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline'' does this in its Shattered Connexion event; the final battle between [=M4A1=] and Isomer Black [[spoiler:or rather, Nimogen]] is a BulletHell Shoot 'em Up level. In this battle, you need to move your unit with an analog stick to dodge bullets while using your unit skills to take down the boss.
153	* ''VideoGame/TheMessenger2018'': The Elemental Skylands become this, with the Ninja riding a fireball-spitting dragon in an autoscrolling area, ending on a shmup boss battle in the form of the Clockwork Concierge.
154	* ''VideoGame/WrathOfTheBlackManta'': The second level is a side-scrolling shooter where Black Manta [[KiteRiding flies around on a kite]], shooting down other ninjas.
155	* The video game based on the film ''Film/SuburbanCommando'' actually ''begins'' with a shmup level, while all the rest of the stages are platforming action suspiciously similar to then-recent ''Superfrog'' by Team 17. Come to think of it, the starting level is similar to another game by Team 17, the shmup ''Project X''.
156	* In ''VideoGame/DensetsuNoStafy4'', the Propeller Bit is a rabbit-like helicopter vehicle that throws carrots as ammunition and shows up in some levels, including the battle against Owlrun—thankfully without its usual OneHitPointWonder status.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Rail Shooter Examples]]
160	* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' goes from hack-and-slash to a rail shooter for Chapter 14, inspired by the classic Sega arcade game ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''. True to the game's mood, you're not flying a jet, spaceship, or even unassisted; you're riding a missile toward the next area.
161	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'', after hack'n'slashing your way through the entire game, ends with two of these. [[spoiler:The first one is the first battle against Mundus, then, after battling his second form, going through a TimedMission that has you escaping the place, and then throwing down with his third and final form, Dante and Trish escape on a biplane in the second and final rail shooter level]].
162	* ''VideoGame/MarlowBriggsAndTheMaskOfDeath'' does this every time you take control of a turret. The first boss is entirely this save for the finishing move which is delivered via QTE.
163	* The battle against N. Gin in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'' was basically a rail shooter.
164	* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' is an action-adventure game with shoot-em-up mini-games between the HubLevel and the different dungeons. And the final boss is fought this way as well.
165	* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' includes two rail shooter levels in Sonic's story via the Sky Chase minigames.
166	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
167	** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'': The credits of the game become part of a shooting minigame, and this tradition was carried over to all subsequent games (except for the Adventure Mode of ''Brawl'' and ''Ultimate'', which use standard credits).
168	** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'': The game does this when you beat Classic or All-Star mode. It also features the Coin Shooter minigame that lets you collect trophies and stickers, and is a [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer great source of distraction]].
169	* The two Pegasus segments of ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'' might feel familiar to those who played ''VideoGame/StarFox64''. Of course, without Peppy saying [[MemeticMutation "Do a barrel roll!"]]
170	* One of the {{minigame}}s from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a rail shooter. Literally. You're firing from a roller coaster car and you can see the tracks.
171	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesTheCrystalBearers'' has this right at the beginning.
172	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
173	** The TrueFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'' is fought in this manner, though you're not chasing the boss, instead circling around it to avoid its attacks and taking aim at various parts to cripple it and expose its weak point.
174	** With 2D shooter segments already present in multiple stages of ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'', it opts to change things up for the final battle by making it a 3D rail shooter instead.
175	* ''VideoGame/{{Cyberia}}'' included a first-person rail shooter segment near the end of the game.
176	* The Prague Countryside truck ride and Colombia helicopter ride in ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune II: Double Helix''.
177	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' has few rail-shooter segments, such as the car ride level in the first game. Prominently featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are: Death from Above, Shock and Awe, and Game Over (the final mission).
178	* A rare case of a shmup having an Unexpected Different Kind of Shmup Level: ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} III'' (Arcade version) had a 3D rail shooter sequence pop up in the fourth stage, the difficulty here being using the [[ThatOneLevel impossible controls to avoid walls]].
179	* ''VideoGame/RedFaction 2'': "Shrike's Wild Ride" and "Tank on the Town".
180	* Konami's ''VideoGame/{{Ajax}}'' alternates between a top-down helicopter ShootEmUp and a 3D jet rail shooter. A form of GameplayRoulette, actually.
181	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Driver}} DRIV3R]]'' features a rail shooter mission in France. And then again in Istanbul, only here, you have a {{BFG}}. No more needing to burst the police cruisers after you with a [[BoringButPractical machine pistol]]!
182	* The ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' series does this several times, ''e.g.'' the jeep level in ''Allied Assault'', the halftrack ride in ''Spearhead'', and the truck ride and MinecartMadness sequences in ''Frontline''.
183	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
184	** The series does this with the Gummi Ship, which is used to travel between worlds. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' plays the trope even straighter: while the ''Kingdom Hearts'' example was essentially a 3D standard "moving forward" shmup, ''Kingdom Hearts II'' updates it to be a full rail shooter. It even adds a BattleshipRaid complete with a ReactorBoss. And then there's the random rail-shooter segment during the [[FinalBoss final battle]] which does not involve the Gummi Ship. And that's leaving out the minigame in Christmas Town...
185	** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'', the entire ending stage of Wonderland, including the boss, is a rail-shooter.
186	** Dive Mode ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' is closer to a rail-shooter than anything else.
187	* ''Franchise/JamesBond''
188	** ''VideoGame/AgentUnderFire'' has one in the second mission. The first mission is standard FPS controls. The second? Rail shooter. Then it's [[GameplayRoulette a DRIVING MISSION.]]
189	-->'''Bond:''' ''(to partner)'' You drive, I'll shoot!
190	** The LicensedGame of ''VideoGame/TomorrowNeverDies'' also has a ''VideoGame/SpyHunter''-style driving level.
191	* The 3D ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games every now and then include a mission where you're gunning enemies from a moving vehicle.
192	* Subverted in The "Da Nang Thang" from ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'', where it initially looks like it's going this route, only for your helicopter to be shot down almost immediately, forcing you to complete things on foot.
193	* In ''VideoGame/SuperStarWars'':
194	** Two early levels have the player shooting Jawas in a landspeeder (third-person view) in order to head to a destination. The second-last level is similar with the player in an X-Wing having to shoot TIE fighters and Death Star towers that one-hit-kill the player. The final level is a first-person rail shooter, in the Death Star trench, of course.
195	** The trend continues in ''Super Empire Strikes Back'' (Battle of Hoth 3D and side-scrolling shooter sequences, Asteroid Field in the Falcon after escaping Hoth, and in Luke's X-Wing approaching Cloud City), ''Super Return of the Jedi'' (Speeder Bike chase on Endor and the fleet battle above Endor / Death Star II bombing run).
196	** The trend also continues in ''Shadows of the Empire'' where literally every other level is some sort of vehicle based mission. Two of these, the Asteroid Field and the first half of the Skyhook Battle, are rail shooters, one is a speeder bike race, and the last two are free-range flight combat.
197	** ''Star Wars'' platform games have a love for this trope dating back to the 1987 Famicom game, prior to which almost every ''Star Wars'' LicensedGame was a ShootEmUp of one sort or another.
198	* Bomber Jet and Bomber Marine levels in ''VideoGame/BombermanHero'', with the exception that the Marine is capable of stopping and moving backwards.
199	* ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' has a couple of levels like this, shooting down Krimzon Guards with jetpacks or flying Metal Heads and at one point destroying a tanker. Jak 3 also has a couple ''stationary'' rail-shooter type missions, using Spargus City's turret gun to shoot targets [[spoiler: or Dark Makers]] out of the sky before they make landfall. Of course, this series is one of the kings of the UnexpectedGameplayChange.
200	* The FinalBoss battle of ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter: Logan's Shadow'' combines this with an ElevatorActionSequence.
201	* The final stage of the Platform/SegaGenesis version of ''VideoGame/MichaelJacksonsMoonwalker'' is a [[SimulationGame space sim]] style level.
202	* The 3D ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' games occasionally have RailShooter levels where you control the Weapons Van's turret.
203	* In ''VideoGame/{{Ripper}}'', Jake Quinlan sometimes has to bypass ICE defenses to reach certain areas of {{Cyberspace}}. These range from [[OnlySmartPeopleMayPass logic puzzles]] to rail shooters that often amount to Jake shooting down an attacking enemy. Joey Falconetti even invokes this at one point to test Jake on this.
204	* The final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Exmortis}} II'' turns the game into a simplistic arcade shooter where he throws imps and melee attacks at you.
205	* ''VideoGame/{{Scaler}}'' tosses a couple of RailShooter segments in at the start of a couple of stages, where you control [[GiantFlyer Reppy]]. There's also a boss battle consisting of this.
206	* ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'' features a scene where you go between two towers on a monorail which is slightly damaged, so it doesn't make full speed. Other rails are constantly catching up... There's also the convoy level.
207	* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' has this happen when [[spoiler: Ezio steals the Machine Gun.]]
208	* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 2'' has a brief rail shooter sequence when you first get your flying mount.
209	* ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' has a few missions that the player is expected to complete primarily like this. All are {{escort mission}}s where you car-surf on the protectee's vehicle. However, you are still free to complete these as you like. One, done on a car, relies on your own finite ammo supply, and so practically requires jumping from car to car. Another is for a boat with a mounted minigun, so it's a bit more sensible to stay put.
210	* By combining a mine cart, BulletHell, and magical ranged attacks in ''VideoGame/NieR''... and you get a shoot-em up. While you can attack with your melee weapons, the bulk of the enemies are well outside their range, forcing you to use magic.
211	* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'' has a ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon''-esque rail shooter section as you ride on a griffin to a dungeon inaccessible by land.
212	* ''VideoGame/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' (N64) has Cold Reception, a ski shooter based on the parahawk battle from the movie.
213	* In one chapter of the "Tip of the Spear" mission from ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', during your ride to the Spire, you use the {{F\|utureCopter}}alcon's mounted grenade launcher to take out ground targets, including Shade turrets, Fuel Rod turrets, and Wraiths. "Exodus" also has a rail shooter chapter, this time using the machine gun.
214	* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' subverts this. Unlike most other action games with a shmup level, the ones on this game are an integral part of the gameplay.
215	* In the third mission of ''VideoGame/GhostReconAdvancedWarfighter2'', you man a helicopter minigun turret to destroy an enemy convoy. The first ''GRAW'' has two levels of this type, one where you're clearing a landing zone near Zocalo Plaza, another while being dropped at Chapultepec Castle.
216	* ''VideoGame/TheJourneymanProject'' has a pseudo-3d space shooter minigame at the end of the Mars Colony quest, where you must chase down and neutralize the robot's escape shuttle before he destroys the alien ship.
217	* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' has a helicopter {{sniping\|Mission}} EscortMission sequence during the second chapter, the boat chase in Chapter 5, the bus ride in Chapter 10, and a car chase in the final chapter.
218	* ''VideoGame/CandyMountainMassacre Revenge'' puts you in a Cupcake-piloted fighter craft for the final mission, which plays out like a rail shooter. You have a machine gun (which can overheat), and missiles (which you get two of at a time). You're up against all the enemies of the game, including ones in ships that fly and shoot purple beams and missiles at you. This is also how you fight [[SequentialBoss all three phases]] of the FinalBoss of the game.
219	* ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' does this in the prologue.
220	* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 7'' ([[BeatEmUp of all things]]) had these "siege weapon" sections, which are mountable weapons put in certain places in the battlefield. First there's the Ballista (you aim, fire, and wait for the ammo to hit the gate, rinse repeat), used for opening gates. Then there's the {{Gatling\|Good}} [[AutomaticCrossbow Crossbow]] with BottomlessMagazines ([[AnachronismStew seriously]]) sections where you basically go MoreDakka with arrows on a huge number of people (thankfully they're fixtures, so you [[GameBreaker can't use one on the whole level]]). Then there's the optional Tiger ''{{Tank\|Goodness}}s'', which [[AwesomeButImpractical move as fast as molasses]] and has an extremely slow firing rate, and is somehow [[StrongFleshWeakSteel as fragile as porcelain despite being made of bronze]], making it completely useless in harder modes where you need to quickly travel around the map and defeat enemies.
221	* ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'' has a rail shooter sequence on a hijacked enemy transport in Act 2-3, and a ''VideoGame/SilentScope''-style {{stealth\|BasedMission}} {{sniping mission}} on a monorail in Act 3-4.
222	* ''VideoGame/TheFairlyOddparentsShadowShowdown'' has two of these in which you control either Cosmo or Wanda; one in [[DreamLand "Dad's Dream"]], and another, slightly more appropriately, in [[SpaceZone "Vicky Strikes Back"]]. In the former, it's to collect "brain fuel" to power Timmy's dad's boat. In the latter, it's to open a door to get to Vicky.
223	* The last section of ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'''s first proper mission combines a rail shooter with an EscortMission, where you drag Paez with one hand while taking down enemies with your pistol in the other.
224	* The second half of the first mission of ''VideoGame/StarCraftIINovaCovertOps'' is suddenly this, where you not only have to gun down enemies, but also avoid civilian cars on a highway.
225	* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' is mostly a beat-em-up set in the MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''. However, there are several levels where you get to control one of the four [[HumongousMecha Divine Beasts]] and blast through hordes of enemies with elemental projectiles and lasers.
226	* ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'' has this in [[spoiler:[[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Tartaros]], where Red obtains [[EleventhHourSuperpower an all new form for the DAHAK]] and has to mow down waves of Shades by firing regular and homing charged shots similarly to ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon''. Thankfully, this doesn't last very long, and Red returns to the standard Action-Adventure style in order to beat down the FinalBoss]].
227	[[/folder]]

Context Main / UnexpectedShmupLevel