Such adorable invaders!
A
sub-genre of
Shoot 'em Up games, which replaces the spaceships,
Starfish Aliens, robots and lasers with
kittens,
fairies, squirrels, candies, and all things
Lighter and Softer. The stark space setting becomes
Wackyland, and
Moe Anthropomorphism abounds.
But the gameplay is otherwise intact, including the
Nintendo Hard difficulty. Yes, despite the cutesy facade, these games are still very difficult, and need
a lot of skill to beat (especially when they overlap with
Bullet Hell). If you think otherwise, be prepared for a good smack in the face with
Surprise Difficulty.
Sometimes these games have stories, and others just have
Excuse Plots, just like any other game.
Also, as with many
Widget Series, this isn't considered
that odd in Japan, since cute is seen more as an artistic style, rather than being considered strictly for young children. That means these games are rarely
Guilty Pleasures. In fact, these games have found a solid niche among gamers.
Examples:
- Parodius
- Twinbee
- Touhou mixes this with Bullet Hell. The plots are also more intensive than typically expected for this genre. Because of this, and the sheer amount of Memetic Mutation, Touhou gets a lot of fans that aren't all that interested in the Bullet Hell aspect.
- Speaking about Bullet Hell games, Bullet Heaven (an Epic Battle Fantasy Gaiden Game).
- Kiki Kai Kai (AKA Pocky & Rocky)
- Trouble Witches
- Twinkle Star Sprites
- Gunbird
- Air Zonk
- Harmful Park
- Magical Chase
- Akkanvader (better known as Space Invaders '95: Attack of the Lunar Loonies!)
- Otomedius, Konami's combination of their own series, Parodius and Gradius. Silliness + Plot + Boobs - Drugs.
- Star Parodier, a cute'em up entry in Hudson's otherwise serious Star Soldier series.
- Rabio Lepus and Rabio Lepus Special
- The Cotton series
- Fantasy Zone
- Coryoon
- Gun Nac
- Game Tengoku by Jaleco qualifies as this, along with being a both of Crisis Crossover (between Jaleco's old arcade games) and Affectionate Parody of the arcade gaming history and tropes around it.
- King And Balloon (the original cute-'em-up!)
- Death Smiles
- Cosmo Gang: The Video
is an interesting example, in that it's a comical version of Galaga, but the characters and bonus stages are based on the "Cosmo Gang" redemption arcade machine.
- Strato Patrol EOS, a minigame featured in Kirby Mass Attack.
- Space Bomber
- Gundemonium Series
- The "Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly" mini-game in No More Heroes was a regular shoot-em-up. In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, it is now a Cute 'em Up.
- Keio Flying Squadron
- Kolibri
- Team Fortress 2 as seen through the eyes of the Pyro
- Apidya
- Mystic Riders
- Mr. Heli is a borderline example: the backgrounds aren't all that bright and cheerful, though the character design is definitely on the cartoonish side.
