Gyruss Clones and Ports: Gyruss-likes

Clones & Ports of Konami's Gyruss 1983

This article is concerned with computer-game clones and ports of Konami's Gyruss coinop of 1983. Gyruss-likes are defined by me as shoot 'em ups that feature sprite-scaling, a tube-like starfield and 180° to 360° starship movement around the edges of the playfield.

The article is only concerned with Gyruss clones and ports that appeared on Western computer game machines. The clones and ports are presented chronologically.

Gyruss Clones

Vortex BBC Micro 1983

Coded for the BBC Micro in 1983 by Simon Vout, Vortex is a Gyruss-like that features sprite-scaled spaceships and planets moving quickly over a starfield tube. Vortex displays in medium resolution monochrome Mode 4.

Ad Astra ZX Spectrum 1984

Ad Astra is a sprite-scaler coded by Roy Carter and Greg Follis of Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.

The Pursuit to Earth Amiga 1988

The Pursuit to Earth aka Gyrex is a 1988 clone of Konami's Gyruss (1983) developed by PowerHouse Software Ltd. for ST/Amiga. You can see from the infographic that PtE shifts around many sprites layered over a swirling starfield. Note also the power-ups that can be collected and activated. For 1988, PtE is technically ambitious.

Silpheed IBM PC 1989

Silpheed is a 1989 vector-based shoot 'em up converted to IBM PC from the 1986 PC-8801 original by Game Arts Co., Ltd. A rare gem in the MS-DOS shooter catalogue, Silpheed employs vector graphics from a fixed 3rd-person perspective, with movement-conveyance via a starfield.

Silpheed Weapons System (Pick-ups):

• Weapons: Forward Beam, Phalanx Beam, V-beam, Laser Cannon, Auto-aiming
• Items: Weapon Power Up, Speed Up, Automatic Fire, Set Barrier, Asteroid Belt, Destroy, Shield Advance, Invincible, Bonus Score, All Repair

Gyruss Ports

Gyruss Commodore 64 1984

Joe Hellesen of Parker Bros. converted Konami's Gyruss coinop of 1983 to the Commodore 64 in 1984. A fixed-viewport tube-shooter with scaling sprites and J.S. Bach music, Gyruss on the Commodore 64 is top-tier.

cf.

• History of Shoot 'em Ups 1976-2000
• TRS-80 Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Amiga Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• IBM PC Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Invader-likes: clones and ports of Taito's Space Invaders 1978
• Galaxian-likes: clones and ports of Namco's Galaxian 1979
• Asteroids-likes: clones and ports of Atari's Asteroids 1979
• Berzerk-likes: clones and ports of Stern Electronics' Berzerk 1980
• Defender-likes: clones and ports of Williams' Defender 1981
• Scramble-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Scramble 1981
• Galaga-likes: clones and ports of Namco's Galaga 1981
• Robotron-likes: clones and ports of Vid Kidz's Robotron 1982
• Xevious-likes: clones and ports of Namco's Xevious 1982
• Gravitar-likes: clones and ports of Atari's Gravitar 1982
• Gradius-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Gradius 1985
• Commando-likes: clones and ports of Capcom's Commando 1985
• Salamander-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Salamander 1986
• R-Type-likes: clones and ports of Irem's R-Type 1987
• Western Computer-game Machines
• History of Computer Games 1976-2024
• History of 1990s Computer Games
• cRPG Blog (Master Index)