Commodore 64 Shoot 'em up Catalogue

Posted for quick reference purposes, this is a chronological list of Commodore 64 shoot 'em ups that are being covered in my History of Shoot 'em ups.

This list thus far contains 95 original infographics that can be mouse-wheeled through in order to get an idea of the C64 shoot 'em up catalogue with no non-C64 admixture. You can also right-click the images and open them in a new tab at full resolution (2k-5k px).

The C64 shoot 'em up catalogue is exceedingly impressive:

As a rule, it started off slowly with arcade ports (1982-84)
Picked up the pace in 1985-86 via C64-native shooters
Hit its stride in 1987
Held the fort in 1988-89 and still came up with surprises until 1993

cf.: Super-scrollers.

The C64 shooter catalogue wiped the floor with rival Western 8-bit shooter catalogues in the mid-to-late 80s, made the Atari ST and IBM PC shooter catalogues look like complete jokes in the mid-to-late 80s, and even challenged the Amiga shooter catalogue in the late 80s to early 90s.

From 1985 to at least 1990 the C64 was the computer-game machine for shoot 'em up connoisseurs to own. In terms of grueling gameplay and raw and gritty audiovisuals the C64 shooter was hands-down the best for almost a decade.

If a shooter entry has "C64 original" appended, that means the shooter was originally coded for the C64; that is, it is not a coinop or other-micro port, but rather a C64-native game.

I also append "C64 exclusive" to the relevant entries. C64-exclusive shooters are those that were only released for the C64. I do not care if some C64 shooters were ported to "current gen platforms" decades later; that is utterly irrelevant to my authentic commentary. If you're playing 2020s ports of 1990s C64 shooters on your cellphone, I don't care, they don't count, the shooters are still C64-exclusives.

I also append "Best on C64" to the relevant entries.

This document was last updated on April 11, 2025.

1982 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Gridrunner Commodore 64 1982

Jeff Minter coded Gridrunner for the Vic-20 and C64 in 1982. Gridrunner is a space-age clone of Atari's Centipede coinop of 1980.

Best on C64.

Galaga Commodore 64 1982

C64 exclusive.

Wizard of Wor Commodore 64 1982

Best on C64.

1983 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Choplifter Commodore 64 1983

Defender Commodore 64 1983

Gorf Commodore 64 1983

Best on C64.

Galaxions Commodore 64 1983

Galaxy Commodore 64 1983

Missile Command Commodore 64 1983

Andrew Challice of Interceptor Software ported Atari's Missile Command of 1980 to the C64 in 1983.

Protector 2 Commodore 64 1983

Best on C64.

Scramble 64 Commodore 64 1983

C64 original.

1984 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Dropzone Commodore 64 1984

Guardian Commodore 64 1984

Best on C64.

Ancipital Commodore 64 1984

The goat-like Ancipital is launching bananas that rebound off walls and hit hostile oddities. Can you guess the programmer's name? The Ancipital can also jump from wall to wall while progressing through a 10x10 maze made up of 100 levels. A responsive, fun and challenging shooter featuring psychedelic stroboscopic effects, Ancipital was coded by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft -- a legend.

Best on C64.

Flak Commodore 64 1984

Best on C64.

Galaxian Commodore 64 1984

Moon Patrol Commodore 64 1984

Meh, Moon Patrol. Jump over a crater and land square on a tank round. Ho-hum. Irem's Moon Patrol coinop of 1980 was ported to C64 by Atarisoft in 1984.

Gyruss Commodore 64 1984

River Raid Commodore 64 1984

Robotron 2084 Commodore 64 1984

Best on C64 (best port).

Sea Dragon Commodore 64 1984

Best on C64.

Targon 64 Commodore 64 1984

Best on C64.

Zaxxon Commodore 64 1984

Sega's Zaxxon coinop of 1982 was ported to C64 by Sega Enterprises Inc. in 1984. Zaxxon is an isometric shoot 'em up that features 4-way movement.

1985 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Paradroid Commodore 64 1985

C64 original.

Commando Commodore 64 1985

Crazy Comets Commodore 64 1985

Airwolf Commodore 64 1985

Airwolf is based on the TV series of 1984-87. Neil A. Bate's Commodore 64 multi-directional shooter of 1985 is more entertaining, though.

1986 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

1942 Commodore 64 1986

Capcom's 1942 coinop of 1984 was ported to C64 in 1986 by Elite Systems Ltd.

Aliens Commodore 64 1986

Software Studios released Aliens for the Commodore 64 in December of 1986. Aliens plays similarly to Space Hulk. Aliens was designed by Mark Eyles, programmed by Soft Machine and drawn by Focus.

Gauntlet Commodore 64 1986-91

Ikari Warriors Commodore 64 1986

Iridis Alpha Commodore 64 1986

C64 original. Best on C64.

Rambo: First Blood Part II Commodore 64 1986

Best on C64.

Sanxion Commodore 64 1986

Sanxion was coded for the C64 by Stavros Fasoulas of Thalamus in 1986. Sanxion is a variable-rate horizontal super-scroller with dual-scrolling viewports (side-on and overhead) and parallax scrolling. David Whittaker's sound effects and Rob Hubbard's music are also excellent.

C64 original. Best on C64.

Alleykat Commodore 64 1986

C64 exclusive.

Uridium Commodore 64 1986

C64 original. Best on C64.

Terra Cresta Commodore 64 1986

David Collier of Imagine Software ported Nichibutsu's Terra Cresta coinop of 1985 to C64 in 1986. Terra Cresta influenced Hybris of 1988 on the Amiga.

Best on C64.

Thrust Commodore 64 1986

1987 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Exolon Commodore 64 1987

Best on C64.

Delta Commodore 64 1987

C64 exclusive.

Hunter's Moon Commodore 64 1987

C64 exclusive.

Gradius 1987 Commodore 64

Lightforce Commodore 64 1987

In 1987 Roy Carter converted Lightforce to the C64 from the ZX Spectrum original of 1987 developed by Roy Carter and Greg Follis.

Audio by Rob Hubbard.

Best on C64.

Bulldog Commodore 64 1987

Coded by Andrew Green of Gremlin Graphics in 1987 for the C64, Bulldog is an original and innovative bi-directionally scrolling shooter for the C64. Give this one a whirl, for sure.

C64 exclusive.

Slap Fight Commodore 64 1987

Taoplan's 1986 Slap Fight coinop was well-ported to C64 by John Meegan of Imagine in 1987.

Best on C64.

Zynaps Commodore 64 1987

Zynaps is a busy, noisy and grueling horizontally-scrolling shooter designed and coded by Dominic Robinson and John Cumming for the C64 in 1987. In Zynaps you can increase the thrust and rate-of-fire of your Scorpion. The Zynaps Weapons System includes Pulse Laser, Plasma Bombs, Homing Missiles and Seeker Missiles. Zynaps is one of the best side-on shooters on the C64.

Wizball IBM PC 1987

Chris Yates of Sensible Software coded Wizball in 1987 for the C64. Wizball is a horizontally-scrolling shooter with an innovative ball-bounce mechanic: the Wizball bounces off the ground and off objects while shooting and collecting.

C64 original. Best on C64.

Sensible Software are most famous for their English Football Computer Games.

Airwolf 2 Commodore 64 1987

The C64 version of Airwolf 2 was coded by Stuart A. Cook in 1987.

Mega-Apocalypse Commodore 64 1987

C64 original. Best on C64.

Hades Nebula Commodore 64 1987

Paranoid Software's Hades Nebula stands as the one of the most difficult and underrated shooters on the C64. Hades Nebula is difficult for the following reasons:

It is all-too-easy to destroy your own power-ups before you collect them
The upgrades make the ship bigger, which makes the ship easier to hit
On-screeen space for maneuvering is limited

One nice touch is how the Laser weapon progressively rips through columns of enemies and installations.

Hades Nebula bosses:

Best on C64.

Lazer Force Commodore 64 1987

Gavin Raeburn's Lazer Force of 1987 is a vertically-scrolling and fixed-viewport shooter known for its fast homing enemies and overall difficulty.

C64 exclusive.

Thunderbolt Commodore 64 1987

Thunderbolt of 1987 is a bi-directional horizontally-scrolling super-scroller coded by Gavin Raeburn for the C64. Solid.

C64 exclusive.

Xevious Commodore 64 1987

Tiger Mission Commodore 64 1987

Coded by Thomas Larsen of Kele Line in 1987 for the C64, Tiger Mission is vertical-scroller with good controls, pacing and music. It takes a while for the gameplay to warm up -- be patient.

C64 exclusive.

Task 3 Commodore 64 1987

C64 exclusive.

1988 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Katakis Commodore 64 1988

C64 original. Best on C64.

Salamander Commodore 64 1988

IO: Into Oblivion Commodore 64 1988

C64 exclusive.

Armalyte Commodore 64 1988

Armalyte bosses:

C64 original. Best on C64.

Gryzor Commodore 64 1988

Alien Syndrome Commodore 64 1988

Operation Wolf Commodore 64 1988

The Untouchables Commodore 64 1989

Ocean Software released The Untouchables for Commodore 64 in 1989. The Untouchables is largely an Operation Wolf-style shooter with side-on platforming level and top-down Commando-like level. Developed by Ocean Software, C64 Untouchables was programmed by John Meegan, drawn by Stephen Thomson and composed by Jonathan Dunn. C64 Untouchables is superior to PC and ST/Amiga Untouchables.

Cabal Commodore 64 1989

Robbie Tinman of Ocean Software ported TAD Corporation's Cabal coinop of 1988 to C64 in 1989.

Tomcat Commodore 64 1988

Ian Denny of Digital Light & Magic coded the C64 version of Tomcat in 1988. This is the most playable 8-bit version of Tomcat.

Best on C64.

1943: The Battle of Midway Commodore 64 1988

Capcom's 1987 coinop 1943: The Battle of Midway was converted to C64 in 1986 by Tiertex.

Cybernoid Commodore 64 1988

Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine was originally coded for the ZX Spectrum by Raffaele Cecco. You can tell Cybernoid is a ZX Spectrum-original by looking at the low-color "C64" titlescreen shown below. Cybernoid 2: The Revenge was also developed by Raffaele Cecco.

Both Cybernoid and its sequel were released in 1988.

Top row is Cybernoid; bottom row is Cybernoid 2:

Cybernoid and its sequel are rare shoot 'em ups due to being 4-way flip-screen computer games rather than scrollers.

Cybernoid Weapons System: Bombs, Impact Mines, Defence Shield, Bounce Bombs, Seeker.

Rambo 3 Commodore 64 1988

Best on C64.

Robocop Commodore 64 1988

cf. ZX Spectrum version.

R-Type Commodore 64 1988

Zamzara Commodore 64 1988

C64 exclusive.

Garrison Commodore 64 1988

1989 Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups

Menace Commodore 64 1989

Phobia Commodore 64 1989

Programmed by Antony Crowther ("Ratt"), Phobia was released for C64 in 1989.

Best on C64.

Silkworm Commodore 64 1989

Retrograde Commodore 64 1989

C64 exclusive.

X-Out Commodore 64 1989

C64 original. Best on C64.

Mr. Heli Commodore 64

Probe Software ported Irem's Mr. Heli aka Battle Chopper coinop of 1987 to Commodore 64 in 1989. Published by Firebird Software, C64 Mr. Heli was programmed by Mark W. J. Kelly, drawn by Steve Crow, and composed The Maniacs of Noise.

C64 Mr. Heli is an advanced multi-directionally auto-scrolling and push-scrolling cavern shoot 'em up that features excellent controls, graphics and sound.

In Mr. Heli players control a robotic heliopter that can also walk along the ground. Mr. Heli finds crystals in destructible blocks of landscape and uses them to purchase gun upgrades, homing missiles and bombs. Energy fuel and Shields can also be purchased. The object of Mr. Heli is to destroy "The Muddy" and save the planet.

C64 Mr. Heli consists of three sprawling stages, each guarded by one sub-boss and one end-stage boss: The Cavern, The Maze and The Core.

The only problem with Mr. Heli is that it is too brief, too easy and doesn't have a hiscore table.