Super-scroller Computer Games

I define super-scrollers as computer games that employ smooth, fast and/or variable-rate screen-scrolling; sometimes in parallax. Super-scrollers can be push-scrollers or auto-scrollers.

To be considered a super-scroller a computer game must have:

Smooth and fast scrolling
Smooth and variable-rate scrolling or
Smooth, fast and variable-rate scrolling

Smooth does not necesarily mean 50 FPS/Hz scrolling. 25 FPS/Hz scrolling can quality if the screen nevertheless scrolls smoothly. That said, super-scrollers almost always run at full frames.

Super-scrollers originated in the shooter genre via the legendary Defender and Scramble coinops of 1980-81. However, some platform games can be classified as super-scrollers, too; indeed, any game that meets the above-enumerated critieria can be -- even a puzzle game.

Super-scrollers can scroll vertically, horizontally, bi-directionally or multi-directionally in side-on, top-down or isometric perspectives.

You can read more about super-scrollers in 1988.

Commodore 64 Super-scrollers

The Commodore 64 was famous for its smooth hardware screen-scrolling. Naturally, the C64 also hosted the best 8-bit super-scrollers.

The first great super-scroller on C64 was Archer Maclean's Dropzone of 1984. However, Dropzone was originally coded by Maclean for the Atari 8 bits in 1984, not the C64. And Dropzone is better on the Atari 8-bits.

The first C64-original super-scrollers were Stavros Fasoulas' Sanxion and Andrew Braybrook's Alleykat of 1986. And the ultimate super-scrollers on 8 bit computers are Andrew Braybrook's Uridium of 1986 and Manfred Trenz' Turrican of 1990.

This is a chronological listing of Commodore 64 super-scrollers.

Defender Commodore 64 1983

Protector 2 Commodore 64 1983

Guardian Commodore 64 1984

Dropzone Commodore 64 1984

Sanxion Commodore 64 1986

Alleycat Commodore 64 1986

Uridium Commodore 64 1986

Iridis Alpha Commodore 64 1986

Thunderbolt Commodore 64 1987

Task 3 Commodore 64 1987

Retrograde Commodore 64 1989

Guardian 2 Commodore 64 1990

Turrican Commodore 64 1990

Amiga Super-scrollers

Like the C64 before it, the Amiga was also notable for its super-smooth hardware screen-scrolling, but the Amiga took super-scrolling to the next level via Holger Schmidt's Turrican 2 of 1991 and Andrew Braybrook's Uridium 2 of 1993 as well as via Bernhard Braun's Mega Typoon of 1996 and Level One Entertainment's Apano Sin of 2000.

It goes without saying that the Amiga hosted the best super-scrollers on Western home computers.