List of light gun games

[L___E___T]

really?  but it's a platformer aint it?

[UglyJoe]

I didn't realize the Japanese title was Mad City.

The game has three types of levels: brawler, driving, and shooting.  The shooting stages let you use the controller or the light gun (at least, the NES version (Bayou Billy) does).

[fredJ]

bump.
Can you confirm that Konami's Gun Sight is also light gun game?
I remember playing it some years ago.

Any other game not mentioned?

Also, "Hyper Shot: Space Shadow", doesn't it require the special d-pad on the special gun it came with?

And Gotcha wasn't released on famicom.

[fcgamer]

bump.
Can you confirm that Konami's Gun Sight is also light gun game?
I remember playing it some years ago.

Any other game not mentioned?

Also, "Hyper Shot: Space Shadow", doesn't it require the special d-pad on the special gun it came with?

And Gotcha wasn't released on famicom.

Don't know but I doubt it, micro genius released it on a multicart and their light gun didn't have a dpad iirc

[fredJ]

Don't know but I doubt it, micro genius released it on a multicart and their light gun didn't have a dpad iirc

Do you mean space shadow?

I tried it and it didn't work, but I don't remember 100% certain if I tried moving with the controller. I think I didn't and it didn't work but it would be nice if someone else could try it too.

It did work to shoot enemies but since I couldn't move, it was basically unplayable.

That a game was released on multicart doesn't mean the original works.

[P]

Wow I haven't seen this thread before. It seems to predate my membership here. The list is missing a lot of titles.

Here is my list:

Wild Gunman
Light-gun required.

Duck Hunt
Light-gun required.

Hogan's Alley
Light-gun required.

Gumshoe (NES only)
Light-gun required.

Operation Wolf
Light-gun or controller.

Track & Field II (NES versions only)
Light-gun and controller or controller only.
Has a gangster-shooting Zapper minigame.
The Famicom version "Konamic Sports in Seoul" does not have this minigame
and therefore has no light-gun support.

Gotcha the Sport! (NTSC NES only)
Requires both a controller and a light-gun.

Freedom Force (NTSC NES only)
Light-gun required.

Space Shadow (Famicom only)
Requires the Bandai Hyper Shot light-gun, the standard light-gun lacks the
required extra buttons (it has all buttons a controller has except the
A-button, but a separate standard controller can't be used).
It supports the audio output on the Hyper Shot and sends the sound out that
way if enabled on the title screen.
Recoil effects can also be enabled on the title screen.

Mad City
Light-gun and controller or controller only.
Though primarily a belt-scroll beat-'em-up there are two levels in the game
that optionally supports the light-gun. The light-gun is enabled on these
stages by selecting "Game B" on the title screen, but this was changed in
the NES versions so that "Game A" enables it instead (enabling the
light-gun disables the controller on these stages so it must be decided on
the title screen which to use).
NES versions are called "The Adventures of Bayou Billy".

Shooting Range (NTSC NES only)
Light-gun required.

To the Earth (NES only)
Light-gun required.

Mechanized Attack (NTSC NES only)
Light-gun and controller or controller only.

Barker Bill's Trick Shooting (NES only)
Light-gun required.

Gun Sight (Famicom and NTSC NES only)
Light-gun (gun sight system) and controller or controller only.
Comes with a gun system headset with a sight-scope module which
works like a voice-operated light-gun, but a standard light-gun
should also work with the rail-shooting stages and the 3D-maze
stages (together with a controller). The heli stages would require
three hands to use with a standard light-gun as the controller
needs to be held in both hands.
NTSC NES version is called "Laser Invasion".

The Lone Ranger (NTSC NES only)
Light-gun and controller or controller only.
Light-gun is used in shooting-gallery bonus games, gun-shooting
sections and 3D-maze gun-shooting sections.

Day Dreamin' Davey (NTSC NES only)
Light-gun and controller or controller only.
The gun is optionally used in a single event in the game.

Baby Boomer (unlicensed 72-pin)
Light-gun or controller.

Chiller (unlicensed 72-pin)
Light-gun and controller or controller only.
The game supports two Zappers in two-player mode, one in
each controller port. This is impossible on a Famicom
because the input pins the Zapper uses in the first
controller port don't exist on a Famicom (not even in the
expansion port).

Corrections to the list are welcome. These are mostly licensed releases (Famicom, NTSC NES and PAL NES) as I'm not very knowledgeable about unlicensed ones.
I can already see some more games listed on Wikipedia not found in my list.

Can you confirm that Konami's Gun Sight is also light gun game?
I remember playing it some years ago.

Any other game not mentioned?

Also, "Hyper Shot: Space Shadow", doesn't it require the special d-pad on the special gun it came with?

I think Space Shadow only works with the included light-gun, it doesn't support a separate normal controller and a normal light-gun. The Space Shadow light-gun's trigger mechanism is also different that probably doesn't work with Duck Hunt etc, and would make a Kousenjuu Series Gun, Zapper or other standard Famicom/NES light-gun tricky to use with it.

Gun Sight might also have a similar problem with the trigger mechanism since it's voice-activated and therefore might not have a falling-edge trigger (which normal light-gun games treats as firing).
I don't have the game but I tried it in Mesen with regular light-gun emulation. You have to enable the gun system in Option at the title screen (also enable reverse mode to invert the Y-axis which makes more sense for a flight-sim). But it doesn't seem to use the light-gun on the heli stage, or at least it didn't do anything for me in Mesen when pulling the trigger (controller works as normal), so I'm not sure about that with needing 3 hands on the heli stage. It's a normal Top-Gun type of flight-sim-like shooting game played with the controller.

I never beat the first stage (died at the boss) so I never got to test the rail-shooting stage or the 3D-maze stage.

[Ankos]

The unlicensed game, Blood of Jurassic, also uses the lightgun

[fredJ]

I think Space Shadow only works with the included light-gun, it doesn't support a separate normal controller and a normal light-gun. The Space Shadow light-gun's trigger mechanism is also different that probably doesn't work with Duck Hunt etc, and would make a Kousenjuu Series Gun, Zapper or other standard Famicom/NES light-gun tricky to use with it.

Gun Sight might also have a similar problem with the trigger mechanism since it's voice-activated and therefore might not have a falling-edge trigger (which normal light-gun games treats as firing).
I don't have the game but I tried it in Mesen with regular light-gun emulation. You have to enable the gun system in Option at the title screen (also enable reverse mode to invert the Y-axis which makes more sense for a flight-sim). But it doesn't seem to use the light-gun on the heli stage, or at least it didn't do anything for me in Mesen when pulling the trigger (controller works as normal), so I'm not sure about that with needing 3 hands on the heli stage. It's a normal Top-Gun type of flight-sim-like shooting game played with the controller.

I never beat the first stage (died at the boss) so I never got to test the rail-shooting stage or the 3D-maze stage.

On Space Shadow you can shoot enemies with a normal light gun (revolver). But as you say, it's not possible to move around.
And it goes the other way around, the Space Shadow special gun can be used on Duck hunt etc. These light guns all use the same function. (I tested it)
I'm also pretty sure Gun Sight works with a revolver. There's even a video on youtube someone tested it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvEpCpq4b_4 (scroll forward, it only works when the soldiers are running around) I actually tested it myself several years ago.

Is there a special gun for Gun Sight? I have never heard of it.

As for unlicensed games, do they work with a revolver? because I think the famicom clones had their own light gun that is plugged in at the front of a famicom clone, and uses a completely different connection (same as mega drive).

[P]

Yes it works but not the same way as a standard Famicom/NES light-gun right? The standard light-gun has a hammer or spring thingy that releases the trigger once you press it past a certain threshold, and this works in games because they look for the "falling edge" (the point in time when the trigger's electrical switch goes from the pressed state to the unpressed state).

If you use Bandai Hyper Shot in Wild Guns or Duck Hunt, I expect that a shot will not fire until you both press and release the trigger. Was this not the case when you tested it?


Gun Sight works with a standard light-gun. I had just heard that it might not work in modes requiring both hands on the controller (the headset allows you to shoot hands-free), but I'm not sure if there really is such a mode.



Regarding Gun Sight's special light-gun, yes the game came bundled with this headset gun thing. I don't know if it has a specific name in Japan but the NES version seems to be called the "Konami LaserScope". In either case it's a headset with a sight-scope over the right eye (an eyepiece with a crosshair and a projected red light for aiming), a light-gun photo sensor, stereo headphone speakers (can be used as normal stereo or mono headphones) and a headset microphone which triggers a light-gun shot when you shout into it ("FIRE!!" though you can of course say anything).
I think that at least the NES version should also come with an RCA-adapter for it's 3.5 mm mono phone plug so that you can plug it into the back of the NES audio out jack to get audio directly from the console.



I am pretty sure that all unlicensed light-guns are identical in function to the Kousenjuu and the Zapper. The connector is mechanically different, but not electrically (look here, pretty much the same signals are found in the NES 7-pin controller port, Famiclone 9-pin controller port and Famicom 15-pin expansion port).

Famiclones are not compatible with Atari-type joysticks at all unlike the Mega Drive, despite using the same 9-pin connectors. In fact, if Famiclones would use the Sega/Atari type of parallel joystick port, it wouldn't be compatible with any Famicom games since they are all programmed to use the serial protocol of the NES controller, so it would make little sense to change the interface.

[fredJ]

I'm not sure how you mean with the trigger on the revolver, but it's just mainly a gimmick.
The Hyper Shot doesn't have a trigger like that, you just press the lever to shoot. It has turbo fire too.

So are you saying that unlicensed games would work with the revolver? I find that hard to believe because the pinout is different. I have some unlicensed light gun games that I could try with a revolver, but I don't even think it's worth my time because I see no reason why it would work...

I'm pretty sure the Konami LaserScope was not released in Japan. I should have seen it in the 10 years I've been buying stuff from Japan.   

[P]

It's not a gimmick, it works like this:
1) Before you press the trigger the switch is in the unpressed state.
2) As soon as you start pressing the trigger the switch goes to the pressed state.
3) Once you press it past the threshold the hammer will go off on the Kousenjuu and the Zapper will have a spring that makes a loud noise. After this the switch goes back to the unpressed state and will stay like that until you fully release the trigger and press it again as in 2).

Duck Hunt and all other classic light-gun games does nothing when the switch is in the pressed state (i.e. the trigger is pushed half-way), it waits for it to go back to the unpressed state. It's this change from pressed to unpressed (called a "falling edge") that triggers a shot in Duck Hunt.

If you have a flashcart there are some test ROMs here that makes it easier to understand how it works. The light-sense and trigger mechanisms are entirely separate as you can see here, the Zapper can always detect if it's aiming at a white box or not. Games normally only show the white boxes when you press the trigger though.


The pinnout is different and it's a different connector so you of course can't connect the Kousenjuu revolver or the Zapper to a Famiclone with a 9-pin controller connector (though it should work if you make an adapter).
But the guns works the same internally and the games all uses the same Famicom light-gun standard (except Space Shadow).
If you use a flashcart you should be able to play all games with a Kousenjuu revolver, Zapper or other standard light-gun for your system. Famicom, NES and Famiclones are all the same system and uses the same hardware and software after all.


Gun Sight was released in Japan, but you mean it was to be used with the normal light-gun? It might just be very rare.

[fredJ]

Yes, but what I mean is that the hammer has no special function. It is still only about activating the mechanism ("shooting"). And this works the same on all light guns and all games.

I'm pretty sure Gun Sight was made to be used with a normal light gun in Japan, until someone shows me that the LaserScope was released in Japan.

It would make more sense to make it compatible with the standard light gun.

[P]

The hammer is a visual indicator for when the ON-OFF-transition (falling edge) happens. The Zapper achieves the same thing with a loud spring noise.
If I understands it correctly, Space Shadow looks for the trigger to be active and will shoot as long as it is. If you use the revolver (ignoring the problem that you can't move in this game), you will be able to shoot unless you press it so hard that the hammer goes off. The gun will stop shooting until you release it and press it again when that happens. The other light-gun games looks for the ON-OFF-transition for firing instead.
You said something about the Hyper Shot having a rapid-fire function though, so I'm not sure if Space Shadow really does that.


Gun Sight is obviously compatible with a standard light-gun. I think the scope works with any light-gun game as well, although there is no way to keep the trigger half-pressed like a normal gun (no game needs that except maybe Space Shadow).

[fredJ]

You're right, when using the revolver on space shadow I have to press it just a little.

I probably mis remembered on the machine gun that came with it. It is the game that has auto fire, probably not the gun. But I don't remember exactly.

I also found that it is possible to unplug the revolver and plug in a third party controller to move it after shooting. This means that it should be possible to play with for example a Hori extension port splitter. Something like this. https://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=5912.30

[P]

Yeah that should work since the Hyper Shot has all buttons a standard controller has except the A-button and they are read the same way by the game. But I doubt that any adapter you can buy will work because the pins used by the light-gun (pin 4 and 5 in the expansion port) are probably not wired in those adapters since they are for connecting two external controllers (though it might be possible the light-gun pins are wired in one of them).

It should be possible to build an adapter that would make a standard light-gun and an external controller work like a Hyper Shot however. It would need to forward pin 13 (input port 0 D1) on one connector and pin 4 and 5 (input port 1 D4 and D3 respectively) on the other one.

Those adapters people build to use NES controllers on a Famicom should work as long as it is wired for the Zapper in the second connector. With this adapter you would be able to use a standard NES controller and a Zapper as a Hyper Shot. I've built one of those myself, I should try it with Space Shadow some time.

To get sound you would need to wire pin 2 to a speaker system (might need to be converted to LINE level first), though the game supports outputting sound via the TV's speakers like normal as well.
According to Nocash the recoil signal comes out of pin 11 (output port D1), so a force-feedback system would have to be built around that if you want recoil.