Front Line Nintendo

Walk forward and take out the opposition in this early arcade run & gun shooter from Taito.

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Taito

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action, arcade, shooter, topdown, vertical

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Front Line is a vertical-scrolling run and gun from Taito in which the player controls a single soldier sent against an entire army. The player can shoot in eight directions, as can most of the enemies, and some amount of cautious advancement is required in order to survive to the end of the level, after which the player will rescue a POW and move onto the next level. The game is historically significant as being the first vertical-scrolling run and gun. Future games of this format that would go on to receive a lot more critical acclaim and attention from gamers include Commando, Ikari Warriors and Guerrilla War. Ikari Warriors, especially, borrowed a lot from Front Line, including being able to drive tanks and having to leave said tanks before they explode after they receive too much damage. It was the fourth of Taito's Arcade conversions for the Nintendo Famicom, after Space Invaders, Chack'n Pop and Elevator Action.