Genesis vs. SNES - Raycasting Graphics (Duke Nukem 3D vs. Wolfenstein 3D)
Although primarily driven by advancements on the personal computer, first-person shooters soon also began appearing on video game consoles, as did similar experiments of their own.
Nintendo[]
Home[]
NES[]
NES raycaster
Also known as the Nintendo Famicom, the console famously shipped with the light gun shooter Duck Hunt in North America in 1985, shared by other releases such as Hogan's Alley, Mechanized Attack, Chiller, Gumshoe, Wild Gunman, and Freedom Force. Conversions of the rail shooters After Burner, Space Harrier, and Operation Wolf, and the original The Punisher were released for the NES. The first-person dungeon crawlers Pool of Radiance, Dragon Wars, and Might and Magic: Book One - Secret of the Inner Sanctum were also ported to the NES, as were the first three Wizardry titles, the first two The Bard's Tale releases, and several Megami Tensei games. The turn-based Swords and Serpents and the real-time Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements are exclusive to the system. Fester's Quest also featured first person mazes.
- Hellraiser (cancelled)
- Horror Hospital (homebrew)
- Slaughter (homebrew)
SNES[]
FPS GAMES ON SNES (Quick Play)
The Super Famicom from 1990 continued the legacy of light gun shooters with Yoshi's Safari, Lethal Enforcers, Battle Clash, and Operation Thunderbolt, and the rail shooters Shien's Revenge, HyperZone, and most famously Star Fox utilizing Mode 7. The game Spectre also innovated using the special graphics mode. The first-person dungeon crawler Wizardry and Shin Megami Tensei games also released on the SNES (as well as later conversions of earlier Megami Tensei titles), plus the second and third Might and Magic, and the standalone Arcana and Laplace no Ma, as did the real-time Eye of the Beholder.
- Doom
- Faceball 2000
- Jurassic Park (see also: Visitor Center)
- Super 3D Noah's Ark (unauthorized)
- Wolfenstein 3D
A port of Ultrabots was cancelled.
The Super Nintendo version of Doom was developed by Sculptured Software and published by Williams Entertainment, and came in with colored cartridges with its worldwide release (Red in the USA). This port was mostly known for its high pixelation, and all around low frame-rate. There are a also notably a lack of texture mapping on the floors and ceilings. The monsters have been programmed to only face the character, so stealth and infighting is absent. The player cannot save in the game, due to a lack of a back-up system (so that means the player must start from the beginning at all times). It does however, feature all the enemies (minus the Spectres') and also features a multiplayer (if an XBAND modem is present).
The SNES version of Wolfenstein 3D used Mode 7 to upscale the lower resolution rendering to allow the game to fill the screen while maintaining a playable framerate.
N64[]
See: Nintendo 64
Handheld[]
Game Boy[]
Faceball 2000 - Game Boy
- Faceball 2000
- DOOM for GB (homebrew)
- GBDoom (homebrew; not to be confused with GB Doom)
- Maze 3D (homebrew)
The first-person dungeon crawlers Wizardry Gaiden released for the Game Boy.
Game Boy Color[]
3D FPS on GBC! (Tyrannosaurus Tex)
- Tyrannosaurus Tex (originally cancelled)
- Ultimate Paintball (shooting gallery)
- Wolfenstein 3D (homebrew)
- Gameboy Raycasting System (homebrew)
Versions of the first three Wizardy first-person dungeon crawlers were also released, as well as the spin-offs Wizardry Empire.
Game Boy Advance[]
Top 12 Best FPS Games for Game Boy Advance ( GBA )
The Game Boy Advance released in 2001, being of similar capabilities as a 386-based PC, featured a number of port/homages of 1990s shooters, including:
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Doom
- Doom II
- Duke Nukem Advance (based on Duke Nukem 3D)
As well as demakes of more modern shooters:
- James Bond 007: Nightfire
- Medal of Honor Underground
- Serious Sam Advance
- Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D
And some original properties:
- Back Track (also released for Windows)
- Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever (Non-NTSC versions called "Ecks vs Sever 2: Ballistic")
- Dark Arena (based on Doom for the Atari Jaguar)
- Ecks vs Sever (film tie-in)
- Ice Nine
The first-person dungeon crawler Wizardry Summoner and ports of Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II also released. Mazes of Fate released for the GBA and the successor Nintendo DS.
Virtual Boy[]
Innsmouth no Yakata was a first-person title for the experimental Virtual Boy portable game console, as was the launch title Red Alarm.
Sega[]
Home[]
Master System[]
Wolfenstein 3D - Gameplay Master System
Light gun and rail shooters After Burner, Zaxxon, Marksman Shooting & Trap Shooting, Space Harrier, Laser Ghost, Wanted, Galaxy Force, Gangster Town, Assault City, Operation Wolf and most strikingly Space Gun were released for the Sega Master System, first released in Japan on October 20, 1985. An attempted homebrew conversion of Wolfenstein 3D known as Maze 3D was unveiled in 2022. The Master System game Zillion was also converted into a Wolfenstein 3D total conversion called Zillion 3D in 2014.
Genesis[]
Mega Drive - Genesis First Person Shooters -Quick Play- - Nostalgia Nerd
Also known as the Sega Mega Drive, and first released in Japan on October 29, 1988. Along with Escape from Monster Manor on the 3DO in 1993 and Alien versus Predator on the Atari Jaguar in 1994, the game Zero Tolerance also from 1994 was among the first original first-person shooters for consoles, as opposed to ports from other platforms.
- Beyond Zero Tolerance (cancelled)
- Bloodshot (aka Battle Frenzy, exclusive)
- Corporation
- Driller
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Zero Tolerance (initially exclusive)
A first-person segment is also present in the game Toy Story. The first-person dungeon crawler Shin Megami Tensei released for the Sega CD, as well as the Arcus trilogy, and the real-time Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep. The Gold Box game Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday was released for the stock Genesis, as was Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun and Shining in the Darkness. Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World came out for the Genesis, while Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra came out for the Sega CD. Dungeon Master II and Might and Magic III were initially planned to launch for the stock Genesis. A port of Black Crypt by Raven Software from the Amiga was cancelled.
A version of Doom was released for the 32X add-on (with a newer source port also later created), as was the rail shooters Corpse Killer, Sewer Shark, and the American Laser Games releases such as Mad Dog McCree, Space Pirates, and Crime Patrol. The rail shooters Space Harrier II, Body Count, Lethal Enforcers, Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters and Galaxy Force were also released for the stock Genesis.
A version of Wolfenstein 3D for the Genesis was going to be released in 1994 by Imagineer, who released the SNES version, but was ultimately cancelled. A homebrew version was later created from 2014 to 2018 by GASEGA68k; a port of Super 3D Noah's Ark was also derived from it. He has also produced demos mimicking Mode 7 on the SNES. An experimental port of the Doom engine exists called MegaDOOM.
A port of the Amiga project Grind is also planned.
Saturn[]
See: Sega Saturn
Dreamcast[]
Reviewing Every First Person Shooter on the Sega Dreamcast
- Maken X
Ports of Outrigger, Confidential Mission, Death Crimson OX, The House of the Dead 2, Half-Life, Unreal Tournament, Quake III Arena, and Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child were released for the Sega Dreamcast through the early 2000s. Many more games have been released as homebrew source ports.
Handheld[]
Game Gear[]
Remakes of the first three Madō Monogatari first-person dungeon crawlers were released for the Game Gear, plus Madō Monogatari A: Dokidoki Vacation.
Nomad[]
The Sega Nomad was essentially a miniaturized version of the Sega Genesis.
Atari[]
2600[]
Three Amazing First-Person Atari 2600 Games Compared From 1983
Although not widely remembered, the 2600 had featured a few primitive first-person maze titles, such as Tunnel Runner, Survival Run, Crypts of Chaos, and Escape from the Mindmaster. Mindmaster was prototyped as well for the ColecoVision (which saw forward shooters Sewer Run, Sector Alpha, and Buck Rogers - Planet of Zoom), with the rival Intellivision receiving the first-person role-playing game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin aka Minotaur (as well as its own version of Sewer Run), which in turn almost launched for the 2600. The 2600 also saw the space combat games Star Raiders, Starmaster, and Phaser Patrol.
Following from a notorious hoax from 1997, a handful of attempts have been made to replicate Doom for the groundbreaking 8-bit console, namely Doom 2600 and Planet Doom.
7800[]
LucasArts released Rescue on Fractalus! on the Atari 7800, using fractal technology later used in The Eidolon and Koronis Rift on the Atari 8-bit computers, while the system also later received light gun shooters such as Alien Brigade, Barnyard Blaster, Crossbow, Meltdown, and Sentinel. Fractalus! was also released for the Atari XEGS, which also received a conversion of Battlezone, space shooter Star Raiders II, and light gun shooters Gangsterville, Operation Blood, Operation Blood II – Special Forces, Barnyard Blaster, Bug Hunt, Crime Buster, and Crossbow using the Atari XG-1 light gun.
Jaguar[]
See: Atari Jaguar
Lynx[]
Atari Lynx - Luchsenstein 3D
- Battlezone 2000
- BattleWheels
- Electrocop (third-person)
- Turbo Sub
- Xybots (third-person)
The system also saw the combat flight simulator Warbirds.
A homebrew version of Wolfenstein 3D called Luchsenstein 3D has been created for the Atari Lynx.
3DO[]
See: 3DO
Sony PlayStation[]
See: Sony PlayStation
Apple Pippin[]
Super Marathon was released for the Apple Pippin by Bungie in 1996, as well as the 3D game Shockwave Assault.
Tiger Electronics[]
CGR Undertow - DUKE NUKEM 3D review for Game.com
R-Zone[]
Conversions of the light gun shooters Area 51 and Virtua Cop were made for the R-Zone.
Game.com[]
CD-i[]
Mad Dog McCree - Full Game Walkthrough
American Laser Games light gun shooters such as Mad Dog McCree, Space Pirates, and Crime Patrol were released for the CD-i using the Peacekeeper Revolver, as well as Mystic Midway: Rest in Pieces, Thunder in Paradise, Chaos Control, Solar Crusade, and Creature Shock from other developers.
Neo Geo[]
The Super Spy - Neo Geo - Gameplay
A shooting gallery game, NAM-1975, was released as a launch title for the Neo Geo platform, as was later the forward perspective beat-em-ups The Super Spy and Cross Swords. Cross Swords II released for the Neo Geo CD.
TurboGrafx-16[]
Dungeon Master Theron's Quest - Turbo Tuesday with Dan
Also known as the PC Engine, this console featured versions of the first-person dungeon crawlers Wizardry I-IV, as well as Laplace no Ma, Lady Sword, Dungeons & Dragons: Order of the Griffon, Double Dungeons, as well as Dragon Knight Graffiti and Dragon Knight II, and the real-time Dungeon Master as well as Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest. Versions of Might and Magic were released for the CD-ROM add-ons, as was Shin Megami Tensei.
WonderSwan[]
A version of the influential first-person dungeon crawler Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was released in 2001 for the color variant of the obscure WonderSwan handheld console by Bandai. An English translation was released in 2020.