# Linear 2D games where you mainly travel from right to left or from top to bottom **URL:** \ **Category:** Video Games\ **Created:** [January 15, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563 "2022-01-15T15:07:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/1 "2022-01-15T15:07:33Z")
In the majority of linear 2D games, the player character has to travel from left to right (Mario, Sonic, R-Type, Double Dragon, etc.) or from bottom to top (Commando, Ikari Warriors, Xevious, Road Fighter, etc.). This got me thinking about games where this is reversed. Honestly, I can’t think of too many examples. Lunar Lander-style games come to mind. [![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ViyMgWOEi50/XYIt8kdHHwI/AAAAAAAAOIY/PvxyBK_KP9gTjyZmJUYVPV1kakEt9rEHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/LunarLanderArcade2.gif) ](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ViyMgWOEi50/XYIt8kdHHwI/AAAAAAAAOIY/PvxyBK_KP9gTjyZmJUYVPV1kakEt9rEHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/LunarLanderArcade2.gif) Also, Taito’s Jungle Hunt. [![](https://bavatuesdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/jungle_hunt-01.gif) ](https://bavatuesdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/jungle_hunt-01.gif) Sure, there are some games where you travel in an unconventonal direction for a bit (Streets of Rage’s final level and every other level in Kung Fu Master, for example), but games where you exclusively travel from right to left or from top to bottom seem to be quite rare. Do you guys have some more examples? ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/2 "2022-01-15T20:00:15Z")
Top to bottom Downwell [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sT8mGLtpIVM/maxresdefault.jpg "Downwell - Normal Mode Speedrun (6:39:63) WR") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT8mGLtpIVM) Mr Driller [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/inF6ExwC5T4/hqdefault.jpg "PSX Longplay [107] Mr Driller") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inF6ExwC5T4) ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/3 "2022-01-15T20:19:54Z")
Good ones! Your mention of Downwell suddenly reminded me of H.E.R.O.'s gameplay. Another one for the list! ![](https://www.c64-wiki.com/images/d/df/Hero_Animation.gif) ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 7:52am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/4 "2022-01-23T07:52:50Z")
Thought of another game where you travel from the top of the screen to the bottom: Elevator Action. ![](https://steemitimages.com/p/99pyU5Ga1kwkfZ17QX2HV6pndHEsSP86qLakgbyjGn8CMJzY2eeLFi6p22JQ8mCfRVnGSLPzR9SxShNA27F3r4iiJJAmdeY89ZPx4bsStuYNurKQok7nYbKbXepvGRviMs?format=match&mode=fit) Man, I hope the sequel will get an Arcade Archives release one day. ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 8:03am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/5 "2022-01-23T08:03:26Z")
And another one: Penguin Land. ![](https://www.homearcadesystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/the-top-10-underrated-master-system-games_5e2f53f597ca5.gif) I guess side-scrolling games where you travel downwards aren’t that rare. However, I can’t remember any top-down scrolling games where this happens. ---
**Author:** ![ToddDeHavoc](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/todddehavoc/32/4609_2.png) [@ToddDeHavoc](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/ToddDeHavoc)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 10:31am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/6 "2022-01-24T10:31:02Z")
In Choplifter you travel from right to left, rescue hostages and take them back to your base. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/q-0Sfz3zOX8/maxresdefault.jpg "Choplifter! (Brøderbund) for the Atari 8-bit family") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-0Sfz3zOX8) In Caverns of Mars you travel from the surface of Mars into a cavern, set a bomb and then back out. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j0Oq6p01Yr0/maxresdefault.jpg "Caverns of Mars for the Atari 8-bit family") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Oq6p01Yr0) ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:21am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/7 "2022-01-24T11:21:21Z")
Good picks! ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/8 "2022-01-28T03:43:32Z")
One of my all time favorites from when I was a kid. It doesn’t skimp on the difficulty though, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2022, 7:27am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/9 "2022-02-13T07:27:29Z")
Got another one: Dragonfire. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gZRrNcEEZBk/maxresdefault.jpg "Colecovision - Dragonfire © 1984 Imagic - Gameplay") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZRrNcEEZBk) ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/10 "2022-02-13T16:19:16Z")
Oh man, this game makes me laugh… the c64 is hilariously bad, as you need to have almost pixel perfect jumps to clear the fireballs. It’s extremely unforgiving. I do like the Coleco and TRS-80 versions though, they are fun. ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/11 "2022-02-13T16:56:00Z")
Montezuma’s Revenge! You start at the top of the pyramid, and have to work your way room-by-room down to the bottom. The Master System is probably the best version, but it was released on quite a few different platforms. ![montezumas-revenge-featuring-panama-joe-02](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/3X/4/e/4e3f2791a6f0a5ee6f6044ef51b998086428b022.png) ![montezuma_revenge-proto-sms-07](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/3X/8/e/8ebe08d5682160aebfc849cb365100f3c814635f.png) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fBkekrXv-Ss/hqdefault.jpg "(SMS)Montezuma's Revenge") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBkekrXv-Ss) ---
**Author:** ![Danexmurder](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/danexmurder/32/3014_2.png) [@Danexmurder](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Danexmurder)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 6:35am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/12 "2022-02-19T06:35:40Z")
Abbadox for the NES had normal horizontal scrolling levels but the vertical scrolling levels all scroll from top to bottom. This game was tough as nails but I really loved all the body horror. I got for it for Christmas in second grade. Glad I got a Game Genie the same year. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iqryl5lj7Uo/hqdefault.jpg "Abadox (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqryl5lj7Uo) ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 9:12am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/13 "2022-02-19T09:12:58Z")
Nice find! I’ve heard of this game but never played it. It looks really fun! ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/14 "2022-02-21T17:23:24Z")
Walker on the Amiga by DMA Designs and Psygnosis was a really badass 2d sidescrolling game that moves to the left. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/3X/9/d/9d43bfd15e8da7b668219ea07b1044d21cc9c1ea.jpeg) ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/3X/b/2/b2b08da9213d3cc31b0d36bca730b36e21368919.jpeg) You control a mech left and right, and aim your guns with the mouse. Really awesome concept for the time, and it’s animation and sounds were really satisfying. I only ever had the demo for my Amiga when I was a kid, but I always thought it was a cool game. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pe3loCBMCn4/maxresdefault.jpg "Walker Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe3loCBMCn4) ---
**Author:** ![Danexmurder](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/danexmurder/32/3014_2.png) [@Danexmurder](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Danexmurder)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/15 "2022-02-21T17:30:42Z")
Let’s take a look at one of the most unfortunately named games on the NES. SCAT. You can file this one under the “mostly left to right” shooter category BUT it also has up to down and down to up sections. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IXlatlbS2Sw/hqdefault.jpg "S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team (NES) Playthrough [60 FPS] - NintendoComplete") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXlatlbS2Sw) ---
**Author:** ![DaveLong](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/davelong/32/1419_2.png) [@DaveLong](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/DaveLong)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/16 "2022-02-21T22:51:25Z")
“DIE SCUMBAGS!” ---
**Author:** ![Tetsamaphone](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/tetsamaphone/32/14546_2.png) [@Tetsamaphone](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Tetsamaphone)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/17 "2022-02-24T02:29:22Z")
Heavily influenced by Forgotten Worlds by the looks of things. Pitfall which managed to come out on pretty much everything at the time had left and right scrolling. I often wondered if going one way was meant to be harder than the other. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/l_lJ-ONcMEs/hqdefault.jpg "Atari 2600 Longplay [004] Pitfall!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_lJ-ONcMEs) ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/18 "2022-02-24T18:16:47Z")
Maybe side scroller magazine could do a feature on this > ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/19 "2022-02-28T19:44:31Z")
The “Go Straight” side-scrolling beat-em-up book features games that would qualify for this thread Confirmation in this thread [https://twitter.com/pablo\_0151/status/1498296342682161158?s=21](https://twitter.com/pablo_0151/status/1498296342682161158?s=21) > **[Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups](https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/go-straight-the-ultimate-guide-to-side-scrolling-beat-em-ups)** > > Get ready for the fight of your life in Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups. Written by award-winning author Dave Cook, and opening with a foreword by legendary Double Dragon creator, Yoshihisa Kishimoto ---
**Author:** ![retroman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/retroman/32/25205_2.png) [@retroman](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/retroman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563/20 "2022-02-28T20:53:09Z")
Seems like an awesome book! [Next page](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/linear-2d-games-where-you-mainly-travel-from-right-to-left-or-from-top-to-bottom/2563.md?page=2)