20 Arcade Games That Prove 1986 Was A Landmark Year For Gaming

17. Salamander – Konami

Out Run Title Screen
Konami

Also known as Life Force, Salamander was a sequel to the hugely popular shoot ‘em up Gradius. It added to the winning formula of the original game by adding vertically scrolling stages to the existing horizontal affairs and also disposed of the annoying checkpoint system of its predecessor by allowing you to continue where you left off when a life was lost. 

Salamander was just as big a hit on home systems as it was in the arcades spawning a number of very high quality conversions.

 
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Contributor

Kieren is from England and is a well known figure in gaming circles. As a writer he is probably best known for his work on the award-winning Retro Gamer magazine but over the years he has written for numerous publications and websites. A keen games collector himself, he is also the organiser of several UK-based gaming events and has a big social media presence.