Play Cross Fire Online

Cross Fire came out on the Sega Genesis in 1991, developed by Kyugo Boueki. It was one of those many shooters that filled the library back then, not a huge standout but a solid entry if you were into the genre. It had the kind of straightforward, no-frills presentation that was common for the time.

You pilot a small ship through side-scrolling and top-down stages, shooting down waves of enemy crafts and dodging their patterned attacks. The main goal is simply to survive each level and defeat the boss waiting at the end. Two mechanics define the action: collecting power-ups to switch between different weapon types, like a wide spread shot or focused lasers, and navigating screen by screen as the perspective sometimes shifts unexpectedly. The pacing is fast, and the difficulty is pretty relentless, with bullets coming from all directions. It feels like a constant scramble to stay alive just a little bit longer.