Is Vertical Force on Steam?

No. Vertical Force is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.

What platforms is Vertical Force on?

Vertical Force is available on Virtual Boy.

When did Vertical Force release?

Vertical Force was first released on August 12, 1995.

Vertical Force

Aug 12, 1995ShooterArcadeVirtual Boy

Vertical Force — frequently asked questions

Is Vertical Force on Steam?: No. Vertical Force is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
What platforms is Vertical Force on?: Vertical Force is available on Virtual Boy.
When did Vertical Force release?: Vertical Force was first released on August 12, 1995.

About Vertical Force

Pilot a Futuristic Star Fighter in a Battle for Mankind! GALACTIC YEAR 210. The earth and its colonies face annihilation in a futuristic war against the human race. YOU have been chosen to pilot RAGNAROK, a star fighter from an advanced alien civilization. Reinforced by fearless AI CHARACTERS, you must locate and destroy menacing fighters and enemy droids. With sheer VERTICAL FORCE blast your way into another dimension to the final Virtual frontier. This mission for mankind is brutal. Be prepared, for it has only just begun!

Summary via IGDB.

Vertical Force on Wikipedia

Vertical Force is a 1995 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Virtual Boy. It was released in Japan in August 1995 and North America by Nintendo in December 1995. The player controls a starship, the Ragnarok, that must destroy a malfunctioning supercomputer on a human colony planet before it wipes out mankind. Gameplay is similar to Hudson's Star Soldier series, featuring power-up items that increase the player's abilities and parallax scrolling. The player can move their ship further into the background to avoid enemies and obstacles in the way.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Science fiction
Official site: Visit

Details via IGDB.

Collector value & authenticity

Virtual Boy · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-08-22

Loose

$67

Complete

$137

Sealed

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Release record

Territory	Date	Serial	Barcode	MSRP
Japan Hudson Soft Company, Ltd.	12 Aug 1995	VUE-VH3J-JPN	4988607005207	¥4,900
North America	December 1995	VUE-VH3E-USA	045496770075	—
Mexico Gamela México	—	VUE-VH3E-USA	045496770075	—

North America: ESRB Kids to Adults with an Animated Violence descriptor. Released four months after Japan.

Community score: 74/100
Region: JP+NA
Released: 1995
Authenticity: Low

On Nintendo Switch Online since May 14, 2026 — the cartridge is now a collectibleLow counterfeit risk

Virtual Boy prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A competent Hudson shmup that uses two depth planes as a dodge mechanic — better than its reputation, a step below Red Alarm.

Hudson knew how to build shooters, and this is a Hudson shooter: you fly on two vertically stacked planes and swap between them to dodge fire and reach different enemies — a genuinely smart use of the display. Its Switch Online status is the interesting part. Konami, which now owns Hudson, licensed this title to Nintendo but not Panic Bomber; the likely difference is the Bomberman brand, which Konami still actively monetises. Vertical Force is dormant IP nobody is protecting.

What the press said at the time

GameFan Vol. 3 #11	1995	82.5/100
Game Zero	1995	23/25
Electronic Gaming Monthly #79	February 1996	6.8/10
Weekly Famicom Tsūshin #349	1995	21/40

One of only four Virtual Boy games Electronic Gaming Monthly ever reviewed. Later reappraisals landed lower and more mixed — Digital Press 6/10, Electric Playground 4.5/10, Nintendo Life 7/10 in 2009.