Blazing Star

2 Players

Stand out version - NEO GEO

The belated sequel to Pulstar and probably the most recent game to make the list. Blazing Star is seen of as a bit of a black sheep amongst the Pulstar fan fraternity but this is a little bit of an unfair judgement as far as I'm concerned as the game is still a lot of fun and comes across as being a lot more accessible than the original.

Coryoon

1 Player

Stand out version - TG-16

This excellent cute-em-up that has you playing as a dragon is fun and intense, it's especially suitable for score attack style playing due to the fact that all the enemies drop points giving fruit when killed, the screen often becomes so completely packed with enemies, bullets and fruit that it takes some serious concentration to avoid death whilst still collecting the fruit and accumulating points.

Elemental Master

1 player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

Made by Technosoft, the same people who created the Thunder Force series, Elemental Master is a vertical shmup that has you on foot controlling a man as opposed to the usual spaceship/airplane, as such due to the theme there's more room for adding in environmental hazards such as spikes and rock falls, the game is a joy to play but is a little on the easy side so definitely one more for the mid to low experience shoot-em-up players put there.

Eliminate Down

1 player

Stand out version - Mega Drive

One of the most impressive of the 16-bit shooters both graphically and technically (masses of stuff on screen with little slow down here) Eliminate down is quite rightfully one of the more sought after shmups out there, and therein lies the problem as the game is now prohibitively expensive to buy (yes, even more than Radiant Silvergun).

Fire Shark

1 Player

Stand out Version - Mega Drive

This sequel to Flying Shark/Sky Shark may not be one of the most unique games in this list, but for what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with quite simply very well judged and fun game play, every element is just honed to a very high level. Fans of the original Flying Shark should check out Ghost Pilots on the Neo Geo too as it's pretty much a derivative with updated graphics.

 

Gaiares

1 player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

Another one of the fan favourite Mega Drive shmups, Gaiares has an original power-up system whereby you send your force pod style satellite to clamp onto enemies and gather information, after doing this you can now use the targets weapons, as each enemy gives you a different weapon this adds an element of discovery to the game as you'll want to find out what all the different enemies do.

Gate of Thunder

1 player

Stand out versions - TG-CD

The TurboGrafx's answer to the Thunder Force series, Gate of Thunder is a real class act, everything is amazingly well put together and very impressive for the time it came out, and it's easily one of the best scrolling shooters of the generation. The intro is also the greatest shmup intro of all time! (though it's missing some of Zero Wing's iconic quotability I guess)

Gley Lancer

1 player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

One of my personal favourite's, and another one which is sadly overpriced these days. Gley Lancer provides some of the greatest controls of any shooter out there with masses of options from the get go and a moveable 360 degree aiming gun, there's also some great set pieces and timeless music thrown in for good measure.

Gradius II

1 Player

Stand out versions - TG-CD

Konami did a pretty excellent job updating their genre defining Gradius with this, flying through levels with big flaming suns and giant serpents, shooting through ice fields with them breaking up into smaller pieces, the voice acting and high quality music, it was all ported to the TurboGrafx excellently. Heck the game was so good that Konami rehashed it for Gradius III with the whole thing playing in slow motion with much lower quality sound and it was still highly thought of!

Gunhed/Blazing Lasers

1 Player

Stand out versions - TG-16

Gunhed must've been the TG-16's first true killer app, I remember the magazines going wild for it when it was first released and it's easy to see why as the game put pretty much all other home console shmups of the time to shame with it's nice graphics, massive bosses and impressive weaponry. Maybe it was overtaken by later games but at the time there was nothing like it.