Usually, I hate best-of lists. And to be perfectly upfront, I expect this list to bend and morph as the years wear on, as the Switch has become a heaven for bullet hell.
But when there are so many options out there, it seems like a list to sort through them is a good point of entry. And there truly are a lot to get through. For a dying genre, there sure are a wealth of STG games to choose from. I won’t pretend that I have had enough time to put in the work on every “shmup” out there to have a valid opinion on them (Steredenn, Azure Reflections, RXN, Shikhondo, etc.). Others, like Devil Engine and Danmaku Unlimited 3, are on my queue. Some usual suspects (Sine Mora, Sky Force, etc.) are a bit…too obvious. You already know everything you want to know about them, and your mind is made up.
So onto this messy, sure-to-be-outdated-in-a-few-months list. It’s a start.
5. Strikers 1945 II
This game wasn’t on the first draft of this list. Mainly because Strikers 1945 II is too damn hard. This was an arcade game meant to be played by two people, and I’m not sure they did any balancing or scaling for single player. Like many PSiKYO joints, you have a wide difficulty scale here, but the top half of it is nigh unplayable, unless you’re a god of thumbs.
Level design? It doesn’t exist, strictly speaking. There are merely a handful of targets you have to remember to shoot first before progressing. This is all about managing charge attacks, grabbing power-ups, and calling in specials (which act, for the most part, as shields) at the last second.
So why did Strikers make the list? While it is quite punishing, it’s also rewarding. This is a relic of trading dollars for tokens, entering your initials for a hard-fought high score. They don’t make ’em like this anymore.
4. Astebreed
“Busy” is probably the best word to describe this one. Astebreed is a four-season anime trapped in a 40-minute shooter. FRIENDSHIP! MECHS! SPACE OPERA! FAN SERVICE! ASS SHOT! SUBTITLES ONLY! JPOP! End credits.
Beneath that is an interesting twist on a classic shooter. You have three enemy projectile-types to deal with, three primary attacks (and one special) to utilize, and three different shooter genres to play in. Astebreed seamlessly shifts from a horizontal shooter to a vertical one, and then tosses in a 3D/head-on view for added spice. These morphing spatial orientations don’t always perfectly stick the landing, but the ambition is admirable.
Still, what really works in this game’s favor is its difficulty curve. This is not a coin-eater from the past; “Easy” mode exists so that mortals with a life can appreciate and beat this game. Higher difficulties are there for the rest of us, and the challenge is plenty stiff by the end of the “Normal” campaign. If this is the future of the STG? Sign me up.
3. Blazing Star
Ah, deep in the NeoGeo vault’s SNK section, we find Aicom/Yumekobo’s classic. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I sure wish I could go murder a mutant-space-baby in a horizontal shooter“? Then your day has come, my friend. Bask in the glow of the late 1990s.
Blazing Star is a popcorn game. It’s damn hard (some sections seem to have death baked into the experience), but forgiving enough to be beatable. It has depth and strategy in selecting a ship, but it isn’t going to punish you so harshly for a false move that you would have to restart a level. The aesthetic? It lands somewhere between old-school pixel art and DKC-style rendered sprites. Like I said, 90s.
Do yourself a favor – disengage the visual filters (which muddy up and darken the screen), and turn on auto-fire. Then enjoy the ride. Oh, and the slowdown? It was the 90s, man.
2. Ikaruga
In the history of arcade shooters, there is no other developer spoken of in the same hushed, revered tones as the mighty Treasure. Which is a bit odd, when one considers that Wario World and Mischief Makers are probably as famous to as many gamers of a certain age as Sin and Punishment.
But the level of quality and polish in their greatest works? That is what has put Treasure in the pantheon of gamemakers. While Radiant Silvergun has yet to see a Switch re-release, we have been lucky enough to get Ikaruga, arguably the greatest STG of all.
While the visuals have stood the test of time and the soundtrack is an underrated classic, the genius gameplay loop is what keeps bringing people back to Ikaruga. The common tagline of “a shooter with puzzle elements” is true, but it’s slightly misleading. What Treasure created here is a nigh-religious gaming experience, one in which a zen state of reverie can be obtained between shooting, dodging, polarity reversing and absorbing. Colors shift and patterns emerge; all of the world briefly makes sense. It’s equally gripping and trippy. It’s a masterpiece.
So why doesn’t it top this list? Although you can do a free-play run on Switch or increase your continues, to play Ikaruga as it was intended is to be gut-punched by failure within a time loop. The generation of people who think that Dark Souls is hard have no idea of Treasure’s sadistic streak.
1. Zero Gunner 2-
Welcome to the greatest shooter you’ve never heard of. Its peculiar history is a story for another day; for now, its sublime balance carries the day to top this list.
Whereas Strikers’ hooligan bloodlust is ever-present, Blazing Star seemingly builds in death, and Ikaruga goes for your throat by Act 3, the slow burn is rewarded in Zero Gunner 2-. Oh, it will murder the hell out of you on the highest difficulty, but in the mid-“normal” tier, where most gamers live? It’s a gradual ramp to the final boss. In a genre that delights in a reputation for breaking the spirit (and controllers) of its fans, the more nuanced take here is a breath of fresh air.
The control scheme also deserves a special shout-out. This is no twin-stick shooter: a “pivot” button turns your helicopter (hold the button and use your normal left analog stick to aim in the direction of your choosing). It sounds clumsy, but it is an elegant solution, one that turns an omni-directional shooter into something that feels and plays like a vertical or horizontal STG.
Add in a “magnetism” mechanic – power-ups are pulled to you, but only if you stop shooting – and you have a gameplay loop that trades away bullet hell for something uncommon in this genre: the art of the pause. For a high score, not shooting is as important as shooting. Positioning for an attack matters more than the actual attack.
Zero Gunner 2- is the shoot-em-up for the rest of us.
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