All-Time Favorite Shoot'em up Games

Soldier Blade (ソルジャーブレイド) is a scrolling shooter video game released for the TurboGrafx-16 system known as the PC Engine in Japan. It is the fourth and final game in the Star Soldier series. The player pilots the Soldier Blade fighter against the Zeograd Army, aliens bent on conquering Earth.

Gate of Thunder (ゲート オブ サンダー) is a 1992 scrolling shooter by Hudson Soft and Red Company for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM². It was also a pack-in game for the TurboDuo in North America.

Gradius (グラディウス) is a 1985 horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1985. In Gradius, the player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game features a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to 'purchase' additional weapons.

Lords of Thunder, known as Winds of Thunder (ウィンズ オブ サンダー) in Japan, is a shoot 'em up by Hudson Soft and Red Company for the Turbo CD which was released in 1993. It was ported to the Sega CD in 1995. It is the unofficial follow-up to Gate of Thunder. The game is notable for its heavy metal soundtrack.

Image Fight (イメージファイト) is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Irem.

R-Type (アールタイプ) is a side-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987.

Radiant Silvergun (レイディアントシルバーガン) is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Treasure. It was originally released on the ST-V arcade platform in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn later that year. The Saturn version features additional cutscenes by animation studio Gonzo.

Air Zonk (also called PC Denjin Punkic Cyborg!/PC Denjin／Completion○／Clear× (PC電人／補完○／クリア× PC denjin/ hokan ￮/ kuria ×)) is a video game, a side-scrolling shooter released for the TurboGrafx 16 console in 1992. Air Zonk was an attempt to update the company's image via a modern, punkish character called Zonk, who bears a purposeful resemblance to the TurboGrafx-16's caveman mascot, Bonk.

DoDonPachi (怒首領蜂) an onomatopoeia of gunfire is a vertically scrolling manic shooter arcade game developed by Cave and published by Atlus in 1997. It was the second game developed by Cave, and the sixth on Cave's first generation arcade hardware. As with its predecessor DonPachi, the title is both a Japanese term for expressing the sound of gunfire, and a term that relates to bees (here it means "angry leader bee").

Air Buster is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up video game produced by Kaneko and co-distributed by Namco for the arcades in 1990. It was subsequently ported to the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 (under the title Aero Blasters) and for the Mega Drive in Japan in 1991.

Soukyugurentai (蒼穹紅蓮隊) also known as Terra Diver, is a vertical-scrolling shooting game by Raizing originally released as an arcade game for the ST-V platform in 1996. The game was ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1997

M.U.S.H.A. is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Compile and released for the Sega Genesis in 1990. An entry in Compile's shooter series, Aleste, MUSHA places the player in the role of a flying mecha pilot who must destroy a large super intelligent computer threatening planet Earth.

Layer Section (RayForce) is a vertical space shooter style game by Taito released in 1994, and later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, Microsoft Windows in 1997. When Acclaim published the Saturn version for the North American and European markets, it was renamed Galactic Attack. The game was also titled Gunlock in European arcades.

Gunhed is a vertically scrolling shooter by Hudson Soft and Compile. A video game based on the Japanese film of the same name. The title was released in Japan for the PC Engine and North America in 1989 under the name Blazing Lazers for the TurboGrafx-16.

Battle Garegga (バトルガレッガ) is a vertically scrolling shoot'em up arcade game developed by Raizing and published by Eighting in 1996 and later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1998.

Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (銀河婦警伝説サファイア) is a shoot 'em up developed by CAProduction for the PC Engine CD-ROM² System. It was published in 1995 by Hudson Soft exclusively in Japan.

Tatsujin is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well in North America by Midway under the name Truxton.

Super Star Soldier is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Kaneko and originally published by Hudson Soft in 1990 for the PC Engine and in 1991 for the North American TurboGrafx-16. It is the sequel to Star Soldier, and part of a vertical-scrolling shooter series by Hudson Soft.

Gaiares (ガイアレス) is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Telenet Japan and published by Renovation for the Sega Genesis in Japan and North America in 1990. It was one of the first 8Mb cartridge games on the Genesis.

R-Type III: The Third Lightning (アールタイプ3 ザ・サード・ライトニング) is a 1993 horizontally scrolling shooter video game.

Seirei Senshi Spriggan is a vertical shooter style game developed by Compile and published by Naxat Soft which was released in Japan in 1991 on PC Engine.

Cotton (コットン) is a series of shoot 'em up video games developed by Success which was originally released as an arcade game on the Sega System 16B arcade board in 1991.

Layer Section II is a scrolling shooter developed by the Taito Corporation. Originally released in Japan as an arcade game in 1996, it was ported to Sega Saturn in 1997, to Sony's PlayStation (under the name RayStorm) that same year, and to Windows-based personal computers in 2001.

Star Parodier (スターパロジャー) is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Kaneko and published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine CD-ROM² in 1992. It is a spin-off of the Star Soldier series.

Gunbird (ガンバード) is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up developed by Psikyo and released in arcades in 1994. In the US, it was published by Jaleco. It has been released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1995.

Thunder Force IV, known in North America as Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar, is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Technosoft for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1992. It is the fourth installment in Technosoft's Thunder Force series, and the third and final one created for the Genesis.

Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams is a 1997 scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Success and published by Tecmo. The fourth installment in the Cotton franchise, it is the arcade sequel to Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams.

Gradius III is a 1989 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami, originally released for the arcades in Japan and other parts of Asia on December 11, 1989. It is the third game in the Gradius series. The game was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1990 and North America in 1991, and served as a launch title for the system in North America.

Thunder Force V is a 1997 Japanese side-scrolling shooter video game developed by Technosoft for the Sega Saturn.

Final Soldier is a 1991 vertical-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Hudson Soft in Japan. It is the third game in the main Star Soldier series.