

Thunder Dragon 2 is a vertical arcade shooter, developed and published by NMK in 1993. The game uses variable rate scrolling (the screen scrolls at different speeds or not at all), and is played from a top-down view. Unlike space shooters, Thunder Dragon 2 is played in-atmosphere on a single world with contemporary airplanes. The game contains eight stages, with popcorn enemies and ships with varying degrees of durability throughout. Each stage culminates in a boss fight, preceded by a warning. The player chooses between two different ships, a slow but powerful ship on the player 1 side, and a fast but weak ship on the player 2 side. Scoring is accomplished through enemy destruction, accumulation of medals dropped by enemies, and special bonus awards for completing specific tasks.

Shooter / Puzzle / Indie / Action / Science fiction
In this vertical scrolling spaceship shooter, you control a ship that can change its polarity at will. As blue/white, the ship can easily destroy red/black enemies, and vice versa. Bullets of your polarity can be collected to fuel your energy gauge, but those opposite will kill you. Destroying an enemy ship causes them to fire revenge bullets which can be absorbed and fired back by the player. Different difficulties exist to change exactly how you interact with polarized points, or how they appear. It is the spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun, featuring similar level and boss design, as well as it's buddhism inspired themes and aesthetics. Both are directed by Hiroshi Iuchi, who also composed Ikaruga's soundtrack.

Espgaluda II is a manic shooter originally released by Cave in the arcades in 2005 as a sequel to Espgaluda.

Shooter / Racing / Arcade / Action
Mission: Code Name River Raid. Jet down the river. Break the enemy blockade and blast the bridges to halt enemy troop advances. Terrain: Code Name River of No Return. An ever-changing, ever-challenging waterway. Expect huge islands, narrow channels and treacherous bays crawling with enemy choppers, tankers and jets. Weaponry: Code Name StratoStrafer. Your B1 StratoWing Assault Jet has been retrofitted with sophisticated, rapid-fire guided missiles. Your craft is super-sensitive to the stick. Accelerate, slow or bank radically with only a touch. Tactics: Jet low to the river to avoid radar. Stop periodically at depots to refuel. A warning claxxon will alert you. Top speed! Best of luck!

Shooter / Arcade / Action / Science fiction
The past is being altered. An android, known as Next EXY, has traveled one thousand years back in time. Your task is to stop NEXY and the other Elemental Daughters who were built in the image of the Elemental Dolls who once protected humanity. What is NEXY’s intent? Should you attack what you shouldn’t understand? Orders are orders, and Col. Godwin Longhener is not to be ignored. The legendary bullet-hell shoot-’em-up series has come to Steam with DoDonPachi Resurrection from CAVE Co., Ltd., the powerhouse behind revered bullet-hell shooters such as Mushihimesama and Deathsmiles.

Shooter / Arcade / Action / Science fiction
DonPachi is a 1995 vertical manic shoot-'em-up originally in arcades and was the first game from the developer Cave. Settings are mainly woodland and enemies are military vehicles and robots, culminating in the final boss, a huge robotic bee. One of three weapon configurations is chosen at start and then leveled up through dropped power-ups. DonPachi was ported to the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1996.

Shooter / Arcade / Action / Historical
The game is set in the Pacific theater of World War II, off the coast of the Midway Atoll. The goal is to attack the Japanese Air Fleet that bombed the players' American Aircraft Carrier, pursue all Japanese Air and Sea forces, fly through the 16 levels of play, make their way to the Japanese battleship Yamato and destroy her. 11 Levels consist of an Air-to-Sea battle (with a huge battleship or an aircraft carrier as an End-Level Boss), while 5 levels consist of an all-aerial battle against a squadron of Japanese Bombers and a Mother Bomber that needs to be destroyed. As in 1942, players pilot a P-38. Two buttons are used: one for regular attacks (with several weapons) and one for special actions that executes either a loop like in 1942 or one of three special attacks that damage the plane. Unlike 1942, the player only has one life, with one refillable energy meter. Destroying a complete formation of red enemy planes will result in a power-up, such as a health boost or a temporary special weapons which replaces the default twin gun.

Shooter / Arcade / Action / Science fiction
Raiden consists of eight vertical scrolling missions where the player maneuvers the Raiden craft dodging and destroying enemy robots, buildings, ground targets, and aircraft. There are bombs and missile powerups as well as collectable medals which add to the score. When player dies, the fighter's fragments become projectiles that damage enemies. After defeating the Stage 8 boss, the mission is completed, and player receives 1 million points for each completed loop. Afterwards, it will start back to Stage 1. This time around, enemies shoot faster and at a more rapid rate.