The Raiden series carries a legacy of remarkably solid, well-designed shooters that never fail to impress, yet the individual entries never seem to make it into shooter fans’ Top 10 lists. DonPachi is pure bullet hell; Ikaruga, with its polarity-shifting gameplay, draws much praise; Mars Matrix‘ mosquito system turns the enemies’ guns on back on [...]

Irem’s R-Type is without a doubt a shmup/shooter classic with its plodding, strategic gameplay, tough-as-nails challenge, huge bosses, and unique graphical style that seems to make even the most mechanical enemies appear semi-organic. Despite the number of sequels that have appeared since the series’ debut in 1987 (such as R-Type Delta and R-Type Final), it’s the [...]