I've waxed poetic about my love of the PC Engine before, particularly its slew of incredible shmups. However, with so many incredible entries in the genre, how do you even pick out the best ones the console has to offer?
Here's my personal list of my ten favorite shmups on the PC Engine:
10. Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire: Sapphire is a very fascinating game. Not only is it one of the last games to come out on the PC Engine CD, not only is it a surprising hard right into shmup territory for the otherwise VN-centric Yuna series, it's also one of the most expensive games on the console. I won't deny that Sapphire has its issues, the slow characters move too slowly and boss healthbars can be easily shredded no matter who you pick, but it's still a generally polished and punchy shmup at the end of the day. But most of all, I still think this game is worth playing for the sheer audioviual spectacle of it all. Sapphire is easily the most impressive PC Engine game visually, somehow shattering the console's limitations and implementing prerendered polygonal enemies and bosses that wouldn't feel out of place in a Super FX or Saturn game. The enemies and bosses are so consistently unpredictable and off-the-wall that I love playing through Sapphire just to see what else the game is going to toss at you next. On top of that, Sapphire boasts a phenomenal rock soundtrack by T's Music that rivals the best the console has to offer. Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire may be short and a bit poorly-balanced, but it captures the appeal of the PC Engine CD in its purest form.
9. Nexzr: Nexzr is an uncharacteristically minimalist shmup compared to the rest of the PC Engine's library, focusing more on precise bullet dodging rather than flashy setpieces. This is both Nexzr's greatest strength and probably its greatest weakness, as while it doesn't really break any new ground, the fundamental game design at play is incredibly polished and confident. Each of the game's six stages are perfectly-paced and boast some serious bite, the boss fights are all top-notch and just get better as the game goes on, and the sparse visual style and spacey soundtrack gives Nexzr a strong sense of atmosphere. It's easily one of the most underrated shmups on the console and I'd even argue it can rival Hudson's own first-party Star Soldier series.
8. Seirei Senshi Spriggan: Seirei Senshi Spriggan is Compile's big PC Engine entry, and it has all the usual bombast and mechanical complexity you've come to expect from their games. In a similar fashion to the Genesis's similarly great MUSHA, Spriggan blends large-scale mech combat with medieval fantasy inspired environments to craft an incredibly interesting world with varied and memorable landscapes to fight your way through and some absolutely wild boss fights. However, easily the best thing about Seirei Senshi Spriggan is its powerup system, which lends you a unique weapon based on which of the four elemental orbs you're currently holding, allowing for a whopping 29 powerups. The sheer customization and freedom of this system really carries the game, making every playthrough feel entirely unique. While I personally slightly prefer MUSHA for its faster pace and better soundtrack, you still can't do wrong with the first Spriggan game.
7. Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams: Fantastic Night Dreams for the PC Engine is easily the best way to play the original Cotton game, really taking advantage of the CD-ROM technology to amp up the presentation on every level. The cutscenes have full-on voice acting that allow the absolute gremlin of a character that is Cotton to really shine, the graphics balance cute with eerie to craft a really strong atmosphere with the series, and of course, the redone CD quality soundtrack stands out as one of my absolute favorites on the system. As for the game itself, though, it's a fairly simple but pure fun cute-em-up with an addictive XP system, brisk pace, and solid difficulty curve. It's a perfect introduction to one of my favorite shmup protagonists of all time.
6. Gunhed: I've already reviewed Gunhed here, but I'll reiterate my thoughts quickly. Gunhed is one of the best early system sellers on the console, serving as a great graphical showcase of how the PC Engine can pull off fast-paced action games with zero slowdown. Being a collaboration between Hudson and Compile, you get the varied and dynamic level design of a Star Soldier game combined with the bombastic screen-clearing weapons of an Aleste game. It's a bit on the long side, but it boasts a fairly beginner-friendly powerup system, and spans across an impressive nine stages each tackling shmup archetypes in fun and fresh ways. If there's any of these games I'd recommend you play first if you want to delve into the PC Engine library, it would probably be Gunhed.
5. Lords Of Thunder: Lords Of Thunder is a great shmup if you want pure, dumb, balls-to-the-walls action fun. In what feels like a polar opposite approach to its relatively pared-down predecessor, Gate Of Thunder, Lords Of Thunder is one of the most maximalist shmups I've ever played. It has four entirely weapon sets you can use, RPG mechanics like a shop, a gritty techno-medieval aesthetic, massive boss fights that often don't even fit the screen, and of course, a hard rock ballad soundtrack with some of the gnarliest shreds in the gaming medium. It's 45 minutes of adrenaline-pumping spectacle, and while the sheer visual noise might be a bit too much for genre purists, people who vibe with Lords Of Thunder's maximalist energy are in for one of the most original, unique, and polished shmups on the console.
4. Air Zonk: Air Zonk is probably the biggest surprise gem out of any game in this list, because I do not like the Bonk series. I'm not a fan of the character (cavemen characters don't do it for me), and the wonky momentum makes the potentially fun platformer entries into a pretty huge slog. However, the weird cyberpunk shmup spinoff Air Zonk really blew me away. Air Zonk is just dripping with originality, from the inventive futuristic environments, to the subversive cyberfunk interpretations of Bonk iconography, to the absolute treasure trove of wacky powerups to use, to the robust companion system that gives the game so much customization and replayability, to one of the wildest final stages I've ever played in the genre, to its godly chiptune soundtrack. Don't let the weird premise put you off, Air Zonk is one of the freshest and most original shmups out there, and it stands out as far and away my favorite Bonk game.
3. Gate Of Thunder: Gate Of Thunder is Hudson's take on the Thunder Force series, and believe it or not, I think it manages to rival if not surpass most of its contemporaries. This is one of the most efficient side-scrolling shmups I've ever played, not a single second of Gate Of Thunder's 35-40 minute runtime feels wasted. Each stage is constantly tossing new ideas and obstacles at you, densely-packed with enemies and hazards, never leaving you to do the same thing for too long. You get three weapons you can swap between at any time, and they're so well-balanced that I never found myself just leaning on one shot type, they're all useful. The spritework is some of the cleanest and most vibrant on the console, and the rock soundtrack by Nick Wood boasts some serious bangers, even if it can sadly be drowned out by the sound effects a tad. Aside from that, though, Gate Of Thunder is honestly as close to perfect as a shmup can be, and it's still only third on my list.
2. Soldier Blade: Soldier Blade is far and away the reigning peak of the Star Soldier game, it just gets everything right. Fast and frenetic pacing? Check. Fun and varied level design? Check. Large-scale bosses that are fun to take down? Check. The powerup system is brilliant in its simplicity, letting you hold up to three weapon orbs and allowing you to use them as a bomb at the cost of losing that weapon. The kinetic soundtrack by Keita Hoshi, probably the best composer the original PC Engine has to offer, ranks as one of the best on the entire console. The icing on the cake, though, is the addition of a rival character who repeatedly shows up throughout the game to stop you in your tracks. Shmup stories tend to not be especially great, but just by giving you an antagonist you can really hate, Soldier Blade manages to stand out as probably the most motivating shmup on the PC Engine.
1. Magical Chase: While Gate Of Thunder and Soldier Blade are probably the best traditional shmups on the PC Engine, Magical Chase stands out as my personal favorite for just how unique it is. Similarly to Cotton, it's a side-scrolling cute-em-up where you play as an adorable witch. The addition of a shop where you can buy increasingly more powerful weapons as the game goes on gives Magical Chase a unique feeling of progression, and the immensely customizable option system gives the game a lot of extra mechanical depth. The levels get increasingly more ambitious and surprising as they go on, the cartoony spritework is both utterly adorable and blisteringly colorful, and the uniquely calming and atmospheric soundtrack by Masaharu Iwata and Hideki Yamamoto (yes, that Hideki Yamamoto) is easily the most impressive on the PC Engine's original soundchip. Seriously, listen to this stuff. Magical Chase is one of the rarest games on the system and while I probably wouldn't recommend shelling 5,000+ dollars for it, I would recommend finding a way to play it however you can. It's a Top 3 PC Engine game for me, and a lovable adventure not worth missing.
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