Games with the most "wow" moments, the most spectacle?

[ZacharyB]

Under Defeat, when you... drop a simple bomb.
That is arcade opulence at its best.

I also love how, in the original releases, stage 5 begins with no sound effects.

[BIL]

I also love how, in the original releases, stage 5 begins with no sound effects.

Super cool - everything comes together for that scene. Elegiac BGM, pitifully ruined Stalingrad-esque, ferocious yet surreally muted carnage... inspired stuff.

G-REV STGs also get top marks for EXPLOSION CRED - UD's Blue Rocket is the ultimate STG brick through window. Heavy targets are demolished utterly. Proximate zako are atomised. The long charge-up, the very real risk of missing, and the immense score potential, it's the sort of Garegga-style WEAPON (not bomb!) that could support an entire game. (and it pretty much does IIRC - no need for Yellow Vulcan or Green Cannon when you can sledgehammer 'em with blue and clean up on both x2 destruction and boss clear time. unbalanced, but so viscerally rewarding it ultimately doesn't matter.).

See also G-REV-assisted Gradius V and Ikaruga's ritual boss immolations. Blaster Cannon Core looks like it's threatening to vaporise the Vic in its death throes.

On the 2D side Ketsui's Vinogradov is the nearest I've seen to UD's st2 battleship demolition. Doesn't break in half and shower the scene in rain (that was once ocean), but the explosion equally looks and feels like it wants to shatter your AV gear.

UD's third stage is quite Ketsui st3-esque with its roving camera, come to think of it. I've always admired the sense of wider conflict there. Your side's jets rocket off at the start and pop in throughout, most notably with one kamikaze-ing straight into an enemy tank. Also that hapless car that tries to scarper at the end, just like in st1, which you need to mercilessly destroy for full Contribution Bonus.

[Mischief Maker]

Ether Vapor with the missile attack bonus in stage 1. Something about the music and the blurring visuals make what's supposed to be a desperate maneuver to survive into an improbably joyful scene.

Pretty much the entirety of Cloudphobia is a wow moment, especially the aerial fleet battle stage (that once upon a time I had the world wide high score for under "sexy").

Dunno if this counts as a shmup, but Nex Machina is a visual wowzers all the way through, especially thanks to the kind of particle-dense visual imagery its voxel engine is capable of pulling off. And holy crap while so many games have music that take you back to the 80s, Nex Machnia is the one that really takes you back to the 80s arcades, specifically.

[BIL]

Ah yes, Cloudphobia! Not only audiovisually arresting throughout, but also a strong entry in the Racing STG and Melee STG subgenres. The sword's quick draw into skull-splitting cleave is a thing of beauty.

Whatever the answer, you're getting my blade.

Spoiler

Bonus cool for each stage being named after Joy Division/New Order songs In A Lonely Place is not the postmortem dirge of the JD tune, but it could pass for a prime NO single circa Low Life!

Speaking of Racing STG, this scene from Battle Formula (FC). Sunsoft alchemy makes the conceptually insane preposterously probable.

[blossom]

Hot damn, I think I'd seen the first stage of Battle Formula under its localized title of Super Spy Hunter and wasn't too impressed. Skipping around this run that you've linked, though, game looks fun as hell. Might have to check this out.

[BIL]

Oh it's an absolute bitch to get to grips with. For a long time I swore it off, but gradually I realised while restarting st1 furiously - yo, this is a motherfucking Alien Soldier. Initially ungainly, but once you get a nice groove established and can blast off the starting blocks with your upgrades sorted, things slot into place nicely and you can start expressing yourself. Those st1 turrets will make your life hell initially, but soon enough you'll be bitch-slapping them off their rails with your furiously slashing Options.

Problems: st5's Trad STG segment is criminally overlong, though it at least boasts shaweet choonz. Also st6 has a ridiculous glitch (?) you'll need to know about beforehand. Also, the return bullet-infested loop would be much more likeable if it let you keep your loop 1 powerups. Brutal uphill struggle. Still, overall? Recommended. A stylish, unique and relentless action game that'll reward you for grinding through that initial bullshit barrier.

Recommended: toggle-able autofire on "A" button for easier turret manipulation. You've gotta get used to aiming, steering and accelerating simultaneously - it'll take a bit of the load off. Once you're acclimatised you'll want manual A for more precise targeting.

this has got to be the coolest, most ridiculous boss entrance in the history of the genre.

"Sup motherfucker?" *spinning furiously*

Good memories of Thunder Force V. Ain't no thang when you got that spin!

Spoiler

Raiden II (ARC/PS1): Demolishing the launching shuttle in the final Earth-based mission, and the subsequent air-to-air battle with the stealth bomber. The whole scene is overlaid with an immense roaring, first the shuttle's rocket engines, then the bomber's VTOL thrusters, disturbed only by the series' classic piercing explosions - "Metal Storm" is almost totally drowned out. Between the heavy-industrial roar and thunderous explosions, it's absolute stone-faced militaristic destruction - an epitome of the Toaplan school Seibu took up the mantle of.

I'm fond of Akuu Gallet's take on this: https://youtu.be/kVAflPvWxaI?t=100

Another beauty from the Toaplan diaspora! "VISUAL CONTACT!" Well I guess Seibu weren't diaspora so much as shameless copiers, but they did it so good it didn't matter. When the MD port of your signature game plays more like Kyuukyoku Tiger than KT's own port for the same system - all is forgiven!

[Stevens]

G. Rev has been spoken for, but I came to say anytime anything big blows up in a G. Rev title.

Particularly Strania and Under Defeat.

[Zaarock]

G. Rev has been spoken for, but I came to say anytime anything big blows up in a G. Rev title.

Particularly Strania and Under Defeat.

Spoiler

[kid aphex]

Oh, also... Psyvariar 2.
If you haven’t played this game, or watched someone play it, do yourself a favor and watch the first boss encounter. It’s absolutely amazing.
And since we’re talking about explosions, it might have the two best explosions in STG history.