Hardest shmup you've played

[Xeros606]

Since I'm not as much as a shmup enthusiast as most of you guys, I'd have to say either Ikaruga or R-Type. Ikaruga is manageable for me on easy, but there are still parts I have difficulty with. R-Type is just hell for me, I usually use up all my lives before I even get to the first boss.

Anyone wanna give me some tips?

[BulletMagnet]

There's a recent thread on this topic here and an older thread here. Duplicate thread locked.