Vortex Blaster, released in 1984 was my first shmup. Many nights were wasted playing this into the wee hours of the morning.
Info:
http://www.stickfreaks.com/sc3000h.php
Screenshots:
This game is quite likely to have never appeared outside of Australia or New Zealand. It came on both cartridge and tape (with sampled speech only on the tape), and was often bundled with the unit. Nostalgia++.