20th Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time - Results

[Nifty]

Top 25 Shmups of All Time (through 2023)

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##. Game                                               Score  02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
01. Battle Garegga (ARC/SAT/PS4/XB1)                    7.93   +  +  *  +  +  +  =  =  =  =  =  +  =  +  +  +  +  +  =
02. DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou/Black Label/etc. (ARC/etc.)   7.59   *  +  +  +  +  +  +  ~  +  +  +  +  +  -  -  +  +  +  +
03. Ketsui ~Kizuna Jigoku Tachi~ (ARC/360/PS3/PS4)      7.57   .  *  *  *  *  *  +  =  +  =  =  +  -  =  -  -  =  -  -
04. Mushihimesama Futari / 1.5 / Black Label (ARC/360)  6.61   .  .  .  .  *  *  +  ~  ~  -  -  -  -  =  +  =  -  =  =
05. DoDonPachi (ARC/SAT/PSX)                            5.61   -  -  -  -  -  =  -  -  =  +  =  =  +  +  -  +  -  +  =
06. Mushihimesama (ARC/PS2/360/PC/SWI)                  5.01   .  .  *  +  +  +  +  +  *  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +
07. Darius Gaiden (ARC/SAT/PSX/PS2/etc.)                4.65   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  +  *  *  +  +  +  *  *  +  +  +
08. Ikaruga (ARC/DC/GC/360/PC/SWI/PS4)                  4.37   -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  =  +  +  -  +  +  +  =  -  -  -
09. RayForce / Layer Section / etc. (ARC/PS2/SAT/etc.)  4.25   *  -  +  +  +  +  +  *  *  *  +  -  -  -  -  +  +  +  +
10. ESP Ra.De. / Psi (ARC/PS4/SWI)                      4.18   -  =  +  +  +  +  +  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  +  +  +
11. Batsugun / Batsugun Special (ARC/SAT/PC/etc.)       4.03   *  +  +  *  +  +  +  +  +  -  -  +  +  +  +  +  +  *  =
12. Crimzon Clover / World Ignition / etc. (PC/etc.)    3.79   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  *  *  *  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
13. Radiant Silvergun (ARC/SAT/360/SWI/PC)              3.71   -  -  -  -  -  -  -  +  *  +  -  -  +  -  -  -  -  -  -
14. G-Darius (ARC/PS2/PSX/etc.)                         3.49   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  +  +
15. DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu/1.5/Resurrection (ARC/etc.)  3.45   .  .  .  .  .  .  *  *  *  -  *  *  *  *  *  -  -  *  *
16. Deathsmiles / Mega Black Label (ARC/360/PC/etc.)    3.43   .  .  .  .  .  *  *  ~  -  *  +  +  *  *  *  +  +  +  +
17. Armed Police Batrider (ARC)                         3.24   *  *  +  *  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
18. Cho Ren Sha 68K (PC/X68)                            3.10   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  +  -
19. Flying Shark / Hishouzame / Sky Shark (ARC/etc.)    2.99   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
20. Progear no Arashi (ARC/SWI/PC/PS4/XB1)              2.96   *  *  *  *  *  -  -  *  *  *  *  *  *  -  +  *  *  *  *
21. ESPGaluda (ARC/PS2)                                 2.91   .  *  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  *  -  -  -  -  *
22. Strikers 1945 II (ARC/SAT/PSX/PS2/SWI/etc.)         2.86   -  -  -  -  *  -  -  -  -  -  +  -  +  -  =  -  *  +  *
23. Eschatos (360/PC/SWI/PS4)                           2.76   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  *  *  *  *  -  *  *  *  -  *  *
24. R-Type (ARC/PCE/PSX/etc.)                           2.63   -  -  -  -  *  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  -  -  -
25. Dangun Feveron / Fever SOS (ARC/PS4/XB1)            2.62   *  *  *  *  *  *  -  -  *  *  *  *  *  -  -  -  -  -  -

• = denotes the game holds the same position now as the year indicated.
• + denotes the game holds an improved standing compared to the year indicated.
• - denotes the game holds a reduced standing compared to the year indicated.
• * denotes the game was not on the list for the year indicated.
• . denotes the game was not released or otherwise eligible for voting for the year indicated.
• ~ denotes the game vote was classified (significantly) differently for the year indicated.

Thanks to the forum software update I now have a bunch more space to fit in the previous results chart yeehurr


Honourable Mention

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Game                                                    02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Akai Katana (ARC/360/PC/etc.)                            .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  +  =  -  =  +  =  =  +  =  =  -
Battle Bakraid (ARC)                                     +  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  -  =  -  =  =  =  +  =  =  =
Blazing Star (ARC/NG/etc.)                               =  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =
Cotton Rock 'n' Roll / Cotton Fantasy (ARC/SWI/PS4/PC)   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  +
Darius Burst: AC / EX / Chronicle Saviours (PC/etc.)     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  +  +  +  +  -  -  =  +  =  =  +
DoDonPachi Saidaioujou (ARC/360)                         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  +  -  -  =  =  =  =  =  =  =
DonPachi (ARC/SAT/PSX)                                   -  -  -  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  +  =  =  =  =
Dragon Blaze (ARC/PS2/SWI/PC/etc.)                       +  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  -  -  =  =  -  =  -  =  =  =  -
ESPGaluda II (ARC/360/SWI)                               .  .  .  +  +  +  =  -  -  -  -  -  =  =  =  +  =  =  =
Fire Shark / Same! Same! Same! (ARC/GEN/etc.)            +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  +  =
GG Aleste 3 (GGM/PS4/SWI)                                .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  +  =
Giga Wing (ARC/DC/etc.)                                  +  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  =  =  =  =  +  =  =  =
Gradius Gaiden (PSX/PSP)                                 -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  =  -  =  =  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (ARC/SAT/NES/etc.)            +  =  =  =  +  =  +  +  =  =  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =
Gradius V (PS2)                                          +  +  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Gunbird 2 (ARC/DC/etc.)                                  -  -  -  -  -  =  =  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  -  -  =  -  -
Ibara (ARC/PS2)                                          .  .  .  =  =  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  =  =  =  =  =
Imperishable Night [Touhou 8] (PC)                       .  .  =  +  +  +  +  +  =  =  =  +  =  +  +  +  +  =  +
Judgement Silversword (WSC/360/PC)                       .  .  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  =  =  =  +  =
Mahou Daisakusen / Sorcer Striker (ARC/X68/FMT/PS4)      +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  =  =
Mars Matrix (ARC/DC)                                     -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  -  =
Muchi Muchi Pork! (ARC/360)                              .  .  .  .  .  +  +  +  -  -  -  =  -  =  -  =  =  =  =
Out Zone (ARC/PC)                                        +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  +  +
Raiden DX (ARC/PSX)                                      +  +  -  -  -  =  -  =  -  =  -  =  =  -  =  =  =  =  =
Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive (ARC/360)         +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  +  +  =  +  +
Raiden Fighters Jet (ARC/360/PC)                         +  =  =  +  +  =  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  =  =  =  =  =
R-Type Delta (PSX)                                       =  =  -  -  -  =  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  -  =  =  -
Shikigami no Shiro II / Castle Shikigami 2 (ARC/etc.)    .  =  -  -  -  -  =  =  =  +  =  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +
Soukyugurentai / Terra Diver (SAT/ARC/PSX)               -  -  -  -  -  -  =  -  =  -  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =
Thunder Dragon 2 (ARC/PS4/SWI)                           +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  +  =  =  -  -  -  =  =
Thunder Force IV / Lightening Force (GEN/SAT/etc.)       -  -  -  -  -  -  =  +  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =
Twin Cobra / Kyukyoku Tiger (ARC/PCE/etc.)               +  =  +  +  =  =  +  +  +  =  +  =  +  =  +  =  =  =  =
Under Defeat (ARC/DC/360/PS3)                            .  .  .  +  -  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  -  -  -  =  =  =
ZeroRanger (PC)                                          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -  -  -  -

• = denotes the game was also on the HM list for the year indicated.
• + denotes the game was on neither the HM list nor the top 25 for the year indicated.
• - denotes the game was in the top 25 for the year indicated.
• . denotes the game was not released or otherwise eligible for voting for the year indicated.

What Dropped from 2021's Top 25:

• Dragon Blaze (ARC/PS2/SWI/PC/etc.)
• Gunbird 2 (ARC/DC/etc.)
• Gradius V (PS2)
• Gradius Gaiden (PSX/PSP)
• R-Type Delta (PS2)

What Dropped from 2021's Honourable Mentions:

• Blazing Lazers / Gunhed (PCE)
• Blue Revolver (PC)
• Gradius / Nemesis (ARC/NES/PC/etc.)
• Guwange (ARC/360)
• Super Aleste / Space Megaforce (SNES)
• Tatsujin / Truxton (ARC/GEN/PCE/PC)
• Thunder Force III (GEN/SAT/etc.)
• Twinkle Star Sprites (ARC/SAT/DC/etc.)

Breakdown by Developer

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                    Top 25         Hon.M.          Overall
Cave                  11              6              17
Raizing                2              3               5
Toaplan                2              3               5
Taito                  3              -               3
Treasure               2              1               3
Psikyo                 1              2               3
Seibu Kaihatsu         -              3               3
Irem                   1              1               2
Qute                   1              1               2
Konami                 -              2               2
Takumi                 -              2               2
Yotsubane              1              -               1
Famibe no Yosshin      1              -               1
System Erasure         -              1               1
Team Shanghai Alice    -              1               1
NMK                    -              1               1
Yumekobo               -              1               1
G.rev                  -              1               1
Alfa System            -              1               1
M2                     -              1               1
Technosoft             -              1               1
Pyramid                -              1               1
Studio Saizensen       -              1               1

Breakdown by Original Platform

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System              Top 25         Hon.M.          Overall
Arcade                22             26              48
PC/Windows             1              2               3
PlayStation            -              2               2
X68000                 1              -               1
Xbox 360               1              -               1
Mega Drive/Genesis     -              1               1
PlayStation 2          -              1               1
WonderSwan Color       -              1               1
Game Gear Micro        -              1               1

Most Personal Honourable Mentions (no. of [0])

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Game                                                No. of appearances
Blazing Star (ARC/NG/etc.)                                6
G-Darius (ARC/PS2/PSX/etc.)                               5
Musha Aleste / M.U.S.H.A. (GEN)                           5
Axelay (SNES)                                             4
Darius / Darius Extra (PC/GEN/etc.)                       4
DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu/1.5/Resurrection (ARC/etc.)        4
Fantasy Zone (ARC/NES/PS2/etc.)                           4
Gate of Thunder (PCE-CD)                                  4
Guwange (ARC/360)                                         4
Twinkle Star Sprites (ARC/SAT/DC/etc.)                    4

Miscellaneous Stats:

• Number of Counted Voters: 74
• Total Vote Weight: 73.25
• Number of Games Voted For: 436*
• Number of Honourable Mentions: 34
• Proportion of Voters who chose to use a Shortlist: 0.04 (3/74)
• Proportion of Voters who chose to include Personal Honourable Mentions: 0.42 (31/74)
• Proportion of Personal Honourable Mentions included where eligible: 0.44 (31/71)
• Number of Games Receiving Only [0]'s: 53
• Games Supported by at least half of voters (≥36.5 combined): 3
• Games Supported by at least 1/4 of voters (≥18.25 combined): 23
• Top 25 Score Spread: 2.612 - 7.931
• Honourable Mention Score Spread: 1.340 - 2.526
• Total Score Spread: 0.034 - 7.931

*It's now occurred to me that this is actually the highest number of individual games for any T25 so far, beating out the 7th, something I wasn't quite expecting just yet because even accounting for personal HMs the total number of individual ballot entries is still a fair ways lower.



Random Comments:

• This list is weird and I don't really know what to say about it in short form
• Concerning other short forms, however, I will note that after very much receiving a "this exists" level of support on the preceding results list, Cotton Rock 'n' Roll has been allocated a space in HM territory, making it the first front-page entry for the classic series. Thankfully the finalised records were archived before they could be stolen and/or eaten.
• The discussion thread for this year's poll is here.
• The votes for this year's poll can be found here.
• The full results have now been wrung out and hung up here.

As mentioned before, this event will not be taking place next year, or every odd-numbered year while I still run it alone. The 21st T25 is therefore currently scheduled for January 2026.

[Steven]

HISHOUZAME

[Lemnear]

HISHOUZAME

You are like the butterfly of the Chaos Theory .

[Whisker]

Thank you again Nifty, for all your hard work.

I'm really happy to see Darius Gaiden climbed up to 7th place this year. OG DDP stays in 5th, which is fine I guess. It could be worse. DFK's return to the top 25 is also a pleasant sight, although no Giga Wing 2 is very sad.

[linko9]

Thanks for crunchin the numbers!

Solid list, guess I need to check out Darius Gaiden. I'm looking forward to the 50th round of this when I'm on my deathbed to see if Cave ever drops below 50% of the list. Wouldn't bet on it!

[DMC]

I'm looking forward to the 50th round of this when I'm on my deathbed to see if Cave ever drops below 50% of the list. Wouldn't bet on it!

I agree, it won't change much.

In a couple of decades we'll be sitting in retirement homes probably in wheelchairs placed in front of a CRT in the lounge. We'll be holding Saturn pads with our shaky hands and showing early signs of dementia as we're flailing round DDP stage 1. While the nurse is insisting that we ought to take our afternoon pills, we'll be complaining that "the game fucking lags, man".

We'll then spend the next 30 minutes trying to log on to system11 to edit our vote and put DDP a bit lower on our list for the current Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time poll. We'll swallow our pills, take the afternoon nap, and dream about god-like performances in arcade centers with Plasmo yelling "if anyone wants to see, there's a potential Dodonpachi counterstop coming up".

[Lemnear]

Deathsmiles so high hurts my feelings...

I see that some games have been helped by the recent re-releases (Radiant Silvergun, RayForce, DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou surpassing Ketsui).
Surprised to see Progear and Strikers 1945 II in TOP 25...same for Eschatos..or with R-Type so low
Weird those blocks of Gradius and Raiden in the honourable mention.


chapeu Nifty, by the way.
I think that this tradition is important.

[dmk1198]

Thnx nifty yes

[copy-paster]

All predictable winners until I saw Hishouzame on the list for the first time ever holy shit hahahah. Game is quite comfy and all the checkpoints are recoverable even on high loops.

[Some-Mist]

Dangun Feveron about to see its way out the door next time. Still awesome that the port gave it more exposure when it did, but it’s still sad seeing it drop each year

[locoBro1196]

thanks for the amazing effort - bit sad not to see Akai Katana in the list, it's become one of my favorite shmups over recent months

[Kino]

I will note that after very much receiving a "this exists" level of support on the preceding results list, Cotton Rock 'n' Roll has been allocated a space in HM territory, making it the first front-page entry for the classic series.

We finally did it, bros ;_;

[BulletMagnet]

Thanks once again, Nifty, for keeping the tradition alive. A few random thoughts:

- I never really noticed before, but there are relatively few titles that I'd be inclined to consider "accessible" on the list, especially near the very top; opinions obviously vary on what exactly fits that definition, though I imagine few would include the likes of Garegga, DOJ and Ketsui. You do see more "approachable" entries further down, though I find that a bit counterintuitive, as you'd expect the "can be hardcore, but easy to get into" titles to get the most votes overall, since they theoretically appeal to a wider audience. Interesting to wonder how that doesn't quite show up in the final tally.

- Assuming you don't count Garegga/Batrider and RSG/Ikaruga, the only two series to boast multiple entries are DoDonPachi and Mushi; for some reason the former doesn't surprise me but the latter does, although I'd be hard-pressed to argue that either batch is a whole lot more "varied" or "diverse" or whatever than the other in the end. For whatever reason Mushi always fell into the "one is enough" voting category for me, alongside Espgaluda, and I'm honestly not really sure why.

- Despite not being a huge Gradius fan overall I can't help but be a bit sad about Gaiden and V, my two favorites of the bunch, dropping into HM territory; even more painful, however, is seeing personal "founding shmup" Super Aleste gone entirely. Godspeed, you trippy little cartridge.

We finally did it, bros ;_;

It ain't Boomerang, but I'll take it.

'Til next year.

[ZPScissors]

People are finally starting to realize what makes Hishouzame so great. The game to play if you want to get in to classic shmups in my opinion, simple yet engaging the whole way through and has some of the most fair recoveries in a game of that style, yet they still do require strategy to do. You learn so much about how to approach a classic shmup from playing that game.

[Lethe]

Honourable Mention

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Game                                                    02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
ZeroRanger (PC)                                          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -  -  -  -

Ing Was Right Again (results pending on Exactly How Right Ing Was)

I think this poll had a high proportion of new and new-ish voters, which would explain why some of the old hands have shuffled about.

[OmKol]

Progear owns

[qmish]

So... from my voting post (in which I did 25 main picks and 10 HM picks), it ended up that 8 titles are in Top 25 results, 4 titles are in HM results, and a whopping 23 titles did not get into teh top results at all (out of which 5 titles are within highest ten places of my list).

I don't know if that says more about my tastes or this place/community, lol

[JJHLH]

Dangun Feveron about to see its way out the door next time. Still awesome that the port gave it more exposure when it did, but it’s still sad seeing it drop each year

+1

Dangun Feveron is such a great game. I had it ranked 1st on my list. And the M2 ShotTriggers port is in English and the best way to play it. Will be sad indeed if it’s off the list next year.

[Lemnear]

So... from my voting post (in which I did 25 main picks and 10 HM picks), it ended up that 8 titles are in Top 25 results, 4 titles are in HM results, and a whopping 23 titles did not get into teh top results at all (out of which 5 titles are within highest ten places of my list).

I don't know if that says more about my tastes or this place/community, lol

I think that some games are pushed high by their influential history (a lot of the top 10), famous STG masterpieces, some votes are more for reverence than liking probably.

- Despite not being a huge Gradius fan overall I can't help but be a bit sad about Gaiden and V, my two favorites of the bunch, dropping into HM territory; even more painful, however, is seeing personal "founding shmup" Super Aleste gone entirely. Godspeed, you trippy little cartridge.

Some games suffer from the lack of newer re-releases

Remember to spread the Results for the 20th Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time

let there be jubilation throughout the kingdom

[M.Knight]

Very cool to see Cotton RnR in the list indeed! Definitely a great newer shmup worthy of your time and love. Lots of games in the list are decades old and have stood the test of time but it's always cool to see something new that's genuinely exciting and on par with those. (if not better )

DMC : Hahaha, that's amazing What a future to look forward to lmao

[Acid]

I'm going to have to revisit Cotton RNR. It gets such high praise, but I couldn't get into it.

Good to see Flying Shark score so highly. It is the perfect example of that style shooter.

[MAZ]

Thanks for the time and effort that went into this year's Top 25

[Steven]

I will be disappointed if R-Type and Dangun Feveron drop off the list next time, especially R-Type. Gradius V and Gaiden getting kicked off is saddening. I haven't played Gaiden that much, but V is excellent and I really enjoy both of them.

HISHOUZAME

You are like the butterfly of the Chaos Theory .

"It is wrong to associate chaos with an upheaval in plans. Chaos was the plan all along." - Ian Malcolm

I think that some games are pushed high by their influential history (a lot of the top 10), famous STG masterpieces, some votes are more for reverence than liking probably.

Obligatory Namiki on Hishouzame's greatness: https://youtu.be/P-PVtt2L6Hg?si=G-birdBz32-newwc&t=801

I wish I could find that thing Namiki posted on Twitter before he deleted his old account where he said that Hishouzame is the single best vertical shooting game ever created, but that one's probably lost.

Obligatory BIL on Hishouzame's greatness (sig worthy, BTW):

Basically, the reason people don't like Hishouzame is because they are fat and dumb.

Hishouzame is extremely fun to play and it's also extremely well-designed. I can't believe that it never showed up until now and I am just as sad that it hadn't as I am happy that it is finally here. Now will people go play it?

Spoiler

No, they won't

[BIL]

Great work as always Nifty, thanks for keeping this going so long.

Obligatory BIL on Hishouzame's greatness (sig worthy, BTW):

Just my homage to captpain's Greater Bakraid Theorem

Hishouzame finally, finally getting a reference-standard home translation is among my favourite things to happen in the twenty-odd years I've hung around this community. An absolute howler that such an important - and timeless! - STG was out in the cold for so long. There's been a whole arcade's worth of other no-hopers given fine home standing this gen, thanks to M2 and Hamster, but that one in particular was a cosmic wrong righted.

...I was totally prepared for Toaplan Arcade Garage to cement the legacy of pain by stalling at Vol.1, just like Shooting Battle. Just seemed too perfect.

[donluca]

In a couple of decades we'll be sitting in retirement homes probably in wheelchairs placed in front of a CRT in the lounge. We'll be holding Saturn pads with our shaky hands and showing early signs of dementia as we're flailing round DDP stage 1. While the nurse is insisting that we ought to take our afternoon pills, we'll be complaining that "the game fucking lags, man".

We'll then spend the next 30 minutes trying to log on to system11 to edit our vote and put DDP a bit lower on our list for the current Annual Top 25 Shmups of All Time poll. We'll swallow our pills, take the afternoon nap, and dream about god-like performances in arcade centers with Plasmo yelling "if anyone wants to see, there's a potential Dodonpachi counterstop coming up".

Scarily accurate.

Glad to see Progear up there.

Sad to see R-Type Delta gone.

Thanks Nifty!

[locoBro1196]

Hishouzame is extremely fun to play and it's also extremely well-designed. I can't believe that it never showed up until now and I am just as sad that it hadn't as I am happy that it is finally here. Now will people go play it?

Spoiler

No, they won't

I bought my Japanese copy for Switch on the day it came out. I was put off by the difficulty of "Same! Same! Same!" but I'm glad to report I'm now attempting a 1-ALL of Hishouzame, very much inspired by the results of this poll as well as the glowing praise it gets in this forum

[Lemnear]

I think that some games are pushed high by their influential history (a lot of the top 10), famous STG masterpieces, some votes are more for reverence than liking probably.

Obligatory Namiki on Hishouzame's greatness: https://youtu.be/P-PVtt2L6Hg?si=G-birdBz32-newwc&t=801

I wish I could find that thing Namiki posted on Twitter before he deleted his old account where he said that Hishouzame is the single best vertical shooting game ever created, but that one's probably lost.

Spoiler

This is somewhat enlightening...for the same reason i love the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring...and i don't like Sekiro.

[beer gas canister]

Progear!!! Nice to see Cotton Fantasy get among the honorable mentions too

[Nifty]

Batrider dropping off that much is kinda nuts to see when Garegga is still doing as well as ever.

It's been hard to pick any consistent patterns out of the more recent results, or what could be influencing them. This time did feature a lot of new/first time/sparse voters so one would think various shifts could be mainly put down to recency/availability bias (e.g. things like ESP Ra.De. and maybe Flying Shrak) but at the same time with some exceptions a lot of newer titles or rereleases have been struggling for visibility. Those older-ish Degica Cave ports on Steam in particular still seem to be carrying an awful lot of water. Next time might reveal some clearer consolidations (or it might completely not) but the only sustained trends I'd call decidedly ahistoric at present are the vastly increased standings of the funny fish game series and also CRS.

[shmuppy-puppy]

Very influenced by current re-releases.