Yes that's right, it's time to "gather ye around the fireplace" and swap stories of powerups, gigantic bosses and bonus stages. Or maybe just big rocks you destroyed. You know, asteroids and those types of things.

Shmups, specifically spaceship based ones, have a long and illustrious history. From games like Spacewar! in 1962, to Galaga Legions and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, we've had the pleasure of playing these games for 46 years. Imagine that, in four years Shmups will be celebrating their Golden Anniversary!

With 2008 being another big year for Shmups with games like 1942: Joint Strike, Aces of the Galaxy, Galaga Legions, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Ikaruga (re-release), Space Invaders Extreme, Thunder Force VI, shumps seem to have started yet another re-birth for new systems. Not to mention the dozens of great indie-made ones and even those that can be found on our very own Arcade here at RF Generation!

So as usual, feel free to share your list of favorite shmups or your criticisms of them for everyone else to read and comment on. This is and has always been, a group feature! Without further ado, here's my top 5 space shmups in no particular order:

• Astro Warrior - Sega Master System: When the NES and 7800 both received ports of the classic arcade title Xevious, Sega answered with Astro Warrior for the SMS. An overhead view shooter with powerups, "helper" craft add-ons and a crazy assortment of strange shaped enemies with boss battles evenly spaced between levels. One minute your fighting strange balls of energy, UFOs and sleek dart-like projectiles, the next it's a crazy meteor shower or odd round shooting things that look like something from a funky can of shaped pasta. The game has sharp graphics and great sound that really make it feel like an arcade quality game and it comes with a level of addictiveness that I find irresistable.
  
  This is by far one of my favorite games for the Master System and also my favorite shmup of all time. If you own a SMS or a Game Gear or a Genesis with a Power Base Converter, I highly recommend you pick this up. When you do don't forget we have a high score thread in the "Arena" with an easy score to beat to get the competition rolling!

• Galaga - Arcade: What more is there to say about Galaga that hasn't already been said over the last 27 years? A classic game from the golden age of arcade, it set the bar for flashy skillful shooters and has influenced many games and game developers in it's three decades of existence. It's also among the most ported and emulated games between ports, spin-offs and compilations. You'd almost forget that it's a sequel to Galaxian because it has surpassed it's predecessor in popularity and longevity. If you haven't played it, there are some really faithful ports on newer systems like the Wii, DS and X360, not to mention the Namco Museum series for consoles. For a more modern approach, give Galaga: Destination Earth for the PS1 a try, you might be surprised. Also keep an eye out for Galaga Legions which is coming soon. It's a cross between Geometry Wars and Galaga in a way similar to Space Invaders Extreme.

• Project S-11 - Game Boy Color: I'm sure this game will be the least known in this list I've put together. I picked this title up brand new but sight unseen from a local TRU back when they still carried the Original Model GBA. After Sunsoft's bankruptcy following their good years with the NES, they managed to pull themselves together and with Paragon 5, released this little gem for the GBC just 2 months before the Game Boy Advance hit the shelves in Japan.
  
  This is an overhead shmup, your basic "waves of enemies, powerups, occasional boss battle" cliche. How this game differs is it's pace, excellent design and it's portability. It also pushes the hardware to it's max while maintaining smooth gameplay and great sound.
  
  From many accounts, it seems a hard game to find complete in box these days. Even loose it doesn't show up in online auctions a whole lot. Perhaps with Sunsoft joining Nintendo as a partner with the Wii's Virtual Console, many of you may yet have the chance to check this great shmup out if you haven't already.

• R-Type - Turbographx-16: I remember the first time I had seen this game and how it left a lasting impression on me. During it's North American release, retailers like Radio Shack had these awesome kiosks positioned outside their store fronts specifically made for the TG-16. I'd love to get my hands on one of those now!  To a ten year old boy, the lure of it's fantastic sound, crisp clear graphics and library of games that was different than anyone else was too much to ignore. Well R-Type was my first taste of this incredible system. Oh sure we had games like Gradius, but this was R-Type! It felt like I had never truly played a side-scrolling shmup until that point. The same kind of feeling that you got when you played a Neo Geo AES after seeing the SNES in action. Just a different beast altogether.
  
  Even now I consider the TG-16 version the best of the entire franchise. Maybe that's just nostalgia and bias talking, but I'm sure others here would agree. If you don't have a TG-16, know that the Wii's Virtual Console has this game as well. I'll also give a shout out to R-Type DX for the GBC which has good ports of both I and II, GB and GBC versions and an enhanced DX version.

• Demon Attack - Mattel Intellivision: Another game that left a lasting impression, I spent a lot of hours with this version as a child. A simple game as many tended to be in those days, it's quite a lot different than the Atari 2600 version. They share few similarities other than the name, the genre and a vague resemblance for the respective enemies. The boss battle with the mothership and the music that accompanies your ship as you warp out to meet it was very intimidating. The image of Earth in the bottom corner while you face waves of enemies was a subtle reminder of what was at stake should you fail!
  
  One of the ironies of the two very different versions, is that the VIC-20 version is based on the 2600 type of game and the C64 is similar to the Intellivision one. Unlike so many games that were shared between the VIC and the C64, it's actually worth it to have both. This game is a fine example of Imagic's work regardless of it's platform and for me gets played a lot even to this day.

So that's my list folks, now it's your turn! List as few or as many as you wish! Who knows, you may be introducing a list of games to try for a new generation of classic gamers, or showing off ones that others may have missed over the years. New shmups or old, I'm sure we'll be enjoying these in some form or other for another 50 years more!

For more List 'ems and other great features written by members of RF Generation, please navigate to the " Features " menu at the top of this page and browse the community forums under the " Blogs " menu.

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