I have played shmups in the past but only recently REALLY got into them. I never fully got into them before because they seemed so intimidating. These are not all the ones I own but the ones I been playing recently that I do own. No real order.
Darius Burst CS- On PS4 physical play asia. It is a full priced game with tons of optional DLC. Mostly skins for the ship from other series like Space Harrier,Deathsmiles,Older Darius games,Raystorm and just about every shmup series under the sun. base game has multiple arcade cabinets. AC mode for Arcade. CS mode. 3000 stages. I kid you not. This game has infinite replay ability.
Astebreed- LOVE this game. Hack n slash meets shmup
MUSHA- Bought the OST CD because the game is so good. My Genesis rocks with MUSHA.
Gaiares- Tough as nails game. Imagine Kirby as a shmup.Music is great also.
Caladrius Blaze- Fantasy setting Shmup. Pretty good game. I just hate the stripping anime girls thing.
Raiden IV- III is lame but IV is awesome. Also from MOSS. Look forward to Raiden V in August on PS4.
Ikaruga- One of two recent Shmups I played I have not beat. I just struggle with it. Damn good tho.
Strainia- Shmup with mechs. Pretty decent.
Guwange- Cave shooter. Japanese myth setting. It's decent. Not the best from Cave.
Omedius Excellent- It's a Gradius game with anime girls. Cute em up Gradius. No pun. The game plays pretty stiff. mediocre game.
Deathsmiles- I really enjoyed this. It's Stupidly fun.
Akai Katana- Another one the better Cave games I played. Amazing rock OST as well. ESP Stage 4 music.
Pulstar - Neo Geo shooter. This one is pretty damn hard. Still great.
Espgaluda II: Black Label- Cave again. Quality as always. Good OST.
Mushihime-sama Futari Ver 1.5- This one is truly excellent. Unlike one game that claimed to be. I did a review of this in the review thread.
Soldner X-2 Final Prototype- I got this on Vita and damn is it awesome. Western developed but they truly get how to make a shmup. Not bullet hell really. It's on Vita on cart as well at Play Asia. Another great OST. A lot of VA to.
Bulk Slash- I dunno if this counts as a Shmup. It's a 3d Mech shooter but plays kinda like a shmup. Amazing mid 90s Saturn OST with a lot of synth rock.
Geist Force- It's unfinished and buggy. I am just glad to have a retail like copy after 18 years.
I do own more and played more in my life. These are the most recent. I have found it's not as intimidating as you would think. So who else here is a shmup fan? What are some of your faves. Played any recently?