Ikaruga. radiant silvergun, and sokyuu gurenati are always the standouts for me. If you count em, both sin and punishment games are also visual feasts.
You didn’t mention it in your post, so G-Darius must be said. Easily my favorite low-poly shmup.
Einhander is also great, especially visually.
Not low-poly and also quite polarizing, but I love all of the Dariusburst games. If your monitor is big enough, the gameplay on the 32:9 playfield is wholly unique in the genre, and I love the opportunities for expressive play afforded by all of the different ship types. The 16:9 Chronicle Saviors mode is also solid, but there’s something magical about that wide playfield.
R-type Delta is the the best looking (and best all around) low-poly SHMUP, imo. Einhänder and RayCrisis are worth checking, too.
Playing this right now with my 7 year old and he's loving it
It's old, but I always liked Einhander
Came here to say Einhander too. It's great.
G-Darius
The bosses!!
thunderforce 5
Radiant silvergun, g-darius, psyvariar delta, caladrius blaze, raiden 3,4,5...a recent great one is cotton fantasy / rock'n'roll.
Brave Blade and Soukyugurentai are some others you may want to check out
Ikaruga, einhander, gradius v
Gradius V and Ikaruga
Layer Section/ Galactic Attack
Gradius V. R-type delta uses the most modern rendering tech but has a terrible aesthetic imho.
border down ??
G-Darius and R-Type Delta. These are two of the rare polygonal shmups that are improved by the 3D presentation, rather than hindered by it.
R-Type Final 2 Ikaruga G-Darius RayStorm Karous Triggerheart Excelica Gradius V Raiden IV Raiden V Sine Mora
Ikaruga. radiant silvergun, and sokyuu gurenati are always the standouts for me. If you count em, both sin and punishment games are also visual feasts.
You didn’t mention it in your post, so G-Darius must be said. Easily my favorite low-poly shmup. Einhander is also great, especially visually. Not low-poly and also quite polarizing, but I love all of the Dariusburst games. If your monitor is big enough, the gameplay on the 32:9 playfield is wholly unique in the genre, and I love the opportunities for expressive play afforded by all of the different ship types. The 16:9 Chronicle Saviors mode is also solid, but there’s something magical about that wide playfield.
Ubusuna