Best Saturn Shmups?

[PurpleShoes]

In this past year I've been getting way back into gaming after years off. I've come to learn two things messing around with emulators:
Firstly, I really love vertical shmups, and secondly I really really love the Sega Saturn! That being said, aside from Sonic Jam, DoDonPachi and Death Crimson, I have no clue what to play!
I have this sense that a huge world of Tate Shmups awaits me, and no idea where to start.
Any recommendations for good Tate Shmups on the Saturn? I obviously love bullet hells and want to get better at them, but in truth I do also love more 'old school' chaotic ones!

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Battle Garegga, the Gunbird games, Donpachi, The Ray trilogy (which have a bunch of different names depending on region), Sokyugurentai, Blast Wind/Hyperduel/Thunder Force V (what I like to call the Tecnosoft trilogy), Metal Black, Batsugun, Darius Gaiden, and Panzer Dragoon are your next stops

 

[SolarSpectre]

Radiant Silvergun is good

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

Cotton 2/Cotton Boomerang (Horizontal Cute-Em-Up)
Battsugun
Rayforce/Gunlock
Battle Garegga
Sokyugurentai
Strikers
Tengai (Horizontal)
Shienryu
Detana Twinbee (Cute em up)

(Note that some of these I've only played in MAME)

 

[DunkeyKong]

Cotton series is great, only the second one has English translation though

 

[Zooey]

Radiant Silvergun, and Gunbird

 

[goregoregoregoregoregore]

Battle Garegga, the Gunbird games, Donpachi, The Ray trilogy (which have a bunch of different names depending on region), Sokyugurentai, Blast Wind/Hyperduel/Thunder Force V (what I like to call the Tecnosoft trilogy), Metal Black, Batsugun, Darius Gaiden, and Panzer Dragoon are your next stops

Oh, for some reason i didn't remember Donpachi being on the Sega Saturn, nice

 

[MangaMunchkin]

What a Shmup!​

 

[nattybohman]

Cotton Boomerang is great.
Also, Terra Diver.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

My favourites will remain Radiant Silvergun and Rayforce.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

My favourites will remain Radiant Silvergun and Rayforce.

Bingo. Same.
Both very beautiful and creative games with killer soundtracks that represent polar opposites when it comes to gameplay complexity.

As much as I love shmups the genre can feel very samey and uncreative. With these two I never get bored.

Soukyuugurentai is fun too and I give it props for the Sakimoto soundtrack but Radiant Silvergun did all its ideas so much better.

I’d almost put the panzer dragoon series in a different category altogether, but they are must-play titles for sure. It’s criminal that Sega has been sitting on this franchise for the last 20 years.

 

[PurpleShoes]

Radiant Silvergun, and Gunbird

These two have been far and away recommended to me the most as I've embarked on this journey! I gotta admit, as much as I love shmups and feel like such a badass when I'm dodging bullets, they can be kind of really intimidating and frustrating.
Gunbird especially has been a real breakthrough this past week, because its progression early on feels so graceful. I was masterfully dodging enemies and picking up patterns like a pro.. then I got sloppy and died. Where a lot of shmups feel unfair, every mistake in Gunbird has felt 100% like my fault, which really energizes me to try again! I'm also not sure if this is intentional, but on my Saturn pad the hyper fire button is on one of the less-comfortable smaller concave buttons, as opposed to regular fire on B, which has kind of incentivized me to not just rely on autofire.

Cotton series is great, only the second one has English translation though

This actually rules. I had no idea that witchy anime girls would be something I'd want out of a shmup, but I'm really digging the atmosphere here! The animations are so fluid, and there's a really great energy to the action. This one has been a joy to play on my arcade stick. Also a really great show for the 2D powerhaus that the Saturn was! Thank you!!

What a Shmup!​

I see this was your second post ever. Legendary. You're truly onto great things (if this acct is still active). Can I have your autograph?