Earthion is a new 16-bit shooter, shoot ’em up or “shmup” made for the Genesis available on Steam, soon on Switch, PlayStation and Xbox and 2026 on the Genesis and Mega Drive. Its from Yuzo Koshiro’s Ancient who has made amazing games like Streets of Rage 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog. How is it? Let’s check it out!
Gunbird is like stepping into an arcade fever dream where the only rule is “fly fast, shoot faster, and try not to question why a witch on a broom is battling robots.” This classic vertical-scrolling shooter drops you into a world where ancient treasure hunters don’t bother with shovels; they prefer high-powered airships and endless waves of absurdly hostile enemies. You’ve got a roster of eccentric characters, from Marion, the aforementioned witch with zero chill, to Ash, a grumpy adventurer whose solution to everything is “more bullets.” The plot? Something about gathering magic mirrors to summon a wish-granting bird. But let’s be honest, you’ll be too busy dodging neon death rays to care.
The gameplay is pure chaos—screen-filling explosions, relentless bosses, and enough flying projectiles to make you wonder if dodging should be an Olympic sport. Power-ups drop like candy, giving you temporary godlike firepower before the game humbles you with a well-placed laser to the face. And the humor? Top-notch. The bosses shout ridiculous one-liners, and your characters respond with quips that make you question their life priorities. It’s the kind of game where you’ll laugh, cry, and probably scream when you lose your last life to a pixel-sized enemy you swore you dodged. Gunbird doesn’t just test your reflexes—it tests your ability to survive pure, unadulterated mayhem with a grin.
Razion EX is launching on the eShop on September 16th! (Script is designed for post-release viewership)
It took a bit of effort on the shmup community’s part, but Razion EX is finally being made available on the Nintendo eShop. It has a ton of mystique, thanks to its very limited and sought-after release, but now anyone at all can download and play it for themselves! Our review. Bullet Heaven
Shmup Junkie – The History of COMPILE Shoot ‘Em Ups Have your heard of Compile? One of the greatest developers of STGs in history? What is a Compile Shooter? What shooting games ( #Shmups ) did they make? Are they still making games? How was Compile involved in the M2 Aleste Collection just released on the Switch and PS4?
The PC Engine was a successful console in Japan that offered a diverse library of games. One popular category of games that the PC Engine thrived on was classic shooters, also known as “shumps”. Although the US market received some of these games with the TG16, many were not offered in the states. In this video, I take a glance at some of the more obscure and decent shumps the PC Engine had that we never got here in the states. Do you have a favorite obscure shooter?
The Nintendo Wii had a ton of great On-Rail Light Gun games for the console, both original and arcade ports. I show you some of my favorites from the collection!
Games Shown:
Gunblade NY & LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Ghost Squad
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack
Dead Space Extraction
House of the Dead Overkill