Eliminate Down is one of those Genesis shooters that somehow flew under the radar back in the day, which is a shame because it absolutely rips. You start off with this beefy little ship that feels way heavier than your typical bullet-hell flier—like you're piloting a tank with thrusters. The first stage throws these weird organic-mechanical hybrids at you, and the music? Pure 16-bit adrenaline.

What I love is how it doesn't just recycle the usual power-up system. You've got these floating orbs that latch onto your ship, and depending on how you position them, they'll either shield you or turn into different weapon types. Took me a few runs to realize the spread shot works better for stage clearing, but that laser absolutely melts bosses.

Fair warning though—this isn't some breezy nostalgia trip. The difficulty spikes hard around stage 3 when the screen starts filling with neon bullets and those freaky snake-like mid-bosses show up. Still, it's got that perfect balance where every death feels like your fault, not cheap design. If you dig Thunder Force or MUSHA but want something with a slightly weirder vibe, this one's worth digging up.