Lightning Force (or Thunder Force IV if you're not in the US) is one of those shoot-'em-ups that makes you realize the Genesis could really push some pixels. Right from the start, you're dodging bullets and weaving through enemy fire with that classic Thunder Force speed—except now everything's way prettier, with parallax scrolling and explosions that actually feel like they have weight.

You pick from a few different ships, each with their own weapon loadouts, and honestly, I always stuck with the default because the spread shot just feels right. The soundtrack? Absolute fire. Like, "leave the title screen running just to listen" levels of good. Some of those later stages get brutal, though—expect to memorize patterns unless you're some kind of bullet-dodging savant.

It's still one of the best shmups on the system, even if Sega America decided to tweak the name for no obvious reason.