Starship Hector is one of those NES shooters that flew under the radar but has this weird charm to it. You're piloting a little ship through waves of enemies that look like they were designed by someone who really loved geometric shapes—lots of hexagons and spinning diamond things trying to kill you.

It started as Hector '87 in Japan, and honestly, you can tell it's from that era where shooters were still figuring themselves out. The power-up system is simple (just grab the floating orbs), but some of the later stages get surprisingly brutal. That one boss that splits into smaller ships? Yeah, good luck with that on your first try.

Not the deepest shooter out there, but if you're into retro stuff, it's got this janky, early-NES appeal that makes it worth a few runs.