Super Earth Defense Force on SNES is one of those shooters that looks simple at first—just you, a tiny ship, and a screen full of alien swarms. But man, it gets brutal fast. The first level lulls you in with these slow, predictable enemies, and then suddenly you're dodging bullet sprays from some squid-like boss while the soundtrack kicks into overdrive.

What I love is how your ship handles—responsive but not twitchy, with just enough weight to make tight maneuvers feel earned. The power-up system’s straightforward (no confusing combos here), though I still panic-grab the wrong one sometimes when things get chaotic. And they will get chaotic—later stages throw so much at you that the screen borders on seizure-inducing, in that glorious 16-bit way.

It’s not the deepest shmup out there, but there’s something satisfying about how it nails the basics. That final boss still gives me trouble after all these years.