1. Mahou Daisakusen (Raizing, Arcade (PS4), 1993)

Great game to start the year off with. This is by default at the top of the list but I have a feeling it will stay there for a while. This vertically-scrolling shooter from Raizing came out 3 years prior to Battle Garegga, another Raizing shooter and one of my favorite games I played last year.

Despite Mahou Daisakusen (aka Sorcer Striker, though I'm playing the currently Japan-only PS4 release) being much simpler than Battle Garegga, I actually prefer it. I just made it though the game's arcade mode, but it is a good bit easier than Battle Garegga and I appreciate that. The enemies are all medieval fantasy x space shooter themed and are generally more fun to look at than Battle Garegga's more generic military-vehicle enemies.

I do think I still prefer Jamestown and Dangun Feveron if we're ranking scrolling shooters, but Mahou Daisakusen may be in my top 3. I still have a huge list of shooters to play this year, and I intend to play more Mahou Daisakusen (experimenting with its various modes) in the near future, so we'll see if it can stay in the top 3.

5/5, another excellent Raizing shooter