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The sequel to Contra, but with better graphics, sound and weapons. Personally, I still prefer the original, but Super C is still one hell of a blast to play.

29. Life Force - Konami - NES - 1988

The side story to Gradius, and one of the best shooters ever made for the NES. It's an absolute must-own.

28. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti - Namco - Famicom - 1989

Now this game is hilarious! It's one of my favorite Splatterhouse games, and contains more movie parodies than you can shake a stick at. Too bad it was only released in Japan, as it's a grade A title, and it really should have been released worldwide.

27. Super Castlevania IV - Konami - SNES - 1991

Konami's gameplay and graphical tour-de-force for the SNES. To this day, it's one of the system's greatest games - and interestingly enough, it was one of the first games released for the system.

26. Gradius - Konami - Arcade - 1985

Ah, Gradius. This was it - the start of the greatest series of shooters ever made. A true classic in every sense of the word - and a must own for any serious shooter fan.

25. Outrun - Sega - Arcade - 1986

My favorite racing game ever - and another gem from Sega's AM2 division. It was awfully nice of Working Designs to bundle the arcade game together with the arcade versions of After Burner II and Space Harrier on the Sega Ages disc.

24. Contra III: The Alien Wars - Konami - SNES - 1992

Total war in a box. I like it so much, I also bought the Super Famicom version, Contra Spirits.

23. Gradius V - Konami/Treasure - PlayStation 2 - 2004

Konami and Treasure really outdid themselves when they collaborated on Gradius V. In my personal opinion, this is the best shmup the PS2 has ever seen (and PLEASE don't email me about the Japanese shmups that never made it to the U.S. if you're just going to tell me they're better, okay?), and is perhaps the reason to own a PS2.

22. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns - Activision - Atari 2600 - 1983

One of the only games for the Atari 2600 that can still hold my attention after all these years. It's refreshingly simple and still incredibly fun to play.

21. Ikaruga - Treasure/ESP - Sega Dreamcast - 2002

Treasure's second overhead shooter follows closely on the heels of the legendary Radiant Silvergun (the game was initially known as "Project RS-2"), but ends up being quite unique in its own right due to the black and white dual attack mode. It's one of the best Dreamcast games - and one of the best shooters - I've ever played.