LISTS

Top 25 Shmups of All Time

The Shmups Forum's 21st annual community vote, through 2025. The ranking is theirs, compiled by Nifty and voted on by the forum. Read the full results thread at shmups.system11.org.

Source: Shmups Forum

Best Nintendo Switch Shmups

Nintendo Life's pick of the finest shoot-em-ups on Switch. The selection is theirs. Read the full guide at nintendolife.com. Shown here are the games from that guide held in this index.

Source: Nintendo Life

The Best Shmups for 2026

Jeffrey L Wilson's unordered PCMag selection. Page order is preserved for the published games held in this index, but it is not a ranking.

Source: PCMag

Compile's 20 Best Shoot 'Em Ups

Marc Normandin's ranked AV Club selection of 20 shmups made by developer Compile. Source ranks are preserved for every unambiguous published game held in this index.

Source: AV Club

10 Best Arcade 'Shmups, Ranked

Tyler Werrin's ranked CBR selection of notable arcade shmups. Source ranks are preserved for the published games held in this index.

Source: CBR

StealthRUSH's Top 100 Favorite Shooter Games

stealthrush's ranked Giant Bomb list of favorite shooter games. Source ranks are preserved for every unambiguous published game held in this index.

Source: Giant Bomb

A Deep Dive Into 68 Shmups: Tier Lists, Beginner Picks, & Hidden Gems

u/Spydar05's personal tier list of shmups they played, published on Reddit r/shmups. This selection preserves the tiers and page order for published games held in this index.

Source: Reddit

15 Best Shoot ‘Em Up Games to Try in 2026

Slavcho Andov's ranked Eneba selection. Source ranks are preserved for every unambiguous published game held in this index.

Source: Eneba

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1989

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1989 (edition 3). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1996

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1996 (edition 10). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1990

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1990 (edition 4). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1994

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1994 (edition 8). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1993

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1993 (edition 7). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1998

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1998 (edition 12). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1997

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1997 (edition 11). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1991

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1991 (edition 5). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1995

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1995 (edition 9). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1988

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1988 (edition 2). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)

Gamest Best Shooting Award 1992

Reader-voted Best Shooting ranking from Gamest magazine, 1992 (edition 6). Vote counts as published. Via the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Gamest Awards, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Gamest (via ja.wikipedia)