Axelay (SNES) - 2-ALL Clear on Hard & Very Hard

Full run of Axelay, clearing 2 loops (hard, very hard/hardest), my final score was 1,610,700 points. This was captured off a real SNES console playing the real cartridge, no emulation.

Warning: there is around ~10 minutes of point farming done on the final boss of the second loop, mostly for demonstration purposes.

Loop 1 - Hard
00:00 - Start
02:21 - Stage 1
06:31 - Stage 2
12:21 - Stage 3
19:14 - Stage 4
26:08 - Stage 5
30:17 - Stage 6
36:42 - Final Boss + Ending

Loop 2 - Hardest
0:43:57 - Stage 1
0:48:29 - Stage 2
0:54:17 - Stage 3
1:01:15 - Stage 4
1:07:13 - Stage 5
1:11:23 - Stage 6
1:17:50 - Final Boss + Point Farming
1:29:49 - Final Boss Last Form + Ending

This game is certainly one of the best shmups on the SNES, and probably one of the best from the entire 16-bit era. The final stage is one of the best levels I've ever experienced in a shump, and the game is worth playing for that alone.

The scoring system is broken (check out the point farming I did on the final boss during loop 2), but this game definitely deserves its reputation as one of the best.

Spoiler: There isn't much story to this game but it appears that the pliot's family was killed by the aliens (it's unclear if the hero is a child or adult in the opening scene). The hero finally comes back to exact revenge and annihilate the entire enemy fleet in the final stage. The music, level design, and build up to the final boss is superb, something that is rarely done with this level of finesse.