Rayforce - Penetration (Furnace Re-Arrangement)

THIS IS THE CONTROL TOWER. MAKE A LEFT TURN. OVER.
ROGER.

A'ight, no more indefinite hiatus, I've been listening to this track for a good while now and I still can't get enough of it.
This is a game that I doubt many people are aware about, but it's by the same company that made Space Invaders (Yes, THAT Taito). It's a 1994 vertical shmup where you're able to lock onto and snipe enemies in the background (with some surprisingly immersive scaling effects) via a set amount of lasers you can upgrade through power-ups. It sounds basic, but this is one of the harder ones that has quite the spectacle. Like a lot of other games in the genre, it's not a matter of getting everything you can find, but in how you master what you're given, and doubly so given the scoring system. You may want to lock onto as many enemies as possible before firing (this should ring a bell to any Sonic fans that happen to be reading this).
While the arcade original got ported to the Sega Saturn, it's currently available through the Ray'z Arcade Chronology alongside its 2 sequel brethren on the Switch and PS4 (which I've heard is extremely good at emulating the original arcade versions thanks to M2).




also feel free to look up the lore to this series if you want a (mild) case of depression (・・;)