F/A (Fighter & Attacker) 1.7 mil JA-37 ALL

This was done on the US romset (Fighter & Attacker). As far as I can recall, there are no differences between the Japanese & American romsets.

This game is super interesting from a design perspective. While first impressions may get someone to say that its a generic military shmup playing off of Xevious gameplay mechanics ( a primary shot for foreground targets and a secondary shot for ground targets), there is quite a bit of strategy to figuring out optimal routing since killing ground-based targets can yield prisoners which each have a 2k score bonus as a end of stage bonus, bosses with multiple parts/ additional enemies that you can milk for a limited time, and positioning to take out enemies before they become a threat.
Popcorn enemies in this game can be somewhat predicable if left alive, especially from stage 3 onwards. To deal with their patterns, you'll find that diagonal maneuvers are a big key to avoiding damage, since I think the hitbox is a bit more lenient, and it becomes integral especially in the last two stages.

This game also has a ton of ships to choose from. I picked the JA-37, since it is the easiest to use w/ autofire due to its 6-way spread shot and straight-forward secondary shot with good range and can hit ground based targets directly beneath you.

You also get a end game bonus after killing the final boss. The first bonus is up to 80k for completing each mission ( basically killing the boss of each stage) along with a life stock ( armor) bonus of up to 500k depending on how many you have left, making it important to take minimal damage if you want a high score.

Music in this game is fantastic, and is done by Shinji Hosoe and Takayuki Aihara. It was Namco's first techno arcade ost ( aggressive techno) per request of the company president, and ended up becoming the basis of iconic Namco soundtracks in the mid-late 90s such as Ridge Racer, Cyber Sled & Xevious Arrangement.

I felt this run was fairly decent, a no-miss till the final boss, with 2 hits afterwards. It can definitely be improved w/ additional boss milking, prisoner collection, and practicing the final boss ( although you have to be careful if you move too far up on the left or right side as the spread will overlap and force you to take a hit.) Hopefully, I'll get a chance to upload clears with other ships in the near future.