Zanac (USA) ROM

Basically a shooting game from a over-the-top view. The story is based on the name of the ship's model created by the military as the last hope of human kind. What is great about this game is that even with such a basic system like NES, the programmers put some nice AI in it. So if you start playing really well in the middle of the mission, the game increases in difficulty, or the AI sends enemies from different parts of the screen, so you never know where are they coming from even if you die many times, the gameis always different. The bosses are huge structures with guns that you must destroy and then its core. Classic shooter, worth playing for its time.

A really cool NES top-down shooter. Zanac is definitely one of the best of its kind on the console. The graphics are very nice, mostly repeating backgrounds which is expected considering how far and fast it feels like you travel in the game. The enemies are pretty imaginitive for this type of game. Most have eyes, making it feel more like you are fighting more in-depth enemies, not just hunks of metal. The audio is great, good sound effects for the time and a soundtrack that is amazing. The title screen and level-1 music will be stuck with you for life. The controls are very solid, and the power-up system is quite interesting. There are several numbered powerups which you can collect that all do different things. Some are shields, some are weapons, and some are both. Upgrades to the normal gun are obtained from breaking blue blocks which sometimes contain the powerup. This game is a little difficult if you aren't used to this type of shooter, but a good challenge if you are.

One of the best shoot em ups ever programmed. If you're really good at them, this game will reward you as it alters its play as you progress, and also depending on what weapons you go with. The bosses get CRAZY, and the music is some of the best you'll ever hear out of the NES.
This was done by legendary Compile team.