G. Darius (PlayStation)

Okay, so today we'll be transitioning from a shoot 'em up featuring dragons to a shoot 'em up featuring fish.  The Darius series has always been one of the core franchises in the world of shmups in no small part because of all the fish in it, but there are also some other neat elements to them, not the least of which is the branching paths players can take after each level.  It just adds so much replay value to the game, and G. Darius is no exception to this.  It's also got some nice polygonal visuals, a decent soundtrack, and you can take control of enemy ships and use their weapons as your own.  Good times. =)