In Titanion, the ship you pilot has a capture beam that can be used to coax enemy craft to your side. These deserters will form a line formation and act as options, increasing your firepower in the process.
There is a standard level progression implemented, with all captured enemies retained from one stage to the next.
Yeah, Kenta Cho strikes again! Beautiful little game. And for those wondering about scoring system, stolen from shmups.com:
Small bugs are worth 10 * multipler points.
The larger enemies are worth 100 * multiplier points.
The end of phase bonus is 10000 * (hit ratio)^4.
Destroying any enemy increases your multiplier by 0.1.
While any enemies are on-screen, your multiplier is periodcally reduced by 0.1%. (The actual number of enemies doesn't matter, though generally the more there are the longer you'll be stuck with them.)