Twenty of the best freeware shooters released in 2006 and early 2007, ordered alphabetically.
[Top 50 shmups page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, the entire list]

1. Ablation
2. Blue Wish Resurrection
3. Clean Asia
4. Demolition Gunner
5. End Effector: Accomplished Edition
6. Ether Vapor
7. Gamma Bros.
8. Mogura 2
9. Titanion
10. Vacant Ark

1. Ablation

Ablation is basically a four color vertical shooter with an interesting concept. Touching a white bomb neutralizes all projectiles, while activating a black one destroys every object in range. Collect power-ups for a firepower upgrade. Controls are:

Left CTRL, Z, Space - shoot
F5, F6 - change window size
P - pause

Black pixels do no damage, though contact with a white pixel will cause your ship to lose one power-up degree. Destroy an enemy's weak point for a special core bonus.

Name: Ablation
Developer: Nenad
Size: 7.50 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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2. Blue Wish Resurrection

Blue Wish Resurrection is a vertical shooter by x.x that features two ships to choose from, three difficulty levels and five stages with obligatory end-level bosses.

There's an autobomb option in the config screen, and pressing space will bring you back to the main menu even when you're playing. The Heaven difficulty is probably too easy for most players, while Normal is the best one to start with. Health indicators are shown for large enemies to help you gauge the amount of damage they can take.

Name: Blue Wish Resurrection
Developer: x.x
Size: 56.5 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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3. Clean Asia

Part Warning Forever, part Tumiki Fighters, all style. In Clean Asia, the eyes of mankind has decided to leave their hosts and take over the earth. Their first move was to escape to the moon, where they developed their hostile weapon technology. Ten years later they return and forcefully take over some prominent countries in Asia. Thailand and New Korea has both succumb to the hostile threat, while China insists on dealing with the eyes themselves and refuses any helping hands from around the world.

America sends a pair of pilot twins with extraordinary sixth senses to battle against the evil eyes. They both have designed their own space ships that seems to be about the only thing in existance that can be used to battle these terrible fiends.

It has three levels and two selectable ships with distinct controlling differences and abillities, fourteen bosses and ten regular enemies.

Name: Clean Asia
Developer: cactus
Size: 5.62 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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4. Demolition Gunner

Think Under Defeat, but with 2D sprites. Demolition Gunner: In Search and Destroy was originally developed for a three minute gameplay competition, then turned into a complete production featuring seven stages and obligatory boss encounters.

These battles last only twenty seconds each, so there won't be much of a struggle beating them assuming that you're good at dodging an insane number of bullets. Press the Z key to shoot, or hold the X key for a few seconds before releasing the button to launch a napalm bomb.

Name: Demolition Gunner
Developer: DHC
Size: 11.2 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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5. End Effector: Accomplished Edition

End Effector Accomplished Edition is another superb freeware shooter from Japan that actually showcases 3D graphics for sprites and backgrounds, although gameplay is still very much on a flat 2D plane.

Textures are poor but that's practically the only drawback of an otherwise excellent shmup. The Z key is assigned as the cancel/secondary button, while the X key is used for selection and shoot. Pressing the C key will bring up a menu. Hold the Z key for a few seconds to charge your special weapon.

No power-ups to collect as you're already equipped with a powerful charge weapon that can be used like a slingshot. The first level is quite plain, but things do pick up after the initial boss battle.

Name: End Effector: Accomplished Edition
Developer: KMC
Size: 69.1 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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6. Ether Vapor

Ether Vapor is a 3D shooter that looks very impressive, with plenty of special effects and cutscenes to set up boss fights. The action switches from vertical to horizontal halfway through the demo, practically offering two types of gameplay for the price of one.

Three weapons are available to the player but only one can be used at any time. Enemies do look a little bland with gray as their primary texture color but credit to Edelwiss for squeezing in so much into a 15.5MB trial version.

Name: Ether Vapor
Developer: Edelwiss
Size: 17.9 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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7. Gamma Bros.

The name Gamma Bros sounds like a platformer but it is in fact a shooter. Use the W, A, S or D key to shoot in any of the four directions. Collect coins to purchase upgrades or health, and get close to an enemy to fire rapidly. You can change characters by touching your partner's ship when it appears on the screen.

A password save function is available, allowing players to continue from the last stage attempted. Access it by pressing the arrow keys while viewing the main menu. There's a Mac version as well.

Name: Gamma Bros.
Developer: Pixeljam Games
Size: 19.5 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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8. Mogura 2

Mogura 2 is an excellent shmup by Krobon Station, featuring two characters with different abilities and weapons. Both gets a standard shield which can be activated using the X key. Hold the Z key to shoot, and tap the C key to initiate a special attack. Press the left control key to change the way your weapon operates.

A tutorial can be accessed from the main menu by selecting the third option. The second offers a difficulty setting. After picking a character, you can choose to either start from the first level or continue from the last stage attempted.

Note: Installation can be a bit of a hassle but the effort is worth it. Rename the largest executable and cca file to the same name, then repeat for the smallest file. For example mogura2.exe, mogura2.cca, config.exe and config.cca.

Name: Mogura 2
Developer: Krobon Station
Size: 15.8 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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9. Titanion

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.

Name: Titanion
Developer: Kenta Cho
Size: 5.29 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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10. Vacant Ark

Vacant Ark is a strange departure from standard horizontal shooters, featuring excellent sprite designs by Buster but employing a slightly awkward gameplay system. You can only store and use up to six bullets at any time, although this supply can be replenished by collecting blue gems from vanquished enemies.

You lose all your energy stock if an enemy bullet grazes your on-screen character. A life is lost if you have no energy left when receiving damage. Your pod can also turn enemy bullets into gems when not in use for a few seconds.

Each end level boss requires a different strategy to beat. Some weapons are more effective in certain situations. You can only progress to the next zone if none of the bosses escape.

Name: Vacant Ark
Developer: Buster
Size: 9.83 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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Labels: shmup2006

Twenty of the best freeware shooters released in 2006 and early 2007, ordered alphabetically.
[Top 50 shmups page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, the entire list]

11. Arachnos
12. Asougi
13. Beautiful World
14. Exceed 2nd Vampire
15. Excellent Bifurcation
16. Guxt
17. Hyper Wars: The Mega Firestorm
18. La Soeur de Barrage
19. Touhoukokuhuugi
20. Virtual

11. Arachnos

Arachnos is an effort by BootanSoft that is reminiscent of arcade shmups from the early 80's. I could not get this to work full screen, but changing to a lower desktop resolution helps. Controls are shown under the configuration menu. Set BLT scale to double for a larger game display window.

The graphics may appear to be bland but does improve after the second level. Several weapons most commonly found in Konami's classic shooters make their appearance here, such as ripple lasers and options to name but two. Your ship does not explode immediately when hit, allowing options to be recovered after the loss of a life.

End level bosses have several attack patterns, guaranteed to test your bullet dodging skills. The asteroids in stage two can actually be used as a temporary shield during the boss battle, assuming that you don't crash into any of them.

Name: Arachnos
Developer: Bootansoft
Size: 5.61 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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12. Asougi

Asougi is a freeware vertical shooter that resembles ESP Ra.De., a Cave arcade favorite featuring characters with the ability to fly and amazing psychic powers.

Some of the bullet patterns are rather unique and not the sort commonly found in recent shmup releases. It's also rather friendly to beginners as the number of continues are set to unlimited, though progress past stage three is only allowed to players using three credits or less.

The executable file with a longer name is the version with less effects for slower computers.

Name: Asougi
Developer: Asougi Project Team
Size: 120 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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13. Beautiful World

Beautiful World is a relatively unknown shooter from Project Boueigun, featuring the usual array of power-ups, collectibles end level boss encounters.

Hold down the left shift key to shoot and press the Z key to launch a bomb. Scroll down slightly past the screenshots to get the latest version.

Name: Beautiful World
Developer: Project Boueigun
Size: 4.25 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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14. Exceed 2nd Vampire

eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE- is a brilliant shmup by FLAT which mimics the polarity gameplay system made popular by Ikaruga. The color of the circle surrounding your character can be changed by tapping the C key. This will determine the type of enemy bullets that your ship absorbs while charging the special weapon in the process.

Press the Z key to shoot and use the V key to bring up the pause menu. There are only four stages in this trial version, unfortunately. The 70MB file package may take a while to download, but rest assured that it's one shooter well worth the effort especially for fans of Treasure's classic.

Note: the color change button has to be remapped to C again using the in-game control setup option. FLAT updated the demo recently and messed up the original key configuration setting.

Name: Exceed 2nd Vampire
Developer: FLAT
Size: 88.1 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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15. Excellent Bifurcation

In Excellent Bifurcation, the aliens have attacked and their ability to exist in either or both of their world and ours has given them an almost unsurpassable advantage. Take command of a special fighter craft capable of existing in both realities at once and drive them back!

The form your fighter takes on the left has double fast-firing cannons and can charge to release up to eight seekers. It is ideal for destroying small and weak but numerous enemies. The right-hand form has a single powerful cannon which fires slowly but does far more damage, and is more suited to taking out larger enemies. It can charge up to release a wave which passes through things, damaging them as it goes. You can switch them between the worlds depending on what kind of firepower you need where.

The only vulnerable parts of your ship are the white parts at the centre. This means that the small form is much better at dodging than the large one. The only dangerous parts of bullets are the brightest (yellow or white) parts. Also, if you are shot down the form which was hit emits a green shockwave instead of a yellow one.

Press the Z key to shoot, X key to charge the special weapon, and C key to switch between two forms. Use the A key to activate autofire. You can change settings, like windowed vs fullscreen and whether it uses vsync, by editing the init.txt file.

Name: Excellent Bifurcation
Developer: Linley Henzell
Size: 0.96 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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16. Guxt

Guxt is a new vertical shooter by Pixel, the famed creator of Cave Story and Ikachan.

Click on the first text to download. Use the arrow keys to move your ship, and tap the left control key repeatedly to shoot. Screen size can be adjusted by selecting the menu tab. A key configuration option is included as well.

Power-ups can only be collected after you've destroyed their protective shells. Autofire is possible once your ship gains it's first weapon upgrade.

Name: Guxt
Developer: Pixel
Size: 0.25 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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17. Hyper Wars: The Mega Firestorm

Warning: Contains strong language.

Hyper Wars: The Mega Firestorm is a vertical shooter by CK which uses only two colors throughout the entire game. There are plenty of power-ups to choose from and several bosses to defeat at the end of each level. The demo only showcases four stages, but expect more in the near future as development continues.

Name: Hyper Wars: The Mega Firestorm
Developer: CK
Size: 2.35 MB
Download page: Click here

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18. La Soeur de Barrage

La Soeur de Barrage is a pretty decent shooter with emphasis on boss fights and accessible controls. Use the mouse to move the character and hold the left button to shoot.

There's plenty of save points and unlimited continues to assist beginners, plus a super easy mode has been included which allows the player to resume a game with twenty-four lives. Three long stages.

Name: La Soeur de Barrage
Developer: Tocoroten
Size: 54.3 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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19. Touhoukokuhuugi

Touhoukokuhuugi is a pretty good Shoot the Bullet clone developed by President Room, requiring impossible bullet dodging and photography skills just to get past the first few levels.

Take pictures by holding the Z key when your camera is ready, indicated by a percentage shown above the crosshair. Use the X key to make your character move slower, or press both buttons to charge your weapon faster. Only photos with bosses are considered valid. Still early in production, the game is very playable even without any background music or sound effects.

Originally Shoot the Bullet was supposed to occupy this spot, but no demo was ever released so this decent substitute gets the nod instead.

Name: Touhoukokuhuugi
Developer: President Room
Size: 4.53 MB
Download page: Click here

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20. Virtual

Virtual by Vector Games is a shooter with a mix of gameplay elements from Japanese shmups, Every Extend and Tron. Hard to imagine, but pretty fun nonetheless. When pressing the left control key, your ship will warp and create a small circle. Any round objects with the same color caught in it will basically go offline and disappear.

Enemies leave trails when traveling, and your ship will be terminated if it crosses these lines with another color. Press the left shift key to change your ship's color. Lives are replaced with logins, which can be acquired by using the same warp action on square objects.

Name: Virtual
Developer: VectorGames
Size: 1.68 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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note: a shmup has to offer least two playable levels to qualify for a place on this list

Labels: shmup2006

Ten of the best freeware remakes from last year which involves firing shots at foreign objects.
[Top 50 shmups page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, the entire list]

1. The Pyramid
2. Counterclockwise
3. G-Force
4. Typhoon 2001
5. Gravitron
6. Thrust Xtreme
7. Nemesis
8. Archaist
9. Saucelifter
10. Alien Abduction

1. The Pyramid

In The Pyramid, your objective is to guide a protective capsule through the corridors of a pyramid while shooting at any object with the intent to harm. Sacrifice your enemies to the level guardian to open a new passage in each room.

A pretty good remake by Chris Roper, with nothing less than four control options made available to the player. Plenty of additional accessibility functions have been included, such as a difficulty setting, an autofire toggle, display modes, everything but the kitchen sink apparently. Having a monster book to record your previous encounters with the denizens of the sacred tomb is a very nice touch as well.

Name: The Pyramid
Developer: Chris Roper
Size: 3.82 MB
Direct download link: Click here
Other shooters by Chris: Super Blazing Vortex, Ambush in Sector 9, Project Microlife, Revenge of the Robot Cat from Mars

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2. Counterclockwise

Counterclockwise is a perfect demonstration of the quality of entries submitted to the Retro Remakes competition this year. Essentially Tron in 3D, this remake puts you in a ship that leaves a trail during flight. Your basic objective is to destroy enemy chasers, either by shooting at them or using the EMPs supplied.

Ammunition is limited, but it's possible to replenish them by collecting power-ups or executing tricks. These special moves can be practiced in a special trick trainer section. A multi-player is currently being developed, although the online high score table has already been implemented in the current version.

Name: Counterclockwise
Developer: Nenad
Size: 7.07 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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3. G-Force

G-Force is a brilliant remake that plays very much like a flat 2D Tempest, in which enemies rain down from the top of the screen in an attempt to crash into your ship. Press the Z or Y key to shoot, and tap the X key to activate the special weapon. Only two directional arrow keys are ever needed, and use of the superzapper is only allowed once in each level.

Name: G-Force
Developer: Oddbob
Size: 11.1 MB
Direct download link: Click here
Other shooters by Oddbob: Beast Invaders 2

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4. Typhoon 2001

Anyone familiar with Tempest would definitely be interested in Typhoon 2001. Use the left and right arrow keys to move the ship around the stage, and hold the space key to shoot. A superzapper can be used by pressing the enter key. Avoid spikes when warping to the next level.

Not a standard vertical or horizontal shooter but quite simply one of the best freeware Tempest remake yet. Ace, indeed.

Name: Typhoon 2001
Developer: Thorsten Kuphaldt
Size: 3.09 MB
Download page: http://typhoon.kuto.de/download.html

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5. Gravitron

The creator of Prototype and Xain'D Sleena returns with a brand new shooter entitled Gravitron, though this one requires a little more tact as it is actually based on Thrust. Instead of transporting pods into the skies you now have to destroy reactors while saving any spacemen wandering on the surface of the planet.

Switch to mouse controls by pressing the tab key when the main menu is shown. Activate the shields next to a fuel pod to fill up your tank. Progress is saved using a pass phrase, plus the nifty level editor facilitate user creations quite well. Expect more content to be posted in the near future.

Name: Gravitron
Developer: X-Out
Size: 5.70 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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6. Thrust Xtreme

From the creator of Grid Assault comes Thrust Xtreme, a remake featuring updated graphics but with Wiebo's distinct style from his earlier effort intact. The menu and sprite designs are instantly recognizable, though gameplay is slightly sedated with precise key presses a vital ingredient for success.

Your ship has limited fuel which can be replenished by activating your tractor beam near any of the fuel tanks. Balance is required to hover in one spot while staying close to ground objects.

The objective of the game is to attach a rope to the round object found in each level, then carry them out safely into space in order to progress. Some players might be discouraged by the difficulty or awkward controls, though fans of the original will definitely be delighted with this production.

Name: Thrust Xtreme
Developer: Wiebo de Wit
Size: 3.02 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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7. Nemesis

The Nemesis remake from Ovine by Design is a shooter that looks great and plays just like the original.

One of the very few Retro Remakes 2006 Competition entries that is actually better than it's predecessor, which is quite an achievement considering that Konami's classic is a tough act to follow.

Name: Nemesis
Developer: Ovine by Design
Size: 7.51 MB
Download page: Click here

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8. Archaist

Archaist could not be any more different than it's predecessor, yet manages to retain every defining element of the original. Your mission is basically to search each area of the map for artifacts in the shape of floppy disks and time capsules. These objects should then be deposited at a base or station in order to earn an advancement in your designated rank.

It takes a bit of effort to learn the controls, fortunately the difficulty level can be adjusted to your liking. Rather frustrating at times as well, due to the fact that the number of artifacts collected are halved if you lose a ship. There's no save game function though all these are just minor nitpicks.

A remake that even the original author would approve of. Includes a Pastfinder theme which can be selected from the main menu.

Name: Archaist
Developer: Michi
Size: 9.03 MB
Platforms: PC, Mac
Direct download link: Click here

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9. Saucelifter

Saucelifter is a brilliant Choplifter remake featuring vector graphics for enemy vehicles, turrets and buildings. Press the Z or C key to shoot in either direction, or hold the X key to aim downwards. The landing gears will appear automatically when your ship approaches the ground.

The aim of the game is basically to grab up to eight hostages at any one time and transport them to the teleporter on the right. Land right next to it and they will exit the ship and walk onto the platform automatically.

Name: Saucelifter
Developer: Paul Pridham
Size: 2.17 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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10. Alien Abduction

Alien Abduction is a decent Defender clone by Pumpkin Games, featuring 3D graphics but retaining 2D gameplay from the classic. Your objective in each level is to destroy all alien ships while protecting as many energy crystals as you possibly can.

The radar will be helpful to keep track of all the action, while power-ups appear rather frequently and can be collected for a temporary firepower upgrade. Fuel has to be replenished from time to time by hovering your craft over a fuel depot usually identifiable by it's red or pink glow.

Name: Alien Abduction
Developer: Pumpkin Games
Size: 3.57 MB
Platforms: PC, Mac
Direct download link: Click here

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Notable mentions: Gridfire, Solar Striker Remake, Demon Attack, Star Wars, Chronos - A Tapestry in Time

Labels: shmup2006