HUUUUGE fan of GUNBIRD, don't let my on record playtime fool you.

Switched over from emulating the PAL version of GUNBIRD Special Edition on PS2 in 60hz mode for the achievements + to support the devs bc I like it *that* much, and that's a high bar coming from someone like me who is already a (self-proclaimed) fairly big fan of STGs, and niche ones at that. Knowing this is a *very* good port going into it helps too though, lol

An enjoyable soundtrack, gorgeous backgrounds and spritework, and an addicting learning curve to charge shot optimization (you stop firing and they take literal seconds to charge, can you hold out long enough to pull it off? When should you even charge? How long do you wait to release it once it's ready?), along with a visually striking cast keep GUNBIRD prominently at the front of my mind when I'm itching for a shoot em up.

This port also has a very nice and clean widescreen UI, which I appreciate. Would like to get a vertical monitor setup some day, but until then I'm a big fan of the addition, especially the extra overlay for your keybinds which I haven't seen before, because I *will* forget them during extended breaks from the game, lol

tldr: excellent shmup and one of my favs, excellent port for its asking price (but I was lucky enough to receive my copy as a gift). Definitely consider picking it up even if it isn't on sale (currently -66% at the time of writing)

edit: no final sale </3, I can't vouch for it there but at least this port is still available on Switch for the time being(?), but personally I'll most likely stick to just recommending emulating GUNBIRD Special Edition, at least for my PC homies