A super fun cute 'em up by old Konami, with a good level of difficulty you'd expect much like the other shmups they've put out. This entry in the Parodius line of titles features just as much wacky and weird characters/ships, enemies and levels as you could possibly expect from a cute 'em up, with pleasantly vibrant graphics that make it all pop right out.
Criminally Underrated and Largely Unknown to the West
Even better than Parodius Da for the PC Engine (a personal favorite, which IMHO surpasses the Super Famicom version). This sequel just brings all the silliness and quality up another notch, from music, to graphics, settings, zaniness and shmup franticness.