This 1992 sequel to the arcade classic Terra Cresta is a PC Engine exclusive – it did not appear in arcades first.

It’s more of a remake than a sequel, but is incredibly varied and a more than worthy successor to Terra Cresta. As far as mainstream ‘Bullet Hell’ shooters go there are few better.

It’s not quite as weird as a shoot ’em up from Cave or Treasure, but Terra Cresta II is just as varied. And thankfully it is a little easier to play than the first Terra Cresta, which was nails.

The speed and smoothness of the game; the varied and imaginative backgrounds/sprites/bosses/sub-bosses; the excellent weapons progression; the time-travel bonus sections (replaying scenes from the original Terra Cresta); the boss rush(es); the quintessentially Japanese-sounding video game music – all add up to make an outstanding shooter.

Even better: the game has a number of play modes. Normal, 2 Minute, and 5 Minute. The latter two being high score attacks for those periods of time. There’s also a Formation Design mode (useful because – with the upgrades you pick up – your ship is quite configurable); and a Sound mode (for playing the tunes from the game, which are pretty good).

Terra Cresta II is one of the best shooters on the PC Engine – no doubt about it. I think that it might even be better than the legendary Gunhed, and that is saying something…

More: Terra Cresta II on Wikipedia