Ninja Usagimaru: The Mysterious Karakuri Castle is a fantastic handheld puzzler that anyone with a fondness for the genre should try.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is not only a must-buy game for existing fans, anyone who finds 2D action games appealing should definitely pick it up.
Although LastFight is certainly a promising fighter, it doesn't quite do enough to bring the genre back.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 mostly retains the spirit of the original while offering a ton of content and plenty of fresh gameplay mechanics.
River City: Tokyo Rumble is not only a fantastic game for existing Kunio-kun fans, it'll also appeal to any gamer looking for satisfying old-school beat 'em up gameplay set in a humorous world full of loveable characters.
Slain: Back from Hell is a brutally tough yet impressively genuine retro 2D adventure.
Bullet Soul is an impressive shoot 'em up due to its projectile-converting mechanic, top-notch audio, and fun cast of characters.
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity is a unique game for sure.
Noitu Love: Devolution is a huge surprise and I can easily say that it's one of the few must-buy 2D action games of the year so far.
I wanted Rive to be a good game.
Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax goes above and beyond when it comes to crazy shoot 'em up action.
Oceanhorn is an interesting game for sure.
Livelock is a solid online twin-stick shooter with some well done features yet it also suffers from some serious problems.
Sky Force Anniversary is a fun shoot 'em up that fans of the genre and casual gamers can both enjoy.
King Oddball is a silly game that's fun for the short amount of time that it lasts.
Dogos is a big step up from Project Root.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a mostly enjoyable collection of simple events set in a colourful world.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death does a lot of things right but it also sets the genre back in many ways that take away from the overall experience.
Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet features a fantastically implemented mixture of two genres.
Solar Shifter EX is quite possibly the worst shoot 'em up that I've ever played.