[quote name='Spiritseed']Ikaruga in my opinion is a lot better. it's a straight up shooting game whereas R-type final has some funky levels that make it hard to see the enemys.[/quote]
Actually, if anything, R-Type is the straight up classical "kill everything" horiz. shooter while Ikaruga is a half-shooter/half-puzzler. I like Ikaruga more due to its uniqueness and novelty while R-Type Final is straightforward and somewhat uninspiring. If you're looking to know what a shooter really though, R-Type Final is an exemplary game in the shooter genre.