AEON GENESIS
The Great Battle 5

The Great Battle 5 follows Roar, investigating the disappearance of shipping and refugee transport vessels after they left the cowboy world of Garcia. In a departure the game asks you to pick *one* partner instead of giving you 3-4 characters at all times. Each partner also has a unique route through the game, increasing the game's replayabiliy a bit. It's still a sidescroller, but exchanges the Compatible Kaiser battle segments with Wild Guns style shooting gallery bits.