Hi there! The first Espgaluda has been my favorite since I first played it and I don't see that changing on this current Cave playthrough that I'm doing. I really like how the difficulty scales through the slow-mo system, initially using it to help interpret tricky patterns (rather than just bomb to erase them) and gradually redirecting those resources to riskier cash-ins for score. The levels are meticulously layered to have all these neat insights as you get better -- I guess that's true of a lot of their games but I especially like the way this one does it.

I also like Daioujou a lot (I've sort of worn it out at this point but looking forward to the M2 port and anything new M2 does with it) and the Mushi games have grown on me. Initially they didn't stand out as much without a system like Espgaluda's slow-mo or Guwange's spirit, but Cave excels at the simple fun of fluid bullet dodging, too, and the Mushi games perhaps exemplify that the most. On this playthrough, Futari has grown on me -- I hadn't given the Maniac mode much time before.

I'll do a current ranking of all the games in the next month or so.

I see you are a big fan of Wii Sports! That game never clicked with me (I assumed Resort was stronger but maybe not?) but I still see people mention it positively today while later Nintendo 'hardware showcase' games (Nintendo Land and 1-2-Switch) never get mentioned, so there must be some longevity there that I failed to appreciate.