Cosmic Mirage

Cosmic Mirage is a horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up with some light RPG elements. As an evil alien force takes over the solar system, a single pilot takes off to take back his homeworld.

Fly through six planets and defeat the alien boss at the end of each planet, using one of three special weapons: a temporary shield, a freeze bomb, and the titular Mirage that creates a clone of the hero's ship. The guns have limited capacity; when the magazine is empty it is defenseless for a few moments while recharging. Destroyed enemies and projectiles leave behind crystals that fill up an experience bar when picked up. When the bar is full the player gets to choose between three new upgrades. Cleared planets can be replayed to grind for experience. If all lives run out the game can be continued from the current stage, but all collected upgrades are lost.