Winds of Thunder pretty much does it all. For a H-shooter - and I generally prefer V-shooters - it combines stunning visuals with perfect difficulty, amazing sound, allround superb atmosphere and provides I think one of the ultimate shmup experiences on any console. You can't get much better than that. The collusion of sound and action works particularly well here, creating a sparkly, mystical feel to the game, which works as well as in Spriggan or Sylphia.
I think this is a game worth preserving so I don't overplay it - I stick to the original disk as opposed to the easy CDR for instance. I included it in my video Gold PC Engine shooters on my YT channel. Great game of the week.