I played the Japanese arcade version bundled with Konami Arcade Classics. An incremental upgrade from Gradius that follows a similar formula, flipping vertical and horizontal perspectives as the levels go on. The particular way the perspective flips here is super sharp in presentation, and there's a good set of upgrades. It is also insanely difficult, and I recommend playing the PC-Engine port instead; it's too bad that version isn't available, because for me it made Salamander a lot more enjoyable.