It turns out that SDLMame works pretty good on my little Atom desktop! So I've re-discovered some nice 'schmups' ("shoot'em ups"). My favourite remains Raiden Fighters 2, for reasons I don't quite understand myself. Using the memory dump feature, I've finished the game with losing only 1 life. (OK, so if you get shot down, you have to get back to your earlier 'save' -- but you still have to get past that point, no matter how many times you get back.)
I've just finished the game, completely destroying the highscore: