M.U.S.H.A. (1990)

Probably the most accomplished Sega Mega Drive-game I have yet to play. The intensity and focus of gameplay, atmospheric set pieces, mind blowing soundtrack and balanced difficulty had me shaking from excitement. The falling panels in level 3 is probably the single coolest moment I've experienced in a 16-bit title. The only real complaint I can muster is that the lava scenery overstays its welcome in a couple of the later levels.

Now I'm eager to play some of the other Compile shooters I own (the Aleste Collection, Blazing Lazers and Spriggan 1 & 2)

MUSHA, also known as Musha Aleste, is one of the most well-regarded shmups on the Genesis -- some even call it the best (perhaps partly due to how ridiculously overpriced copies have become on Ebay, etc). I still have plenty of shmups to check out, so I'll hold off on deciding what's #1 for now. But yeah, Musha is great stuff. It didn't completely blow me away, but it's a solid vertical shooter.

Fast-paced, beautiful pixel art, and tough as nails. Enemies, bullets, and lasers fill the screen, but the Genesis can handle it. Perhaps what I liked most about this one was the art direction -- this one goes for a unique blend of traditional Japan-themed imagery with the futuristic robot tech we expect of the genre. It is very late 80s / early 90s Cool Japan, the beautiful 5-10 years that gave us a hundred cyborg ninja games. But seriously, the samurai mechs and floating Japanese castles are awesome, and there are a couple moments in particular where the game really wowed me with its graphics and presentation.

The music is also held in high regard for this one, but after listening to it off and on for a couple weeks I just think it's fine -- no tune in particular really stood out, but it's rockin' enough. I think it would've been cool if it had mixed in some kind of traditional Japanese music bits into its tunes somehow.

Gameplay-wise, Musha keeps things simple in terms of weapons and power-ups. Three different special abilities, and you upgrade them the way you'd expect in a shmup. What stands out more is how you can also get two little robot pod buddies that hover to either side of you -- but you can change the direction they shoot as well as their flying patterns, allowing you to help concentrate their firepower effectively depending on enemy placement. It works great, though I was definitely not talented enough to use them to their full potential. The biggest problem I had with Musha is how if you die, you're back to just using your pea-shooter, which as far as I can tell just means you have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating whatever boss you're on. Either use save states so you can keep your upgraded weaponry, or... git gud, lol. Git REAL gud.