Preliminary: (from when I played it on actual hardware at an arcade) This is way less clunky than any of the other beat em ups I've played so far. The quirks are still there but readily learnable even on an icade type compilation machine (not original machine, that is). The bosses were all awesome, and I'm glad to see a woman boss in a beat em up not tokenized (and in 85 no less!). Dig it. Oh and the power ups are super well done and fun

Look: 9/10 Not that I was particularly moved by the Look, the colors were great, the attention to detail great, the UI meaningful (I like how the damage was shown), and the sprites were great. I really liked a lot of the bosses' looks. Just all around excellent -- even if it doesn't have a striking, sentimental, lost-in-horizons, or potential-nostalgia quality.

Sound: 8/10 The fact I didn't really notice it is good. The sound effects were effective and didn't get annoying. And the same could be said about the jingle. This probly deserves a 7 for Sound, but I often don't include Sound in pre-PS1 game ratings anyway so whatevs.

Play: 9/10 I love that you can kick while platforming. I love the flow of the fighting. Great collision masks, great responsive controls, and great kick one way then quickly kick the other way moments. Pro-tip: platforming up and down is critical for close calls, quick dodges, and clever slaughters. Oh not only that, but you get more points for those jump kicks/platforming kicks! I love when, in early games, they allow you to shoot away bullets or hit away projectiles etc, meaning you could always survive if you're quick enough and staying engaged. Games like Twinbee had bullets that can't be "shot away." Not that it makes much sense, but I love the idea of hitting away projectile attacks. It makes me think of Kingdom Hearts where really skilled players can do Proud Mode on like Level 3 or 5 by timing hits to deflect, parry, etc. I think it adds a lot of fun to games.

Feel: 9/10 GUTS! Great catchphrase. I was again enamored by the woman boss, she is just a cool sprite in general. I wish I had had a chance to screenshot her before kicking her to death! For a second, I thought, I wish there were punch and a projectile attack but nope. The occasional projectile you can kick is enough. After all, this is also known as Kicker heh. But no, more seriously, the kick is versatile and cleverly utilized as is. No need to convolute and muddy the waters (oh! and turns out there are some temporary projectile type powerups!)

Attachment: 9/10 This very well may warrant a Favorite. It's been a while since I added a game to my Favorites shelf. It's not my usual style tho, so I'm wavering on the decision. The fact I was so excited to play this still months later after playtesting it at the arcade says a lot. And to my surprise, my full playthrough is proving to be worth it! And not overhyped! It's almost always the opposite in these situations--disappointment. The colors and look of this are great, the gameplay amazing, and my attachment already established by playing this later. Of course, I just had to start this a night that Michael got home and we were going to watch our movie. I just wanted to peek! But sure enough, I was already on Step 3... and there's only 5! I will have to save the rest for tomorrow :) (again, establishing attachment and replayability)

While I kind of wish there were the ability to jump across gaps, I kinda like the limitation to just jumping up or down platforms. Sometimes simplicity is best. And when the gameplay is this addicting and fun, simplicity is the right choice! Before I knew it, I was on Step 6 and re-cycled back to the first unique screen. Tho I suppose it's a negative that I didn't choose to finish out my lives, the fact I returned to this after playtesting at the arcade, and the fact I enjoyed every second of all my playtime so far, makes up for any potential concern with that!

Completion: All 5 unique screens, Score 126,900 Playtime: ~35 mins