Pop'n TwinBee (1993)

Preliminary: Hmmm for the most part I have lost interest in the shmup vibe, but this one seems particularly good control-wise and Look-wise. I really like the way the background looks, and for once it's easier to tell what's on the ground vs in the air so I can use the appropriate weapon. It also helps I am used to this series so I know how the Bells/power-ups work etc. We shall see if it holds my interest enough to warrant a 3 star or higher, as the first shmup in a long while to hold my interest.

Day 1 Wow yea the music continues to be good and the gameplay tight as I finished the first boss. I will probly only do like 2-3 bosses at most, but that still a sign of a solid shmup for me. It has the things I look for in a shmup: ability to shoot away most enemy projectiles, reasonable "easing in" to the difficulty, good graphics and tunes, tight controls, lots of power-ups that are easy to understand.

Welll, as per usual with the Twin Bee series and cute em ups in general, the 2nd level is already too hard for me lol. But I love the song for it and the underwater cities in the background, so depending on how these ratings go it may somehow still be a 4 star. But most likely a 3 star and recognition as the best shmup in a while imo

Look: 9/10 Love the colors and those backgrounds and the cute little touches like the way some of the enemies died. I wound up peeking through a playthrough video to see the other levels.

Sound: 8.5/10

Play: 7.5/10

Feel: 8/10

Attachment: 7/10 I just don't see myself returning to shmups that often. At first they were exciting in the early game era, but I am reverting back to my roots of primarily being a platformer and RPG guy. I thought this chronology project would change that for me, and get me more into first-person and strategy and shmup games, but so it goes. We all have our tastes I guess :-p

Overall: 8/10