Played on Normal but was not able to beat it because the end of the bike level gave me a black screen. I'm not fiddling around with it in a different emulator and playing again so I watched the rest on youtube (which was missing the bike level for some reason). This was one of the better beat em ups but really feels like an arcade title in just how difficult it is. It is not so much that the enemies are tough, but that health pick ups are minimal, and how difficult it is to not take too many hits here and there. The jump kick is the only reliable way to deal damage without too much risk, but you can't afford to stay in front of enemies because they all have distance covering kicks. Your kicks do low damage though, so if you want to beat the timer you are going to have to get in close and punch. Punches are fast and can rack up impressive damage but enemies can power through and hit you back. I found the best way to punch was from behind, or just a quick one two before backing off, or following up with a jump kick to knock them down. Grabbing and doing a punch combo would be the most effective if the enemies did not simply walk out of it. It was also way too easy to accidentally throw, which does almost no damage. The weapons were fun when you got the use them and I did a bit better at the shooting because it was easier to avoid damage; get up close on a slightly lower plane and shoot, then get away before get get back up. Throw the occasional jump kick for crowd control. I especially liked the 3 different super powers that drain mana. I used invisibility to wreck bosses, keep myself alive as long as possible when near death, and to make weapon using enemies drop the weapon. The way you can toggle it on and off at will allows great tactical use, and makes efficient use of the mana bar. I used devastate a couple times against large groups. Never used dash. The sweep kick that drains health does not seem worth using, and I accidentally used it far more often than I wanted to. The bike level was garbage; very poorly designed. The only thing you can do is move around and shoot straight forward, but the enemy bikes like to get on your side and behind. You can't punch or kick to the side, or ram them into the edges (which just hurts you). I already had to save state scum pretty hard to get through the game with my lives increased to 5, and when I finally beat the bike level I was at a sliver of health on the last life. I may not have even been able to finish the game.

Little tough to rate without having played the whole thing but I will give it 7.0/10