I honestly forgot this game existed until very recently and this is a good shmup by HAL. I will say though it probably won’t amaze you either. It does look nice and has good music, the gameplay is a mixed bag. It does have a cool gimmick with these weapons that can go in front or back that can save you from death and give you strong weapons. I wasn’t a fan of the weapon labeled as V as I found the hitbox size kind of underwhelming. I mostly used the lasers as they’re powerful and got decent forward range. You can also get speed ups and speed downs and I tried not to overdo it.

The first two stages are nothing too crazy but then the game goes crazy on tight spaces and split paths for every other level. The game isn’t too hard but it is very easy to die due to all of the walls. The last stage was also cruel with patterns you’ll never guess on the first attempt, fast as hell projectiles, and some awful traps like a door that closes when it reaches halfway the screen. Despite the issues, the game can still be fun and the stages are varied enough to stop the game from being boring.

I feel like I should enjoy this game more but tbh it just doesn’t do too much for me outside of just being good. Shmup fans will enjoy it but it’s not really a must play. I would argue you should try it and I hate that I forgot to put it on that one list. The game however has not had much of a legacy and I think HAL has only ever referenced it once in a Kirby sub game. Give it a go if you like shmups, would be nice to see more thoughts on this obscure one.