I'm not a shmup guy. I would love to be able to discuss the merits of something like Mushihimesama's input lag and hitboxes or its Arrange mode's scoring mechanics, but the truth is I do not have the experience required with the bullet hell genre to perceive it as more than just playing the same game over and over again with different coats of paint.

Which ultimately ends up working in my favor, considering all it has to do to make me flinch and move away from the screen like a little giddy kid is vomit an absurd amount of colorful and vibrant impossible to dodge bullets while cheerful and bombastic electronica tracks play in the background. And what a beautiful coat of paint Mushihimesama's bug aesthetic is.

What I love about bullet hell games in general is their ability to, in a span of mere seconds, demonstrate the limitless potential of perserverance, finding skill where you previously thought to be inaccessible as you decode the bullet patterns and your ship simply becomes an extention of your peripheral vision, emptying your head from the needless noise, only to have that burst of primal inspiration shattered by the crushing reality of human fallibility, as consciousness suddenly returns to your body and your eyes glaze over the screen just in time to witness your naive ship lost in a sea of pink little mistakes.

But Mushihimesama so wants you to succeed. Might be hard to at first believe that, but beyond practice mode, the unlimited continues, or the plethora of difficulty and mode options available that let you fine tune the level of masochism you are willing to put yourself up to, Mushihimesama's hitboxes are so generous and its walls of bullets so quick to reveal openings from where to pull hail marys off that it's hard not to get suckered in into thinking that Mushihimesama is something you can conquer. It's the illusion that counts, anyways.

PS: It gets an extra half a star because I've learned that the True Final Boss is so notoriously bullshit that it requires you to glitch out the game to be able to beat it. That's just badass.

I'm pretty selective with my ratings, I feel. Sure, I make myself rather predictable by typically sticking within the 5-7 range, but it's not like I'm throwing out high or low scores out the wazoo. Generally, I focus on the speculation and intake process of what people have been saying about something, and sort my expectations around those, so usually nothing really strikes me out or base myself on gut feeling when I check them out. Shmups aren't really my forte, but I do have experience with a fair number of them to know the dos and don'ts, plus I like throwing myself at the mercy of danmaku "go big or go home" escalations, so I was expecting to at least casually enjoy this.

The first boss reinforced my initial outset since, from the get-go, it already establishes everything CAVE wants to bedazzle you with. Majority of its patterns and enemy positions are simple and easy to fixate on, but the application of these Koujuu buggers (literally!) within their speed is what sets this apart. Spread shots, buckshots, rollers, overlays, if you can name and think of it, chances are Akira Wakabayashi and Co. have thought of it. A lot of the characteristics expressed from these bugs also shine due to Akira focusing strongly on the entomological aspect of these creatures to relay onto the artists, with director and programmer Tsuneki Ikeda also noting that it was a return to roots foundation, along with utilizing this as a benchmark for new hardware. Obviously there's some Nausicaa-distilled vibes lingering beneath and on top of the naturalistic world, but the differing aspects of the forests within Mushi's world also tend to give rise into other foundations as you go along, marking your progress as either the blues of Stage 4 or the washed greens of Stage 2 to name some examples, establishing more of an interpersonal relationship with the player and the bullet mechanics. This also doubles up on the repeat learning of the reliable M Shot, the wide but meek W Shot, or the strict yet powerful S Shot. It takes two to tango after all, even if the denizens prefer blasting you away.

To go further about the remarks Ikeda has given, as well as deepen my point about simplicity thrusting itself unto elegance and sensation, two details he's revealed before are about the stronger focus on the characters Reco and Aki, alongside the principles of establishing the high of navigating around these bullets in the first place. That said, I'm choosing to forgo an in-depth look into the mechanical side of the game, since to reiterate I'm pretty green with shmups and also cause I'm still aiming to improve myself with this, and not to mention I'm more focused on the character angle. Shmups tend to not indulge on this aspect of game design, which is fair, but the way Mushi goes about it is very intriguing. Even disregarding the fervent chaos and hostile bombarding, art CGs shown upon level completion visualize the story between Reco's past venture within a forest, and Aki's help in succoring her life via a bracelet embodying crystalized forces of the Koujuu. Years have past, climate has worsened for her village, and its through her flight with the help of a beetle named Kiniro that she sets off to ascertain what has wrought upon them, subtly embellishing and engrossing herself within this area. I wouldn't classify it as Man Vs. Nature as it first appears, despite the parasitic symbiosis between the humanoids inhabiting the area and how the creatures react to them, but there's a subtext feeling of melancholy. The way Reco learns and overcomes these sorts of ordeals and predicaments within the setting is akin to we, the players, adapt and recognize all these obstacles. In a way, it's fitting the True Final Boss is Like That to be climax of both of these themes, even if the true reason is because they just wanted to fuck around with your expectations and play.

I always figured I'd like Mushihimesama, but there's a lot of special somethins within this gem of an amber-colored set. I've done Arrange, I've dabbled with Maniac and Ultra, and even partook in trying out Ver 1.5 as well, all of which are worth exploring. Related to that, the compositions provided by Manabu Namiki and Masaharu Iwata are top-to-bottom bangers. I already went into enough lengths in justifying my High IQ reading of a simple plot, not to mention I already went on-and-on about the connection and design workings between the player and the system, so I'll just go over my favorite tracks of this: Requiem Of The Sky, Like A Night Of Falling Stars, Levi-Sense, really I just recommend sitting down and soaking it all in regardless of playing the game or for casual listening. We talkin S-Tier OST material, be it the original or various arrangements made for the other modes, and I already went the extra yard and put the OST onto my phone to listen to whenever. This one's for my rotational books for sure.

There's a type of design philosophy that I have been trying to define when it comes to shoot 'em ups. A combination of the feeling of a perfect level of speed, combined with excellent enemy placement and bullet patterns that never slow down, with music complimenting the action that creates an incredible feeling of adrenaline with each and every action the player takes; a "high" that lasts for the entire duration of the game, that never ends, until you hit that credits screen, and you're ready to do it all over again, because it was a meditative experience that comes once in a lifetime.

That is Mushihimesama. My favorite shoot 'em up, and one of the best games ever developed. For the love of Ikeda, play this one.

Easily one of my favorite shmups. Mechanically, it's fairly simple as far as shmups go; you shoot down enemies while avoiding fire. You got focused shooting and movements, bombs, etc. But there's something different about Mushihimesama that makes it so fun to play, I can't explain it. Weaving through dense bullet patterns while mowing down wave after wave of enemies feels so satisfying.

The soundtrack is great too. My personal favorite mode was Original 1.5 MAX, mostly because of the exclusive gameplay mechanics, but also because it's got the best arrangements of each song. Hearing "Like a Night of Falling Stars" for the first time is not a feeling I'll forget anytime soon. I also want to mention the aesthetic. The whole bug and nature theme it has is really unique, and cool too. Mushi is such a great game in every department.

FUCK Stage 3 though.

Between Ikrauga's color system, R-Type's force pod, G-Darius' capture ball, the Rayforce Shot, et cetera, developers in this genre are tripping over themselves to differentiate their titles mechanically in ways that range from ingenious to gimmicky.

Cave has a different approach. There is practically nothing in this game but shooting, dodging, and bombs, but the fundamentals in this game are so balanced, and so satisfying, and so well-engineered that it's like eating at a Michelin star restaurant that only serves bread and butter.

im still pretty new to bullet hell games but theyre a genre of games id really wanna get into more and learn more of. regardless I did the normal, arrange and 1.5 modes, and i really enjoyed them all. I think arrange is probably my preferred way, but I also really enjoy the gameplay style that 1.5 incentivizes with its speed and your absolute destructive capabilities. big fan of the soundtrack, the visuals, really its a pretty great controlled experience and i think ill probably whittle away at it more and more as i get more used to these kinds of games