This game is weird to rate, really weird. On one hand, some sections and bosses of this game are one of the most fun I have ever played through in a shmup. On the other hand, there's a bunch of stage sections where it feels like they just sprayed a quintillion number of bullets on the screen and called it a day (looking at you Half of Hell). Stage 1 feels like it could have been cut and nothing would change much, it is too easy for Survival and even scoring.
Talking about scoring, some people sing praises for this game's scoring but to me it feels like the weakest in Cave's library. You cannot fuck up anywhere, and you can't bomb or get hit. You miss a chain in the middle of the stage and your run may as well be over. Having 0 recovery spots or ways to fiddle around the GP system like with other DDP games makes it actively frustrating. I'd even prefer DonPachi's scoring system over this.
This game does have a lot of options for the player, with 6 shot types across 3 ships. Sadly, the balance between is kinda wack for the 2nd Loop, and playing anything else that isn't the Laser types for a 2-All is going to be extremely frustrating. Overall all the ships are good enough for a 1-All and there's a ton of differences between them so that's nice.
It's a pretty good game but one with design decisions a bit too unrefined, and with some sections that aren't that fun to play, but overall, it's a good recommendation for people that want to try a Cave game for the first time.
Talking about scoring, some people sing praises for this game's scoring but to me it feels like the weakest in Cave's library. You cannot fuck up anywhere, and you can't bomb or get hit. You miss a chain in the middle of the stage and your run may as well be over. Having 0 recovery spots or ways to fiddle around the GP system like with other DDP games makes it actively frustrating. I'd even prefer DonPachi's scoring system over this.
This game does have a lot of options for the player, with 6 shot types across 3 ships. Sadly, the balance between is kinda wack for the 2nd Loop, and playing anything else that isn't the Laser types for a 2-All is going to be extremely frustrating. Overall all the ships are good enough for a 1-All and there's a ton of differences between them so that's nice.
It's a pretty good game but one with design decisions a bit too unrefined, and with some sections that aren't that fun to play, but overall, it's a good recommendation for people that want to try a Cave game for the first time.