Maybe was a bit too hard on this one previously. It stands on its own legs pretty nicely, the writing is fun, the music is (mostly) pretty good, and it's a substantial improvement over Whip Rush. But with how much the sequel, Battle Mania Daiginjou, improves on basically everything, though, the first game feels like yet another step leading up to it. This is probably because the sequel raises the bar really high in retrospect, but whatever the case it makes this one hard to talk about without mentioning the other.

I'll probably never stop shilling Battle Mania Daiginjou, but really you should check both of these out. Ideally this one first so the second doesn't spoil you.