It bums me out to say I couldn't get into this! I like most things the game has going on, like the song (which SNK was so, so proud of!) and the art and the enjoyably Engrish title, but I didn't have fun playing it. I don't know that it's specifically the game's nature as a SHMUP, since there are shmups I like and respect. I think the barrier of entry to getting your super form is so tricky compared to what you're going for in most SHMUPs, even something more closely analogous like Altered Beast. I ended up staying as Athena the whole time. You do have other power-ups for quick attacks and gameplay modifications, but those hardly make a dent in enemy forces and it's all gone anyway when you lose a life. And every time you die, you hear the groundbreaking technological advancement that is Athena's voice actress scream, which is really cool until you hear it over and over and over again. I have a fondness for this game still, but it doesn't extend to wanting to replay it.