The most horrific bosses, the most beautiful music. The most enigmatic and complex bullet patterns, the most trite and simplistic enemy waves. Mesmerizing hallways that go on and on like stone highways. Lots of contrasts here, but the short is it's aesthetically amazing and bone-dry on gameplay. Why Masaya totally fumbles at making competent shmups, I don't know, but at least Iwadare gave me this wonderful tearjerker.