Understands a beautiful line between the brevity of arcade shmup design and the lofty cinematic flair of its console sisters. The fantastic scaling and depth effects create a world with a real sense of gravity - you not only feel like you're there, but you experience that awe and discomfort that comes from the vastness of space. Definitely one of the most visually-powerful vertical shooters ever made.

And the lock-on mechanic's just cool as shit: Very well-integrated into the game's visual style. And to trade-off the increased difficulty of having to manage two visual spaces at once, the game eases up on the speed and claustrophobia of the bullet patterns compared to other shooters. It's still hard as shit, but it's not immediately overwhelming in the way other games could be.

Top-tier shmup that EVERYONE needs to try.