Rotating your character around with A and C is a little awkward at first, but once you adjust to it this becomes one of the best non-traditional shm'ups on Genesis. I had fun messing around with all the different weapons you could get in the shops that pop up once or twice per stage and finding the best loadout for each stage/boss encounter.

It's also surprisingly forgiving given Capcom's knack for making brutally difficult games- you have a life bar that can be upgraded several times and have wonder-boy styled elixirs that revive you upon losing all your energy. It's a refreshing change of pace from other shooters of the era that simply wanted you dead ASAP to extend the playtime. I'm sure the arcade version is like that, but I can respect when the developers can tell the difference between what's feasible for arcade play versus home console play, and this definitely fits the bill.

It's a shame there aren't too many other shooters like this on the console, aside from Trouble Shooter and its Japan-only sequel. Even if it's very short and simplistic after adapting to the control scheme, there's a good time to be had here.