you're gonna want to bust out the ol game genie for this one (SKVTTSVK for infinite lives lol) because it's reallll tough, which would typically not be my kinda jam. however, gimmick OWNS so hard that it was worth retrying parts of each level over and over again, seeing what little secrets i could find by bouncing the star off a wall and going wherever it takes me. gimmick's character and enemy designs are so darn cute and the level and backgrounds are ridiculously detailed, making this feel like it could've come out today. i loved this! im gonna have to smoke some more 8-bit games because i've been missing out (dragon quest 1 review soon....).

arcsys signed a deal with god that said they weren't allowed to make a bad fighting game and they still keep that promise to this day. legitimately think this might be one of the best beginner fighting games. it's mechanics are deep enough to keep fighting game fans interested, but still leagues more approachable than something like a SF (the parry mechanic might be a good introduction to third strike for new players tbh). i love it! can't believe how many of these ps360 fighting games i missed out on.

i was gonna like this game out of principle, since how could i dislike a fighting game where not only are ToHeart character's playable, but also one where tamaki is literally top tier lmao. turns out the game is actually just a solid fighter in general with some interesting assist mechanics, which i may not even fully understand completely (yet). i love the four button setup as usual and the special moves are easy to figure out even without a guide --though i do recommend afroshouji's gamefaqs guide if you're looking to play it. my only complaint is the difficulty of the final boss, since his assist gives him a whole bar of health after you've beaten him, but I think that complaint could be used for nearly every arcade fighting game.

after almost 27 hours, i finally managed to get ace rank and gifts for every level (besides the sidequests because i think im ready to be done with this game lol). with that being said, it's really good! i'll admit i'm one of those sickos that didn't read much of the dialogue, since im already playing paradise killer so i've been doing enough reading. the gameplay though ---my lord it is so good. can't speak on playing with controller, but with a keyboard and mouse it plays absolutely flawlessly. tight controls and a variety of weapons gives you the versatility to beat the levels however you like --but you'll wanna do it fast. flying through levels as fast as your hands and mind can is when this game excels the most; not to mention the fantastic machine girl soundtrack that makes getting your best time feel that much more intense. the only issue i really had with the missions is that eventually the gift placement resulted in either "climb up this really high building" or "go search in some random area until you finally stumble upon it", but this can be easily fixed by having a guide on hand. if you've ever thought to yourself that you wanna speedrun a game but don't feel like putting all that time into one thing, neon white gives you the rush that (i assume) speedrunners thrive on.

sucks that this is legitimately impossible to play without emulation or importing the actual arcade cabinet because this is one of the finest fighters i've ever played. takes what was so great about the other power instinct games and creates (in my mind) the peak of the series. it's ridiculously fun to play and you'll start feeling out combos after just a few matches. i can't recommend this enough and if you have any interest in playing it, use the TeknoParrot emulator and download the rom here https://archive.org/download/TeknoparrotGamesFull/Goketsuji%20Ichizoku%20-%20Matsuri%20Senzo%20Kuyo.7z

edit: forgot to mention that i beat the arcade mode on ONE CREDIT, which may be the first time i've ever done that with a new fighting game. it's really that easy to pickup. play it if you can.