I didn't play it for too long--just enough to determine that it's not for me. Its slow, methodical, tanky nature is not what I was expecting from Hiroshi Iuchi of Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun fame--and that's not to say that those qualities are in themselves bad, but the latter games are bolstered by an immense amount of atmosphere and presentational finesse, and Kokuga has... nothing of the sort.

Combine the dreary, one-dimensional look-and-feel with the aforementioned slow gameplay, and you have something steeped in 'alrightness.' Even Manabu Namiki's score feels grey and meandering, at least in the first few stages I experienced.

The idea of a kind of shmup "deckbuilder" where you're using cards to activate weapons and power ups, though, is incredibly cool and enticing, and I want so badly for someone to pick up that torch and run with it! For now, I can appreciate Kokuga as a dream of a brilliant game trapped in a mediocre, underdeveloped one.