Bad Shmup but it sure does have a very interessting and unique vibe. The Stage Music reminds me of audiotrack 3 from boards of canada. Very mysterious sounding but also unsetteling. The Boss Music is also just as anxiety inducing. Also why are the Bosses all shaped like letters? Do they spell out anything? Not really.

Playing this really feels like a feverdream but it is also so weirdly addicting because you always wanna know what SHAPE the next boss is. Or if there is ever some change in the background or enemies. This game is like Polybius to me. And I respect that. Still not at all a good game in the end of the day.

Edit: The Bosses aren't actually all shaped like letters. There are H shaped bosses and some that look like three crosses

Played this through SF6 - which, imo? New gold standard for how to preserve this ilk of arcade games. There's a lot of old games in the corner of 'obscure but unremarkable' that don't set themselves apart even in retro bundles and collections. But something like this as an optional minigame in a larger experience? Awesome. Perfect replication of finding a random retro machine in a sea of redemption games and raw thrills cabs.

But uh, as for Exed Exes, it uh, uhhhhhhh, fucking sucks. It's mid-80's vertical shmupping, so it's stealing from Toaplan and Xevious without anything that made those games remarkable. Only cool for embodying that transitional period where shmups were trying to imitate the level-based structure of new platform and brawler games but still stuck in the 'score attack' tunnel-vision of Space Invaders and its many successors.

Capcom Classics Collection Revisits #5

Exed Exes is a dumb name. You executed the executables? Yeah, that's why they're called executables you stupid game. Idiot.

Notably this was released here in NA as "Savage Bees" apparently, it's still called Exed Exes most of the time I believe. A shame because I think Savage Bees is a better title.

Playing another very early Capcom shmup after 1942 feels a bit shitty, but at least it really goes to show how not having some asshat blowing a whistle at you can improve your enjoyment. Exed Exes definitely mixes it up a bit better than 1942 with it's enemy and boss variety, though this game still likes to throw a bunch of giant evil capital "H"s at you and some flying conjoined crosses. I kinda like the weird cyber beehive aesthetic of the game, but unfortunately it does get a bit boring after a bit despite being able to continue indefinitely as long as your pocket change remains intact. I recall playing this game for like an hour when I first tried it as a kid on CCC Vol. 1, and was wondering "goddamn when does this fucking game end?!", because iirc the rewards did demand a certain score to be reached or to beat the last Exes boss or something.

Not bad at all, just a bit before even my time. Much more willing to be nice to this game than 1942, fuck that guy.