Really enjoyed this seemingly random title for the Switch’s Mega Drive service. My understanding is M2 has acquired the rights to the Aleste series and MUSHA is a spin-off of sorts. It’s a really smart vertical shooter that yes, at times can seem monotonous as you blast down wave after wave of enemies.

But the nuance exists in the two shooting buddies by your sides, commanding them to shoot forward, at a 45 degree angle front or back, rotating, in reverse to your movements or free form. As well as upgradable specials and main shot. These are all managed dependant on the needs of each stage.

The game looks vivid on Mega Drive and runs smooth as butter. There is some slowdown time but it occurs maybe once or twice a play and is entirely necessary. The soundtrack is also strong as.

I felt it was especially smart that at the end even with the basic shooter you can take down the final bosses - which is a very likely result on I found even on Normal this is a struggle. A classic, loved it.

Classic game room W


So I’m not super into shoot ‘em ups. I can respect them but eh not for me. Then I played this game and just everything clicked. I think this is by far the most fun I’ve had with one of these games. First off the powerups and additional lil buddies really help give you a chance. Believe me this game is still difficult and brutal sometimes but the opportunity to actually take multiple hits along with being able to shred enemies if you’re skillful and get upgrades feels really rewarding. It’s fun to have a game that you can break if you work for it and keep yourself alive which is what this game does. I always felt in control and felt like I could easily win with just more practice, memorization and of course getting every upgrade and lil buddy I could to completely obliterate any enemy I came in contact with. But you gotta work for that shit. I guess I just don’t like other games like this because I find myself dying over and over while being discouraged to try again.

This game is the huge exception for me because it’s just so damn fun and rewarding I wanted to keep playing.

Going to graphics I like the aesthetics a ton. I like the mix of ancient Japanese aesthetics combined with a more gritty and futuristic art direction. Everything in this game just feels really dangerous and as if you’re going against some truly deadly machines or impossible odds. It’s all awesome and the detail is just phenomenal for an early genesis title like this. I do also like the anime styled cutscene that starts the game but I personally wish we got one more cutscene to end the game at the very end. Overall sick stuff tho.

The music here is just fucking epic. As the classic game room review mentioned, this soundtrack sounds incredible and it’ll leave you stunned by what the genesis can accomplish.

So for me this game is an essential shooter on genesis and it’s a blast start to finish.

An incredibly badass shmup that was a 7/10, then became an 8/10 when I played on Easy.

Look, I don't think this game is suuuper hard on Normal, it's doable. But there's a couple of annoying quirks:

Your small secondary ships die when they come into contact with anything, which is a bit annoying, particularly in levels with tight corridors.

If you happen to die and revert back to your pea shooter, holy shit it's a steep hill you are climbing back. The game becomes exponentially more difficult, bordering on impossible depending on which section that happens.

The power up mechanics are cool and I greatly appreciate that they give me one extra hit.

I spent a ton of time playing various Compile shooters this year, which of course meant I got around to M.U.S.H.A.

While I can agree that it's probably the strongest shooter on the console, I don't think it's the best thing Compile has ever made. It starts out very strong and stays that way until the last stage, which just felt like a massive difficulty spike. Die on the second of the numerous mini bosses (referring to the one with the rockets and homing missiles) and your run is basically over if you're trying to 1CC. It's really annoying and put me off from doing a 1CC for a while.

I also really, really wish this game had a sound effect for when you've taken a hit. Pretty much every other shmup that doesn't kill you off instantly had one, so it's a curious omission here.

I still like this one and can see myself popping it in every so often, but I'm going to be honest and say I enjoyed Power Strike II on the Master System a bit more when it comes to the console Aleste games. (Since this game is technically a part of that series)