I don't know much about shmups, but Space Megaforce might be one of, if not, the best shmup I've seen. Not only does it push SNES to its limits with tons of stuff on screen, but it almost never chugs.

The game gives you 6 weapons with 6 levels of upgrades each and most of the weapons not only feel great but also good for various different situations, so if you're familiar with the game you can play it like Mega Man, switching to the right one when you know what's coming.

It's a fast-paced insane action where half the levels are psychedelic and weird, all the bosses are fantastic, and you feel overpowered without the game being too easy. Hard recommend.

Ehhhh. It's Compile, so it's comfy enough to play, but if the appeal here is supposed to be weapon variety and level designs based around swapping between them, then I feel it sorely misses the mark. After trying to have the kind of zippy fun the game teases, and getting mostly wrecked and annoyed, I was able to clear it with 10 lives remaining just by hanging onto my max-power laser and chilling -- which wouldn't in itself be an awful thing, but the levels are COMICALLY too long, the sprites are dull, and the music is on par with most other SNES titles I've played (which is to say, it's terrible).

Overall it's kind of a sibling game to Blazing Lazers, with each one excelling in different areas but ultimately feeling similarly busted.

Space Megaforce/Super Aleste is another highlight of both the SNES and the entire shmup genre. While lacking the offbeat personality that makes Battle Mania Daiginjou and Darius Gaiden (two other favorites) so special to me, it boasts a killer soundtrack, crazy backgrounds and bosses utilizing Mode 7 to the fullest, and no bad weapons to use out of EIGHT. Seriously, every weapon choice in this game is so fun, which with this many is something I've yet to see. My favorites have to be Circle (3), Sprite (7) and Scatter (8).

I will say though, it's a bit overlong. You may skim through a playthrough and think to yourself "twelve stages??" and while a few of those stages are way shorter than others, it still caps off at about 70 minutes, which is definitely a little above the usual for shmups. Truth be told, though, I think it compensates just by being really fucking cool.

Se comparado com os outros jogos da série Aleste, Space Megaforce (a.k.a. Super Aleste) é até que… relaxante? Não falo isso como um eufemismo para entediante, nem é uma crítica. Mas esse game é bem menos frenético do que seus antecessores, e também bem mais perdoável, com um hitbox generoso e sendo muito fácil readquirir todos os seus upgrades de armas – armas que, em seu nível máximo, são obscenamente overpower. Isso torna Megaforce um excelente game para só desligar o cérebro e atirar em tudo o que se move sem estresse. Entretanto, o que realmente torna a experiência mais calma é a música. Sei lá se isso é jazz, eletrônica ou qualquer outra coisa, só sei que a OST do game entrou para minha playlist de estudos.

A solid little shmup with fantastic audio and visual presentation.
Plenty of weapon variety to experiment with and satisfying upgrade paths for each that culminate in colourful screen filling pyrotechnics. Each level is distinct, memorable, and well paced with some really creative use of the Mode 7 chip.
Despite being somewhat overlooked and put down by genre elitists, it's a blast to cruise through in an afternon as it's not too demanding for newcomers, and also tons of fun for veterans alike.
Easily my favourite SNES shmup, and developed by Compile who also made Devil's Crush, a uniquely styled and addictive occult-themed pinball game that also happens to be a personal favourite.

My favorite shmup on the SNES and definitely one of my favorite Compile games. Sure, it's not a "hardcore" shooter and the length may be an issue for some (a successful 1CC is going to take double the time of your normal arcade shooter standing in at about an hour), but it's a fun ride with no serious drop-offs in quality at any point.

Also, taking out all of those tiny little bubbles in the filler stages between the main levels is the digital equivalent of popping a sheet of bubble wrap to me.

One of the most deceptively unique shmups out there; I'd describe it as 'clean chaos'. With its highly intricate level designs, reserved house tones, endless waves of diminutive enemies and INSANE suite of weapons, it really evokes the feeling of freeform jazz given tangibility. Like jesus christ, the fact that there's 8 weapon types is crazy alone, but they ALL have additional mechanics you can toggle with the R button. There's this beautiful game loop built around constantly jumping between different rhythms of firepower without a moment to breathe, it's amazing.

But like jazz, it tends to kinda just go on and on without a perceivable ending: It's WAYYYY too fucking long for a 16-bit shmup. You know how Compile is infamous for making their first levels too long? Well, 8 of this game's 12 stages are like that, and worse. For as dense as it is on concepts and content, I felt like it just stopped shooting meaningful new ideas around the 60-70% point.

Definitely the shmup highlight of the SNES library. But too long.

(Played the Super Famicom version titled Super Aleste)
The Super Famicom isn't known for having the best shmups in the world now that's not to say there aren't good ones because I know ones like Axelay and that one Macross game exist but leave it to Compile to make one of the better ones on the console.

While this game isn't as good as Musha Aleste for the Mega Drive, this is still a very fun game with many fun weapons to use. The game can be a little long as it does have some filler levels but thankfully the main non filler levels are a lot of fun and they look nice for the console. Was surprised how good the performance was with how many things they throw out at you.

If you have yet to give Super Aleste a try I'd recommend it if you ever get the chance. It's a pretty fun game in the series and it's got a lot of replayability with it's many difficulties. There's even a short game which according to Online you only play through four stages which is neat I guess. Will have to play it again sometime on the other difficulties.

Vertical shoot em up. Some nice Mode 7 effects, eight different weapons to use and upgrade with certain areas making good use of how weapons can function, different firing modes. Can run into objects and only be damaged if pressed against edge of screen, which leads to some more unique gameplay and level design. Music can be kind of dull but isn't bad. Some of the weapon types just aren't that good causing you to be frequently avoiding weapon pick ups which caused me to take the majority of the hits I took.

Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/space-megaforce-super-aleste/

''I really enjoyed my playthrough of Super Aleste, and to have finally finished it despite being one of my first games ever. I must admit that I’m in no way an expert on the Schumps genre despite liking them, but Super Aleste is definitely amongst my favourites out there. It is helped by the great amount of variety in weapons, with each having a secondary effect as well allowing for a lot of experimentation. Giving you a lot of freedom in a game such as this is welcome as it’s pretty difficult as well, but not unfair. And despite being difficult, the checkpoints are very forgiving with infinite retries, allowing you to gradually get better at the game. Furthermore, it’s impressive when it comes to performance with the SNES, having a consistent framerate and graphics that still look beautiful today. I would say it’s a good introduction to the Shmup genre as well despite there being many more that are easier, and definitely one you shouldn’t miss out on if you’re a fan of the genre in general.''