Something tells me this game would've benefitted from having an arcade version or something instead of being on the NES only. As it is, it's really small, but I still kind of enjoy it. For the most part.

I like that you get thrown into random encounter shmup segments, but the game doesn't do a whole lot with that idea. Not counting Jaws, there are five enemy types: stingrays that move forward, jellyfish that move straight up, stingrays that go really fast, jellyfish that can move to the side, and smaller sharks. You'll probably see them all in the span of a few minutes, the map isn't that big.

What's more interesting than the enemies is the fact that the shmup segments give you (among other things) shells that can be used to get nifty things from the port icons; first the receiver, then power upgrades. You get punished kind of hard for dying, though; you lose not only a level and half your shells but the receiver too, meaning you have to spend another trip between the ports. I feel like just the level and/or shell loss would've been sufficient.

Eventually you have to fight Jaws, of course, and at first he doesn't really put up any more of a fight than the regular enemies; how fast you can drain his power depends entirely on your power level.
Then comes the second bit where you have to stab him. It took me a couple tries because I didn't know you shouldn't wait until he gets as close as possible to you. That bit kinda sucks for the first time, honestly, but I got used to it.

Jaws is aight. There's probably a game or two out there that does its thing better, but the ideas in it are neat-ish.