Very solid rhythm game, if not a bit luxurious due to the high initial price tag. Once you get past that, you have over 260 songs available to you, with many more available via DLC.

This game is notable for its lack of unlock systems. Outside of one or two hidden songs, all songs are immediately available once you make the relevant purchases, on all difficulties. The only real unlocks are for the background videos for watching/listening, but beyond that, the game gives you absolute freedom in what songs you want to play. If you want to start by playing an 8-key level 20 SHD chart, go right ahead!

As far as the game mechanics go, they are quite vanilla. It's simple 4-, 5-, 6-, and 8-lane gameplay. No score multiplier gimmicks, just textbook yet challenging beatmania-style gameplay. There is a quirk of the scoring system where while it apperas to be entirely accuracy-based, you get a very small bonus based on your max combo. It shouldn't be anything too crippling though.

Songlist is good and quite varied, from EZ2DJ/AC classics to modern songs by artists that may be more familiar to present-day rhythm game players.

I simply haven't played this game in a while because my PC isn't up to snuff and I need a newer, more powerful one, and I don't have a particularly good keyboard with at least 1000 hz refresh rate.

If not for the game having the obvious doujin graphics and audio, one might swear this game was made by CAVE employees or former employees thereof. Imagine the scoring mechanics of Ketsui but with the isometric horizontal perspective of Progear or Akai Katana. Solid game if you want something relatively conventional, it doesn't do much to stray from the usual arcade bullet hell tropes.

Also yes, the game is not on Steam. It has only been sold as a Japan-only physical and as a DLsite digital. If you have a little time to set up an account there, the game does not have any DRM to worry about nor do you need to install some launcher app (just run the game straight from the executable), so it's absolutely worth the extra legwork.

I sort of don't mind the rapid tapping mechanic, or at least I tolerate it enough to play through the game sometimes. Honestly the way the game was marketed, it looked as if one would only need to use it sometimes, but in practice about 80% of the game requires it.

Frankly this game needs a health warning.

Stellar soundtrack by HIROKKEY as always though.

Not a bad port of a great classic.
Features starting-rank options (the original arcade version alters the starting rank based on what part of the attract demo you insert coins) and the option to play the Japanese version with checkpoints or the international version without checkpoints.
But as usual with Arcade Archive releases, practice options are sorely limited by modern port standards (no stage select, only one savestate and it's meant as a suspend save rather than a state that can be reloaded multiple times) and input lag is horrendous if using a wireless controller in tabletop. If you have a PS4, I suggest getting that console's version of this release instead.

The first mobile shmup I can respect.

It's tailored specifically for mobile as opposed to being a port of an arcade or console game with all the issues that entail. Bullets are made large and bright for visiblity, controls are simplified (shoot automatically, slide to move, double-tap to bomb), and stages are played one at a time rather than making you do a full run that's 30 or so minutes long.

My only real issue is that the framerate is lacking, at 25-30. But it's still quite playable.

Excellent 90s-style shmup reminiscent of the Thunder Force series with its multiple weapons (the homing weapon is practically the TF Hunter weapon in all but name), with a dash of Gradius thrown in for the last few stages.

My only real complaints are that recovers can be painful due to how underpowered the ship is after death due to losing the Roll Units, and the relatively low difficulty might turn off advanced shmup players seeking an arcade-caliber challenge. But if you want an excellent and fun shmup to 1CC, this might be up your alley.

Also the ranking tables are a little spotty, as they include all scores from all versions. Version 2.0 revamped the Caravan stage and it is now low-scoring, and as a result a lot of the old version 1.0 records are untouchable now.

Criminally-underrated Gradius game.

Yes, most people complain that a loop takes just 20 minutes and has "only" 5 stages. So? Maybe that isn't for everyone, but that makes it good for a quick session, 30 minutes like many arcade shmups can wear me out sometimes. And most modern bullet hell shooters are 5 stages anyway.

In terms of graphics and level design it feels a lot like a miniature Gradius Gaiden. Lots of unique twists on familiar level formats, with my only real complaint being the indestructible bone debris in stage 4.

Soundtrack sounds like the best of Gradius soundtracks in a similar soundfont to Gradius II and III, all arranged by the legendary Manabu Namiki. I'm glad this game gave some love to the MSX Gradius games, giving some of those games' tracks some solid arrangements. And speaking of, the game being a prequel to the MSX Gradius 2 is icing on the cake -- Gradius lore is also a thing that's underrated.

I'm praying to the gods of video game preservation that K*nami, Nintendo, and M2 can come to a deal to bring the ReBirth games to modern platforms. The fact that these games are left to be unobtainable by legal means if you didn't buy them back in the day should be a federal offense on Nintendo's part lmao.