I think it's objectively a three-star (good, not great) game, but I'm giving it an extra half-star bump for having a certain je ne sais quoi. The shot noises are hideous, and it's extremely barebones from a visual perspective, but there's just something about it that sticks with me.
Maybe it's because it's Tsuneki Ikeda's first game—a rough scribble that would serve as the foundation for some of the most seminal works in the genre, which Ikeda would go on to program at CAVE. Many of the level design choices foreshadow set-pieces from his later games: the layers of guns mounted on rails from DoDonPachi DaiOuJou are here, for instance, as is a massive organic mid-boss that reminded me of stage 3 of Mushihimesama.
The biggest bummer of playing this game is realizing that the weapon options (Search and Missile)—which are super fun to use in their own right—are simply too underpowered compared to your juiced up basic shot. Once I started taking a 1CC seriously, I found myself having the easiest time surviving by just firing straight-ahead at max power (there's a neat mechanic where moving forward spreads your options out for a wide shot, and moving backward concentrates them, but, like the weapon options, this sadly just isn't incorporated usefully into the level design).
On the positive side of things, the music is scuzzy, proggy bliss. It's not the greatest OST in the world or anything, but it fits the game perfectly, and adds a ton of character that the backgrounds and enemy designs lack.
At the end of the day, Grind Stormer is an incredibly stripped-down but satisfying shmup experience, and I'd certainly recommend checking it out. It even has the Japanese version of the game (which has an entirely different power-up system) bundled into the cartridge, and has customizable difficulty options and a training mode. Pretty sweet.
Maybe it's because it's Tsuneki Ikeda's first game—a rough scribble that would serve as the foundation for some of the most seminal works in the genre, which Ikeda would go on to program at CAVE. Many of the level design choices foreshadow set-pieces from his later games: the layers of guns mounted on rails from DoDonPachi DaiOuJou are here, for instance, as is a massive organic mid-boss that reminded me of stage 3 of Mushihimesama.
The biggest bummer of playing this game is realizing that the weapon options (Search and Missile)—which are super fun to use in their own right—are simply too underpowered compared to your juiced up basic shot. Once I started taking a 1CC seriously, I found myself having the easiest time surviving by just firing straight-ahead at max power (there's a neat mechanic where moving forward spreads your options out for a wide shot, and moving backward concentrates them, but, like the weapon options, this sadly just isn't incorporated usefully into the level design).
On the positive side of things, the music is scuzzy, proggy bliss. It's not the greatest OST in the world or anything, but it fits the game perfectly, and adds a ton of character that the backgrounds and enemy designs lack.
At the end of the day, Grind Stormer is an incredibly stripped-down but satisfying shmup experience, and I'd certainly recommend checking it out. It even has the Japanese version of the game (which has an entirely different power-up system) bundled into the cartridge, and has customizable difficulty options and a training mode. Pretty sweet.