I rated 9 because 8.5 is not possible, really I would rate the game 8.5. In any case, this is one of the biggest disparities I've seenI rated 9 because 8.5 is not possible, really I would rate the game 8.5. In any case, this is one of the biggest disparities I've seen recently between a game that I really enjoyed and one that has gotten a few negative reviews in the press. This is absolutely puzzling to me unless the reviewers either don't play a lot of STGs or they are offended by the campy anime storyline about 5 sisters competing for the love of a single suitor. Well, there is more to the story if you finish the game and I personally find flavor narratives in this genre to be a nice addition rather than something with very much importance to how good the game is.
Simply put, this is one of the better modern STGs released in recent years. The controls feel perfect and the scoring system, which is similar to the Castle of Shikigami series and encourages being close to bullets when killing enemies and collecting the coins they drop, adds a serious amount of depth to the gameplay. There are online leaderboards for each character and all 5 + 1 DLC characters are very different from one another to play.
If you are into STGs, don't miss this one.
EDIT: The soundtrack is also phenomenal…Full Review »