This is actually a really fun and underrated gem, though at the same time this game is also riddled with a bunch of small yet troubling quirks. On the positive, the background graphics are amazing, the music is quite good, and the gameplay is very slick and enjoyable. The best way I could describe the gameplay is an amalgamation between the swordplay of NES Ninja Gaiden, the level design of Contra, the enemy layout of Metal Slug, and the movement of Mega Man Zero, and I mean that all in a generally positive way. Also worth noting is, although I never played the co-op mode, I do feel like this game would make for a fun co-op experience. However, this game has its quirks too, as previously mentioned. For one, the graphics of a lot of the human characters seem very basic (though not necessarily bad), especially in comparison with the exquisite graphics for everything else. It feels like said characters were in their beta form and they never got updated for the final cut of the game. It's not a huge problem, but the contrast is noticeable. But then we get to some actual gameplay quirks. First off, you are hard-pressed to ever latch on to a ladder properly. It feels like you need to get on a ladder pixel perfectly for it to work or otherwise you just won't latch on to it. You also have these turrets you can man every now and then which, generally, perform well. However, they have a huge fatal flaw where it will stop firing if it has taken damage and is in i-frames. I've literally been stunlock looped by the enemies until my turret exploded on certain occasions. There are also these rail shooter sections. The first one is actually quite enjoyable. However, the second one you do onwards, you have this new rail cannon "upgrade" you get (which we'll get to the "upgrades" later) and it is a straight downgrade from the vehicle you got earlier. Your rail cannon's charge shot will take up most of your stamina (which is another problem we'll get to), which makes your gun near useless for a couple seconds after using a charge shot. Which you'd think "well, I'll just use the rapid shot". Well the rapid shot overheats the gun after ~5 consecutive shots, which leads to you having to wait for it to cool down for a few seconds. There's only a slight difference in between waiting to shoot again after either consecutively shooting or charge shotting (the latter requires maybe a second more for stamina restore). It just leads to having to wait to shoot half of the time, which gets real annoying real fast. Though in one rail shooter level, you actually can have robot allies help you out depending on how many screen clear droids you have, but they're inexplicably only in that one level when I feel like they should've been available in all of them. As for the "upgrades" you get four "Ephiphanies" throughout the game and only one actually feels meaningful, being the first one. You get a double jump power attack after beating the first royal which is actually super helpful. The second "unlocks" the rail cannon, but it's just a new way to do the rail shooter levels (that actually feels worse than our vehicle from before) and really isn't an upgrade. The third is an attack increase, which is technically nice, but I hardly felt like I was that much more powerful after obtaining it. The last one is just for the Hyper Sonic Doomsday Zone esque sequence after beating the final boss. I wish there were actually more meaningful upgrades like the first one through these various Ephiphanies. Then there's the god-forsaken Stamina. Your stamina bar is used for dash rolls, jump dashes, and your double jump special from Epiphany 1. It can easily run out without you realizing and really mess you up. Said stamina bar also applies to rail cannon charge shots. I can understand the idea of just wanting to limit the character from just being an Ultra Instincting Super Saiyan, but the stamina bar should just either be limited to higher difficulties or not in to begin with (I could see no Stamina bar in Easy, a Stamina bar that rarely runs out in Normal, and the game's current normal Stamina bar in Hard). Also, while this game has unlimited continues, it uses the archaic system that Ninja Gaiden NES used where if you run out of lives, you go back to the beginning of the World you're in, not just the level (so if you run out of lives in 12-3, it's back to 12-1, for example). Not a fan of that personally (or maybe just reserve it for Hard mode). Plus there's not really any checkpoints for the stage, even in normal mode (you just go back to the beginning of the stage or boss if you die at all). But Easy is almost too generous with respawn, either directly respawning you in a boss fight or putting you not too far away in a normal level. They could've had more regular checkpoints in Normal, I feel. While most of the levels are designed fairly well, there are a few notably annoying bits like the ice level, elevator section of the military base, and the entire last level that make the checkpoint system in Normal and up more painful than it should be. Also I feel like this game actually has an interesting lore behind it (it feels like it hints at some possibly interesting lore through the end level screens and very limited amount of cutscenes), but it doesn't do enough to get me truly invested (should've had short cutscenes between levels like Ninja Gaiden NES, that could've made this story way more intriguing). Also there's no difference between the two playable characters, Tanya and Olga. I did two entire playthroughs (first on Normal with Tanya then on Easy with Olga) and, other than playing on a different difficulty, the gameplay style and levels were identical (just pick whichever one is visually more appealing to you). Also the Achievements of this game are just straight bugged. When beating the game on Normal, I got the achievements for playing on Easy and playing on Co-op, both of which were wrong. I got all three endings, but it gave me only the achievements for two (and it gave me the one for the Good Ending while I was viewing the Neutral Ending). There were other examples, but yeah good luck trying to achievement hunt this game, you gotta hope and pray they proc properly if you do. Despite all these quirks and complaints, the core gameplay loop is still overall very fun and enjoyable and the game is exquisite to the eyes and ears with its graphics and music. If you're looking to play a fun traditional acrade-esque platformer (especially if you're a fan of games like NES Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man Zero), then I would definitely give this game a shot. Just keep in mind some of the quirks and issues I mentioned while doing so.
