Blazing Star is a 1998 Shmup for the NEO GEO released by SNK.

This game may be the best game I've ever played. The action is over the top (almost to a comedic extent), the bosses are insane, and it's so freaking addicting.

Let's start with the graphics, for 1998, they are great, a little bit pixely, but considering the hardware it's on, it's expected. The music was also pretty good, I wasn't really listening to it because I was concentrating on dodging stuff (which we'll get to later), but it does fit the atmosphere well. I wouldn't say this game is a bullet-hell, but pretty much everything on the screen is gonna kill you, so bring some quarters if you're playing it in an arcade. The bosses are phenomenal. One I remember that was top tier was where after you blow up most of a ship, you have to fight the last functioning part while on a collision course with a planet, but the best two are the last two bosses.

The stage 6 and 7 bosses are the best bosses to any shmup I've played (which, is, unfortunately, not a lot), the stage 6 boss is almost like and endurance of some kind, you're fighting a fleet of motherships (I think), and you have to dodge all of there projectiles (they don't take turns shooting), it's really a test of skill, patience, and skill.

Then you have the stage 7 boss, where you're basically performing an intergalactic abortion on a Lovecraftian fetus (wait a moment just to process that), there were parts in this fight where I had to pause the game just to take it all in.

The Arcade Archives release is your average fair. You get both the Japanese and English versions, which is always great. You also get the Highscore and Caravan modes. It's a decent package for $7.99 in my opinion.

This game is an experience. It's hard to believe how much the genre evolved between Space Invaders and this, and it's also hard to believe I've only dipped my toes in this genre. Get this game now, you won't regret it. 10/10