M.U.S.H.A.

The Good
One of the first third party Genesis games and also one of the best. This was back in the days (89-90) when the Genesis was the best video game system on the market and Sega kept its quality standards very high (a policy that would evaporate the following year).

The game has great graphics and controls well. The power ups are fun to play around with. Each type of laser has different levels of power and you can even get these giant flame throwers. It also has a nice story (or so I've been told). I never pay attention to the plot in shooters.

The bosses are huge and detailed and also heavilly armed.

The Bad
While the graphics were wonderful, sometimes they were a bit distracting and made it difficult to tell your enemies from innocuous objects on the landscape that were equally detailed.

The game was also a bit too difficult for my taste; more difficult than the likes of Blazing Lasers on the Turbografx.

The Bottom Line
If you like this one I'd recommend Elemental Master, Fire Shark, and Truxton also. Phelios is another over head shooter you might like, but its pretty mediocre. Of course, there is also the sequel Robo Aleste which is even better than MUSHA, but its on the SEGA CD and is not easy to come by.