The game is action packed and doesn't let down for a second, giving a satisfying beat-em up for the Neo Geo AES.
This game is action packed all the way through and is something to enjoy for the Neo Geo AES and can be found fairly cheaply (my copy was about $30). The game has a pretty ho-hum story with four hundred years of demons gathering to wage war upon the world, but it's a beat-em up game, so I don't really hold it up to anything serious. It's about kicking teeth in, if you ask me.
And that's what this game does best.
There's a wide array of enemies that borrow from Japanese culture, which is awesome to say the least, plus a few original ideas, and some really killer boss fights. Here's a short list of some of the enemies: undead samurai, robed warriors, fighting turtles, bouncing droplets of water, half-turtle/half-dragon nasties, shoguns, ninjas. There's a lot more, and the design to these enemies as well as the others throughout the game are really something to admire for creativity. They look great and for such an early AES cartridge. It looks awesome.
The levels can be described in one word: massive. Each level is about twelve minutes long. Which, for a side-scrolling beat em up is massive. However the levels are massive filled with going throughout all these different areas, the overall game is rather short. On my first time through, it took about two to three hours, and with a friend, it can be beaten in less time (about an hour).
The fighting system is makes up for the length, as well as trying to set some high scores. The system works by collecting orbs that give you power ups and health. On top of the power ups, are spells. The spells allow you to transform into various forms-- a martial artist, a wolf, or a samurai warrior. When spells and orb power ups are combined, you're fighters become incredibly powerful, however the time available for each one is one minute.
My personal strategy is to save the power ups until the end of the level for the boss fights. Since, some of the fights, without the power ups, are incredibly nasty, and an asswhooping unless you're a seasoned Sengoku player.
All in all, I'd say this is a great AES title worth picking up, and recommend it to anyone looking for some fun with friends, since all of this can be enjoyed with multiplayer (there are more enemies and what not when in two player mode)