Changeable Guardian ESTIQUE

This retro shmup is full of charm. It isn't designed with neat modernized progression like a Tyrian, Jamestown, Drainus or Zero Ranger though, so expect the usual classic (and to some, perhaps archaic) arcade experience. It does have some accessability features, like I saw a 'continue' option on the title screen, so you can probably start from the level that you died on. There's a rewind feature as well (which disables your score if you use it).

It's a really good NES homebrew. For my personal tastes, it's second only to Gun Nac on that platform. It's simple and good. Nice presentation. The super weapon mechanic is fun and well-implemented. The difficulty is fairly balanced. My only disappointment is that the transforming mechanic didn't feel very important.

Excellent collection! The Steam release includes both NES and FC versions of Changeable Guardian Estique as well as an early prototype of the game. Normally, I'd say "who cares!?" with regard to having various versions of the same game but the differences are made clear by the presentation. One cool aspect is that the NES and FC versions have different storylines. It's also worth noting that scores from both versions feed into the same online leaderboard. I'm usually skeptical of modern shmups made for NES because I assume they are either clunky or simply "Nintendo hard" but was pleasantly surprised to see how slick and accessible this is. It's absolutely worth checking out if you're either a shmup or retro enthusiast.