#shmups

BIRDCAGE vinyl release copies came in today, courtesy of Black Screen Records.

You can find links for this, the MiniDisc release and digital streaming here:

'Ai Chō Aniki'

[PC-FX] [JAPAN] [MAGAZINE] [1995]

"Shiny muscles are making a noticeable return to PC Engine, this time via Super CD-ROM2, the most storage of which allows most Japanese software to shine like never before. To a crystalline soundtrack that perfectly accompanies the fighting of our twirling protagonists (in horizontal or vertical scrolling and set with parallax), a handful of presentation screens explain the story - not that it's necessary. Appearing a bit like a hallucination, this second episode invites us on a journey unlike any other... to the point of passing off the first release as a practice run - this title pushing the level of delirium up several notches. As evidenced by a flock of varied bosses, sometimes in underwear, sometimes in the shape of a snowman adept at bodybuilding, but certainly never seen elsewhere. The craziest thing is that it works brilliantly! What it lacks in coherence, if by chance you were still looking for it past the title screen, the game recovers in enjoyable gameplay. Nothing is off-limits, and we go through the levels without ever suspecting what the next level has in store for us. To this feeling of cathartic fun is added a challenge that never forgets to tick all the boxes of the genre and thus ends up winning the adhesion of dubious by happy players. This is the essential for this sequel, which easily exceeds its predecessor, and annihilates the boundaries of good taste!" ~The PC Engine / Turbografx-16 & PC-FX Anthology

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