Review: M.U.S.H.A. (Sega Genesis)

[Daniel W. Rouse Jr.]

Quite a bit to say about M.U.S.H.A. First thing first--play this on Hard or
it's too easy to finish on Easy or even Normal without even changing the
default speed.

Next, this is not a single hit loss of turn type of game. As long as a
special weapon is there, the first hit loses the special weapon and the
second hit without a special weapon loses a turn. Get another special weapon
and it takes another hit to lose the special weapon again.

Additionally, this game has excellent music for every stage. Just play it
from the sound test before playing the game, it really is excellent rock
with some synth work.

This game has lots of parallax scrolling but does not pan the screen from
side to side.

Bosses are on the easy side, except for one boss that fires a lot of cruise
missiles when playing on Hard. Many of them just need side to side sweeping
motions to defeat them. Therefore, the stages themselves are more difficult
than the boss.

Many shots are shootable, and yet--on Hard--they can be overwhelming at
times. Especially on the stage with the three flying ships.

Then there are the options--side firing pods. They can be arranged as
forward, three way (diagonal fire), reverse (moves in the opposite
direction), rotational, or free (moves into the enemy and fires at it).
Depending on the enemy fire or wall type, each option can take between one
and 11 hits before it is finally destroyed. For the most part, I have found
that using just forward and three way is good for most of the game; however,
there is a boss that is best taken out with free. To get more options, three
capsules have to be collected.

As far as the special weapons go, there is a laser, a rotational one that
acts as a shield, and bombs. I recommend the laser for most of the game,
unless it is a choice between getting another special weapon or losing a
turn.

The game states multiple endings, but it's really just a difference between
no pictures, one picture, or two pictures for the ending.

The game does not loop, so once the last boss and the final battle are
cleared, the credits roll and then it's game over.

Find this game if it's available, and don't pass it up. It's a great
vertical shooter that has speed changes, lots of variety of enemies, and a
challenge that gets faster and faster each stage until the very last battle
at the end of the game.