Cross Fire on the Genesis is one of those classic side-scrolling shooters that feels like it was designed to eat your quarters—except you don’t have to keep feeding it money, just patience. The first level throws you right into the chaos: enemy ships swooping in from all angles, bullets everywhere, and this weirdly satisfying *pew-pew* sound effect when you fire.

You start with a basic shot, but grabbing power-ups changes everything. There’s this one that turns your bullets into these wide, screen-clearing lasers, and another that gives you homing missiles—total game-changers. The difficulty spikes fast, though. By level three, you’re weaving through bullet patterns that feel almost unfair until you memorize the patterns.

It’s got that old-school charm with chunky pixel art and a soundtrack that’s equal parts cheesy and hype. Not the deepest shooter out there, but if you’re into that ‘one more try’ grind, it’ll sink its hooks in. Just don’t throw your controller when the boss suddenly fills the screen with pink death orbs.