Europa Sensen is one of those Genesis shooters that nails the retro vibe without feeling like a cheap throwback. You start off with this sleek little ship—feels a bit underpowered at first, but once you grab a few upgrades, it turns into an absolute bullet hose. The pixel art’s got that chunky, colorful charm, especially the alien bosses—some of them look like they crawled straight out of an ‘80s anime.

What I like is how it doesn’t just throw waves of enemies at you. There’s this weird mix of tight corridors and open space sections where you’re dodging asteroids one minute and weaving through laser grids the next. The third stage boss? Total nightmare until you figure out its pattern—then it’s weirdly satisfying to dismantle.

Soundtrack’s all crunchy synths and punchy explosions, exactly what you’d want. Not the hardest shooter out there, but it’s got enough teeth to keep you replaying for better routes and hidden power-ups. If you’ve got a soft spot for that era when space shooters were king, this one’s worth a few credits.