In MUSHA, you take on the role of Terri, a female pilot of, of course, a giant mech.  Terri has to clear several missions, and finally confront her enemy, Black Mecha.  It's a shooter, so the narrative is, by nature, thin.  Thankfully, the gameplay and art of MUSHA more than make up for this.

The most interesting mechanic of MUSHA is the collection and use of drones.  Terri's mech can collect and command satellite ships that attack enemies, but they have to be used tactically.

There are several "positions" that the drones can take - in front of your mech, orbiting it, in back, on the sides, etc.  If you want to keep your mechs around for more than a few minutes, you have to constantly reconfigure their positions.  For example, if you're flying through an area with tight walls, you have to keep the drones in front or behind your mech, or else the drones will scrape the walls and explode.

Another gimmick in the game is the collection of P-Chips, which power up your weapon - grab the same type of powerup consecutively, and your weapon will level up. There are three different guns that your mech can use, but the game balances their benefits well.

The difficulty of MUSHA is just right.  The individual levels are difficult, but you get a checkpoint after completing each level.  I wish more games functioned like this - most shmups I play either give you a set number of lives and no continues (yikes!) or give you unlimited continues (yawn).

The art of the game is particularly unique...and creepy.  Expect to destroy many Noh masks and feudal Japanese architecture.  Then environments are graphically stunning - areas seem to glow and are highlighted by decent paralax scrolling techniques.  Backgrounds often break apart and are dramatically destroyed.  Graphically, the game is top-noch for a Genesis game.

MUSHA is one of the rarest games for the Genesis.  The cart alone can go for for almost $100.  Complete it can go for over $200.  Dayum!  800 Wii Points sounds like a deal for this one, especially for such a great game.

Do you like retro shooters?  Do you like giant robots?  Do you like blowing shit up with said robots?  Do you have $10?  If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, go buy MUSHA for the Wii Virtual Console.  You won't regret it.

MUSHA is available now for 800 points on the Wii Virtual Console.

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