I was not expecting the fully featured shmup game to also have the funniest writing of jam. The whole game is polished from start to finish. Immediately, the UI is not just clean but also a treat on the eyes with animations and sound effects just scrolling through menu options. Everywhere you look on the screen, from the character portraits to the backgrounds to even just the sidebar during the danmaku sections adds to the visual appeal. The fights themselves are a mix of nostalgic and expressive of the characters they represent. With a complete suite of difficulty options, the experience can be tailored to the player's taste. And rather than just be a few cut-ins between the fights, the story is worth it by itself. There are moments that really worth a laugh while still offering depth in the exchanges between Marisa and Patchouli. Ran's "bug" in particular really got me chuckling. The cutscenes even have the psuedo-animations of visual novels, with Marisa near running over Meiling.
Care was taken for the player experience everywhere here. The story mode lets you retry so you can keep up with the story. Completing it unlocks a mode to skip straight to the fights for QoL on replayability. And I had such fun I felt compelled to up the ante from my Normal clear to Hard. With judicious bomb use, I squeaked by and find myself even considering Lunatic. I haven't had such fun with danmaku in a long time. After playing I am even eying the main line games I have left aside for years.
You really have to nitpick to find something to criticize here. A restart option would be nice from the pause menu in Legacy Mode. Or just a few more unique tracks for the bosses.
Great job to the team here, this is a contender for best in jam in several categories.