<s>
MUSHA	B-Application
is	O
a	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
shooter	O
developed	O
by	O
Compile	O
and	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
entry	O
in	O
Compile	O
's	O
shooter	O
series	O
,	O
Aleste	B-Application
,	O
MUSHA	B-Application
places	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
flying	O
mecha	O
pilot	O
who	O
must	O
destroy	O
a	O
large	O
super	O
intelligent	O
computer	O
threatening	O
planet	O
Earth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
had	O
a	O
working	O
title	O
of	O
Aleste	B-Application
2	O
and	O
originally	O
featured	O
a	O
style	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
original	O
Japanese	O
aesthetic	O
and	O
speed	O
metal	O
soundtrack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
reception	O
for	O
MUSHA	B-Application
was	O
mixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
generally	O
agreed	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
enjoyable	O
with	O
great	O
graphics	O
,	O
but	O
found	O
themselves	O
overwhelmed	O
by	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
scrolling	O
shooters	O
on	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
and	O
felt	O
the	O
title	O
was	O
unremarkable	O
and	O
lacked	O
challenge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
re-released	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
2008	O
and	O
the	O
West	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
re-released	O
again	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	I-Application
+	I-Application
Expansion	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MUSHA	B-Application
has	O
been	O
more	O
well-received	O
in	O
retrospective	O
reviews	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
cited	O
for	O
its	O
challenging	O
gameplay	O
,	O
strong	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
and	O
graphics	O
that	O
were	O
ahead	O
of	O
its	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MUSHA	B-Application
is	O
a	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
shooter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
takes	O
on	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Terri	O
,	O
a	O
pilot	O
who	O
flies	O
a	O
specially	O
designed	O
mecha	O
vehicle	O
with	O
advanced	O
weaponry	O
called	O
a	O
MUSHA	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
conventions	O
are	O
largely	O
retained	O
from	O
earlier	O
Aleste	B-Application
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
every	O
three	O
Power	O
Chips	O
collected	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
obtains	O
a	O
drone	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
Gradius	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
young	O
team	O
at	O
Compile	O
developed	O
MUSHA	B-Application
in	O
less	O
than	O
a	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
originally	O
made	O
a	O
prototype	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Aleste	B-Application
series	I-Application
called	O
"	O
Aleste	B-Application
2	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
postponed	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
was	O
still	O
feeling	O
pressure	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
wanted	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
direction	O
of	O
the	O
Aleste	B-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designer	O
Kazuyuki	O
Nakashima	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
a	O
design	O
that	O
ignored	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
style	O
of	O
previous	O
Aleste	B-Application
games	O
and	O
instead	O
went	O
with	O
a	O
Japanese	O
aesthetic	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
character	O
with	O
a	O
Noh	O
mask	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
change	O
in	O
direction	O
motivated	O
the	O
team	O
to	O
pick	O
up	O
remnants	O
of	O
"	O
Aleste	B-Application
2	O
"	O
and	O
push	O
it	O
into	O
a	O
new	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
valley	O
stage	O
in	O
MUSHA	B-Application
utilizes	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
's	O
vertical	O
parallax	O
scrolling	O
capabilities	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
later	O
highlighted	O
by	O
critics	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
most	O
impressive	O
technical	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
MUSHA	B-Application
's	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
Nakashima	O
originally	O
presented	O
an	O
idea	O
for	O
what	O
he	O
called	O
"	O
Edo	O
Metal	O
"	O
music	O
to	O
composer	O
Toshiaki	O
Sakoda	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
MUSHA	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
,	O
Sakoda	O
felt	O
most	O
shooting	O
game	O
soundtracks	O
were	O
primarily	O
fusion	O
and	O
mechanically	O
sounding	O
games	O
that	O
lacked	O
a	O
cohesive	O
theme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
compose	O
the	O
music	O
,	O
Sakoda	O
used	O
real	O
instruments	O
,	O
then	O
notated	O
the	O
music	O
on	O
an	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
computer	O
and	O
converted	O
it	O
onto	O
a	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
MUSHA	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
December	O
21	O
,	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MUSHA	B-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
at	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
found	O
themselves	O
overwhelmed	O
by	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
considered	O
MUSHA	B-Application
to	O
be	O
another	O
standard	O
shooter	O
offering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
noted	O
MUSHA	B-Application
to	O
be	O
too	O
easy	O
and	O
too	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Leadbetter	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
MUSHA	B-Application
is	O
a	O
smooth	O
playable	O
blast	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
's	O
a	O
shame	O
it	O
's	O
so	O
unoriginal	O
and	O
unchallenging	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospective	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
re-release	O
of	O
MUSHA	B-Application
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
's	O
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
in	O
2009	O
were	O
much	O
more	O
positive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
McFarren	O
concluded	O
by	O
calling	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Application
era	I-Application
overall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Levi	O
Buchanan	O
of	O
IGN	O
placed	O
MUSHA	B-Application
at	O
number	O
five	O
on	O
his	O
"	O
Top	O
10	O
Classic	O
Shoot	O
'	O
Em	O
Ups	O
"	O
list	O
,	O
dubbing	O
it	O
Compile	O
's	O
greatest	O
shooter	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
shooters	O
on	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
