Hell yeah, Mirai Ninja is super cool. I'm surprised at how committed it is to run-and-gun, or more accurately sprint-and-gun. I'm sure the balance might shift further in, but for now it's reminding me of a manually scrolling Edono Kiba (SFC, another "cyber ninja perpetually on the run" affair). You're fast as hell by default, dings don't hurt much, and weaponry seems geared for en-masse mowdowns.
Gonna grab this one for sure next week. That third stage battleship raid screams Amemiya, with its dwarfing scale against a formidably ambivalent landscape... even if they don't seem to play much alike, it totally feels like a Hagane spiritual prequel. (the stoical title image will instantly ring a bell for anyone who's finished a loop of that SFC gem)
"THE DESERTER" - badass opening stage title
The camera is a minor handful - has Super Shinobi II / Alien Soldier's system, where it'll offset to maximise your incoming screen. Handy except for the tracking speed, which can't keep up with a rapidly-pivoting player. Still, as with those games, it seems more than adjustable to.
Particularly happy to see a bunch of rad stuff shares the Namco System 2 hardware, including the inimitably badass seek/destroy tanker
ASSAULT, and best of all, its cruelly never-ported spiritual sequel, the 360' heli STG Metal Hawk. Nabbing those on sight. I think Phelios is also onboard, though I've never so much as seen the AC one. Definite point of interest, the MD cart was only ever mid-tier imo. I liked it until it yelled at me to stop trying to skip the ending cutscene, then I sold it.
Also my much-wanted mecha sidescroller Finest Hour. Didn't realise it was 1989 trap! Very interesting, much nearer Leynos's debut than I'd thought.