Super adorable <333 Snapped it up on sight when I got into the FC. Even better when juxtaposed against its arcade predecessor's flyer.
You could say each reflects its respective game's ethos; the amiably indomitable and the savagely studly.
On the merciless ancient battlefield, a man could give head, or he could take it 
is unfortunately not out for a bit on PS4, so I decided to keep with this year's trend of "stuff the thread vouched for I should've jumped on months/years back" and pick up
Tanuki Justice instead.
As
Sumez said a while back, absolutely superb. Plays somewhat like a coinop Rockman, streamlined and adrenalised by unlimited Super Metal Blades, on a Contraesque 1HKO rampage. A one-hit Shield item smartly buffers the unrelenting danger, while the snappy doublejump almost recalls SOTN's masterful ease. Somersaulting out of falls - say, downshotting your Makaimuran treasure box platform, nabbing the goodie inside, then hopping onto safe ground - feels
great. Was also delighted to see Shin/Neo's Aim Lock here! Combines perfectly with the Metal Blade-styled standing downshot. The Super Attack is outstanding; a generous blast of shredding gale, smartly balanced by reach and duration, geared for rapid deployment via brisk per-hit recharge. Less of a last-ditch escape, though it can certainly offer that; more a walloping shotgun to blast holes through crowds, eradicate pesky snipers, and demolish bosses at speed. In a personal favourite touch, it announces its readying with a nice sharp
*BAM* audiovisual cue; no need to glance away to check.
The OST is a real unexpected treat. While the chibi-feudal aesthetic is charming, recalling the whimsical romps of Keio Yuugekitai and Hana Taka Dana, I'm more of an army/ninja/scifi sort ala KoNatsume. The BGM, however, is resoundingly transformative, aided by the fiery player characters. This stuff could easily go straight into a new 2D Ninja Gaiden. Soulful! Catchy!
Unbreakable Determination! st2's serenely defiant Moog recalls a dear personal favourite, Return of Double Dragon (SFC)'s
final stage BGM (which farcically moves from the climactic temple to the frickin 18-wheeler stage on SNES 3; or it'd be more accurate to say, was rescued from the truck stage, SNES being the earlier and even rougher rev).
Good stuff. The only caveat, as noted back at Sumez's review, is the emphasis on tapping. I wouldn't call it mashing, and this is a distinction I found in Huntdown, too. There's a sensible shot ceiling, your shots do credible damage, and the audiovisual feedback is punchy n' solid. Weak, wimpy, and inanely high-ceilinged - geared not to convey the tactile pleasure of striking/shooting targets, merely fatigue - is a different matter entirely. This said, you most definitely tap a lot here, so external autofire (as Ghegs suggested) might be a prerequisite, if you're averse to that.
Otherwise? Only had twenty minutes or so, but I could hardly tear myself away. So yeah, another for the
Western-Made R2RKMFs You Should Play list, it looks like.
EDIT: This is damn good.
Will knock off Normal this weekend, then see about Hard and Insane; the latter of which could well be retitled Arcade. As with GNGR's Legend and Huntdown's Badass, it feels like they designed a theoretical arcade game, then gradually shaved it back to create the easier difficulty modes. It's an approach I'm very fond of... there's nothing worse than a promising Normal - and good gravy, does TJ's hold promise, its latter half dialling up wickedly tight stage designs and superlatively multilayered boss duels - that falls apart on higher settings.
I was pleased to notice, messing around with
Insane mode - a bonafide arcade-tough challenge - that TJ actually shares the same tapping policy as Saigo no Nindou's Grenades, and Metal Slug's Heavy Machinegun. It's easily overlooked, with Saigo and Slug yielding screen-raking walls of death, while TJ sticks to a context-appropriate limited-range shot. That said, it's most definitely there, and it changes my estimation of TJ from Moderately to Leisurely Tappy.
1: The autofire ceiling is deliberately low, making anything beyond leisurely tap-tap-tapping a waste. In fact, with TJ's fairly low shot limit, mashing will quickly start producing blanks, as the game refuses to allow more fire onscreen; a jarring effect.
RARRR I LOVE THE SMELL OF BLOWBACK IN THE MORNING *WAPWAPWAPWAPWAP* 
Ah, man. Who doesn't love the stock busted-down ol' mansion in bamboo forest? A bitch-assed born-lame no-standards POUSYBOI, that's who!
2: There's no pointblank mechanic. Doesn't matter how contact-shotting your proximity, or how quickly you're sinking those projectiles into big targets and off the screen. Speedkilling is instead about good aim-locking for rapid WEAPON deployment.
3: Mashing won't build meter faster, either. This is really important, since WEAPON is key to speedkilling. Want Jumbo Usagi taken down for his 1UP? Mashing and pointblanking are
MUDADA! 
Instead, lock aim on the bastard and build mad meter for instant deployment, punching straight through his ki blasts, which are trickily delayed and will otherwise eat into your focused fire:
TO TAKE ME OUT YOU MUST FIGHT LIKE A MAN 
This pairs really well with the limited-range shot. On one hand, you don't need to pointblank. On the other, you do still need to commit; no fullscreen camping here.
TLDR: Don't mash! And take it easy on the tap! A very thoughtful touch, in a game exuding consideration. NB that, while the ceiling's quite low, the leisurely tap is more than enough to keep baddies at arm's length, with the most mobile enemies generally dying to one hit. Very comfy moving about while tossing out buffering jabs.
-I notice the "Weapon Ready" flash actually cancels bullets. It's very strict, tricky to time, but certainly a welcome reprieve in the heat of battle. Also just adds to the overall sense of
NANTE POWWA DESU
You damn skippy my ki is blazing, son
-Interestingly, despite TJ's resemblances to Rockman and Contra, it doesn't use respawning zako; not even the setspawn+respawn hybrid of Shin Contra. It seems every last enemy is a unique set spawn. Raises the interesting possiblity of "100% shootdown" runs, and should cut down on zako milking, if true. I'd love this to work as a scoring game, with its airtight handling and utter lack of flab.
-This also lends a bit of Recca/TD2/Dangun waveshredder heat; new waves won't spawn in until you've annihilated the current one, a concern for players chasing the clear time bonus... wait a minute. Is this what that "next wave" button is for?
Must investigate, that'd be pretty wild!
-Putting WEAPON on R1 so you can leisurely tap it along with [fire], instantly unleashing new charges as they arrive is some
goood shit
)
Been nice, chilling with a learnedly consolised scrolling action gem, after that biblically AC-strong ass-whoopin' from GNGR.
They even break out the T2-styled hammer/anvil hits as bluegrass Stretch Armstrong is chasing you around while having an existential crisis about the challenges of continuing his recording career with his fucked-up hands. 
).
if that's not fine pulp, I don't know what is.
What else is as pitch-perfectly mean-spirited yet indomitable as Kunio's eponymous debut? I've never seen anything on par. Lots of badass Streets of Fire ala Final Fight / Bare Knuckle etc, but not even Kishimoto's own Double Dragon (corporate-mandated 2P simultaneous) quite captures the same sense of bloody-nosed delinquent valour.
even mean, though?!