I know Syvalion might not be the greatest game of all time, however, I think alot of people just misunderstand the idea of the game more than anything else.
Since Syvalion is technically considered a "free-roaming" game, one gets the impression that the gameplay consits largely of trying to take your time and methodically make your way through the game, killing all the enemies and collecting power-ups in a logical fashion.
That's not the game at all. There's a little more strategy to the game than meets the eye. The whole idea is to rush through the level as quickly as possible, while avoiding taking as much damage as possible. If you try to play the game slow and methodically and take your time, trying to kill all the enemies and collect power-ups, then you're going to fail and get frustrated. However, if you play the game "go for broke" style and try to rush through the levels for everything you're worth, and only hit off enemies when necessary, it's actually alot of fun.
As far as the bosses, the idea is to keep moving and shoot the boss whenever you can. The more you move around, the faster your fire re-generates, therefore the more you can roast the boss. You want to keep moving anyway, because your tail is a giant target, as it counts as part of the hit detection area.
Again, I'm not saying it's the greatest game of all time or anything, though I do like it, as it's kind of a unique game with its own style, not quite in the realm of your normal average video game.
