izigame.me

I've played nearly every version of this game over the last decade+, starting with a burned CD-R of the Dreamcast original, followed by tens of hours with the PS2 version on emu to unlock all the Direct Assault themes, and finally some time with the PS4 variant as my first HD experience with this game, only really skipping the XBLA variant. Disregard my playtime; Take the fact that I already have the 100% shot down achievement as my proof I know this game at least decently well. I'd certainly call it one of my top 3 all time favorite games.
I say all of that so you understand that I know this game inside and out, and so you'll believe me when I say this is the absolute best version of this game. I'm genuinely perplexed at the reviewers claiming that the original console variants of this game somehow feel more "authentic". Many seem to forget the PS2 actually kinda sucked at multilayered sound effects and had occasional slowdowns, while the Dreamcast variant had superior sound but had a hard cap of 30fps.
Meanwhile, this version has a rock solid framerate dependent only on your hardware, and the textures on the highest settings are noticeably sharper than even the PS4 version. Music and sound effects through headphones are as pristine as they've ever been, and any oddities are actually faithful to the console versions (seriously, that weird lag in Area 3? Go fire up PCSX2 and check the PS2 version, I guarantee the audio 'sags' in that exact same spot).
What really sets this version apart for me is the mouse control. I've never really considered the controls of the original a problem, so long as you take the time to set stick sensitivity properly, and as other reviewers noted, I just considered the limitations part of the skill ceiling. It's just satisfying to figure out efficient cursor routing to make sure you can clear all the enemies on screen in time.
With that being said, the fluid feeling you get with mouse control absolutely blows controller out of the water. I caught myself getting more immersed in the whole experience of the game than I have with any of the other controller variants. Again, I never really considered the controls unintuitive, disengaging, or really lacking in any way. But the freedom of mouselook really opens this game up in a way I wasn't expecting. I hate that this is the only way I can describe it, because I know how bad of a cliche it is, but there were times I really started to feel like the hacker in game rather than just controlling a character, and I fully credit mouselook for that feeling.
I also want to address reviewers criticizing mouselook for making the game too easy and breaking the feel. Sure, there are times that if you know enemy patterns and have decent aim the screen will end up empty for a few seconds here and there, but that really only happens if you already know the game pretty well. It's also worth noting that you can totally clear the screen in many of these same areas on the console versions as well. I'll admit that mouselook makes this easier, but especially in Area 4, some of the layers just have loose enough timings that if you know the enemy patterns you can get a free 5-10 seconds of waiting time. That's always been the case, all the way back to Dreamcast.
Their complaint about that miniboss in Area 5 is also confusing. Its weak spot is in the center of the tower, and if you just spam that area you'll get the kill and have 20-30 seconds of downtime (not 2-3 minutes...). That has nothing to do with mouselook, and was possible on every console variant of the game too. Meanwhile, numerous screens in Area 5 that were borderline impossible with controller limitations are made more fair with mouse. Notice I didn't say free; Area 5 is still really challenging to get a full 100% clear on, even with the advantage of mouse look.
As for the game itself? If you like EDM/Trance/House etc., do yourself a favor and pick it up ASAP. I'll admit that I've always been a sucker for this kind of y2k vector aesthetic, which is probably responsible for a lot of my love of this game. It's a little weird as a rail shooter and takes a bit of getting used to, but once you put some time in to get a feel for the game, it's like nothing else. I've been playing it every couple of years for over a decade now, and I still get chills heading into the Area 4 boss fight. For the aesthetic and feeling this game is going for, it absolutely nails it, and whether you'll enjoy it boils down to whether you like that vibe or not.
TL;DR This is easily the best version of this game. If you don't like mouselook, it still has full controller support. If you think the visuals in the screenshots are pretty cool, chances are you'll fall in love with this game too.
Play it with headphones.