A vertically scrolling shooter set in space, featuring fast play, excellent graphics and many difficult stages.
I really enjoy shooters. There's something about them which is instant. They are intense from the get-go. You don't have to wait to charge, or upgrade or read any manuals before becoming an expert. You are good, they are bad and even if you're an awful player, you get great explosions.
Anyway, Varia is filled with many things which make shooters great. Intense firefights are included, but don't come srtraight away. In fact, the game is deceptively simple to begin with. Starting out having only one enemy on screen at any time is easy to dismiss the game as childish. Soon, however, the easy portion is over and beautiful sprays of deadly bullets are flying everywhere.
Your own gun can advance from the standard lame-o-gun, to higher powered nuclear destruction by a rather interesting method. Where other games would have a destroyed enemy drop a random item, these drop collective blobs of three - and you choose which one to collect. Be it shields, weapons, etc. allowing you to customise your ship to some extent.
There is more to the game, but to explain the nuances would take away from the game. If you invest the time to learn how the sprays of bullets can interact with others, then more power to you. The game will have that level of depth waiting for you - and you'll be rewarded for it. On the other hand, it can serve as an excellent visceral shooter. There's something for everyone in this game.