Great game!
MaelStormm, this is easily your best game to date. The only reasons that I can think of regarding those who didn't like are:
-Use of Mega Man
-Use of Sprites
Just fuck what they think for now, seeing that you did an excellent job on the graphics. Most of this game's graphics are custom made and those that weren't were redrawn to look nicer. However, many of the sprites look out of place, but I can overlook that. On the other hand, I think you should learn how to use colored outlines which will make the game's graphics look even better than before. The sound effects are nice enough as is, but not everyone will like them. By contrast, the music selection kicks major ass and I liked the "Duel of Top" song from Thunder Force 5 (you need to make a ThunderForce game in Flash sometime). Now, for the gameplay, it may not be for keyboards, but you succeeded in making something badass!
What I did like:
-No bugs
-Excellent Spritework
-Great music selection
-Fun to play
What I didn't like:
-Background graphics could have been touched up a bit.
-A bit too dependent on a gamepad, but I can overlook this.
Overall: A nine out of ten I say. You should consider a Thunder Force Next sometime, seeing that you used TF5 music in the boss battle.