The "muzzle flash" sprite is the same for all the game's weapons across the board. Its sole purpose is to hide the hard boundary between the weapon and the front of the ship. The concept was pulled straight out of other 16-bit era shmups like Thunderforce IV, etc.
looks like he's constantly firing some MG's too which looks a bit weird imho.
Reminds me of old game I used to play I think it was called Ravage :)
This is so over the top and oldschool :D
I'm wondering about that "ratatat" animation overlaid on the deathbeam. Is is supposed to go over it? Looks kinda weird that way O_o
Maybe you should add some details into the laser like inside it . It is also realy big . Maybe it should be thinner ? Well , you deside that .
You have a good feel for the animation polish that makes a game exciting to play!