Ocean Commander (Playstation 2)

Arena
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
21 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by CyberPlanet Interactive
Published by Phoenix Games in 2007

I little while after I started collecting shmups in physical form, Ocean Commander for the Playstation 2 proved to be one heck of a challenge to get. Originally released for the Windows PC, it came out for the PS2 in very low quantities only in Italy, which meant it wasn't as readily available as the secondary port for the Nintendo Wii (there's also a version for the Nintendo DS, but let's not go there). Anyway, at least it wasn't an expensive find back then. I have no idea how it stands today in terms of rarity.

And lo and behold! I finally took the time to play it after all these years. I was kinda looking forward to it because this serves to end my run of crappy beatable shmups released by Phoenix Games for the Playstation 2, the most legendary company to dish out all sorts of stupidities upon the market during and long after the PS2 was commercially gone.

But hey, is Ocean Commander that bad?

Unfortunately it is. With the crappiest of honors and with no 60Hz mode in sight, meaning you're stuck with that typical shimmering of the native 50Hz European frequency. Graphics and music aren't that bad for a cheap title, but the gameplay...

Ripping through one of the poor bosses

Ocean Commander is an arena side-scrolling shmup where players control a futuristic submarine and battle waves of enemy vessels, water-propelled crafts and mechanical threats in an underwater setting. The idea looks great on paper and in screenshots, with definite vibes from old school classics such as Seaquest and Sqoon. Your mission is to protect territorial waters as a special arms commander, fighting against an evil empire that has been making attempts to conquer the underwater city. You must stop dr. Shark’s evil plans to conquer Federation Earth before it's too late.

Playing the game is a bit weird, but soon you'll get used to it. Move the submarine with the left analog stick and use the right stick to control the target, pressing button R2 to fire. Provided you have it in stock, press R1 to trigger the "thunder strike", a bomb that inflicts damage all over the screen and melts bullets. It's odd that they just didn't transform the game into a twin-stick shmup, which would make a lot of sense, but I guess the developer didn't want to fiddle with the controls devised for the original PC game.

There is a single life bar that gets refilled in every level. If the life bar is gone the game is over. Green orbs randomly dropped by destroyed enemies can be taken to recover lost energy, whereas red orbs increase the stock of thunder strike bombs. Besides the regular score, there's also a counter for money that can be used in between stages to purchase permanent enchancements to the submarine. These include three upgrade levels for maneuvering speed, power-up, shield, rapid fire, torpedoes, homing missiles, laser, defensive orbs, bouncing spheres, lightning, ground missiles and spread shot. Prices increase with each purchase.

Upgrade mechanics are very similar to games like Heavy Weapon, also available for the Playstation 2 and more modern platforms. However, while Heavy Weapon does offer real thrills and challenge, Ocean Commander is nothing more than a repetitive snoozefest that's prone to put anyone to sleep after some time. It doesn't take long for the submarine to turn into a powerhouse that destroys everything across its path with almost no damage taken from eventual hits. Bosses have a few phases as you tear them down, but their patterns are extremely predictable and one or two bombs are enough to leave them on the brink of defeat. Since every level gives out at least two to three spare bombs, you'll only die during a boss fight if the controller fails or if you fall asleep.

A taste of Survival mode in Ocean Commander for the Playstation 2
(courtesy of YouTube user GXZ95)

Regardless of how cheap the whole experience gets after a while, from my brief time playing Ocean Commander it was clear that the best weapons to acquire and upgrade first are the homing missiles and the laser. In general, there's no need to worry though. As if the core game wasn't easy and tedious enough, getting through all sections of that map takes pretty much two hours in Mission mode. At least you're given the chance to divide the torture into shorter sections by choosing "Back" in between the levels, resuming the credit later by selecting "Continue". Just note that successively continuing doesn't reset the score. And if you beat the game the Continue option stays there forever, always giving access to the fight against the last big boss. 

Besides Mission mode, a Survival mode allows you an endless session where torture gets escorted by an utter lack of firepower. If you live long enough blue orbs will fall to start granting you a few power-ups.

The Hall of Fame high score table in Ocean Commander is as stupid as the game itself, since it doesn't allow you to enter initials and keeps adding whatever score you get for PLAYER. The screen below is the final tallying after I dispatched the last boss, the single enemy to be defeated in the 21st and final stage of another unspeakable experience in gaming mediocrity.

Good bye, Phoenix Games! But wait, if you spot any other shmup made or published by them that I haven't tried yet please let me know. I'm a sucker for torture sometimes. :)

Null Drifter (Playstation 4)

Arena
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
10 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Panda Indie Studio / eastasiasoft
Published by Red Art Games in 2022

Regardless of its perceived quality, every video game is a different entity in itself. It's a visual software designed to offer a challenge to players, if possible with some sense of fun and fulfillment derived from gameplay, visuals, story, you name it. Sometimes mindset also comes into play. When you think about a platform like the Playstation 4 and come across a game like Null Drifter, for example, it's difficult not to be amazed by the discrepancy between the system capabilities and the actual design of this little game, which according to the developer is a "1-bit lo-fi shooter".

Whatever that's supposed to mean, in practical terms what we have here is an endless confined twin-stick shooter with extremely minimalistic graphics. However, it actually uses the same stage structure of Void Gore (keep reading), another simplistic romp from Panda Indie Studio, and ties into a particular "universe" that also includes Red Death, Project Starship and Project Starship X. The idea behind the game is that the four characters from Project Starship X are using Null Drifter as a simulation environment before embarking in their mission to destroy the army of Cthulhu.

Trailer for the retail release of Null Drifter on the Plàystation 4
(courtesy of YouTube user and publisher RED ART GAMES)

Levels start out really short, with just a few scattered enemies with very little health. Your firepower comes out in powerful bursts that are initially able to dispatch incoming threats, but as the game progresses every level increases in length and difficulty. And eventually you'll notice that to be able to quickly gain control of the action you'll need to also use the dash movement, which makes the ship invincible for a short time and kills pretty much anything in its path except bosses and a single enemy that appears later on. All shoulder and trigger buttons can be used to dash, and the sooner you get used to it the better. Hints: you can dash in any direction (not only forwards), and in order to escape an expanding arch or a fast bullet (bosses) dashing against the border of the screen is sometimes a better option than dashing forward.

Even though power-ups are randomly given during the game, in line with the roguelite enemy spawning routine, permanent upgrades can and must be acquired with the cash earned credit after credit. Fortunately, this grinding phase doesn't take too long and is atcually good to get used to enemy routines and behavior, as well as boss patterns. You can upgrade starting lives, movement speed, dash cooldown time, stronger firing rate / bullets / damage and, for the very next credit, the ability to grab more items, more cash or to activate a "level 10 error", which actually corresponds to the right of fighting the game's ultimate boss at the end of level/wave 10.

The upgrade mechanics described above are very similar to that of another game of the same developer, Void Gore. And just like Void Gore, Null Drifter goes on forever after the boss in level 10 is beaten. The difference is that Null Drifter has a difficulty progression that's a little more aggressive. It pretty much maxes out after entering the loop (getting past stage 10), so doing whatever you can to preserve lives is a must to reach higher levels. This is important for scoring because the game tracks your points in a very unique way: your best score is the highest level you were able to reach × 1.000.000 + your cash inventory. Simply put, it's all down to the level reached, and also the fact that if you want to see your highest score you need to be online (connected to the Playstation Network). Unfortunately there isn't any offline high score table.

Once you've maxed out the shop upgrades coins become irrelevant, but purchasing "next game, more bonuses" is mandatory to generate more power-up icons as you get through the next credit. In order of likelihood to appear, the item gallery consists of: life up (L), bullets (B), fire rate up (R), damage up (D), shotgun (S), temporary overload (!), shop sales ($) and homing bullets (H). Shop sales probably refers to small discounts in the game shop. As for homing, it's very rare and pretty much absent for most of the runs.

Where do I go from here, captain???

Surviving the onslaught of later levels comes down to one single strategy aim, and that is crowd control. Dispatch every single enemy fast, and by all means avoid allowing them to overlap attacks. This is when Null Drifter tends to become a messy chaos where lives will soon be drained in a snap.  Beware of the happy face that cruises the screen slowly. Even though it is certain to release an extra life, it has a humongous amount of health and won't die with one or two dashes, a situation that often leads you into losing a life in the process.

Chances are most people will be thrown off by the rudimentary graphics, but if you're one who enjoys actual gameplay the good news is that once everything is maxed out the rush provided by Null Drifter is real, and definitely has the potential to pull players back for that one extra try. Sure it's hard to justify a blu-ray disc being home to such a simple piece of software since, frankly, it's like having an Atari 2600 game at hand. An Atari 2600 game on steroids, but still.

Most of the color palettes unlocked while you play are a strain on the eyes, but the AI-generated music is strangely soothing and, why not, relatively relaxing. I left all video tweaks disabled (invasive effects, screen shade, chromatic aberration and shaking/vibrating when firing) and played mostly with palette #22 (Seaweed). My final result is below, having reached level 23.

Macross 2036 (PC Engine CD)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
6 Stages
Ship speed fixed, selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Masaya
Published by Big West in 1992

Immensely popular ever since its creation in 1982, the Macross anime spawned so many related products that keeping track of all of them is certainly a daunting task. Video games based on the series are one such example, yet for natural reasons most of them are shooters. When speaking about home consoles, I believe that The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 2036, or just Macross 2036, is the second release after the rudimentary but surprisingly fun Macross game on the Famicom. It came before Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie for the Super Nintendo and serves as a good preamble for that game in particular. It's not as accomplished, but it's quite decent in its own right.

With the advent of the CD format, it's clear that the story turns into an extremely important part of the game if you're a fan of the show and would somehow want to know how the cut scenes unfold, after all they're supposed to take place after the Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie released in 1984. If you're like me, however, it's good to know that it's possible to turn off all animated cut scenes at the first selection screen before starting the game, along with the difficulty and the desired ship speed. All you'll see then are quick images of bosses prior to the beginning of the level and, of course, the ending animation and final credits.

Another differential of Macross 2036 is the soundtrack, now boasting the unmistakeable franchise motif and a collection of equally fitting tunes. In essence, we're talking about decent fan service here. But what about gameplay?

Macross 2036 - Stage 1
(courtesy of YouTube user dfw1234)

As a sidescroller, the gameplay in Macross 2036 is competent. One button shoots, and while the other one seems to do nothing, it finds its purpose in the second stage since in-between levels you can choose a special weapon based on the amount of points you have scored so far. Then this secondary weapon is fired with the second button. Its use is limited though, as indicated by the overheat meter in the lower left corner of the screen. If it goes into the red zone the efficiency of the special weapon is severely reduced, to which you must wait for it to cool down. Different weapons have different heat and cooldown times. They also can't be used twice in a row, i.e., in successive stages.

In order to upgrade the main weapon power-ups are released from specific enemies, most of them with different colors from the others in any particular wave. Orange items upgrade the main shot, whereas blue items power up the missiles. Invisible items can also be uncovered by shooting at their locations, consisting of a Minmei face (extra life) and the shadow of the Valkyrie ship (quite a long invincibility period). It's very handy to know the location of invincibility items since they are an invaluable help in getting through some of the most intense sections in certain levels. As for extra lives, you also earn extends by scoring at the 100, 200 and 400 thousand point marks.

Intensity, by the way, appears in sparse doses. Most of the time enemies will come from the front, with quicker hazards being signalled by a crosshair that pops up over the ship, followed by an attack that can come from any direction (left or right). There are certain areas, however, where enemy attacks will overlap all of a sudden and push you into unwanted collisions and deaths. That's why standing in the middle of the screen is always the best approach. The fighter jet is powerful enough to handle pretty much anything despite the relatively slow upgrading process.

Even though Macross 2036 is a horizontal shooter, the game changes a bit during boss fights. The fighter jet assumes the battroid form, which fires continuously while both buttons are then used to turn the mecha around. The overheat meter becomes a health gauge, allowing you to take two hits before losing a life. It's an interesting concept that isn't that hard to grasp especially because bosses aren't really that menacing, most of them with easily readable attack patterns. The gerwalk form, that intermediate transition that acts as a VTOL unit or "chicken walker" mecha, appears in stage 5 as you navigate through maze-like walls.

Beware, jumping mechanical aliens ahead

With the exception of the 5th stage, all other levels are open areas with tiled backgrounds that in general scroll by really fast. The 4th stage is really short and has no boss, with the ship crashing against something whose nature is certainly explained in the cut scene that follows. As for the 5th stage, there's no harm in touching walls there, but it's important to select a secondary weapon that gives you some ability to protect yourself or to cover the screen while hitting enemies through walls.

Regarding the effectiveness of the assortment of special weapons, it was nice to notice that they're all useful somehow, even the ones that don't seem that effective in the beginning. I tried pretty much all of them, and the only one that felt weak was the one that fires a salvo of needle bullets. Unfortunately I didn't get to the point of using the last one, the guided laser. It's not easy to achieve sufficient points to be able to select it prior to the final stage, but since the game does not reset your score when you continue one way to at least get to see it is dying on purpose at the end of the levels to replay them after continuing (3 continues available).

I beat the game in the Normal difficulty (normal speed) with the result below. Unfortunately there's no score buffering anywhere and the final extra points you get by defeating the last boss will stay on screen for approximately one second only, so take that into consideration if you want to get a snapshot of your 1CC score when playing on a real console. As for the two extra options during the start screen (unrivaled and player), they're actually cheats and can only be accessed by means of a secret code.

Thunder Force V - Perfect System (Playstation)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
7 Stages
Ship speed selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by Technosoft
Published by Working Designs in 1998

I bet Playstation shmup fans were delighted to see the release of Thunder Force V - Perfect System approximately one year after the Japanese original came out for the Sega Saturn. I know I would've been. Well regarded ever since the 16-bit days, the franchise was perhaps bound to be seen in other home systems with time, as hinted by titles like Thunder Spirits. However, unlike the dreadful fate of the late entry for the SNES, Thunder Force V - Perfect System is a worthy port whose only real fault might have been the arrogant subtitle added by publisher Working Designs.

Long story short, for those who grew to love the series in Sega platforms, there's absolutely nothing in the Playstation version to be looked down upon. Console war orphans are keen to point out the absence of the subterranean city in the "Human Road" level, but aside from this visual compromise and the somewhat smaller sprites for bullets in this same stage, as well as very minor graphical differences throughout, both games play very well and offer colorful, fast-paced and intense action from start to finish.

Meet boss Deep Purple

If you're coming directly from Thunder Force IV you'll certainly feel there's something different about Thunder Force V, which in my eyes is a good thing even though the basic mechanics and inputs are almost the same. The story does give the Gauntlet ship a journey of its own against a supercomputer that went rogue, eventually endowing it with enhanced capabilities in one of the most awesome transition sections of the whole franchise. There are seven stages in total, and players are allowed to choose the order of the first three. Inputs consist of shot, arms switch left/right (cycles between the weapons available), speed switch (cycles between three settings of 50%, 705% and 100%, hold down to do it in steps of 1%) and overweapon. This last input is this chapter's claim to fame, as is the controversial free-range weapon. By defaut, button ∆ toggles the overhead display on and off during play, and if you fancy having all weapons mapped to specific buttons just go to the options for advanced control settings.

The only default weapons are the twin shot and the back shot, which are not lost if you die using them. All others are gone and must be regained by collecting its respective item: wave, free range and hunter. Items are released from harmless carriers that show up every now and then, or from specific enemies in special sections. The most common item is the "craw", the blue option that rotates around the ship increasing its firepower, blocking regular bullets and allowing the use of the so-called overweapon. By activating it you increase the ship's destructive power, draining craw energy until it depletes completely. To regain craw energy you need to take more craws or wait for them to recharge slowly. However, if a craw is hit when completely drained you'll lose it. It's possible to carry a maximum of three craws.

Another very important item is the shield, which gives you protection against three hits as it changes color from purple to green and then brown. Unlike in previous chapters, shields in Thunder Force V appear scarcely, with some stages having no shields at all to be taken. Finally, the 1UP gives you an extra life. Hint: when the ship descends into the tree leaves of the jungle area, use the hunter weapon to make sure you get the 1UP that's hidden in that spot. Besides 1UPs, score-based extends are granted as you reach 10, 50, 100 and 500 million points.

Choosing the best weapon to face each enemy wave or boss attack is half the fun in any Thunder Force game. In the case of Thunder Force V, eventually all players realize that free range is the best weapon in almost all situations, not only because of its versatility but also because its overweapon can obliterate larger enemies and boss phases in a snap if correctly placed. Since speed-killing everything is the key to obtaining higher scores, aggressive use of the free range is the best strategy any score chaser will adopt here. A multiplier of ×16 means you were able to get the fastest kill possible, and the longer any enemy lives the lower this multiplier gets. Of course there are the usual bonuses given at the end of the game for remaining lives, weapons and difficulty, as well as a huge no-miss reward if you manage to beat the game without losing a single life.

Animated intro of Thunder Force V - Perfect System
(courtesy of YouTube user Nox-Hardigan)

While most of the criticism on Thunder Force V is directed to the unbalance provided by the free range weapon, that doesn't detract anything from the game's pleasing design, which mixes natural environments with mechanical fortresses and enemies (stage 6 is borderline surreal). The soundtrack and the sound effects are top notch and reinforce the action with gusto. Those who care for the story side of things will certainly enjoy the extra movie sequences created for Thunder Force V - Perfect System, which also includes a Time Attack mode that's unlocked after the game is beaten. Time Attack is a boss rush mode that's actually a very nice resource for practicing.

Publisher Working Designs is known for altering key features in their porting jobs, but at least they did not screw up anything badly here as they did with Raystorm. Besides the extra content, the only aspect of the game they tinkered with is the scoring system. It's not possible to achieve a counterstop anymore, one of the known issues of the Saturn original. It's still possible to slowly milk projectiles from the 6th boss though, but leave it to those who have the time and the will to go after that.

Returning to the game was like meeting an old friend again. The final screen below is exclusive to this version, and appears just before you're prompted to input your initials once the game is beaten. As we can see, I played in the Normal difficulty and had 6 lives in reserve in the end (lost two lives aginst the last boss).

Thunder Force V / Perfect System was the last chapter designed by Technosoft. Thunder Force VI, released ten years later exclusively for the Playstation 2, came out under the development banner of Sega.

Super Hydorah (Playstation 4)

Horizontal
Checkpoints ON
1 Difficulty level
12 ~ 21 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Locomalito / Gryzor87
Published by Abylight Studios / Limited Run Games in 2018

In 2010 a freeware shmup called Hydorah caused a very good impression among orphans of the golden age of horizontal shooters, especially those who never relinquished their love for everything about Gradius. A very respectful homage and a worthy evolution in its own right, Hydorah reminded players of how good it felt to play a game that was truly crafted to convey the wonders of cruising through alien environments to defeat yet another threat to the galaxy. A rare treat indeed in the world of independently developed video games.

Fast forward seven years, and developers Locomalito and Gryzor87 teamed up with a professional publisher to deliver an expanded and tweaked version of the game suitably baptized as Super Hydorah, made available for all main platforms of the time. The iteration for the Playstation 4 ditches some of the previous PC traits, such as the option to play the game in an easier setting, and while it does not include any HD treatment whatsoever the 16/32-bit styled graphics still look as gorgeous as they can be, duly matched by a magnificient atmospheric soundtrack.

It doesn't take long for seasoned players to see that this game is a love letter to everything about Gradius. From the basic look of the ship to the stage introductions that resemble those from Gradius Gaiden, Super Hydorah includes several bosses and stage designs inspired by the franchise, many of them also infused with details from other classic horizontal series and games such as R-Type, Darius, Hellfire and even obscure titles such as Rayxanber. It's a feast to the eyes of veterans, and for that alone a experience that sounds particularly special for all old timers.

Prepare your weapons and start your engines: Super Hydorah arrives!
(courtesy of YouTube user and co-publisher Abylight Studios)

 

The structure of Super Hydorah is based on a map that defines the stages to be played. It's possible to beat the game by playing a minimum of 12 stages, yet in order to see the best ending you need to mandatorily get through 4 specific stages in a total of at least 16 levels completed in a single credit. The "Delta Lance" ship is visually very similar to the Vic Viper from Gradius and starts out with a single pea shot, but for each stage won a special weapon (or an extra life) is given as a reward. Firepower is composed of primary and secondary weapons (fired with button ×) and a special attack with limited use (fired with button ○). At the start of every level you need to equip the ship with the available options in the arsenal, upgrading primary and secondary weapons during the stages if they're used for the first time.

As you progress through the levels two types of items will appear when a specific carrier is destroyed. The first one is the power-up for the main weapon, which cycles between green (primary) and red (secondary). It takes 10 items to max out the power for each one. Surplus power-ups are worth 100 points each. The second item type cycles between speed-up (blue), 1-hit shield (purple) and special attack (orange). It's possible to amass up to 3 speed-ups and 3 special attacks, and for each of these items in excess you'll get 500 points (shield too). Finally, the heart gives you an extra life.

Each stage is divided in one or more combat zones where you advance in enemy territory or need to confront a boss, and it goes without saying that a good weapon selection is essential to make the path easier in any given level. Since it's impossible to change your arsenal once the stage starts, the worst thing that can happen is making bad choices and dying repeatedly during a boss fight. After all, each death takes away two upgrade points of each weapon, one speed-up and all special attacks you have in stock. At least Super Hydorah isn't one of those games where the odds are insurmountable, so the overall idea is that practice eventually makes perfect. And a perfectly played level with no hits taken gives you a max bonus of 6.000 points – if you're also able to collect the "secret" in it, that is.

Secrets are mostly special spots in the levels that are revealed if you fly over them, yet in certain cases they will require some patience to be uncovered. Waiting for a particular attack pattern to appear, for a particular wall to disintegrate or, in a very particular case, use a special weapon previously taken as a key to advance. Since this information can easily be found online, I won't get into more detail on it. In any case, secrets aren't really necessary for players to reach the best ending. Collecting all secrets in a single run merely unlocks a special achievement, that's all.

All-out shooting action in the Galactic Inferno stage

From the initial scramble of the Outer Wall to the final battle in Meropticon, a full run tackling all levels takes around one hour and a half, yet everything is so diverse and engaging you probably won't notice that while having a mother lode of fun, either solo or in a 2-player co-op campaign. On the subject of stage order and weapon choices there is of course plenty of flexibility. In the first half of the game lasers are excellent when combined with "scorts", which are the closest you'll get to the options in common Gradius lore even though they behave as a mix between the auxiliary appendixes from Thunder Cross and X-Multiply. Later on vulcan and homing definitely serve as good replacements for them. As for special attacks, if you decide to carry "light" (obtained in Rubinia) a bonus of 2.000 points will be applied for every surplus special attack item instead of the regular 500 points.

Speaking of bonus points, good consideration was given to the scoring system in this game. There's absolutely no way of milking boss projectiles, for instance. Replaying stages isn't allowed, and the more you die the less bonus you get when a stage is completed. It is possible, however, to milk certain levels by dying just before the stage ends in order to restart the checkpoint. Since the assortment of extra lives is quite high, that's certainly the best strategy for those who'd like to reach scores that are close or above one million points. Pilot ranks are given at the end of the stage based on your score, ranging from Cadet at the start of the game to Captain once you surpass the mark of 500.000 points.

In order to get the bad ending of Super Hydorah, players must not complete any of the four stages that have the so-called Hydorah seeds (Dunarys, Path of Scylla, Underground Base and Black Gate). By beating these levels you'll then achieve the good ending. Both of these endings allow the use of continues. That said, a Hero ending is reserved for those who are able to beat the game with no continues while destroying all Hydorah seeds, which means beating the stages mentioned above on your way to the 1CC. The homage present in this one will certainly warm the hearts of shmup veterans.

Aside from the regular campaign, the PS4 version of Super Hydorah also comes with a mini-game mode called Robot Chase, which requires 2 players to be enjoyed. The 1CC score I got below is in the last screen of the Hero ending in the main game. I did die a handful of times, but I did no checkpoint milking whatsoever.

Overdriven Evolution (Nintendo Switch)

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
10 Stages
Ship speed fixed, selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by TOMAGameStudio
Published by VGNYsoft in 2024

I just broke the seal of the family's recently acquired Nintendo Switch, after being able to snatch it from my daughter's hands for a couple of evenings. And the chosen title was Overdriven Evolution, a widescreen shmup designed to squeeze everything from a colorful set of assets across a handful of available game modes. As its name implies, the developer came a long way since the original Overdriven hit the gaming scene during the (not so) golden days of XBLIG. An intermediate iteration called Overdriven Reloaded also exists, albeit not in physical form.

A shiny venture dressed up as a classic sci-fi mission to destroy an evil empire, Overdriven Evolution attempts to cater to all audiences with introductory game modes such as Story, which comes with four difficulties that incrementally add more pressure to the basic gameplay. Each one of the three available ships (the third one is unlocked after a few hours playing) is able to shoot and to fire a laser focus shot that dramatically reduces the flying speed to allow some micro-dodging (yes, it's the same old style that's predominant in many shmups developed by Cave, especially those of the Dodonpachi series). A third button triggers a smart bomb (if available), and a fourth button switches the color of the ship and its firepower between blue, red, yellow and green for you to get past simple colored puzzle gates every now and then. 

Naturally, the three available ships differ in shot styles and speed. Prototype 1 has a straight shot and rotating satellites that also shoot straight ahead. Prototype 3 is similar, but its satellites will automatically target any enemy in the vicinity. Prototype 2 has a spread shot and equally functional satellites, but flies at a slower speed. Firepower is increased by taking stars left behind by destroyed enemies. 20 yellow stars give you a boost in power and add 1 option/satellite, whereas a single white star has this same effect except for the 1.000 points you normally get from each yellow star.

Release trailer for Overdriven Evolution
(courtesy of YouTube user and publisher VGNYsoft)

What's special about the gameplay here is the way it implements lives. An energy gauge measures the amount of hits you've taken in each current life. If you're only using the regular shot and the energy gauge stays above 50% it displays "Safe Mode". If the energy gets depleted to about 50% or below the gauge changes to "DANGER". However, regardless of the current energy status, whenever you're using laser the energy gauge shifts to around 15% and displays "OVERDRIVEN", and in this condition you're of course close to dying. I can't recall any other shmup that has a similar approach to risk and survival, that's why I believe this is by far the best idea implemented by Overdriven Evolution. 

Dying strips you off all upgrades, so keeping a safe and healthy energy gauge is of course one of the main objectives as you advance through the 10 stages of Story, Arcade or Manic modes. Easy and Normal difficulties of Story mode still allow you to take a few hits when using laser, but all other difficulties and Arcade mode work with 1-hit kills when in OVERDRIVEN status. Arcade and Manic get rid of the pre-stage story bits while behaving like the Hard difficulty of Story mode, with the only difference being the single 1-hit kill mechanic implemented in Manic (no energy gauge there). All of these modes use the same array of items, which include a red + for partial energy recovery, a green + for extra life, B for a single smart bomb (only one can be carried at any given time, if you die it's gone) and temporary enhancements in the form of W (an extremely effective wide shot) and 5 (five straight bullet streams). Hidden items consist of alien artifacts that look like golden keys (five per level) and a space cow (one per level). With the exception of these hidden icons, all items are automatically sucked into the ship if you're close enough to them.

While full of explosions, creative bosses, simple yet effective pseudo-3D eye candy and some nice tunes in the soundtrack, Overdriven Evolution is hindered by a few odd design decisions that rub me the wrong way. The first one is the random nature of item drops, which severely affects the performance of any given run. The balance between enemy bullets and ship movement is also prone to leaving players unsatisfied in the long run, meaning you're always a bit too fast when using shot and a tad too slow when using laser, which makes weaving through certain boss patterns an unnecessary chore. Finally, I can live with the fact that it's not possible to cover the entire screen with any of the ships, but Prototype 2 is just too slow to be of any actual use in solo play.

Other details are also confusing. The escorting of Terry's spaceship in the end of stage 3 is a weird passage, because if she dies the credit is instantly over. Sometimes the scrolling speed picks up and returns to normal for no reason at all, which makes no sense and breaks the pace, such as in that cool insect-based level. And I'm not one to normally comment on endings, but the ending here is really a downer and keeps you guessing if there's anything you could've done to not incur in such a dreadful fate. Well, there just isn't.

Lighting blue beams of destruction

All things considered, it's easy to see why Overdriven Evolution falls short in providing clean, satisfying shooting fun. The basic elements are all there, but the design is all over the place and lacks fine tuning. For example, it's unclear how the hit counter that goes up with the timely destruction of successive enemies works into the scoring system. It seems to be mostly irrelevant, especially when you realize that the main source of extra points is the collection of yellow stars, which appear in greater numbers when destroying those mine blocks. The bad news is that all ships are too underpowered to satisfactorily take advantage of this, often leading to frustration because it's impossible to destroy the majority of those precious mines. And since hidden items aren't worth any points whatsoever, there's no incentive to get out of your way to collect them in any serious credit.  

Besides the game modes mentioned above, Overdriven Evolution also comes with a few extra modes such as Boss Rush and 10 challenge "minigames" aimed at fulfilling achievement tags. All these modes allow up to 4 people to play together, which is neat. Two single-player extra modes complete the package: The Line (keep enemies away for as long as you can) and Color Reflex (which heavily uses the color switching mechanic). All these additional modes are pretty much aimed at beefing up the achievement section, of course. Tweaks such as screen shake, invincibilty and scanlines are also included.

I don't think I should feel bad for not beating the default top scores in the local leaderboards, since I didn't really feel the need to push myself into learning how to circumvent the shortcomings in the gameplay. I noticed the score seems to be shared between all ships in co-op play, so perhaps that's the secret to reaching those high figures? I wonder! Anyway, below is my best 1CC result in Arcade mode playing with Prototype 3, after beating Story mode in the Normal difficulty.

 

Cho Aniki Zero (PSP)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Extreme
Published by GungHo Works in 2009

Even though Masaya wasn't really behind the design of Cho Aniki Zero (also known as Rei Cho Aniki), it's interesting to see how new copyright holders Extreme and GungHo tried to reuse and merge some of the assets from recent chapters of the franchise, with an approach that harkens back to the very first game released for the PC Engine CD in 1992. It sort of makes sense, after all this is a prequel to the whole series. In terms of gameplay, however, it certainly tries to offer a little more than the straightforward shooting with bizarre graphical elements, as was the case with prior entry Cho Aniki - Seinaru Protein Densetsu, previously released for the Playstation 2.

While Cho Aniki Zero preserves the wacky visuals with homossexual undertones, it doesn't really push the boldness envelope, at least not as the 32-bit entries did. With the exception of the animated introduction and a few panels here and there, there's not much in the way of creepy designs. Infamous bodybuilders Adon and Samson are all over the place here, but they take the back seat and serve as sidekicks to warrior Idaten, lady Benten and a third new character called Shoten, a contender for the best bodybuilder of the galaxy. Initially Shoten cannot be selected though, there are certain criteria that must be met.

Cho Aniki Zero is remarkable for being the first game in the series released out of the Japan, in a digital version with full English translation for the Playstation Store named Cho Aniki Zero - Muscle Brothers. The Japanese language in the PSP retail release isn't much of a problem though. Upon selecting the difficulty/course, you'll then choose the main character. In the case of Idaten, you can also select between secondary characters Adon and Samson. Benten is stuck with cherubs Mika & El, whereas Shoten is accompanied by Balan, a green version of Adon/Samson who's actually their older brother. Note that the Easy course only allows you to play three stages, so if you want to experience the whole game you'd better go straight to the Normal route.

Watermelon boss

By default, basic inputs in the gameplay consist of shot (□), bomb (×), fixed/free movement of the auxiliary character (○), special attack (∆), turn left (L) and turn right (R). All of them can be reamapped in the options and are self explanatory, except for the special attack. Once ∆ is pressed, the screen freezes so that you can select which attack level you'll unleash, based on the meter on the top of the screen. This special attack depends on the secondary character you have chosen, and varies between two (Samsom) or three power levels (Adon, Balan, Mika & El). In order to replenish the special attack gauge it's necessary to collect blue pills labeled as M (men's protein) that are left behind by defeated enemies.

Besides the blue M, items released by enemies can also be a yellow P (protein, power-up for the regular shot), a red B (extra bomb) or a pink L (extra life). It takes many Ps to get through all five upgrade levels of the main shot, and for each death you're downgraded by one level. Finally, tiny men, labeled in the instruction booklet as 'machos', also appear in four different colors and point values. Releasing the shot button briefly makes them get sucked into the character automatically. All items are also automatically sucked into the character when the last form of a boss is defeated. In every other occasion the player needs to be wary where to move since some items will randomly drift to the right.

Beneath the seemingly straightforward gameplay lies a series of intricacies that are very important for survival and scoring. It all starts with the choice of characters. Idaten's shot is stronger but lacks coverage, which is the opposite of Benten's. Shoten incorporates the strengths of both of them though. All secondary characters are able to absorb and protect the player from small bullets, but you need to position them well in order to not let any stray bullets get by. This is why Benten's cherubs are the best choices for frontal protection. On the other hand, Benten's special attack is the weakest. Also of note is the fact that no special attack makes you invulnerable, so you can never rely on them to get out of hairy situations. Only the bomb can save you! There's no real impact of dying with bombs and special attacks in stock though, after all they're independent from the number of lives. 

The single most important element of the scoring system is the amount of times you're able to 'guard' or absorb bullets. It doesn't appear anywhere during the level itself, but after the boss is beaten it will be used as a multiplier for the stage score. Deaths do not interfere with this guard count. On a final note, collecting as many tiny machos as possible is also important because they're worth much more than regular enemies.

Idaten is lost in the first stage already!
(courtesy of YouTube user Tio Jugon)

Despite being fully devoid of obstacles, which is unusual for a methodical horizontal shmup, the bidirectional nature of Cho Aniki Zero is refreshing, as are the great amount of bosses. Each stage has at least three sections and three bosses. The only exception to this is the final level, which makes you fight all previous bosses prior to facing the final enemy. The challenge slope is reasonably steady and it's possible to exploit a good number of safe spots against bosses, at least prior to the ones you fight on the 4th level, which serves as a great homage to the creepy design of 16-bit shmup classic Wings of Wor / Gynoug. There are a few problems with the use of color in the game though. At certain points it incurs in bad bullet visibility, as in the garden area of the 3rd level. The confusing background makes those black bees really hard to see.

Option menu translation for Cho Aniki Zero on the Japanese PSP

Cho Aniki Zero is engaging and fun for most of the run, and not overly hard if you're able to manage the extra life offerings given out during boss encounters. I think it preserves the legacy of the series with decent results, on top of offering good variety in the scoring system. It's a much better job than what was done in Sengoku Cannon, for example, which continued another famous franchise in a similar fashion on the PSP.

The requirements to unlock a few extra features, such as extra character Shoten and a sound test, seem to be related to at least reaching the last form of the final boss (as denoted by a golden badge shown in the high score table). However, only when I beat the game I unlocked the Hard mode/difficulty. My final 1CC result in the Normal course playing with Benten is below. Somehow I suspect this inflated score can be broken if the final boss is properly milked for bullet guarding, but I'll leave this check for a future opportunity.