Edward's 1CC Log for Shmups

Scavenger 4 (FM Towns)

2012-01-20T09:36:00.002-03:00

Rail shooter
Checkpoints OFF/ON
1 Difficulty level
4 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Psygnosis
Published by Psygnosis in 1994

Though the name might seem a bit strange some people may already know Scavenger 4 because this game is none other than Novastorm, also released for the Sega CD, Playstation, Panasonic 3DO and PC (MS-DOS). I like both names equally, they’re cool and evoke something along the lines of a badass sci-fi suicide mission. Scavenger 4 is actually the codename of the ship you pilot, and is even mentioned in the opening of all other versions. It's the last hope of mankind in the quest to destroy an evil computer that gained intelligence and has taken over several planets in the solar system.

Scavenger 4 is the natural evolution to Microcosm, which practically pioneered the use of full motion video (FMV) as the basis for video graphics with instant action, which is a lot different from the more famous uses of FMV in interactive games such as Night Trap. Scavenger 4 changes the original formula a bit by ditching the inside-the-cockpit view and allowing the player to see the spacecraft as a whole, thus turning the game into a genuine rail shooter (the Sega CD version of Microcosm does this as well, unlike the original FM Towns game).

One interesting detail about Scavenger 4 on the FM Towns is that the lengthy intro animation has English dialogue with Japanese subtitles, probably due to the fact that Psygnosis was a UK based company. It’s always great to see developers taking the next step and dipping their toes into foreign enterprises, so I salute Psygnosis for doing that, regardless of financial success or legacy.

The first big boss, a bird-human creature

In line with the purity of the genre, basic inputs are pretty simple: shoot and bomb. While there's no continuous autofire, for each press of the shot button you fire a concentrated stream of bullets. Intricacies appear in the way power-ups are handled, in timeouts during boss encounters and in the way FMV is used to create obstacles that must be avoided. It’s important to mention that even though the main animations and stages are the same, each version of Novastorm/Scavenger 4 has specific details on gameplay that make them all different from each other. Sprites for bullets, different mid-bosses and power-up schemes were generally altered from one version to the next, so the experience never feels exactly the same even though you’re playing the same game.

The four stages take place in different planets with their own specific motifs: fire/lava, desert, ice and enemy headquarters. Each stage is divided into four sections where you fight three mid-bosses and a main boss, with a series of enemy waves in between. Prior to each section every boss is presented with stats on their firepower and additional info such as estimated time of arrival (ETA), which is rather cool. Brief FMV animations are seamlessly inserted within and between the sections, showing a little more of the environment and the enemies and providing a cinematic feel to the whole game. The only problem is that it’s impossible to skip them, so if you’ve seen your share already and want to speed things up you just can’t do it. There’s also the fact that all cut scenes shown between stages are completely silent. We all know outer space is a vacuum void, but a little music wouldn’t be that bad, would it?

All items/power-ups appear at predetermined points in the game, floating for a few seconds before disappearing. Sometimes the game will confuse the player by throwing four items at once. Not all of them are that useful, so you must be fast to choose the best possible option. There could be some randomness in how a few power-ups are granted, but in general they will all come in the same order for every credit you play. Regarding firepower, the available items are: double shot, triple shot, 3-way split shot, 3-way spread shot, wave shot and cannon. Temporary options come in three flavors: trailing, rotating and side/homing. Unfortunately they last only for a little while and revert firepower back to the single shot while active. The same applies for the temporary invincibility. The remainder of the items are speed-ups (S), extra bombs, shield recovery (+) and 1UPs.

It takes a while to get used to the power-ups. Not only are they initially hard to be distinguished, but they also vanish pretty fast. The fact that you get to preserve your weapon once you die is a good thing though. It kinda compensates for the traps the game sends your way, such as making you get rid of a good weapon by suddenly throwing an item for the default single shot. The best weapons are the triple shot and the wave shot. Bomb stock is reset to three if you die, so bomb away if you’re about to be toasted. This way you might just be able to kill the boss and preserve the current life, since the shield gets fully replenished for every section you beat.

Cut scenes, a burning horizon and a flaming timeout
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

Scavenger 4 isn’t that hard for a rail shooter, and that makes it a pretty fun game to get started in this subgenre. There are no continues, but steady progress is somewhat guaranteed by a generous number of 7 lives by default and a scrolling framerate that's smooth as silk. Once the shield is gone you’re respawned right where you die, however there's one type of death that sends you back to a checkpoint. Though it’s not shown anywhere every boss fight is timed, and if you take too long to kill them you'll die in a glorious cut scene and get sent back to the start of the section. Boss damage can be checked on the middle sphere in the lower HUD, which starts red but evolves to green as you land successive hits on the boss's weak point. If the sphere is blinking green then you know it's about to die.

Vertical movement can be inverted and the balance between sound effects and music can be adjusted in the OPTIONS. With no other relevant tweaks available, the game is pretty straightforward in its presentation. Gameplay is fluid but can get on your nerves with obstacles that seem to suddenly shift direction (it’s often safe to be at the dead center to avoid taking too much damage). The dark undertone is counterbalanced by the music, which leans towards techno but still manages to have a quirky uplifting charm, especially during the first couple of stages.

When I got the 1CC score below I was in the last shield bits of my last life!

Bio-Hazard Battle (Mega Drive)

2012-01-14T00:22:00.002-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
8 Stages
Ship speed fixed, selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sega
Published by Sega in 1992

As weird as it seems given the size of the console's library, Bio-Hazard Battle is the only shmup exclusively developed by Sega for the Mega Drive. Known in Japan as Crying (?), it still draws attention as one of the most unique titles to have come out during the 16-bit era. Though one might argue on the effectiveness of the aesthetics, the game successfully manages to be different from the rest of the horizontal shooter flock while offering four different ships to choose from and solid co-op action.

What initially draws people’s attention in Bio-Hazard Battle is the sound design, which has lots of bass applied to eerie, sometimes plainly creepy compositions. It’s all in line with the setting and the style built around a biowar that almost wiped human life from the planet. Your mission is to pilot one of the four bioships in order to find a new home for future generations. The environments dominated by the enemy are diverse and inhabited by a mix of organisms that include mutated versions of insects, bacteria, reptiles and plants. A few impressive animations are applied to some of the larger creatures, and the use of color is nothing short of exquisite.

From a strictly visual standpoint one can complain about how it all comes together, but the execution is undeniably original in its self-contained world, and definitely worth a look if you're into shooters. Every stage has a different vibe and the resulting variety helps keep the game fresh and attractive even after so many years since its original launch. Today it’s also possible to play it in the Wii's Virtual Console.

Orestes battles its way inside a maze full of unspeakable dangers

Another reason for praise besides the music and the unique graphical style is the way gameplay was dealt with. You only need to use two buttons, but the depth provided by the orb and the array of power-ups is remarkable (its echoes can be felt even in very recent releases such as Deathsmiles). Power-ups are known as seeds, appear automatically at certain points and come in four colors: green, yellow, orange and blue. With the exception of green, which is the default weapon and has no variation, the other three may vary depending on the chosen ship/character. The yellow seed can be either a twin laser beam or a stream of straight shots, the blue seed can be a continuous multidirectional burst or bubbles with minor homing ability and the orange seed either results in a bouncing ring shot or the almighty seeker laser, definitely one of the coolest and most effective homing lasers ever seen in shmup history.

Firepower can be upgraded by sticking to the same seed color. After two seeds it maxes out, with every death decreasing one power level. The orb (or "power star", according to the game's manual) moves in the opposite direction you’re pointing at and has the ability to block regular bullets, an invaluable resource in many situations where survival or point blanking becomes important. Last but not least there’s also a charge shot that fires a huge plasma wave. You can’t fire while charging, but fortunately the charging time isn’t too long. The best way to control the ship is to keep the A button pressed at all times for autofire, charging with the C button when necessary (I heard the Japanese version doesn't have any autofire). Different strategies are needed depending on the type of ship you select, since each one of them uses a specific combination for power-up variations. Orestes (top left) and Hecuba (bottom left) are faster, Electra (top right) and Polyxena (bottom right) are slower.

Some of the weapons themselves, such as the homing bubbles, are also able to block bullets. As long as you don’t touch anything that’s alive it’s totally safe to lean against any part of the environment.

From the moment your character is dropped from the mother ship to reenter the atmosphere of the planet the game unfolds in a steadily designed progression that makes you fly initially through the ruins of a city, a forest infested by weird creatures and inside a claustrophobic mine. After an underwater stage you must destroy a huge battleship piece by piece, finally reaching the planet’s polluted grounds and the enemy’s lab core. The spike in difficulty is considerable in stage 7, that one with debris coming out of huge pipes and sponge crawlers over rusted walls. This is my favorite stage despite the fact that the bulk of the challenge lies in the last level, which alternates the scrolling direction all the time and has these annoying mini-squids dropping randomly all around of the screen. Hint: trust in the power of the blue seed and the homing bubbles, and remember to use the charge shot.

Orestes, reentry and city ruins
(courtesy of YouTube user robivy64)

Losing lives in a snap in Bio-Hazard Battle is quite easy, especially against some of the bosses that move too much such as that sneaky angler fish in the underwater stage. However, it’s just as easy to amass lots of lives by simply scoring (one extend for each 20.000 points) and by hitting a secret spot that reveals a 1UP in stages 2 to 7. It’s possible to milk bosses for more points by destroying smaller enemies. They don’t time out but you can’t milk them forever because it’s virtually impossible to avoid damaging them (they’re either too big or move too much around the screen).

The only technical drawback in the game is the slowdown that results when the screen is too crowded. Aside from that everything is well executed. The challenge slope feels just right, as well as the balance between music and sound effects.

My character of choice was Electra because it/she is the only one that uses both the orange laser and the blue homing bubbles. They’re there for the win, no doubt about it. The score below was achieved in the HARD setting and represents an improvement of 20% over my previous high score.

Space Harrier (Sega 32X)

2012-01-10T16:26:00.002-03:00

Rail shooter
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
18 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sega
Published by Sega in 1995

Having just recently beaten the PS2 arcade version of Space Harrier, clearing the 32X port was made easier than it would’ve been years ago, when I thought the game was simply impossible. Based on the experience with PS2 and MAME, the 32X conversion is nearly perfect, only differing in the frame rate. It reportedly runs at half the original speed of 60 frames per second, but on the eyes of a normal person (not an x-man like Northstar or Danger) there’s really no difference. For all that matters, Space Harrier on the ill-fated 32X Sega add-on is the arcade experience at home.

The minor differences from the arcade setting appear in the way the game treats credits, which is perfectly fine for a console port. Gone is the possibility of adding infinite lives to a credit, as well as continuing where you perished your last life. Continuing is only possible after you succesfully complete one of the bonus stages. I absolutely don’t care for the absence of the awful original analog controls, but the lack of an autofire option made the game a tad harder for me (autofire exists, but at the ridiculous rate of 1 shot per second). I had to learn how to not waste any shot and when it was best to tap like crazy.

In Space Harrier colors blend beautifully in a surreal rail shooter that takes place in the Fantasy Zone. Our hero runs and flies thanks to the plasma cannon under his arm, shooting single bullets that bend a little when necessary (was he a forefather to Wesley from Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted?). There are no power-ups and no speed-ups, the only aid you get is an extra life acquired with 5 million points. Since all other game aspects do not deviate from the original source, I will be now focusing on the strategies I used both to survive and to achieve the highest score I could.

Why so serious?

A game that benefits greatly from memorization, Space Harrier still takes a while to get easier with repeated plays. Even though enemies will always arrive in the same formations obstacles are randomly generated and actually comprise the bulk of the challenge. Memorizing helps to find the best positions based on the current situation. It’s possible to kill something right after it appears, but sometimes this is made impossible due to obstacles or bullets getting in the way. The farther you get the most difficult it becomes because things begin to approach faster.

As the game starts I try to kill everything I can by flying close to the ground and destroying bushes, trees and clouds. Herding bullets is good to take out more clouds after the three orbs arrive in a triangle formation. A well played first stage yielded over 800.000 points. The second stage feels like the first one, with lots of extra clouds to destroy, but the boss is a better fountain of points. Do not destroy its core right away, take out the moving heads one at a time. Be careful not to fire at the screen’s dead center and don’t worry when the heads spin to the front, they’re harmless. Watch out for bullets that travel at different speeds so you don’t get cornered. There are at least two other bosses that behave similarly, therefore the same scoring strategy can be used on them.

The third stage is very tricky because of the mushrooms, so flying high is the best alternative. Besides the plants, the incoming flying orange mushrooms are the biggest danger, especially prior to the boss. My strategy is to stay put just a little above the maggots and tap the fire button hard, so no mushroom would hit me. Moving like crazy and trying to dodge is risky.

All three tunnel sections (stages 4, 9 and 14) have no opportunities for extra score and get increasingly harder to get through. The last one is especially tough because the bullets fired by enemies will often corner you against the marble pillars. Try to kill everything as fast as you can. At least the tunnels don’t have robots, right? During the levels with lots of them try to make circular movements around the obstacles and avoid staying too close to the ground. The lower bumps/rocks are treacherous, dying in one of them always makes me feel stupid.

Who said Geeza was a nice place to fly by with a plasma cannon?
(courtesy of YouTube user marquis0r)

Amassing more points in the bonus stages (5 and 12) is a matter of pure memorization. The layouts in both levels are pretty much the same, so press the directionals wisely to make that Falkor creature destroy as many things as possible. Be warned that a poor performance in a bonus stage is a severe hit when playing for a higher score.

Stage 17 (Nark) is insane, with clouds and crystals that close in on you and lots of obstacles intertwined with robots. Surviving Nark practically means a 1CC, provided you don’t mess up in the last stage, a boss rush that brings nothing new to the table. Actually it’s a bit disappointing that Space Harrier doesn’t have a proper final boss.

I’m very proud to have 1CCed my first 32X shooter. The system might be a massive failure, but Space Harrier 32X is solid fun and leaves nothing to be desired in relation to the arcade game. Now for the ports on the Playstation 2 (the remake), Sega Saturn, PC Engine, Master System and NES before moving on to the sequels!

Border Wars (Xbox Live)

2012-01-07T02:00:00.002-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF/ON
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Marra Games
Published by Marra Games in 2009

I firmly believe visual appeal is half the catch if you, as a developer, want to draw people to your game. Take Border Wars, for instance. When I saw what it was about I was hooked on the graphical concept alone. It’s a shooter that takes place on the sheets of a notebook (not the laptop synonym) with minimalist hand-made graphics amidst random annotations on calculus. How can you not be attracted to such a thing?

The bad news is that Border Wars is a bit rotten on the inside. It tries to be something different, but the attempts are poor and lack the polish to back the original idea. The game was obviously rushed out the door, and while on the surface it seems to be an odd but worthy entry into the genre there are several signs of laziness that pull it down a good notch.

Upon choosing to start a new game you’re given the chance to replace the default ship with a new one you can draw from scratch. The red rectangle defines the hitbox, but aside from that it’s possible to use the whole square to draw whatever comes to your mind. Once the game starts it seems as if the drawings in the page of the notebook come to life like a rustic cartoon, with colors used in a very stylish manner. The monochromatic tone is only left aside in the HUD and in tiny details such as bullets, items and weak points of bosses. You’re free to explore the scenery and touch walls, but don’t get crushed by them as the screen scrolls or you’ll die. Move with the left analog (no d-pad support), fire with button A, cycle special weapons with RB (R1) and use them with button B. Once the health bar is depleted you lose a life, and to recover health you can either take the random cross items released by enemies or buy health cells in-between stages.

My aim is to get to the notebook cover!

With the exception of the last stage all levels are divided into three sections and a boss fight. During the intermissions a plethora of special items can be bought using the accumulated score, including upgrades on firepower, spread capability, shot ratio, speed, ship defense and collision protection, as well as ammo for the special weapons and breathers such as health recovery and extra lives. You can even redraw the spaceship before the next section begins. There’s no need to buy ammo for special weapons, there’s plenty of them to be taken during the actual gameplay: rockets (9 maximum), bombs and temporary invincibility (3 maximum each). Extra lives also appear very often so don’t mind getting the expensive offerings of the upgrade shop.

Border Wars plays decently enough on the eyes of an observer, but controlling the ship is a whole different story. For some strange reason, the developer decided to restrict movement on the X axis, making it extremely difficult and awkward to dodge stuff until you’ve bought at least one speed upgrade. This is extremely annoying and there was absolutely to need to be done. The fact that most enemies fire horizontally isn’t an excuse, and the resulting effect is that the game almost plays like a fixed horizontal shooter at the beginning. Given the fact that it does restrict the player’s movement to a vertical line during boss fights, perhaps that was the original concept.

Other hints that point to a lazy fine tuning are the way you change from an underpowered wreck to an overpowered ship once you buy the spread shot and power it up, ditching the initial pew-pew shot sound. The game even seems to lower enemy count in the last couple of stages, peaking in difficulty at stage 3. There’s an upgrade (beam projectors) that adds absolutely nothing to the ship! Once you beat the game you unlock Arcade mode, which is just the same regular mode with 1-hit deaths. The problem with it is that it still keeps that health bar and everything related to health stuff, such as shop items, and the option to play this mode disappears from the selection screen when you log off. This means you need to go through the whole game every time if you want to try Arcade mode. And despite the automatic saving after a boss is defeated, starting a new game will override the save completely. You just can’t play a new game while keeping the save intact.

And the wars were ended by a superior force...
(courtesy of YouTube user KollisionBR)

I can live perfectly with everything I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Regular readers know that I have played far worse shmups during the course of this blog. Maybe these negative aspects stood out so much for me because, on top of everything, Border Wars is bugged to the core. Nine out of ten times I got either Code 3 or Code 4 error messages while playing stage 3-2. These errors kick the player back to the dashboard, and in all online sources I’ve researched their causes point to bad programming. There’s even old info on a patch that would correct this but none seems to have been issued, and all webpages that link back to the developer are simply abandoned. The icing on the cake is the collection of messages that pop up when you lose a life, such as “maybe next time don't suck so much”. Every time I read this I felt like a retard because I was honestly trying to complete this goddamn game.

In a nutshell, everything about Border Wars is just sad because the game had potential, but it’s nothing more than a great idea gone terribly wrong. Only the music comes out unscathed, even though it's not anything special. Graphics are okay but they could've had a stronger contrast and used more black. I don’t know why there’s a timer for each stage, since it’s impossible to time out unless you want to milk your extra lives. Just for the record, I tried this timeout milking once and the game crashed again.

On the first day I got familiar with the weapon system and continued to see the end. On the second day I tried to get the 1CC, but the game wouldn’t let me because of the errors. On the third day I had my final attempt at doing it, but I was forced to use the save from the 3rd stage to complete the run because it was impossible to play a continuous credit (the crash even happened a few times during the 4th stage). The screenshot below was taken just before I killed the final pencil boss, having bought all the available useful upgrades - the score has to be wasted on buying them, or else you can’t advance much further. Be gone, indie crap, be gone.

Sqoon (NES)

2011-12-30T01:46:00.005-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
8 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Home Data
Published by Irem in 1986

I love the name of this game, it rolls off the tongue nicely despite its impossible phonetical self. And I don't know why exactly, it gives me this fuzzy feeling related to freezing, ice-cream and food. It's one of the least known games published by Irem, and it's relatively obscure within any gaming community, probably due to the US NES release being outrageously expensive. I wouldn't say it's rare, unless we're talking about complete copies.

Sqoon is as much a natural evolution of Activision's Atari 2600 classic Seaquest as a predecessor to Irem's own In the Hunt. All these games have one thing in common: the fact that you control submarines in a shmup setting. In Sqoon the backdrop to the action involves aliens from Neptune raiding a submerged planet Earth in search of humans, which are imprisoned and used as livestock for their nutrition (the documentation refers to them as "man-ham"). The only hope for mankind is this pink submarine, whose captain is supposed to be a rogue pirate or something. And even though the game takes place completely underwater and features lots of marine enemies it's not nearly close in gameplay to anything related such as Darius, Submarine Attack or Deep Blue.

Each stage is a sunken city, and my guess is that some huge cataclysmic event must have happened to the planet because there's no separation at all between them - you just navigate from one city to the next with no interlude whatsoever. It all starts in Hawaii, then proceeds to China, India, Egypt, Greece, England, the North Pole and New York. Frankly, the graphics don't do much to help you distinguish the places, and with so much going on chances are you probably won't pay attention anyway.

A submerged India overruled by Neptunians

Being developed in the mid-80's, Sqoon was influenced by all the ideas that were still boiling in the shooting gaming scene, not all of them acceptable in the shmupping world of today. Besides shooting and rescuing human hostages, it's also necessary to manage fuel. The fuel concept makes the game really busy, and forces the player to devise some sort of strategy to survive in the long run.

There are two types of attack, the regular shot (button A) and the ice ball (button B) that goes down in an angle of approximately 45º. Fuel for the submarine lasts approximately 60 seconds and goes down in steps of 10, blinking fast when the reserve is about to run out - if this happens you lose a life. To get more fuel you must do three things: (1) rescue at least one hostage, (2) hit the pink crab with the ice ball and take the golden fuel cell from it and (3) approach the surface ship that appears once you've rescued the hostage and taken the cell. The surface ship will then drop a bubble that refills the fuel. The trickiest part in this process is the pink crab, which doesn't come by very often and allows only a brief time window for you to get its fuel cell. If you take too long to get it you might die because the crab will reappear in its place without notice.

Hostages are freed by hitting their bunkers with the ice ball. They're easily spotted in the scenery, but once the hostages come out they might be taken and eaten by the tiny orcas that swim around. These sharks are harmless to the submarine, so the only danger they really pose is eating all of the desperate humans before you're able to rescue them. The rest of the enemy gallery (shrimp, squid, turtles, mines, drills and all sorts of different fish) is hazardous and sometimes arrives in very crazy patterns, taking you off-guard with a series of sudden moves. In Sqoon there are no bullets fired from enemies, they're the bullets themselves.

Another instance where you can have the surface ship appear besides exchanging one hostage for one fuel bubble is after you rescue 9 hostages. Dock with the ship, keep pressing the fire button to deliver the hostages and a power-up will drop, upgrading the regular shot and renewing fuel supply at the same time. There are two upgrade levels, and in the final one you get a spread shot that's great to take down multiple enemies. Dying will downgrade one power level. You have to memorize how many hostages you have rescued because it's not shown anywhere in the screen, nor is the number of lives left. To increase speed just power up or hit the + signs that move back and forth over some of the large underwater bases.

Dude, why didn't use take the gold from the crab to refuel?
(courtesy of YouTube user nenriki86)

Starting from the 2nd stage the screen halts so that you have the chance to destroy the weak point of the boss base. As far as enemy formations go, the second half of the game (stages 5 to 8) is basically a slightly harder repetition of the first half with swapped color palette. Despite the primitive look, flat colors and tiny sprites, Sqoon is still a graphically charming game that hits a perfect point when you nail down the gameplay, especially how to preserve fuel (don't refuel if you don't have to, the surface ship will not go away unless you approach it). However, the game does get repetitive quickly afterwards, with no actual increase in difficulty during the second loop. On top of that there is only one tune that plays over and over, with brief interlude music between stages. Heavy slowdown happens briefly when you have the spread shot and there are too many fast enemies on screen.

Some advice to better enjoy Sqoon: don't be too close to the left when you surface to refuel, sometimes the fuel bubble or the power-up will be unreachable when it falls; the only way to destroy mines is with the ice ball; be on the lookout for extra lives (the cross at the church in the first level and all kinds of weird objects such as a panda, smiley faces, sea tokens and even a surfer on the top of the screen); hit the snail that appears once the level starts for more points; after a few shots the snail will turn into a necklace, stop shooting and take it for an extra life; if you keep shooting the snail will reappear, and if you manage to get the necklace again you'll get more than one life from it; don't lower you guard, getting more lives is cool but it's just as easy to lose them in a snap; if you have a turbo controller use it, the game has no built-in autofire.

When I looped the game I thought things would collapse fast, but it didn't happen. In the run below I moved along and things fell apart from boredom in stage 2-7. I'm sure it wouldn't be like this if Irem had been the developer. With no real prestige in the shmup scene, Home Data's only other contributions to the genre are the obscure rail shooters Cosmic Epsilon and Tetrastar The Fighter, released only for the Famicom in Japan.

Gekirindan (Saturn)

2011-12-28T01:08:00.001-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Taito
Published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1995

If I'm not mistaken, Gekirindan was the last shooter Taito developed before going fully into 3D efforts (Raystorm, G Darius). As such, it serves as an amalgam of all that had been accomplished by the company so far, featuring graphical effects previously seen in earlier titles such as Metal Black and Rayforce while drawing inspiration both in house and from the competitors, in what many people see as a homage to Toaplan. You can see, for instance, that the variety in the selection of ships/characters clearly borrows from Batsugun, and some of the weapons are a throwback to lots of Toaplan classic stuff. With so many influences it was necessary to bypass the lack of originality with some sort of gimmick, and the one Taito chose is the good old concept of time travel. In fact, the subtitle to the game is Time Travel Shooting.

The story starts in the distant future. A time machine is stolen by a villain, and the player's mission is to race after him through several time periods. Each one of the five stages takes place in a specific year (1942 included!) and gets increasingly longer until you finally have the chance to blast the bad guy before he manages to activate a new time warp. The player ensemble includes pilots from several eras, and different pilots are assigned to each ship type (A, B or C) and controller side (player 1 or player 2). Blast off alone or with a friend, and be on your guard to weave your big hitbox between point-blank enemy fire.

Hokuto pursues his foe in year 1999

The Sega Saturn is home to many excellent Taito ports, but unfortunately Gekirindan isn't part of this batch. Taito didn't handle the port themselves, maybe that's the main reason, but it's disappointing to see the rotating effect of the background satellite tunnel from the 1st stage completely absent from the game, be it in YOKO or TATE. We're left with a static chunk of scenery that gets slowly zoomed in and then disappears. Besides other less noticeable graphic downgrades there's also some jerky scrolling during the final frames of the ship's takeoff. Gameplaywise the experience is marred by extensive vertical wobbling, and you constantly have to deal with bullets pouring out of enemies that haven't even come into sight yet. Normally screen wobble shouldn't be a problem (Psikyo and Atlus did it right in both Strikers 1945 games, for example), but here it's annoying to say the least. After all, not everybody is able to TATE their TVs to get rid of it.

Despite all of the above letdowns, Saturn's Gekirindan isn't broken in any way, so it's still possible to have fun with it. Playing is simple: fire with either A or C and bomb with B. Manage the items brought by carriers, collect medals and stock more bombs to increase the bonus when finishing a stage. Choose the pilot/ship that fits you best, with one glaring exception they're all pretty much equally effective. The exception is type C selected by player 2, which is twice as strong as the others and makes the game a lot easier to beat. Perhaps it's because type C+P2 is the only choice that has two pilots (Orsa and Mayoru) instead of one. Type C is an old style plane with two choices of main weapon: a spread gun and a wave pulsing cannon. Switching between both weapons is done by taking the C item, and it doesn't take long to realize that the wave cannon is useless, so avoid taking Cs if you decide to go with type C. How ironic is that?

Weapons for type A (a futuristic spaceship) are a soft blue pattern with mild spread and a group of locking lasers that resemble Truxton's. Type B (a helicopter) fires a straight shot, activating trailing options as its alternative main weapon. Main weapons are upgraded by collecting power-ups, and all ships can also use the same secondary weapons given by an icon that cycles between H (homing shots), N (napalm) and M (straight missiles). Napalm is the way to go since it's the strongest one and has a devastating effect at point blank distance. The skull inside both napalm's inner figure and the bomb animation for type A is another great nod at the mighty legacy of Truxton. The remainder of the items are extra bombs and, in some very rare occasions, a single score bonus token.

As straightforward and simple as it is, the scoring system has a few secrets beyond collecting surplus power-ups and regular medals. One of them is damaging the mid-boss in the first stage really fast to destroy a few more meteors and grab an extra bomb, maybe even a small bonus if you're fast enough. Another secret is to let the spider-tank crush all five houses in stage 2 in order to uncover five extra medals, killing it immediately afterwards to trigger a small train on the railroad. In the last level destroy the pink ship that fires lasers to get the only 1UP available in the game (there are no extends).

"Thou shall not pass", said the captain of the red ship in the 5th stage
(courtesy of YouTube user KollisionBR)

Depending on the selected ship dying in Gekirindan is traumatic because you're left quite underpowered, even with the giveaway power-ups that emerge from the dead ship. Besides the wobbling, other minor annoyances appear in the form of a few dead sections where nothing happens or where the game deliberately stops so that an unskippable animation can take place. At least the music is nice and complements the laid back nature of the game, which has a very tame rank system. I can't say it's negligible, but it's a far cry from the agression levels seen in Layer Section. I did enjoy the great use of color and the decent enemy variety in Gekirindan, and its overall simplicity is very welcome if you're not looking for flashy, intricate shooting mechanics.

Since the PS2 versions found in the Taito Legends/Memories compilations don't have a TATE mode, the Saturn port is still regarded by some as the way to go for a console alternative, even though it's slightly butchered graphically. In all versions it's widely alleged that starting the game with any ship as player 2 makes the game easier (remember that type C-P2 is a special case of overpowering). My character of choice was Hokuto, pilot of the type A ship, player 1 side. The score below was achieved with him on Normal.

I died twice at the final boss and missed the bonus from an inflated bomb stock (each one is worth 8.000 points at the end of the stage). And I still don't understand how to consistently get approximately 30.000 extra points on the second boss, sometimes I score even less than my usual share...

Retro Force (Playstation)

2011-12-19T19:01:00.002-03:00

Vertical / Rail shooter
Checkpoints OFF/ON
3 Difficulty levels
4 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Psygnosis
Published by Psygnosis in 1999

Have you ever wondered what a mix between Einhänder, Silpheed and Xevious would sound like? Let's be honest, no one has, and back in 1999 very few people outside of Europe must have had the chance to lay eyes on Retro Force, a possible answer to the question above. Brought to the world only in Europe by Psygnosis, prominent developer in the PC and Amiga scene but rather low profile in mainstream platforms, the game mixes vertical shooting during normal stages with rail perspective during boss battles. The scope is ambitious and includes a long campaign with a detailed story that starts with an alien invasion and involves time travel.

Before I continue, allow me to say that this game carries a few traits that are not very well seen within the most hardcore shmup community, those being health bars and inertia. "Euroshmup", you say? Well, it comes from Europe alright. Although I think health bars are a fairly mild design choice depending on the game, I do agree that inertia is awful - we definitely don't need that much reality in our dodging fun. Fortunately the level of inertia in Retro Force isn't so severe, and I could perfectly live with it after a few minutes of familiarizing. There are a few other aspects in the game that are more troublesome, so inertia and health bars shouldn't be reason enough to crucify this obscure and offbeat effort of the low-res 32-bit era.

An alternate version of Einhänder? Not actually...

Going from the rather cool animation intro into the game itself, the player must choose between four pilots, each one with distinct "aerial capabilities", as described in the manual. Paris and Hawtin are the human teenage duo, Pi and Sinclair are androids. These so-called aerial capabilities do not refer to flight speed, which seems to be the same for all of them, instead they're related to how high they can "climb" with their spaceships. Climbing (L1) and diving (L2) is necessary in order to reach certain areas in a stage. Thankfully there are just a few sections where you really need to use these commands, and you always get back to the default plane after a few seconds anyway.

The main weapon (X) is selectable with R1 and comes in three types: straight shot, spread shot and laser. The ground weapon (circle) that's used to hit ground enemies as in Xevious is selectable with R2 and also comes in three types, each one having a different distance reach and effectiveness radius. All weapons start quite weak and are powered up by their specific items, often released by destroying medium to large enemies. Weapon power level can be seen in the selection display in the lower corners. Special weapons have limited ammo and are triggered with the square button after being acquired by specific icons: rockets, homing missiles, side-shots, multi-bolts and plasma balls. Lastly, screen-clearing bombs are deployed with the triangle button.

Other items up for grabs are energy recovery cells, shields and colored crystals, which add more points the end-of-stage bonus. Orange crystals are hard to come by, but they're worth more than the regular green crystals. If you touch the cat face inside the blue light beams pointing up to the sky you activate a checkpoint, where you'll get back to in the case you plummet to death smoking when the health bar is depleted. Also watch out for 1UPs that look just like the checkpoint cat face inside an open arch.

Not only is every single button in the controller used (it's possible to reassign them), but the huge amount of items to collect and interpret also takes Retro Force away from the pick'n'play nature associated with the shmup genre. This game is a bit more complicated than usual, and sometimes there's so much going on that the only remedy to clear things up is to use a bomb. The visuals aren't bad for the most part, but they're predominantly dark and can get confusing at times. Pacing is slow and never changes, large enemies have health bars and some of them come with an invincibility shield that's energized by some ground targets you need to destroy first. It's kind of intuitive, but until you figure out what enemy does what it's pretty common to lose lives stupidly. On the other hand, you don't lose any energy by touching a wall or a cliff.

Travelling through time to stop an evil prophecy from fulfilling
(courtesy of Dailymotion user THAIRACER)

Retro Force has four very long stages divided into three sections each. After a short initial pre-stage you're sent back to the ice age, advancing in time until you return to the present to fight the cat-like final boss. Even though there's a lot of diversity in the game design and the extensive use of several levels of screen tilting adds to the notion of movement, Retro Force fails to cause a lasting impression because the stages feel cluttered, the second half of the game is full of cheap deaths caused by lasers, the music is totally forgettable techno stuff and a few bugs (for the lack of a better word) can lead to unfair deaths. The climbing/diving gimmick is frustrating because some pilots can't reach a few of the higher items, and in some instances I died because I got stuck during one of the climbing maneuvers. There was also one occasion where I died because the perspective changed from rail to vertical during a boss fight, making it impossible to dodge the bullet sprays that were designed to be dealt with in a 3D environment. The most irritating aspects of the game, however, are the awful loading times. They break up the pace badly, killing any sense of flow the game barely had to start with.

A special nod goes to the goofy character design, an obvious heritage of the early days of 3D polygon rendering in video games. Some people find it charming, others consider it downright awful. It's pretty irrelevant to me since it doesn't get in the way of the gameplay. However, the thing I will never forget about Retro Force is the ridiculous look of the cat creature that possesses the boss prior to each stage finale. It's unintentionally funny, you have to see it to believe how lacking, primitive and campy the animation is.

Co-op play is available, as well as auto-saving and the possibility to save a game in-between stages. I could never figure out how the extend scheme works because extends are most frequently awarded as you view the end-of-stage statistics and bonus screen (suffice it to say there are many available, but I think they might be related to the amount of crystals you collect rather than the actual score). I completed the game in one sitting during one hour and a half, playing with Sinclair in the NORMAL difficulty (MEDIUM).

Space Harrier [arcade] (Playstation 2)

2011-12-17T01:12:00.009-03:00

Rail shooter
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
18 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sega
Published by Sega in 2005

Space Harrier is probably one of the most classic and emblematic representatives of the rail shooter subgenre, alongside After Burner. This happens because Sega practically pioneered this arcade and video game branch. Space Harrier was the very first arcade game to use a special technology that allowed smooth pseudo 3D sprite scaling, thus making it possible to have a full fledged shooter where the player’s avatar flies into the screen against oncoming bullets and objects. Freedom of movement is still two-dimensional, but the gameplay is in a league of its own because it often scares people away due to its simplicity, a supposed lack of the need to dodge ("keep moving and you’ll always be safe") and the consequential idea of mindless shooting.

I for one always thought the game was fun, but also pretty damn hard. Just three lives and only one extend with 5 million points? Give me a break... However, a couple of weeks ago I was testing a few games for some friends and took the chance to see what the Space Harrier Complete Collection (volume 20 of the Sega Ages 2500 series) for the PS2 was all about. It’s a compilation that comes with the Master System and Mega Drive entries in the series and also the original arcade game (not to be confused with the stand-alone remake with polygon graphics). A relaxed credit in the arcade version allowed me to get roughly past the second bonus stage, and it just crossed my mind that beating the game wasn’t really out of bounds if I kept at it with the same mindset, playing Space Harrier as a fill-in diversion from other games and obligations. It eventually worked out well. No suffering, no grinding, just pure and relaxed fun, with the realization that there’s a little more than meets the eye when it comes down to this old classic.

"Hmmm... How big and menacing you guys are... And those big, beautiful red eyes!!"

Checkerboard scrolling surfaces and objects coming fast towards the player must have been quite a vision back in 1985. That’s where the bulk of the design went to, given the fact that there’s probably few shooters, rail or not, with such a rudimentary gameplay. The character is able to move all around the screen and shoot a single plasma cannon that he carries under his arm. There are no power-ups of any kind. And that’s it. Drop that quarter/coin and be greeted with “welcome to the Fantasy Zone”, as the announcer puts it once the credit is started (an obvious nod to another very famous Sega franchise). Every time you die screaming (it’s one of the most painful deaths of any game ever) you hear a very familiar “get ready” before you get back on your knees – it’s the same sound that plays in Out Run, which was built upon the same scaling engine used in Space Harrier.

Fantasy zone is a suitable definition to the world and setting of this game. Surreal landscapes with a gorgeous palette of pastel colors, a wide variety of threats (clouds, jets, orbs, trees, mushrooms, maggots, insects, robots, spikes, stone faces, those goddamn PILLARS, one-eyed mammoths, etc.). There's absolutely no rest for our desperate hero, he runs and flies through 18 stages that are seamlessly connected to each other, and the only breathing room he gets is in the two bonus stages (5 and 12) where he boards the back of a flying creature that resembles Falkor from The Neverending Story. In the bonus stages you have to destroy as many trees and pillars as possible for more points. Trees? Yes, Space Harrier isn't exactly an environment-friendly shmup. The fact that the game takes place in an alien planet is no excuse, see James Cameron's Avatar.

It’s a bit unfair to point the finger at someone for labeling the gameplay as “mindless shooting”. At first sight that’s what it is, I gotta be honest. The first stage is a breeze, you just stumble on those bushes instead of dying and the boss gives you a perfect idea of what to expect from further bosses: with no exception, they’re all piss easy. Things start to go from “mindless” to “what the heck” when those freakin' PILLARS and larger creatures get in your way, demanding instant adaptation to the notion of proximity provided by the sprite scaling effect. The challenge is to correctly move around them, avoiding obstacles and taking down the enemies as fast as possible in order to reduce the number of aimed bullets. These can be pretty fast and take you off guard, especially when there's too much stuff appearing at once. As far as I can tell, there aren't any non-aimed bullets, but some bosses tend to shoot slower projectiles. Be careful, if you adhere to the usual strategy of circling around like crazy while shooting you'll probably rush into one of them.

Most people don't notice, but the Harrier's cannon shot has a mild attraction ability (I can't call it homing): it will also hit any enemy that's sufficiently close to its line of fire. Just pay attention and watch as the shot "bends" a little to make the kill.

An honest credit that ends in stage 9
(courtesy of YouTube user Callofgun)

Credits work differently in Space Harrier. Every time you press "triangle" and add a credit/coin, three lives are added to the player's stock, therefore you can never activate more than one credit in any given run for a legit 1CC. A minor gripe I have about the game concerns its original analog controls. I can't imagine why some people prefer to play with this analog thing, it keeps bringing the hero back to the center of the screen if you stop moving. It's just awful, and going by the superplay that's included in the disc you notice clearly that the superplayer does not use it. Fortunately, in Space Harrier Complete Collection you can select the control scheme at will, with natural autofire in the "square" button. Other features are the ability to record/replay your runs, an art/poster gallery and the music notes for the game's soundtrack. Speaking of which, only now I noticed there are only three tunes that get repeated throughout the whole game (not counting the brief boss themes). The most iconic and most used, of course, is the BGM for the first stage. No variety at all, but the music is cool enough and tends to grow on you.

There were no arcade sequels to Space Harrier. Sega decided to continue the series only in consoles, with Space Harrier II on the Mega Drive and Space Harrier 3D on the Master System. The SMS Space Harrier port completes the package in Space Harrier Complete Collection, which also has the Game Gear version as an easter egg. And let's not forget about the 3D remake for the PS2 simply titled Space Harrier (volume 4 of the Sega Ages 2500 series). Other home sources where you can play the original arcade game are on the Sega Saturn, a hidden arcade spot in Shenmue and the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console. The 32X version is also supposed to be a valid choice, though it runs with a lower frame rate.

My final and humble 1CC score (NORMAL):

Shienryu (Saturn)

2011-12-13T23:38:00.002-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints ON/OFF
4 Difficulty levels
8 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Warashi
Published by Warashi in 1997

Although it’s perfectly fine to give up on a game you’re trying to 1CC, avoiding the feeling of personal failure isn’t easy. This is mostly related to the fact that we try to bite more than we can chew, and for some time now I believe the best way to deal with it is to step away for a while. I can’t stress this enough, but I’m into the hobby for fun and amusement, and continued sessions in a game that’s destroying the player aren’t healthy at all. Plateaus should be respected as an alert that you either need help or that you need to get better as a player (let’s not even talk about burnouts). For me Shienryu is an example of a successful comeback from one such moment.

About a year ago I was trying to play Geki-oh - Shooting King, Shienryu’s incarnation on the Playstation. It didn’t take long to reach a point where the game became impossible, I wasn’t even able to get past the fifth stage. Fast forward to STGT 2011 and the week I spent swearing at my laptop while playing Daioh, Shienryu’s spiritual prequel. I had the same issues and gave up halfway the competition, afraid of eventually throwing the computer out the window. According to some modern lines of thought it’s a given fact that the universe conspires to your advantage if you’re surrounded by positive stimuli, so here I am fulfilling something I set out to do more than a year ago. Granted, it’s in a different system but possibly the best option if you have to play it on a home console.

Shienryu was developed by some of the same people who worked on the arcade shooter Daioh. Both games share a lot of similarities, including one of the most punishing rank systems I have ever seen. Their main inspiration is Raiden, so if you’re into Seibu Kaihatsu’s classic you’ll most probably enjoy Shienryu as I did, provided you follow some very basic rules.

The power of thunder and lightning

One of the similarities with Raiden is in the stage structure, where the first four levels take place on Earth and the last four in outer space. Graphically the game is great, with good variety, fragments flying off destroyed enemies and bosses full of multiple parts that can be taken off one by one. Ship designs are similar, but fortunately in Shienryu you can abandon the sluggish initial speed of the ship by taking speed-ups. Three weapons can be used and switched with colored icons: red evolves from a forward single shot to a vulcan spread pattern, yellow equips the ship with a mixed set of straight and homing missiles and blue activates a lightning discharge that homes on everything that takes damage. Take P items to power up and B items to increase bomb stock. By the way, each weapon has its own bomb animation: red results in an energy beam that funnels from the sides to the front as it dissipates, yellow produces a localized blast and blue deploys a series of vertical laser bars aligned with the ship. All of them carry the ability to block bullets, but the red one is the best for panic purposes.

Checkpoints are implemented only during the stages themselves. With the exception of the last boss/stage, you respawn right where you die during boss fights. Also used in Taito's Gun Frontier, I think this is an interesting alternative for those people who hate checkpoints. Scoring devices appear as surplus power-ups, which are worth 5.000 points each, and end-of-stage bonuses for level completion, bomb stock and number of candles collected: some enemies will release these tiny items that look like candles, colored in red or blue (a few sources refer to them as LEDs, but they’re still candles to me). Each blue candle is equal to ten red candles, and the more of them you collect the higher the bonus.

Shienryu has a rank system that makes enemies shoot more bullets with increasingly faster speed as you make progress. Now for the crucial quirk: you can’t accept anything the game gives you that (1) nets you additional points or (2) gives you any extra protection. If you do take weapon items of the same color or power-ups in excess for those nice 5.000 points each you can expect a further difficulty increase that will never subside, not even when you die. In a similar fashion, you cannot take the rare pink power-up that gives you instant maximum power and puts a 1-hit shield on the ship’s nose (or splits into a plethora of other power-ups once touched). If you increase bomb stock beyond the initial three you will also be incurring in an irreversible rank boost. What’s the catch then? In order to keep the game manageable never collect any item that yields points once you reach maximum power, never have more than three bombs in stock and never, ever take the ultimate pink power-up. This last point is very important because once the pink power-up disappears natural rank will be reduced by a good margin. No worries on candles, they do not add to the rank logic at all.

By following the above recommendations Shienryu goes from a freakin' nightmare to a really enjoyable game, with fair bullet patterns and no walls of any kind. Provided you don't take repeated items it's possible to mess with the weapons at will, and eventually I chose the lightning (blue) for the first half of the game and the vulcan (red) for the second half. The missile (yellow) is nice to look at, but it's quite unreliable in that there's always one enemy that emerges from the firespray armed with a deadly bullet. Lightning is the weakest of all weapons, but it's actually the best one for scoring because it will take down anything in front and behind the ship, also netting more points by damaging larger enemies.

Intro and attract mode
(courtesy of YouTube user koosterveld)

Music in this game starts out pretty corny, but it does get better as you play later stages. Even though it never reaches bullet hell status, at times Shienryu comes close to it because it's heavily bent towards twitch dodging. The last boss is one of the coolest I have ever seen in this respect. In one of his attacks the screen is forced to zoom out so that you can completely glance the epicness of the battle against a massively huge dragon robot. Another highlight is the 6th stage, which flows as a boss rush with at least four large spaceships to be destroyed before you face an skeleton-like mecha boss. It's pretty cool stuff and a testament to good game design. The crab enemy in the boss rush is the only one that will always give away an extra life (1UP). Other 1UPs (or 2UPs if you're lucky) can appear randomly, with score-based extends achieved at 1.5 million points and then for every 2 million afterwards.

The Saturn port is the superior choice for everyone since it comes with save functionality and an option for TATE mode + pad rotating. Moreover, it's virtually free of the slowdown that appears in the PS1 version. Shienryu is also present in a double pack along with its sequel in The Shooting - Double Shienryu for the PS2, and it's interesting to note that in the European release the game was renamed as Steel Dragon.

Props go to fellow shmupper Battletoad for enlightening my journey with a great post about Daioh on his blog. As pictured below, in my best credit I managed to reach stage 2-6 (NORMAL):

Darwin 4081 (Mega Drive)

2011-12-08T19:01:00.002-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints ON
4 Difficulty levels
10 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Data East
Reprogrammed and published by Sega in 1990

Back in 1990/91 I was 14/15 years old, and the crushing majority of Mega Drive games that appeared on rental shelves close to my place were awful-looking pirate copies, with the exception of a few titles from Japan such as Jewel Master and Darwin 4081. You could find originals of them everywhere, and I remember I really liked the texture of the Japanese boxes, which were a bit different and smooth on the tips of my fingers. However, in the presence of stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage these games were promptly ignored, especially Darwin 4081, which by that time was already considered by the kids around the block as run-of-the-mill material, unworthy of our precious time. Ah, kids...

Indeed, explicit technical highlights aren't to be found anywhere in this game, a port of Data East's arcade title Super Real Darwin, which in turn is the sequel to Darwin 4078. I think the name change was supposed to include the Mega Drive version in a series that eventually fell into the realm of the obscure. Despite its lack of punch and the somewhat generic graphical style, Darwin 4081 shouldn't be taken as a failure - if it sounds unimpressive, the arcade source is to blame. Sega did a very good job with the port, preserving the graphic quality, downscaling the difficulty and even improving the music, which is more varied than the arcade version. The excellence of the porting process is also hinted by the absolute lack of slowdown, something that very few 16-bit shmups were really capable of achieving (other notable mentions are Gleylancer and Wings of Wor).

Meet Bossgoste, the final enemy in stage 5

Darwinism and sci-fi are actually very close to each other as a wealthy foundation for artistic creations, and this connection is what drives the gameplay in Darwin 4081. The ship evolves as the player collects the so-called E-evol power-ups. These items are released by specific enemies, each evolution leap comes with a new main weapon and a visible change in the ship's sprites and the more you evolve the bigger the ship's hitbox gets. A secondary and rarer power-up called B-evol will apply a special upgrade that changes the ship into a whole new form depending on which evolution phase was originally active. Further evolution phases beyond the starting one are time-dependent, so if you do not take another E-evol item in a certain amount of time your ship will devolve one phase. Getting hit while evolved will send the ship to its weakest and most basic form, and any damage in this condition (or in the +1 starting phase) means death and restart at a previous checkpoint.

Building upon the classic ideas of Xevious, basic gameplay in Darwin 4081 is comprised of a main weapon and a secondary shot to care of ground enemies. This ground shot does not change, what evolves is only the main firepower. Extra items consist of speed-ups (S) and 1-hit shields (Ar). Just like power-ups they are always released by the same enemies, so after a while it gets easier to spot where they're coming from. They will wander off pretty quickly, and if you're not fast enough you'll lose them. Actual speed is indicated to the right, and its maximum value is 3. This happens because speed-up items cease to appear once you get the third one. There's no need to refrain from taking speed-ups since the maximum speed doesn't feel too fast and is actually quite useful against a few bosses.

Some players hate checkpoints in shooters, and the good news is that this game lets you power up instantly when you die. In order to do that you must collect DNA left from special ground enemies such as worms and lizards. Each DNA is worth 300 points and adds one evolution phase to your form as soon as you respawn after dying. If you manage to stock the maximum value of 9 DNAs you'll be boosted up to the second-to-last upgrade (the flame shot).

Graphics in Darwin 4081 aren't anything special. There are no special effects, no parallax and no huge explosions. However, one of the levels is quite remarkable for letting you fly over a landscape full of circuit boards and microchips that come to life all of a sudden. The music is decent but the sound design is definitely the standout, with specific sounds for each weapon and a rich set of the most varied sound effects. The game flows smoothly and keeps you on your toes without being too taxing, and with one glaring exception the stage structure is always the same. This exception is in stage 6: it has just one checkpoint (die in the boss and get back to the start of the level) and comes with the hardest boss in the whole game. The only way to hit him is with ground shots, and it's no easy task at all. In fact, this particular part of the game represents an odd peak of unbalance, especially when you consider the fact that most bosses are a joke if you reach them with full power. Sometimes they will die in less than 2 seconds!

Reaching the printed circuit board area in Darwin 4081
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

Besides a justified albeit not too severe complaint on bullet visibility, other game aspects also contribute to impair enjoyment in Darwin 4081. I absolutely loathe the B-evol power-ups. The first bad thing about them is that it's really hard to distinguish these unwanted "offers" from the regular E-evol items, and I always end up taking one by mistake. The second bad thing is that they're mostly useless, giving the player more trouble than actually helping... Even the dragon that shows up in the start screen isn't worth a damn, and I curse the game whenever I activate that spider-like form that spits bubbles. If you manage to survive with one of these crappy weapons you get sent back to the weakest regular form once its lifetime expires, not really the best way out of an already awkward situation.

Getting past all of these little annoyances isn't really necessary to enjoy Darwin 4081. The interesting upgrade scheme with over 15 different ships/weapons makes it fun, and the fast paced action is sure to please those who always thought Xevious was too slow to begin with. The game is also very generous on the extends, which are given every time you score 50.000 points. A useful gameplay advice is to remain in the bottom of the screen when ground enemies start becoming more aggressive. They will all stop shooting once they've scrolled 2/3 of the screen, and that makes it easier to take them out if you're patient enough.

Since the starting difficulty setting is EASY, I went to the options screen and switched it to NORMAL in order to play the game. I'm not ashamed to say that I exploited stage 6 for a higher 1CC score, dying at the boss multiple times to capitalize on my life stock. Some missed opportunities didn't allow me to get a higher figure, but this one isn't too shabby either.

Note: this text will be cross-posted with minor changes on Sega-16.

Recca (NES)

2011-12-05T19:19:00.000-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
4 Stages
Ship speed selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by naxat soft
Published by naxat soft in 1992

Recca, one of the holy grails of any Famicom collection, sure has an intimidating fame. Not only is it regarded as one of the rarest titles ever released for Nintendo’s 8-bit console in Japan, but it’s also widely revered as the best shmup in the system. It's an extremely expensive vintage item, and in a world where emulation works in a flawless manner the joy of inserting that charming cartridge into an NES machine is mostly restricted to "crazy" people willing to spend a lot of money to get the real deal. I could surely feel the anticipation as I played it for the first time. That’s the moment when hype takes its toll on people, and in the case of Recca I have to confess I expected more.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a great shmup, with deep gameplay mechanics and a healthy array of extras to boot. It’s well known for pushing the hardware to the limit and for being the first game programmed by a guy named Shinobu Yagawa, who would make a stellar career in later titles such as Battle Garegga and Ibara. Recca is also considered by some people as the grandfather of bullet hell due to its frantic pace and high bullet count at times. I don’t agree with that, simply because all heavier bullet curtains can be blocked by a shield device that exempts the player from the need to dodge. Sure Recca is intense and fast, but this isn’t an exclusive trait - many other NES shmups, such as Zanac, are equally as rich and frantic.

What Recca has going for its strong reputation is a combination of three winning factors: challenge, bosses and music. We’re talking about a tough little shooter here, which while not reaching extreme difficulty levels still demands some time to be learned, beaten and eventually mastered (not talking about the arrange modes yet). There’s a great number of boss encounters of all shapes and sizes, and they help alleviate the asymmetrical structure of the stages. As for the music, it’s definitely one of the greatest collection of 8-bit shmup tunes I have ever heard, with dramatic, epic and even electronic undertones. No wonder the official CD soundtrack fetches high prices every time it shows up in online auctions.

A final boss to end all things

The most basic gameplay aspects to worry about are the power-ups. Once a certain amount of enemies is killed an item will appear. The blue one with a letter upgrades the main weapon, cycling in the following order: V (vulcan) → L (laser) → B (forward beam) → F (forwards/backwards, Star Soldier-type) → H (homing). The red item with a letter activates/upgrades a side pod, cycling in the following order: F (forward, slightly angled out) → B (back) → C (counter) → R (rotate) → S (search). With the main weapon (button B) it takes three of the same items to reach maximum power, and every surplus power-up is worth 10.000 points. Auxiliary pods (button A) fire a single smaller shot with less destructive power, and you also get 10.000 points for each extra power-up of the currently activated type. As for the blue items with no letters (medals that look like little eggs with wings), don’t let any of them go by and they’ll eventually be worth 2.000 points, starting with 50. Extra lives appear every once in a while, but you can't have more than 7 in reserve.

Ship speed can be selected between four available settings through the SELECT button. The slow first setting is a must against the first stage boss, but other than that the whole game should be managed in setting 2 or higher. The last and most important gameplay feature is the charged bomb: whenever you stop shooting an energy bubble will appear and grow in front of the ship, and as soon as the bomb meter is full just fire the main weapon to trigger the bomb. Bombing is the bane of all strategies in Recca, be it for survival or scoring. On the survival side, it blocks/absorbs all incoming bullets (a defense feature also provided by the auxiliary pods). On the scoring side, each absorbed bullet is worth 100 points, and every time a bomb remains charged you get 5 points per frame (1 point per frame while charging).

In a game where enemies will sweep by sometimes at blazing fast speeds, choosing the best weapons represents half the chance of surviving. My weapon of choice was the laser (L) because when maxed out it will home on anything ahead of the ship with great destructive power (excellent to take out those fast laser turrets in stage 3). F is also very useful, in fact it's the best weapon to upgrade first because of its coverage. The only really useful auxiliary pod is the search (S), since it will point and fire automatically at any on screen danger, and easily replaces the main weapon when the screen is not full of enemies. Besides all these resources, memorizing and getting used to enemy patterns is the only way to perform well, no need to worry about rank progression because there isn't any. Brute force works wonders, as well as anticipating the nastier sections with a charged bomb ready to detonate.

A credit in the normal game mode
(courtesy of YouTube user jinjinnim)

There are times when the scrolling speed is so fast that it's a bit taxing to keep up with what's going on. It's a neat dynamic effect that otherwise disguises the poor and overall generic graphics. The waving effect applied to the background from time to time is nice, but the first and fourth stages are basically comprised of cannon fodder and bosses against a dark star-filled or a static waving background. The HUD disappears completely during boss fights, obviously to allow for an optimal sprite manipulation, but it sucks not to know your speed setting or how many lives you have left.

Since Recca is such a busy game it's natural to have slowdown as well as flicker, though the latter is much more pronounced. There are no continues and the four stages in the main game take roughly 20 minutes to complete, but since there's no timeout on bosses it's possible to milk some of them for more points, as long as the whole run does not exceed 1 hour (remember that pausing the game doesn't pause the counter). Once beaten, resetting the game will set the main screen on fire and activate a harder arrange mode in the normal game selection. Comprised of seven stages with an outrageous increase in difficulty, this is where the NES gets really pushed beyond its limits, so prepare for a barrage of enemies and even heavier flicker. Though in the regular game it isn't so easy, in the arrange mode it's pretty much impossible not to reach the 9.999.999 counterstop value.

The extra modes are the main reason why the game's full name is Summer Carnival '92 - Recca. It was released in very small quantities as a competition cartridge which also includes some additional game modes: Time Attack (maximum score in 2 minutes), Score Attack (shortest time to achieve 1 million points) and Zanki Attack, a hidden mode accessed by a trick where the normal game is started with 50 lives and every killed enemy releases 4 or more suicide bullets at random directions. Zanki is pure craziness and feels totally unfair, but it's lots of fun just like the main game itself.

I clocked a little below half an hour when getting the following high score in the main game:

Viewpoint (Neo Geo)

2011-11-27T23:19:00.003-03:00

Isometric
Checkpoints ON
5 Difficulty levels
6 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sammy
Published by Sammy in 1992

On the matter of unique shooters, Viewpoint certainly deserves a nod as one of the most interesting ever developed. Bearing a striking resemblance with Sega’s classic Zaxxon, it makes things more simple by restricting the playing field to a 2D plane only, presenting itself as a genuinely “tilted” top-down shooter. Whereas Zaxxon allowed full displacement in three axes, in Viewpoint the gameplay remains strictly two-dimensional, as if you took your regular vertical shmup and bent it in order to achieve a pseudo 3D feel to everything. Probably the most famous isometric shooter besides Zaxxon, Viewpoint was originally conceived for the Neo Geo hardware, but it also received a good number of ports in other systems, such as the Mega Drive, the FM Towns, the Playstation and the Sharp X68000.

Of course the Neo Geo AES version is the arcade experience at home, and my first choice to try this much anticipated classic. I have fond memories of staring at game magazines back in 1992 and wondering when such an awesome-looking game would grace my eyes for real. The time has finally come, and in my opinion it totally lives up to its hype. After all, it’s got fascinating design, an excellent challenge level and spot-on controls – the aspect I feared the most before actually playing the game. I always thought it would be tricky to control the ship in such an unusual perspective, but I was actually surprised at how good the Neo Geo stock controller performed. It worked like a charm, absolutely no autofire needed.

This is isometric shooting action at its best

Hovering just a little bit above the ground and gliding along surfaces with the most varied textures, the ship in Viewpoint faces all sorts of enemies. In fact, the enemy gallery in this game embraces all kinds of weird design choices, contributing to deliver a rather trippy ride through all six stages. Popcorn stuff comes in wave formations and consist of spinning discs, little insects, tiny blocks, destructible rocks, small planes, etc. Then there are the larger creatures, such as weird propellers, giant wheels, spring toys, big fish, snakes, turtles, maggots, insects, tanks, mechanical walkers, etc. Several types of turrets will also materialize all over the place. Bosses are always huge and mostly comprised of several forms: there’s a worm, a crab, a moth, a large hovercraft, an evil skull and an undescribable creature as the ultimate enemy. There’s always one weak spot that should be exploited when fighting bosses, and that’s the first indication of the advantage related to using the charge shot.

The only upgrade available for the main weapon supplies the ship with a pair of side pods/options that fire two auxiliary shots and have the ability to block bullets and damage enemies. It’s always the first item to appear from the one of the carrier circles. Holding down the fire button for a brief while and releasing it produces a charge shot that besides inflicting more damage is also capable of destroying several smaller enemies in a row. There are instances where tapping the button for regular fire is better, normally against a flock of enemies arriving from different directions, but using the charge shot wisely is the key for better results and faster kills.

Special weapons come in three forms: the fire wall (F - red), the shock wave (W - blue) and the homing missiles (H - green). You can stock three of them, and if the stock is full the next special weapon will replace the oldest one. They’re all equally useful, and since there’s no special bonus whatsoever for life/weapon stock, there’s no need to be stingy with them. Remaining items released by carrier circles can be a shield and a star. The shield changes its color as the player gets hit, protecting the ship against two bullets (enemy contact is always fatal regardless). Stars are the secret to score higher, and collecting them without dying makes their value increase up to 81.560 points each (500 > 1.000 > 3.310 > 5.000 > 10.000 > 33.100 > 50.000 > 81.560). Most stars appear by killing specific enemies or full enemy waves, and some of these waves can be triggered by fulfilling certain actions. The best example is the rotating blockade in the middle of the first stage: destroy it and an extra popcorn wave will appear to the left, for which a star will be won if you don’t let any of them escape. Enemy waves may also release special weapons in certain parts of the game.

Though it’s possible to milk bosses for their cannon fodder, this is highly discouraged because these beasts are quite nasty in their patterns, there’s no such thing as safe spots and the star bonuses are much more attractive. Extends are given with 50.000 and 80.000 points only, with a single 1UP to be grabbed in the last stage (the golden sphere amidst the lightning poles).

Montage with Viewpoint's automatic demonstration sequences
(courtesy of YouTube user narox)

I enjoy the visuals in this game a lot. I can definitely see an overall emphasis in an insect theme, even though I can’t say that would be the main design motif. The music in Viewpoint is a chapter of its own, with a remarkably groovy, funky, offbeat soundtrack that’s both relaxing and awesome at the same time (baby!). Regarding the gameplay, there’s actually a reason why the ship seems to be a tad slow. With the exception of the bullet spreads from larger foes, all enemy bullets are aimed. Constant movement is paramount for survival, and combined with well placed charge shots and a few intense albeit short tapping bursts it makes for a nice approach towards the apparently daunting difficulty of the game. There is no rank, so every enemy pattern will always be the same. One thing I noticed is that it’s always better to escape enemies that chase you by doing lateral moves instead of forward/backward evasions (the centipedes, the fireballs from the third boss, the flame rings from the last boss).

Besides the design excellence, Viewpoint has flawless hit detection (nobody can blame the perspective for dying), an outstanding lack of flicker and only brief spells of slowdown when the screen gets too cluttered with moving sprites. It's a mandatory title for every serious shmupper out there, and deserves a place of honor as one of the defining games in the Neo Geo library. From the videos I've checked the Neo Geo CD iteration is basically the same as the cartridge, except for the loading times and seemingly more slowdown. Contrary to what one would expect, the music is no step up from the original though.

In the high score below I died before the 5th boss, playing in the MVS difficulty setting without autofire. I guess some of the star bonuses I lost were compensated by a few failed attempts at defeating the final boss, but I'm satisfied with this score for now.

Xexyz (NES)

2011-11-21T00:48:00.001-03:00

Hybrid (Platform / Horizontal)
Checkpoints OFF/ON
1 Difficulty level
11 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Atlus
Published by Hudson Soft in 1989

Not too long ago my video game routine wasn’t restricted to shmups only, and platform and run’n’gun games were also an active part of my hobby. I can’t play them for the life of me these days, but I still cherish each and every one of my old achievements.

Recently I was able to reminisce those days by playing another genre hybrid. No other console has as many shmup hybrids as the NES does, and Xexyz is probably one of the most balanced mash-ups of platformer and shooter, in that it combines each genre in equal proportions in a story that takes place in the year 2.777. Xexyz is the name of the kingdom that represents what’s left of humanity. You play as Apollo, a lonesome fighter who battles an alien mechanical menace to save Xexyz. Heroic, you say? Sure, but we all know his real motivation is none other than rescuing a beautiful princess. And you still doubt the fact that women are behind every single act in a man’s life?

Going back to the ancient dynamics of jumping and shooting was nice and brought back some unforgettable memories, such as pit deaths. They’re all over Xexyz, especially from stage 5 onwards, where I would often lose lots of lives by badly timing my jump against the droplets falling from the ceiling. Exploration is intense, and the adventure side of it demands that you talk to a handful of characters and dealers in order to increase your firepower and advance to the next areas. I admit I was a bit scared of being overwhelmed by this aspect of the game, but fortunately it never felt like grinding – in that regard, the length of the adventure is fine and makes for a good old fashioned gaming session.

Riding a shark narwhal and shooting jellyfish

The quest takes place in 11 worlds/stages. Odd numbered stages start as platformers, where Apollo needs to battle enemies and take a hidden Force Star from a demon in order to have access to the mechanical castle. Once inside, he needs to go through a series of chambers, a brief interlude comprised of two to three sections of horizontal shooting, a few more platforming rooms and then the boss, for which he'll receive a flying platform for a shooter-style fight. Even numbered stages are short shmup levels where you fly a cyborg rider given as a gift by the people you just freed in the previous world. The boss has to be fought on this cyborg rider as well.

In the platform stages Apollo is allowed to jump and use weapons (shoot) and magic. The basic weapon is pretty weak, but better ones are revealed later: 45B Ball (appears already on the first stage), the wave ball (3rd stage), moon ball (5th stage) and the laser (9th stage). Even though the laser is the most powerful weapon, my favorite is the moon ball because of its built-in “crouching whip”: just duck and press the shot button once, and a short-range moving whip will materialize around you. It’s great for protection and powerful enough to take down all enemies. Magic can appear as foot wing (jump higher and fall slower), mirror (add a mirror image over Apollo’s head and double firepower) and typhoon (9 second invincibility). Foot wing and mirror disappear once Apollo takes three hits. Remember that it’s regularly possible to reach higher platforms by pressing ↑ at the same time you jump.

Every life comes with a health bar, and the game starts with a stock of 50 E-balls. E-ball is the currency/money used to buy items. Defeated enemies release E-balls for immediate pick-up, as well as L items for health recovery. Health is automatically restored before a boss fight and maximum health is increased right afterwards, when a new cyborg rider is boarded. By the end of the game that health gauge is completely full. As for money, it’s possible to get it faster by playing the mini-games found in some of the floating or the ground doors (press ↑ to enter). The doors also allow the hero to interact with other characters, which include fairies giving warnings, generous people who will give away magic, new weapons or money, a weapons/magic dealer, a healer frog, a lady that charges 40 E-balls to power-up your weapon and a useless information seller (he never got a dime from me). The mini-games can be a bet, a chest draw or a challenge to beat an enemy in order to free a captive lady/fairy (the girl in the hot tub is one of the greatest sights in the game). Now for a little trick: every time you go into a door with a luck game or a new weapon, return to it again to play the game one more time or to have said weapon powered up (you only power up once).

Compared to the platforming areas, the shmup parts are much more straightforward. During the odd stage interludes every section ends in two doors. One of them will lead to the next room, the other will loop Apollo back. Collect S for speed-ups and P to increase power. Every cyborg rider has its own weapon features, evolving either into a spread pattern, a 45º auxiliary shot, an additional rear shot or a plain upgrade in the forward shot. All shmup parts are self-contained, so you always have to power up again once a new section starts.

Stages 5 and 6 of Xexyz
(courtesy of YouTube user syxx573)

Xexyz is heavier on the platform side, but that happens only because that’s where the real challenge lies. Other than those dreadful pits, finding the hidden star in the scenery in order to reveal the gate to the demon was the most demanding thing to do. Fortunately there’s only five of these in the whole game. Every stage adds new enemies to the previous gallery and subtle graphical details are pretty cool, such as the way Apollo changes color according to the weapon he’s wielding. Pit deaths and random items from killed enemies reminded me of the Mega Man series, and the round blocks in stage 5 seem to have been taken out directly from Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Shmup sections are very easy, and with rare exceptions so are the bosses, huge creatures with easily foreseeable patterns (that cheap shark got me once). Some of the brightest and coolest graphics appear in the shmup parts, and while flicker does kick in (mainly during boss fights) it’s never that much of a problem. I only experienced slowdown with the moon ball weapon during busy platform parts.

An extra life will be granted every time you score 500.000 points, but you can only see the number of lives when you die or when a new stage starts. Even as an adventure game, I wish the disregard towards scoring wasn’t so pronounced in Xexyz. There’s no time limit anywhere, enemies respawn aplenty during the platform parts and the last glimpse you’ll ever have of your score is in your final conversation with the elder god prior to the fight against final boss Goruza. For such a fun little hybrid it’s not such a letdown, but it’s obvious that taking the score system for granted is a sad, sad loss. As with any other game, a minimum concern with score would have boosted replay value way beyond the simple ideas of fun and amusement. And although not bad at all, the lack of variation in the musical score makes it sound as if the same tunes are playing over and over.

Once Goruza is dead you’re presented with a final showdown against the enemy’s base, in a Galaxy Force fashion. The aiming reticle is extremely awkward but it’s not a tough battle by any means, and the ending gives a nice closure to the game - remember Apollo’s real motivation! Below is my score before I entered the chamber to fight evil Goruza, playing with a turbo controller.

Eliminate Down (Mega Drive)

2011-11-16T00:54:00.003-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
8 Stages
Ship speed selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by Aprinet
Published by Soft Vision in 1993

Shmuppers who love the 16-bit era of gaming know that Eliminate Down is a rare and expensive beast, and they often curse the powers that were for not letting the game leave its native Japan. The idiosyncratic title is a mystery that has no solution even within the game itself, a behemoth of 16-bit awesomeness with an organic theme that resembles Salamander but plays a lot differently, in a gameplay style that's closer to the likes of Thunder Force III and Hellfire. Talking Mega Drive shmups only, its rarity and market value are only rivaled by that of Slap Fight, and since the game was never ported to any other platform the only option left is either emulation or a good chunk of money (often >U$300 as of today). In my humble opinion it's totally worth it, it doesn't matter if you're a collector or a true gamer. Eliminate Down is definitely one of those cases where rarity goes hand in hand with quality.

Just taking a quick glance at the first stage is enough to have an idea of the game's bold scope of design. The spaceship appears amidst an ongoing battle with lots of other ships in the background, being welcomed by a space worm and descending on a planet right afterwards as a series of missiles is launched from its surface. The stage ends with a boss fight on a desolate desert landscape that scrolls by with a nice parallax effect. If you pay close attention to the music you'll notice there's a total of four BGMs in the first stage alone: one before the mid-boss, one during the mid-boss fight, one that starts after the mid-bosss is killed and another one that plays during the boss confrontation. Even though the music is the only aspect that deserves criticism on my part, this is a clear indication of how much zeal was applied to the whole game.

An undescribable creature with an arsenal of surprises

Getting the hang of how to use the available weapons is the first thing you need to do to enjoy Eliminate Down. There are three of them: (1) a forward spread pattern, (2) a missile launcher that drops bombs above and below the ship and (3) a rear shot. They are fired with B and cycled with both the A or C buttons, but always in the same order (1 → 2 → 3 → 1). Cycling weapons is essential and should become natural if the player wants to perform well in some of the trickier passages in the game. The use of two buttons with the same function is a bit of a waste because one of them could've been used to set the ship's speed - just like in MUSHA , here you need to pause the game in order to select the ship's speed. I restrict my approach to the B and C buttons since I like to play with the default speed 100% of the time.

Power-up items (P) are obtained by destroying a specific wave of drones, and for every 5 collected you upgrade one level of all weapons. There are two upgrades in total, so it takes 10 power-ups to max out firepower. Further power-ups will result in 100.000 points for every group of five. All other items are released by single drones that appear from time to time: the barrier/shield (B) grants the ship with a protection against two hits, and the energy cell (E) increases the power of the ship's forward single shot, which remains active regardless of the weapon selected. In its final upgrade it takes the form of a piercing laser that's capable of hitting enemies through walls. Whenever you die you lose one power level, so it's possible to recover pretty fast depending on how you perform during the next wave of power-ups.

Eliminate Down has a classic structure with very distinct stages and gameplay that rewards memorization and strategy. As long as you're able to keep the shield energized things always feel under control, but as soon as the shield is down a dreadful sense of danger kicks in, much like the feeling you get when you've got a naked Silver Hawk in any Darius game. Enemies are sneaky and deadly, and lots of dangerous situations are imposed by the stage design alone. Stage 7 is probably the most treacherous of all levels, with moving walls everywhere, inverted scrolling and a huge sudden fire beam prior to the boss. It's cheap just on the first go, once you get there again you can't help but feel the power as you anticipate everything towards victory. As for bosses, they're all large and varied, demanding lots of dodging and/or careful positioning in order to be defeated. As a rule of thumb, some weapons are more suitable than others in certain occasions, and aggressive point blanking is recommended in order to kill stronger enemies faster. Try doing it with the mid-boss in the first stage, he'll die before even turning back.

Three initial stages of pure awesome
(courtesy of YouTube user Mushaaleste)

There is absolutely no doubt that this is a rock-solid shooter with decent challenge and outstanding atmosphere. A little bit of flicker and slowdown must be expected, but it's nothing serious. Some BGMs are memorable (that wonderful 3rd stage!), but the compositions in general aren't on the same level of excellence present in the rest of the game. A few areas allow you to rack points forever (bosses), and while this detracts a little from the overall result it doesn't stop anyone from enjoying one of the greatest shmups of the 16-bit era. I never heard of any other Aprinet or Soft Vision product other than a racing game starring Satoru Nakajima, which makes me kinda sad.

If you go to the options screen you can play a mini-game where the objective is to bomb the moving ships within the board (no light gun support, sorry). Depending on how well you perform you're allowed to select from a certain number of stages upon starting the game.

Extends in Eliminate Down are score-based: the first one comes with 300.000 points, and for each 500.000 points afterwards you get a new life. Since every life in stock is converted into an enormous bonus upon game completion, the less lives you lose the more you score. I managed to achieve a no-miss run on NORMAL, and the result is in the picture below.

A Shooter (Xbox Live)

2011-11-12T00:39:00.001-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
13 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sorcery Games
Published by Sorcery Games in 2010

Ladies and gentlemen, behold one of the contenders for game with the most generic title ever. Any doubts about that? And the best thing about A Shooter is that it is, well, a shooter! Although this little game fails miserably to sell itself and is often object of mockery upon a quick glance at its cover, the truth is that it's actually quite decent given the budget constraints and the limited production values involved. Once again, it's an example that in order to do things the right way one needs no big money and no big name. Keep it simple, but keep it good and make it interesting.

In the shmup world there's nothing more classic and emblematic than a spaceship cruising the vastness of outer space shooting other spaceships. That's exactly where A Shooter starts, against a shy background of scrolling stars and punctuated with just a few enemies prior to an easy boss fight. It's pretty underwhelming, to be honest. But then the magic of the genre (and the cleverness of the developer) starts to rear its shiny head. With the exception of the scrolling stars in the background, which remain the same throughout the whole game, everything else will receive a welcome boost that turns A Shooter into a surprisingly challenging and fun experience.

It seems dull, but it's actually fun

Every level comes with one power-up hidden inside a pink meteor. Power-up effect is permanent, but don't miss one or you'll be slightly underpowered during the next wave. The initial firepower is almost a joke because it's so weak, only by stage 3 it starts getting better. Each level adds a new enemy to the ones you've already dealt with, steadily increasing the challenge and the need to focus in specific dangers. As for the bosses, they're basically the same small ship that shoots the most varied bullet configurations, also getting harder with every level. One of the best features in A Shooter is that the stages are short, so the slow pace never results in dull gameplay, rather instilling the will to come back for more. Even though there are no continues, the game saves your progress and allows the selection of any beaten stage when you start a credit.

The player is allowed to take two hits before dying, and this is indicated by the color of the ship's core: green means no hits taken, yellow means you've been hit once and red is a warning of imminent GAME OVER. This life/health reserve is reset in every stage, so you'll always be able to sustain at least two hits per level. At first I thought this made the game too easy, but by the time I got to stage 9 I didn't feel the same way anymore. Blame it on the ship's large hitbox and slow speed, which demand a strict adaptation to enemy behavior and bullet manipulation. Fortunately hit detection is implemented in a competent manner, so the game never gets unfair. Tough, yes, sometimes even close to bullet hell, but not cheap at all.

Starting stock for bombs is three, and for every defeated boss you get another one out of three types: the bullet nullifier, the bullet deflector and the bullet applefier (or fruiterizer, as the developer calls it). This last one is pretty cool, since it turns all enemy bullets into apples that are worth 500 points each. Scorewise it's the only type of bomb worth using (and only during the last stages), since unused bombs result in a better end-of-stage bonus. Speaking of which, a 100% health (green core) at the end of the stage yields increasingly higher bonuses, so don't get hit and watch you scores inflate. Other collectibles that are worth something are the stars (cumulative value within the stage, up to 10.000 points each) and the occasional bee (worth 10.000 points).

Bomb treatment could've been better. A full stock will not let you incorporate the new one you get from a defeated boss. The game always starts with three nullifiers, so if you want to get the applefier it's mandatory to bomb in order to gamble on new random bombs. There's a reasonable default autofire enabled, but if necessary you can get a slightly better firing rate by tapping the button.

Trailer for A Shooter
(courtesy of YouTube user and developer SorceryGames)

A Shooter is worthwhile fun and shows a near perfect balance between a humble indie spirit, length and challenge. The music is excellent and the loud sound effects for the explosions are great. If you want to mess with the backgrounds there are several sizes you can apply to the scrolling stars in the OPTIONS menu, it's even possible to eliminate them completely. I was slightly impressed with the written tutorial, because in teaching how to play the game it also gives very solid information on how to approach gameplay in any given shmup. It's especially useful for uninitiated gamers who want to get better at the genre. Who would guess such a nice lecture would be hidden inside a little indie shmup?

The local leaderboard does not make any distinction between difficulty levels, which is a shame. There is also a global table but it's disabled on my console, probably because I'm not a gold subscriber... And below is the 1CC result I achieved on NORMAL:

Rez (Dreamcast)

2011-11-10T01:39:00.002-03:00

Rail shooter
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by United Game Artists
Published by Sega in 2001

Among some of the most intriguing games ever designed and commercially released, Rez is certainly one to raise controversy, be it for its effectiveness as a video game or simply its genre labeling. Emerging from the legacy of the Panzer Dragoon series and infused with unique characteristics that provide a departure from the common rail shooter formula, Rez is seen by many people as an experience rather than a proper game. Sega’s marketing is partially to blame for this because the game debuted on the Dreamcast, but in all honesty there isn’t that much reason for such a fuss. In the end of the day, Rez is a game like any other, with strengths and weaknesses, and definitely worth a try regardless of genre conventions.

Now for the inevitable question: is Rez a shmup? If you agree that rail shooters qualify then the answer is yes. However, Rez is a very special type of rail shooter. Whereas in Panzer Dragoon you possess a mild ability to dodge incoming fire, in Rez you just don’t have it. Your avatar sits there in the middle of the screen, and with very few exceptions every enemy projectile that’s not destroyed will hit you and devolve your current evolutionary form. Therefore, basic gameplay is down to one simple rule: hit them before they hit you. The whole stage and sound design revolves around this concept, and every action the player takes has an influence in the music.

What the developers tried to create is a strong interaction between the player and the game, with the objective of establishing an aural synesthesia that’s supposed to “unite” both. Every shot fired inserts a beat into the rhythm, and every different form you assume (out of six) will change this beat according to a specific frequency. BPM evolves and accelerates as the stage sections unfold, following your invasion into a virtual reality. The character's main mission is to the breach the security of several layers of code (10 per stage) and free an imprisoned digital being known as Eden, all of this while going through a series of trippy, abstract landscapes to the sound of five electronic music tracks. Sound is so important in Rez that the relation between its quality and the overall experience is explicitly stressed even before the Sega logo appears when loading the game.

An ever-changing being inside a melting reality

The journey starts with the character in its primary form, a humanoid shape comprised of single geometrical forms. If you get hit you revert to the most basic and defenseless form, the sphere (another hit taken means death). Higher forms come in the shape of two more complete humanoid figures, a flying guru, a pulsating energy sphere and a fetus. In order to evolve you have to collect blue power-ups left by selected enemies - it takes 8 of these to advance to the next form. Destroying enemies is done by using a reticle. You can either aim and shoot or hold the fire button while you lock onto a maximum of 8 targets or hit points. Once locked, release the button and watch as the targets take damage. Besides the blue power-up there's also a red power-up that fills one cell of the overdrive bar. Overdrive is just another name for the screen-clearing bomb: use it to become invincible and kill everything in sight for a short time.

Rez is a deeply layered shooter, and it's not possible to tell it just by the main game mode alone. This mode, for instance, has absolutely no score - what you get at the end of every stage are just stats on the percentage of subareas "analyzed", enemies shot down and items collected. Progress is saved and you can repeat stages at will, unlocking a specific score attack mode for every level you beat, but you only get access to the last stage by achieving a 100% analyzation rate in the previous 4 stages (shooting down all the cubes that separates the layers). The real fun starts once the game is fully beaten, because then you unlock the "Beyond" mode, which includes two options called Direct Assault and Lost Area. Direct Assault is the proper game with scoring, stages in order and no continues. Lost area is just a single stage with different enemies, I wonder if it's the remainder of a beta version named K-Project (a homage to abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky, a major influence on the whole game). There are many other unlockables in Rez, most of them cascaded with beating currently unlocked modes. Extra color schemes and extra music tracks and sounds are the most useful ones; Travelling and Trance modes are just to chill out, since you don't take any damage when playing them.

It’s great to know that Rez allows a proper scoring challenge with the Beyond/Direct Assault mode. Unfortunately, delving into the scoring system also exposes the inherent flaws of the game design. Scoring works in a simple multiplier scheme, in that the more targets you lock the higher the multiplier, up to ×8 (essential hint: enable the point display in the options to see your multiplier during any score-based mode). Going for a higher score means pursuing a maximum multiplier at all times, which increases the chance of letting enemies escape (if they leave the screen you lose the multiplier) and decreases the chance of getting the best endings. These endings are achieved by getting the best shot down percentage you can in stage 5, thresholds being 95% and 100%, with a final evolutionary form upon game completion. The worst thing of all is that you only know your stats after the stage ends, so it's impossible to evaluate how you're doing during the actual gameplay. When aiming for the best endings the best strategy is to kill everything on sight on the 5th stage, which totally goes against scoring. So which player do you want to be: a scorer or a killer?

Breaching virtual security and evolving in the 5th stage of Rez
(courtesy of YouTube user TeamAndromeda)

Abstract graphics with sections that blend with each other beautifully, a profusion of colors and the audio boldness are what make some people define Rez as an experience rather than a game. Sure you can take the easy route and target everything without worrying about the lock-on. Going through all stages and flying through all those sections and bosses feels great when you're in the right state of mind. However, things get a lot more serious (and a lot more fun in my opinion) when scoring is considered. For starters, the top score in the Direct Assault mode is one million points, which is considerably high and demands absolute focus and a lot more risk if you want to take over 1st place. Furthermore, performing well during a stage triggers a harder boss at the end of it. In any case, balancing lock-ons for a higher score while getting the best possible shot down ratio is the ultimate achievement you can get.

Regardless of the approach, Rez is one of those titles that must be tried at least once, even if you're not a fan of rail shooters. Alternative options to the Dreamcast version can be found on the PS2 and the Xbox 360. On the 1CC highest score shown below (Beyond > Direct Assault) I got the ending where Eden opens her hands and the screen fades to white. No butterflies yet, maybe in the future, in one of the other versions... This time I did beat the game in the final form, but the shot down ratio was 87,79%, with an item count of 70,59%.

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 (PSP)

2011-11-06T00:27:00.003-03:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by SNK in 1989
Published by SNK Playmore in 2011

Coming out from SNK in its pre-Neo Geo days, Prehistoric Isle in 1930 is a dinosaur-ridden shooter full of creativity and heavily bent on destroying unaware players who refuse to approach the game in a methodical way. On my first sessions, while flying back and forth to Rio, it was excruciatingly hard just to get past the second stage. Sure I could blame the PSP format and its stinky d-pad, but even after I turned on to MAME for practice it took me a long time to feel comfortable with the game and get the confidence needed to return to the PSP.

The SNK Arcade Classics 0 compilation was released in April 2011 for the PSP in Japan, and a first round of testing quickly showed that Prehistoric Isle was the highlight of the game selection - for us shmuppers anyway. It was just too cool to be left aside, and really well made for a 1989 title. If there ever was anything game-related made with dinosaurs that sucked, the people involved should be hanged and sliced to pieces. There’s such a strong and fantastic aura about dinosaurs that even the most lackluster products involving these extinct animals aren’t really a waste. Of course that’s not the case here, so shooter fans who dig great production values and a good challenge will have nothing to complain about.

A biplane (or biplanes in co-op play) is sent on a mission to investigate strange occurrences in the area of the Bermuda Triangle, around a “Greenhell Isle”. The island is dangerous and filled with all sorts of prehistoric menaces, from insects to cavemen and large reptiles. There are no signs of civilization anywhere, and the only help you get comes from inside the flying eggs that carry power-ups.

A clunky stegosaur lurks inside the caves of the last stage

One of the most cruel facts about Prehistoric Isle is that it deceives the audience into thinking that the pod/orb you get once you collect your first power-up will be there to help you throughout the whole game. You're allowed to rotate it clockwise around the plane at the press of a button, taking advantage of its R-Typeish nature of blocking most incoming fire, damaging enemies and providing extra firepower. However, after a certain amount of beating the pod will lose its color (some people say it "rusts"), and the next damage taken will make it disappear. To restore the pod's health you must either take another power-up or collect a specific special item (keep reading). Problem 1: once you reach maximum power (5 Ps), power-ups cease to appear. Problem 2: the special items are random and sometimes don't appear at all.

Once the pod disintegrates, power-ups start showing up again. Then the whole process of activating the pod and further increasing its strength restarts, but depending on when this happens you're pretty much overwhelmed and screwed beyond belief by the prehistoric creatures and unforgiving bosses. It's sincerely disconcerting to see a great credit end in sheer desperation due to the loss of the pod. This realization is the bane of the gameplay in Prehistoric Isle: all the player's efforts must be aimed at preserving pod health. Let it take hits only when extremely necessary, such as during the fight against the second boss, and pray for one of the healing special items to appear at key points in the game. Besides power-ups (P) and speed-ups (S), destroyed eggs also bring money ($, worth from 100 to 1.000 points), a 5s time-bomb, a rapid-fire powerful cannon or an all-encompassing pod shield that makes you virtually invincible. Now here's the catch: only these last two items (the cannon and the shield) restore the pod to its full health once their temporary effect has passed. They may appear only at certain points in the game: twice in the 1st, once in the 3rd and once in the 4th stage. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, it's actually very common to play the whole game with none of them appearing at all.

Without the pod there's no chance at surviving in the game. Its protection function cannot be used when you're at full power, but the extra weaponry it provides should be exploited at all times. When pointing forward, it will replace the normal shot with a powerful cannon; diagonals down will release bombs like in Darius; pointing up and down unleashes a fire wave that bounces on surfaces; and diagonals up shoot energy balls in 45° that also bounce back. Anticipating the danger is the best way to use the pod's capabilities and have a chance at winning. Factor in the timing when moving the pod and you have yet another gameplay aspect to deal with, since turning it past the point where you want it to rest can be fatal. On the PSP you can configure the buttons at will, but unfortunately it does not offer an autofire option. We're talking about hardcore portable shmupping at its best here!

Though very hard, not everything in the gameplay works in favor of difficulty. Touching walls will only make you bounce slightly, and it's impossible to get too fast by taking successive speed-ups. Extends are score-based and come with 100.000 and 200.000 points only.

Watch out for the brachiosaur's bite!
(courtesy of YouTube user DarkMurdoc666)

Some hints to score higher: kill all enemies in a single wave to get an extra bonus; certain enemies spawn smaller versions of themselves or generate insects, so letting them live is advantageous; wait to collect money until it's about to leave the screen, since it's always worth more points this way; rank is related to survival, and more enemies are generated the longer you go on without dying.

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 has tons of variety in its enemy and stage design. With the exception of the quick second stage all levels are quite long, with bosses and mid-bosses that are described by brief stat messages before they enter the screen. Cavemen will try to bring you down by grabbing the plane and inducing an extra amount of weight, never mind the lack of proportions between them and everything else you see. Every stage is unique in its setting, the use of color is outstanding, sound effects of animal growls abound (there's even a nautilus that barks!) and the music is so good and fitting it could be used in any Land of the Lost episode or remake with excellent results.

On the SNK Arcade Classics 0 disc, SELECT pauses the game and calls up the menu, and START initiates a credit. Prehistoric Isle can be played in its original resolution or stretched, and either one is fine. Extras include a sound test and a graphic gallery with posters and arcade flyers for all titles. I played the game with the PSP connected to the TV, and cleared it losing two lives in the last section of the caverns, just before the tyrannosaurus (the same one that growls in the game's opening screen and isn't as tough as a few of the previous bosses).

Gunbird (Playstation)

2011-11-02T20:49:00.000-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
7 Difficulty levels
7 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed, selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Psikyo
Published by Atlus in 1995

After its debut in the arcade scene as a full-blown company with Sengoku Ace, Psikyo gave birth to two new shmup series practically at the same time. While Strikers 1945 adopted a straightforward military theme, its sibling Gunbird invested in a fantasy setting with slightly wacky humor. Both share the same basic structure, therefore the "sibling" association and the undeniable stench of lazyness that pops up whenever people start digging deep into Psikyo's output. Yes, Strikers 1945 and Gunbird are indeed drawn out from the same mold, shmup soul mates that have been poorly scrutinized by critics and players alike. But that doesn't mean these games aren't worthwhile.

The truth is that value in Psikyo games is almost exclusively gauged by gameplay, unlike the majority of titles out there, even shmups. Unless you find that sweet spot where a Psikyo shmup starts getting compelling, more often than not you're left with a "very short game" and varying degrees of frustration. Appreciation for graphical design, though well deserved in its own right, is put aside in face of the game's merciless bullet patterns. What matters is that Gunbird is quintessential Psikyo, not overly tough but no walk in the park either, and offers a great burst of fun that's also a nice way to test if the company's style is your cup of tea. The Playstation port is a controversial choice to try it, but more on that later.

Choosing one of five characters will make the game more or less difficult, never mind their polemic characterizations. Ash is supposed to be a pedophile and Tetsu is openly homossexual, but that I derived from others who were able to read the Japanese text in the cut scenes. Too bad I can't understand them.

Yuan Nang floats on her cloud against one of the bosses

All characters have the same basic attacks, which consist of the normal weapon (rapid fire), a charge shot and a bomb. They all have varying speeds and mildly different charging times, with bombs that might make a difference between life and death when you're trapped - Ash and Tetsu were shafted with a noticeable delay on their bombs, so extra planning is definitely needed when using them (no panic function for these guys). However, Ash is the fastest and has the strongest shot, while Tetsu is the slowest and weakest with the exception of his powerful long-range charge shot, which seems to take longer than the others to charge. In the middle spectrum we have protagonist Marion, a Sailor Moon-esque teenager who rides a broom, controls a talking rabbit (obvious Alice in Wonderland reference) and whose average firepower is complemented by homing stars (good to take out random popcorn stuff). Yuan Nang and Valnus both share devastating close-range charge shots, but since his bomb lacks power it's quite clear that Nang is the best character in the game.

Items are released by oval carriers, larger enemies or boss parts, and consist of power-ups (P) and extra bombs (B). Psikyo implemented a timed power-down scheme in Gunbird: it takes three power-up items to reach maximum power, but this maximum level only lasts for a while unless you take another P before this time expires, for which you also score 2.000 extra points. Probably in order to compensate for this and the increasing bullet count, whenever you touch an enemy one of your power-ups will get loose and wander off for you to re-take it (if you're at the default level you start expelling bombs). After a while you'll pretty much find yourself preserving power-ups on screen so that you can always be at maximum power and benefit from the score bonuses. Scoring can also be positively affected by taking ground coins and by destroying all boss parts before dispatching them.

The initial three stages are shuffled from four available ones, with the last four being played in a fixed order. Bosses are huge machines operated by a group of vile and funny thugs led by a femme fatale, who stole and broke a magical mirror that all heroes are trying to put back together in order to fight the evil last boss, as seen in the intro to the game. Dialogue is shown both in-game and between stages, and if you're playing in co-op they will change to reflect the interaction between the characters. I like the music and the way it goes from cartoony compositions to darker, more serious tunes as the game comes closer to the final sections.

The horrendous US port from XS Games
(courtesy of YouTube user Vysethedetermined2)

Just like most Psikyo shooters, Gunbird rewards aggressive play and encourages point-blank strategies. Rank is dependent on survival, and the longer you stay alive the faster bullets will come towards you. Playing this game in short bursts is probably the best approach to avoid burnouts and ragequits, soon enough it clicks and the loop is reasonably within reach. There's only one extend at 600.000 points, and if you're able to beat the game prepare for a speedy bullet hell in the second loop. Remember that continuing doesn't reset the score, instead it adds a "1" to the last digit.

Regarding the Playstation ports, the copy I own is the Japanese one. It comes with character and art galleries as extras, and the game itself runs in a wobbling fashion that's not as bad as it sounds. Unfortunately there's no saving functionality and no TATE option either, both being the main reasons why Gunbird on the Saturn (Japan exclusive) is the superior port if you have to choose one. Please avoid the US localization for the PS1. Released by XS Games in 2003 as Mobile Light Force, it's an atrocity that disfigures the original character design beyond recognition, since it changes some of their names and removes all the in-game text. In this version Valnus is called Milf 2000! What were these people thinking?? They also removed the animated intro and all galleries present in the Japanese port. Well, at least the gameplay was left intact, if that counts for something...

Since I had already used Yuan Nang when I beat the Saturn version, this time around I played with Marion. The final score below ended at the boss in stage 2-1, with the default difficulty setting (5).

Burning Angels (PC Engine)

2011-10-25T23:29:00.001-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by naxat soft
Published by naxat soft in 1990

The introduction to Burning Angels shows one of the “angels” – girls who pilot spaceships – being kidnapped by nasty evildoers. I wonder if there was supposed to be some inspirational connection with Charlie’s Angels, since the two remaining girls responsible for rescueing the kidnapped one always appear in sexy outfits while controlling their respective ships, kinda like what you’d expect from an edgy serial starred by strong female leads. The “burning” part of the title certainly refers to the special weapons these girls are able to deploy, so brace up for a fast, reflex-driven vertical shooter as you choose one of them to rescue your colleague.

Despite its strong run-of-the-mill nature, Burning Angels tries to be a little different by having two screen modes to choose from. Not only can you play the game in full screen resolution, but you can also shrink it horizontally in order to emulate an arcadey feel on your TV set. I didn’t like this mode at all, it seemed unnatural with everything looking horribly compressed. A real TATE mode would’ve been better, but I guess it was too much to ask from a console game back in 1990. Co-op play was a much more feasible asset, and if you like to shmup with a friend then this one is yet another choice for some serious shooting cooperation.

3rd stage stones cannot be destroyed, only slowed down

When playing solo, you can choose one of the two heroines who pilot two different spaceships: the Dragon and the "Phenix". Both travel at the same speed but have a very distinct arsenal. The Dragon ship is equipped with a wave shot as its main weapon, with fixed pods and long-range missiles. The "Phenix" ship shoots what seems to be bubbles, has rotating pods and short-range exploding missiles. All icons are released by a pink carrier: P increases the ship's power, B activates the auxiliary pods, M activates the missiles and L refills a bit of the health meter. After a while stars start appearing: collect them in order to fill the "burning" bar located between both ship's huds. If this bar is at the blue level, press combinations of buttons I or II with SELECT and watch as both ships merge in order to unleash a devastating attack. Button I + SELECT will turn the ship's firepower into a deadly laser beam, while button II + SELECT will render the ship invincible as it assumes the form of a flaming phoenix. Pressing SELECT without combining it with any of the buttons has no results whatsoever.

Every time you get hit you lose a little health and part of your firepower is reduced. First you lose the missiles, then the pods and then one power-up level until you get back to the default shot (it takes two Ps to max out the main weapon). Pods are capable of inflicting damage and absorbing bullets, and represent the best defense against some enemies who shoot only when they get very close to the bottom of the screen. It was pretty clear to me after just a few tries that the Dragon ship is better than the "Phenix", whose only advantage is a more powerful missile attack. There's no problem if you're able to keep all power-ups with the "Phenix", but once you start getting hit and you lose power it's really tough to keep up with the enemy waves. The rotating pods are also very unreliable when trying to block incoming bullets.

One of the trademarks in Burning Angels is how aggressive the initial bosses are. Their attacks are blazing fast and practically demand that you activate the burning attack if you want to get past them unharmed. Getting rammed by them also takes away a much larger chunk of health. A good strategy is to activate the burning attack before their nastier moves, knowing that the burning power is used only when you actually press the fire button. The third boss, for instance, can be defeated really fast before he does his initial clockwise arc if you use the burning laser for a brief while. In all cases, burning energy must be properly managed because it's not easy to refill the bar up to the blue level once you deplete it completely.

Intro to Burning Angels
(courtesy of YouTube user kingarthurpendragon)

It's safe to assume people will recognize qualities in this game, such as the frantic pace of most stages, a few nice BGMs here and there (despite the weak audio) and a humble albeit decent character design - our ladies meet and talk in between stages; one of them pilots the ship in a hoverbike fashion, the other sits back in the cockpit. Graphics are okay for the rather generic sci-fi motif, with some occasional layers of parallax and mid-bosses to spice up the action.

The only real issues I see in the game are the excess of enemies coming from the bottom of the screen from stage 3 onwards, the cumbersome way of deploying the burning attack (regular button with choice through SELECT would be much better), the lack of a high score buffer and the highly unstable scoring system. Example: sometimes you get out of the first stage with 120.000 points, but most of the time you'll only get 90.000 points, perhaps even less. At first I thought it was related to speed kills, but it doesn't seem to be the case, and destructible parts are not to be seen. I just can't figure out what influences what. Another prime example is the large ship that appears at the very beginning of the game: watch the score counter and try to get 10.000 points. In my case, 9 out of 10 times I only scored 5.000.

Burning Angels has no CONTINUES, but the game is on the short side and gives a decent challenge. The difficulty spike in stage 3 might incur in a mild frustration factor, and the best way to deal with it is to master the burning attack. Once you do it health isn't much of a problem because there are plenty of L items to help you go the distance. And the strangest thing of all: bosses become easier as the games reaches the end. My 1CC high score was achieved with Dragon on NORMAL, with regular (wide) screen resolution.

Silpheed (Sega CD)

2011-10-21T00:33:00.003-03:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
2 Difficulty levels
12 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Game Arts
Published by Game Arts in 1993

Available in a few PC formats since 1986, Silpheed graced the Sega CD library in 1993, wowing gamers with sleek polygon visuals and a sci-fi presentation that remains astonishing to this day. Polygons are what caused heated comparisons with Starfox on the SNES, which came out the same year and proved to be a smash hit among shooter fans. Although this comparison helped fuel the competition between Sega and Nintendo during the 16-bit wars, it was without a doubt a foolish one. After all, Silpheed is a true vertical shmup, and Starfox is one of the few rail shooters available for the SNES. Polygons are the whole basis and foundation of Starfox, whereas Silpheed mixes them with sprites in order to create the illusion of an intergalactic war, complete with massively huge battleships, deadly lasers and lots of debris flying everywhere.

In the year 3076, tactical fighter spacecraft SA-77 Silpheed must travel 64 light years until reaching the Earth. You're its pilot and your mission is to take down a cosmic bad guy. Besides the game itself, your journey is conveyed by a series of cool polygon animated intermissions with great voice-over narrations. The introdution, for instance, is one of the most epic I've ever seen in any shmup, and I can just wonder how amazing it must've been to witness such awesomeness back in 1993 (I arrived quite late to the party). There is, however, a wide gap between these animated visuals and the actual gameplay, in what I consider to be the defining aspect whether or not someone will endorse Silpheed as a great shmup.

Watch out for the planet!

The first time you see your ship it's hard not to think of it as a wimpy looking spacecraft. The vertical perspective is tilted, and the ship gets even tinier as you move up the screen. The starting background for the first level isn't that impressive, the music is kinda cheesy and your guns feel slightly underpowered as waves of enemies swarm by in a familiar fashion many will immediately associate with Galaga. Nevertheless, there's an underlying heartbeat of greater things to come, hinted by a battleship that's reduced to shreds by a series of giant lasers just before the boss fight. A treacherous asteroid belt follows in the second level. By the time the third stage starts and a huge spaceship gets in the way of your bullets, it's quite obvious that Silpheed has many tricks up its sleeve, and loads of charm to attest its reputation of a Sega CD must-have.

With the exception of the first stage, every time a new level starts you halt at a weapon selection screen so that you can equip the ship. It’s possible to carry one main weapon on each side of the Silpheed, so you’re always shooting pair combinations of forward beam, wide beam, phalanx beam (best one in my opinion) and auto-aiming shot. These weapons are not instantly available - a new one is added for every 40.000 points you score. You can also assign one of the following optional weapons for each stage: graviton bomb (blocks bullets), EM defense system (shield), photon torpedo (slight homing ability) and anti-matter bomb (very powerful). They appear at random with every 50.000 points, and you can't use the same one in two consecutive stages. The use of optional weapons is limited, and its stock is automatically filled the more enemies you kill.

Lives in Silpheed work according to a health meter with 6 hits. After the 6th hit you get a message of "no shield". Getting hit again will cause "weapon failure", where only one of your selected main weapons will work. A further hit will trigger "engine failure", impairing movement and terribly slowing down the ship. In this condition, the next hit you take means GAME OVER. To recover health you must take repair items by destroying crystals that come from the top (you also get some health back in between stages). The crystals will also release bonus points (1.000 to 10.000), extra energy for the optional weapons and items for screen wipe-out and temporary invincibility. Sometimes you have to be sharp to get these items, they come staggering down and it's very easy to lose them when you're trying to dodge all the incoming fire.

Silpheed: stage 4
(courtesy of YouTube user Arcingi)

Despite the pale impressions from the first stage, the gameplay in Silpheed is smooth as silk and gets quite intense in later levels. Enemies will arrive in the most diverse formations from all sides, armed with aimed shots, kamikaze movement patterns and a wide variety of bullet spreads. Sometimes there’s so much going on that a few seconds of distraction are enough to reach a no-shield situation. More than the actual dodging, getting used to enemy behavior is the key to success in this game. Using the optional weapons wisely is also a good thing to do.

Silpheed is all about atmosphere, exuding an unique charm especially among other 16-bit shooters. The aesthetic effect that results from the use of polygon pre-rendered backgrounds is amazing. I feel like I’m fighting the death star from Star Wars every time I approach the 2nd boss. And the descent into a space fortress in stage 4 is even more impressive. Sound effects are great and most of the music evokes the outer space theme quite nicely, even though there’s a scratchy undertone to the whole audio in the game. And let’s not forget about the radio voice-over and this guy shouting useful tips such as “turn left” or “watch out for the cannon”, which adds greatly to the sense of action. He reminds me of the B-52’s lead singer when he yells “look at the size of that thing!”. Shmup shack, bay-beeeee… Gosh, I must be really old to remember these things.

Online sources point to two tougher difficulty levels, but I didn't get any results by doing the command sequences to get them. Once the credit is over you get a screen showing your score and stats for enemies destroyed and weapons fired. Don't press anything if you want to play for keepsies and register your performance! My new 1CC high score on NORMAL is just a little bit above the previous one I had.

A last note about the game: it received a sequel for the Playstation 2 called Silpheed - The Lost Planet, which supposedly preserves the same feel and atmosphere of the Sega CD chapter. Is it any good? I expect to find out soon!

Chaos Field (Dreamcast)

2011-10-14T00:43:00.005-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Milestone
Published by Milestone/Able Corporation in 2004

Some bullet hell shooters are really friendly towards the player on his/her first try. A classic example would be the DoDonPachi games, because they have simple controls that don't impose any heavy influence in a quick gaming session. And then there are bullet hell shmups that will teach you the meaning of rape on your first go. Game in question: Chaos Field. First Milestone shooter and, quite frankly, my favorite so far. A game that scares neophytes and doesn't want to make any friends. It floods the screen with bullets and leaves you dizzy with what seems to be a plethora of controls to manage. No, most people do not have fun on their first contact with Chaos Field. However, as intimidating and cruel as it is, the game does get addictive after a while.

Being a boss rush is what people seem to remember most about Chaos Field. Three bosses per stage (hereby named "phases"), with absolutely no cannon fodder. This departure from the norm creates interesting gameplay situations, all of which require strategy, memorization and a deep knowledge of scoring devices. Never mind the mildly washed out graphics, upon which some primitive textures (for Dreamcast standards) are applied. What lacks in graphical flair is more than compensated by the amazing techno soundtrack and a neat scoring system, a combination that's ultimately what drives me the most to enjoy a shmup. As its name implies, at first glance Chaos Field came off as a chaotic experience, so the first thing I had to do was find a comfortable controller configuration in order to start the journey.

Shooting is the main form of attack. Secondary firepower consists of a short-range sword, a lock-on attack and the "wing-layer", basically a bullet sponge that works as a shield. The last control input is the field shifter: upon the press of a button you switch from order field to chaos field and vice-versa (you'll know which mode you're on by the display below the score counter). Imagine two parallel realities sharing the same space. Order field is the starting/default mode. In chaos field the whole game acquires a red tint and enemy aggression doubles, but you get a boost in firepower and the lock-on shot is capable of locking on to bullets as well. You can't shift between the fields at will - a new shift is only possible after a few seconds, when a surrounding aura appears in front of the ship while you hear a subtle sound cue.

Ifumi gives some trouble to boss 1-3

Getting used to all these controls is no easy task, and it took me a while to do it. Bear in mind that the original arcade game has only three buttons, which calls for button combinations in order to trigger the special attacks. Fortunately the Dreamcast version allows mapping of all controls, and after trying out several configurations this is what I came up with: shot (A), sword (X), lock-on (B), wing-layer (R) and field shift (L). Once the control was set up, it was time to get used to the meta gauge, which is the fuel for lock-on and wing-layer. Each of these special attacks consumes one cell of the gauge. Destroying boss parts with the regular firepower or the lock-on will release meta cubes/sparks that get automatically drawn to the ship if you stop shooting for a split second, refilling the gauge. If the gauge is full the cubes will change color and add to the score, and if you lose a life you'll receive a small batch of meta cubes to refill the gauge.

The purpose of using lock-on and wing-layer attacks is to build up a multiplier combo. Every absorbed bullet and every boss part or bullet that gets locked onto adds to the multiplier. There is a timer that decreases whenever no bullets are being blocked or no bullets/boss parts are being targeted, and if the timer runs out the combo is lost. Therefore, the meta gauge must be kept filled so that you have enough fuel to keep the combo going (remember that bullets blocked by the sword don't count). Meta cubes are more easily obtained in order field, so a basic rule in the game is to always refill it in the order field before going into chaos field for better combo possibilities.

There are three characters to choose from, each one demanding a completely different gameplay approach since their weapons are widely distinct from each other. Hal’s the most balanced one, with a nice round wing-layer that’s perfect to nullify turrets. Ifumi’s laser (which would eventually make it to Radirgy, Milestone's second shmup) is weaker, but her wing-layer rotates around her. Jinn is the most awkward to use because of the way his shots work, as in a series of explosions. Hal is a no-brainer because he’s clearly the best choice both for surviving and for scoring.

In line with the complexity of its control scheme, the true joy of Chaos Field lies in its details. Here are a few hints I came up with:

watch the introduction tutorial to have an idea of where the hitbox of your ship is located;
there are aimed bullets and non-aimed bullets; most of the time the mindless non-aimed bullet spams from bosses can be easily avoided by knowing where to stand (remember to block bullets with the sword when needed);
purple bullets and homing lasers cannot be neutralized/blocked; if possible, destroy their sources as fast as you can;
while there’s no smart bomb anywhere in the game, this dear panic function we shmuppers all love is actually hidden within the gameplay: every time you switch fields all blockable bullets are melted, giving the player an invaluable tool to evade hairy situations;
the sword can be activated in up to three consecutive slashes; slash and time it wisely for better results, since there’s a slight delay after its animation is over; this delay often interferes with your field shifting or special weapon usage;
enemy behavior is ALWAYS the same; no rank, no surprises, the secret is to memorize and conquer;
though you have plenty of time to kill the bosses, all fights are timed; timing out is bad because you don't reap the points you'd normally get from them, so pay attention to their health bar;
in-between boss encounters the combo might be lost; activate the lock-on to freeze the timer temporarily and keep the chain going.

Professional chaining on the first phase of Chaos Field with pilot Hal
(courtesy of YouTube user MaximilianoDent)

Chaos Field is tough, but offers an excellent rush once you start to understand its scoring system. One of the turning points for me was when I started coming out of the first stage with over 20 million points and both extends already activated (first with 8 and second with 20 million). In my opinion the trickiest chain to pull off is in boss 3-2, that’s why getting a decent combo in stage 3 always felt good. And even though I can chain the whole last stage, the tension provided by the last boss always kept me from reaching the 9.999 maximum combo. I did it only once while practicing, but more frustrating than not reaching the desired combo value is losing it all right before the boss dies.

The Japanese Dreamcast received a straight port from the arcade game, packed with a brief albeit cool intro. Loading times are almost negligible, and the few cut scenes are instantaneously skippable. The necessary slowdown seems to be too much at times, and I heard reports saying this version has it in excess (a comparison with the PS2 port might be done someday). It bugs me that the game keeps track of your play time and saves your control configuration, yet it doesn’t save high scores. And why no level select for practice? There should be a law forcing companies to add it in bullet hell shooters!

And did I mention the mesmerizing soundtrack? [yes, I did, I know] Techno is not my thing, but when you’re dancing with that rotating globe in stage 2 amidst all those bullet showers I can't help but feel I'm experiencing pure shmup bliss. Try it after cranking up the volume for best results!

My 1CC clear was achieved with Hal, with a max combo of 7.124 (NORMAL).

Predator 2 (Master System)

2011-10-12T16:39:00.002-04:00

Arena

Checkpoints ON
1 Difficulty level
7 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Teeny Weeny Games
Published by Acclaim/Tec Toy in 1993

Hidden within the Master System library lies this movie adaptation turned into an arena scrolling shooter. Different from the Mega Drive game, which used an isometric view with no automatic scrolling, Predator 2 for the Master System looks like a horizontal take on the same style of Gun.Smoke - the difference is that our hero, Lieutenant Harrigan (played in the movie by Danny Glover) is able to shoot in 8 directions while the action goes from left to right. A minor deviation from the norm is that if you stay put scrolling is haulted, but you can't go backwards.

The game was officially released in 1992, but my copy is the one released by Tec Toy in Brazil in 1993. Teeny Weeny Games is long gone from the gaming world, and judging from their contribution here it's no wonder nobody knows who they were. Predator 2 is a yawn-inducing experience to say the least, and even for fans of the Predator franchise it falls short in practically all aspects. There is some value in the graphics, but the lack of variety, the dodgy hit detection and the repetitive design all contribute to restrict its appeal to masochists and nostalgia buffs.

Two shoeshiners and a hostage - where's the predator?

Those who've seen the movie know that Harrigan the cop has two threats to face: drug dealers and the alien creature itself. Predator 2, the SMS game, is infested with drug dealers. In fact, they're the only enemies you encounter during most of the time, with a few predators appearing sparsely in the last couple of levels. Whenever you kill a moving enemy (a drug dealer), a drug sack will fall to the ground. They're all sent to the "drug squad" once taken, just like all other loose drug bits you collect here and there. Strangely enough, no stationary crooks will ever have drugs on them.

The only weapons Harrigan can count on are his default firearm (which is actually very effective) and a handful of special items you'll find lying on the ground. Grenades are the only thing that hit the baddies shooting you from windows. Machine guns, rifles, spread shots and later on alien predator discs all have limited ammo, and are cycled with the default gun by using the other button in the controller. Occasionally the red aiming reticle from the predator will appear, and if your head is caught inside its center you're dead meat, regardless of health left. Health, by the way, is what makes Predator 2 a relatively easy romp: it's fully restored every time you take the jacket item. Health is also fully replenished when you get the 1UP icon. Since you can withstand a good deal of damage, after a while gameplay becomes a matter of surviving long enough until you get to the next health jacket. And even though the game is checkpoint-based, the damage applied on bosses does not reset if you die facing them. Racking up extra lives is made easy by the fact that besides 1UPs there are also extends given for every 100.000 points scored.

In Predator 2 cleaning the town from the scum isn't enough, our hero has the extra mission of rescuing hostages spread around the stages. Do not let any of them pass by or die within the predator's mortal reticle - after the third lost hostage it's GAME OVER, no matter how many lives you have. The game gets cheap in certain points, with hostages getting almost instantaneously killed after appearing on-screen (gotta be fast on these ones). Other than that, the bulk of the challenge lies in boss fights, when respawning enemies might eventually overwhelm the player. There are no CONTINUES, but the game gives you a password to start again in later levels.

Lt. Harrigan eventually meets his doom
(courtesy of YouTube user djvatio)

Although the main character is given a nice animation when he moves and walks around firing his weapons, everything else in the game is of subpar design. Your hit detection perception has to be adjusted to the way the AI deals with enemies - some of them will move just below your line of sight, closing in and causing lots of damage by contact while you're not able to even hit them. Shooting in diagonals is possible, but it's a pain to get it right. As for regular enemy resilience, absolutely all of them share the same hit points, be it a burglar or a predator. It gets boring after a while.

The action takes place on the streets, on rooftops, inside something that's supposed to be a slaughterhouse, on the subway (the best looking level due to the moving train) and inside the alien spaceship. Looks change, but other than that you have the same enemies coming out of doors, sniping inside hatches or spawning from the sides, with one or two bikers speeding by and very few helicopters dropping bombs. The music is nothing special, eventually BGMs start repeating themselves and mostly resemble some platforming cop game instead of a badass showdown against an alien menace.

Since scrolling can be halted by staying put, it's possible to rack up points and eventually counterstop the game just by standing still and killing any respawning bad guy. Of course there's no fun in doing that. I got to the end once and that's enough. Apparently I won a huge bonus when I beat the game, probably one million.

Thunderbolt II (Mega Drive)

2011-10-04T23:10:00.004-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
8 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Sun Green (Gamtec)
Published by Super Chip in 1995

I have absolutely no idea how rare this game is, but judging from the scarce information available online I assume it's quite an underground oddity. There seems to be a shady connection with Taiwanese company Gamtec (from Magic Girl and Adventurous Boy fame), but this is mostly associated with the Famicom Thunderbolt II, which is completely distinct from its Mega Drive counterpart. In the case of the Mega Drive, Super Chip is the name printed on the cartridge, while Sun Green shows up at the start screen, with no evident signs of Gamtec on it. EDIT 2011-10-12 a trustful source told me it's indeed Gamtec behind Sun Green :) Don't ask me about a first Thunderbolt, it's an unsolved mystery as far as I know of.

Often disregarded by some as official games, unlicensed material such as these are a delight for the collector, and I couldn't resist the urge of playing it right away once I got it. My initial impressions were good for a change, since the standards on unlicensed Mega Drive shmups are rather low. Scrolling was surprisingly smooth, visuals weren't a total waste and the overall feel reminded me of Dangerous Seed and Verytex. Sure these impressions were properly put to the test, and a couple of days later I had already beaten the game.

Space frogs and meteors?

Every stage starts with a glimpse of the upcoming boss and a one-line cryptic message about it. Default speed is very slow, but the first couple of enemies you kill will immediately drop speed-up items (S). You can't tell from where the remainder of the power-ups will appear, but once they do they will all come down the screen in short staggering movements. The power-up (P) provides three different weapons according to its cycling colors: green (default) is the straightforward shot, blue is a Star Soldier-like pattern and gray gives you a wave weapon. After the third consecutive color collected the weapon reaches its maximum power, and the best thing about it is that all weapons are equally useful. I did have a preference for the wave shot nonetheless.

Additional weapons are acquired by taking the extra icons M and H. M activates two blue energy balls that chase enemies around the screen; they start out pretty slow, but become quite effective when maxed out. H activates a pair of rotating orbs that absorb enemy bullets, whose speed increases the more you power it up. Lastly, the yellow power-up provides extra bombs. These bombs have a mildly delayed screen-clearing ability, meaning you've got to be careful with nearby bullets once a bomb is used or you might get hit and lose some energy.

Thunderbolt II doesn't offer too much in the way of challenge thanks to the health bar. You only die if this health bar is depleted, and the constant supply of energy recovery items (heart-shaped icons) certainly help the player even more. There's no limit to the amount of bombs you can stock, and on top of that you get an extra life for every 60.000 points. The game only starts to offer some real resistance in the last couple of stages, with a few bigger enemies with erratic behavior and bosses that require a bit more focus to be killed. Every surplus power-up collected is worth 1.000 points, so keeping the same weapons without getting hit throughout the whole game will certainly lead to a higher score (when you're hit twice in a row the weapons start powering down).

Attract mode for Thunderbolt II
(courtesy of YouTube user sukalah32x)

Unfortunately, while the weapon system is well thought out and effective, the game lacks in graphical design and enemy variety. Scrolling is smooth and there are a couple of parallax-heavy stages, but the bulk of the backgrounds is undoubtedly uninspired. A good thing is that slowdown is minimum and negligible. In the 5th level the music starts repeating itself, and even though it's not grating in any way it's just not capable of providing any extra motivation for those who crave good music while blasting everything.

Besides all the shortcomings and a considerable "meh" flavor, Thunderbolt II manages to be the most balanced of all unlicensed Mega Drive shmups I know. Although influenced by licensed material, it avoids ripping them off blatantly (with the glaring exception of the DNA lizards from Darwin 4081) and at least gets it right on the genre basics. Be warned though that it won't work properly on a Sega Genesis + 32X setup (graphical/gameplay glitches). I had to dust off my old Japanese console to play it.

My final score for the game is shown below (NORMAL), taken right after I killed the last boss. There is a hi-score indication, but it doesn't work and the score that should be preserved disappears after the credit is over.

Note: this text was cross-posted with minor changes on Sega-16.

Gradius II (PC Engine CD)

2011-09-30T00:43:00.006-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints ON
4 Difficulty levels
9 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Konami
Published by Konami in 1992

In the second game for the PC Engine, the Gradius series was promoted to CD quality stuff by Konami. As a consequence, Gradius II turned out to be one of the highlights of NEC's CD add-on. It's a superb game in all aspects and an outstanding conversion of the arcade original, with the only difference being a slight reduction in the challenge level. And just like in the Gradius HuCard, the sequel also received an extra stage, which in turn was used as the basis for the first level in Gradius III. Another extra is a completely new intro sequence showing Vic Viper getting loaded with weapons and launching into space to kill alien spaceships and destroy their cores.

The original intro makes it clear that Gradius II follows Salamander and incorporates several gameplay aspects introduced by the spin-off series. This is the main difference from the concept created in Gradius, where you had only one weapon array defined by speed-up, missile, double shot, laser, option and shield. Gradius II spices up the experience by allowing the player to choose from four weapon arrays, as well as two types of shields.

Dude, what did they do to you?

Now there are also spread bombs, photon torpedoes and 2-way missiles as alternatives to the regular surface-crawling missiles. Meet the new ripple "toothpaste" laser, the tailgun (replaces double and fires forwards/backwards, ditching the 45º shot) and the force field (replaces the regular shield and guards the whole ship, but is weaker and disappears at the mere contact with an obstacle). These enhancements are rigidly combined into the four available weapon arrays. Experimenting with all possibilities is quite fun, but eventually I settled with the original configuration as my favorite (type 1 + shield).

Unless you've been living under a rock you probably know the drill about powering-up: collect capsules left by enemies and light up the weapon bar. Push the button to activate the desired power-up and increase the speed and the number of trailing options (up to 4) or activate missiles, double/tailgun, laser/ripple and shield/force field. It's simple, intuitive and opens a whole world of exquisite planning, especially when you make progress and realize some parts of the game should be approached more carefully than others. Make no mistake, Gradius II is tougher than the first one and demands a good deal of strategy and memorization if you want to see its ending. Blocking people from winning cheaply is the main reason why checkpoint-based shooters are hated by many, and Gradius II is a prime example of that.

It's not just the gameplay that sets this sequel apart from the first entry in the series. Konami infused the game with a lot more graphical flair. After you play the first stage a few times it starts getting repetitive, but fortunately the second stage puts the game back on track with awesome music and bold level design. It always reminds me of the Alien movies, with all those cocoons and facehuggers (shiphuggers?) coming out of them if you avoid shooting for a brief while. After that comes the dreaded crystal stage (die there and you might as well reset), a new volcano area, the mandatory moai stage (I hate it), the new sphinx-themed level, a high-speed section where you'll get nowhere without memorizing a safe route, the nerve-wrecking boss rush from Salamander (die anywhere and start the level again) and the final fortress incursion with the mechanical spider prior to the last boss. As a whole, the journey is fantastic and still stands as one of the best designed shooters of its time.

Snakes amidst flaming suns and evil alien nests
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

With a more generous extend scheme (first with 20.000 and another for each 70.000 points afterwards), Gradius II for the PC Engine CD stings a little bit less than the arcade game. Rank is still a concern and raises according to the number of options you activate, and even though some people don't take the fourth one to avoid the stealing scorpion from appearing I don't really care and always go for maximum power because, you know, I want to destroy them all! Isn't that what the announcer says at the beginning of the game?

Contrary to what happened to Gradius, slowdown in Gradius II is considerably reduced and only kicks in during the parts with tentacles in the second stage. Loading times, however, are rather inconsistent and might make you wonder if the console has frozen - it's annoying at first but fear not, stars will fade in and pre-stages will eventually start scrolling for you. Sit back and enjoy the great music, focus hard to cope with the difficulty and be prepared for a massive challenge increase in the second loop.

In order to access the options screen you have to press ↑, ↓ or SELECT in the start screen. Some observations about the options: every difficulty has its own unique ending; VERY HARD is labeled as PROFESSIONAL, and is the only mode that doesn't allow you to activate continues or change the starting life stock. My new high score is an improvement of 15% over my previous one, again playing with Type 1 + shield on NORMAL. This time I reached stage 2-3.

Insector X (Playstation 2)

2011-09-27T09:20:00.000-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints ON
4 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Taito in 1989
Published by Taito in 2005

Midgets have turned insects into cyborg creatures and are planning to conquer the Earth. To save mankind from disaster an insect-sized warrior named Yanmer is sent to battle the enemy. That's the backstory of Insector X, a horizontal shooter released by Taito in 1989 and included in the Taito Memories Vol. II compilation for the Japanese PS2 (for the record, the game is also available in the west in the Taito Legends 2 package). I'll be honest here, if I were to walk into an arcade joint back then this would be definitely my favorite machine. Come on, what's not to like about an insect-themed horizontal shooter where you take control of a flying insect mini-slayer? It doesn't matter that you never get to see the evil midgets, but damn it would've been cool!

That was then, but today it's virtually impossible to carry such enthusiasm for Insector X. The game aged badly, and does not offer anything beyond quirky aesthetics and food for nostalgia. I have yet to find a game with such bare bones scoring system, where I know beforehand what my score will be like when I reach the last stage. It's total old school stuff, in the sense that you shoot your way though a predetermined, mostly easy linear progression, fighting an even easier boss in the end of each level. Old farts like myself can get a mild kick out of it for the memories, but adrenaline hounds should stay away - there's no reason to even try it if you're expecting the intensity of contemporary horizontal shooters such as R-Type, Gradius or even Taito's own Darius.

They never forget my activities

Yanmer the insect slayer fulfills his mission wearing boots and gloves, just like the wasp, the grasshopper, the moth, the spider and the praying mantis bosses. Together they're the cream of the crop of the game's goofy design, which also encompasses the childish music and the overall cartoony presentation. Stages are dividided in two or three sections with different single backgrounds (desert, garden, city, jungle and hive) with no graphical frills of any kind, not even parallax scrolling. Regular enemies are represented by smaller creatures such as bees, flies, ants, frogs, fish, ladybugs and even possessed mushrooms. Most of them offer no real danger, but upon dying they may fire single bullets with varying speeds, resulting in overlapping patterns that leave no space to evade if you're not correctly positioned or constantly moving. It's safe to touch any part of the scenery, just be careful not to get crushed behind an obstacle as the screen scrolls (it's pretty common to die like this in the hive section).

The main shot is upgraded with the P icon. Besides the regular firepower, our insect warrior can also shoot two types of special weapons, which are provided and powered up by an icon that looks like an insecticide can and cycles colors. The blue can activates a forward attack, while the orange can deploys ground bombs. These special weapons have four very distinct power levels each, and once you max out both the main shot and the special weapon you're practically a powerhouse. Autofire gets activated with the A item, and speed-ups come in the form of the S item. Other icons consist of the screen wipe-out (lightning sign), power-up preserve (interrogation mark), hazelnuts (worth 1.000 points) and occasional 1UPs. Score extends are given with 100.000, 400.000 and 660.000 points, and dying strips you down to the default power/speed, a situation that's pretty hopeless in later stages.

Promo material, PCB and gameplay
(courtesy of YouTube user narox)

It's not really the simplicity or the lack of challenge, what ultimately kills Insector X is the absolute absence of a scoring scheme. Even the one that's implemented seems to be faulted, since you get 100.000 points for every stage you complete except for the last one. You get absolutely nothing by defeating bosses, so the fight against the final enemy in stage 5 is useless if you're playing for score. This leads to an obvious conclusion: in order to maximize score you need to sacrifice lives and exploit the checkpoint system. Hint: look out for the "?" sign in the last stage, that's the best point for checkpoint milking. Seeing as the game is pretty short, milking all lives doesn't take too long.

Insector X saw ports released for both the Famicom and the Mega Drive. While the Famicom version preserves the goofy graphics of the arcade, the Mega Drive game had a completely different approach towards graphical design, which infused it with a much more serious tone and made it superior to the original in pretty much all aspects. Only the music is debatable, mostly because both soundtracks fit their respective themes quite well although none of them is remarkable in any way.

Click for the option menus translation for Insector X on Taito Memories Vol. 2

In the 1CC high score below (NORMAL) I milked the second-to-last section of the last stage as far as I could, beating the last boss in my last life. Don't forget to return to the main screen if you want your scores to be saved!

Power Strike (Master System)

2011-09-17T23:42:00.000-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
6 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Compile
Reprogrammed and published by Sega in 1988

The Aleste series of shooters was born on the Japanese MSX home computer with a game called Aleste, which was in many ways very similar to Compile's own Zanac, the company's first shoot'em up. Aleste was ported to the Master System soon after its debut, and out of Japan it was renamed as Power Strike. From what I've seen in videos of the MSX game, the SMS version went through some graphical changes and completely ditches the original cut scenes. I can't say anything more to compare both versions, but as far as ports go Power Strike seems to be a decent conversion. What I can state right now is that I don't agree with its fame of being an extremely difficult shmup (it's hard but not that much). Granted, I might be biased by having previously experienced Zanac on the NES, a much harder and intricate game to play and master.

In fact, Aleste/Power Strike seems to be a stripped down version of Zanac. Both games share the same vibe, flow and gameplay basics, but Power Strike has none of the secrets and details that make Zanac such an elusively rich shooter. Moreover, the famous AI that generates enemies based on the player's performance is totally absent from Power Strike. In a nutshell, the game can be described as a straightforward take on Compile's original Zanac formula, and history is proof that it was the concept chosen by the company to be further fleshed out in future games. After all, Zanac never received a proper sequel apart from Zanac Neo on the PS1, while the Aleste series continued in several other titles and platforms.

A lone spaceship against plants gone mad

Power Strike is an intense, frantic game. Shoot your main weapon with one button and the special weapon with another. The main shot is upgraded by taking the P chips left by small spaceships that come hovering from the top of the screen. It takes lots of them to achieve maximum power, and the most interesting detail about this is that they also increase the ship's speed, fortunately never to a level where it gets too fast. Special weapons are numbered from 1 to 8, and you always start with the default special weapon 1, a stream of energy balls fired in the direction you've moving. These extra weapons are selected by taking the numbered ground icons or by collecting the ones that come flying from the top at regular intervals. Special weapons have the ability to block all types of enemy shots, but they vary greatly in style and effectiveness. Thankfully it takes just a few rounds for everybody to figure out which special weapons better suit their play style.

The catch is that with the exception of the default special weapon all others have limited ammo. This ammo starts with a counter of 80, which decreases as you use it, and to refill it you have to pick another special weapon icon (if the counter reaches zero the special weapon gets back to type 1). Sticking to the same special weapon will increase its range and power, but changing it when you're maxed out will activate the next weapon at its initial power level. Eventually it becomes clear that you gotta be a little stingy when using your special weapon if you want to keep it powered up. Hint: special weapons always come from the top consecutively, one after the other, so you will always have the chance to refill the counter with the same one if you're patient. If you have the chance to prolong a boss fight to gain some time there's no reason why you shouldn't do it.

Monster plants with super intelligence and waves of flying machines piloted by zombie human slaves are what your enemy is supposed to be (taken directly from the game's manual). Enemy design is rather simplistic and, just like in Zanac, a bit generic - all bosses are basically sets of turrets grouped together, with later stages including more and more mid-bosses as you approach the end of the mission. Endless landscapes scroll by at varying speeds while a non-stop barrage of resistance is unleashed on the screen, providing for a good level of gameplay intensity and decent shooting fun. A certain amount of slowdown as well as a bit of flicker are to be expected, but fortunately none of them impairs the final result of the game. And even though the music is run-of-the-mill 8-bit stuff, the BGM for the 4th stage is definitely a highlight in awesomeness.

First two stages of Aleste/Power Strike
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

Challengewise, Power Strike is above average and demands a bit of strategy to be won. It's nothing extraordinary, but dying later into the game can lead to successive cheap deaths until you're finally able to recover. There are lots of score-based extends, which start with 20.000 and 100.000 points and keep coming at intervals of 100.000 points. Sometimes you even get two extends at once, I just don't know why it happens. Scoring is simple and consists of killing everything and getting all P chips because they're worth something (170 points each). Strangely enough, the final boss is the only one that does not time out, therefore it can be milked to no end if you're able to not kill all of his seven eyes.

My copy of the game is the US private release, which wasn't found in store shelves and was distributed exclusively by mail. The cover art is all monochromatic, as opposed to the colorful versions found in other regions. Power Strike received a sequel on the Master System that's completely different from the MSX Aleste II and also holds the distinction of being the rarer and most praised shmup on the platform.

I did milk the last boss in order to get the 1CC high score shown below. My favorite special weapons were 6 (wave shot), 8 (staggering laser) and 2 (charge blast). Once the game is beaten, selecting the CONTINUE option at the start screen will activate stage 0, which is nothing more than an accelerated version of stage 1 with a different color palette.

Toilet Kids (PC Engine)

2011-09-08T00:58:00.000-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
4 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Media Rings
Published by Media Rings in 1992

Exploring the world of video games is a fascinating hobby. The amount of distinct experiences to be had is neverending, but digging deep into the more obscure stuff often leads to bizarre discoveries such as Toilet Kids, a shmup that's all about toilet seats and turds of all colors and sizes. Behold the awesomeness of the HuCard cover, for that's the turd god you must ultimately defeat in order to leave the magical toilet world. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself! How do you get there in the first place? Watch the intro to the game right after you press RUN: a sleepy kid seats on a toilet to take a dump, but suddenly he's sucked into it in a flash of light. Damn, this is no ordinary toilet at all.

If you're really into gaming, then you know that I'm stating the obvious when I say Japan can be a wicked place. The turd motif is fleshed out completely in Toilet Kids, making it one of the most bizarre games ever made. Though limited by the graphical boundaries of the system and marked by the cartoony design style, the resulting atmosphere successfully conveys an excrement-ridden world, so you can expect a few laughs and WTF moments as you plow through the astounding four stages of crappy fun (yes, it's that short). Kitsch? Bad taste? Any way you see it, it's undoubtedly unique. Unfortunately, Toilet Kids does not deliver on the aspect that matters most for us, which is gameplay. It's simple and straightforward, but it's also annoyingly stupid at times.

God of War is a pussy! Behold the jawsumness of the God of Crap!

After the nocturnal abduction, the kid acquires magical powers and starts flying on a toilet seat. There are initially five extra toilet seats for him to use, and when all of them are gone he apparently drowns in the world of poop down below. He's got a main weapon and drops ground shots in the exactly same fashion as in Xevious. If you hold down the main shot button for a little while a powerful charge blast will be fired upon its release. However, due to the constant stream of enemies coming from all sides I found this charge shot to be useless, it's much better to use the turbo function for continuous fire.

Practically all enemies will attack the toilet kid with some sort of turd ammunition. Monkeys, camels, spiders, bats, fish, turtles and other unrecognizable animals all attempt to shit on him while he's attacked by strange flying things such as slippers, turds, helicopters with butts farting all over the place, etc. Red balloons are the regular carriers for special items, and most of them give temporary effects such as a screen clearing bomb (the blue star), a magical toilet paper that cleans nearby enemies with spiralled attacks or an egg that works as a frontal shield. Items will also be uncovered by targeting specific poops with the ground shots (they blink when hit), and these will sometimes release extra toilet seats (lives). Another way to achieve extra lives is by destroying 40 of those golden, shiny small poops you see everywhere. Some of them are hidden and must be uncovered before being collected.

Looks funny, right? Well, I thought so for a few minutes.

What I haven't described yet is how power-ups work. They're there, but they're hidden. In order to uncover them you must hit certain areas on the ground so they will pop up. The power-up icon looks like a little bottle (maybe bleach?) and provides two very useful upgrade levels to the main shot (if you get hit you lose a life and your weapon gets back to its default condition). Now for the additional quirks: all items bounce once they're uncovered; shooting will make them bounce back, but the problem is that they often bounce off-screen and it gets really easy to miss them because of the sluggishness of the magical toilet seat you're flying; to make things worse, whenever you get hit you become invisible for a long time, so any item coming towards you will go by and get lost in the turd world. That's extrememely irritating, and if it happens just prior to the last boss you're pretty much screwed against the pair of evil planaria.

Why so slow, turd-boy? Oh, it's a credit in 50 Hz!
(courtesy of YouTube user djvatio)

Toilet Kids isn't a hard game at all, but the power-up scheme is kinda retarded and leads to unfair situations. Most of the danger comes from the small flies hovering on feces - they disband and keep circling around as you get close to them, sometimes shooting from below and off-screen. Hidden symbols that can be uncovered with the ground shot give special score bonuses, so besides finding the power-ups this is another reason why you should be shooting the ground at all times.

Harmless and annoying, this game barely escapes being a total waste for its goofy art alone, which of course lends itself to being a good subject for geek talk. The greasy grain of corn on the turd's surface is the fact that there's no high score buffering at all in the game, and you can't even pause after you beat the last boss. The screen fades really fast, so I had to make special arrangements to register the high score below. You can take a peek here if you want to know what happens at the end of this shmup-crappy story!

Super Raiden (PC Engine CD)

2011-09-04T01:03:00.001-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints ON
1 Difficulty level
10 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Seibu Kaihatsu
Published by Hudson Soft in 1992

Following the experience with the FM Towns port, I felt it wouldn't be too bad to seize the momentum and revisit the PC Engine CD release of Super Raiden. I also wanted to compare the difficulty between them, because in my mind I always felt that Super Raiden was tied with the SNES port as being the easiest rendition of Raiden on a home console. It took me a few days to recollect some of the related intricacies, but eventually I suceeded in surpassing my previous high score in 32%. Having renewed my awareness on the game, the first conclusion I can draw is that Super Raiden is one of the most fun home ports available - besides being leagues away from the difficulty of other versions it also comes with two brand-new very cool extra stages.

Even when comparing only the eight original levels present both here and in the HuCard version, it's quite clear that Super Raiden is a tad easier than its base mold (less and slower bullets). Hudson Soft reserved the well-known, expected challenge for the new stages, with more aggressive snipers and faster bullets everywhere, all of this while keeping the same atmosphere all Raiden fans love about the first game in the series. It's a much better treatment than the one that was given, for instance, to the "beefed up" CD port of Zero Wing - the extra stages in that game just failed to capture the excellence of the original material.

Opening screen for Super Raiden

With that said, aside from the addition of the new stages the best improvement this version has is the awesome CD-quality rearranged soundtrack, a well deserved step-up from the rather weak music of the HuCard port. It's got a very particular groove, quite different from all other arranged BGMs available in other CD-based ports (PS1 and FM Towns). Graphics up to the 8th stage mirror the ones found on the HuCard, and the game mechanics remain exactly the same: vulcan shot (red) and laser shot (blue) combined with straight (M) or homing (H) missiles, with bombs (B) available for delayed but powerful destructive blasts; medals collected × bomb stock × 1.000 is the bonus you get at the end of a level; there's no limit to how many bombs you can stock, even though the maximum shown is 9; all surplus power-ups are worth 5.000 points; hidden fairies are worth 10.000 points and a batch of extra power-ups if you die; score-based extends are given with 100.000, 500.000 and then for every 500.000 points afterwards; 1UPs will appear randomly.

I'm sure everybody will agree that the original Raiden is a hard game. Some people won't have the endurance to see it to the end, but if format isn't a problem, a Turbo Duo is available and they're still in the mood to play it, my advice for everyone is to try Super Raiden. Sure it has checkpoints, but dealing with the game as a whole is considerably easier than, let's say, trying to suceed in the Mega Drive port or even the HuCard version itself, with one condition: do not use the laser weapon (if you do, the speed of enemy bullets will increase drastically). The extra levels are great and pump up the challenge as you reach the end, demanding a lot more from the player's dodging abilities without being overly cruel. There's even a real alien final boss, something that fills the void caused by the large tank boss of the regular Raiden – if I'm battling an alien race, why not have an alien final boss instead of another bloody super-armored tank?

Playing this game again gave me the chance to refine my strategies, especially on bosses. Now I refrain from bombing until the 6th boss, simply because those two tanks are plain evil. The 5th boss isn't that hard now - I stay on one side and avoid destroying both of his lateral wings, damaging his central body with the vulcan shot and homing missiles. The new final boss puts up an epic fight, but eventually I was able to take that beast down even if I died on him.

Die, aliens, die!

(courtesy of YouTube user AmazingRetro)

As with the HuCard version, the game doesn't save or buffer high scores, but it's possible to pause right after dying if you want to take note of your score. Perhaps due to the inclusion of the extra stages and the fact that there's no limit to the bomb stock, the famous million point completion bonus is absent in Super Raiden. Another noteworthy gameplay aspect concerns the second loop. Contrary to what happens in other loopable ports, here the increase in difficulty is minimum, almost negligible.

The first death in my new best run happened in stage 2-9 (believe it or not, I was rather sleepy and did a stupid mistake). It was really tough to recover then, and my credit ended in stage 2-10.

And that's it, after so many Raiden ports I guess it's finally time to move on to Raiden II!

Ordyne (Playstation)

2011-08-30T21:15:00.002-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
7 Stages
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Namco in 1988
Published by Namco in 1996

As ordinary as it comes, I guess Ordyne must have been a good choice of entertainment at any Japanese arcade joint back in 1988. It was different and colored enough to attract attention, representing a valid step-up from Namco's previous horizontal shmup Sky Kid. Unfortunately, it didn't age well. The game has a very childish atmosphere and doesn't offer any severe challenge until you reach the final stage. It's too childish to be honest, but this impression is certainly related to how the game is designed: threats are posed mostly by enemies and scenery rather than bullets, in a lethargic pace that never changes and rarely puts the player under pressure. Just to have an idea, even though Fantasy Zone shares the same fluffy graphical style I would never say it's childish in the sense I just stated, since it's a much more demanding game all around.

It's possible to play Ordyne on the Playstation if you get your hands on the Namco Museum Vol. 4 compilation. This version is arcade-perfect, but having the US disc is preferred because all the text in the game appears in English. The only other port I know came out for the PC Engine/Turbografx-16, which by all means is the perfect platform for a game like this. The underwhelming feeling that comes with the arcade version seems to be reduced when you play the 16-bit port.

Flying saucers, hamburgers or oysters?

Ordyne is about a guy on a mission to rescue his kidnapped girl. He pilots a red flying car, and if someone joins the game as player 2 he/she will play with a green flying car. The attract mode shows all the tragedy surrounding the start of their journey, and in each of the seven stages a series of multi-colored enemies and obstacles will try to stop them. Basic controls consist of two buttons, one for the straight shot and another for dropping bombs (Darius style). Selected enemies release floating crystals used as currency inside the shop that appears from time to time, where you'll be able to buy upgrades such as speed-ups and special weapons. These crystals can also be used to bet inside the "Dream Co. Ltd." roulette in order to get extra prizes, which can be even more crystals or special weapons.

A nice gameplay aspect is that you don't lose the speed-ups you purchased if you die. Autofire isn't implemented, but you can get it temporarily by purchasing the "vulcan shot" upgrade (thankfully I had a turbo controller available). Most of the upgrades and special weapons last for a limited amount of time only, however the best one of them, the "stock bomber", will remain activated until you die. It shoots a stream of fireballs and works together with a shield that absorbs enemy bullets. Bonuses for score and crystals are awarded when you finish a stage, and upon beating the game all lives and crystals are converted into points. Therefore the final score is heavily influenced by luck, simply because winning at least one special prize of 100.000 crystals makes a great difference towards the end result. In some cases you're allowed to buy extra lives inside the shop, but it's not worth it in the long run because they're too expensive and you get less points from them in the end. As for extends, they come with 40.000, 120.000 and 240.000 points.

If you're used to more frantic shmups, Ordyne is sure to be a dramatic shift in intensity (not to mention disappointment). For the most part it's too soothing, instead of being hit by a bullet you're often taken by surprise by dying in iffy hit detection situations. The game gets really claustrophobic in the last stage, and those rotating sections are definitely the most dangerous parts to be navigated. Supposedly bullet count doubles when you play in co-op. It must be more of a challenge, but who else in this day and age would be willing to play such an old game with me?

First two stages of Ordyne
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

All things considered, the best design aspect in Ordyne is the soundtrack. The BGM for the second level is incredibly catchy, and is probably what I'll remember most from now on. The Parodius-infused graphics and the mild parallax are pleasing to the eyes, yet there's nothing special about them. Due to its primitive, colorful and easygoing nature, the game is perfectly recommended as an introduction to the genre, especially for kids.

In line with all other releases in the series, the Namco Museum Vol. 4 comes with a Museum mode where you can explore details on the several games included in the package. It might have been a nice novelty back when the PS1 was still alive, but today all those virtual rooms just feel slow and cumbersome. A much better feature is the Records section, where you find lots of saved information on all games including play time, 1CC count and even stats on items collected and how fast you've killed bosses. While in the game, credits are added with the SELECT button and options are always accessed with the triangle button - remember that you have to leave the game if you want your session to be properly saved.

The score for my 1CC run (NORMAL) was rather crappy. It's possible to get much more by not dying and by having better luck on the special prizes.

Raiden Trad (FM Towns)

2011-08-23T21:27:00.001-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints ON
3 Difficulty levels
8 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Seibu Kaihatsu
Published by Kid Corp. in 1991

In the huge box the printed name is Raiden Densetsu, but the in-game title appears as Raiden Trad (during the initial loading screen) and also Raiden (during the attract mode). Since this a port, for the sake of language standardization let's keep it as Raiden Trad. Released for the FM Towns computer in 1991, this was in many ways the most faithful conversion of the original arcade game until the Playstation port came out in 1995. It's perfectly playable in the FM Towns Marty console, and for a few months it enslaved me in punishment as I painfully - but pleasantly - learned my way through it. Pain & pleasure is a deadly combination, one that applies perfectly to what I consider the toughest rendition of Raiden I have ever played. In its default difficulty it even tops the arcade game.

Let's recap the basics: a slow ship, two types of main weapons (red for spread vulcan, blue for straight laser), two types of auxiliary weapons (M for straight missiles, H for homing missiles) and a limited stock of bombs. Weapons are switched/powered up and extra bombs are achieved by taking the appropriate icons from destroyed carriers. Collect medals for bonuses at the end of a stage (bonus = number of medals × number of bombs × 1.000). Eventually a miclus (a blue thingy) might appear instead of a medal, it will count as a medal but also give you a few more points. Uncover hidden fairies by hitting their location, rescue them and an extra batch of power-ups will appear after you die. The maximum number of bombs you're allowed to stock is 7, and all items collected in excess are worth 5.000 points each. Win extends at 150.000 and 400.000 points, get lucky and you might win 1UPs as well.

It wasn't long after I started playing it, there came a time when I thought of giving up on this game. I was being demoralized credit after credit and feeling like shit, and the mere act of getting to the 5th stage was a nightmare.

The blue ship has the power

I started picking up details to try and control rank, and finally came down to something: if you stock more than three bombs enemy bullets will soon become faster. But it wasn't enough, I was still getting crushed in the most horrible ways. Then came the first moment of truth, as I remembered that using the blue mk-IIb ship piloted by player 2 resulted in a different game altogether. Simply put, that extreme rank slope is gone when you use this second ship. There's no crazy increase in bullet speed regardless of bomb stock, and on top of that you fight less enemies. It's as if the alien forces underestimate the blue ship, whereas the red ship puts them in a state of constant overdrive. The trade-off is that when you play with the blue ship it's not advisable to activate the laser weapon. Laser weapon with blue ship equals large bomb stock with red ship, and the result is once again indecent levels of enemy aggression.

Using the blue ship gave me a new hope. I was finally able to consistently get past the 2nd stage without dying. Slowly I came down to reliable strategies to navigate the levels and safely deal with all those sneaky snipers coming from the sides. Success seemed within reach and soon enough I was face to face with the last boss, only to find out he was the second and definitive wall in the game (the first wall is the fifth boss). I lost count of how many times I approached him with five bombs only to fail over and over, no matter what type of missiles I had on me. I even killed him once but got hit by one of the last bullets to emerge from the final explosion - if you've ever experienced such failure then you know this is one of the worst feelings you can have as a shmupper. I was devastated.

Provided you're sharp enough and don't die where you shouldn't, the first loop of Raiden Trad takes roughly more than 30 minutes. Since this version has checkpoints, you can practically kiss your credit goodbye if you die while fighting the last boss. It's virtually impossible to recover. I tried a few more times, but eventually it became too time-consuming to do it. Once again against the ropes, the second moment of truth came to me when I decided it was time to learn about FM Towns emulation in order to practice. Therefore I found and installed UNZ (a great emulator by the way) and trained hard with savestates on the most diverse ship configurations. Only when I was able to better anticipate the nasty patterns of the last boss and 1-life the last stage I got back to the console for more serious attempts.

Quick credit with the red mk-II ship
(courtesy of YouTube user PepAlacant)

Here's the breakdown of my final game strategy: select blue ship with autofire (done in the start screen), stick to vulcan shot all the way, choose M missiles in the 1st level, switch to H missiles when starting the 3rd level, switch back to M missiles in the middle of the last level (8th), reach the last boss with 5 bombs. Stay sharp, stay focused, don't die in stages 5 or 8.

This version of Raiden Trad is extremely tough, with a huge potential of turning itself into a frustrating experience. Thankfully it never felt like grinding, which is the worst thing that can happen to a relationship between the gamer and the game. Vivid colors, an awesome remixed soundtrack and above all a faithful representation of the original arcade design were decisive in keeping the fun factor always on top of things.

Disregarding the cruel use of checkpoints, this version of the classic loses to the Playstation port because of an inexplicable framerate loss that happens during a large section of the 2nd stage (I suppose it has something to do with the parallax). Also noteworthy is the lack of a TATE option, even though the game looks great the way it is. Besides the regular Arcade mode there are also Competition modes A and B, but beyond some very slight color changes and starting the game with just one life I have no idea of the differences between both.

I have to say this is one of the toughest 1CCs I have ever accomplished. It was a long way until succeeding and reaching the 2nd stage of the 2nd loop (NORMAL). The first loop was cleared with no deaths.

Space Invaders - Infinity Gene (Xbox Live)

2011-08-20T00:19:00.002-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF

5 Difficulty levels (3 unlockable)
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Taito
Published by Square Enix in 2010

It was a sunny and lazy afternoon when I turned on the Xbox 360 at mommy's. I was a bit weary from getting my butt kicked by Divine Flow in Judgement Silversword, so I decided to cool off and sample something from the shmup buffet of the titles I had downloaded. That's when Space Invaders - Infinity Gene found its way into my routine during the final days of my vacation. Released first for the iOS, the game later appeared both on PSN and on Xbox Live, reportedly with a few enhancements. My guess is that Sony's and Microsoft's versions are identical to each other, so the experience on PSN should be the same.

Infinity Gene suceeds the Extreme iteration of the formula, but it doesn't follow on its footsteps. Surprisingly, it seems to take a few steps back towards the roots of the series while at the same time taking a whole new direction. Minimalism sets the tone, with evolution as the concept behind the entire game design. Imagine the first, primitive Space Invaders

developing into a more elaborate game stage after stage, those few tiny enemies being joined by a massive fleet of outer space creatures that will eventually try to kill you in high definition 3D renderings (which fortunately still move over a good old 2D plane). It feels fresh and it certainly delivers as another much expected innovation within such an old, somewhat tired franchise.

Infinite invaders taking over the galaxy

However, my opinion is that the biggest innovation isn't really in the design. Finally Taito allowed the ship to move everywhere in the screen, ditching the fixed dodging and opening the doors to a flexible chaining system! The core gameplay remains unchanged: a lone ship and a single weapon, which can be powered up by taking the DNA-shaped vitamins left by flying saucers - for those who've seen it, they look just like the newalone power-ups from Metal Black. But alas! Regardless of how many DNA the ship absorbs it will never reach a substantial amount of firepower, and that's the oddest design decision in the game: if the whole theme revolves around evolution, why doesn't the player's ship evolve accordingly? What you get is just a sprite makeover and small increases in shot power and autofire rate. The enemy's fleet, on the other hand, will evolve continuously. Maybe that's the point of the game actually, they're the most adaptable to change so they should survive, yet your mission is to prevail over them and achieve victory in the end.

On the player's side, evolution takes place differently. Completing successive levels will unlock extra weapons, features and BGMs to be listened out of the game. These extra weapons become available for selection when starting a credit, but be warned that you have to stick with it during the whole game. It's not possible to change it, and this was a serious letdown for me since I always played with the stock/default weapon, the one called "rapid". Practically no evolution for me...

From the initial ordinary ship in stage 0 you begin stage 1 already evolved with the weapon you have chosen, dealing with some invaders in different formations against a monochromatic background. There are five stages to complete, every stage has 6 sections and starting from 1-6 all of them have end bosses. Every 6th section comes with a main boss, and stages themselves get longer and more complicated. By the time you reach stage 5 most of the larger enemies are modeled in 3D, with backgrounds and obstacles shifting all the time, as well as various degrees of screen tilting. Fans of the franchise are in for a treat, since the game is populated with all sorts of invaders in the wackiest possible formations and sizes. All levels have names, as well as most of the larger enemies, which shoot lasers, bullets and beams while moving in lots of different patterns. Those ominous gigantic UFOs are very cool, but my favorite boss is the one called Hornet (the huge cube that you have to dismantle).

Chaining works according to a basic principle: kill enemies in succession to increase a multiplier. The chain meter is shown below the score counter, and whenever it starts blinking it means you should kill another enemy/bullet soon if you don't want to lose it. It's just like a more forgivable DoDonPachi chain (note: you do more damage by shooting without moving, because in this condition the firing rate is higher). Another scoring hint is the Nagoya attack, which consists of moving the ship amidst enemy bullets soon after they are fired, during a period where these bullets don't harm the player (they are colored in gray). Each Nagoya attack is worth 3.000 points.

Official trailer for the PSN and Xbox Live versions
(courtesy of YouTube user PlayscopeTrailers)

Space Invaders - Infinity Gene is mostly an enjoyable experience. The soundtrack will please those who dig electronic music, but those who don't will not get annoyed by it at all. As for the game, minor problems appear as you start to play and chain more often, such as cheap deaths (enemies lure the player into a situation of unavoidable failure), foreground/background confusion (it's common to crush into a wall without seeing it) and a few lengthy sections with no action at all, which break the pace of the game and make it seem even longer than it already is. I didn't grasp the Nagoya attack at all, sometimes you get none when you try it, only to achieve more than 30 Nagoya attacks in the very same place afterwards. Since the game gives you only 3 lives with no extends at all, Nagoya attacks are quite a risky maneuver when you're aiming for the 1CC, so I avoided doing them.

Besides Normal mode as the main game there are also additional modes called Bonus, Challenge and Music. Bonus mode is just a collection of a few additional stages (unlocked by playing Normal mode), Challenge mode is comprised of 99 stages that are randomly generated and in Music mode stages evolve according to the music from any playlist saved in the console. It's possible to replay any stage you've already reached in most of the modes, which is great for training, and if you're online you can track how well you're doing in the global leaderboards through the dynamic "rank" display on the upper left corner of the screen.

My 1CC run was done in full defaults on NORMAL, so I played with the "rapid" weapon type. It's a pity that the leaderboards allow no distinction between weapons, I would love to know how I stand when compared to other "rapid" users instead of all those "field" whores who occupy the highest ranking positions. Further difficulties are unlocked by completing the game in the current higher setting (continues allowed).

Grind Stormer (Mega Drive)

2011-08-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints ON
4 Difficulty levels
6 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Toaplan
Published by Tengen in 1994

A few weeks ago a couple of friends told me that their cartridges for Grind Stormer (sometimes spelled as Grindstormer) had died on them. It is widespread knowledge that there's an apparently huge defective batch of these carts released for the Sega Genesis in North America, and since I recalled my copy was okay I figured it would be a good moment to enjoy it before the thing died on me as well. Fortunately my cartridge was fine, but if you’re interested in getting it and you don’t want to incur in the risk of buying a defective product I recommend getting the Japanese version (it was never released in other regions).

Classic vertical action is the name of the game in Grind Stormer, the second-to-last Toaplan shooter. It came out before Batsugun, and the influence of both games on Cave’s first shmup DonPachi is undeniable. The Mega Drive port of Grind Stormer preserves the dreaded use of checkpoints from the arcade original, therefore it's a relatively tough game. Rank is also implemented, and even though Sega’s machine can’t quite handle all the sprites it’s supposed to, the dynamic result is at least engaging. Colors and graphics take a severe hit and look rather washed out for the most part, and for a game released so late in the console’s life this is a tad disappointing. Practically all earlier Toaplan ports such as Truxton, Fire Shark or Twin Cobra have more polished visuals.

Don't get too excited, it only looks like DonPachi

A great treat about Grind Stormer is that the game can be actually seen as a two-in-one package. There are two modes that can be selected at the start screen. Grind Stormer is one of them, and consists of a straightforward shooter with specific power-ups for each weapon or extra item. Then there’s the V-V mode (pronounced V-Five and sometimes written as V-5), which is basically Toaplan’s take on the Gradius weapon array formula. The main game is almost the same (there are a few differences), but all power-ups are handled as if you were playing a Gradius game. Homage or plagiarism, it doesn’t matter, both modes play quite differently, and mastering one of them isn’t any guarantee you’ll be as proficient in the other.

In the Grind Stormer mode, the ship is equipped with two pods that amplify its firepower and behave according to the type of weapon you have chosen. Later on two more pods are acquired as you take power-ups to increase the weapon’s strength. As with weapon activators, POWER items are released by destroying specific carriers, which also bring speed-up capsules (S-UP). The weapons available are SHOT, HOMING and MISSILE. With the shot weapon you can alter the angle of pod fire by refraining from shooting (for more damage always keep a straight/forward alignment). With homing, pods will automatically chase and lock onto enemies at will, whereas missile will make all pods follow you around like a shadow. A diamond represents an extra bomb. When triggered, bombs make you invincible for a brief while.

An interesting detail is that upon dying you always get back with +1 speed and three bombs instead of the initial two. All items collected that don’t have any effect on the ship (same weapon or taken when their function is maxed out) are worth 10.000 points. Whenever the bomb stock is full (6) the score will automatically start increasing like a counter at full speed, stopping momentarily if the screen comes to a halt, as in some boss fights. The score will only cease to raise if the player bombs or dies. On the other hand, a maxed out bomb stock also triggers maximum rank, so you can expect the ultimate leap in bullet count/speed from all enemies. Aggression level does start to increase prior to that, especially if you reach maximum power and get the extends at 300.000 and 800.000 points (more extends will be granted for every 800.000 points afterwards). It’s possible to get a 1UP in the third stage by destroying the yellow bunker at the end of the bonus scoring field (in a rare occasion I also got a 1UP by destroying all turrets after the large head that sucks bullets in stage 5, but I was never able to do it again).

Although quite simple, the scoring system is enriched by the aforementioned max bomb counter and by score fountains spread throughout the game. The first kind of fountain is a ground icon that cycles fast between 500, 1.000, 5.000 and 10.000 points. The other one is a pink block that releases random score bonuses as it gets hit - most of these are found during the 3rd stage. Together with the fact that this level has the coolest BGM in the game, that makes it my favorite stage. The rest of the soundtrack is rather unremarkable, but the collection of sound effects is surprisingly varied and carries a bit of the PC Engine syndrome – it often overshadows the music, making it hard to hear it properly.

Brief samples of Grind Stormer and V-V
(courtesy of YouTube user Vysethedetermined2)

I didn’t play the V-V mode much, but here’s a summary of the differences I noticed: all items are power-up capsules (diamonds) that light up the weapon array - wait for the desired function to get lit and activate it; there are no bombs, but you can activate a shield that can take up to two hits; there's an end-of-stage bonus based on how many items you collected; enemies are more aggressive, some of them even have extra/different attack patterns than those seen in the Grind Stormer mode.

Practicing different stages is made easy with the training feature from the OPTIONS screen, where you can also deactivate the PAUSE button permanently for a more arcadey feel . As a whole, the game is enjoyable but suffers from a lack of flair that screams “average”. Flicker sets in as you fight large enemies, as well as slowdown, but fortunately none of them get in the way of gameplay, which has pretty fast and intense action. With a few tough sections reserved in its second half, I’d say the learning curve is fair and in line with the Toaplan style, however it’s a shame that the best parts of the graphic design show up only much later in the game.

I was able to loop the Grind Stormer mode up to stage 2-4 on NORMAL (MODERATE). The second loop came with the expected increase in difficulty, changes in bullet sprites, a more powerful ship and score fountains that spew multiple bonuses of 10.000 points only!

Who's That Flying?! (Playstation Network)

2011-07-29T16:20:00.003-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Mediatonic
Published by Mediatonic in 2010

There are a few things that Who's That Flying?! does right in its intent of bringing something fresh to the table. In its core the game does belong to the shmup genre, even though the main character is invincible and the scoring system does not suit the mold we shmuppers are used to. As an experience, it's a valid, harmless attempt that will quench the need for superficial distraction if you download it to your PSP and play it on the go. However, it could be much more had the idea been treated with a little more depth.

Definitely the strongest aspect in the game is its humor, which appears in-between stages as you, the guardian of Earth, is put on trial for letting aliens invade our planet for obscure reasons. Each stage works as a statement in court and a reminiscence of the character's heroic actions in the line of duty. Meanwhile, you're bombarded with questions from the guardians of the other planets in the Solar System, without ever losing the temper or the sense of humor. The cartoony art design is catchy and the situations (some of them predictable) will certainly make you giggle, starting from the opening screen and the stressing in red of the capital letters in the game's title.

Doom beasts ahoy!

So much of aesthetics, but what about gameplay? The guardian's mission is to stop those dark "doom beast" invaders that look like something out of a Parodius game. Every time one of them goes past the hero and disappears to the left you're booed by the population in the city below, and when 50 of them succeed the mission is failed - they've just taken over the city you're supposed to be defending. You are invincible, and besides shooting them with your laser arm you'll automatically tear them apart whenever they get close to you. Killing the invaders in succession increases the score multiplier up to ×9, and by destroying them you also fill an auxiliary meter that allows three types of special weapons to be used: a rapid fire gun, a small laser beam and a larger laser beam. With the exception of bosses, the larger beam disintegrates everything, even the big enemies that appear from time to time to slow you down with heavier attacks (those that need to be weakened first and only then terminated by pressing R and tapping X).

Who's That Flying?! has five stages, which are divided in three sections each with a huge boss awaiting in each last section. You have to defend four cities (New York, Tokyo, Mexico City and Moscow) before rocketing to outer space for the final showdown against the invaders. It's all very colorful and fun in the beginning, but unfortunately things start getting repetitive after the novelty fades (progress in each section is displayed in the upper part of the screen). The fact that scores are computed only for isolated sections - and not the whole game - makes this title a good choice for score attack competitions, but a sad failure for regular high score comparisons. Each section won is unlocked for future replays, but if you want to tackle the game from start to finish you have to delete all saved content, thus erasing all the special modes and trophies you have collected so far. Simply put, for score-driven shmuppers this sucks.

Speaking exclusively about the action, the challenge is relatively easygoing, basically kicking in when enemies start cluttering the screen from all sides, and especially when the big ones hit you with one of those stunning attacks. They behave differently for each stage and always appear in the second section. The game isn't hard, it takes just a few tries to get used to the patterns of enemy movement. The real danger lies with later bosses and the sidekicks they summon while regular invaders cruise the screen to the left side. Losing control of the situation in these moments can quickly lead to mission failure.

Official trailer
(courtesy of YouTube user PlayscopeTrailers)

The main game is called Story, but as you play you'll eventually unlock two extra modes: Infinite mode lets you fight in a given environment to no end, and Challenge mode throws a series of special tasks for the player to conquer. Praise galleries and special achievements/trophies are awarded for obtaining outstanding performances while playing the game both in the Story or Challenge modes.

Despite its rather repetitive nature, Who's That Flying!? can be enjoyed with casual purposes, thanks in part to the adequate soundtrack and the lighthearted tone of the game. With such a cool character, I wonder what could've been accomplished if a full-fledged console game was to be designed around him, keeping the same basic idea (invulnerability), cranking up the difficulty and making the overall challenge more "shmuppy".

My 1CC high score was 2.204.840, which is the sum of the individual scores of all 5 stages (15 sections) played in Story mode. Click the image to enlarge.

Salamander (NES)

2011-06-30T01:00:00.002-04:00

Horizontal / Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
6 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Konami
Published by Konami in 1987

Proud offshoot of the Gradius series, it was natural for Salamander to find its way home to the Nintendo Famicom soon after its release. While not as faithful a port as the first Gradius, the game does justice to the original material, albeit changing it completely in lots of ways. Console fans and Salamander admirers owe themselves a look for these changes alone, just don't expect the same kind of challenge the arcade game had.

One natural doubt about this game is its relation to the North American release of Life Force. "What were the differences?", I wondered before picking this up for another monthly competition. Not so many, at least not in the same level as the arcade versions. Both games use the power-up scheme from Gradius, but the weapon array in Salamander is better because it shows the full name for the power-ups in each cell. In Life Force you're offered tiny blue bars and a side display of the currently lit power-up. Salamander allows you to get three options, Life Force only lets you activate two. Lastly, Salamander has multiple endings depending on how many continues you use to complete the game, whereas Life Force has only one. I'll be describing any more differences I find when I play Life Force.

Vic Viper faces the meteor shower on the 2nd stage

One of the features that's part of Salamander's charm is the fact that the game alternates horizontal with vertical scrolling. Playing it naturally felt like a novelty, but the biggest asset at the time of its release was the possibility to do it with a friend, something quite rare for an 8-bit shooter. Since the game ditches the instant power-up system of the original in favor of the Gradius-style weapon array, gameplay basics are a no-brainer for fans of the series: pick up capsules left by completely destroying enemy waves or orange enemies to light up the cells in the weapon array. Activate the desired power-up and see Vic Viper (or Lord British, the second player) improve its speed, missile, ripple, laser, option and force/shield capabilities. Missile, ripple and laser can be powered up once more after they're activated and, as I mentioned above, you can have up to three options trailing you around. A special addition in this version is the occurrence of hidden 1UPs that appear as blinking power-up capsules - I found two of them in the first stage alone. This makes it quite common to stock more than a dozen lives, since you win extends with 10.000 points and for every 30.000 points afterwards.

The most representative changes in relation to the arcade game include: fourth stage is now stage 2, with a boss that merges both original bosses in one; stages four and five are completely new, and come with more organic motifs, a high speed section, egyptian aesthetics and brand new bosses (a skull and a flying sphinx head). I had the feeling that the game is longer, mainly due to the new stages added, and that stage 3 is harder in this version (those fireballs and little phoenixes are a pain in the ass). Bullet count is very low, and practically non-existent in the first loop, so most of the opposition comes from enemies themselves and the environment. The game gets quite claustrophobic in the new 5th stage (horizontal), as opposed to the overall style you have in the rest of the journey.

Technically, there are times when the NES/Famicom isn't capable to handle everything that's happening on-screen, so slowdown and heavy flicker ensue. For instance, having a fully powered-up ship during the meteor shower of the second stage can make Vic Viper disappear completely for a few seconds. The music is great though, and the generally mild difficulty level sets Salamander apart from the somewhat higher challenge offered by Gradius.

Two stages of intense 8-bit outer space organic battle
(courtesy of YouTube user HEROAAAA)

With all its inherent goodness, I felt very sad to discover that the scoring system in this game is broken. As you can see from this video (thanks, Jorge!), due to a respawning tiny volcano it's possible to get the counterstop in stage 2-5. My motivation to keep playing suddenly died. In the high score below my credit ended in stage 2-6, after I successfully tested the trick and decided to go on to see how far I could get.

On a last note, we all know that Famicom cartridges are great to collect due to the variety of colors used by different publishers. However, a special nod goes to the transparent Famicom cartridge style used by Komani for Salamander. I wish there were more of them around. :)

Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie (SNES)

2011-06-26T21:18:00.002-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
7 Stages
Ship speed selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by Big West/Winky Soft
Published by Zamuse in 1993

The Japanese anime TV series Macross, also known as Robotech in the west, was rather obscure on TV during my childhood, but I remember watching a few episodes and thinking it was a very cool cartoon. I don't recall much about it aside from that catchy short music theme that plays in every Macross video game ever since they started appearing on home consoles. Almost all platforms have their particular version, but the SNES game is a serious contender for best shmup based on the franchise. However, Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie stands on its own because it's simply an astonishing game from beginning to end, ranking pretty high in any list of SNES favorites, including mine. Fan service and pure nostalgia are also guaranteed by the cool intro and the amusing bits of Engrish.

The story of Macross is about an all-out war of humanity against evil aliens, and was unique in its time for mixing sci-fi concepts with cheesy romance and music. With the exception of the romance you can expect quite the same in this game. The designs for characters, enemies and stages are decently varied, abusing the graphical capabilities of the SNES through gorgeous colors and textures, with heaps of parallax here and there. However, it's the selection of three very different characters and the resulting variety in gameplay that attests the awesomeness herein. Each character has very defined strengths and weaknesses, which demand specific approaches for a player to conquer the game. My choice of character fell on Max, and I will explain why in a few paragraphs.

Hikaru's battroid form fighting the second boss

Each pilot controls a Valkyrie ship, a warcraft built upon alien technology that's capable of assuming three different forms: fighter (aircraft), gerwalk (half aircraft/half robot) and battroid (robot). The input scheme is pretty basic and uses only two butons: one to fire, one to switch forms. Firepower is somewhat balanced because the three forms have distinct speeds (fighter is the fastest, battroid is the slowest) and different shot types. Hikaru, the first pilot, has the most straightforward patterns, Max relies on a close-range plasma cloud + homing shots and Millia adds brute force on her battroid blast. Each form has three power levels and is separately leveled up by taking "P" icons left by mini-bosses and red enemies - the currently selected form is the one that will get powered up.

Survival is guaranteed as long as you have energy left in the lifebar, so if it's gone it's GAME OVER. Every time you get hit you consume some energy and lose one power level for the currently selected form. "S" items provide partial energy recovery, but the rarer blue-haired face, found when some mid-bosses are defeated, will replenish the whole life gauge instantly. Even though the game has a limited amount of continues, it's possible to get extra ones by finding the red arrow pointing up, hidden in fixed locations in every stage. They serve a more noble purpose if you're going for the 1-credit clear because each hidden arrow adds a precious chunk of 50.000 points to the score. Another important scoring hint is to get all items you can, since each one is worth 1.000 points.

Playing with all the different weapons is great, but the coolest gameplay aspect of Macross is the ability to capture enemies to fight by your side. Every time you stop shooting the ship will glow (imagine a raw version of the golden shield from the Darius series). While glowing, get close to an enemy and watch it change its color and join the human forces against their own kind, their names appearing to the right of your energy gauge. Not all enemies can be captured, but every captured enemy has its own unique behavior: some will swing back and forth, some will rotate around the Valkyrie, some will move erratically and shoot, some will even fire lasers or home on enemies until they're toast. Not all captured enemies will follow you during boss fights, and some will eventually die (this could be based on your energy level, I'm not sure). My favorite capture is this round minion found in the 4th stage, the one that homes on enemies. After I seize one of them it will follow me until the very end, providing invaluable help against popcorn and bulkier enemies alike.

Note: there are times when it seems you've been hit but you don't lose any energy. That happens because during the exact moment you switch forms you have a nick of invincibility. Even though this seems to be a worthy feature to be exploited, it's not really a good thing to count on it in the heat of the battle.

Intro and first stage of Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie
(courtesy of YouTube user Vysethedetermined2)

One of the criticisms I often see on this game is the length of the stages. This sounds strange to me because I think they're not that long, and with seven levels to go through the game length seems about quite right, and on par with most of the other shooters from its era. In fact, Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie does everything right in this regard, with the high speed section of stage 4 strategically positioned to give you a break from the overall slow pacing of the game. As with most good 16-bit shmups, Macross rewards consecutive plays once you've memorized the trickiest parts, and the variety in challenge you get with each available character is great. I like Max because of his battroid homing shot, definitely the best choice if you want to score higher (even enemies behind walls will not escape his wrath). On the other hand, his gerwalk shot (a kind of passive plasma thrower) is really awkward to use, but once you get the hang of it lots of bosses become a lot easier to beat.

Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie is easily one of the top three shmups on the SNES. It's a bit sad that it was never released outside of Japan, which probably hurt its much deserved success. When ranked against Axelay I think it loses by a nose just because of that game's heavenly soundtrack - not that the music in Macross is bad, it's actually quite engaging and atmospheric. I've only had glimpses of other shmups based on the Macross franchise (NES, PC Engine, Saturn, Playstation), but from what I've seen I doubt any of them will top this awesome SNES game.

The ending halts in a last credits screen, forcing the player to reset the console and go to the OPTIONS to check the high score. Here's the result to my 1CC campaign with Max on NORMAL:

Isagoras (Xbox Live)

2011-06-18T02:32:00.001-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
2 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Red Circle Studio
Published by Red Circle Studio in 2010

When a prototype spaceship is sent to war, things get more heroic than usual and the sense of accomplishment should achieve a similar status. Somewhere in the near future, Isagoras-001 is the name of the ship, and Crow is the codename of its pilot. Invaders and separatists from other solar systems threaten the Earth and other planets such as Mars. They must not prevail, for the fate of the galaxy rests in your skill and your ability to overcome the insurmountable odds.

And that's the main story of Isagoras, depicted through text balloons and cut scenes as you plow through five stages of widescreen vertical shooting action. I admit I was lured by the concept and by the varied backgrounds from the first level, but the truth is that this game is just painful. With such a cool-looking cover and a name that immediately brings to mind Treasure's overrated Ikaruga, you can't help but feel cheated once you start to realize what Isagoras is all about. There are many wrongs to it, and the saddest thing is that the Spanish developers were probably trying to come up with something different, only to fail miserably in several fronts. As a result, epicness gets reduced to boredom, and motivation is utterly ruined from the inside by stupid game mechanics.

Fighting baddies over the red surface of Mars

Ship sprites draw immediate attention upon start. The ship looks like two smaller spaceships glued together, and I wondered if there was a gimmick behind it reserved for later. There isn't any. The ship fires a single shot that cannot be powered up because there are absolutely no items to collect in the game. Health recovery items for the energy bar you have for each life? Forget it! Entropy is the absolute rule in Isagoras, therefore energy lost will never be replenished, not even when a new level starts. You must also learn how to deal with the rather slow speed of the ship, and memorization is the only way to stand a chance in sections where multiple enemies swarm around you. Each life grants the use of three special attacks, which can be deployed in two different ways: the left bumper slows down all enemies for a brief while, and the right bumper triggers a powerful beam that melts enemy bullets and gives you invincibility while it lasts.

There's nothing special in what I described above about the gameplay, but there's a lot more to worry. When I started playing the game I suddenly noticed that my score in the third stage had decreased from the one I had prior to fighting the second boss. To my horror, I realized that the game punishes you every time you get hit by taking away approximately 5% of your score. In other words, if you have 5.000 points and a single bullet hits you the score drops to 4.750 points. Talk about a frustrating feature! To make things worse, there are instances where you get hit without explanation during those ENEMY ALERT messages that precede boss fights. There are no obstacles anywhere during the whole damn game, and then you lose health and points out of nowhere! Honestly, when this happened I felt like punching someone in the face.

Graphically, Isagoras isn't really bad for an indie release. It uses simple textures and colors with good results for backgrounds, although it falls short when it comes down to enemies, most of them comprised of small formations of drones and ships with erratic movement. Large ships appear from time to time, and are the best targets to achieve more points. Screen tilting is used extensively, but sometimes the game exaggerates and makes the simple act of controlling the ship a real chore. The soundtrack has lots of guitar work but is ultimately awful, and you can tell it's not going to work by the depressing music that plays in the opening screen.

The human race is in danger!
(courtesy of YouTube user TheSandman83)

The only moments where the game offers a small degree of (fair) excitement are during boss fights. They all have these colored spheres/cores as weak points, and come with a good variety of attack patterns. Another glimpse of something that actually works is the meteor barricade of the third stage. On the subject of co-op play, the act of overlapping both ships increases firepower while the controllers vibrate (you can't turn it off). Cut scenes are correctly implemented since you can skip them instantly, but part of the storytelling is annoyingly intrusive. As if bullet visibility wasn't already an issue, sometimes the messages block a good portion of the screen while you're being bombarded from all sides.

Isagoras could've been a great game, but it fails in almost all aspects that matter. There are no continues, but you can practice the stages you have already beaten. The only visible difference between the two available difficulties is that on EASY you start with 9 lives in stock, while on HARD you start with 5.

The default #1 spot at the high score table marks 10.000 points. My target was to top this score, which wasn't easy in face of the idiotic scheme of losing points by getting hit. As you can see below, the objective was surpassed just slightly (HARD).

Andro Dunos (Neo Geo)

2011-06-15T19:11:00.010-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
8 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Visco
Published by Visco in 1992

With 34 Megs stamped in its cover, Andro Dunos is probably the smallest shmup in the Neo Geo library, but it doesn't mean it's less fun than its peers. Coming out in an age where 16-bit was at its peak, the game is pure 16-bit bliss and surely looks like a slightly beefed up version of any average shooter developed for the Mega Drive. I tried to come up with an example for this comparison, and the closest one I could think of is Whip Rush. Andro Dunos, however, fulfills its purpose with better results, raising itself above the average-looking style of the whole package to deliver great fun, especially for those who appreciate the innocent good old days of the classic spaceship shooters of the 90s.

What initially caught my eye in Andro Dunos is the ship's design, which resembles a sleeker, thinner Zig fighter from the almighty Zero Wing, sans the cool side pods. The abundance of colors and the variety of weapons I saw while watching the attract mode were also irresistible hooks, so last week I thought it was about time I had some fun with it. Then came the common dilemma of most Neo Geo shooters: since they rarely have autofire, how would I be able to keep my wrists and fingers in good shape for whatever I had to do with them after playing Andro Dunos? Fortunately for myself I was able to score a Hori Fighting Stick Neo II a while back, so I was ready to go once I switched that turbo function on (there are almost no options of controllers with turbo fire for the Neo Geo, and the few ones are rather hard to come by).

I tried to find out what "Andro Dunos" means, but even the game manual offers no clue about it. What I did learn, besides the backstory on invaders from outer space and the last hope of mankind (you, the player), is that the ship is called Yellow Cherry, with player 2 being named as Red Fox. Watch them with more detail as they take off once you press start and glimpse the tutorial!

Yellow Cherry and Red Fox fight for peace in the galaxy

There are four types of weapons at your disposal in Andro Dunos, and they're properly named type 1 to type 4. Similar to Toaplan's Hellfire, they're cycled at the press of a button: type 1 is the straight shot, type 2 has an emphasis on the rear shot, type 3 offers a set of X-shaped diagonal laser blasts and type 4 activates a useful albeit week spread pattern. Power-ups are handled by taking the items that cycle according to four colors, each one of them upgrading a specific portion of the ship's firepower: S corresponds to the main power-up, B powers up the little lasers, M upgrades your guided missiles and U adds auxiliary pods that block bullets, whose behavior depends on the type of weapon you're using. There are 7 power levels for item S, while all others max out at level 5. The levels of each one are shown right below the score counter.

Choosing which aspect of the weapon to power up is kinda cool, but it's always a nice move to boost the main firepower as fast as you can (S). As soon as you take the first S you're entitled to use a powerful charge shot that once deployed consumes one level of the S upgrade. The charge shot is related to the current weapon type, and is very effective to take down more powerful enemies. Unfortunately, using it is rarely an advantage over the act of tapping the fire button, hence the overall preference for using auto/turbo fire in Andro Dunos, at least for the first half of the game. There are certain parts in the second half where a single charge blast is enough to get rid of troublesome enemies, such as the hovering ship in the beginning of stage 7. The challenge increase becomes quite noticeable in the 4th stage, which is when rank starts kicking in. Surviving longer and earning extends (100.000, 200.000, 400.000, 800.000 points, etc.) and 1UPs (one in stage 4 and one in stage 6) is what basically pumps up enemy agression - the only way to get it back down is to die until you have only a few lives left.

Scoring is pretty straightforward, but there's a small end-of-stage bonus for taking the B items that appear from specific enemies you kill. There are seven in each stage, and upon grabbing them all not only you get the maximum possible bonus, but you also earn one upgrade for each of the four power-ups. Minor milking in a few bosses is feasible, but troublesome because these demand a good deal of dodging and focus.

A dangerous lunar landscape
(courtesy of YouTube user NeoGeoForLife)

Overall Andro Dunos is rather generic in its space theme, but this broad scope also gives it liberty to embrace a much welcome variety in the level design. Among other stuff, you fly over a moon and its caves, cruise through mechanized corridors and outer space sections full of meteors, get into an organic stage with moving walls and invade a cave scenery that visibly borrows from Darius, fighting a handful of bosses and mid-bosses along the way. With the exception of the first stage, the action is never dull and definitely keeps you on your toes in the last couple of levels. The scrolling direction shifts a lot and because of this some enemy shots might unfairly take you off guard. The best way to deal with them is to be aggressive and avoid standing still, attitudes which are obviously enriched by some mild memorization.

I didn't find the soundtrack as effective as the other aspects in the game, but I can't say it's bad in any way. Though less shiny than the rest of the Neo Geo's shmup library, the solid old school atmosphere and the nice learning curve help make Andro Dunos a winner regarding what matters most in a game, which is being fun.

In my best run I reached stage 2-4, dying horribly soon after I passed the mid-boss. I played in the MVS difficulty setting and used autofire, disabling it only in two moments during the whole game: when stage 7 starts and when the last boss reaches its final form.

Ketsui (Xbox 360)

2011-06-06T23:04:00.001-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
5 Stages (loopable, criteria-based)
Ship speed fixed / selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Cave
Published by 5pb in 2010

For a very long time, Ketsui remained an object of cult by a specific portion of the shmup community who had access to arcades, while the unlucky ones were left with impressions from comments like "the definitive" or "the best" Cave shooter ever designed. It would take a good seven years for the game to be ported, and after all the scandals involving DoDonPachi Dai-ou-jou it was just refreshing to see that the guys at 5pb had learned their lesson, gracing the Xbox 360 with a fine product, hailed by experts as being pretty identical to the arcade. Widespread awareness was suddenly a reality as a whole legion of admirers finally had access to the game, but the expectations for yet another addictive bullet hell were met with mixed reactions. After all, it takes just a few credits to realize how brutal this game is.

My initial impression at the time was that Ketsui was pretty much another iteration of the well-established DoDonPachi formula. It seemed more of the same. Fast forward one year and I find myself having cleared the game's first loop. This process took me one month of solid playing sessions, and made me a lot less noobish about it. First of all, I ditched the DoDonPachi association completely. The vibe in Ketsui is different, as well as the scoring system. I also noticed that it's the last Cave shooter that focuses strictly on a military theme before the company shifted to fantasy-based stories with the subsequent Espgaluda. By all means, Ketsui seems to represent a turning point in Cave's portfolio, with one of the strongest mixes ever seen of 2D graphical excellence and extremely tough challenge level.

In Ketsui you take the role of a pair of pilots controlling one of two ships, the Tiger Schwert (wide shot, slow speed, orange for player 1) or the Panzer Jager (straight shot, faster speed, purple for player 1). They are sent to save the world from an evil corporation that's behind World War III in the near future, and what lies ahead of them is nothing less than the ultimate sacrifice (they will die, succeeding or not). Enemy forces become more and more aggressive in each of the five stages, and if you're good enough you can access a second loop upon beating the game, just don't die or bomb more than 6 times (the so-called "tsuujou" loop). Furthermore, beating the game without bombing/dying will grant access to the rarely seen URA loop, which then makes it possible to see the game's true last boss. Surely beating the regular first loop is challenge enough for mere mortals such as myself, but the greatest thing about Ketsui is that you always feel you can do better, with the ending for the first loop teasing you to come back for more - a new beginning of sorts.

I wish Panzer Jager's green tint was also on Tiger Schwert's shot...

Each ship is equipped with a regular shot (tap fire button) and a lock shot (hold fire button), for which your satellites will automatically lock onto the nearest enemy and hit it until it dies or leaves the screen. There's also a bomb that travels forward until it hits (regular shot) or homes (lock shot) on an enemy. The ship's speed is reduced when using the lock shot, and it's important to mention that the frontal laser the ship fires while you're using lock shot doesn't reach the whole stretch of the screen.

While these basic inputs are enough to enjoy the game, scoring higher requires a bit of knowledge about the scoring system. In a nutshell, here's how it goes: killed enemies release green chips with values that range from 1 to 5. The three counters on the upper left of the screen keep track of your chip performance: the 1st row is the sum of all chips collected and also the multiplier to be applied at the end of the stage, the 2nd row is the stage multiplier (depletes when you collect chips using the lock shot) and the 3rd row is the current chip value. Now here's the catch: the closer you are when an enemy is killed, the higher the chip value. The extra counter/timer that appears to the side of the 3rd row shows for how long you can extract chips of the current value, and depletes even faster if you kill enemies using the lock shot. The lock shot killings, however, release more chips than the regular shot.

It seems complicated, but a rule of thumb to start getting the hang of it is to kill an enemy close enough with the regular shot to get a chip of value 5, then use lock shot to take advantage of the timer to collect more of these chips until they get back to value 1. Advanced techniques will eventually unfold by themselves, such as memorizing the best killing route to get more chips or destroying larger enemies in two steps of regular + lock shot. The end-of-stage multiplier (1st row) depletes fast during boss battles, but you can recover lost chips by destroying their parts with the regular shot (using the lock shot will eat a considerable chunk of the multiplier).

The game has no rank, so the brutal difficulty will always be the same regardless of survival or scoring performance. Regular power-ups and extra bombs are obtained from specific carriers, and when you die all your power-up items get scattered around the screen for you to recover them. Dying isn't good because it slices 1/4 of the chip counter and considerably reduces the bonus you get at the end of the stage, which is based in life reserve and bomb stock. Extends are given with 20 and 45 million points, and 1UPs can be taken by destroying all turrets from the mid-boss in stage 3 and by killing both clone ships that appear before the mid-boss in stage 5.

My raw 1CC run for the first loop
(courtesy of YouTube user KollisionBR)

So what makes Ketsui such a revered shmup despite its extremely hardcore nature? One of the reasons is also the staple of most Cave products, and that is the unmatched intensity of the gameplay. There's never a dull moment, the player is kept under pressure at all times and the amount of patterns and bullets provides for an overwhelming assault to the reflexes, which in turn must be exquisitely exercised through memorization and practice. Another good reason is the amazing soundtrack, which enhances and gets enhanced by the non-stop action. And of course, as with all hard games, getting better in a game like Ketsui requires a good deal of dedication but pays off as one of the most rewarding shmup experiences a player can have. You'd never guess how much of a destruction spectacle these hordes of tanks, planes, and deadly turrets can give, so coming out in one piece from those heavy bullet showers is no ordinary achievement.

The Xbox 360 port is named Ketsui Extra. It has a special arrange mode included, hence the "extra", and allows all kinds of aesthetical adjustments for both LCD and CRT TVs. It's possible to record replays and to practice each stage with any presetting for power/bombs, I just wish there was an option to also practice boss battles. It's a great package all around, and a mandatory item in every shmupper's Japanese 360 collection. The limited edition comes with two CDs with arranged music for both Ketsui and DoDonPachi Dai-ou-jou, an irresistible treat for soundtrack lovers.

As I mentioned above, I managed to achieve the 1-ALL on the regular Arcade mode within one month of dedication, and below is the final result (NORMAL) playing with Tiger Schwert. I guess my new objective in further Ketsui runs is to reach the tsuujou loop!

Parodius Da! (Playstation)

2011-05-31T22:30:00.003-04:00

Horizontal
Checkpoints ON
8 Difficulty levels
10 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Konami
Published by Konami in 1994

After a confined debut in the MSX scene (much later ported to the PSP), Konami's parody series on everything Gradius reaches its second chapter in Parodius Da!, released originally in the arcades and soon ported to all major home video game consoles of its time. All of the "inferior" ports (NES, PC Engine and SNES) have something unique to them, but the original adventure in its full graphical/aural glory is to be experienced only in one of the Parodius Deluxe Pack compilations for the Playstation or the Saturn (Parodius Portable for the PSP is a valid handheld alternative though). The 32-bit packs also include Gokujou Parodius, the third game in the series, and is definitely a must-buy for any shmup fan.

These last weeks I've been doing some very relaxed runs on Parodius Da! on the Playstation. Whereas the first Parodius played like Gradius but consisted of an all-original design, this second game parodies Gradius and its spinoffs to their core. This is made evident by the opening screen, which shows a flock of penguins glaring at the evolution of the series, and by several aspects which will be immediately recognized by those who played Gradius, Gradius II, Gradius III and Salamander. A huge exotic dancer resembles the dreaded mechanical spider of Gradius II, and the "uncle Sam" bird mocks the Phoenix boss from the same game. Viva Core is a lively pinball boss version of Big Core from Gradius, which is also parodied with new volcano and fortress stages. Moai statues populate a huge battleship, in a clear homage to Irem's R-Type. Fairies fly inside bubbles that seem to come out directly from Gradius III. The game even revisits the original Parodius with the boss made of multiple mouths and the cemetery stage.

Vic Viper to the rescue

With the new processing power of the arcade board, the nonsense is heightened and takes over in every tiny detail of the game. Parodius Da! is a real delight and a blast to play, not only because it's funny but also because it's a tad easier than its more serious siblings - at least until you reach the ice caves of the ninth level. Vic Viper is back and its weapons are just like in the classic Gradius. Twinbee's behavior resembles the game it comes from, weapons for Pentaro the Penguin are close to one of the configurations found in Gradius III and Takosuke the Octopus uses the famous ripple laser originally presented in Salamander. Choose one of the four and power-up wisely in manual mode, never mind the auto power-up option you're given when starting the game. Collect power-up icons and activate them according to the weapon array gauge, collect bells for special powers and points (yellow ones) and get on board for ten stages of pure cute'em up action.

What's interesting about the series from this chapter on is how differently the game plays depending on the character you choose. If you pay close attention, right at the start you notice that each character has its own music during the pre-stage (that brief part before the main level where you destroy small enemies to get power-up capsules). Some sections are made easier or harder depending on the character because their weapons differ considerably. Vic Viper's double shot is excellent to take down enemies in the ceiling, Twinbee isn't good for the destructibe cells of the 3rd stage, and Takosuke's tail gun is perfect to deal with those bubbles of the 8th stage. My character of choice was Takosuke, mainly because I have beaten other versions of the game with Pentaro and Vic Viper.

Dealing with bells is quite fun, but in the long run you'll want to get them all yellow to boost the score. If you don't let any of them fall to the left eventually each yellow bell will be worth 10.000 points. Of all other colors my favorite is green because it gives you a brief window of invincibility as your character gets zoomed in. However, acquiring any bell that's not yellow immediately deactivates the shield. The "roulette" effect caused by specific power-up capsules is back, making the weapon array go crazy and demanding perfect timing to activate the next power-up. When you get good at doing it it's a great way to power-up faster, just be careful not to activate the !? cell, which removes all your power and speed.

Slices of Parodius Da! with four different characters (roulette disabled)

(courtesy of YouTube user FranckoSabbath)

Just like in Gradius, rank plays an important part in Parodius Da!, even though it's not as aggressive. It's directly related to how powered up you are, and materializes through more enemies and more bullets. In my opinion the game is quite manageable even with maximum rank. Every stage has a particular structure and some of them seem easier than others, but I can handle the game well with only one speed-up until that water section inside the ice cave. Besides increasing enemy and bullet count, the second loop also adds one suicide bullet for each enemy you kill, and demands a lot more from the player's dodging skills. The only extends come very early in the game, with 20.000 and 80.000 points.

As I was searching for a video to embed in this post I stumbled across a secret stage that's accessed in the beginning of the second level. To do it you have to destroy the first row of enemies in the pre-stage and kill only the first enemy on the next row of enemies. I didn't try it myself, but it's great to know that this port also has its own special touch, which is in line with all other ports provided by Konami. From what I've briefly seen, the Saturn port is exactly like the Playstation's, so the fun factor is guaranteed in both collections.

I managed to reach stage 2-2, playing with Takosuke the Octopus (difficulty 4 - MEDIUM).

P.S. Allow me to express a particular appreciation for the GAME OVER theme in Parodius Da!, simply because it's one of the greatest GAME OVER songs ever composed. It pumps me up and really makes me want to try the game again!

Hani in the Sky (PC Engine)

2011-05-27T01:05:00.003-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
8 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Face
Published by Face in 1988

I'm quite sure that commending Hani in the Sky for its bizarre nature isn't enough to appease the confused minds of those who pay close attention to the cover of the game, let alone for the people who will eventually try it themselves. I did a bit of research and found out that the main character is a "haniwa", a type of clay figure made for ritual use and buried with the dead as a funerary object during the 6th century in Japan. In modern society haniwas appear as souvenirs and cute objects spread around the land of the rising sun, and one of the most common types of haniwa is shaped exactly like the game's protagonist Hani (sometimes written as Hanii or Hany). Therefore, you can rest assured you are not controlling a flying dildo while playing Hani in the Sky, is that clear?

My process of getting acquainted with this obscure shmup had three phases. The first one came with that WTF feeling related to thoughts such as "where are the power-ups?" and "this damn dildo thing is too slow!". The second phase came with the euphoria of enjoying the genuine fun factor while figuring out how to activate power-ups. And the third phase saw me tumbling down as the small hindrances all came together to spoil what could've been a smash PC Engine hit. I mean it. It's just sad to witness so much potential and great ideas wasted to a series of unfortunate design choices...

Am I upside down? I feel dizzy!

Hani in the Sky is essentially a vertical shooter, even though the character possesses the ability to turn its firepower in 8 directions - one button in the controller shoots and the other provides clockwise rotation only. Scrolling speed can be accelerated by staying in the upper third of the screen. Hani starts out very slow, but as soon as a few enemies go down it's possible to increase speed by pressing RUN followed by button I, which grants the player access to the game shop, much like the one you have in Fantasy Zone. The difference is that here you can access the shop any time you want except during boss fights. It's in the shop that you buy upgrades and activate/select them, as well as teleport to any stage you have already played. Since the game has no score you might think it's not necessary to kill everything in order to get to the end, but alas! Shopping requires "money", and money is only obtained by killing enemies.

Japanese is the only language used here, so it takes a while to get used to all options found inside the shop. Navigating the menus is a bit cumbersome due to how buttons are mapped: after pressing RUN, button I activates options/items and button II always sends the player back to the starting menu. Once in the shop you're allowed to purchase speed-ups (flame icons), autofire, a three-way shot (don't buy, you'll get it eventually), extra health, invincibility bubbles and homing special weapons. Once bought or won, these must be enabled to become active. You win items by defeating bosses (new weapons/armor) and by getting the interrogation marks found in one of the two sides of a splitting pathway. When this happens Hani is sent back to the splitting section so that you can choose the other side to continue the game. Don't bother trying to get the same item twice, it doesn't work. A few of these interrogation marks result in unexpected effects, such as turning the game black & white, making it go silent or sending you back to the first stage.

The journey of a heroic flying dick haniwa, with turbofire

(courtesy of YouTube user piko2advance)

The teleport function is quite handy when you're low on health and money, providing an easy escape as long as you're not fighting a boss. It's practically cheating, that's why I made the decision to not use it when going for the 1CC. This can be done with a little practice, provided you avoid getting hit at all costs (each health cell costs $7.500) and you make the right choices in the split sections. The biggest challenge is definitely the last boss, even when getting into the fight with full health, an invincibility bubble and a homing shot. And again, similarly to Fantasy Zone, using the controller's turbofire feels like cheating because the shot gets much more powerful than the one you have with the autofire item you buy in the shop.

Although technically simple, graphics in this game definitely shine in a few parts of the stage design and in some of the sprite manipulation found in a handful of bosses. Corridors are mixed with abstract landscapes, the first boss seems to have been kidnapped right out of Fantasy Zone, and a few later bosses spew loads of bullets without a hint of slowdown (which is not to be found anywhere in the game). I personally enjoyed the broken perspective and the endless Escher-like staircases of the 6th stage. The definitive winning aspect of Hani, however, is the soundtrack. It's catchy, moody and uplifting at the same time. I think I found myself humming the BGM for the third stage for hours after I played the game for the first time.

Click for the option menus translation for Hani in the Sky

Everything considered, the lack of scoring in Hani in the Sky is what ultimately kills its appeal, combined with the scrambled menu structure, the slightly awkward rotation gimmick and the unnecessary teleport function. Money can't be considered score, especially with the fact that the game loops but removes all the money you collected in the first round while inflating shop prices by 100%. Where's the motivation to go on?

The game is fun for what it is, but there's a limit to the dedication I can give to a challenge that's devoid of numbers, even when I'm playing with a honorable penis haniwa. I cleared it without turbo fire and without warping back, I guess I had almost $200.000 when I started the last stage.

DonPachi (Saturn)

2011-05-18T18:18:00.001-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
6 Difficulty levels
5 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed fixed / selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Cave
Published by Atlus in 1995

Getting exposed for the first time to the shooting genre these days can be a traumatic experience, simply because the bulk of the games being released is of the bullet hell type. Within this style, Cave is undeniably the master developer, and every neophyte WILL eventually come across one of its offers. For those who think they're too over-the-top and their games are impossible to get into, let it be known that the scenario wasn't always like that. DonPachi, Cave's first title, is a fine transition between the shooter of old and the dawn of a new era, namely the so-called "danmaku" or "bullet hell". Imagine the overall style of Truxton or Grind Stormer and spice it up with new elements and more dense bullet patterns. The similarity isn't a coincidence, for Cave was one of the offshoot companies to arise from the ashes of then defunct Toaplan.

As I wanted to warm up for DoDonPachi (the sequel), I returned to DonPachi two months ago on the Sega Saturn but I had an unpleasant surprise: my Action Replay cartridge died on me as I was about to reach my goal of 10 million points. After weeks of waiting for a new cart I was finally able to resume play, rejoicing to the massive lasering and the fantastic destruction rush this game is capable to provide. You only need to overcome the inexcusable loading times of the port, by far the biggest letdown of an otherwise great package.

There are three ships to choose from: type A (red) has a forward shot and is the fastest one, type B (green) is a helicopter with medium speed and a pair of side turrets whose fire bends when you move, whereas type C (blue) is the slowest ship and comes with a spread pattern (all colors change for player 2). I adopted type B as my favorite because the turrets are great to take down enemies that arrive from the sides, plus its laser bomb is devastating, probably the most powerful one from all ships.

Type A ship wreaking havoc in the second stage of DonPachi

With this game, a legendary series and a trademark gameplay style was born. The basic concept is that you use only two buttons to play. One button is used to fire your weapon, and the other to drop bombs. Tapping the fire button results in the regular Shot, while holding it slows down the ship and makes it fire a concentrated beam of energy we all call Laser. Bombs behave according to how you're firing your weapon: combined with shot, what you get is a regular screen-clearing powerful blast; combined with laser, the result is that the laser beam is boosted for a brief while for an even greater destructive effect. Take the P icons to increase power and B icons to increase bomb stock, die and you're back to the starting power level. When you're maxed out, surplus items are worth 10.000 points each. And that covers the basics! Playing the game on a console gives you better controls because you can map shot and laser to different buttons, with laser overriding shot for a smooth gameplay experience.

I mentioned above that DonPachi is a good example of the transition between old school shmups and the more cluttered, fear inducing danmakus of today. In the first couple of stages there's nothing really taxing about enemies and bullet count, but stage 3 starts giving some trouble. By the time the player reaches the 4th stage it's necessary to combine memorization skills (enemies come from below and from the sides without notice) with techniques such as tap dodging and bullet herding, with a growing concern about correctly placing the ship, squeezing that tiny hitbox between clouds of bullets and taking out some of the enemies as fast as you can if you want to stand a chance at surviving. In my opinion it's a perfect difficulty ramp, suited to those who're willing to get into Cave's portfolio without burning out on an overwhelming challenge level. But wait, don't go thinking DonPachi is an easy ride. You also have to consider its famous scoring system, which starts showing itself when those big numbers appear close to the score display.

The chaining system in DonPachi and its sequels is extremely simple yet hard to master: kill enemies in succession (intervals of approximately 0,5 seconds max) and the combo multiplier will rise. The first enemy killed is the most important in the chain, because its value is the one that will be multiplied by the combo counter. In busy sections the "aura" that surrounds the ship when you're firing laser becomes very important, since it kills all popcorn stuff and doubles the damage inflicted if you stay pretty close to the enemy. Unlike its sequels though, DonPachi doesn't have enough enemies to allow the player a stage-long chain, so it's mostly a matter of getting a series of combos in every level. That's why chaining in DonPachi is a lot less frustrating than in the sequel DoDonPachi, a game that almost made me peel my skin off in disgust whenever I tried to play for score years ago.

Other scoring possibilities are related to end-of-stage bonuses, collecting stars for points and uncovering/collecting hidden bees by hitting their spots with laser (it's possible to get a glimpse of them by using shot). Get all 13 bees in a stage without dying to amass a bonus score of 266.500 points. Bonuses at the end of a stage are based on bomb stock and items collected. Refraining from using bombs is great to boost the score, but be warned that when you reach the 4th stage on one life and no bombs the game shifts to the HARD difficulty, making things even more hectic. On the other hand, using bombs will eventually grant you more bomb slots, however with much lower bonuses. The only extend comes with 2 million points, and a 1UP is obtained by destroying the central turret on the platform of stage 4 without using bombs.

Wing leader to base! Commencing operation! 3... 2... 1... Go!

(courtesy of YouTube user Madroms)

Besides all the innovation in the gameplay field, DonPachi is also a significant shmup as far as graphics and animations go. There's a great use of colors, an abundance of explosions and an overall sense of design that must have taken people by surprise back in the 90s. Another great asset is the bossy announcer and all his spoken messages, such as "keep your finger on the trigger, rookie" and "fire at will, kid, fire at will". I love it when he shouts "bomber" whenever I get a B item. He's the perfect match for the nice soundtrack, which has some of the best military-driven BGMs ever and highlights the gritty feel of the action. Unfortunately, as the series evolved the emphasis on manly military design would be left aside thanks to the loli characters introduced in the storyline.

By the way, the story has something to do with playing the game again once you beat it because the whole first loop seems to be a kind of simulation. Unlike further games in the series, there are no special criteria to fulfill in order to go to the second loop. This comes with increased difficulty, suicide bullets for everything you destroy and a true last boss (Hibachi) awaiting if you manage to beat the game again. The only way to avoid suicide bullets from appearing is to point-blank enemies, which means playing as close to them as you can.

Besides the problem of the loading times, the Saturn port of DonPachi is known to have a bit of slowdown (negligible) and more pixelly explosions, making it supposedly inferior to the Playstation version. However, it still kicks ass and is the best choice if you are restricted to playing in YOKO. Sure there's a TATE option included, complete with the possibility to rotate the d-pad and turn the game into a horizontal shooter. Lastly, a Score Attack mode makes it possible to practice specific stages.

The default difficulty setting of the game is "LITTLE EASY", so I switched it to NORMAL prior to playing. I was able to surpass my goal of 10 million, beating my old score by 17% and reaching stage 2-3, with a maximum combo of 54 hits.

Shikigami No Shiro (Playstation 2)

2011-05-13T18:17:00.004-04:00

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed / selectable at start
- - - - - - -
Developed by Alfa System
Published by Alfa System in 2002

32 women were murdered in Tokyo, all of the assassinations apparently linked to demonic reasons. I'm pretty sure this is further clarified in the various in-game Japanese dialogue sections and shooting action of Shikigami No Shiro, Alfa System's debut of its most cherished franchise for us shmuppers. I like to see this game as a representative of one of the three big branches in the evolution of danmaku: the "bullet grazing" shmup (Psyvariar also included). The other big ones would be the "bullet reflect/absorb" (Giga Wing, Radirgy) and the "enemy chaining" shmups (DoDonPachi). Sure there are many other branches/combinations, but whenever you think about bullet hell with the most recognizable scoring systems these are the kinds of games that come immediately to my mind, hence the association.

I generally don't care about the story, but there seems to be so much care built into it that I feel a little disappointed for understanding bollocks of Japanese. My copy is the Japanese one, since I refused to go after the localization with atrocious cover art and the title of Mobile Light Force 2. It was released in the US and in Europe, but I heard that it's a butchered port with missing artwork, lots of Engrish and no TATE option, so obviously the Japanese disc is the right way to enjoy the game to the fullest. Those who value extras will also have access in this version to an art gallery (unlocked by beating the game) and a special option with lots of Japanese text called "side story".

[ Just for the record, a first Mobile Light Force exists for the US Playstation and corresponds to the first Gunbird ]

Character design is strong in Shikigami No Shiro, and each of the six available characters is very different from the next one. Playing with all of them requires completely different strategies, so choosing the one that suits your style is mandatory to start the journey. They all share the same basic inputs, which are the main shot (tap fire button) and the shikigami/concentrated shot (hold fire button), for which your moving speed is drastically reduced. Besides that, bombs provide the necessary panic function for tight situations. The results of these inputs are completely different for each character.

No, this is not Mothra!

I don't really like the fact that you can't control the behavior of Kohtaro Kuga's familiar, which homes on enemies when he uses his shikigami attack. He's the protagonist of the story, and probably the easiest character to play with. Sayo Yuuki is nice, she reminds me of Sengoku Ace's Koyori without the voluptuous cleavage. After comparing all of them I decided to stick to Gennojo Hyuga, apparently the most mature of the bunch. His shikigami attack is a set of three awesome energy balls that latch onto enemies, in a connection that's broken only if (1) the enemy is destroyed, (2) the enemy leaves the screen, (3) you let go of the button or (4) you get hit. His bomb is probably his weakest asset, where he'll turn into a wolf and howl as he blazes across multiple on-screen targets.

Shikigami No Shiro takes place over cities and abstract sceneries, and the complete absence of ground targets leads to a detachment between action and backgrounds that was a bit off-putting for me when I first started playing the game. Here all entities have the ability to fly, and to fly only. Bullets are in most part slow but come in overwhelming numbers, and in later stages they force you to weave your way out of seemingly impossible curtains of death. Lots of bullets are good in Shikigami No Shiro, because then you can easily achieve higher multipliers and increase your score accordingly. The core aspect is the tension bonus system (aka TBS), a gimmick that applies multipliers from ×2 to ×8 to whatever you kill, based on how close you are to a bullet or an enemy. Additionally, grazing bullets will add an awesome boost to your firepower, also leading to more items/coins left by enemies if you're using the shikigami attack.

Coins are automatically sucked into the character while using the shikigami, and their values are increased the more you collect them. Collecting coins is also the only way to power-up the shikigami attack, which goes through four levels until it maxes out. If you get hit you lose exactly 360 coins and one power level, being deprived of the increased number of coins you would collect if you were at a higher power level. The main point is that you must be as close as you can to the danger in order to maximize the score. This is probably the most extreme risk-reward mechanic in bullet hell shooters, and an obvious hint to how hard they can get if you try to score well. Damn, Shikigami No Shiro is already a tough game even if you don't give a shit about the TBS!

Another important aspect of the gameplay is time. Each stage is divided into three sections, and each one has a boss that must be defeated. Though tempting, you just can't milk some bosses forever. If the timer runs out, red indestructible demons of death will materialize and quickly clutter the screen. The game starts with 150 seconds, and for every section you complete you get an additional of 70 seconds. Upon completion of a stage section, bonus points are awarded based on time, items collected and tension average. For me it's clearly advantageous to kill most bosses the fastest I can so that it's possible to get more points from other bosses (5-1 is the best example) without having to deal with the timeout demons in the final sections. Most of the time you don't worry about the timer, it only gets critical when you're about to clear the game, after lots and lots of practicing sessions in the tough parts.

Kim De John credit feeds until tiring off

(courtesy of YouTube user teh2Dgamer)

The game allows you to get extends, but the maximum number of lives you can have at any given time is three. Therefore, you won't get a new life if you reach the extend points with a full life stock (extends are granted with 150 million and every 300 million afterwards). A frustrating moment is when you just went pass the 150 million mark and get hit, losing a precious life you just missed for "scoring too much"... Two extra bombs are quickly obtained by powering up at the beginning of the game, with new bombs granted only if you get hit or if you reach the extend milestones.

When played for score Shikigami No Shiro can be turned into an exercise in frustration, beyond what's already offered by the increasingly harder stages and bosses. However, it's refreshing to know that every new section you reach without continuing is unlocked for training in Practice mode. It's a character-based unlock, but still a great way to allow improvement without incurring in grinding. I enjoyed the difficulty progression and the fact that there are always safer ways to go through the mayhem of enemies and bullets. Finding these paths and surviving the odds while grazing bullets is quite a rush. I just think the designs in stages 4 and 5 are graphically lacking, especially when compared to the starting skyscrappers of Tokyo at night. At least bosses remain interesting throughout the whole game, firing all sorts of bullets, lasers, energy beams, fireballs and needle shots in widely varied and intricate patterns. And let's not forget about one of the craziest mixes I've ever seen for regular enemies: teddy bears, butterflies, ballerinas, ninjas, leaves, drums, statues, skulls, etc. The voices in the game are subtle yet effective, but sadly there's nothing spectacular about the music. Nevertheless, one tune I did enjoy is the BGM for the second stage. It's impossible not to tap my feet to its rhythm when I'm waiting for boss 2-2 to arrive.

My 1CC run with Hyuga was done on NORMAL (difficulty 3), with "wait" set to OFF. This wait option is supposed to replicate the original slowdown of the arcade, and having it in OFF completely excludes all slowdown from the game. I could've tried to play more aggressively to increase my score, but I was too lazy. Let's say I'm saving my bullet grazing drive for the sequel!