Super Hydorah (Playstation 4)

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

All-out shooting action in the Galactic Inferno stage

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

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

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

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

Overdriven Evolution (Nintendo Switch)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lighting blue beams of destruction

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

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

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

 

Cho Aniki Zero (PSP)

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

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

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

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

Watermelon boss

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

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

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

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

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

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

Option menu translation for Cho Aniki Zero on the Japanese PSP

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

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

Terra Cresta II (PC Engine)

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
6 Stages
Ship speed selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by Nichibutsu
Published by Nichibutsu in 1992

Despite what some would normally believe, the Cresta series didn't evolve or was planned by Nichibutsu as a regular game franchise would. After Terra Force and UFO Robo Dangar failed to continue the arcade legacy left behind by Terra Cresta, the company decided to get back to the drawing board and launched Terra Cresta II exclusively in Japan for the PC Engine. The game tries to live up to the expectations of a sequel made for the home market, bulding upon the ideas of the original to deliver a shooting romp that in many aspects resembles similar outings in NEC's home platform, such as those relesead in the Soldier series.

Terra Cresta II starts out in a very stylish manner, with the Wing Galiber II ship departing in a nifty takeoff towards its first mission over ocean and land. Basic inputs still use two buttons, with shot mapped to button II and formation activation mapped to button I. Duly inherited from the original game, this formation mechanic will always be possible provided you have taken at least one extra ship part released by destroying flying carriers. These carriers are numbered from 2 to 5, corresponding to two enhancements to the frontal shot (one of them with piercing capability), a two-way upgrade that makes you shoot backwards and a rear barrier that can block bullets and destroy enemies upon contact.

A formation attack separates all ship parts into a wider pattern, greatly enhancing your shot coverage for about 10 seconds before returning them to their original state. It uses one F of your formation stock, which is filled up to three again whenever another ship part is collected. In addition to that, immediately after combining all four ship parts, the Wing Galiber transforms into an invincible phoenix/firebird for 10 seconds.

Insects over crimson ravines

The gameplay described so far is exactly the same of first chapter Terra Cresta. However, as you venture across several backgrounds and defeat a series of mid- and main bosses to advance, you'll notice that the game actually has a lot of nuances that might even make you confused as to how they work. The first example is the F item, that comes in two variations that are almost exactly the same. The regular F increases your formation stock by 1, whereas the flashing F determines that your next formation attack will be special: it sends out lots of extremely effective homing phoenixes. If the formation stock is full (3), collecting a normal F gives you 10.000 points, and a flashing F triggers the PRB "Phoenix Rolling Bomber", which targets everything on screen with a neat effect of multiple swirling phoenixes.

There are also a few more features and details that justify why the Wing Galibur II is such an improvement over the original design from Terra Cresta. The most obvious one is the selection between four speeds at the press of the SELECT button. And in a complimentary design nod to competitor company Compile, Nichibutsu also endowed the ship with brief invincibility windows when either entering or leaving a formation attack, as well as a 1-hit shield upon getting hit with at least one ship part when not in formation. If that happens the ship gets stripped down to its default condition. However, if the bare ship gets hit during a formation attack you're killed immediately.

Another interesting detail in the gameplay is that upon dying you can still recover ship parts if they drift away after the explosion. It doesn't happen all the time, so it's nice to be prepared to do so when it does. Finally, capsule parts that spread apart when you destroy an item carrier are capable of hitting and destroying enemies in their path. Each destroyed enemy will be worth 10.000 points, so good timing can net a great deal of points from this. And amassing points is the main source of resources in any given credit, after all an extra life is achieved at every 200.000 points you're able to score.

As we can see, there's a little more than meets the eye in Terra Cresta II. One thing is certain: on top of granting many extra lives, the game tends to make you feel very powerful whenever you're abusing formation attacks to overcome the odds. Don't get too confident though. Dying can be a huge blow in your ability to handle enemies, leaving you underpowered in the worst possible situations. Significant slowdown starts to happen as enemies pile up, and facing some of the bosses with the pea shooter can be really annoying because it severely affects the pace of the game. The second boss, in particular, is already a major flow disruptor. And if you get to him with a bare ship it gets even worse.

Tinkering with formation arrangements and facing the first level of Terra Cresta II
(courtesy of YouTube user ShiryuGL)

Unfortunately, pacing is actually the main problem with Terra Cresta II. Flames and volcanoes, castles, evil plants, ice mazes, Egyptian sandy areas and sky scrambles set the tone during the first five stages of the game (see the influence from Namco's Dragon Spirit there?). Once the game enters the sixth stage things start to fall apart, with an extremely long level that makes you fight all previous bosses again in between regular enemy sections. The time slip to Terra Cresta, which makes you play a full loop of the first chapter before entering the area for the final boss, is quite nice but it's not enough to bring the game up to speed again. The whole sixth stage is actually the last one and represents half the game's duration!

The size and the multiple phases of the last boss give some dignity to the final battle, as well as the relatively decent soundtrack. However, something's definitely off when half a game that lasts over an hour feels like a rehash of its own assets. In essence, what starts out as a promising adventure with clear gameplay improvements comes to an end in a rather lower note.

Terra Cresta II had the potential to be great, but Nichibutsu ditched it in the end. It's still a fairly acceptable diversion though since it does nothing wrong except being too long and incurring in too much repetition. For those who fancy caravan modes, the HuCard also includes 2-minute and 5-minute modes, each with its own high score buffer. Note that when playing a normal game you need to perform a soft reset (RUN + SELECT) once the ending credits halt at the final screen and then go to "Score" from the main menu in order to see the high scores. My best 1CC result is below, using the default formation patterns. In a feature inherited from the NES port of Terra Cresta, the game allows players to change the formation patterns before starting the credit.

 

 

The next chapter in this series is Terra Cresta 3D, released for the Sega Saturn in 1997.

Jim Power in Mutant Planet (PC Engine CD)

Hybrid (Horizontal / Platformer)
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Loriciel
Published by Micro World in 1992

Putting together run'n'gun and shoot'em up levels in the same video game seems like a very nice way to entertain fans of both styles. A true representative of this particular genre crossover, Jim Power, or Jim Power in Mutant Planet as displayed in the start screen, was first released for the Commodore Amiga before appearing in a few other platforms. I can't vouch for how the game behaves in comparison with the original, but the PC Engine CD version is considered by many to be one of the best pretty much on the account of the soundtrack, which is indeed the technical highlight of the game.

Upon a quick glance, however, the graphics and the animation for the main character are of course admirable. Colorful sprites and abundant parallax in the shmup levels give you the impression of a truly charming adventure, where a heroic young man named Jim is sent to another planet to rescue the president's daughter from an evil alien called Vulkhor. The game's European heritage is too strong though, and Jim Power in Mutant Plant is an authentic product of this dreaded development school. That's why players should expect to fight not only against the enemies, but also against wonky controls and a series of contentious design choices that aren't really the epitome of engaging shooting action.

The good news is that what seems like a painful ordeal is just a good old challenge in memorization. On top of the bullet count being actually very low, absolutely everything moves according to a fixed pattern and does not respawn. With a little practice and at least some minor degree of patience everyone can beat the game, regardless of the lack of continues. There's also a password feature that allows direct access to all stages, which is also good for training.

A voyage to a mutant planet to rescue a beautiful girl
(courtesy of YouTube user The VideoGames Museum)

Exclusive to this version is the extended intro that shows how Jim gets to the mutant planet. Once there, he must battle through five levels to get to Vulkhor. Stages 1, 3 and 5 are of the platforming type, whereas stages 2 and 4 unfold in a horizontal shooting fashion. All bosses are also fought in a shmup environment, and since they're all complete pushovers the bulk of the challenge lies in not dying during the levels themselves. In the platforming levels button II is used to shoot and button I is used to jump. Hold the shot button to charge and release a limited special attack, which the game erroneously – by well-known genre conventions – calls a smart bomb (SB). This resource isn't available during the shmup parts, where you're naturally only allowed to use the shot button.

As Jim gets through the platforming parts, it's very important to master the jump mechanic. It's definitely an awkward one, and requires specific timing to land over moving surfaces. And if you want to fire your gun while jumping, think twice. Doing so interrupts the jump movement, which more often than not makes you fall to an agonizing demise over deadly thorns. Also be on the lookout for enemies hopping happily where you're about to land, which is another way to die and feel stupid about yourself. A single touch from an enemy or an active obstacle (drops from the ceiling, spikes, etc.) is enough to kill you. It's possible to duck, but you're only allowed to shoot left and right, not up or at diagonals.

A series of items appears by destroying an insect-like container, or simply hovering at mid-air in certain points. The most important ones are the clock, which resets your timer to 1:59 (timing out means death), the 1UP (extra life), the key (which opens up doors along the way), EXT (extra, a.k.a. power-up) and very scarce symbols that alters your shot type later on during the game. A couple of items resembling fruit give you some points, in the same way the green and the golden crystals that pop up everywhere do. The aforementioned smart bomb (SB) has a purpose, but I much prefer to just activate a turbo funtion and rely on regular shooting from start to finish. Finally, a somewhat useless invincibility item works for some seconds only, so my advice is to not trust its effect at all. Fortunately it's not necessary to get out of your way to get any of these items. They're all naturally placed to be easily collected as you move along.

Shooting sections are shorter but initially a lot more treacherous because your hitbox is huge and lives behave like health. Jim doesn't disintegrate in a skeleton animation like in the platforming areas, instead the hit just takes away one life and he keeps on flying. Once again, memorization is key to get through all those waves of drones, insect flocks, flying mushrooms, stray leaves and jumping fish. Everything gets by really fast, and at least in stage 2 you're severely underpowered, a situation that demands an active approach to avoid the successive loss of lives. Strangely enough, stage 4 is a little easier since you'll have better firepower once you get there. Not a single bullet is fired against you in these shmup parts, so the enemies themselves behave as "bullets" (Deep Blue, anyone?). The only items found in both shooting stages are a clock and a 1UP.

A powerful jetpack and lava rivers

Jim Power in Mutant Planet looks nice but completely lacks the beautiful parallax effects of the platforming sections seen in the Amiga original, but this actually provides less confusion for those who might have a hard time with the visual overload of multiple planes scrolling at different speeds. Judging by videos, it's also clear that this version simplifies other important aspects such as the enemy diversity in shooting stages, which in turn are less dynamic, and boss battles, which take place in a dark empty room. Besides, all bosses were turned into crippled creatures that aren't even able to shoot. Final boss Vulkhor at least fires one large fireball, if that counts for something.

The uneven difficulty perception combined with the awkward controls is what ultimately keeps this game from achieving the expected results hinted by the cool graphics. As I mentioned above, the initial difficulty wanes fast once you start to memorize stage and enemy layouts, hoarding extra lives to get through any part of the game that might be considered tricky. That's why Jim Power in Mutant Planet becomes less of a chore with time despite all the unfriendly gameplay elements. The great soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck definitely helps in that regard. The BGM that plays in stage 3 is awesome.

I managed to defeat Vulkhor and save the presiden't daughter with the final result below. I like to think she was eager to spend a good time with Jim in her trip back to Earth!

Pseudo-sequel Jim Power - The Lost Dimension was released soon after for the SNES. A canceled version for Mega Drive was finished and eventually released decades later for several video game platforms, along with a brand-new retro port for the NES.

Triggerheart Exelica (Dreamcast)

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed, start selectable
- - - - - - -
Developed by Warashi
Published by Warashi in 2007

Is a shooter with a unique gimmick always a worthy experience, even if this gimmick isn't unanimously approved by everyone? Tricky question, yes. Triggerheart Exelica's claim to fame, for example, is the ability to capture enemies and throw them around as you please, only abiding by the elementary rules of rotational momentum. Many games had already used the same idea of grabbing enemies for a defensive or offensive edge, but this one takes the concept to a whole new level, much beyond what was done in titles like G Darius, Gaiares or Macross - Scrambled Valkyrie.

Ported roughly a year after its arcade debut, Triggerheart Exelica was the second to last official release for the Sega Dreamcast, coming out just a few weeks before Karous. Packed with three game modes (Arcade, Story and Arrange), configurable controls, practice mode, TATE and save function, the game was also available in regular and limited editions, the latter in a DVD case including a soundtrack CD and an extra art booklet.

The story here is trivial and a bit convoluted as usual. Suffice it to say players are able to choose from two sexy sisters that must battle inside advanced mecha suits through five increasingly tough stages. Exelica fires a spread pattern, while Crueltear has a straight shot and moves a little faster. Besides shooting, they can also activate bombs and latch onto any enemy with an anchor/spear. Extra bombs (B) and power-ups (P) appear from specific enemies in the level. Just two power-ups are enough to maximize their firepower, however the more you play the more you realize that regular firing isn't as effective as the ability to use the anchor, especially in the last couple of stages.

Playing Triggerheart Exelica for the first time
(courtesy of YouTube user Random Gaming Moments)

 

By destroying enemies gold flocks/medals are generated for collection. If you let go of the shot button these will be automatically sucked into the character, adding to a medal count and a multiplier. Using captured enemies to destroy other enemies cashes in this multiplier in exchange for points and even more medals. Medals increase in size and value if they're left floating on the screen, so it's always best to hold the shot button for a while. You lose 30% of your medal count if you die, and 15% if you collide with a harmless obstacle, such as those originated during boss fights.

Anchoring and throwing enemies requires some basic steps: grab the target with the anchor, draw it close by pressing the shot button, keep shot pressed as you spin it around either left or right and release the anchor button to throw the enemy in the intended direction. Besides the direction you can also control the speed of the spin with the shot button, but if the captured enemy isn't moving it will explode it you let go of the anchor button. Finally, the larger the anchored enemy the longer it takes for you to take control. Those that can't be captured (such as ground targets or bosses) will still be latched onto so that you can inflict damage by firing. Once the enemy is thrown it will not only hit whatever lies ahead with destructive power, but also convert all bullets in its path into gold medals.

One thing is definitely true about Triggerheart Exelica. Being able to reliably control the anchoring mechanic is easier said than done. I'd say that fully understanding and using this mechanic is the shmup equivalent to striking decent forehands or backhands in tennis. It takes practice and it takes time. And on a bad day it can destroy your ability to play, let alone win. There is an alternative to make it less cumbersome though: a switch in the options called "autospin" makes enemies rotate automatically after being captured. Note however that by activating autospin you lose the ability to use enemies as static shields (by avoiding to spin them with the shot button).

Another important aspect of the game is how it treats boss confrontations, in what's normally referred to as V.B.A.S. or "Variable Boss Attack System". All bosses have multiple phases, which evolve according to your current number of medals. This means that if you don't have enough medals boss fights are abbreviated. The only boss whose forms do not depend on the medal count is the last one. On the other hand, if you have at least 3.000 medals by the time you beat the last boss phases in stages 1 and 3, a secret character named Faintear will appear and prolong the fight. It goes without saying, but extended boss fights allow for a lot more opportunities for scoring.

 

Exelica taking to the skies in stage 3

Even though I like Triggerheart Exelica's soundtrack, I'm not a fan of the thumpy choice for impact sound effects. As for the game's aesthetics, they're decent but the graphics could've certainly used a little more detail. While the cinematic transitions help to keep a dynamic flow, which is often interrupted by bulkier enemies that cause the scrolling to cease, the game is generally built upon a fine balance that gives you a constant flow of aerial enemies to use as shields or projectiles. But what if someone doesn't want to use the anchor at all, I wonder? Could you beat the game? I believe this is virtually impossible. Denying the use of the anchor could be done until stage 3, but once you enter the drone field of the 4th stage you won't get anywhere without throwing those huge blocks around.

The extra game variants add even more spice to the original Arcade mode. Story mode is identical to the Arcade, but makes you confront Faintear in stages 1 and 3 regardless of your medal count. She also appears halfway the final level. A bonus of Arrange mode is that finishing the game with no continues lets ou see a more optimistic ending than the sad one from Arcade mode. Arrange mode, on the other hand, has more bullets and more medals to collect, doing away with the multiplier. All modes share the same thresholds for extra lives at 50 and 100 million points.

I was able to get the 1CC in Arcade mode in the Normal difficulty, playing with Exelica with default controls (no autospin). I can't say I was having good fun all the time though, mostly because the varying efficiency of my touch with the anchor mechanics often ruined my runs in the most awkward ways. I might return to the game in the Playstation 2 port Triggerheart Exelica Enhanced, which has the distinction of allowing you to play with extra character Faintear.

Detana!! TwinBee (PC Engine)

Vertical
Checkpoints OFF
4 Difficulty levels
6 Stages (loopable)
Ship speed by icons
- - - - - - -
Developed by Konami
Published by Konami in 1992

The only home port of the chapter that redefined the series into a full blown cute'em up franchise, Detana!! TwinBee brings to the PC Engine the multitude of colors of the arcade game while toning down the difficulty for the most part. My statement above stems from the fact that Detana!! is actually the first arcade sequel to the original TwinBee, after several intermediate entries for the NES and the Game Boy. Although the previous games did have some cute elements, they were hardly set in stone as to their overall tone. That's why I believe Detana!! to be the start of the second and better phase of the franchise as a whole.

Living up to its alternate title Bells & Whistles, the game continues to build upon the colored bell mechanics to provide a very specific kind of shmup rush, which mixes survival and scoring against a backbone defined by dynamic difficulty. Even though the punishment for dying is still remarkable, especially in the final levels, it's certainly a more easygoing and approachable experience than the arcade original for a series or reasons. Reduced hitbox and bullet count, less fierce rank progression and extra lives (1UPs) to be collected from specific ground targets are some of them.

The only real compromise besides the expected graphical and musical downgrade is the absence of the sixth level of the arcade original, the one that takes place in the desert landscape. Other than that, everything about the gameplay is duly preserved and remains the same.

Japanese rooftops protruding above fluffy clouds in stage 5

 

Basic inputs are very simple and work with shot in button II and bomb drop in button I. Just like in Xevious, bomb drops are used to hit ground targets. By holding shot you can charge and release a powerful attack that pierces everything and inflicts damage. Powering up is mainly achieved by hitting bells released from clouds and taking the colored ones. At every five hits the bell changes color to a different one other than yellow, in an ongoing sequence with the following order: white (twin shot), blue (speed-up), green (trailing options), red (shield barrier), purple ("solidifies" your options, making them able to cancel bullets and deal aerial damage), black (speed-down) and back to white. You can't have red and purple simultaneously, and if you already have a particular item the corresponding bell in the sequence will be yellow.

The secret to a better chance of survival is to use the first batch of clouds in the very first level to power up as fast as you can. At least two speed-ups are needed, as well as twin shot and options. Extra upgrades can be applied by collecting the ground bell, which gives you a three-way shot for the main character, and by releasing and "docking" with GwinBee, the third mecha besides TwinBee (player 1, piloted by Light the boy) and WinBee (player 2, piloted by Pastel the girl). Firepower is increased when united with GwinBee, especially the charge shot. The only downside is that the hitbox increases twofold, and GwinBee will be lost if hit.

A final detail about the hitbox is that you can lose one or both arms of the character, thus affecting its ability to drop bombs. If both arms are lost an ambulance item will cruise the screen for you to repair them, but note that this only happens once in each level. If the arms are once again lost you'll be unable to drop bombs until you die or reach the next level.

Speaking of scoring, the formula is rather simple. Just collect successive yellow bells. Once the initial ones are taken (four), all others will be worth 10.000 points provided you don't let any of them fall down the screen. Juggling bells for points can be tricky if you're not fast enough, particularly in the second half of the game since enemies start coming down more aggressively and in greater numbers. Finally, you also get extra score by collecting fruit released from ground targets, and 1.000 points are awarded for most of the aerial enemy waves you're able to completely wipe out. 

Intro and first stage of Detana!! TwinBee on the PC Engine
(courtesy of YouTube user The VideoGames Museum)

It's no secret I was never much of a fan of the concept behind the TwinBee series. However, amidst forests, skies, rivers, mountains and ravines, there's no denying that the action in this version of Detana!! TwinBee is finely tailored to the console format both in terms of fun and difficulty. There's just one glaring exception: the final boss. For some odd reason, that creature is even harder than its arcade counterpart no matter the rank situation when you get to him. No only does he spit a lot more bullets, but he also takes a longer beating to finally go down. This crazy difficulty spike is definitely unexpected and uncalled for, and sort of taints the general appreciation of the game.

Regardless of the above, one of the nicest aspects of the PC Engine port of Detana!! TwinBee is that it allows co-op play, a feature that's often well regarded in console adaptations. I admit the game might have a different kind of charm when played with a friend, as long as both players are able to come to grips with the inherent greed associated with bell manipulation.

I played with Light/Twinbee (player 1 side) in the Normal difficulty and reached stage 2-1 with the final score below. The second loop is a lot harder than the first, and unless you have some proper practice chances are the adventure will come to an end right there and then.

The next title in the series is another console game, the amazing Pop'n TwinBee for the Super Famicom, which was later followed by the final arcade chapter TwinBee Yahho!.

Darius Alpha (Playstation 4)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
16 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Taito / M2
Published by Strictly Limited Games in 2020

Those who've been around long enough certainly know at least a little about the Taito long-running franchise where you fight all sorts of marine creatures in outer space. Besides several impressive arcade titles, in the good old days Taito was also very keen on delivering ports and even original games to home consoles. One way to know some of the best of them is by getting hold of the Darius Cozmic Collection Console, a compilation released for the Playstation 4 (and the Nintendo Switch) that packs six console classics and some variations thrown in for good measure. Of all the included games, however, the one that most people will certainly be more curious about is Darius Alpha.

A promotional version of Darius Plus released in 1990 for the PC Engine, Darius Alpha was a mail-order exclusive, obtainable only by sending in a pair of coupons found in the manuals of Super Darius and Darius Plus. Only 800 copies of the HuCard were produced, making it one of the rarest and most expensive HuCards ever made. Sure you could resort to emulation, but what about experiencing the game in full glory as ported by the nice fellows from M2? For those who value the idea of playing it on a real console, it sounds irresistible.

Considering both Darius Plus and Darius Alpha are included in this compilation, it's only natural to play the former and then Alpha, which works as an arrange version of sorts. That's what I'd recommend you to do if you haven't been exposed to the HuCard games yet, after all Darius Alpha is a boss rush where you fight all 16 bosses from Darius Plus in succession.

Is Tough Spring perhaps the 2nd degree cousin of My Home Daddy?

Although devoid of much animation, all bosses are quite large and menacing, often moving all over the screen as they try to hit you with all sorts of attacks, from bullets to lasers and even homing fireballs. Most of them can be beaten with simple strategies, but some do require precise positioning and dodging so that you can successfully avoid damage. By default, button × fires the main shot/missiles, ○ drops bombs and either □ or ∆ provide rapid shot for both inputs at the same time. Power-ups are granted automatically after each boss fight, making all three weapons (missile/shot, bombs and shield) evolve equally. Provided you don't die, the first form of shot (missile) is used against three bosses, the laser is used against seven of them and with wave shot you get to face the six final creatures. Dying strips you off all power-ups in the current upgrade level, which can be aggravating at whatever stage you are. There are no extends and no continues.

Visually and musically the game owes a lot to Darius Plus, which in turn did a decent job in adapting Darius to the home format of the PC Engine. Backgrounds consist only of that otherworldly cloud formation shifting colors as stages unfold, and the music changes as per the original main game. However, for a glorified arrange mode exclusively built upon bosses, it's just a bit disappointing that you don't get to see the names of those giant creatures prior to the fight, just like in future chapters of the franchise. Extra points are obtained by destroying some of their parts (fins, tails, arms), as well as by prolonging the fight so that those spinning timeout cubes start appearing. It's a very risky strategy though, simply because in Darius Alpha these cubes are (or at least seem to be) much more aggressive.

Playing Darius Alpha on the Playstation 4 has some minor advantages over the original HuCard. It looks great since in default conditions the game runs in Supergrafx-compatible mode, which supposedly makes colors more vivid and eliminates the occurrence of sprite flicker (not that much of a problem in the original game actually). There isn't much in the way of those fine gadgets that became the trademark of M2, but they at least included a vertical indicator named "boss navigator" that shows your progress as you beat game bosses in succession.

Release trailer for Darius Cozmic Collection Console
(courtesy of YouTube user and digital publisher ININ GAMES)

The interface for the game selection screen in Darius Cozmic Collection Console is top notch, providing valuable information on all included games in the English language. In the case of Darius Alpha three extra modes exist besides the Normal game (in Normal mode button L1 initiates the 4-minute time trial mode, serving as the SELECT button from the PC Engine original). Both the normal and time trial courses, in addition to an extra full game time attack mode, can also be played separately if you wish to get your best results into the online leaderboards. For these it's also possible to save and upload your game replay, as well as download any replay available on the leaderboards. In-game functions can always be accessed by pressing either R2 or L2.

My time revisiting Darius Alpha was short but intense. I hammered the game for one evening until I got the clear with the end result below, defeating final boss Cuttle Fish in my very last life. It was great and straight-to-the-point fun, the kind that never gets old no matter how old we get (or feel). 

Takotan (Playstation 4)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF/ON
2 Difficulty levels
8 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Joseph Calabro
Published by Red Art Games in 2021

Dear fellow shmuppers, especially those who are fond of everything Parodius or Gradius, beware. This game is a trap. Down to the game's name, on the outside everything about it screams Takosuke the Octopus, a major character in the long-running comedic franchise created by Konami. I actually wonder how the devs could actually pull off a stunt like this, but considering the Konami of today couldn't care less about its IPs it's no wonder such aberrations are allowed to exist. Suffice it to say that apart from the visual similarities there is absolutely nothing here that serves as a throwback to Parodius or poor Takosuke.

Takotan hit the gaming scene in several platforms at around the same time, and considering it was even released for the long dead PS Vita my guess is that it was actually developed from the ground up for this particular system. All other versions then probably followed. Also released as Octonaut in some other platforms, it's a simplistic widescreen cute'em up where the main character is a golden octopus on a mission to save planet Earth from an alien invasion. The opening animation hints at the fact that Takotan/Octonaut is actually a kaiju, much like similar humongous creatures such as Godzilla or Mothra.

Given its relatively friendly visuals, it's astonishing how little fun you can have with this game. You shoot with button × and activate the last collected weapon with button □, while also having the ability to dodge by quickly retreating to the background with button ○. A new stage always starts with 1.000 points of health/shield, allowing players to take lots — and I mean lots — of damage before dying. The game practically doesn't want you to die, but if by any chance you happen to bite the dust Takotan will be respawned at the start of the level or the start of the boss fight.

Release trailer for Takotan on the Playstation 4
(courtesy of YouTube user and publisher RED ART GAMES)

On top of granting a huge amount of shield energy, Takotan also gives you health refills every now and then in between weapon items. Unfortunately, of all 12 weapons available only the 3-way shot (scatter) is actually useful. All other weapons are either stupidly cumbersome or just underpowered to the point you can't even destroy a single turret, and with no power-ups in sight it's just foolish to relinquish 3-way. Not even the "invincible" item is worth a damn since it prohibits you from shooting while denying any damaging power whatsoever. Finally, as if dying wasn't such a hard thing to do, you can also run into extra lives to prolong the agony.

But hey! Do you feel the need to lose even less health? Just turn Assist to ON at the start screen and off you go!

Anyway, the remainder of the items that appear from destroyed waves and enemies are crystals, which as they get hit increase in value from 100 to 500 while shifting colors from green to yellow, red, pink, pinkier and then back to green. Naturally, crystals are one of the main sources of extra points. The other scoring device consists of destroying enemies in succession to make the score multiplier increase up to a maximum of ×10. The problem with this mechanic is that most of the time it's impossible to sustain the maximum multiplier simply because the game has too many empty sections. Some stages are pretty much just obstacle fields devised to make use of the background dodging maneuver.

In a nutshell, the gameplay in Takotan is a catastrophe of wrong choices all over. It severely lacks any sense of balance in weapons, stage design or scoring. What was supposed to be simple and easygoing is just incredibly boring, with zero potential for a minimum sense of drive or excitement. When will devs realize that cute design and decently drawn sprites for bosses aren't enough to make a game? Let alone one that blatantly steals and dillutes ideas without any sort of expansion whatsoever? Sorry, but the background dodging thing doesn't cut it.

The boss from stage 5 (The Outpost)

The irregular duration of levels is also a noteworthy aspect of why the game seems a real chore to play. The 4th stage, titled "the stars", seems to take forever to complete, and depending on which weapon you have boss fights might drag even more than they normally do. On the other side of the torture spectrum, a special mode called Panic gives you only a 1-hit shield and instant death afterwards, in a harder setting of sorts that's nigh impossible due to the idiotic way weapons are implemented. Finally, in Custom mode you can adjust everything you want about the gameplay, such as fixing weapons, eliminating weapon choices, selecting stages, etc.

In trying to get more information to share with you fine readers I ended up beating the game one more time, as you can see from the leaderboard table below. If you want to do the same, i.e. have your name immortalized in this mighty colorful screen, be warned you'll have to endure the game to the end since it's impossible to input your initials unless you do so. Oh yes, just like in any other hobby suffering is sometimes inescapable. The good news is that life goes on and there are lots of games around the corner waiting to provide much more fun than things of this sorry caliber.

Star Hunter DX (Playstation 4)

Horizontal
Checkpoints OFF
3 Difficulty levels
6 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by 1CC Games
Published by Strictly Limited Games in 2022

First title developed by 1CC Games, Star Hunter DX originally came out in 2021 for all mainstream platforms, and was soon granted a physical edition in tandem with the second shmup from the same developer. Aptly titled Star Hunter DX & Space Moth Lunar Edition, the bundle came out for the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 4, with the latter obviously being my console of choice in the case of this particular game.

Horizontal bullet hells aren't really frequent in the world of shmups, and Star Hunter DX helps to fill this void with honest, undeniable gusto. It makes excellent use of the widescreen format while completely focusing on gameplay rather than graphic excellence. Graphics are, in fact, the short end of the design here, and do not live up to the capability of a system like the Playstation 4. They get the job done, but the ship sprites are almost as hideous as the box art, for example. You won't see any fancy effects at all across increasingly difficult stages filled with lots of color and all sorts of bullet types and bullet patterns.

The heroine of the game is a lady called Luna Starr, a former space pirate turned bounty hunter. She's one of the three pilots the player can use, but in order to access the other ones you'll first need to reach stage 3 (unlock CAT-99) and stage 5 (unlock Edgar). They're featured prominently in the art design and their ships have quite unique characteristics. Inputs include rapid shot, laser shot, bomb and bullet time activation, fully customizable in the options as you so wish. In a nutshell, this is pretty much the same input configuration found in many Cave titles such as Espgaluda, which serves as the most obvious inspiration for the more straightforward gameplay of Star Hunter DX.

Behold some beautiful circular patterns of doom

 

Even though the screen seems too cluttered with information, it's actually not that hard to grasp how the game works. The act of hitting any enemy fills up the score multiplier meter located at the lower left of the screen up to a maximum of ×8, a number that drops slowly if you're not hitting anything. By grazing bullets you fill up the meter below the life stock display, and when the meter is full you recover one bomb, in a maximum of three bombs that can be carried at any given time (the three white dots below the ship also serve the purpose of displaying your current bomb stock). Finally, by killing enemies or nullifying bullets with the bomb you collect small blue crystals that fill up the "bullet time" round meter around the ship. When this meter is half full or more you can enter bullet time mode by pressing the dedicated button, slowing down all enemies and bullets. All bullets fired by destroyed enemies are then turned into gold crystals whose size and value are directly proportional to your current multiplier.

Bullet time is a resource that serves all kinds of players/pilots since it's useful both for survival (slower bullets) and for scoring (gold cubes get!). However, every time you come out from bullet time mode either by the expiration of the bullet time meter, by pressing the bullet time button again or by dying, the score multiplier is reset to 1. Therefore, the main challenge for score chasers is finding the best moments to activate bullet time and cash in your multiplier with the maximum amount of bullets on screen. Allowing enemies to live long enough while avoiding their bullet curtains is key, and the thrill of doing it is the basis of the game's underlying appeal.

In-game items include the power-up (P), maximum power-up (MAX), floating astronauts (which give you some points and fill up a good chunk up the bullet time meter) and extra lives (1UP). The extend checkpoint for the appearance of an extra life depends on the chosen difficulty level, and for Normal (Bounty Hunter) it stands at 6 million points. The gauge below the score display indicates how far you are from getting your next extend.

Star Hunter DX has arrived
(courtesy of digital publisher and YouTube user Chorus Worldwide Games)

With six levels of good length and variety, Star Hunter DX is a no-brainer for those who enjoy weaving through dense bullet clouds. Bullet density increases steadily as the game progresses, but there's a remarkable difficulty spike when you enter the quartz city in stage 4. This is the only level with obstacles, and to safely get through it a good strategy for crowd control is needed if you don't want to be overwhelmed. Astronauts in this level are also trapped inside walls, but can be rescued by touching them with the ship's canopy or downright bombing to safely get through solid matter. By the way, bomb behavior is a little different here: its effect is restricted to a close radius and not the whole screen, which means you need to get relatively close to the target if you want to inflict actual damage.

At its core, the game also has some intricacies that will only become clear with repeated plays. Using rapid shot is the best way to fill and maintain the multiplier maximized, so tapping rapid shot is sometimes really useful if you want to keep enemies alive, especially in bullet time mode. Another feature of bullet time is that it also makes health bars appear for every single enemy on screen. It's possible to prolong boss fights by triggering their espape pods, which is achieved by destroying all their initial armor (white color parts) while in bullet time mode. Not only does it provide more opportunities for scoring during the battle itself, but it also gives you better end-of-stage bonuses. Besides boss fight performance, these bonuses include extra points for average multiplier, gold collected, astronauts rescued, grazing effectiveness and life stock.

And then there's the matter of choosing the ideal character. Luna is naturally the most balanced of the three, with faster speed when using shot and lower speed when using laser. CAT-99 is the opposite, yet he comes with the most powerful rapid shot endowed with homing ability, an ideal choice for beginners. Too bad he flies too fast when using his weak laser. As for veteran pilot Edgar, he's got the strongest laser with very slow speed while being weak and too fast when using rapid shot. Playing with both CAT-99 and Edgar might be fun, but they certainly require much more knowledge to be properly used in the long term. Fortunately there's a practice mode that allows all sorts of predefined settings for proper training. There are no online features whatsoever.

Thanks to the solid scoring system, well-balanced gameplay and a relatively decent soundtrack, Star Hunter DX is definitely bound to please all sorts of audiences. Despite the somewhat cheap graphic design, it's an engaging game that makes you want to come back for more. I only came across one functional issue: if you get very far into the credit or use the practice mode for a long while, in your very next playthrough the performance of the game degrades considerably and everything moves a lot slower than usual. The only remedy I found for that is closing the game and booting it again from the main menu.

There were still lots of improvement gaps in my strategies for Star Hunter DX, but I'll take the 1CC score achieved below with Luna in the Normal difficulty (Bounty Hunter). I still don't know how the game compares to Space Moth Lunar Edition, the other title in the package, but I expect to find out soon.