Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo (Switch) Review

Complimenting last month's release, NIS America releases Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo, another collection of six retro shoot-em'up games, frequently called "shmups."  Okay, one of them isn't a shmup, but we will get to that.  Last time had the three Strikers games and three others, while this time the collection is mostly centered around Samurai Aces and Gunbird.

The first game in the collection is Samurai Aces.  Like most of the games last month, it is a top-down shooter.  Choosing one of six planes, you get an auto shot (fires continuously), a normal shot that can be charged, and a bomb.  Unlike some of the other shmups in the collections, the charge shot in Samurai Aces doesn't require a portion of an energy meter.  The exchange is that it takes longer to charge.  This really limits its effectiveness, since you can't shoot while charging.  It just leaves you too vulnerable to be very effective for me.

You fly through each stage, blasting enemies and mid-bosses until the boss shows up.  Whittle down its health, and it will be defeated, moving you on to the next stage.  Like too many shmups, the power-ups hate going down to the player's section of the screen.  They bounce around with the enemies.  It's dangerous to try and pick them up, but too necessary to pass up.  At least they are plentiful.  Sadly, they need to be.  Making matters worse is the highest level of power-up is only temporary.  After a bit, it drops you back down a level.  It's hard enough to get there, let alone keep.  Still, it's not a game mechanic that I like.  Of course, the game back then just wanted you to keep putting quarters in it, balance be damned.  Setting the continues to infinite helps take the sting out of that old-school "balance".

Next up is Tengai and Samurai Aces 3.  Tengai is pretty much Samurai Aces 2, just with a different name.  Unlike the first, these two are side-scrolling shooters.  If you remember Sol Divide from my previous review, then you will know the basic gist of these.  However, instead of the early 90s CGI graphics, these two games feature sprite artwork for the characters.  Tengai also has sprites for the backgrounds, which looks better to me.  Samurai Aces 3 has fancy 3-D graphics for the stage backdrops, but they are too distracting.

Tengai features 5 characters, each with an automatic shot, a charge shot, and a screen-clearing bomb attack.  It's pretty fun, and unlike the vertical scrolling shmups in the collections, the power pick-ups can actually go near where the player is likely residing.  Samurai Aces 3 sports 4 characters (2 more can be added with a code), plus adds something new to the control scheme.  Each character has a cannon attack.  Now you know why the subtitle is Sengoku Cannon.  This attack is strong, but not able to be fired continuously.  Plus, killing an enemy with it makes some of their bullets disappear.  It's a nice function, and I would like that game the best, if it were nicer.  The fancy backgrounds make the bullets hard to see, which makes them harder to dodge.  If the game had more static backgrounds, or maybe just lighter in color, I think it would be better.

Next up are Gunbird 1 & 2.  While I still own Gunbird 2 on the Dreamcast, I didn't remember much of it.  Each is similar to the first Samurai Aces, but with a different character set and theme.  Both of them have 5 characters to choose from, each with different attacks.  In an interesting twist, most of the characters are different in each game, rather than the same or similar, like Samurai Aces.

There is still an auto shot, a charge-able shot, and a bomb to get you out of trouble.  Gunbird 2 also has a close-range attack that requires the built up energy meter to use.  It's...not great.  It would be more useful if it were a lot stronger, or could protect you from bullets, or even if it didn't cost energy.  Right idea, but I think the execution needed some work.  Each stage throws lots of enemies at you, some power-ups, and ends with a big boss fight before moving you to the next area.  Like the first Samurai Aces, the premise and story are simple (yes there's actually a plot), but the games can be pretty fun.  Well, until the screen fills with bullets and you have no where to go.  I completed both of the Gunbirds while playing with my favorite co-op partner (the ever popular Wife Blade), despite the numerous deaths we suffered.

The last game in the collection is Gunbarich.  It has the main girl from Gunbird and...some boy as the playable characters.  Instead of a shmup, it's more like Alleyway or other brick breaking games.  This got me excited because I love those games.  In Gunbarich, your paddle even has flippers!  That makes it much easier to hit your ball at different angles.  The power ups are really useful too.  I quickly noticed the levels are timed, which I thought would be a problem.  That didn't end up being an issue though.  After a few levels, there is a boss fight, which were a little chaotic, but fun.

However, there is a huge downside to the game.  It's flat out cheap, and stops being fun very quickly.  There are enemies that shoot paralyzing bullets.  You can reflect them back with the flippers, so it didn't start as a huge deal.  But after the next few levels, the bullets would explode when passing the area the paddle moves in.  This leaves a large burst that paralyzes you when you touch it.  You can't hit both the ball and the paralyze bullet, so you have to prioritize.  Choosing the paralyze shot means you miss the ball and lose a life.  Choosing the ball means you hit it back once, then likely hit the paralyze burst, which causes you to miss the ball.  It's definitely a lose-lose situation.  When I tried playing as the boy, there was a creature that would suck in the ball, randomly reappear close to the paddle's level, and spit the ball out.  There was very little time to react.  Levels don't seem to be random, either, so there isn't much replay value.  As much fun as I thought I would have playing another brick break game, Gunbarich left me with the bitter taste of disappointment.

All in all, Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo, like Alpha, is a collection worth playing for shmup fans.  Handheld mode works well enough, but I find the games better on the big screen.  It sure helps with dodging those bullets.  These games might not be the best in the genre, but they are faithful renditions of these arcade classics.  Bring a friend, but leave the quarters aside.


The Good:
Same as last time, six shoot-em-up classics on one cartridge/download.  Tengai is my favorite.

The Bad:
The games are still very quarter-hungry.

The SaHD:
Does Gadget Gen in the first Samurai Aces have an X-wing?!  It really looks like it.

(Review copy of Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo was received from the publisher.)

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha (Switch) Review

Multi-game retro collections and "shmup" games are two things I enjoy.   It therefore follows that I would be excited to review Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha, a retro collection of six shoot-em-up (shmup) games on the Switch.  The games contained are a healthy sampling of the genre, with some unique samples that I had not experienced before.  The game selection menu doesn't have any frills, but you can thankfully return to it at any point, a necessary feature sadly lacking in other game collections.

The first three games are Strikers 1945 I, II and III.  All three are very similar in gameplay and plane selection.  When I started the first one, it looked very familiar to me, but was missing a certain secret plane that I remember.  When I got to the third Strikers, I figured out why.  In college, there was a Strikers 1945 III arcade machine in the small arcade in the student union building.  I remember playing it several times back in the day, and one day seeing the secret plane that transforms into a robot for its bomb attack.  Of course I thought that was cool and would remember it. It's a transforming robot!

Anyway, memories aside, the three games are similar vertical scrolling shooters that task you with shooting down many enemies, dodging lots of bullets, and fighting a boss at the end that predictably has several forms.  In fact, most games in this collection fit that bill.  Each plane has a different shot pattern and bomb attack.  One cool thing is that each fighter has a special charge attack.  There is an energy meter at the bottom of the screen that charges to a few levels as you play.  Holding down the shot (not auto shot!) button charges it up if you have enough energy, and lets it fly.  Some will start as soon as you charge it enough, and sustains as long as you hold the button while having energy.  It's a useful attack, as most will cover for a craft's weakness.  For example, if the normal shot is very central-focused, the charge shot might be a spread, or vice-versa.

While these games are fun, they definitely show their arcade roots.  While a lot of shmups I play feel more focused on having dodge-able spread patterns, Strikers would rather you explode and pump another quarter into the machine.  The hit box and enemy attacks do not feel forgiving, and edge into the cheap territory, even on the default difficulty.  I would have loved an auto-bomb feature, but I didn't see one.  I found it much better playing the game while docked and on a TV, instead of handheld mode.  Also, the first few stages being in a random order is nice for replayability.

Next up is Sol Divide, the only side-scrolling shooter in the collection.  Besides that, it also looks the most different because of the digitized 3-D character models.  Both player and enemies will look familiar to anyone who played a lot of games in the mid-90s.  Because of this, all on-screen characters are much larger than in the other games, and there are fewer enemies as a result.

To further differentiate Sol Divide, there are only three playable characters, and no randomization of the stages. The only difference is after the first stage, you can choose the second.  You will end up doing the other choice right afterwards, so it doesn't really make a difference.  The player also gets a melee attack, and can cast various spells that are obtained while playing.

The magic aspect is really neat, as it provides a unique take on the bomb mechanic.  Some spells hit the whole screen, while some hit a much narrower area. There is even one that can make you invincible for a short time.  Melee attacks are just about the opposite.  They are clunky, weak and unreliable.  You might think that when an enemy rushed into your face would be there time to use a melee attack, and you should be right.  However, it doesn't knock them away or do anywhere close to enough damage.  That's assuming you can even pull it off.  Most times that I try, the enemy gets to swing first, and stuns me out of my attack.

Sadly, you can get stunned out of your spells, too.  It's possible to stun the enemy, but it is not common enough.  Your character model is big, making it very easy to get hit, and nigh impossible to dodge a lot of things.  To add insult to injury, you don't have any invincibility after taking a hit, so your health can sink like a rock for no real reason.  Sol Divide started off as an early favorite in the collection, but definitely wasn't by the end.  The aforementioned issues coupled with the "start the last stage over when continuing on it" nonsense saw to that.  It's still fun, just not the whole way through.

Dragon Blaze retains the fantasy aspect present in Sol Divide, but returns to the vertical shmup format of Strikers.  In fact, it's a lot like Strikers.  Instead of choosing a plane, you choose a dragon and rider.  Of course I chose the skull dragon first once I saw it.  You get a magic meter, which allows you to do a charge attack, and a bomb.  The most unique aspect in this game is the ability to separate from your dragon ally.  This will leave it in place to shoot while you move around.  It took me awhile to get used to that functionality, and to find it actually useful.  It's good for bosses and strong monsters, but only in spurts.  Supposedly there is a way to use it to one-shot a boss, but I couldn't get it to work on the only boss I saw the opening for.  It's a fun game, and the random path through the first four stages gives some decent replay.

Last, but certainly not least, is Zero Gunner 2.  I wasn't sure what to think at first, as the nice sprite graphics were replaced with early 90s 3-D.  Regardless of how it looks, it may be the most unique title offered in the collection.  It's still a vertical shmup for the most part (some parts scroll horizontal, but it's all top-down view), but you can change the direction you are shooting.  At first, I didn't like it.  It was a pain to stop shooting, change direction, and try to shoot another enemy.  After a try or two, I figured out that turning the ship doesn't mean you have to stop firing.  Now, you won't be a whirling dervish of death, but it made the game much easier, and much more fun.

Sadly, there are no bombs.  Even the method of powering up is different.  There are power-up icons to collect, but really you get stronger by grabbing the little "E" icons that fly out of everything you blow up.  Once I learned they gravitate toward you when you aren't shooting, it made it easier to collect the ones that pop up near the edge of the screen.  Too bad the other games don't have that ability.  Like every other game in the collection, you perform best when not dying.  The loss of damage when you are destroyed makes the games more challenging than I think it should, but it's very much in line with that old-school mentality.

I think Zero Gunner 2 is the easiest game of the bunch.  The stages are not, because you really have to fight your shmup instincts and stay in the middle to deal with all the enemies.  If you do the natural thing and stay near the bottom/back, way too many enemies will blindside you from that direction.  It's kind of annoying.  On the flip side, bosses tend to be much easier (save the near final boss), as you can usually get behind them and avoid most of their attacks.

Overall, Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is a good collection of shmups.  It was enjoyable, even if not as fair as more contemporary offerings in the genre.  It's still worth getting and playing for vertical shooter fans.

The Good:
Six shoot-em-up classics on one cartridge/download.

The Bad:
Given more recent offerings in the genre, the games can feel dated.

The SaHD:
You know things will be hard when the default "normal" is 5 out of 7 on the scale.

(Review copy of Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha was received from the publisher.)

Habroxia (Switch) Review

Since I'm always in the mood to try a new space shoot-em-up (aka shmup), I jumped at the chance to review Habroxia.  Its old school, charming visuals are very reminiscent of classics like Gradius, but with some new twists to make it a unique experience.

At the start, you can only do Story Mode.  This presents the stages in a linear fashion.   Each is fairly short, and most end with a boss fight.  There are 15 in all, which is more than I would expect, but compliments the shorter stages rather well.  The bosses themselves feel different from each other, but aren't the most visually distinct.  They do fit with the game's aesthetic, however I'd be hard pressed to name them, or tell you what stage they are from, if just shown a picture.

Most of the stages are side-scrolling, but sometimes one of the game's unique features kicks in.  The "perspective" will shift, and the game briefly becomes a top-down scrolling shooter.   It's done really well, as you are usually safe when it happens.   The choice to include it is interesting, for sure, and breathes some fresh air into the genre.  Some bosses are even top-down, as opposed to side-scrolling.  I don't always advocate games outright copying each other, but this idea could easily be done in some other shmups, and it would be neat to experience again.

The game is not overly hard, even though there was a stage or two that I failed a few times.  This is thanks the game's rogue-lite system of upgrades.  Some enemies drop credits when defeated, which can be used between stages to buy permanent upgrades to the ship.  These are persistent through story mode.  Costs increase for each as their level rises, and they are very useful.  It's not necessary to fully max out the ship to complete the game, either.  I went for shot power, speed, and spread, but never ended up getting the health upgrades.  That might explain why I failed a couple of stages.  Even so, I made it through with only a few rough spots.

However, credits are not the only way to upgrade your ship.  Power-ups are also occasionally dropped by enemies.  There are even two flavors: ship power-ups, and items.  Ship power-ups are similar to the upgrades.  You can get stronger shots, missiles, and health.  It seems redundant at first, but these can temporarily be used instead of upgrading your ship.  By temporary, I mean they only last on the current stage.  They are also vital for the other modes discussed later.

Items are things that should be familiar to shmup fans.  Bombs that damage everything on the screen, a shield to take a hit for you, and a few others.  One is a powerful but short laser beam in front of your ship.  It penetrates, and does a lot of damage to bosses.  Very useful. There's another one, with a wave-looking icon that I couldn't figure out what it does.  I didn't see any kind of tutorial, or explanation, and there was no visible effect.  I tried to avoid that one in lieu of one that was actually useful.  If someone finds out what it does, let me know!  The ship can only hold one item at a time, and once you use it, it's gone.

Habroxia's controls work well, but took me a few minutes to get used to.  Instead of using a face button to fire, players use the shoulder buttons.  The R Button shoots in a straight line in front of the ship, while the L Button fires shots above and below you.  This would be great, but shots are not very quick, even when maxed out, so switching to the top and bottom shot was never useful to me.  Plus, it only fires in both directions when you aren't moving.  If you move, it only shots in that direction.  So, even less useful than it already was.  I'm sure there are some players would can use it effectively, but it's not me.  Also, I rarely needed it.  Luckily, using both triggers to shoot will give you a small spread shot.  This is what I used most of the time, while occasionally switching to the front shot for a few parts.

As for the other modes, they are unlocked after beating the story.  First is Invasion Mode.  Ever play Space Invaders?  For this mode, it is vertical, and you must destroy random waves of enemies before they reach the bottom and get past you.  This mode also contains bosses, power-ups, and items.  It's easily the most interesting of the extra modes to me, but still not as exciting or fun as Story Mode.  Second is Rescue Mode, which tasks you with rescuing astronauts.  It's an okay mode, but gets a little boring after awhile.  The levels are random for this mode, and repeat fairly often.  Killing an astronaut ends the mode, so you have to be careful with your attacks.  The third and final unlocked mode is Shield Maiden Mode.  Your ship only has 1 bar of health, so you have to rely on the plentiful shield items to keep yourself alive.  Shields tend to be very useful in games like this, but I don't like the ones in Habroxia.  They seem to disappear on me.  I'm not sure if they have a timer, or the hitbox is the shield and not the ship, or maybe both of these.  If it's not reliable, I'm not really a fan.  So, a good concept for an extra mode, but not one I would play very much.

Habroxia is a fairly simple game that harkens back to early shmups, while adding modern features to the mix.  It's pulled off really well, and is definitely a neat little game that I recommend shmup fans try out.


The Good:
Fun retro-inspired space shooter with modern, unique elements.

The Bad:
Extra modes are not that exciting.

The SaHD:
The credits mini-game is fun.

(Review code for Habroxia was received from the publisher.)

Shikhondo: Soul Eater Review

I'm always game to try a new shmup.  Some are good, some are bad, but it's a genre I enjoy.  When Shikhondo was announced, I made sure to ask for a review code.  I figured it would play really well on the Switch, and happily received that version.

Once on the main game menu, you do have a few options.  There is arcade mode, hardcore, novice, and boss rush.  Arcade mode is pretty much the normal game.  As with a lot of the other modes, you can choose one of four difficulty levels.  Boss rush is pretty self-explanatory, as you just fight all of the bosses.  Novice is supposedly easier, but didn't feel that different from the easy setting of the arcade mode.  Hardcore boasts 1 life, no continues, but double the speed of soul charging.  When I tried it, it let me continue.  Once I did, I had the normal amount of lives until the end of the stage.  Starting the next one seemed to put me back to hardcore, as I only had the one life.  I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it did feel weird.  To round it out, there's a customize mode that lets you change a few options, and local co-op.  Sadly, I couldn't find anyone in my house brave enough to try that out with me.

The controls and ideas behind the game are pretty simple.  There is a shot button for your normal attack.  There is an alt-fire button, that you hold with the shot button to do a slightly different attack.  This will also make you move a lot slower, so it's easier to weave between bullets.  When you pass close by an enemy bullet, it will fill a bit of your soul gauge.  When it is full, pressing the soul button will have you enter a powered up state for a few seconds.  Pressing the button again will consume a soul stock, but power you up a second level.  If you press the soul button when you don't have a full soul meter, it acts like a bomb attack, damaging on-screen enemies, and taking away some of the bullets.  The soul system is pretty nice once you get the hang of it, just make sure to look at the meter (or listen for the sound) before you hit the button, so you get the power-up instead of the bomb.  Both are useful, but the power-up is better.  Well, for the most part.

There are two characters to choose from, the Grim Reaper and The Girl.  Really descriptive, I know.  Of course I tried the reaper first, as I figured she was like Botan (assuming anyone else remembers Yu Yu Hakusho).  Both have different shot patterns, so the choice isn't superficial.  The reaper has a normal spread, while holding the alt and shot buttons concentrates her fire.  The girl has two orbs with her.  Her normal shot is fairly concentrated, but the small shots from the orbs will automatically aim toward enemies.  The alt-fire send the orbs next to an enemy, and blasts them at short range.  At first I liked the reaper's shot pattern, but eventually found the girl to be better for me.

I did have some problems using the joy-con's analog stick.  There were times where it wouldn't respond, especially if I was moving it back and forth rapidly (like when dodging bullets).  The d-pad buttons worked fine.  I switched to the pro controller, and the stick worked fine.  It may only be a problem with my joy-con, but it's not something I have encountered in any game I've played with them before.

Just like most shmups, you die in 1 hit.  You will start right where you left off, but will be out any soul charge you had.  Of course, these rules can be changed in the "customize" game type.  Thankfully, the characters have really tight hit boxes.  Coupled with the slower movement during alt-fire, it feels good to dodge the bullet hell.  Even if you do run out of lives, you can continue, and it still places you right where you were.  It's very possible to brute force your way through the game, which is nice at least for completing it, and practicing later stages, since there is no feature to select them.

I will say the game can be hard, but it's mostly because the enemy bullets are sometimes hard to see through your shots.  This problem is magnified when using the soul power-up.  I'd also heartily recommend playing in TV mode, as the small screen of handheld mode plus lots of small bullets is a recipe for disaster.  At least some bullet types disappear when the enemy dies, which saved me more times than I can count.

There are 5 stages, each ending with a giant boss battle.  After the fifth one, the game goes on for a few seconds, leading me to believe there is some kind of hidden final boss.  I don't know if there is, and I don't know what the qualifications are.  I would imagine having to do it on 1CC or something like that, but I don't know for sure.  In another unique feature, after completing a stage, you can choose to get an extra life, or another soul.  It isn't much, but I like it.  Obviously, they don't offer it in hardcore mode.

Shikhondo: Soul Eater may not offer many modes or characters, but it's a very solid and fun shmup.  The soul charge and power-up is a nice and unique gameplay mechanic that I enjoyed.  I'd easily recommend it to fans of the genre.  Just be sure to play in TV mode.


The Good:
Good differences between the two characters, tight hit box, unique soul system for power-ups.

The Bad:
Very much a "no frills" experience.

The SaHD:
I really should have invested in the shmup Switch grip Kickstarter thing.

(Review code for Shikhondo was provided by the publisher)

Aces of the Luftwaffe - Squadron (Xbox One) Review

Aces of the Luftwaffe - Squadron is a vertical plane shooting game, popularly referred to as a shmup (shoot-em-up).  I'm always happy to try out a new one.  It is set during around World War II, where you are eventually tasked with taking down some of the 3rd Reich's air forces.  It also has up to 4 player co-op, in case you wondered why it has the "Squadron" subtitle.

The game is broken down into 5 chapters, each with 5 stages in them.  The fifth stage is a boss fight.  As you complete each stage and chapter, the next opens up.  There's a story as well, as every stage has some dialogue to set up the mission, and banter between the squadron mates.  While the voice work isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, the story is okay.  It does make a strange turn toward the end, though.

In addition, each stage has a specific extra mission that, if completed, awards extra medals that can be used to level up your squadron.  Several of theses extra missions are staying in one place for a few seconds to drop or pick something up, or destroying a certain number of a specific enemy.  Boss fights have the all important "survive" extra missions, where you have to...well, not die.  Yeah, that one isn't that inspired, I agree.  The most unique one is when you have to remain undetected.  Enemy aircraft will have searchlights, and you have to maneuver your squad around them with out triggering the alarm.  Thankfully you can't shoot until you are detected.  It's a neat idea, and one that I felt was pulled off pretty well.

Adding even more unique mechanics to the game, there are several points in the story when one of your pilots will be afflicted with the disorder that they suffer from.  When Mark is feeling the affects of the poison in his body, you have to move very slowly until it subsides.  When John is angry, you either steer clear, or get wrecked.  Steve will fall asleep in the middle of the battle...somehow.  Strangely, defending him wakes him up faster, where I would think him getting shot would wake him up right quick.  Melissa just has a fear of heights.  Great thing for a pilot.  In another strange twist, hers is the easiest disorder to deal with.  She just leaves.  No special condition, no real inconvenience.  Her firepower is missing, but that's no different from when she gets shot down.  These happen at set points in the story, so at least you can plan around them.  I like the idea the developers had for these, as it makes the pilots more unique, but it can be a pain to deal with.

I definitely would not have expected this in this type of game, but there are full-blown skill trees.  Each character has several skills they can learn, both passive and active.  When you level up, or find a hidden skill coin, these are saved to your profile and later used to buy skills.  There are skills to make the pilots do more damage, increase dodge chance (very useful for the AI), and even ones that have a chance to active.  These are my favorite, solely because of Steve's skill that can slow down time.  This helped me out of more than one jam.  All learned active skills are available, and you cycle to the one you want.  They share the same cooldown though, so you don't get several at the same time.  While I haven't done it yet, the skill coins can be refunded and spent anew.  It costs some medals to do so.

While the game has some new and interesting things, there are also some problems.  You can get new ships to fly, but they are random drops from bosses, complete with rarities.  This isn't too bad, since the skills on the ships I have are not very good.  I'm not a fan of random drops like that, though.  Speaking of which, gun upgrades are also random.  You have to collect a crate to upgrade, and those are usually random upon enemy defeat.  Considering you are pathetically weak without the upgrades later in the game, this is not good.  The power ups also have ammo, so they can run out.  Conserving ammo is not really a thing to force in a shoot-em-up game...it's kind of the point to shoot everything.

But of course everything will shoot you.  It's not bad on the easier levels, but toward the end and on higher difficulties, bullet spreads and enemy attack intervals ensures there are times you just can't do anything except get hit.  That chance increases when the screen shakes from your supposed helpful skills, or when the UI/dialogue/explosions cover up valuable screen space.  Plane movement is sometimes wonky, moving you faster than normal.  Maybe it's the "wind resistance" that one plane partially protects against?  I don't know, they don't really tell you that.  Speaking of movement, you can't go all the way to the bottom of the screen.  It actually hurts your dodging ability, since so may big things (like bosses) take up too much of the screen.  That last inch would make a world of difference.  Add in spotty hit detection, and it's a recipe for going down.  Plus, there is no way to dodge everything and not have the wing-men get hit.  They will die plenty of times, and there isn't much you can do about it.

Oh, and that third boss.  You have to go into her shield to damage her?  How on earth would we figure that out?  The shield blocks shots, and you take a ton of collision damage, so why would you fly into the shield, unless you died several times and gave up trying to figure out what to do?

I feel like these would be less of a problem if a few things were different.  For one, the bomb ability should get rid of bullets.  That's baseline for a shmup.  Second, you need a reliable spread shot.  Pretty much every shot is focused toward the front exclusively, with very little capable of hitting outside of that.  When the only plausible or safe way to hit an enemy is from an angle, this is killer.  Very high level power-ups will give some kind of area attacks, but they tend to be very weak.  So even if you could get them, they aren't much help.

Overall, Aces of Luftwaffe - Squadron had some fun.  There are a some problems I had with the game, but it was enjoyable outside of the problem missions.  I would encourage shmup fans to give it a try.


The Good:
Unique pilots, ships, and skills.  Skill trees!

The Bad:
Hard to maneuver around shots while not getting something hit.  Shots are front focused, which is not the best thing to force in a shmup.

The SaHD:
It took me awhile to realize it, but they only refer to the enemy as "Germans" and "Krauts", not "Nazis".  And wait, that isn't the right symbol on that UFO...

(Review code for Aces of the Luftwaffe - Squadron was received from the publisher)

Ghost Blade HD (Xbox One) Review

Ghost Blade HD is another bullet hell shmup on home consoles, and I was happy to get my hands on a review code for the game.

There are three different ships, each piloted by a different lady, and each with different shot patterns.  You get the basic shot, which covers more area (some much more than others), but isn't very strong.  Next is a focus shot, which is skinnier than your ship, but packs a mean punch.  Finally, all three ships get a limited bomb attack.  The bomb is the same for all three ladies, and on the whole, the bombs are underwhelming.  They hit an area in front of your ship.  It doesn't even effect the whole screen.  It's not too powerful on bosses, either.  It does make you invincible for a few seconds, so it does have a use, but could be better.

The game has five stages, and three different difficulties.  Easy was nice because there are fewer bullets, but it has auto-bomb.  I'm not a fan of that.  Yes, it makes the game easier, but it also doesn't help you learn timing the bomb for maximum benefit.  There is a lot of stuff going on on the screen at once, which can make it feel a little cluttered, not to mention confusing.  There was an option to turn the background down, so I tried that and it does help a little.  Still, there are several different bullet types and colors flying around with other things, and it can be hard to differentiate the threats from the non-threats quickly.  Practicing does help, though.

Another thing that took some getting used to was the extra point stars.  When you kill some enemies, their shots will turn into extra point stars, which then fly toward you (auto collect).  It took me a bit to get used to that.  Granted, it's nice, but at first it's scary.  You are barely dodging some bullets when all of a sudden, they change their look and zoom toward you.  My initial reaction was a fraction of a second of panic.  Once I had a better grasp of when it would happen (since it's not all enemies, all bullets, or all of the same color/type), it was fine.

Besides the normal modes, Ghost Blade HD has the requisite Score Attack and Practice modes.  Score Attack is nice in that you have infinite lives...although that won't really help you get a high score.  It also has a set stage that has a different enemy configuration from any other.  Practice will let you, well, practice any stage or boss that you have previously encountered.  You can set the number of lives and bombs, too.  I like it for practicing the further out stages and bosses, since that's where I ran into the most trouble.

Ghost Blade HD doesn't do anything new for the genre, but it doesn't have to.  It's a solid, fun, and quick bullet hell game that I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.


The Good:
Solid and fun shmup action.

The Bad:
The screen can get very busy and hard to make out threats.

The SaHD:
At first, I thought concentrating on the game would make me do better.  Eventually my mind wandered to other things, and that's when I started doing really well.

(Review code for Ghost Blade HD was provided by the publisher)

Blue Rider (PS4) Review

I'm not sure how Blue Rider passed under my radar when it was release late last year.  I check the new releases weekly, and at least look at anything that I don't recognize the name of.  It's also a shmup, so I doubly don't know how I missed it.  That's why I jumped at the chance to review it when given an opportunity.

As opposed to a more traditional shmup, which is either horizontal or vertical scrolling, Blue Rider feels like it was mixed with a twin-stick shooter.  The right stick doesn't aim your shots directly, as it will rotate the screen so you can shoot enemies.  Your ship is always facing the same direction on the screen.  You move yourself through the areas, so there is no auto-scrolling.  Unfortunately, there is momentum to your ship, so it moves a bit farther when you stop pressing the right stick.  Kind of like Asteroids.  In fact, the game feels like Asteroids, but you rotate the screen around instead of your ship.

The spin the screen mechanic isn't too bad, but it did take me awhile to get used to it.  I'm not that great at aiming in twin-stick shooters, and that translated over to Blue Rider.  There are times when bullets come at you from lots of angles, and turning to deal with them and enemies can be a bit much.  I wouldn't say bad, but definitely takes a different skill set than bullet dodging in traditional shmups.

However, the floaty mechanic is the part that I really don't like.  I didn't like it in Asteroids (and everywhere else it reared its ugly head), and I don't like it here.  Such an imprecise system doesn't belong in a shmup, simply because those games demand precision.  It's a system that just goes against the basic principles of the genre.  At least the developers seemed to realize that and tried to help out by giving some space between bullets.  Well, from one target at least.  If you have multiple sources shooting at you, it's no help at all.  At least the hit detection seems precise.

As far as I can tell, there are two different shot types and two different bomb types.  At a few places in each level there are structures that give power-ups when defeated.  If you grab the power-up color that is the same as your shot, it will be powered up one level, and get stronger/bigger.  If you grab the other color, it will switch your weapon.  There's a spread and a laser, and I far prefer the spread (because my twin-stick accuracy sucks).  The two types of bombs are a multi-firing homing barrage and a stronger single fire.  I think the single fire is better, but I would still far prefer the traditional screen clearing blast to the weak offerings the game presents.  They do more damage than the shots, but just don't seem very useful.

You can also find small ships that will shoot at enemies for you, but they don't stay close and don't last very long.  It would have been nice to get actual Options, but alas, it is not to be.  There are also a few relics hidden in each stage, which will give you extra points if found.  The score multiplier in Blue Rider is called "berserk" and will fill as you fight/kill enemies.  If you go too long without fighting, it will drop back down to the base level.  One of the loading screen tips says you can get extra ships if you get a high enough score, but I'm obviously not good enough to do it.

There are 9 levels to complete if you are good enough or tenacious enough.  I couldn't make it that far, but it's nice that you can at least start over on any stage you have reached.  Thankfully they will start you with a slightly upgraded shot.  There is no difficulty options, or really any other options for that matter, and the only help you get is a list of the controls.  Yes, you can figure out several things pretty quickly, but not arming your player with basic knowledge feels like it is just there to pad the playtime.

Overall, Blue Rider is a unique shmup, but not one I liked that much.  The twin-stick shooting-like aspect isn't my preference, but it's really the drifting/momentum that ruins it for me.  While the game might be worth trying out for shmup fans due to its unique nature, there are far better offerings on the PS4 to scratch your bullet-dodging itch.

The Good:
An interesting and unique take on the shmup genre.

The Bad:
If you couldn't tell from the review, the floaty nature of the ship controls.

The SaHD:
The game feels pretty bare bones, but that makes sense for the price.

(Review code for Blue Rider was provided by the publisher)

DoDonPachi Resurrection (PC) Review

Shmups!  I love to play them, and we don't get near enough of them in the US.  DoDonPachi Resurrection was one of those that was released for a home console (Xbox 360), but not in the US.  Therefore, I was happy to jump at the chance to play and review the PC port of the game.

Strangely, the system message are set to Japanese when I first loaded the game.  Thankfully the menu was in English, so I was able to change that quickly.  You are also greeted with a multitude of game types.  There is Ver 1.5, which seems to be the core game.  Next is Ver 1.51, which has some slight changes, plus you can get crazy points, but no achievements, sadly.  Then there is Arrange B, which is like a score attack for a stage, and Arrange L, which doesn't have bombs or allow you to pick a ship, but you can change the position of your options (little satellites that shoot with you).  Too bad this is the only mode that allows you to switch option positions, since I don't like the ship you are stuck with, but really like the position switching mechanic.

Next are the three Black Label choices.  The one just called Black Label is a harder version of the core game, where enemies shoot many more bullets.  Novice is an easier version, and Arrange is, well, slightly arranged.  Also, Arrange doesn't allow you to choose a ship, but instead gives you a unique one to use.  Too bad it's only used in this mode, since I really like this ship.  Besides those, you can do Score Attack or Training versions of any of the aforementioned modes.

Like most bullet-hell shmups, you move your ship around and shoot at lots of enemy crafts while dodging a ton of bullets.  In DoDonPachi Resurrection, tapping the shoot button will fire your shots in more of a spread pattern, perfect for large waves of weak fighters.  If you hold the button down, it concentrates your fire into a narrow laser.  This is much stronger than the normal shot, but more focused, ideal for bosses and other tough enemies.  I actually really like this system, since you can quickly and easily switch your shot type, with only needing one button.  The only real downside is mashing the shot button so much when going through the stages.  It would get really noisy with an arcade stick!  In some of the modes, you can set each shot as a different button if the mechanic doesn't appeal to you.  I only played the game with an Xbox 360 controller, and the stick moved the ship a bit too quickly for my tastes, which resulted in many a crashed ship.  I don't think the keyboard and mouse would fix that problem for me, so I'd have to try out some different controllers to find a perfect fit.

In some of the game modes, you can select bomb style, power style, or strong style (but can you be the king of it?).  Bomb style is just what it sounds like, you have a stock of bombs.  Power allows you to use Hyper mode, but you don't have bombs.  Strong style is a combination of the two.  Personally, I need the bombs more than the hyper mode.  The bombs not only protect you by destroying enemy bullets, but they also do damage and even activate automatically when you are hit (in most of the modes).  Hyper mode requires filling a gauge, but when you activate it, your shots are much bigger and stronger.  Seeing it with the spread is screen-clearingly fun!

As fun as the game is, I did have a few problems with it.  Mostly, it is the numerous little systems in the game that it doesn't explain (or if it doesn't, I haven't found where).  Hyper mode requires filling a meter...sometimes.  Others, it takes from you bomb stock.  I'm not sure which is when.  There's also a Red Gauge in some modes.  I have no real idea what it does or how to fill it.  I assume the enemies fire more bullets when it is full, but that is just a guess on my part.  Black Label has numbered chips to collect.  I don't know how to make them spawn as certain numbers, or exactly how they work.  I only know they are multiplier chips because of the achievement descriptions.  Lastly, many enemies have laser attacks.  These aren't avoidable, so you have to use your laser attack, which shields you from them.  I eventually figured that out, but knowing it ahead of time would have been nice.

Being a shmup, a normal game only lasts about 30 minutes.  Of course, the point of these games is not usually to beat it, but to beat it on one credit.  I'm not sure I ever could beat this particular game on  one credit, as the later levels are really crazy with the shots everywhere.  Plus, the secret boss at the end is beyond ridiculous with its attacks and HP.  I do want to get better at the game, since I think it is fun (except the secret boss).  If you are a stickler for achievements, the game has 100 of them for you to try.  They are spread across the various modes (mostly normal and black label though), but 100 seems like an excessively high number.

DoDonPachi Resurrection is a fun shmup that I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.  It's not the most clear in terms of mechanics, but it does offer multiple modes to play around in.  For shmup fans, I would say it is worth the price, as you will get your money's worth playing all the modes, getting better at the game, and maybe even trying for the long list of achievements.


The Good:
The two shot type system works surprisingly well, lots of game types.

The Bad:
Even on the default setting, the later levels are crazy.  It can be really easy to lose yourself in all the pretty effects everywhere.

The SaHD:
The secret boss got really boring after fighting him for 20 minutes.  It really needs a lot less health, that is ridiculous.

(Review code for DoDonPachi Resurrection was provided by the publisher)

Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet (PS4) Review

Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet combines the disparate genres of bullet-hell shmup and fighting games.  It's actually not as strange as it would seem, as this has been done before, if anyone besides me remembers Wartech on the Xbox 360.  Basically, it's a one on one fight where you each launch hails of bullets at each other until one person stands victorious.  The characters in the game are people from the various Touhou games, which have the distinction of being well-known shmups that I somehow haven't played yet.

After booting up the game, I jumped into the story mode, since why not?  That's usually where you start.  Turns out, this was a bad idea.  I got a very basic idea of the controls, but was slowly being outclassed by the computer.  Since it was the first opponent, I realized it was just going to get harder.  So, I quit out and found the tutorial option.  This was a good move, even if the tutorial people are a bit too chatty.

Each character has a main shot, sub shot and charge shot, and even melee attacks if you get close enough.  The main shot is, well, your main attack, mostly aimed at the opponent and the sub shot is usually more focused on covering an area, rather than a direct attack.  You can dash, and even slow your movement to make it easier to dodge between shots.  Shooting any of the three shots while dashing or using slow movement will change the shot, giving you access to 9 different types of shot attacks.  I wish the dashing was only active if you held the button down instead of just activating it, so it would be easier to use its shot variations.  I didn't see any option to change it.  If you narrowly avoid an opponent's shot (called grazing), you build up charge.  Once a charge segment is filled, you can use a charge shot at the cost of some of the charge meter.  However, you can also use this meter for other things, like spells.

Spells cost at least one charge segment and a bomb stock (denoted by the "B"s under your charge meter at the top of the screen.  If you activate a spell, it places you at the top of the screen, and your firing patterns change drastically.  Instead of normal-looking shots, you now have firing patterns like a shmup boss, filling the screen with bullets.  You aren't invincible in the mode.  There is a ring around your character that depletes when you are hit.  If it runs out before time does, you exit the mode prematurely.  The opponent can also use one of their bomb stock for an actual shmup bomb, which will clear out some of the bullets, making their lives easier.  It's really cool, but ultimately not very useful against the computer.  Upon activation, they tear into with their shots, while expertly dodging pretty much all of yours.  It would work against an actual person, since they rarely have mathematically precise movement, and are actually prone to freaking out when a screen full of bullets comes at them.

After learning the basics, I then set about trying out all the characters, seeing who fits my style, and what enemies would be a problem.  I started to get the hang of the game after a few matches, and started doing much better.  Strangely, one thing I found that helped was spamming the main shot button instead of holding it down.  I don't know why that made them actually hit the opponent more often, but it made a big difference.  Even so, the CPU is a tough opponent, and I didn't see a way to tone them back so I could eke out some easy wins in the story mode, or any other mode for that matter.  As a computer, they are very proficient in the pinpoint-accurate dodges necessary to avoid damage when they want to.  They also have full access to the 9 shot types and chaining together shots with frame-perfect accuracy.  Thankfully, they don't do it all the time, so you can actually win matches.

A small sampling of what you face when an opponent activates a spell.

Touhou Genso Rondo features a story mode for each character, arcade mode, boss rush, versus cpu, and versus player, online and off.  Story mode is several battles linked by dialogue, just as you would expect.  Arcade mode is more like a survival mode, since you fight an endless string of opponents, with some life being restored to you in-between matches.  Boss rush is you versus the CPU, but they start off in spell/boss mode.  Thankfully you only have to survive until the time runs out to win a match, since the computer is as adept at filling the screen with inescapable bullcrap as they are at dodging your attempts to do the same in the other modes.  Fights in arcade and boss rush are only 1 round each.  Versus CPU and human are pretty self explanatory.  Early on I used the versus CPU a lot to get the hang of each of the characters.  I'm also nowhere near competent enough in my abilities to go online and get destroyed.

Touhou Genso Rondo is very unique and a fun game.  The merging of shmup and fighting game is pulled off very well, and there is a lot of depth to the fighting.  After playing it for a while I really started to get the hang of the game, and the modes offered are good.  The computer can be a real pain, since their accuracy and dodging ability is as good as they want it to be, with sadly no way I could see to adjust it.  Shmup fans should get a kick out of the game, and fighting game players should give it a whirl, too.  You might be surprised how fun (and difficult) the game can be!


The Good:
A well-made combination of shmup gameplay with fighting game mechanics.

The Bad:
If the computer wants to avoid what you throw at them, there isn't much you can do to stop them.

The SaHD:
For whatever reason, I was best with Sakuya.  It also helps that time-stopping maids with knives are cool.

(Review code for Touhou Genso Rondo was provided by the publisher)

Caladrius Blaze (PS4) Review

Caladrius Blaze (English website link) recently released on PS4.  After seeing it was a shmup (shoot-em-up), one of my favorite genres, I had to try and review the game.  The game is a vertical shmup, meaning the screen scrolls up and down.  Yes, this works better in arcades, since screen dimensions are different, but plays just fine on a normal TV.  Here, the side bars are used with the "shame break" system discussed below.  You move your ship around and shoot at enemies while making your way through the game.  There are also limited-use screen clearing bombs to get you out of tight spots, or to add extra damage to bosses.  The biggest unique element of this game, though, is the elemental shot system.

Each of the 8 different ships gets three different alternate abilities, designated by type: attack, support and defense.  Attack element shots are either strong shots or spread shots (usually the opposite of what the character's default shot is).  Support shots tend to hit set areas of the screen or do something else unique.  Also, some of them can be changed by ship position or how you are moving when you use it.  Defense shots are probably my favorite, since they shield your ship from enemy shots.  There are separate meters for each at the bottom of the screen, and using one will drain the meter a bit.  The meter fills over time, based on the character's stats, or by picking up a crystal item during the stages.

Each character has a different element, which is reflected in their elemental shots.  I don't know if enemies are particularly vulnerable to any specific elements, but it does help differentiate them from each other.  Killing enemies with the special shots will eventually drop an elemental chip.  Collecting enough chips will reward you with an upgrade point between stages.  You are free to choose which elemental shots you upgrade, which is pretty cool.  Every few levels, the look of the shot will change to reflect its more powerful state.

The main mode is story mode, which has three different options in it: Original, Evolution and Arcade.  The only real differences between them is the number of stages, as one only has 5, where another has 6 plus the two extra stages, and the third is in-between.  Plus, the special attack (pressing all three elemental shots at the same time when your gauges are over 50%) slightly differs in each mode, too.  The main stages are straightforward, fight through the enemies and then beat the boss after some dialogue (yes, there is actual plot!)  One of the extra stages tasks you with trying not to let enemies leave the bottom of the screen, and the other requires you to destroy certain enemies before they leave the top.  Stage bosses each have three phases, where they change up their attacks.

If you perform well enough, or end each phase with an elemental shot/bomb (I'm not sure which, as it seemed either worked), you will destroy some of a boss pilot's clothing.  These are called "shame breaks", and award extra points plus an image of the character.  Whenever your character loses a life, some of their clothes are also ripped.  The portrait of each pilot in their current state is shown on the border of the screen, which can actually be used to approximate how many lives you have left without looking in the upper corner.  The whole system seems like some fan service throw in to the game.  I don't mind it, but it does feel a bit unnecessary.  Although, it is funny to see Lilith not care at all that her clothing is getting evaporated (as the embodiment of hatred, she is kind of weird).

Each run through story mode takes about 30 minutes per character, depending on which story mode type you choose.  I found Caladrius Blaze to be harder than other shmups I've played, and I only had it on the normal setting.  It's possible I am really bad at it, or just off my game, but I died a lot.  It was a little embarrassing.  I'm not sure that all shot patterns can be evaded, or maybe shots traveled quicker than I am used to in these types of games.  Slower ships where much more difficult to use, but I suspect all of this is because of how good the defense elemental shot is.  Thankfully you get infinite continues in the story mode, and each death gives you another bomb.  This is good since bombs are per continue, not per life.  Even so, I was able to persevere through each story mode type.  2 player co-op is also present in the game, in case you have a friend that wants to help out.

Besides story mode, there is an unlockable Boss Rush mode, which does not give continues.  There is also a score attack mode, which is a great way to practice a particular stage, try out a new configuration, or try for a trophy.  Most trophies aren't hard, but a few are for experts only.  Pictures seen during the game are also added to the gallery.  I'm not sure it always works, however, since there are some pictures I should have, but aren't unlocked.  The best unlockable in the game is the customize option.  Beating the game with a character allows you to swap out any of their elemental shots with any other elemental shot from another character you have completed the story with.  Theses aren't restricted by type, so go wild and create your best character!

While Caladrius Blaze feels harder than other shmups I've played in recent times, it is still a genre I enjoy and I had lots of fun playing the game.  8 different ships with different shot patterns and elemental shots, plus three different story modes and some nice unlockables make this a definite play for shmup fans!


The Good:
Elemental shots are a great unique addition to the shmup formula.

The Bad:
Either the game is harder than the typical shmup I play, or I'm not good at the game.

The SaHD:
Before playing around with remapping the controls, I had a claw hand for using the support shot quickly.


(Review code for Caladrius Blaze was provided by the publisher, H2 Interactive Co, Ltd.)

Shooting Stars! (PC) Review

What happens when you mix shmup gameplay with pixel art and the internet?  Shooting Stars!

No, really.  Shooting Stars! is a shoot-em-up (or shmup for short) game where you and your laser-eyed cat take on memes, celebrities, and internet personalities of all sorts.  I think just about everything in the game is a pop culture reference to something.  Enemies, attacks, bosses...you name it.

As a shmup, you move your character around and shoot...everything.  You start off with a basic laser (from your cat) that can upgrade when you pick up food items.  These items are randomly given during the game when an enemy is killed.  Being just food items, it isn't readily apparent what each upgrade will do, and some are either very specific (the clone super move will copy your powerups) or not very useful.  So try to remember at least which ones you don't want to pickup.  The only one I really avoid outright is the really big hamburger, since it upgrades your shot to include missiles.  While this does up your damage, each missile explosion will shake the screen.  When you are trying to delicately dodge around a lot of small shots, shaking the screen is a huge detriment.

Besides your normal shot, you can also have one type of super move equipped.  These are also randomly dropped from slain enemies.  Like the food power-ups, each super varies in usefulness and effect.  Most are big attacks that can clear out multiple enemies, but there is also one that gives you temporary clones on the side to widen your attacks, and a shield that makes you invincible for a set amount of time.  Thankfully, these super moves are on a cooldown timer instead of a use count, so fire away!  You can only have one on at a time, so you have to hover over another for a few seconds to pick it up.  That is super useful so you don't accidentally pick one up that you don't want.  Also like the fruit, each might not be so obvious as to what it does, so try to remember the ones you like and skip the rest after you have tried them all.

Once you start the game, there are six stages, the first five of which are random.  There are many different bosses, and each one has a different stage that must be completed before you fight them.  They also each have unique attacks and shot patterns, which I honestly didn't expect.  It's also nice that the order is pretty random, leading to a different experience each time you go through the game.  The sixth stage is set, and will always be the final boss.  After besting him, you then continue through the game again, each run getting harder and harder, until you die.

There are three ways to control the game.  You can use a keyboard, mouse or controller.  For me, the keyboard was easily the weakest of the three, and mostly because moving isn't as precise with the arrow keys.  The mouse offered really quick and precise movements, but you have to hold the shoot button to move, meaning you are constantly shooting.  This isn't a huge problem, but you will just constantly hear the laser noises.  Plus, it tends to cramp my hand after 10 minutes or so.  The controller was the most comfortable to me.  Moving isn't quite as fast, but it was much more comfortable and natural.  Either way, they all worked, but I would recommend using a controller or just the mouse.

It only takes about 10-15 minutes to get through each cycle.  However, because the goal of the game really is getting a high score, you are meant to replay it a lot.  The random nature of the bosses and powerups makes this much more palatable than some other shmups.  Your high score will also get posted to the leaderboards.  Bosses sometimes drop cards to collect, adding another element to extend playtime if you desire.  The game itself isn't too hard.  You get several hits before you die, but only one life.  Occasionally there are drops to restore health or armor, so there is some leniency.

Overall, Shooting Stars! is a very competent shmup.  I enjoyed playing it, and it seems like a good "pick up and play for 10-20 minutes at a time" sort of game.  If you aren't super into pop culture, the game might not click with you.  Although I didn't know everyone referenced, I still found the game enjoyable as a shoot-em-up, which is a genre I really like.

DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviors (PS4) Review

I like a variety of space shoot-em-up games frequently called shmups.  They usually task you with shooting lots of enemies and big bosses while dodging a cubic ton of bullets.  Whenever a new one is released on a console, I like to check it out.  Once I saw the well-known (to shmup fans) Darius series was bringing its latest iteration to the PS4 and Vita, I had to get a review code.

When the game starts up, you get two modes, AC and CS, and no real explanation of either.  There's also no real explanation of anything else, sadly.  Most of the modes and stuff you have to just try it out and hope for the best.  Playing the actual game isn't really difficult to figure it, it's more what each mode does.  Plus, the power-ups don't really have explanations.  It took me way to long to figure out what each did and their connection with the colored bars at the top of the screen.

The red bars and power-ups are for your main shot (the Square Button).  As you pick up the red ball power-ups, you will get more shots, and after the bars are filled, the shot will change and you can power it up again.  There is a limit for each ship, though.  The green bars are the bombs/missiles you also shoot out when you attack.  The power-up is very similarly to that of the shot.  The blue bars are your shields, and each mark is another hit you can take.  Since it only shows 5 bars, the true number is also shown next to your number of lives near the middle of the top of the screen.

Most of the ships also have a big laser attack when you hold down the X Button.  Using it drains a special meter that is either underneath your ship (AC mode) or at the bottom of the screen (CS mode).  It drains really quickly and is usually only filled when you destroy an enemy ship or their bullets.  A better use for the meter (most times) is a stationary laser satellite.  It drains the meter at a much slower pace, and can be used to concentrate fire on a particular area while you move around.  I like it a lot on bosses.  Plus it can make a nice shield in a pinch.

However, there is one fun use for the burst beam itself.  If you fire it right before an enemy's burst laser hits you (you will know they are doing it when they charge it up), you will absorb theirs while shooting back.  This will fill your meter while using it and the beam gets bigger and stronger.  It's like a Dragonball Z beam struggle in spaceships!  Once I figured out more about it, I try to do it on all the bosses, and not just for the trophy.  It's just so hype!  Although...it doesn't always work.  I'm not sure if my timing is off or what, but there are plenty of times I try it and just eat several hits of the enemy's laser, which takes down my precious shield.  I guess it's part of the risk/reward for using it.

There are a total of 9 different ships, and there are a few core differences between them.  It's a bit hard for me to tell them apart visually, but they all have different shot and bomb patterns.  Not all of the ships have the big laser beam attack.  Origin is the original ship from way back when, and has no other capabilities than the shot and normal bomb attacks.  The Gaiden, my personal favorite, also lacks the beam.  Instead, it uses a full burst meter for a massive bomb that nearly clears the screen, similar to those found in other shmups.  The Murakumo, another one I really like, has the beam, but does not have the stationary laser bit.  It has up to four 'options' (little bits) the follow it, and pressing the L1 button will change their formation and attack pattern.  Overall, I really like the selection of ships, even if I couldn't pick them out of a lineup.

Now we will dive into the modes offered, and AC mode is first.  I think it stands for Another Chronicle, which was the name of the arcade version.  At first I thought it stood for Arcade Cabinet, since it assigns you a cabinet (which is important for the Chronicle mode) and even warns you on a game over to be careful when exiting the machine.  That's an authentic port from the arcade.  So authentic it sadly won't let you back out of any selections in this mode, and everything selection is on an automatic timer.  You have plenty of time, but at first it bothered me when I was trying to check out each mode and ship selection.

The modes inside of AC mode (insert inception meme of choice here) are Original, Original EX, Chronicle and Extra.  Original is the first arcade release of the game.  There are 12 stages, but you only play three of them.  Each level you complete gives you two choices for a next stage (think of a pyramid), so there is some decent replay value when trying to do every stage.  Plus, each stage has its own boss.  Original EX is very similar, but has a different set of 12 stages, and they are much harder variations of them, with more difficult bosses.  Both of these modes allow up to four players.

The third mode is Chronicle, and it boasts over 3000 levels.  The levels are spread out over some planets in a solar system.  Once you or someone else completes a level, nearby ones may unlock.  Each has different rules and restrictions of what ship is allowed, and what its loadout is.  Some require multiple players or might restrict it to one credit.  There are several "cabinets", and the game assigns you to one when you start.  You can change if you want one with more or less unlocked.  It's a pretty neat thing to put into the game that will give a lot of replay value if you want to tackle any of it.  The last mode is Event, which is locked.  Looking at the wikipedia entry for the game states it is an online mode...so I have no idea why it isn't unlocked when I'm online.  I think it might be for timed community challenges or something, and I'll update the review if/when I find out what the mode actually does.

AC mode has a lot to do thanks to Chronicle mode, but I feel the arcade faithful representation hurts it in some ways, too.  There is no real tutorial to teach you anything about the game.  Yes, the main idea is shoot and don't get hit, but some info on the power-ups and the burst counter would have been great at the start.  There is a demo attract mode, but the text is really small and hard to read, especially in the time given.  In fact, everything in this mode is really small.  I have to assume the actual arcade cabinet uses some crazy aspect to its screen, since the one here is letter-boxed on the top and bottom, and everything is small to accommodate the 4 possible players.  The loading screens look like they have some info, but they are in Japanese.  The pictures in them aren't too helpful either.  A manual would have really been helpful.

The second main mode is CS mode.  It's single player with main and sub stages, and completing main stages usually open up more, while sub ones are just for extra points.  Since it is single player, the viewable area is much nicer than AC mode.  You can easily see your ship and all relevant meters and such while playing.  When you complete a stage, your score is converted into points (at 1000 to 1) which are used to unlock different ships and power them up.  Technically, it isn't necessary to do so if you are good enough, as there is a preset for every level in the mode.  However, you can save up your points and buy one of the ships so you will always be able to use that one.  You can also get upgrades for a purchased ship to make it start with stronger shots and bombs, plus more shields to make it more durable.  The only problem with that is the upgrade costs are paid each time you use the ship in the mode.  I guess it means you always have a use for the points, but it sucks when trying to save up for the more expensive ships.

While there are a lot of stages in the game, there aren't many different settings for them.  Most stages seem cobbled together from a few different sections, and they rarely stand out from each other.  It's not a huge deal, since you are mostly paying attention to the enemy's fire patterns so you don't die.  There are a fair amount of different boss types, and each has several variants.  Each type is very different from each other, and the further variants are harder with some new attacks each.  There is a much bigger variety in the bosses than the stages, which is fine since a lot of stages are boss rushes, where you will have boss fights back to back, or with a small stage in-between.

Dariusburst can get difficult with the harder stages.  The hit detection on the ships seems a bit big, so some parts are stupid hard to not get hit.  Original and Original EX modes are on free play so you can power your way through all of the stages with any ship no problem, but Chronicle mode has some very difficult stages (I'm rarely one CC good).  The same is true for CS mode, where you can easily get stuck trying to move forward, and might have to grind earlier stages to get more points and buff out a purchased ship to get through.  Knowing how to fight each boss will go a long way in making the whole game easier, but it can still be very hard to dodge all the bullets.

When I first started Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours, I wasn't sure it had enough to justify the price tag.  The more I played of it, the faster that doubt disappeared.  The AC mode is a faithful representation of the arcade cabinet.  A little too faithful, since it is harder to see and the loading screens that likely help teach you the game and controls are in Japanese.  There is a lot of replayability in Chronicle mode though.  Also the CS mode is a lot of fun, but you can get stuck until you either improve or grind your way to purchasing a ship you like and decking it out.  If you are a fan of shmups, you should definitely pick up Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours on the PS4.  Now if only I could easily beat Thousand Knives...

Shooting Love 200X (Xbox 360) Review

Shooting Love 200X had somewhat of a stealth release recently on Xbox Live Arcade.  Since return readers might know I am a fan of space shooters, I was excited at the prospect of another shmup (shoot-em-up) crossing over into the US.  I was even more excited to give it a try.

When you first boot up the game, you have to take a gamer age challenge, where it asks you to perform in a few shmup-based minigames.  This part is reminiscent of Wario Ware and Brain Age.  It rates how well you perform in a few key areas, and will calculate your "gamer age" at the end.  At first, I got 40.  That is a little older than I am, so I tried it later and got 24.  That's lower than my actual age, so I felt pretty good about that.  Anyway, a there are many variations on the different games that they judge you on, and many are unlockable so you can practice them.  Which is good, since I'm not a fan of "you have a split second to figure out what is going on, now play this!" style.  Once they are unlocked, I can practice them so when they show up in the gamer age challenge, I don't start with a rush to figure it out.

Thankfully, that is not all that Shooting Love 200X has to offer.  It also has three distinct shoot-em-ups to play.  The first is called Exzeal.  You can choose one of five ships (one is well hidden) that have different attack styles.  One has a charge shot that flies straight ahead, another has a 5-way charge shot, the third has no charge shot at all, and the fourth normal one has a short range shot to the side.  Obviously, each plays differently, and each gains a point multiplier bonus based off its primary function.  For example, hitting multiple enemies with the first ship's charge shot will give a high multiplier, but just killing an enemy won't.

The ship with no charge at all was my favorite.  It seemed the easiest to make it through the stages.  Actually, making it through the game is a challenge in and of itself.  You only get so many continues, and it can be very easy to die.  It is possible to gain some more continues, but it takes a lot of playtime to do it.  While Exzeal seems more about points than making your way through the game, this isn't actually the case.  It's both, which is unusual to me in space shooters.

The second shmup game is Tri-zeal.  This one was easily my favorite part of the whole package.  You have only one ship, but it has three different weapons that you cycle through.  Each weapon can by powered up five times to make them stronger and more effective.  The spread shot shoots more bullets, the laser is stronger and there are more seeking missiles launched.  As an added bonus, whenever a weapon is fully powered up, you will get some of when using the other weapons.  This bleed effect is nice, since you get a nice reward for using a non-fully powered up weapon.  I easily preferred the spread shot, as it was the most useful to me, and would power it up first.

The third and final shmup contained in the package is Minus Zero.  It has a strikingly different visual style, akin to Geometry Wars, and offers only lock-on shooting.  The reticle is a fixed distance from your craft, and you can only shoot once you have passed it over an enemy.  Once you have done that for one or more enemies, shooting will launch a laser at each target.  Targeting and then eliminating as many as you can at once is the best way to get a high score.  This was easily my least favorite of the three, and maybe the least attractive of the whole game.  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't very fun for me.

The achievements for the game are harder than I first thought.  You have to find little hidden things, excel at the various gamer age games, and perform well or complete the three shmups.  They aren't impossible, since you can set it on easy, but harder than it would first seem.  There are some cool extras in the game, too.  For one, you can start on the second player side, which is the first time I've seen this in a shmup that I can remember.  You can also check the buttons from the pause screen.  I'd recommend doing this, since all of the games seem to use a different button configuration.  It's a strange decision to be sure, but you can configure them to your liking.

I enjoyed playing Shooting Love 200X.  The gamer age games are fun once you know what they are.  It's a crazy mix of shoot-em-ups/space shooters/shmups and Brain Age, and it works really well.  There are also three different, full shmup games to play.  I still don't like using that word, but it is much quicker to type out.  Anyway, the whole package is great for shmup fans, especially the more retro inclined ones (Raiden, 1942, etc.)  The gamer age games are more about reactive dodging than pattern memorization, while the included shmups are a good mix of both.  An overall fun experience, especially Tri-zeal, which is my favorite part of the whole game.