Q-YO Blaster (NS)

Out of all of the shmups I've ever reviewed I'd say "Q-YO Blaster" is by far the zaniest of them all. It surpasses the wacky content of the Parodius series, and takes an odd approach to the old shoot 'em up formula. Blending what could be best described as a PIXAR studios storytelling path, and the old style cartoon antics of Cuphead, the team at TEAM ROBOT BLACK HAT conjures up a tale about Earth's last stand against an intergalactic plague of insects. Through the comic book panel conversations of the misfit casting therein we find the Earth contact Mr. Cheeks, a humanoid hamster, preparing for the impact of a worm carrying meteorite through radio conversations of an intergalactic team out to stop the threat from spreading further across the galaxy. As one of several pilots of anime, and creature/mechanoid fame you must pilot through the interiors of houses, apocalyptic urban streets, and into realms unknown. Ultimately facing off against weaponized insects of the common garden variety, souped up by futuristic enhancements.

The game at hand, that is "Q-YO Blaster", is simple in it's offerings. It includes two slightly different modes of play including a classic mode, and an unlockable extreme arcade mode for those who are up for the challenge. The arcade classic mode is your standard shmup thoroughfare with several stages of horizontal side-scrolling shoot 'em up action. Before setting off to defend planet Earth as one of the planet's tiniest heroes though you must first pick a team assist, a pilot, and a super weapon for use in your heroic adventure. The team assist comes in the form of one of three godlike entities that will either boost damage, endurance, or damage and endurance together. Giving the player added assists when the assist meter is filled up as you shoot down your enemies. The pilots, which range from hybrid household creatures, to mechanized warriors, and even anime inspired girls each come with a trio of game effecting stats that can be enhanced to a degree if you defeat a stage, and select one of the buffs. In the way of the trio of stats you'll find that they include damage, speed, and fire rate measurements. Depending on preferred play style, and initial assist choice you'll want to choose accordingly. Lastly you'll have a choice between a shield, an laser super move. Giving you a second option to add in bonus defense, or damage output. This final choice is governed by it's own respective meter that fills up as you collect gems from destroyed enemies. To fast track gem collection you can use pulse/bomb power-ups to clear bullet hell off of the screen, and turn said bullet hell into gems. Using the pulse at the appropriate time is the key to maximizing scoring efforts, and quickly defeating bosses utilizing the laser super move, in particular.

The way this particular shmup is divided, and unfolds is on a stage by stage basis with comic book/story panel intermissions. You'll be given a comic book panel followed by the hands-on shoot 'em up gameplay that ends in a boss fight against a boss with a beefy health bar. After that a single selection from a listing of several bonus buffs including the options for enhancements to speed, firing, ammo, power-up duration, and even a 1up as well. With a set amount of continues, and lives taken away by a single hit as well as varying difficulty settings (easy, normal, hard, extreme) the task hand will be as hard or as easy to master as you so choose. Keep in mind that upon continue though that you will forfeit 40,000 points. A hefty price to pay to see the game to the end. Of course by completing the game in certain difficulties you will unlock the Arcade Extreme Mode giving you access to the rest of the game.

The Verdict ...

This is a simple, but interesting shmup experience. It's core value comes from the story being told, the wacky assortment of characters, and insane bosses that you'll cross paths with at the end of each stage. I think the developer did well in creating a unique world of heroes, and villains while forming a cohesive story between the action that was fleshed out enough to give the fight and flight the substance it needed to add purpose to what would otherwise be interpreted as pure insanity. I think for the price asked, and what you get it's an alright deal. It's not the most content heavy shmup I've played, but it's good for a run through or two, especially if you want to utilize the local leaderboards with friends or family to see who is the best. As it stands "Q-YO Blaster" gets the Inferno's lit seal of approval, meaning that it's an alright buy, but not the greatest shump ever made. A proper indie of the shmup genre with a proper application of mechanics.