Gynoug | PS4 Review

Gynoug, or Wings of Wor was originally a Sega Mega Drive exclusive which was released in 1991 by Masaya Games. The same development studio that made the questionably erotic shmup Cho Aniki. This insane metal as f**k shmup that is Gynoug comes at the player balls to the wall with no explanation whatsoever, much like the studio's other wacky release. There's no story, and no mechanics breakdown beyond the control map menu. All I know, and all most players of the game know is that you are a winged angelic warrior who is out shooting the hell out of twisted creatures. Creatures that include Masonic symbols, no less ...

In Gynoug you fly left to right stage to stage in the guise of a nameless winged warrior with a shmup style of shot that changes with power-ups. Much as you would in a traditional side-scrolling shoot 'em up with ships. Through greatly differing boss inclusive stages made visually impressive by parallax scrolling, and doubly so by the game's dual bit tune soundtrack you will guide the game's hero along as he faces a virtual cornucopia of creature collectives. The catch, or gimmick, being that as you do so enemies will drop a rainbow's worth of power-up items including basic red and blue orbs which add bullets to your shot, and increase it's damage potential, respectively. The blue orb being the shot multiplier, and the red orb being the literal power-up. Along with these red or blue pilled pick-me-ups come metal encased orbs of a similar nature that are red, blue, and yellow in color which will, in effect, change the shot type. Shot types include a forward spread, a two way shot, and a focused shot. Each with their advantages and disadvantages given the stage and situation. In addition to the shot power-ups, and the shot types you'll find feathers that increase the character's speed. That and lettered scrolls which when collected will offer up single use magic spells. Collecting two or three of the same lettered scroll will make the magic spell even more powerful. Cycling through them can be done by pressing SQUARE, and to activate one of the three collected scrolls will require a pressing of L2.

When it comes to options the updated, and enhanced version here has it's fair share of bonus features. As with the recent shmup releases by Ratalaika Games you get some new options outside of the original in-game options. This includes a save state, CRT filter with all the arcade trimmings, a few wallpapers, three different screen sizes, and a small list of cheats available from the start. In-game options are different in that respect, and include several different difficulty settings ranging from EASY to HYPER. There's also a sound test, basic Hiscore listing, and player lives stock that can be upped to 5. Without the cheats, and taming down of difficulty Gynoug is a formidable challenge at the NORMAL difficulty setting, alone. Me being a shmup veteran I had problems simply making it to the first stage's final boss. I think what makes it so difficult is the bullet hell nature of the game, and how enemies will swarm from both sides. Making your power-up collection crucial to long term survival.

Stages in Gynoug vary according to environments. Whether it be the cavernous first stage or later aquatic or industrial stages. From the parallax backgrounds to the enemies themselves everything changes in each level making it fresh the first playthrough. Thankfully the enemy spawns, and hazard positions are static in nature. Meaning everything that happens does so in the same way in each playthrough. Should you exhaust all your lives despite learning the patterns you can continue a set number of times, and from experience this does little to help progress in that it starts you over from the current stage's beginning. With the Save/Load options tacked on though this problem can be eliminated. Simply press the TOUCHPAD, choose SAVE/LOAD and you'll be set to blast your way forward.

The Verdict ...

Gynoug, being the less than hand holding experience that it is does present some issues. The lack of a mechanics explanation really hurts what would otherwise be an easy to understand ordeal. That aside the lack of a story is also odd, but the uniqueness of the character, enemies, and stages really pulls this game through. In fact it is that unique quality that makes the game worth a try, and perhaps a buy. I personally liked the dual bit tune soundtrack, and the parallax scrolling effects. The overall visual design is pleasing to the eyes as well. Offering a kind of shmup eye candy that is unique to this game. If you fancy something different, and want to try something from the retro era of gaming Gynoug could fill that void. It's not too pricey, and is worth the asking price for any shmup fan.

FUN FACTS:

You can turn on all cheats, and still earn all the trophies. Platinum included. Beyond the game's completion you can also continue in a new game after credits roll with your previous score intact, and power-up state present. Just a little FYI.