Ginga Force (PS4)

Coming at you like the hot take of a 90's anime saga, Ginga Force introduces the players to two aspiring and experienced pilots, the criminal task force they serve, and the world that they live in. Those pilots being Alex Heatburn, and Margarette Whitetail. A dynamic duo in leagues with an organization known as MSS, or Mitsurugi Security Service which calls an AI governed world known as Seventia home. Much like our people, and our world the once migratory residents of Seventia realized that over population was an issue. So much so that they made their way to new planets, colonized said planets, and did so until they no longer prioritized the birthing efforts of old. Adopting new technology, and engaging in new AI innovations including that of an AI governance system Specia the people of Seventia grew accustom to a new lifestyle. Not of colonization, but more so of building upon the utopia they've become a part of. Harnessing new power sources, and policing those that would step out of their way to disrupt civility. 

Rigid Force Redux (NS)

Shmups usually fall into one of a handful of categories. I like to call those categories the Gradius, Xevious, Space Invaders, and Raiden. Basically you have horizontal side-scrollers like Gradius, vertical top-down shmups like Xevious, stationary wave base verticals like Space Invaders, and bullet hell shmups like Raiden. In the case of "Rigid Force Redux" the category it falls best under is the Gradius lineage. It harbors much of the same horizontal side-scrolling mechanics, but does so in it's own unique way.

In Rigid force Redux, whether you're playing through the multiple stage story driven campaign or action only arcade mode, you'll find your ship has certain functions tied to shooting, satellites, and power-ups. These functions include satellites that can be moved towards the front or back in multiple positions for wide and streamed shots in the left or right directions. Giving you the ability to take care of forward facing or backward facing enemies simply by pressing the right or left shoulder buttons, respectively. On top of that the shot type changes with collected power-ups. Power-ups can be stacked to gain a variety of simultaneously firing projectiles. Things like downward, and upward firing missiles on top of the bullet type. Also included with shot, and power-up function are force shards which can be collected to increase the power level of the power-ups. In tandem with the energy bar which utilizes gathered or magnetized energy left behind from fallen enemies or enemy waves you can blast an even more powerful concentrated shot to clear out more formidable enemy types and bosses. That's the gimmick in a nutshell.

SHMUP Collection (REVIEW)

I think it's safe to say that at this point the Nintendo Switch is the new home of the SHMUP, or shoot 'em up genre. With the debut of PixelHeart's SHMUP Collection this is made ever more evident. With the 'SHMUP collection' PixelHeart, and Astro Port not only bring back to life a trio of classics, but also offer revamped versions for a couple of them. Included in the collection are two versions of 'Armed 7', two versions 'Satazius', and a single version of 'Wolflame'. All of which are brilliant examples of just how impressive games from the genre can be. Each with similar yet unique approaches to gameplay mechanics. A little side-scrolling here, and a little top-down vertical climbing to boot

Task Force Kampas (PS4)

I have decided to do this review differently, and include my Youtube video review. I took to Twitch to stream some hands-on impressions, and go over the features and mechanics which I then exported to Youtube, and have in turn included here. As it turns out I found a shmup with potential lost to artificial difficulty. Through a narrow playing field, oppressive bullet hell/enemy population, and recovery options that reduce the long lived potential of a playthrough things are made much harder than they should be. It left me unable to make it past the first boss on Easy difficulty despite choosing different pilots with different perks that each offered a different advantage in regards to shot type and health. Visually the game is very appealing, and the soundtrack quite impressive. Sadly I found out that it was a game experience not worth buying into. Hopefully the developer can heed my advice, and improve upon this game or the next.

Red Death (REVIEW)

Returning with a shmup that foregoes the nature of the first entry in their series, Panda Indie Studios brings to us a worthy prequel to 'Project Starship'. A four tone shoot 'em up that not only ramps up the challenge, and does away with the rogue-like formula, but that also gives background on the main two characters of the first game. Following pilot RED-001 we are invited along with the accompanying instructor to see the demise of worlds at the hands, or rather tentacles of the old gods. Gods of Lovecraftian origin who have decided to wage war on the Earth, and force pilots like Nick (aka, RED-001) to face a final fight for the remainder of humanity. In his fight, and flight of nightmarish proportions we learn that Nick's wife departs the planet via shuttle during his skirmish with a baby on the way. A surprise bundle of joy that ties-in with the 'Project Starship' plot. It is in the eerie, and ominous revelation of potential doom, and hope for the future that the color scheme of reds, greens, whites, and greys along with thematic music elements geared towards intensifying the situation plays out in a per stage basis, and in an oldschool way.

Project Starship (PS4)

For five dollars you are getting what you paid for with Panda Indie Studio's, "Project Starship". It's nothing large scale, or new-gen, but in it's flashy simplicity it harbors a surprisingly impressive replay value if you look beyond the lack of an online leaderboard. Said replay value coming in the form of high score opportunities that can be streamed for record sake. That and some easy to earn PSN trophies. With the noteworthy replay value you will also find randomized rogue-like features which will alter the experience in each of the given playthroughs making no playthrough exactly alike.

At base level Project Starship is a top-down upward auto-scrolling shmup of chunky proportions set in an Lovecraftian universe with rogue-like elements at play. A very flashy display of nonstop action filled with amateurish hand drawn art put into lightly animated pixel form. All accented by an oddly digitized voice inclusive chiptune soundtrack. It features two playable protagonists in the form of Garret, and Gwen who are each made available from the start alongside two distinct difficulty settings. These male and female astronauts who fly in their own blue and red colored spacecraft of the same build face the cosmic horrors before them as you guide them along through the lit up abyss.

Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo (REVIEW)

Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo puts the anime into aerial combat with six wacky wave based games centered around an unusual roster of characters. Included in this bundle is a mix and match of two well renown trilogies. Including that of Samurai Aces, and GunBird. Each sporting their own plots, settings, mythologies, and mechanics. All done up in both side-scrolling, and top-down shoot 'em up fashion. It's fast and frenetic gameplay with new optional bells and whistles to help you see each game through to the end beyond the staple quarter munching mockery, and seven different difficulty settings. If you are a fan of shmups, bullet hell, or even brick breaking of the retro kind this might just be the ultimate collection for you!

Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire (PS4)

Some people play shmups for the story ... Who am I kidding!? People play shmups for the high score opportunities! Yep, that's it. Interestingly enough though Alfa Systems shmup "Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire" offers the best of both worlds. A story regarding five fabled sisters destined to stop an ultimate evil known as Seytan (Satan???), and unique shoot 'em up mechanics with which to top the global leaderboards. As far as the story goes it's an interesting tale of sibling rivalry that ends up doing an about face over a man who is the romantic center of attention. The five leading ladies including Sonay, Selma, Nur, Ece, and Lale all have their hearts set on wedding the man of the hour, Yashin. What transpires between them is a wacky war of words, and will. With their familiars, their sharp tongues, and their magic abilities they enter the heat of battle as brides to be or not to be.

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha (NS)

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is an all-star compilation of previously unreleased Japanese arcade shmups. Ported to the Nintendo Switch for the Western audience in an easy to play, and truly gamer friendly way this collection of six different shoot 'em ups from the not so distant past offers tweaks, and gameplay with a variety of unique gimmicks tied to the base genre they hail from. Within the collection you get the first three entries of "Strikers 1945", "Sol Divide", "Dragon Blaze", and "Zero Gunner 2". Most of which are top down types with the exception of "Sol Divide" which is a side-scrolling shmup. With each game made accessible through a rotary menu with title image shown you not only gain instant access to whatever title you wish, but you also get settings that can be accessed through the plus button that allow you change such settings as the screen direction, the display filter, the credits count, the associated wallpaper, the set language, and even the dialogue's original or reworked subtitles. Along with all of that you gain access to sound settings, the control layout, and rule guides. For those of you worried about the quarter munching difficulty associated with each game the developer has been kind enough to throw in seven different difficulties ranging from "Monkey" to "Hardcore" as well as an unlimited credits option, and an increased life stock option to make the journey from beginning to end a little less abusive.

Gunlord X | 32bit Shoot 'em Up Metroidvania Platforming At It's Finest!

Nostalgia level over 9,000!!! Gunlord X has a lot of good going for it. NG-DEV's improved upon version of the retro Turrican inspired classic comes to life not only with 32Bit oldschool aesthetics intact, but also with new quality of life tweaks, and additional content not originally included. This smooth as butter platforming shmup hybrid with collect-a-thon goals and a quest to save the waifu is one that will no doubt leave a mark in modern gaming history. It is hailed as being the definitive version of the classic. The one that's worth playing, and worth owning. To that extent I think it definitely lives up to the boastful claims. Though it is still extremely challenging, and borderline unforgiving Gordian Gaiden's fight against the demonic soul stealing alien menace known as the "The Master" is one not easily forgotten, or passed up.

Habroxia | An Entry Level Shmup For The PS4

If you've played earlier shmups like Gradius and Space Invaders you'll have a good clue as to how Habroxia plays, and what type of shoot 'em up it is. Even though it has it's own slightly different hybrid take on mechanics, and even features it's own unique visual design as well as it's own approach to gameplay the waves of enemies including how you approach them within the handful of modes made available will feel very familiar. Compared to other shmups, and bullet hell shooters Lillymo Games' creation is also a bit more tame, and entry level by design. Said design has it's ups, and downs to note. For example, it is somewhat too reliant upon the upgrade system that is it's base feature for progressing through the 15 stages of the main mode. Outside of that the alternate modes that you unlock such as Invasion, Rescue, and Shield Maiden at every five level completion will offer only slight replay value as well as a means to farm for credits which act as the game's in-game currency. Sadly, in all that it offers it does not include global leaderboards though. Thus making the chain combo scoring that is attached to the experience less than beneficial to those gamers looking to compare their feats of mastery with other worldly competitors.

Doughlings: Invasion | A New Entry In A Series That Reinvents Retro Games

The Doughlings franchise by Hero Concept is a sort of series of games with it's own unique lore that utilizes retro gaming genres as it's core gameplay element. This particular installment of the Doughlings series, for example, features a tale of the Doughlings being invaded by space invaders who aim to conquer the residents of the Doughling world through a sneaky preemptive meteor strike. They basically send down a meteor of mass destruction down to the Doughling planet to obliterate all existence there, but Dr. Morpheus finds out the plan, and launches a counter offensive against the would be invaders. Packing heat in the form of a color gun, and utilizing various personas, or abilities gained from elixir allocation Morpheus must make a stand or risk the very existence of his own kind. A story which is nicely packaged in comic book panel form with a spoken voice-over inclusive introduction at the start.

Vasara Collection | A Classic Shmup Revival With A New Mode Of Play

For the first time on console. You don't often see such a claim when it comes to video games. Even when it's shmups from Asia. That being said QUBytes did indeed bring to us the "Vasara Collection" in all it's wonderful glory for the first time on consoles, and modern consoles at that. Included in the collection are the two older game ports titled, "Vasara" and "Vasara 2" from the respective series developed by Visco as well as "Vasara Timeless" which seems to be a more modern version of those older releases with it's own unique mechanics for an up to four player local co-op session. All in all it's a three for the price of one kind of deal which may or may not be worth it to you depending on what kind of game genres you like ...

Most of you reading this are probably wondering what theme this particular shoot 'em up series contains at this point, and if you guessed samurai you'd be close. The two main games take some of the real life feudal Japanese history/lore, and put a sort of fantasy anime twist on it all. As one of a handful of various fully named male, and female protagonists sporting different period attire according to profession (Ninja, Samurai, Rogue, Shogun, Monk), and piloting a variety of different mechanized ships you go into battle against the forces involved in the fall of Osaka Castle of 1600 as well as against Oda Nobunga, and his army of loyal generals. At your disposal on your journey to rid the world of the nefarious opposition is a blocking melee attack, and rapid fire shot of varying types according to ship/character as well as the usual bullet hell clearing bombs. Utilizing your tools of destruction you must clear out enemies large, and small in order to face off against the main enemies that lie in wait within the six stage playthrough. Whether it be soldiers, sub-boss generals, or boss type generals piloting enemy craft. With each defeated enemy leaving in their wake a banner that adds to an end score tally along with other tallied loot found hidden away you could find yourself on at the top of the games' global leaderboards, and in the footnotes of feudal fantasy history if you can prove yourself worthy enough to capitalize on such point earned fame and fortune.

Pawarumi (NS)

Rock, paper, scissors, and a shmup. A shmup, and an Aztec theme. These are things we usually wouldn't think of as something that would go together so easily or smoothly. Thankfully the French studio Manufacture 43 put them together quite seamlessly, and in such a way as to create one of the genre's most unique experiences, to date, for the Nintendo Switch.

Utilizing divine creatures, and a future mythos taken lightly from Aztec mythology we find a shmup that foregoes the need for upgrades, power-ups, and the usual shoot 'em up approach. In the place of the usual staple features the developer has applied a system where shields, and supers are gained by pitting certain colored weapons of the animal variety (Red Jaguar Missiles, Blue Condor Lasers & Green Serpent Gatling) against opposing ship colors to build up respective meters, and the use of a crushing mechanic to do bonus damage in a similar fashion. The triple color scheme, and how it works is explained away in a hands-on demo style tutorial that can be intimidating at first, but more understandable as you play. A tutorial that tells you to build up a shield via a boost mechanic you have to shoot colored enemies with the same color weapon. That to build up your super via a drain mechanic you have to play a sort of rock-paper-scissors opposite game putting the weaker weapon color against the stronger enemy ship color. Needless to say earning the crushing blow is done by using a stronger weapon color to destroy ships of a weaker color. To make things easy pressing a button will show you what each shot type does in accordance to colors with a color coded meter, and crush indicator at the bottom of the screen.

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.

AngerForce Reloaded (PS4)

I have been playing "AngerForce Reloaded" by Zodiac Interactive for review purposes. I like it. It manages to add in a few tweaks to the standard bullet hell gameplay formula including an energy meter, and tied-in dual skills that can be used to maximize scoring potential. For some reason it reminds me of Borderlands in some ways, it's graphical design. Definitely with the visual cell-shading, and the named bosses you encounter. The fact that it has a campaign for each of the four main characters spanning 7 stages in total divided between Noob, Normal, and Hardcore difficulties really adds that incentive to play through it thoroughly. The perk system in Arcade, and Campaign mode adds a bit of enhancement to possible gameplay perfection for those who commit to the grind. In the campaign you'll use earned points to upgrade characters across the board. Things pertaining to health, energy, bombs, power-up suction, and other things can be upgraded to improve upon point earning potential as well as prolonged survival. These points can not only be spent at the final stage of the set difficulty or upon death, but can also be used to revive characters as well as buy intermediate power-up refills should you need them.

In total there are four main characters in the game that you can play as, and as the title suggests they all have some sort of anger issues, each pertaining to a sought out fight against a mysterious masked figure and a war against robots and humans. The characters include the adopted, and orphaned Samhill, Echo who happens to be the daughter of the man behind the creation of the robots, Asimo who is a robot himself, and a forest spirit named Shin who obviously has a beef with all the destruction and mayhem brought on by the ongoing conflict.

RYM 9000 (PS4)

If you are a fan of things like Projekt MKUltra, and Polybius you might find yourself right at home playing this latest shmup by Sonoshee. Full of deliberate visual, and audio mind f**kery this one-of-a-kind shmup aims to take you on a hardcore flight to the moon. A sensory overload in the form of a shoot 'em up. As the story goes there is a prophecy detailing a certain eclipse foreseen by the green dweller which has come to be. According to said prophecy there is a treasure to be found upon the eclipsed moon called the RYM 9000 which will gift ownership of the world, and beyond to the one who finds it. You happen to be one of those pilots, a revolutionary. With your ship you will be tasked with piloting through several stages of alien infested defenses in an attempt to claim the RYM 9000 as your own. The task might seem simple at first, but through limited ship capabilities attributed to damage taken you will need to pilot carefully lest you find yourself among the many failed attempts.

Horizon Shift '81 (Nintendo Switch)

I had a double dose of nostalgia today going into the playthrough for this review. On one hand I was once again able to play, and review a game from an old XBLIG developer favorite. That developer being Flump Studios. On the other hand I got to experience an oldschool style shmup which encompassed all the classics of old. From Space Invaders to Centipede, and even Asteroids the game at hand had it all going on. Not in a way as to be a copycat shooter, but one that actually had it's own core gimmick with the classic mechanics included on the side, and collectively so. When it comes to the experience that is, "Horizon Shift '81", it is a retro themed shmup that gets it's name from it's horizon baseline. A line centered in the middle of the screen in which the controlled ship can face or rather flip north or south while dodging, shooting, and jumping among a wide assortment of approaching and stationary lesser or greater enemy threats. It is with this grounded line that you must deal with each enemy type differently on their respective sides, and collect what can be collected according to the sides the collectibles are on. The asteroids, for example, are an enemy threat that will knock holes into the horizon creating a pitfall for your ship. A gap that can be jumped, or avoided altogether. Other enemy types like the space invaders style enemies will land on either side of the horizon line, and can only be defeated by a side dash to the left or right using the Switch's shoulder buttons once they land. Ultimately leading to score combo opportunities. Needless to say with each enemy type comes it's own set of rules. In turn making the challenge at hand all the more challenging.

Scintillatron 4096 (PS4)

Scintillate. To throw off sparks or flash. That is the dictionary meaning of the aforementioned word. Looking back at my playthrough of kFunction Limited's debut shoot'em up it's quite the fitting title piece if I do say so myself. When I first began playing "Scintillatron 4096" I could see with little effort what the title and game were inspired by. The neon particle effects, and neon colored details of the tunnel-like environment in which the waves you shoot through are displayed really pushed that point home. It was something akin to the futuristic neon lit Noir setting of Bladerunner, While I understood the theme, and liked the visual presentation along with the pulse pounding electronic soundtrack I was admittedly a little confused at first with the gameplay before me though, but that confusion came from me being a dufus, and not paying full attention to the clear directions I was given from the initial onscreen tutorial. It turns out this retro-future inspired take on the shmup genre has it's own unique combo and power-up mechanics. Nothing revolutionary, mind you, but definitely something different.

Unlike most combo based twin stick shooters "Scintillatron 4096" has you achieving combos by shooting a sequence of two different colored particles in the most efficient way possible. I did say "particles", btw. The underlying theme is that of an atomic or sub-atomic one, and has you banking the big point values by shooting, in order, all the yellow or pink glowing atomic particles. All while dodging various spark sapping sub-atomic hazards, and the constantly pursuing particles themselves. Wave after wave you will basically move your tiny aiming target in front of, beside or behind the main particles, and enemy targets for targeting advantage while they follow your lead as you shoot them into pixel dust with various power-up oriented shot types. As you do so additional power-ups will appear randomly on the given board that will either complicate or aid in your high scoring goal to some degree.

Fast Striker (PS4)

Eastasiasoft's, and NGDevTeam's 'Fast Striker' was a surprise to me. Even though I've seen about every type of shmup (shoot'em up) available this particular one did something I can't say I've seen before. It was marketed by the PR as a 2D shooter with multiple scoring options, and multiple modes/stages. A statement which I personally didn't think was entirely accurate. Visually the game is more 3D than it is 2D despite it's pixel build. I know it's semantics arguing that point but 2D is what we normally call side-scrollers. This is more of 3D top-down shoot'em up. Along with that surprising revelation I found the game to be more like the oldschool arcade shmups. Not too old, but definitely oldschool. It was certainly better than the indie I thought it was going to be (having looked at the cover art). If you've ever seen one of the Japanese shmups you'll have an idea of what I'm babbling on about when it comes to the actual gameplay, and art style. In the end, after some internet browsing, I did find out I wasn't far off the mark. Fast Striker was originally released on the Neo Geo, and SEGA Dreamcast consoles by NGDevTeam.