The game takes place in the year 2210 where 'the ultimate arcade machine' Grind Stormer/V・V has finally been released. A VR shooting game, Grind Stormer/V・V becomes so addicting that the government assigns a young man to investigate the arcade phenomenon in order to question its true purpose and to perform the impossible: to beat the game.
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Can’t believe they got this running on the Genesis, feels more like a late-90s bullet hell.
A lot of Toaplan shmups are basically near the same. The vertical ones are all like Truxton (or Flying Shark would probably be more accurate, but Truxton is my personal reference point because I played it first out of their games), and the horizontal ones are nearly the same as each other. This one is vertical, but it sets itself apart a little by having some bullet hell elements. Also, there's not a specific weapon that's way more useful than the others. It's hard as hell, but it feels a good deal more fresh and less samey than some of their other games.
I think it's objectively a three-star (good, not great) game, but I'm giving it an extra half-star bump for having a certain je ne sais quoi. The shot noises are hideous, and it's extremely barebones from a visual perspective, but there's just something about it that sticks with me.
Maybe it's because it's Tsuneki Ikeda's first game—a rough scribble that would serve as the foundation for some of the most seminal works in the genre, which Ikeda would go on to program at CAVE. Many of the level design choices foreshadow set-pieces from his later games: the layers of guns mounted on rails from DoDonPachi DaiOuJou are here, for instance, as is a massive organic mid-boss that reminded me of stage 3 of Mushihimesama.
The biggest bummer of playing this game is realizing that the weapon options (Search and Missile)—which are super fun to use in their own right—are simply too underpowered compared to your juiced up basic shot. Once I started taking a 1CC seriously, I found myself having the easiest time surviving by just firing straight-ahead at max power (there's a neat mechanic where moving forward spreads your options out for a wide shot, and moving backward concentrates them, but, like the weapon options, this sadly just isn't incorporated usefully into the level design).
On the positive side of things, the music is scuzzy, proggy bliss. It's not the greatest OST in the world or anything, but it fits the game perfectly, and adds a ton of character that the backgrounds and enemy designs lack.
At the end of the day, Grind Stormer is an incredibly stripped-down but satisfying shmup experience, and I'd certainly recommend checking it out. It even has the Japanese version of the game (which has an entirely different power-up system) bundled into the cartridge, and has customizable difficulty options and a training mode. Pretty sweet.
Maybe it's because it's Tsuneki Ikeda's first game—a rough scribble that would serve as the foundation for some of the most seminal works in the genre, which Ikeda would go on to program at CAVE. Many of the level design choices foreshadow set-pieces from his later games: the layers of guns mounted on rails from DoDonPachi DaiOuJou are here, for instance, as is a massive organic mid-boss that reminded me of stage 3 of Mushihimesama.
The biggest bummer of playing this game is realizing that the weapon options (Search and Missile)—which are super fun to use in their own right—are simply too underpowered compared to your juiced up basic shot. Once I started taking a 1CC seriously, I found myself having the easiest time surviving by just firing straight-ahead at max power (there's a neat mechanic where moving forward spreads your options out for a wide shot, and moving backward concentrates them, but, like the weapon options, this sadly just isn't incorporated usefully into the level design).
On the positive side of things, the music is scuzzy, proggy bliss. It's not the greatest OST in the world or anything, but it fits the game perfectly, and adds a ton of character that the backgrounds and enemy designs lack.
At the end of the day, Grind Stormer is an incredibly stripped-down but satisfying shmup experience, and I'd certainly recommend checking it out. It even has the Japanese version of the game (which has an entirely different power-up system) bundled into the cartridge, and has customizable difficulty options and a training mode. Pretty sweet.
This game is wild. It plays like a prototype DonPachi ON YOUR GENESIS! Granted there will be flaws with that as a lot of the aspects that make bullet hells more playable such as smaller hitboxes aren't a thing in this but it's still crazy seeing how close they were to achieving that.
Basically the only Toaplan shooter on Genesis I love, even if it's a rough port. It's a shooter that sits between a classic shmup and a bullet hell in terms of mechanics, but having released before bullet hells were a thing, it approaches patterns more overtly and classical than some genre-merger attempts in recent gens. Weapons all feel great to use and I love the grungy sound and art. Stage 3 being a goldmine of score items out of nowhere is a very silly but endearing touch. Bosses are rough at first due to the limited vertical screen space, but become manageable and very satisfying to beat after some studying. The Genesis port is also really forgiving on lives and continues - makes it easier to learn than most older games. All around great time - not as good as the arcade version, and probably could've been a lot better, but it's nice for what it's worth.