Often as fun as hearing someone yell "FUCK IT BRO" and then speed away. Maybe you're in the car. Maybe you're not. It's that thrill regardless. I messed up the endgame scenario bad enough to make the game loop, and cried laughing doing it.
Its utterly unique maze-runner-shooter format and constant gameplay switch-ups can be overwhelming, and the final boss is pretty dull, but it's so fun. Reveals a sardonic, Chaplin-esque fascination with the World's Fair-era Industrial Age. It's certainly a lot, though.
Twenty-fourth GOTW finished for 2023. The music was absolutely stupendous in this one, really fit the theme of the game and was fantastic to listen to regardless of what was happening on the screen. Lots of different vehicle options, as well as some neat level designs. That being said, there was a TON going on in any given screen, and the controls were a bit difficult to get a handle on as well. Could get very confusing in a hurry. Felt like it could use a little more polish, as well as maybe a little trim-down on the overall game time. Quite silly and fun, but there are better options out there.
This "shmup" contains more ideas than any other single game. At every turn you think you've seen it all: you have not. Game designer Kazuyuki Kurata called it a day after this, his only game. A masterpiece.
Game #7 of my "seasonal game binge"
One of the most unique shmups I ever played. Mechanically, it really stands out despite the huge crowd. The player can spam bullets, pick up just about any item in the game from wrecking balls to fucking giraffes to swing or throw around as weapons, shoot lightning, and even run along the ground after losing their ship. That's right, the hit points are surprisingly lenient for a shmup. The vehicles can last multiple hits before exploding and then the player has a chance to go on top of another vehicle or even an animal such as an elephant. It's doubly epic in 2 player mode where players can actually swing each other around. The sheer genius programming I'm sure it took to implement all of this must be insane.
Boogie Wings uses a level select in the style of Mega Man. There is not really any point to this since there is not an RPS system or anything, but it's ultimately harmless so this isn't a knock against the game. The levels have a surprising amount of variety. Some levels will have no boss fights, some will have extremely elaborate boss fights, some will take place in a dinosaur museum while others will take place in a Christmas town, and so forth. My favourite is the final level because it feels like a "build your own level" built by a child. All sense of coherent level design is thrown out the window to squeeze in every single item in the game within a span of two minutes. It's exhilarating and I rarely ever see games show this sheer lack of restraint.
Perhaps my favourite part of the game overall, however, is the credits sequence. It's fully playable; the player can shoot things during the credits sequence as beautiful hand-drawn art is displayed while funny nicknames of the staff members fly by. It even ends with the classic jolly line: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/925725540932010015/unknown.png
Graphically, I would not say Boogie Wings is an ultra detailed game or anything but it has some elaborate objects with numerous parts and with so many things flying around on screen it's understandable; the pixel art still more than gets the job done. I especially enjoy the Christmas stage due to the sheer amount of shit going on ranging from unique billboards in different areas, easter eggs like the actual Santa Claus in the background of the evil Santa fight, and MERRY XMAS advertisements the players can squash evil soldiers with.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/924018500685664256/Fightcade_FBNeo_v0.2.97.44-44_Boogie_Wings_Euro_v1.5_92.12.07_2021-12-24_12-58-05.mp4
A big shoutout must be made to the music as well. It mostly just uses famous classical music for the foundation, but there is something oddly charming about hearing a hyper remix of Jingle Bells and other Christmas songs form into a medley for the Christmas town. Also a Castlevaniaesque remix of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the haunted house boss? Pure Chef's kiss
https://youtu.be/HeF5c-OBZ8o
https://youtu.be/4NTrZav1GHc
Oh yeah the story. There is a dialogue branch at the end where the villain asks you to join his side. I just ignored it lol.
One of the most unique shmups I ever played. Mechanically, it really stands out despite the huge crowd. The player can spam bullets, pick up just about any item in the game from wrecking balls to fucking giraffes to swing or throw around as weapons, shoot lightning, and even run along the ground after losing their ship. That's right, the hit points are surprisingly lenient for a shmup. The vehicles can last multiple hits before exploding and then the player has a chance to go on top of another vehicle or even an animal such as an elephant. It's doubly epic in 2 player mode where players can actually swing each other around. The sheer genius programming I'm sure it took to implement all of this must be insane.
Boogie Wings uses a level select in the style of Mega Man. There is not really any point to this since there is not an RPS system or anything, but it's ultimately harmless so this isn't a knock against the game. The levels have a surprising amount of variety. Some levels will have no boss fights, some will have extremely elaborate boss fights, some will take place in a dinosaur museum while others will take place in a Christmas town, and so forth. My favourite is the final level because it feels like a "build your own level" built by a child. All sense of coherent level design is thrown out the window to squeeze in every single item in the game within a span of two minutes. It's exhilarating and I rarely ever see games show this sheer lack of restraint.
Perhaps my favourite part of the game overall, however, is the credits sequence. It's fully playable; the player can shoot things during the credits sequence as beautiful hand-drawn art is displayed while funny nicknames of the staff members fly by. It even ends with the classic jolly line: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/925725540932010015/unknown.png
Graphically, I would not say Boogie Wings is an ultra detailed game or anything but it has some elaborate objects with numerous parts and with so many things flying around on screen it's understandable; the pixel art still more than gets the job done. I especially enjoy the Christmas stage due to the sheer amount of shit going on ranging from unique billboards in different areas, easter eggs like the actual Santa Claus in the background of the evil Santa fight, and MERRY XMAS advertisements the players can squash evil soldiers with.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/924018500685664256/Fightcade_FBNeo_v0.2.97.44-44_Boogie_Wings_Euro_v1.5_92.12.07_2021-12-24_12-58-05.mp4
A big shoutout must be made to the music as well. It mostly just uses famous classical music for the foundation, but there is something oddly charming about hearing a hyper remix of Jingle Bells and other Christmas songs form into a medley for the Christmas town. Also a Castlevaniaesque remix of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the haunted house boss? Pure Chef's kiss
https://youtu.be/HeF5c-OBZ8o
https://youtu.be/4NTrZav1GHc
Oh yeah the story. There is a dialogue branch at the end where the villain asks you to join his side. I just ignored it lol.
Decently fun arcade game. Pretty standard shmup gameplay with a few fun stage ideas like a nice christmas level with a giant robo santa boss. The only really distinct appeal the game has is the hook on the plane you can use to pick up and swing stuff around including your co-op partner which is pretty fun. The visuals are nice too.
They really cranked the ‘Whacky’ knob as far as it could go. Your plane has a Super Castlevania whip! Both Santa Claus and the Blue Brothers are in this game! All the goofiness doesn’t pay off with a good time, though.
Average Shoot em Up but it so quriky and random lol xddd rawrz uwu. Peak "Set Piece based Level Design" uuuh I used a made up fancy word! Guess that makes me "soo random" ... yeah... just like this game
an underrated game that is perfect to play with your friend! it has a non-stopping action, and a lot of stuff happening on screen in a good way (chaotic fun)
Horizontal shooter with a lot of unique elements and stage design. You have a hook that can swing around your plane based on your movement and hit enemies and bombs, when nothing is on it you can grab enemies or objects in the environment. When shot down you bail out and can fight as the pilot who can jump and pick up and throw objects, and can take motorcycles, tanks, artillery, horses, elephants, etc as new vehicles. Some inventive stage design and the first stage and next five that you pick between are all a combination of well designed mechanically and/or visually interesting.
Hard to manage the hook, tends to just be either extremely easy or so chaotic it can be difficult to tell what is even considered to be an enemy or obstacle and where a threat can be coming from, fighting on the ground can be amusing but control wise feels like a bit of an afterthought (or as an arcade game, they still needed you to die eventually for you to spend more). No rapid fire as quickly mashing the fire button will start to fire out lightning around your plane, can get very tiring if you are trying for that all the time. Dull final stage with two ending choices with one leading to a boss fight and the other forcing you to replay a random stage and then to replay the final stage to get the better ending.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1538604025758699522
Hard to manage the hook, tends to just be either extremely easy or so chaotic it can be difficult to tell what is even considered to be an enemy or obstacle and where a threat can be coming from, fighting on the ground can be amusing but control wise feels like a bit of an afterthought (or as an arcade game, they still needed you to die eventually for you to spend more). No rapid fire as quickly mashing the fire button will start to fire out lightning around your plane, can get very tiring if you are trying for that all the time. Dull final stage with two ending choices with one leading to a boss fight and the other forcing you to replay a random stage and then to replay the final stage to get the better ending.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1538604025758699522
Boogie Wings is the kind of game where it exudes so much charm and fun, its shortcomings are rarely felt throughout it all.
The first minute may give an impression that it's just your typical horizontal shmup with only the wacky early 1900s ragtime theming setting itself apart from other shooters. But then soon enough you'll come to notice that the plane you pilot has a hook that can grab anything to be freely swung and tossed around. Once you get shot down the first time too, you'll also realize it's not a life loss yet, as your pilot is now on-foot comically running with his pistol, being able to pilot new vehicles as they come along.
These surprises keep coming along, as you get to ride on-ground vehicles from typical ones such as tanks and motorcycles to more outlandish things such as robots and animals.
This variety extends to the levels themselves, each with its own theme built around them. From a Christmas-filled city, a spooky Halloween town to a large theme park and museum. You're never really doing the same thing twice too since each level will force you onto a gimmick with its own set of vehicles and enemies. A particular highlight comes in the form of raiding an airship, where the game feels more akin to a 2D action sidescroller.
Boogie Wings is far from perfect, suffering from a lack of polish with its mechanics and the length of the levels themselves feeling a tad bit too long. But the sheer variety of stuff and charming presentation makes it hard to dislike.
This is also one of the few shmups I feel like where it actually is more fun to play without autofire. It's nicely balanced for tapping gameplay, with rapid tapping enabling a more powerful version of your shot that captures a wide area and kills enemies quickly. You can elect for autofire as you wish especially if you're trying to be efficient with clearing the game, but it's definitely balanced without it especially since part of the fun is having your vehicle destroyed and hijacking another.
Boogie Wings is rough around the edges, but it also offers a highly enjoyable time where it's easy to just smile and laugh throughout its whimsical presentation. I highly recommend it especially if you can get a friend to tag along with you. Something like Fightcade actually supports this game quite nicely from personal experience.
The first minute may give an impression that it's just your typical horizontal shmup with only the wacky early 1900s ragtime theming setting itself apart from other shooters. But then soon enough you'll come to notice that the plane you pilot has a hook that can grab anything to be freely swung and tossed around. Once you get shot down the first time too, you'll also realize it's not a life loss yet, as your pilot is now on-foot comically running with his pistol, being able to pilot new vehicles as they come along.
These surprises keep coming along, as you get to ride on-ground vehicles from typical ones such as tanks and motorcycles to more outlandish things such as robots and animals.
This variety extends to the levels themselves, each with its own theme built around them. From a Christmas-filled city, a spooky Halloween town to a large theme park and museum. You're never really doing the same thing twice too since each level will force you onto a gimmick with its own set of vehicles and enemies. A particular highlight comes in the form of raiding an airship, where the game feels more akin to a 2D action sidescroller.
Boogie Wings is far from perfect, suffering from a lack of polish with its mechanics and the length of the levels themselves feeling a tad bit too long. But the sheer variety of stuff and charming presentation makes it hard to dislike.
This is also one of the few shmups I feel like where it actually is more fun to play without autofire. It's nicely balanced for tapping gameplay, with rapid tapping enabling a more powerful version of your shot that captures a wide area and kills enemies quickly. You can elect for autofire as you wish especially if you're trying to be efficient with clearing the game, but it's definitely balanced without it especially since part of the fun is having your vehicle destroyed and hijacking another.
Boogie Wings is rough around the edges, but it also offers a highly enjoyable time where it's easy to just smile and laugh throughout its whimsical presentation. I highly recommend it especially if you can get a friend to tag along with you. Something like Fightcade actually supports this game quite nicely from personal experience.
Gives coinfeeding a whole new meaning