I just spent an hour and a half on the final boss and then woke up the whole house with my victorious screams.
The friction between space and hazards, action and hesitation, hope and despair, repetition and conclusion, ludo and life. To play is to feel God slipping away from your moving fingers, your grasp letting go of That which cannot be defined by words, to learn the violent dance that is performed by patience and desperation. Patterns learned not through analysis but through primal intuition; pumping blood racing not through veins but through the notes of blazing music; forget about solutions or results, it's about the Soul.
The destruction of the ship that is you, the revival through a larger-than-life sacrifice that rips the walls of space and time, the search for divinity proving useless in the face of ever-growing numbers and qualifications. The battered ship is no longer a vehicle for calamity and death, but an embryo for the spirit that allows humans to find a way out no matter how tight the space might seem, to face Despair and Erasure face-to-face, with everything at stake every day. The cycle of routine and failure mirrors that of our games and stories - the screen no longer scrolls itself for you, everything depends on your resolve to move up. To press on. To lose everything and still come back.
I have lost everything, more than once. But I will still come back.
edit: I won.
The destruction of the ship that is you, the revival through a larger-than-life sacrifice that rips the walls of space and time, the search for divinity proving useless in the face of ever-growing numbers and qualifications. The battered ship is no longer a vehicle for calamity and death, but an embryo for the spirit that allows humans to find a way out no matter how tight the space might seem, to face Despair and Erasure face-to-face, with everything at stake every day. The cycle of routine and failure mirrors that of our games and stories - the screen no longer scrolls itself for you, everything depends on your resolve to move up. To press on. To lose everything and still come back.
I have lost everything, more than once. But I will still come back.
edit: I won.
This review contains spoilers
MAJOR spoilers ahead, you have been warned.
Today, I lost to ZerRanger’s final boss for the fifth time, and elected to shelve the game. I don’t shelve games very often, so I imagine it's weird of me to shelve a game (that I had been enjoying greatly before reaching the final boss) after losing to a boss for merely the fifth time. The thing about ZeroRanger, though, is that when you lose to the final boss, your save file gets deleted. You then must start the game from scratch, pass through all the levels again, get good scores so you can get all of your continues, and reattempt the final stage, which consists of two phases that must be beaten before reaching the true final boss. This is irritating to say the least.
I have just short of 34 hours in ZeroRanger, and should have been able to beat the game less than 5 hours ago. Instead, I have no idea how long it will take before I eventually beat the game. And yes, I know I can beat the game, a cursory youtube search shows that in my last two final boss attempts, I did on the least attack pattern/phase/whatever (I only searched to check how close I was, I know nothing about the ending/anything that follows). I’ve gotten close enough to the point that just doing a little bit better on the preceding phases should put me over the top.
But I don’t want to. I don’t want to do what amounts to grinding to get back to 2-4 and get all my continues, only to have forgotten completely what the final boss is like and choke, losing my save file once more. I just have no interest in doing it at this point in my life. I understand that shmups send you back to the start and get rid of continues etc etc, but shmups also are usually around 20 minutes front-to-back, not an hour long. Also, shmups don’t usually keep all of your progress and continues up to the final boss, only to then and ONLY then start sending you back to square one.
However, I also love the decision. I have so much respect for the devs for putting something in the game like this. Despite how much the decision frustrates me, I can see why it was put in the game, because of how it ties into the story/themes of the game. Decisions as bold as this don’t occur in games often, and I firmly believe that they should be treasured whenever they appear. That won’t stop me from getting frustrated by it, though.
Today, I lost to ZerRanger’s final boss for the fifth time, and elected to shelve the game. I don’t shelve games very often, so I imagine it's weird of me to shelve a game (that I had been enjoying greatly before reaching the final boss) after losing to a boss for merely the fifth time. The thing about ZeroRanger, though, is that when you lose to the final boss, your save file gets deleted. You then must start the game from scratch, pass through all the levels again, get good scores so you can get all of your continues, and reattempt the final stage, which consists of two phases that must be beaten before reaching the true final boss. This is irritating to say the least.
I have just short of 34 hours in ZeroRanger, and should have been able to beat the game less than 5 hours ago. Instead, I have no idea how long it will take before I eventually beat the game. And yes, I know I can beat the game, a cursory youtube search shows that in my last two final boss attempts, I did on the least attack pattern/phase/whatever (I only searched to check how close I was, I know nothing about the ending/anything that follows). I’ve gotten close enough to the point that just doing a little bit better on the preceding phases should put me over the top.
But I don’t want to. I don’t want to do what amounts to grinding to get back to 2-4 and get all my continues, only to have forgotten completely what the final boss is like and choke, losing my save file once more. I just have no interest in doing it at this point in my life. I understand that shmups send you back to the start and get rid of continues etc etc, but shmups also are usually around 20 minutes front-to-back, not an hour long. Also, shmups don’t usually keep all of your progress and continues up to the final boss, only to then and ONLY then start sending you back to square one.
However, I also love the decision. I have so much respect for the devs for putting something in the game like this. Despite how much the decision frustrates me, I can see why it was put in the game, because of how it ties into the story/themes of the game. Decisions as bold as this don’t occur in games often, and I firmly believe that they should be treasured whenever they appear. That won’t stop me from getting frustrated by it, though.
ZeroRanger vai fazer você se sentir exatamente que nem o cara que errou a pergunta de 1 milhão de reais do show do milhão. E vai ser a melhor coisa que vai te acontecer nele.
Quando os últimos pontos de vida do seu personagem mais forte chegam em zero, você já sabia o que ia acontecer. A morte era inevitável àquela altura e, em geral, você sabe o risco calculado que você tomou e deu errado. Mesmo que tenha perseverado, desperdiçado vários itens de cura e ressurreição, morrer tem um gosto de apagar das luzes.
Por isso mesmo, é uma situação você pode diagnosticar antes que aconteça. Carregar de um ponto anterior do jogo é um gesto de resignação não só frente ao momento em que você perdeu, mas a tudo que levou até ali. A morte é o fruto de uma árvore de decisões erradas, de modo que salvar e carregar se tornam uma meta-habilidade dentro de muitos jogos: você precisa aprender a salvar nas horas certas e, principalmente, no lugar certo, antes que seja tarde demais. Você com certeza já passou por isso — a pior morte possível dentro de um jogo é salvar no ponto sem retorno, em vez de carregar. Ficar preso em uma situação irreversível é a única morte real dentro de um jogo, porque é aí que você realmente precisa começar tudo de novo.¹
Vidas, olhando assim, são um acordo no qual você não pode decidir livremente de onde você vai voltar, mas, em troca, saberá que não existem situações irreversíveis. A partir daquele ponto, o jogo te garante que você pode só seguir que, com certeza, existe um jeito de transpor o obstáculo em que você parou da última vez. Seu progresso até ali garante isso.
Em jogos de navinha, a morte é levada mais na esportiva. Tomou tiro? Sua navinha explode, faz um estardalhaço, você toma alguma punição (tipo perder poder e sua sequência de pontuação) e vida que segue. Isto é — enquanto você tiver vidas. Se todas as suas vidas acabarem, a colher de chá acaba e o jogo pergunta se você quer continuar. Muito como salvar é uma meta-habilidade, continues são uma meta-vida. Você pode seguir jogando a partir daquele mesmo ponto, mas perde toda sua pontuação e tudo que marcou seu progresso até ali.
O jogo finge que te engana, porque recomeça de onde você parou e te permite que você chegue até o final; e você, versão zumbificada de si mesmo, finge que acredita. Se você terminar o jogo usando continues, os dois sabem que existe mais coisa que você poderia ter feito. Sua pontuação deixa claro que seu progresso é falso, uma concessão, e quando sua pontuação de fim de jogo é menor que a vez em que você só chegou na terceira fase, surge um sussurro que diz “melhor você tentar de novo”.
Isso faz com que jogos tenham um jeito de marcar sua história nele. Pontuações, troféus, o nível dos seus personagens, quantidade de dinheiro: sempre existe algo que identifica seu caminho.
ZeroRanger pede que você lute contra esse apego.
As meta-vidas são, em ZeroRanger, parte da história e são, em certa medida, a mecânica principal. Sua pontuação gera mais continues, dos quais você absolutamente vai precisar para terminar o jogo pela primeira vez. A falha é imprescindível porque é através dela que você obtém mais chances, para não falhar de novo. Dos seus escombros, surge um novo lutador, capaz de ir mais fases adiante com o mesmo número de continues e, por isso mesmo, pode ganhar mais pontuação em uma jogada. Com mais pontuação, você consegue mais continues. E acredite quando eu digo que, em vez de renegá-los em favor de um jogo “limpo”, você vai precisar deles se quiser terminar o jogo.
Nesse mecanismo, existem duas histórias: a da insistência e a da abnegação. A da insistência, porque tentar de novo é parte integral de vencer, mais do que vencer sem falhar nenhuma vez. A da abnegação, porque desistir também é parte de vencer — de maneiras muito sutis. Por exemplo: aceitar sua maior pontuação, mesmo que com um progresso mais fraco, pode ser mais importante do que usar um continue só para conseguir terminar a fase. Afinal, sua pontuação te dará mais meta-vidas.
Seu melhor esforço tem valor por si só e não pode ser comparado com qualquer outra iniciativa em que você ou outra pessoa “jogar melhor”. Rankings perdem sentido; a competição perde sentido; a facilidade ou dificuldade absoluta do jogo não são importantes. Só importa o modo como você está navegando pela história, pelos padrões de tiros dos inimigos² e o sentimento que te carrega até o próximo nível.
Eu digo sentimento porque existem narrativas emocionais muito palpáveis em ZeroRanger. São códigos construídos ao longo dos anos por jogos de navinha: quando um inimigo está desesperado, seus padrões se tornam caóticos e seus movimentos, mais erráticos. A inversão de padrões calculados (momentos nos quais o jogador tem que olhar mais de fora), para a ausência de padrões, (momentos em que o jogador tem que focar a atenção na área mais perto de si) geram um choque: mesmo que seja até mais fácil, o que está mais à frente desperta uma tensão muito maior.
Mas, em jogos normais, você precisa sobrescrever sua história com uma história melhor. Você precisa, então, se manter mais calmo em situações assim. Com isso, você não vai sucumbir ao desespero do inimigo — afinal, você já conhece a história, e só é novo o que você ainda não viu. ZeroRanger não é um jogo normal: você não precisa sobrescrever nada, só adicionar ao fracasso que você já teve antes. Tudo que você fizer é novo, mesmo que seja uma repetição. Não tem problema abraçar o caos da fase ou do chefão toda vez em que você voltar.
Laranjas são muito importantes para ZeroRanger. Toda vez que você toma um game over, você é recebido por uma telinha com uma frase sobre laranjas antes de o jogo recomeçar. As mensagens são para você, jogador, e são um jeito muito delicado de reconhecer sua existência. O jogo normalmente não se esforça para te chamar para dentro, te colocar como parte dele através de recursos como “quebrar a quarta parede” ou coisas que tais. Essas pequenas frases são recados de um jogo que sabe que você está ali, mas também que não precisa te lembrar disso. É para te abrir um sorriso, mesmo. É o recurso mais simples do mundo, mas, no contexto, tem muita beleza porque tem muitos sorrisos a serem abertos — não como consolo por perder, mas te congratulando por fazer parte desse ciclo de vida e morte.
Tomar riscos e se tornar um jogador melhor, em ZeroRanger, não são uma aposta dobrada, em que você coloca seu progresso à mercê da sua habilidade atual. São passos para entender, finalmente, o valor da perda por si só — e se colocar em direção à abnegação. Em qualquer um dos muitos jogos de navinha a que ZeroRanger faz referência,³ aquele que conseguir zerar de uma vez só, sem perder vidas ou usar continues, terá sido o melhor jogador. Em ZeroRanger, no entanto, terá sido alguém que não jogou nada.
¹ Em Corpse Party, existe um momento em que não lembro o que é que acontece, mas o jogo avisa que se você fizer determinada coisa, você vai morrer. Aí você vai lá e o quê? Faz essa coisa. No que você faz, a porta da sala em que você está se fecha, e nada mais parece acontecer. Você está simplesmente preso, para sempre. Eu acho essa a forma mais sofisticada possível de game over, porque você pode continuar ali o quanto você quiser — mas o jogo acabou. Na verdade verdadeira, a porta não fica fechada para sempre. Mas eu queria que ficasse.
² Sabe que, em jogos de navinha, sua nave está atirando o tempo todo, mas os inimigos (mesmo que sejam naves parecidas) têm padrões de ataque. Será que o seu tiro é uma abstração e, da perspectiva do inimigo, você também tem um padrão de ataque? Touhou sugere que sim, porque existem jogos em que você luta exatamente contra as spellcards que você usava em jogos anteriores. Mas, como a ação principal em Touhou é dançar no padrão dos outros, o padrão que você está materializando não é tão importante. Outros jogos talvez não tomem seus tiros, e tudo que você está fazendo, como abstração. Mas aí, são outra história.
³ Uma parcela dos jogos feitos se dedica a conferir consciência para o fenômeno videogames de modo geral. Não consciência no sentido político, embora também possa ser o caso. Falo de uma coisa mais básica, mesmo: de saber se ver no espelho, se entender no mundo como imagem, manipulável e manipulada pelas lentes que se usa. É uma tarefa difícil: o jogo não está só se reconhecendo, mas também se reconstruindo.
É quase um gênero em si, o das “cartas de amor”, e que ganhou muitos exemplares de uns dez anos pra cá: jogos que reconhecem abertamente suas referências e procuram homenagear um gênero, uma época ou um estilo. Eu não gosto desse termo, “carta de amor”, por um motivo muito simples: cartas de amor têm endereço. Podem ser bem escritas e bonitas, mas se prestam a exaltar o valor em outra coisa. Jogos como ZeroRanger reverenciam os que vieram antes dele, mas o que torna os destinatários dignos daquele amor em especial é a própria “carta de amor”, pesando os valores, a gramática e o modo de jogar que sustentava nesses clássicos contra a materialidade e a sintaxe dos videogames hoje.
Fazer esses jogos é uma atividade crítica tanto quanto é artística ou passional. Você está selecionando jogos e convenções para algo novo e, com isso, fazendo concessões que também dizem respeito às convenções de outros jogos. Então você não está simplesmente prestando homenagem a um gênero — você está criando ele, frente a outro contexto.
Quando os últimos pontos de vida do seu personagem mais forte chegam em zero, você já sabia o que ia acontecer. A morte era inevitável àquela altura e, em geral, você sabe o risco calculado que você tomou e deu errado. Mesmo que tenha perseverado, desperdiçado vários itens de cura e ressurreição, morrer tem um gosto de apagar das luzes.
Por isso mesmo, é uma situação você pode diagnosticar antes que aconteça. Carregar de um ponto anterior do jogo é um gesto de resignação não só frente ao momento em que você perdeu, mas a tudo que levou até ali. A morte é o fruto de uma árvore de decisões erradas, de modo que salvar e carregar se tornam uma meta-habilidade dentro de muitos jogos: você precisa aprender a salvar nas horas certas e, principalmente, no lugar certo, antes que seja tarde demais. Você com certeza já passou por isso — a pior morte possível dentro de um jogo é salvar no ponto sem retorno, em vez de carregar. Ficar preso em uma situação irreversível é a única morte real dentro de um jogo, porque é aí que você realmente precisa começar tudo de novo.¹
Vidas, olhando assim, são um acordo no qual você não pode decidir livremente de onde você vai voltar, mas, em troca, saberá que não existem situações irreversíveis. A partir daquele ponto, o jogo te garante que você pode só seguir que, com certeza, existe um jeito de transpor o obstáculo em que você parou da última vez. Seu progresso até ali garante isso.
Em jogos de navinha, a morte é levada mais na esportiva. Tomou tiro? Sua navinha explode, faz um estardalhaço, você toma alguma punição (tipo perder poder e sua sequência de pontuação) e vida que segue. Isto é — enquanto você tiver vidas. Se todas as suas vidas acabarem, a colher de chá acaba e o jogo pergunta se você quer continuar. Muito como salvar é uma meta-habilidade, continues são uma meta-vida. Você pode seguir jogando a partir daquele mesmo ponto, mas perde toda sua pontuação e tudo que marcou seu progresso até ali.
O jogo finge que te engana, porque recomeça de onde você parou e te permite que você chegue até o final; e você, versão zumbificada de si mesmo, finge que acredita. Se você terminar o jogo usando continues, os dois sabem que existe mais coisa que você poderia ter feito. Sua pontuação deixa claro que seu progresso é falso, uma concessão, e quando sua pontuação de fim de jogo é menor que a vez em que você só chegou na terceira fase, surge um sussurro que diz “melhor você tentar de novo”.
Isso faz com que jogos tenham um jeito de marcar sua história nele. Pontuações, troféus, o nível dos seus personagens, quantidade de dinheiro: sempre existe algo que identifica seu caminho.
ZeroRanger pede que você lute contra esse apego.
As meta-vidas são, em ZeroRanger, parte da história e são, em certa medida, a mecânica principal. Sua pontuação gera mais continues, dos quais você absolutamente vai precisar para terminar o jogo pela primeira vez. A falha é imprescindível porque é através dela que você obtém mais chances, para não falhar de novo. Dos seus escombros, surge um novo lutador, capaz de ir mais fases adiante com o mesmo número de continues e, por isso mesmo, pode ganhar mais pontuação em uma jogada. Com mais pontuação, você consegue mais continues. E acredite quando eu digo que, em vez de renegá-los em favor de um jogo “limpo”, você vai precisar deles se quiser terminar o jogo.
Nesse mecanismo, existem duas histórias: a da insistência e a da abnegação. A da insistência, porque tentar de novo é parte integral de vencer, mais do que vencer sem falhar nenhuma vez. A da abnegação, porque desistir também é parte de vencer — de maneiras muito sutis. Por exemplo: aceitar sua maior pontuação, mesmo que com um progresso mais fraco, pode ser mais importante do que usar um continue só para conseguir terminar a fase. Afinal, sua pontuação te dará mais meta-vidas.
Seu melhor esforço tem valor por si só e não pode ser comparado com qualquer outra iniciativa em que você ou outra pessoa “jogar melhor”. Rankings perdem sentido; a competição perde sentido; a facilidade ou dificuldade absoluta do jogo não são importantes. Só importa o modo como você está navegando pela história, pelos padrões de tiros dos inimigos² e o sentimento que te carrega até o próximo nível.
Eu digo sentimento porque existem narrativas emocionais muito palpáveis em ZeroRanger. São códigos construídos ao longo dos anos por jogos de navinha: quando um inimigo está desesperado, seus padrões se tornam caóticos e seus movimentos, mais erráticos. A inversão de padrões calculados (momentos nos quais o jogador tem que olhar mais de fora), para a ausência de padrões, (momentos em que o jogador tem que focar a atenção na área mais perto de si) geram um choque: mesmo que seja até mais fácil, o que está mais à frente desperta uma tensão muito maior.
Mas, em jogos normais, você precisa sobrescrever sua história com uma história melhor. Você precisa, então, se manter mais calmo em situações assim. Com isso, você não vai sucumbir ao desespero do inimigo — afinal, você já conhece a história, e só é novo o que você ainda não viu. ZeroRanger não é um jogo normal: você não precisa sobrescrever nada, só adicionar ao fracasso que você já teve antes. Tudo que você fizer é novo, mesmo que seja uma repetição. Não tem problema abraçar o caos da fase ou do chefão toda vez em que você voltar.
Laranjas são muito importantes para ZeroRanger. Toda vez que você toma um game over, você é recebido por uma telinha com uma frase sobre laranjas antes de o jogo recomeçar. As mensagens são para você, jogador, e são um jeito muito delicado de reconhecer sua existência. O jogo normalmente não se esforça para te chamar para dentro, te colocar como parte dele através de recursos como “quebrar a quarta parede” ou coisas que tais. Essas pequenas frases são recados de um jogo que sabe que você está ali, mas também que não precisa te lembrar disso. É para te abrir um sorriso, mesmo. É o recurso mais simples do mundo, mas, no contexto, tem muita beleza porque tem muitos sorrisos a serem abertos — não como consolo por perder, mas te congratulando por fazer parte desse ciclo de vida e morte.
Tomar riscos e se tornar um jogador melhor, em ZeroRanger, não são uma aposta dobrada, em que você coloca seu progresso à mercê da sua habilidade atual. São passos para entender, finalmente, o valor da perda por si só — e se colocar em direção à abnegação. Em qualquer um dos muitos jogos de navinha a que ZeroRanger faz referência,³ aquele que conseguir zerar de uma vez só, sem perder vidas ou usar continues, terá sido o melhor jogador. Em ZeroRanger, no entanto, terá sido alguém que não jogou nada.
¹ Em Corpse Party, existe um momento em que não lembro o que é que acontece, mas o jogo avisa que se você fizer determinada coisa, você vai morrer. Aí você vai lá e o quê? Faz essa coisa. No que você faz, a porta da sala em que você está se fecha, e nada mais parece acontecer. Você está simplesmente preso, para sempre. Eu acho essa a forma mais sofisticada possível de game over, porque você pode continuar ali o quanto você quiser — mas o jogo acabou. Na verdade verdadeira, a porta não fica fechada para sempre. Mas eu queria que ficasse.
² Sabe que, em jogos de navinha, sua nave está atirando o tempo todo, mas os inimigos (mesmo que sejam naves parecidas) têm padrões de ataque. Será que o seu tiro é uma abstração e, da perspectiva do inimigo, você também tem um padrão de ataque? Touhou sugere que sim, porque existem jogos em que você luta exatamente contra as spellcards que você usava em jogos anteriores. Mas, como a ação principal em Touhou é dançar no padrão dos outros, o padrão que você está materializando não é tão importante. Outros jogos talvez não tomem seus tiros, e tudo que você está fazendo, como abstração. Mas aí, são outra história.
³ Uma parcela dos jogos feitos se dedica a conferir consciência para o fenômeno videogames de modo geral. Não consciência no sentido político, embora também possa ser o caso. Falo de uma coisa mais básica, mesmo: de saber se ver no espelho, se entender no mundo como imagem, manipulável e manipulada pelas lentes que se usa. É uma tarefa difícil: o jogo não está só se reconhecendo, mas também se reconstruindo.
É quase um gênero em si, o das “cartas de amor”, e que ganhou muitos exemplares de uns dez anos pra cá: jogos que reconhecem abertamente suas referências e procuram homenagear um gênero, uma época ou um estilo. Eu não gosto desse termo, “carta de amor”, por um motivo muito simples: cartas de amor têm endereço. Podem ser bem escritas e bonitas, mas se prestam a exaltar o valor em outra coisa. Jogos como ZeroRanger reverenciam os que vieram antes dele, mas o que torna os destinatários dignos daquele amor em especial é a própria “carta de amor”, pesando os valores, a gramática e o modo de jogar que sustentava nesses clássicos contra a materialidade e a sintaxe dos videogames hoje.
Fazer esses jogos é uma atividade crítica tanto quanto é artística ou passional. Você está selecionando jogos e convenções para algo novo e, com isso, fazendo concessões que também dizem respeito às convenções de outros jogos. Então você não está simplesmente prestando homenagem a um gênero — você está criando ele, frente a outro contexto.
ZeroRanger’s colorblind mode does nothing to help the visibility of your ship. Featured as an esoteric shoot-em-up with a two-color aesthetic (the colors being green and orange), ZeroRanger is one of my first exposures to the SHMUP genre. I grew interested in the genre with my exposure to the first few Star Fox titles and found myself wanting to experience something similar. ZeroRanger fails to make any interesting statements aside from its rewarding gameplay, unhelped by how everything blends into a green and orange mush that makes visibility even more of an issue than necessary for a SHMUP.
Though possessing very fun gameplay, beautifully rendered sprite work, and good solid music, ZeroRanger’s visibility issue is crippling for someone with visual issues like me.
Though possessing very fun gameplay, beautifully rendered sprite work, and good solid music, ZeroRanger’s visibility issue is crippling for someone with visual issues like me.
Olha dificilmente um jogo me gera ansiedade por ser bom, tanto por querer jogar que nem maluco, quanto pra superar um desafio. Bem único e gostei demais das horas gastas nele.
This was so damn good, what the actual fuck?
I am pretty new to shmups, but I somehow didn't know this existed until recently and I'm sad I didn't play it when it came out and that it isn't as popular as it should.
It is really fun, engaging, and challenging while being really accessible with its continue system. The credit systems in some shmups is what makes me scared of them sometimes, like in some Touhou games, but this game makes it part of the experience while still making you learn the game properly, it's just great.
It is also a love letter to the shoot'em up genre, and even though I probably missed a lot of references to games I haven't played yet, the ones I did had me jumping on my chair. That much fanservice would have annoyed me in other circunstances, but I think this game IS and WANTS to be fanservice as much as it can, and does it while being good as fuck. The music is crazy good too, which only adds to how cool it feels.
You really can add mechas to anything and make it better just like that huh.
I am pretty new to shmups, but I somehow didn't know this existed until recently and I'm sad I didn't play it when it came out and that it isn't as popular as it should.
It is really fun, engaging, and challenging while being really accessible with its continue system. The credit systems in some shmups is what makes me scared of them sometimes, like in some Touhou games, but this game makes it part of the experience while still making you learn the game properly, it's just great.
It is also a love letter to the shoot'em up genre, and even though I probably missed a lot of references to games I haven't played yet, the ones I did had me jumping on my chair. That much fanservice would have annoyed me in other circunstances, but I think this game IS and WANTS to be fanservice as much as it can, and does it while being good as fuck. The music is crazy good too, which only adds to how cool it feels.
You really can add mechas to anything and make it better just like that huh.
This game's a masterpiece and I adore it. I love shmups to bits, and from a pure action/aesthetic standpoint the game totally rules as a shmup. But what really puts it over the top for me is the storytelling -- the game has some super-clever structural quirks that help it build to a moving and unforgettable finale. I've seen a lot of folks compare it to NIER and Undertale; I love those games and I think the comparison's very appropriate.
The only other shmups I can think of that approach this kind of storytelling are Hellsinker and Siter Skain's RefleX, some of my favorite games ever. If you like those games deffo give this one a look, and vice versa.
Highest possible recommendation.
The only other shmups I can think of that approach this kind of storytelling are Hellsinker and Siter Skain's RefleX, some of my favorite games ever. If you like those games deffo give this one a look, and vice versa.
Highest possible recommendation.
This is one of the best games I've ever played. A fantastic gateway into the shmup genre, it defies expectations and uses tons of twists to make it such a unique experience. I cannot recommended it enough!
please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue. please continue.
ZeroRanger really delivers in both being a great entry point into the genre of shmups while also being a fantastic game in its own right. It's such a love letter to older shooters and mecha anime while also defining itself from the rest of the pack due to its presentation, moments and story. The music is fantastic and the visuals are clear, making the presentation only enhance it's gameplay and offering some great set pieces.
It's story and narrative has so much heart, full of sincerity. It's the kind of experience that can only be done via a video game, and it's just good elements get raised to be so much more than the sum of their parts. The less you know about the games structure and story the better, it's one of the best indie games ever made.
It's story and narrative has so much heart, full of sincerity. It's the kind of experience that can only be done via a video game, and it's just good elements get raised to be so much more than the sum of their parts. The less you know about the games structure and story the better, it's one of the best indie games ever made.
1. NEVER
2. GIVE
3. UP
2. GIVE
3. UP
Me atrapalhei no penúltimo nível e não foi 1cc, mas foi uma partida bem gostosa e satisfatória de qualquer forma.
Possibly THE most underrated game ever created
A silly little shoot 'em up game for beginners! Let's play it to s-𖣠☠⏧𝕺⃤༽░山∂ꮥꐔ꒐ꏳÌ̴̧̜͕̩̲̤̝̳͛̽ ̸̔̓̍ͅH̶̠̘͎͗̈́́̑͆͐Ḁ̸̡͖̌V̶͉̆̀̈́̓̌̆̈́́͠É̷̬̀̊́̃ ̶̨̛̛̠̞͔̥͖̍͑ͅT̵̰͈̪̯͊͋͜͜R̸̗̙̓̾̕͝A̶̛̤̲̞̜̖̜̩̰̲͋͂̔Ņ̵̳̩̝͓̤͕̊̉̏̚͜͠Ş̷̗͔̤͉̗͑̑̾́̅́̎̅͝C̶̢̨̪̼̮̫̫̈̇̓͋͒͛͑͘Ȅ̶̯̝̦͋Ṇ̵̢͖̤͓̰̔̊͐͊͐̍͘D̷̹͗͐E̷͍̗̳͔͑̀ͅD̵̗̱̠̖̳̼̣́͆̀͛͆̎͐͜ ̸͖̖͇̱̣͈͖̺̤͋̈́̐̈͋̉̇͂T̷̛̼̲̭̳̀̕͘͠H̴̞̟̟̲̰̤̰͂͆̿̈̋͝͠È̵̘̹͖̰̘̇ ̸̨̱̬̓̉̚S̶̯̖̠̟̖̾͐̌͗͜͝Ả̷̪̙̯̜̙͚͉̤͋̉̿̃̅̐Ṁ̸̧̹͗͐S̸͙͔͔̬͆̌Ả̵̛̤̲̞̟̣̭̆̆́̔̕͝R̶̨̼͔͑̆̒̐̏̽͆̚Ạ̷̮̌͒̈̎̈̍̄̊́ विश्वस्य सत्यं मम हस्ततलयोः अवलम्बते ██████████████████
Something I've been having a lot of trouble with while writing reviews in this website is doing so for games I love or really respect, partly because I feel like I wouldn't be doing them any justice whatsoever, or simply due to not being able to convey my feelings and experience properly (and honestly, there are reviews out there that are so good that it just feels like anything I'd write down would be inferior in every capacity).
However, this game, which also happened to be the 200th game on my profile, motivated me enough to at least give it a go.
"Even the sweetest treats get bitter with each bite."
I first stumbled upon this game when buying the itch.io Ukraine Bundle, and a friend telling me the game is amazing and "the Undertale of shmups" made me give it a go...
...and I ended up liking it so much I bought it on Steam not long after, if that's any indicative of how much I enjoyed it.
There are many things I could say about this game, but first things first, this game is a blast. It would be unfair to say other shmups aren't (i.e. CAVE games are amazing), but this game in particular shows it's been carefully thought of for years, and the sheer passion of the devs bleeds out of the game uncontrollably.
The controls feel snappy, it never felt unfair to me, the music is amazing, and so are the two-palette graphics. On top of that, it's really accessible to people who haven't played shmups before with its somewhat lenient continues/lives system.
...but most of this can be said for other shmups. What makes ZeroRanger stand out?
"You've entered a vicious cycle of life and death."
For starters, the game won't be a cakewalk. As is a staple of the genre, you will die. A lot. But your determination shall not waver, and even the game helps in this endeavour by progressively making it smoother with more continues the longer you play. The beautiful landscapes and scenarios this game presents while you shoot down Green Orange's forces will feel nowhere as unique and vibrant on your subsequent runs, but even so, you might feel compelled to keep pushing through despite the several adversities on the way (trust me, there are many).
"As you cling on to this cycle, your desires poison your mind"
With the actual progression system as your true companion in this journey, you will slowly gain the power to get through what this game has to offer, and even despite the aforementioned adversities, your rewards for your struggles will be there in the form of your runs lasting longer, and getting deeper and deeper into this everlasting cycle.
But it has an end to be put to. And the game seems so heavily insistent on the idea of reaching enlightenment. Maybe that's what's waiting for you at the finish line?
You may ask what that is, but I'm not one to say or decide. You can play this game and reach your so desired response, or lack thereof, but I'll keep this as vague as I possibly can.
"Ignorance. Attachment. Aversion."
The story and symbolisms that this game carries forward are top-notch, despite most of the storytelling being either very vague or just implicit. I will not talk about this much as I want to keep this spoiler-free, but when you reach the ending, the experience just clicks together, and makes the journey and the countless hindrances so much more satisfying in hindsight.
If whenever you finish the game you're confused, which you might as well be, there's a lot of discussion about this game and its story/topics online that may help on that front.
At this point in time, which is only a few days after having finished the game, I still don't know if I get what it tries to say in its entirety, but what I can grasp makes it a simple, yet meaningful story.
"Feeding these unwholesome thoughts will only lead to more suffering."
This game is probably one of the best experiences that are awaiting you in this entire genre. Maybe the game might not seem appealing to you, and that's fine, but if there's even one shred of doubt or interest, I strongly recommend giving it a fair shake before giving up on it. The game is a piece of art, but it's hard, and it will do what it possibly can to remind you of that fact of all times, so you know what you'd be getting yourself into.
Perhaps when you finish it you won't think the same way I do, or you may just think it's good but nothing amazing, but you never know, so give it a chance, I don't think you'll regret it.
Shall you get to dedicate some of your time to this game, remember these words:
Do not give in to Despair.
May you attain Enlightenment.
And if you do,
I hope you can carry this Power with you.
However, this game, which also happened to be the 200th game on my profile, motivated me enough to at least give it a go.
"Even the sweetest treats get bitter with each bite."
I first stumbled upon this game when buying the itch.io Ukraine Bundle, and a friend telling me the game is amazing and "the Undertale of shmups" made me give it a go...
...and I ended up liking it so much I bought it on Steam not long after, if that's any indicative of how much I enjoyed it.
There are many things I could say about this game, but first things first, this game is a blast. It would be unfair to say other shmups aren't (i.e. CAVE games are amazing), but this game in particular shows it's been carefully thought of for years, and the sheer passion of the devs bleeds out of the game uncontrollably.
The controls feel snappy, it never felt unfair to me, the music is amazing, and so are the two-palette graphics. On top of that, it's really accessible to people who haven't played shmups before with its somewhat lenient continues/lives system.
...but most of this can be said for other shmups. What makes ZeroRanger stand out?
"You've entered a vicious cycle of life and death."
For starters, the game won't be a cakewalk. As is a staple of the genre, you will die. A lot. But your determination shall not waver, and even the game helps in this endeavour by progressively making it smoother with more continues the longer you play. The beautiful landscapes and scenarios this game presents while you shoot down Green Orange's forces will feel nowhere as unique and vibrant on your subsequent runs, but even so, you might feel compelled to keep pushing through despite the several adversities on the way (trust me, there are many).
"As you cling on to this cycle, your desires poison your mind"
With the actual progression system as your true companion in this journey, you will slowly gain the power to get through what this game has to offer, and even despite the aforementioned adversities, your rewards for your struggles will be there in the form of your runs lasting longer, and getting deeper and deeper into this everlasting cycle.
But it has an end to be put to. And the game seems so heavily insistent on the idea of reaching enlightenment. Maybe that's what's waiting for you at the finish line?
You may ask what that is, but I'm not one to say or decide. You can play this game and reach your so desired response, or lack thereof, but I'll keep this as vague as I possibly can.
"Ignorance. Attachment. Aversion."
The story and symbolisms that this game carries forward are top-notch, despite most of the storytelling being either very vague or just implicit. I will not talk about this much as I want to keep this spoiler-free, but when you reach the ending, the experience just clicks together, and makes the journey and the countless hindrances so much more satisfying in hindsight.
If whenever you finish the game you're confused, which you might as well be, there's a lot of discussion about this game and its story/topics online that may help on that front.
At this point in time, which is only a few days after having finished the game, I still don't know if I get what it tries to say in its entirety, but what I can grasp makes it a simple, yet meaningful story.
"Feeding these unwholesome thoughts will only lead to more suffering."
This game is probably one of the best experiences that are awaiting you in this entire genre. Maybe the game might not seem appealing to you, and that's fine, but if there's even one shred of doubt or interest, I strongly recommend giving it a fair shake before giving up on it. The game is a piece of art, but it's hard, and it will do what it possibly can to remind you of that fact of all times, so you know what you'd be getting yourself into.
Perhaps when you finish it you won't think the same way I do, or you may just think it's good but nothing amazing, but you never know, so give it a chance, I don't think you'll regret it.
Shall you get to dedicate some of your time to this game, remember these words:
Do not give in to Despair.
May you attain Enlightenment.
And if you do,
I hope you can carry this Power with you.
A pleasantly smooth and hyperactive shoot-em-up with a unique visual style and layers of novetly to the narrative that make it a bit more than just a retro-inpspired title. While certainly not easy, it pushes you onward with the pure satisfaction of the gameplay and heaps of upbeat energy.
I'm not quite sure I'll see the very end of it any time soon, however, as the final strech of this game makes a considerably bigger ask of the player than anything before it. Saying much more, however, would be a spoiler and I do think even just attempting once is an experience worth the admission.
The SHMUP genre is not one I've engaged with often and have generally found rather offputting for its apparent tendency towards sadistic game design. That might seem hypocritical as someone who enjoys FromSoft games and Roguelikes, but its the added strain of constant twitch reflexes and pixel perfect allowances that made the mix too much for me, generally.
I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that ZeroRanger strikes a nice balance between testing your skill and giving you a boost when your momentum starts to sputter out. The two primary tools it uses being a generous checkpoint system and a "continue" system that gives the player more to work with the more they play.
The only tradeoff the player makes for using both is that it drastically lowers your score potential, so people going for bragging rights will naturally avoid them and take the full challenge while us normies can plug along to the end of the game at a decent pace…
Until the aforementioned final stretch. To the game's credit, I don't think I would have the developer do it any differently. It's pretty unique and bold. But "unique and bold" naturally limits who is going to be able to appreciate it fully.
Alas, at this point in my life it's a challenge I'm not willing to commit to seeing through right here and now. But maybe one day—I did eventually come back and finish the last boss of Dark Souls after 7~8 years, afterall. And, I do still really enjoy playing the game, but I'm more interested in moving on to the next on my stack now.
Definitely will recommend for anyone looking for a novel burst of high-intensity action, whether you're used to the shmup formula or not. The game is full of passion and it bleeds into you as you play.
I'm not quite sure I'll see the very end of it any time soon, however, as the final strech of this game makes a considerably bigger ask of the player than anything before it. Saying much more, however, would be a spoiler and I do think even just attempting once is an experience worth the admission.
The SHMUP genre is not one I've engaged with often and have generally found rather offputting for its apparent tendency towards sadistic game design. That might seem hypocritical as someone who enjoys FromSoft games and Roguelikes, but its the added strain of constant twitch reflexes and pixel perfect allowances that made the mix too much for me, generally.
I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that ZeroRanger strikes a nice balance between testing your skill and giving you a boost when your momentum starts to sputter out. The two primary tools it uses being a generous checkpoint system and a "continue" system that gives the player more to work with the more they play.
The only tradeoff the player makes for using both is that it drastically lowers your score potential, so people going for bragging rights will naturally avoid them and take the full challenge while us normies can plug along to the end of the game at a decent pace…
Until the aforementioned final stretch. To the game's credit, I don't think I would have the developer do it any differently. It's pretty unique and bold. But "unique and bold" naturally limits who is going to be able to appreciate it fully.
Alas, at this point in my life it's a challenge I'm not willing to commit to seeing through right here and now. But maybe one day—I did eventually come back and finish the last boss of Dark Souls after 7~8 years, afterall. And, I do still really enjoy playing the game, but I'm more interested in moving on to the next on my stack now.
Definitely will recommend for anyone looking for a novel burst of high-intensity action, whether you're used to the shmup formula or not. The game is full of passion and it bleeds into you as you play.
não clicou tanto comigo mas é um ótimo jogo
Immaculate videogame. It lives loudly in my brain, tucked away in a manila folder labeled "top ten favorite games of all time, probably".
The music is "hype". The pixelart is "gorgeous". The shooting is "clean" and "tight" and "rad". The meta-structure is "mindblowing", "innovative", and "one of like three games to do genuinely interesting things with a modern filesystem".
I've never been a shmup person, but ZeroRanger's extra-life difficulty/progression system perfectly eased me into the genre. It led me by the hand into a pleasantly-sized kiddie pool. It then used hidden hydraulic infrastructure to lower the floor beneath me, deepening the pool. It did so at a pace I found comfortable.
I love shmups now. I play lots of them to try and fill the ZeroRanger-shaped hole in my heart. You should carve out a similarly-shaped chunk of tissue from your own body. It will cost you either nine or eleven dollars. You will have lots of fun.
The music is "hype". The pixelart is "gorgeous". The shooting is "clean" and "tight" and "rad". The meta-structure is "mindblowing", "innovative", and "one of like three games to do genuinely interesting things with a modern filesystem".
I've never been a shmup person, but ZeroRanger's extra-life difficulty/progression system perfectly eased me into the genre. It led me by the hand into a pleasantly-sized kiddie pool. It then used hidden hydraulic infrastructure to lower the floor beneath me, deepening the pool. It did so at a pace I found comfortable.
I love shmups now. I play lots of them to try and fill the ZeroRanger-shaped hole in my heart. You should carve out a similarly-shaped chunk of tissue from your own body. It will cost you either nine or eleven dollars. You will have lots of fun.
After completing Void Stranger (my personal GOTY 2023), I decided to give a previous System Erasure game a shot. I was impressed by Zero Ranger as much as their next game, I even enjoyed it even more in some aspects.
Maybe it is not an impressive game for someone who 1CC'ed every single Cave game, but I enjoyed every single segment in this shmup. It was a joy getting used to every single pattern and trying to push your limits. While being hard in the second half of the game, I had no feeling that the game was unfair. I will never forget the last 3 bosses, one of the most memorable gaming experiences.
Great visuals with some interesting artistic decisions and an amazing soundtrack. There are also some unexpected narrative segments, which spice up the experience even more and make it unique and memorable.
I have mixed feelings only about one thing - how they decided to add a challenge in the ending. Without spoiling that much, it made the progression to the end a bit too long. I understand their decision and respect it though. On the other hand, it is still great to replay that game after getting used to more and more patterns. A choice of two ships and several powerups add more to the replay value. I certainly want to try to do a 1cc run and get into other shmups more now.
Lovely game, can not praise it and geniuses from System Erasure enough. They became one of my favourite video game developers.
Maybe it is not an impressive game for someone who 1CC'ed every single Cave game, but I enjoyed every single segment in this shmup. It was a joy getting used to every single pattern and trying to push your limits. While being hard in the second half of the game, I had no feeling that the game was unfair. I will never forget the last 3 bosses, one of the most memorable gaming experiences.
Great visuals with some interesting artistic decisions and an amazing soundtrack. There are also some unexpected narrative segments, which spice up the experience even more and make it unique and memorable.
I have mixed feelings only about one thing - how they decided to add a challenge in the ending. Without spoiling that much, it made the progression to the end a bit too long. I understand their decision and respect it though. On the other hand, it is still great to replay that game after getting used to more and more patterns. A choice of two ships and several powerups add more to the replay value. I certainly want to try to do a 1cc run and get into other shmups more now.
Lovely game, can not praise it and geniuses from System Erasure enough. They became one of my favourite video game developers.
Changed my life.
DO:
1: NOT
2: GIVE
3: UP.
1: NOT
2: GIVE
3: UP.
This review contains spoilers
Whether you succeed or not, now depends solely on your resolve.
I’m going to be blunt and say that the ending salvaged my opinion. The preface wasn’t bad, but it left much to be desired. The levels and bosses ranged wildly in quality, the 2nd loop was particularly lame with the reused levels, and the game’s insistence on “never giving up” seemed at odds with its overall leniency. The game would tell me to “attain enlightenment,” but what does Enlightenment look like?
The hallmark of ZeroRanger is how you’re told to work smarter, not harder. It places you in front of a wall and, instead of asking you to bash your head into it, it gives you a charge shot, a shotgun, and a mech suit. These mechanics, along with the scoring system, turn ZeroRanger from a reactive shooter into a proactive one. The player is encouraged to maintain aggression throughout the entire game, using their ever-expanding move-set to take out enemies as efficiently as possible. The many peaks of the game are when you are untouchable. Hundreds of enemies will engage you only to be struck down in an instant. A mini boss will show up only to be defeated in seconds. Learning a level and waltzing your way through it without dying is a fantastic feeling, but it's not Enlightenment.
You beat the final boss and learn that everything you have done was for naught. The remaining enemy forces destroyed the rest of the population and you’re the only one left. To truly beat the game, you must travel back in time to defeat one last boss. The twist is that you must sacrifice your save file to attempt it, meaning that if you fail, you must replay the entire game.
Ironically, this was when the game hooked me as I finally was motivated to get good. I thought that mastering the mechanics was the key to beating the game, but I was wrong. I kept grinding the final level, thinking that I could eventually beat the final boss with enough continues to beat the game. That never happened, during one attempt I saw I had enough continues to be comfortable, said “fuck it, we ball” and beat the game. It wasn’t my skill, my knowledge of the mechanics, or my reaction time, it was pure determination.
That’s what Enlightenment is. It’s not the 1cc, it’s not the no-hit run, it’s not even beating the game. It’s having the courage to face a difficult situation with the confidence to overcome.
And may you attain it.
I’m going to be blunt and say that the ending salvaged my opinion. The preface wasn’t bad, but it left much to be desired. The levels and bosses ranged wildly in quality, the 2nd loop was particularly lame with the reused levels, and the game’s insistence on “never giving up” seemed at odds with its overall leniency. The game would tell me to “attain enlightenment,” but what does Enlightenment look like?
The hallmark of ZeroRanger is how you’re told to work smarter, not harder. It places you in front of a wall and, instead of asking you to bash your head into it, it gives you a charge shot, a shotgun, and a mech suit. These mechanics, along with the scoring system, turn ZeroRanger from a reactive shooter into a proactive one. The player is encouraged to maintain aggression throughout the entire game, using their ever-expanding move-set to take out enemies as efficiently as possible. The many peaks of the game are when you are untouchable. Hundreds of enemies will engage you only to be struck down in an instant. A mini boss will show up only to be defeated in seconds. Learning a level and waltzing your way through it without dying is a fantastic feeling, but it's not Enlightenment.
You beat the final boss and learn that everything you have done was for naught. The remaining enemy forces destroyed the rest of the population and you’re the only one left. To truly beat the game, you must travel back in time to defeat one last boss. The twist is that you must sacrifice your save file to attempt it, meaning that if you fail, you must replay the entire game.
Ironically, this was when the game hooked me as I finally was motivated to get good. I thought that mastering the mechanics was the key to beating the game, but I was wrong. I kept grinding the final level, thinking that I could eventually beat the final boss with enough continues to beat the game. That never happened, during one attempt I saw I had enough continues to be comfortable, said “fuck it, we ball” and beat the game. It wasn’t my skill, my knowledge of the mechanics, or my reaction time, it was pure determination.
That’s what Enlightenment is. It’s not the 1cc, it’s not the no-hit run, it’s not even beating the game. It’s having the courage to face a difficult situation with the confidence to overcome.
And may you attain it.
(Bear with me this review might be all over the place. It's my first. Also fuck you lmao.)
I had not much experience with shoot 'em ups prior to picking this one up. ZeroRanger immediately caught my eye on the steam store due to it's striking color scheme which I later found out was inspired by a game called Gux, made by none other than Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, the guy who made Cave Story.
Only 4 colors are predominantly used throughout the game those being green, orange, white, and black. However even with this palate limitation, everything in the game is extremely readable which is fucking crazy?
So the game looks amazing. But how does it play?
That's easy. It plays like a fucking dream.
This game is at its best when you're forced to deal with shit filling up your screen. Every movement counts. If you fuck up, you lose a life. Lose all your lives and you're done. Classic shit.
There are slight rougelike elements in this game too if you can even call them that.
So basically, every time you game over, your score from that run gets added to a bar. When filled, the bar grants you a continue. These continues can stack up to 8 times. But filling this bar takes time. So earlier on, you may not have a lot of continues to work with while you tackle the easier levels and learn the mechanics. But by the end when things get really hard, you get more chances to try again.
I think that shit is fucking genius.
Speaking of genius, there's the OST. Can we please talk about the OST? I'd like to fucking talk about the OST. It's really good goddamn it.
Some of personal favorites:
1. The Sea Has Returned I cannot properly explain what this song does to me. It's triumphant and nostalgic all at once.
2. Unstoppable Pure hype. You're the main character of this mecha anime and this is YOUR main theme.
3. DespairHER theme.
These are just some of my favorites though. The whole soundtrack bangs.
The game is incredible and believe me, I've left so many moments out for the sake of keeping you away from spoilers. It is baffling to me that a game sold at $11.99 has this much love, thought, and effort put into it when some AAA games are sold now for $69.99 and are dogshit.
This game is a generational masterpiece that wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeve.
Lock the fuck in and buy this shit at full price. Go in as blind as possible.
I had not much experience with shoot 'em ups prior to picking this one up. ZeroRanger immediately caught my eye on the steam store due to it's striking color scheme which I later found out was inspired by a game called Gux, made by none other than Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, the guy who made Cave Story.
Only 4 colors are predominantly used throughout the game those being green, orange, white, and black. However even with this palate limitation, everything in the game is extremely readable which is fucking crazy?
So the game looks amazing. But how does it play?
That's easy. It plays like a fucking dream.
This game is at its best when you're forced to deal with shit filling up your screen. Every movement counts. If you fuck up, you lose a life. Lose all your lives and you're done. Classic shit.
There are slight rougelike elements in this game too if you can even call them that.
So basically, every time you game over, your score from that run gets added to a bar. When filled, the bar grants you a continue. These continues can stack up to 8 times. But filling this bar takes time. So earlier on, you may not have a lot of continues to work with while you tackle the easier levels and learn the mechanics. But by the end when things get really hard, you get more chances to try again.
I think that shit is fucking genius.
Speaking of genius, there's the OST. Can we please talk about the OST? I'd like to fucking talk about the OST. It's really good goddamn it.
Some of personal favorites:
1. The Sea Has Returned I cannot properly explain what this song does to me. It's triumphant and nostalgic all at once.
2. Unstoppable Pure hype. You're the main character of this mecha anime and this is YOUR main theme.
3. Despair
These are just some of my favorites though. The whole soundtrack bangs.
The game is incredible and believe me, I've left so many moments out for the sake of keeping you away from spoilers. It is baffling to me that a game sold at $11.99 has this much love, thought, and effort put into it when some AAA games are sold now for $69.99 and are dogshit.
This game is a generational masterpiece that wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeve.
Lock the fuck in and buy this shit at full price. Go in as blind as possible.
If you have the female operative, she randomly says "Pad See." Peak acknowledges peak.
one of the most exciting bullet hell games I've ever played. The soundtrack is so good too. This game makes you feel so cool while playing it, everything sparkles and explodes its super cool!
Extremamente interessante, comecei a jogar pelas incontáveis referências ao conteúdo mecha e afins, mas o jogo não se baseia só nisso nem de perto. O jogo é um trabalho de perseverança, e que te ensina a realmente lutar pra completar ele, os continues são uma grande fachada, onde o jogo repetidas vezes mostra como eles são um utensílio fantasma, e que se você quiser realmente buscar o verdadeiro final do jogo, terá que se desprender desse utensílio.
O jogo faz com que você, de certa forma, valorize cada espaço e ambiente dele mesmo, analisando cada pequena coisa, porque o jogo te incentiva, quase indiretamente à isso. Fazendo assim com que você tire extremo proveito do jogo mesmo sem perceber.
Confesso ter um pouco de dificuldade com Shoot 'em ups, sou simplesmente horrível nesse tipo de jogo, mas esse conseguiu me prender de uma forma absurda, onde erros não me deixavam extremamente frustrado, mas sim motivado. Esse jogo é um constante aprendizado, e você praticamente estuda ele a cada vez que você joga, te dando doses incansáveis de conteúdo constantemente, de alguma forma.
Se você nunca jogou um Shoot 'em up, e tem algum interesse em começar a experimentar coisas do gênero, creio que esse jogo possa ser uma boa parte de entrada.
O jogo faz com que você, de certa forma, valorize cada espaço e ambiente dele mesmo, analisando cada pequena coisa, porque o jogo te incentiva, quase indiretamente à isso. Fazendo assim com que você tire extremo proveito do jogo mesmo sem perceber.
Confesso ter um pouco de dificuldade com Shoot 'em ups, sou simplesmente horrível nesse tipo de jogo, mas esse conseguiu me prender de uma forma absurda, onde erros não me deixavam extremamente frustrado, mas sim motivado. Esse jogo é um constante aprendizado, e você praticamente estuda ele a cada vez que você joga, te dando doses incansáveis de conteúdo constantemente, de alguma forma.
Se você nunca jogou um Shoot 'em up, e tem algum interesse em começar a experimentar coisas do gênero, creio que esse jogo possa ser uma boa parte de entrada.
oh this is some good orange and green shit lemme tell you
Game so sick it deletes your save file if you get killed by true last boss.