The VASARA series is really just composed of 2 danmaku games that released back in the early 2000's and only achieved a moderate amount of popularity before the developer left the video game industry, only to return a few years later as a slot machine manufacturer. So basically, they are still in the quarter munching business.
Anyway, the theme is futuristic Sengoku period Japan and the gimmick is that playable characters can charge up a melee attack that clears projectiles and deals a ton of damage. The first game also has traditional bombs, but the sequel fully commits to the melee system and gets rid of them. Also, in both titles enemies drop gems that the player can collect in order to charge a super melee attack, which I think is named "VASARA" because that's what characters yell when they do it.
The games are rather hard because there's no slowdown, although I'm not sure if that's because this port is inaccurate or if the arcade version is also like this. Also, the final level in both titles has a checkpoint at the beginning so it's impossible to brute force the final boss. The long and short of it is that being aggressive really pays off so that's neat.
I mostly cared about the original games, but this port also comes with VASARA unlimited which is a 3D game remake of sorts that mixes both titles and allows for up to 4 players at the same time. I imagine it would be fun to try it, but sadly I don't think it would be possible for me to gather enough people for that without a blunt object and some rope.
To conclude, VASARA collection is a pretty good port of the series to modern platforms and I wouldn't mind recommending the PC version. My only caveat is that more keyboard control settings would be a welcome addition. Also, the price is very accessible.
Anyway, the theme is futuristic Sengoku period Japan and the gimmick is that playable characters can charge up a melee attack that clears projectiles and deals a ton of damage. The first game also has traditional bombs, but the sequel fully commits to the melee system and gets rid of them. Also, in both titles enemies drop gems that the player can collect in order to charge a super melee attack, which I think is named "VASARA" because that's what characters yell when they do it.
The games are rather hard because there's no slowdown, although I'm not sure if that's because this port is inaccurate or if the arcade version is also like this. Also, the final level in both titles has a checkpoint at the beginning so it's impossible to brute force the final boss. The long and short of it is that being aggressive really pays off so that's neat.
I mostly cared about the original games, but this port also comes with VASARA unlimited which is a 3D game remake of sorts that mixes both titles and allows for up to 4 players at the same time. I imagine it would be fun to try it, but sadly I don't think it would be possible for me to gather enough people for that without a blunt object and some rope.
To conclude, VASARA collection is a pretty good port of the series to modern platforms and I wouldn't mind recommending the PC version. My only caveat is that more keyboard control settings would be a welcome addition. Also, the price is very accessible.