1989
I've played quite a few shmups as of late, trying to discover PC Engine library. Now this journey comes to an end, with lots of games played and with some new releases I want to play on the horizon.
Due to this I wanted to find a game that could act as an ending to my shmup journey, and I remembered this game. I suppose a weird title known only for a meme is a good place to end.
I suppose there is a reason for why Zero Wing is only remembered for one thing and not its gameplay or its music or its graphics. It's a pretty bad video game.
You have your standard color-coded power-up system: get more of same color in a row to upgrade your powers. Yet I've never felt the need to switch from green once the game gave it to me for the first time. Three homing projectiles are just that good. Unlike other games where homing stuff might be weaker, I'm fairly sure the fact that all bullets are almost guaranteed to hit enemies means this is also your main cannon for DPS.
The game takes a page from Gradius and tries to make some stages their own characters with things you can destroy and dodge, but when most stages are various bases everything just runs together. I have JUST beaten this game and I can barely remember how the stages differ aside from the one where strange machines eat the path for you.
There's nothing wrong with an easy game, but Zero Wing is samey and boring. There's not much sense of speed and enemies either shoot exactly one bullet at you or have a shotgun-like spread. This changes only at the very last level where some enemies get homing missiles of their own.
There's not much memorable about the designs or bosses and some levels can drag on just sending wave after wave of the same enemies at you.
Aside from that cutscene, this game deserves to be forgotten.
Due to this I wanted to find a game that could act as an ending to my shmup journey, and I remembered this game. I suppose a weird title known only for a meme is a good place to end.
I suppose there is a reason for why Zero Wing is only remembered for one thing and not its gameplay or its music or its graphics. It's a pretty bad video game.
You have your standard color-coded power-up system: get more of same color in a row to upgrade your powers. Yet I've never felt the need to switch from green once the game gave it to me for the first time. Three homing projectiles are just that good. Unlike other games where homing stuff might be weaker, I'm fairly sure the fact that all bullets are almost guaranteed to hit enemies means this is also your main cannon for DPS.
The game takes a page from Gradius and tries to make some stages their own characters with things you can destroy and dodge, but when most stages are various bases everything just runs together. I have JUST beaten this game and I can barely remember how the stages differ aside from the one where strange machines eat the path for you.
There's nothing wrong with an easy game, but Zero Wing is samey and boring. There's not much sense of speed and enemies either shoot exactly one bullet at you or have a shotgun-like spread. This changes only at the very last level where some enemies get homing missiles of their own.
There's not much memorable about the designs or bosses and some levels can drag on just sending wave after wave of the same enemies at you.
Aside from that cutscene, this game deserves to be forgotten.
1992
On the surface Cho Aniki seems like a game I should've loved. It's a bonkers horizontal shmup that's full of homoeroticism and strange contraptions you slowly disassemble.
Often feeling like a parade of bosses, the levels are small and often are just there to provide you power-ups: the single pill that seems to power up your shot after you get a few, and options, who, I'm guessing are your titular Aniki.
The music is strange and operatic, and it all has great vibes, yet it didn't click with me. The gameplay is fairly mediocre and bosses, while great looking, often either have unclear hitboxes or gotcha attacks. With some, it's hard to tell where you're supposed to shoot because some just refuse to flash red like the Elvis Boat House Thing?
I think Cho Aniki is worth a play especially since Easy mode is definitely easy, but it's lasting appeal comes only from how it looks and sounds
Often feeling like a parade of bosses, the levels are small and often are just there to provide you power-ups: the single pill that seems to power up your shot after you get a few, and options, who, I'm guessing are your titular Aniki.
The music is strange and operatic, and it all has great vibes, yet it didn't click with me. The gameplay is fairly mediocre and bosses, while great looking, often either have unclear hitboxes or gotcha attacks. With some, it's hard to tell where you're supposed to shoot because some just refuse to flash red like the Elvis Boat House Thing?
I think Cho Aniki is worth a play especially since Easy mode is definitely easy, but it's lasting appeal comes only from how it looks and sounds
1993
A really fun shmup with some basic economy that lets you purchase things between stages.
The game is a little Mega Man-y in that it allows you to choose stages and, it seems, has some sort of elemental strengths and weaknesses system as chosen before the stage armor sometimes would melt through the boss.
It's a fairly easy game on Normal, letting you replenish your health and buy a whole lot of goodies for yourself which, in addition to already fairly massive health pool really helps.
It's a really fun time, and every stage feels different.
The game is a little Mega Man-y in that it allows you to choose stages and, it seems, has some sort of elemental strengths and weaknesses system as chosen before the stage armor sometimes would melt through the boss.
It's a fairly easy game on Normal, letting you replenish your health and buy a whole lot of goodies for yourself which, in addition to already fairly massive health pool really helps.
It's a really fun time, and every stage feels different.
1994
A mediocre PC Engine CD shmup. Fairly simple mechanic-wise with only two weapons. Thankfully gives you a lot of health.
The real stars of the show are obviously the music and the anime aesthetic which both boosts and hinders the game. The 90's anime artstyle is gorgeous, but the cutscenes are often just still images and the game features a lot of in-stage dialogue, some of which isn't skippable.
The main draw here is that the game features a lot of softcore images after every stage, although funnily enough the most risque pictures come after the first level. I can say that I'm pretty happy that I couldn't understand a word of the story because it seems """funny""", but I've had a pretty good time overall since modern emulators have a fast forward feature.
It's a simple game with very few features, but sometimes you don't really need to decide between one of eight weapons and just want to shoot some space stuff to arcadey music
The real stars of the show are obviously the music and the anime aesthetic which both boosts and hinders the game. The 90's anime artstyle is gorgeous, but the cutscenes are often just still images and the game features a lot of in-stage dialogue, some of which isn't skippable.
The main draw here is that the game features a lot of softcore images after every stage, although funnily enough the most risque pictures come after the first level. I can say that I'm pretty happy that I couldn't understand a word of the story because it seems """funny""", but I've had a pretty good time overall since modern emulators have a fast forward feature.
It's a simple game with very few features, but sometimes you don't really need to decide between one of eight weapons and just want to shoot some space stuff to arcadey music
I'm not sure I've ever played any sequels to Gradius despite loving its central mechanics.
Gradius II is for insane people. I've played maybe 50 shmups in the past few weeks. Some I've beaten, some I didn't, but I think this might be the hardest of them all.
It doesn't deviate much from the original game, just has new enemies, levels, and bosses, but the difficulty has been turned up significantly. Starting from high-speed maze that has a ton of dead ends and continuing into insane gauntlets of bosses and enemies, I'm not sure how anyone's supposed to beat this game without memorizing its last three stages to the point of TAS.
That said, it's still a very impressive game that I've enjoyed, but I had to put a few more checkpoints than I usually would.
Gradius II is for insane people. I've played maybe 50 shmups in the past few weeks. Some I've beaten, some I didn't, but I think this might be the hardest of them all.
It doesn't deviate much from the original game, just has new enemies, levels, and bosses, but the difficulty has been turned up significantly. Starting from high-speed maze that has a ton of dead ends and continuing into insane gauntlets of bosses and enemies, I'm not sure how anyone's supposed to beat this game without memorizing its last three stages to the point of TAS.
That said, it's still a very impressive game that I've enjoyed, but I had to put a few more checkpoints than I usually would.
1990
One of the better shmups on the platform.
Due to the sheer abundance of similar games on the platform I don't think the game stands out that much. It's another vertical space shooter in the vein of Super Aleste and Gun Nac with tons of weapons you upgrade. The sense of speed and the enemies are different and the levels are short enough, never feeling like the same situation over and over.
However, due to playing so many of these things it's hard to compliment the game in a way that'll make it feel that distinct.
Due to the sheer abundance of similar games on the platform I don't think the game stands out that much. It's another vertical space shooter in the vein of Super Aleste and Gun Nac with tons of weapons you upgrade. The sense of speed and the enemies are different and the levels are short enough, never feeling like the same situation over and over.
However, due to playing so many of these things it's hard to compliment the game in a way that'll make it feel that distinct.
1990
I think Psychosis tries way too hard.
It's a fairly standard horizontal shmup that really wants to be weird, but I think fails at it. Barely anything about it stands out outside of level start and level end screens, and its colorful graphics are sometimes to its detriment as you can't even tell what's what. My only deaths in this game after the second boss were to the walls I couldn't recognize as walls.
I also think arsenal sucks. You have three weapons and only the main wide beam feels like it can do everything right. The alt fire comes from your options which you can rotate so I question the need for a back laser, and the thunder shot is a pitiful little wall you erect from the orbs around you that I never picked up after level 1.
The game's fairly easy after you realize that some bosses' pattern has an almost blind spot that's not hard to figure out, and look, maybe it does get harder since the game welcomes you to WORLD II which is just the game again. Honestly, fuck any game that tries that Ghosts n Goblins crap. No.
It's a fairly standard horizontal shmup that really wants to be weird, but I think fails at it. Barely anything about it stands out outside of level start and level end screens, and its colorful graphics are sometimes to its detriment as you can't even tell what's what. My only deaths in this game after the second boss were to the walls I couldn't recognize as walls.
I also think arsenal sucks. You have three weapons and only the main wide beam feels like it can do everything right. The alt fire comes from your options which you can rotate so I question the need for a back laser, and the thunder shot is a pitiful little wall you erect from the orbs around you that I never picked up after level 1.
The game's fairly easy after you realize that some bosses' pattern has an almost blind spot that's not hard to figure out, and look, maybe it does get harder since the game welcomes you to WORLD II which is just the game again. Honestly, fuck any game that tries that Ghosts n Goblins crap. No.
1990
I think if you call your game Psycho Chaser you owe it to the world to at least create something pretty badass.
Psycho Chaser isn't. It's a vertical shmup where a RoboCop looking player slowly jogs at enemies.
It's fairly mindnumbing. You can switch between four weapons and in between levels upgrade them as you see fit. The lite RPG system is fairly solid, but you end up upgrading everything before the final level easily, so there's not much point to it.
There are also multi-shot upgrades of which I've seen two in the whole game that add a second shot to your weapon, but no more than that. Aside from that you auto-shoot missiles.
I feel like there's a solid game somewhere here, but the levels are long and samey and the backgrounds are pretty bad, often making you wonder what you can stand on and what you can't. Don't lightly jog into the pit, Robo, it'll kill ya!
The music might be ok, but the sound effects are overpowering. Also, maybe it's just me, but I think two of the weapons are at all points outclassed by others. You don't really need side shot ever, and thunder, while homing, gets easily beaten by any obsticle and has a tendency to go to any enemy it sees fit, leaving you defenceless. Compared to Fire - a standard laser, and multishot, I honestly think they're just bad.
I also question the part where the game puts you on a narrow walkway with an enemy closing in you can't defeat only to ask you to effectively walk through it at a certain angle, because no weapons can kill it in time.
It's pretty bad.
Psycho Chaser isn't. It's a vertical shmup where a RoboCop looking player slowly jogs at enemies.
It's fairly mindnumbing. You can switch between four weapons and in between levels upgrade them as you see fit. The lite RPG system is fairly solid, but you end up upgrading everything before the final level easily, so there's not much point to it.
There are also multi-shot upgrades of which I've seen two in the whole game that add a second shot to your weapon, but no more than that. Aside from that you auto-shoot missiles.
I feel like there's a solid game somewhere here, but the levels are long and samey and the backgrounds are pretty bad, often making you wonder what you can stand on and what you can't. Don't lightly jog into the pit, Robo, it'll kill ya!
The music might be ok, but the sound effects are overpowering. Also, maybe it's just me, but I think two of the weapons are at all points outclassed by others. You don't really need side shot ever, and thunder, while homing, gets easily beaten by any obsticle and has a tendency to go to any enemy it sees fit, leaving you defenceless. Compared to Fire - a standard laser, and multishot, I honestly think they're just bad.
I also question the part where the game puts you on a narrow walkway with an enemy closing in you can't defeat only to ask you to effectively walk through it at a certain angle, because no weapons can kill it in time.
It's pretty bad.
1991
Pretty nifty horizontal shmup where you control a really wide plane.
The game doesn't have the most involved power-up system, but does give you plenty of consumable abilities from shields to 8-way bombs and even invincibility (without which I wouldn't beat this game)
Your main arsenal is actually pretty crappy consisting of really tiny bullets and downward bombs, but the enemies' also feel very real, rarely shooting more than one bullet at you. The real danger is always in the fact that you have to stay in the middle of the screen because there are as many enemies coming at you from behind as there are from the front.
The game feels like it gives up in the backhalf, with two stages being fairly samey corridors with moving layers that don't even have a boss, and the last level constantly throwing the same challenge at you.
The game doesn't have the most involved power-up system, but does give you plenty of consumable abilities from shields to 8-way bombs and even invincibility (without which I wouldn't beat this game)
Your main arsenal is actually pretty crappy consisting of really tiny bullets and downward bombs, but the enemies' also feel very real, rarely shooting more than one bullet at you. The real danger is always in the fact that you have to stay in the middle of the screen because there are as many enemies coming at you from behind as there are from the front.
The game feels like it gives up in the backhalf, with two stages being fairly samey corridors with moving layers that don't even have a boss, and the last level constantly throwing the same challenge at you.
1990
An interesting platformer/beat-em-up that feels a lot like Classicvania. You fight almost endless enemies, power-up your weapons and can switch to one of three main weapons if you pick up the drop.
Way easier than the first title which I couldn't beat, mainly because every second enemy likes to drop health replenishments. However, the last level is an insane maze that features some really awful fights and even bosses from previous stages.
The game doesn't control that great especially in places where it wants you to platform and can be a bit scummy with never indicating falling platforms in vertical levels, but I've had a good time.
Way easier than the first title which I couldn't beat, mainly because every second enemy likes to drop health replenishments. However, the last level is an insane maze that features some really awful fights and even bosses from previous stages.
The game doesn't control that great especially in places where it wants you to platform and can be a bit scummy with never indicating falling platforms in vertical levels, but I've had a good time.
1989
A Ghosts 'n Goblins-like platformer that's fairly cute, but about just as unfair.
Just because the game is a platformer doesn't mean it was spared TurboGrafx' curse of not having shmup elements, as you power-up your weapon and collect subweapons.
The game feels chaotic, and not really in a good way. It'll endlessly spawn enemies from every corner in a way that never feels designed, and more just like they were haphazardly placed all over. The levels are short but with lots of going on, and the main attraction are bosses who are all pretty easy but really fun to figure out.
Just because the game is a platformer doesn't mean it was spared TurboGrafx' curse of not having shmup elements, as you power-up your weapon and collect subweapons.
The game feels chaotic, and not really in a good way. It'll endlessly spawn enemies from every corner in a way that never feels designed, and more just like they were haphazardly placed all over. The levels are short but with lots of going on, and the main attraction are bosses who are all pretty easy but really fun to figure out.
1991
I might not know a lot about shmups, but I do know Gradius, and Gradius rules.
Even as a straight port of the arcade, this game still kicks ass due to some good enemy variety and a neat power-up system.
I believe there's also an additional level in this version, but I can't say I like this version too much, mainly because of the slowdown. Starting with level 2 you're basically looking at the game in slow-mo.
I'd also say that this game doesn't sound as good as the NES version, but that's not much of an issue, since the music is still quite good.
Even as a straight port of the arcade, this game still kicks ass due to some good enemy variety and a neat power-up system.
I believe there's also an additional level in this version, but I can't say I like this version too much, mainly because of the slowdown. Starting with level 2 you're basically looking at the game in slow-mo.
I'd also say that this game doesn't sound as good as the NES version, but that's not much of an issue, since the music is still quite good.
One of the most surprising things about this title is its release date. Gokuraku Chuka Taisen feels like an NES shooter as opposed to one that was released when next-gen systems were already on the market. While originally an arcade game, this release does nothing to make it better than approximately 8000 other shmups already available for PC Engine.
The enemies are samey, and the minibosses only differ in their presentations and how many bullets they shoot.
The game is a bit of an asshole, sometimes spawning enemies without any warning from any number of direction, but aside from that is ultimately very boring. Stages barely differ aside from a watery cave one which actually has some unique enemies that are thematically appropriate, and bosses, save for the last one, are easy.
It's not the worst horizontal shmup, but it feels very dated. Only worth it if you have a craving for something of its theme.
The enemies are samey, and the minibosses only differ in their presentations and how many bullets they shoot.
The game is a bit of an asshole, sometimes spawning enemies without any warning from any number of direction, but aside from that is ultimately very boring. Stages barely differ aside from a watery cave one which actually has some unique enemies that are thematically appropriate, and bosses, save for the last one, are easy.
It's not the worst horizontal shmup, but it feels very dated. Only worth it if you have a craving for something of its theme.
1991
I'm running out of things to say about shmups, but Final Soldier is a very pleasant little game. I just wish its menu was a bit more clear since I only realized you can choose how each one of your weapons behave upon beating the game, thinking that pushing Select on main menu will just scroll thorugh difficulties. I suggest you do that because I feel like the normal mode makes two out of four weapons obsolete.
The game doesn't have any special theme, it's all machines and space, but it's a very comfortable and fairly easy (on Normal at least) game. The music's pretty banging and is probably the only shmup I've played where I could actually notice it while playing. Maybe I'm just getting better at those things.
Final Soldier doesn't do anything special, but everything it does is simply good.
The game doesn't have any special theme, it's all machines and space, but it's a very comfortable and fairly easy (on Normal at least) game. The music's pretty banging and is probably the only shmup I've played where I could actually notice it while playing. Maybe I'm just getting better at those things.
Final Soldier doesn't do anything special, but everything it does is simply good.
1992
Possibly as mediocre as a horizontal shmup can get. Fairly tough, solid sense of progression and some very basic power-ups. Nothing really stands out about it.
You slowly make your way to the moon, you fight a lot of skeleton creatures. Some backgrounds are real nice, but on a system where every second game is a shmup it gets lost in the crowd.
You slowly make your way to the moon, you fight a lot of skeleton creatures. Some backgrounds are real nice, but on a system where every second game is a shmup it gets lost in the crowd.