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Strikers 1945 II
  PS1Shooter_VertJ  
  opened by paleface at 02:00:49 09/01/03  
  last modified by paleface at 12:25:50 03/05/24  
  paleface [sys=PS1; cat=Shooter_Vert; reg=JPN]
           
This game saw release as "Strikers 1945" in the States with the vital omission of an "arcade" mode, which of course lets you play it in true vertical full-screen without compressing the graphics to fit. Tons of selectable ships with awesome firepower and many large sub-bosses to face make this a classic shmup, and the 2d graphics ain't bad, neither. If you're familiar with Psikyo's Zero Gunner 2 on DC you'll recognize Psikyo's style in the clever transformations bosses undergo as you damage them. Don't play that nasty tate-less American version for one more second, mister.
 
Now that I've played both this and Gunbird I realize that they're immensely similar right down to the menu fonts and layouts of the console menus--Gunbird is kind of a more frivolous Strikers, while Strikers goes for the straight-ahead-shooting thing all the way. Both Strikers and Gunbird have the charge-shot system where your charge shots are powered from a meter and can go up multiple power levels.
 
Also, I'm realizing what an ingenious balancing system Psikyo developed for these games (and you've got to love a game whose two lowest skill levels are "Child" and "Monkey") where the beginning levels are random but whichever come later are made much harder by increasing the number and speed of the bullets shot at you. Not to mention how both the Strikers and the Gunbirds have so many playable characters, all of which are more or less balanced, except that I suck with the slow ships in this game and the Flying Pancake kicks booty.
    
references:
· Gunbird (PS1)
· Gunbird 1 & 2 (PS2)
· Gunbird 2 (DC)
· Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol.2: Sengoku Ace & Sengoku Blade (PS2)
· Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol.3: Sol Divide & Dragon Blaze (PS2)
· Sol Divide (PS1)
· Strikers 1945 (PS1)
· Zero Gunner 2 (DC)

 
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