| paleface [sys=DC; cat=Shooter_Vert; reg=NA] |
| | | Dang, I should have got the Japanese versions of the GW games, because in those the characters scream at the top of their lungs when they do something cool, and without voices the muted firing sounds in the NA version are a little lacking, though the music is nice.
The main gameplay doohicky in this v-shmup is the "Reflect Force," whereby holding down the fire button conjures up with energy sphere around your ship that absorbs and shoots back incoming bullets. And to make sure you use it, enemies fire such gobs of bullets at you that there's no avoiding them all, especially in your rather slow ship on the wide non-Tate screen. So you go "REEEEEEFLECTAAAAAAAAAA FFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCE!" and cram them back where they came, though it doesn't come out right away so you have to anticipate the bullet rush a bit. Each bullet you successfully reflect back to a target yields a pretty sparkly gold reward token; after a good RF the screen will literally be covered in spinning gold.
Then there's probably another dozen gobs of bullets coming at you, and the RF hasn't recharged, so what do you do? "BOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" which also blocks all incoming shots while covering the screen with pulsating electronic death. And by the time that pyrotechnic display is done, guess what? RF has recharged! (It's good about telling you this with an audible "Okay" when you're good to go.) So then it's "REEEEEEEFLECTAAAAAAAAA FOOOOOOOOOCE!" all over again. Come to think of it, it may be more fun when I get to shout out the words myself.
One odd thing: the mammoth bosses only stick around for a certain scripted period and if you haven't killed them in time (which is kind of hard unless you time the RFs just right and use some bombs) they just fly off. Rude!
Some of the most spectacular low-res 2d graphics you're going to see anywhere, more bullets and medals and enemies than the screen can hold at once, a score that barely fits onscreen, a complex story told from the perspective of whichever one of the 3 or 4 characters you're playing as, and equally incomprehensible for all of them: these are the things of which shooter dreams are made. Very short dreams, to be sure. And maybe there isn't all that much skill involved in reflecting and then bombing and then reflecting again. Sure, I could try beating it without using one of the unlimited continues or something. Whatever. It's fun, it's fun, it's fun, it's just a game. |
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