Sergio's Grand Shmup Adventure

The Great Shoot-'Em-Up Review-A-Thon
or
Sergio's Grand Shmup Adventure

Anybody who knows me knows that I have quite the propensity for shoot-'em-up style video games. They're all those games where you're in a space ship dodging bullets and they tend to look like this:

This is my zen.

For whatever reason I simply cannot get enough of these goddamn things, even though as a teenager they stole what must amount to over 50 dollars in quarters from me. Whether it's the reflexes required, the cool looking power-ups, or the sheer grandiose nature of the game, here are some "shmups" I've been obsessed with lately and have decided to share my thoughts on.

Does not contain as many sharks as you would think.

I'm kicking this thing off with a fairly unconventional shmup, Metal Black by those Taito guys, makers of the Darius series (which is also worth checking out). This is a side scrolling shooter that doesn't use the traditional power up system. Instead there are atom-like objects called Newalone. This shit gets pretty Japanese pretty quickly. Anyways as you collect more of these, your regular shots get more powerful and you can unleash a killer beam attack that releases all your hoarded pick ups. Things get really interesting when you find out that the bosses can pick up Newalone as well to charge their own beam attacks.

Hey asshole, that's mine.

When the boss unleashes their beam attack, you can wager that you have gathered more of the stuff and have a sweet ass beam struggle that harms the boss and ejects more energy for even more killer beam usage. It makes the bosses a lot more interesting than most games. Instead of just holding the fire button and swaying to memorized patterns, there's an actual power struggle and race for resources. It really spices up what would otherwise be pretty uneventful encounters.
The thing that really sells it for me in this game (and in most) is the atmosphere. There's a really neat underlying story regarding the Aliens being from real life star Nemesis and the first stage gets the whole dire straits status of humanity across wonderfully.

And this plays underneath.

From there you destroy the false moon, fight over Jupiter's Red Spot, and then face the final boss in some strange mind zone.

Awesome.

Also Awesome.

Uhhh... symbolism?

The sum of it all is a game that is interesting on a mechanic as well as a visual level. Metal Black earns it's one out of one with astronomical ease.

Mars Matrix is a more conventional shooter and probably one of my favorite shmups. The entire game uses only one button with every action relying on how you press it. If given time to charge you get a shotgun like power blast. If you tap it quickly you get the standard shmup spray gun going, and if you hold it you can absorb enemy bullets and reflect them back, or hold it long enough to use a bomb.

As pictured.

The great thing about this game is that it basically started the whole "bullet hell" phenomenon. I'm going to be frank, there are a lot of fucking bullets. I mean, look at this shit.

This is like the third stage.

Make no mistake, this game is hard. Arcade-like eat your quarters hard. Which kind of sucks. My only gripe with this game is that it kind of expects to be the only game you play. Repeat stages 1 through 3 until you know all the enemy placements, time your bullet absorptions and dodges correctly, and grab all the experience cubes. OH MAN. I forgot to mention experience cubes. These things have got to be the most Pavlovian score elements I've ever seen in a top-down shooter.

I must've done something right.

Most enemies you destroy will drop gold cubes of various size and worth that your ship has to physically collect. They're the primary method for getting high scores and will level up your ship for stronger firepower. It's a great feeling to perfectly eliminate a horde of enemies and see gold cubes rain down, and gameplay gets really interesting when you have to try and grab cubes while also dodging incoming shots. It's an essential component of the game that really fits quite nicely.
I cannot readily recommend Mars Matrix, but if you love shmups as much as me, like being challenged, or don't mind credit feeding to see all those pretty bullets and gold cubes cascade down and rain death on you then you cant go wrong with Mars Matrix. I can tell you that you will not find a more solid and refined shooter anywhere else (looking at you Ikaruga), and if you have a buddy to compete with or just like attaining absolute mastery over something, well, meet your new favorite game.

Pixel threading like a boss.

I must admit, when I started this review, I meant to just write about Mars Matrix and "some other shmups" for good measure. I picked up Gunlock (or RayForce) on almost a whim and am being completely honest in saying that it is now one of my favorite things ever. I even sort of toyed with the idea of just doing a screenshot tour of the game but that would simply not do the game justice. It is pretty in it's own right.

The sense of scale, in particular, is breathtaking at times.

But the music is good, and the gameplay is even better. As you can see in the screenshot above, there's a sort of depth to every area. Things on your current plane can be shot at with your ships stock shmup laser canons, but there's also a target that remains static a bit ahead of your ship which you use to lock on to targets on the lower plane. Once locked you can launch an incredibly badass beam spam laser with the second button.

The lasers also snake and curve beautifully.

This concept is more than just a gimmick. It becomes absolutely crucial for taking down bosses and just traversing levels moment to moment. You can destroy ships or missiles before they get to your plane so you don't have to worry about dodging them. Some enemies can only be hit with the lock on lasers. Some bosses only expose their weak points on the lower plane, or switch frequently from one to the other. Divining the best means of destroying something, or taking the right route and maxing out your lock while also dodging bullets is quite the mental treat.

Also the game is gorgeous.

Oh man, thanks caption. That's right this game is absolutely fucking amazing looking. I really want you to soak in the above screenshot. You're just flying over the crest of the moon, the moody techno is hitting its crescendo and you see this huge space battle happening. Where you can lock onto the enemy starships (belonging to the evil sentient computer in the Earth's core) and then watch as the remaining human forces re destroyed by them.

THEY WERE MY FRIENDS

It's such an unexpectedly poignant moment in a shmup. It happens in the second stage, and I can't help but feel a bit awe-struck every time I see it. After defeating the boss...

Those lasers are so fucking cool.

You enter Earth's atmosphere to an even more kickin' song and things just get better and better from then on.

Whoa.

WHOA.

OH GOD SO COOL.

Before you ask, yes you can destroy those floating islands and watch them sink down to the ground. The game is just oozing delightful little details and flourishes out of every pore. This game is a treat to play. Seriously, if you suspect your taste in video games is even remotely like mine, if you can really appreciate excellent sprite work and fluid animation, or even if you just want to waste a few minutes destroying space ships, you must play this game. I cannot recommend it enough. I just can't.

Well, fuck.

Gunlock gets a hands down one out of one for being endlessly entertaining and delivering on every aspect that makes a great arcade shooter. I tip my hat to you, you magnificent creature.
That's pretty much all I got. But hey, I like you, so why don't we do one more for the road?

Uhhhhhh... sure?

Samurai Aces, huh? I mean there are better Psikyo games out there. You sure you don't want to see Gunbird 2 or something? Really? Canon Spike? No? Well alright then. Let's take a look at uh, Samurai Aces then.

Okay these planes seem pretty cool...

Wait is that... Is that a fucking F-15?

Piloted by a dog?

I... what? Well okay we may as well pick him. Samurai Aces is one of the most generic shooters you will ever play. Apart from the setting, which is some kind of futuristic, destroyed, shogun-era Japan, there really isn't much to it.

Yup, just fighting this robotic, helicopter powered sea turtle. Pretty average.

If anything stands out, it's that this game tends to be Stupid Mistakes: The Video Game. Your ship moves incredibly slow regardless of who you pick and there are usually like twelve bullets on screen. You underestimate them, they move slow, and then you explode and slap your forehead. When you enter the screen again you fly up to the top to retrieve your lost power ups (they seem incapable of crossing to the lower half of the screen), then your invincibility period wears off and you die again.
I mean hey, if you like mediocrity, you can go ahead and check this out, but beyond that I see no real point in...

Oh. Oh I get it.

Samurai Aces gets a zero out of one.