Tag Archives: mechanics

Psikyo Shooting Stars, Shmups, Switch

Gunbird: The ’90s Anime Shoot ‘Em Up

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In conversation with casual shoot ’em up fans I’m acquainted with, I’ve come to learn that Gunbird is one of Psikyo’s most fondly regarded series.

It’s not hard to see why, either. Although the first Gunbird game predates many of Psikyo’s other works, it features a lot of their most appealing elements. We have the multiple endings and strong replayability of Samurai Aces. We have the strong degree of physicality of the Strikers series. We have the overblown narratives of Sol Divide and Dragon Blaze. And the whole thing is topped off with a ton of ’90s anime charm.

Sounds like a recipe for success to me. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Gunbird: The ’90s Anime Shoot ‘Em Up →

Atelier, Atelier Iris, Cover Games

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – The Fight for Eden

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cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1-8868334This post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
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The Atelier Iris subseries is, as we’ve already seen with Eternal Mana, something of an outlier in the Atelier series as a whole.

While all of the Atelier games involve RPG-style combat to varying degrees, the Iris subseries places a particular emphasis on what many would think of as a more “conventional” RPG-style structure: the protagonist goes on a journey, explores dungeons, acquires allies, seeks out wondrous treasures… there just happens to be some alchemy involved on the side.

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny has a particularly strong emphasis on its combat and progression mechanics, making it a satisfying game for those who like making numbers get bigger. Let’s take a closer look at this aspect today.

Continue reading Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – The Fight for Eden →

Psikyo Shooting Stars, Shmups, Switch

Samurai Aces: A Strong Debut

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It’s always fascinating to see a developer’s first game, because it often represents a combination of the new company’s staff bringing their past experience to the table and an attempt for that new company to truly define themselves as something unique.

Psikyo kicked off a prolific few years of shoot ’em ups with Samurai Aces (also known as Sengoku Ace: Tengai Episode I), originally released to arcades in 1993. As the company’s first game, it certainly helps set the mould for their subsequent games, but it remains a solid shoot ’em up in its own right, and can easily be experienced today as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo compilation for Nintendo Switch.

A lot of that is probably down to the fact that it was designed by Shin Nakamura of Aero Fighters fame, so Psikyo was always set up to get a good start. But let’s take a closer look anyway, and see what makes this game truly tick.

Continue reading Samurai Aces: A Strong Debut →

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Leila

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The Final Fantasy series has, over the years, played host to some of the most well-known and beloved female characters of all time.

And this isn’t a recent thing, either; if you believe the fan theory that the White Mage in the original Final Fantasy is female (a theory which I can’t help but feel Square Enix leaned into somewhat with the sprite design in the remakes for PS1, GBA and PSP) they’ve been there since the very beginning.

And even if you don’t subscribe to that theory, Final Fantasy II certainly brought us some fine leading ladies, such as today’s spotlight character, Leila. Let’s take a closer look!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Leila →

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast, Episode 35: New Age of Beatdowns

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Welcome back to the MoeGamer Podcast! Today we’re continuing our discussion from last time, so please give a warm welcome to… err, me, and, of course, Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels!

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos (including the Atari A to Z retro gaming series); you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast; you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you can subscribe via iTunes and listen on Spotify. Please do at least one of these if you can; it really helps us out!

Or you can just hit the jump to watch or listen to today’s episode right here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast, Episode 35: New Age of Beatdowns →

Podcast

Bonus Listening: OCP Multitap Podcast – Gun Gun Pixies

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A double whammy of listening enjoyment for your pleasure today.

A little while back, Ben “Oculin” Yoder of One Controller Port was kind enough to invite me along to talk about Shade’s Gun Gun Pixies.

That discussion went up today, so if you need more stuff to listen to, check it out here — and be sure to stop by One Controller Port to say hi to Ben, too!

Anchor.fm’s player is being a bit temperamental for me, so if the player below doesn’t work for whatever reason, click here to go listen!

Psikyo Shooting Stars, Shmups

Sol Divide: Blast of the Titans

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While Psikyo could have easily stuck to being a heavily armed one-trick pony with the success and popularity of Strikers 1945 and its two sequels, the company decided to branch out and get a bit experimental in a number of its games.

A particularly potent example of this comes in the form of 1996’s Sol Divide, an unusual and underappreciated game that does things very differently from many other shooters out there — particularly its contemporaries from its time of original release.

Does “experimental” equate to “worth checking out for more than five minutes out of curiosity”, though? Let’s take a closer look, since like many of its stablemates, you can enjoy it as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection on Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading Sol Divide: Blast of the Titans →

Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: OHKO – Final Fantasy II #10

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One of the issues people have with Final Fantasy II is that its progression system can make it a little tricky to determine what “level” you are.

This means it can be quite easy to go into a new situation either woefully underpowered or vastly overpowered — though let’s be honest about this, the latter option has always been part of the fun of role-playing games, hasn’t it?

At this point, an encounter in Leviathan’s stomach on the way to track down the Ultima Tome would seem to confirm that yes, indeed, we have taken the latter option. Oh well. No turning back now!

Psikyo Shooting Stars

Strikers 1945 III: Leaving on a Jet Plane

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Strikers 1945 III, also known as Strikers 1999, does things a little bit differently to its two predecessors. Not a lot differently, mind, but enough to make it a distinctive experience.

For starters, we’ve shot 54 years into the “future” — well, more accurately, what was the “present day”, since this game actually released for the first time in 1999 — and are now taking on mechanical monsters that have been possessed by nanites. We’re flying modern jet fighters. And we’re dealing with a seriously escalated difficulty level.

Sounds like fun, right? Let’s strap in and get supersonic with this next installment — which, like its predecessors, is included in the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha bundle for Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading Strikers 1945 III: Leaving on a Jet Plane →

Psikyo Shooting Stars, Shmups

Strikers 1945 II: If It Ain’t Broke…

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Strikers 1945 II is the sequel to Strikers 1945, unsurprisingly. And, to cut a long story short, if you enjoyed Strikers 1945, you will definitely enjoy Strikers 1945 II.

On the surface, the two games appear very similar to one another. And… well, to be perfectly honest, they are very similar to one another, but Strikers 1945 II adds a few little tweaks and refinements to the mix as well as providing a new lineup of aircraft to pilot, new enemy superweapons to blow to smithereens and, once again, some of the most satisfying shooting action you’ll ever enjoy.

Let’s take a closer look at this classic blaster from Psikyo, now readily available as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection for Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading Strikers 1945 II: If It Ain’t Broke… →