Tag Archives: Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 45 – One Hell of a Year

Welcome to the obligatory podcast-format end-of-the-year roundup! I’m joined for this exploration of a year we’ll all remember for quite some time by, as always, Chris Caskie of CCaskieArt.

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!

Enjoy the podcast in video and audio formats below:

And hit the jump for show notes!

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 45 – One Hell of a Year

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 36 – Psikyo’s Shooting Stars

Cheer up everybody! Banish those lockdown blues for a couple of hours with a brand new episode of The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring my good self and 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 36 – Psikyo’s Shooting Stars

Zero Gunner 2-: Making a Classic Affordable

Anyone interested in collecting video games has doubtless run into the issue of certain titles from previous console generations commanding astronomical prices.

There are numerous reasons this might happen — perhaps the game had a very limited print run; perhaps it only came out in certain territories or perhaps it had problems with distribution when it was current.

One such example is Zero Gunner 2 for the Dreamcast, which, at the time of writing, is going for anywhere between £100 and £200 on eBay. Fortunately, there’s a much cheaper way to get your hands on it today: the Switch version, which is available either on its own via the eShop, or as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection. Let’s have a look!

Continue reading Zero Gunner 2-: Making a Classic Affordable

Dragon Blaze: Strikers 1495

As we’ve already seen with the three Strikers 1945 titles, Psikyo is a developer that is more than happy to make incremental improvements to a formula rather than radically inventing things with each new game.

There are exceptions, of course, but few can deny that the Strikers 1945 formula worked well and could most certainly support a few more games with a few tweaks here and there. Like, say, changing the aesthetic somewhat.

Strikers 1945 III already transplanted the weighty shooting action from post-World War II to the modern day. Dragon Blaze, also part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection, zaps us into a fantasy world with neon pink bullets and challenges us to survive another stiff challenge.

Continue reading Dragon Blaze: Strikers 1495

Sol Divide: Blast of the Titans

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

Strikers 1945 III: Leaving on a Jet Plane

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

Strikers 1945 II: If It Ain’t Broke…

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…

Strikers 1945: Not Quite How the History Books Told It

You know a game’s on to a winner when you think “ah, I’ll just sit down and have a quick play on this to take some screenshots” and then suddenly it’s over an hour later. Such was the case with Strikers 1945 for me today.

Part of the excellent value (and beautifully packaged) Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha compilation from NIS America and City Connection, Strikers 1945 originally hails from 1995, and was the fourth game that shoot ’em up specialists Psikyo put out for the world to enjoy.

Blending real-world aircraft with ridiculous, fantastic elements, Strikers 1945 is a straightforward but extremely solid and accessible shooter that remains well worth playing even today. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Strikers 1945: Not Quite How the History Books Told It