It certainly doesn’t seem like the gaming world’s demand for shmups is diminishing anytime soon. There has been something of a renaissance over the last few years of shmups being released and remastered. Cave games are getting new releases, games like Devil Engine pay tribute to the Thunderforce series of yesteryear, and bullet hell games abound. Fortunately for shmup fans, that also means that some of the more obscure titles are finally coming to North America in rerelease collections. We’ve seen a plethora of Darius content come here recently and now NIS America has seen fit to release the Psikyo Shooting Stars collection, including Shooting Stars Alpha and Shooting Stars Bravo.
Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is a virtuoso collection of some of the most interesting Psikyo titles. Included in the collection are the Strikers 1945 Trilogy (I, II, and III), Sol Divide, Dragon Blaze, and Zero Gunner 2. Each of these titles has been released for consoles before, but only Sol Divide and Strikers 1945 saw North American console releases, both as bargain titles, so it’s an absolute delight to finally get to play all of these on the Switch!
Strikers 1945 – This is the original and still excellent. The Strikers series began here. I’ve long suspected these were spiritual sequels to the 19XX series from Capcom, but brought into a different, more frantic playstyle with better bullet patterns and a more exciting soundtrack. That’s not something Psikyo has ever stated however. The first thing you’ll notice about Strikers 1945 is that it’s hard as hell, even on normal. Your hitbox is large and it’s challenging to dodge bullet patterns as they become more and more dense. Your ships (there are six) are less responsive than you might like and there’s simply not much room for error. This is one technical shmup, and it takes some practice to blast through the 8 levels of the game. Your weapons consist of a normal shot, a charge shot, and a bomb, all pretty standard shmup stuff.
Unfortunately, in this collection on the Switch, it doesn’t look the greatest in docked mode, appearing a bit grainy and with the small bullets, more challenging. The Switch joycons don’t help either, as they’re not particularly suited for shmups. The Pro controller is better since it has a solid D-pad and the Strikers series is noticeably intended for a D-pad and not analog sticks. In portable mode, Strikers 1945 looks better but the bullets are very small unless you happen to have bought a Flip Grip and play in TATE mode.
Strikers 1945 II – A direct sequel, Strikers 1945 II is very similar to the first game, with identical powerups, new ships, slightly improved graphics, and more complex enemies. Just like the first game, you’ll play through eight stages with one of six ships. There are new bullet patterns, new enemies, and new backgrounds, but the game feels the same overall. The difficulty is similar to the first game as well, and on normal, most people will be challenged to complete the game. Everything from Strikers 1945 applies here, including graphic quality, control issues, and the hitbox. There are new levels with slightly nicer looking backgrounds, but nothing that really stands apart from the first game aside from some pretty great new multi-form bosses.
Strikers 1945 III – The final game in the trilogy brings some refinement in terms of gameplay, adding quick kills to the boss fights if you’re bold enough to strive for them (look for the blue cores on bosses). Core gameplay is unchanged, with powerups, secondary shots, and bombs functioning in the same manner. The graphics in Strikers 1945 III are noticeably improved but sadly the hitbox remains the same. This is easily the best of the series, with bolder, more challenging bullet patterns and clever boss fights, but it’s certainly not any easier of a game. Once again, the controls are not the greatest on the Switch but it’s playable. All three games would be much improved to play in full TATE on an arcade stick, of course.
Sol Divide – This is a radical departure from the Strikers series, so much so that it’s almost weird to have it in the same collection. We’ve jumped from an alternate post-WWII dystopia to a quasi-Dungeons and Dragons fantasy world, and shifted from a vertical screen orientation to a horizontal one! Not only that, the graphic style is wildly different, with an odd, rendered look to it that was prevalent for a short time in the mid-Nineties. This style hides the blocky of the polygons of the era, but has an almost fuzzy feel to it, like nothing is quite in focus. It’s a very unique look, rarely seen these days. The Crystal of Kings arcade game from around the same time has a similar look as well, and it’s a surprisingly enjoyable look.
In Sol Divide (check out our previous review here) you’ll play one of three heroes trying to stop the emperor from becoming a demon and pulling the world down into darkness with him. The story is decent, but the gameplay is unique enough to make Sol Divide stand out. This definitely isn’t your standard shmup. In fact, a fair number of the enemies you’ll encounter are essentially bulletproof, and you’ll have to attack close range with your sword or use magic spells to damage them. That’s right, this is a close-quarters combat shmup and you earn a variety of spells ranging from fire spells to slowing time and beyond by collecting drops from enemies.
Because of this design, enemies are larger than usual and you are also endowed with combo attacks, allowing you to beat back the enemies and drop a bit of cover fire into them while you regroup between waves. Most enemies are particularly susceptible to magic, but you can run out, so it’ll be a challenging fight even if there aren’t crazy bullet patterns like a normal shmup. Sol Divide is probably the easiest game on the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha Collection, and shouldn’t be a ridiculous challenge even on normal difficulty, at least until near the end of the game. Controls are decent, but it’s a slower paced game and your character definitely does not move fast. You also have a life bar which enables you to take quite a few hits before you go down, something else making Sol Divide stand apart from the rest of this collection.
Dragon Blaze – Probably the best title in the collection, Dragon Blaze is a fairly standard vertical shmup with enemy fire bordering on bullet-hell level patterns. You’re playing as one of four dragon riders flying through a vertically scrolling set of levels. Again, this one is pure fantasy but with a completely different look. Much of the background and most of the enemies are much more organic and it’s surprisingly reminiscent of Mushihimesama. Psikyo has even tossed in pink bullets, a Cave staple, along with some fast and nasty bullet patterns to make Dragon Blaze a real challenge. Don’t worry, there are some tricks to beating the game, such as boss cores (similar to Strikers 1945 III).
There’s a pretty nifty gameplay mechanic in Dragon Blaze as well. You can actually climb off your dragon and use it as a stationary firing platform while you run around the screen. Your dragon won’t take any damage, but it also won’t block any bullets, so you’ll definitely need to do some dodging. Launch your dragon into an enemy and gold coins are created instead of the usual silver, raising your score much faster, but the whole thing takes a bit of practice. You’ll need that extra firepower though, as some of the enemies are pretty tough nuts to crack and the popcorn enemies around them overwhelm you. Divide and conquer is an excellent strategy here. Ultimately, Dragon Blaze might also be the hardest game in the collection, partly due to speed and precision required, but it’s also the best controlling game. Movement is fast and precise on all controllers, the hit box is much more forgiving than the Strikers series, and your firing rates are excellent. Graphically, it’s a gorgeous game, with interesting character designs and complex backgrounds, if you have the time to check them out (spoiler – you won’t unless you plan on dying a lot). There’s really nothing not to like about Dragon Blaze, other than your TV not being in TATE mode because it would be utterly amazing on a vertically oriented 55” or 60” TV.
Zero Gunner 2 – This was a surprise to see included on the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection. Zero Gunner 2 was originally released for Dreamcast and the only way to play it was to import it from Japan. The second game in horizontal format on the collection, Zero Gunner 2 is extremely unique in that you’re piloting a helicopter and can actually rotate as a helicopter does. Your field of fire is 360 degrees and you control orientation with one button and fire with another. It leads to a very distinctive feel for the game, and while enemies mostly appear from the top of the screen, they can come from anywhere and you can fire from anywhere in any direction. This is also the cleanest and most three-dimensional of the games on Shooting Stars Alpha, and it’s weird to see much sharper polygons when you’ve been looking at sprites or softened polygons for the last five games.
Zero Gunner’s controls make the game significantly more challenging. Dodging and rotating all the way around isn’t nearly intuitive as most games and it definitely takes a bit of practice. Hold the assigned Turn Marker button and move and instead of moving, your copter rotates on its axis. You can get out of some tight scrapes this way, but it presents different challenges, such as being hit from behind before you’ve had a chance to shift angles again. Fortunately there are less bullets coming at you and the game is quite well-balanced, but it still presents quite a challenge. It’s a unique title and for its first domestic release, this is a great port.
Overall, the entirety of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Collection Alpha is a clean, well-made package that makes it easy to drop in and play any of its six titles. They’re all solid titles to boot, with a variety of mechanics that make replay value high if you’re a shmup fan. The options available in game are good, allowing for four screen rotations, including full TATE mode, two screen filters, completely mappable buttons on all games (and that’s extremely useful!) and the ability to eliminate artwork wallpaper if you find it distracting. You can also manipulate the game settings including replay credits, extra ships, preferred language (English or Japanese) and more. Each game has the arcade difficulty dip setting mode built into the start screen as well, so it’s only a few seconds to decide how hard you want your experience to be, essentially making all six games fully customizable without compromising gameplay. For $40, this is unquestionably an essential collection for any shmup gamer. And if you happen to have a Flip Grip, it’s even better, allowing for full TATE in handheld mode and maximizing the potential of the Switch screen in the four vertical titles. The only real downside is that a few games look a bit less crisp than they should, notably the first two Strikers and Sol Divide. Rarely is there a package released like this at a price point this low that’s as high quality across the board. NIS America has really outdone themselves with Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and I absolutely can’t wait for Bravo to drop!
This review was based on a digital copy of Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha provided by the publisher and is exclusive to the Switch. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and worked equally well in both, and in fact, some games were actually more fun in undocked mode (you know which ones you were). Don’t hesitate…go get your Psikyo on!
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In addition, we would like to add that there is an active Shmup retrogaming Facebook community group you can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/SHMUPSretrogamers/
For more, visit Retro Gamers Hub (www.retrogamershub.com) for their extensive collection of retrogaming interest groups to choose from.