The key to succeeding is prioritizing one side of the screen and clearing out as much space as possible. If you try to dodge too much your damage will be too spread out and enemies will overwhelm you. The special is also extremely important as it destroys bullets. Made it to level 4 on normal so far. I'm not happy with the special and bomb activation controls. There should be multitouch for activating those abilities. Tap with a second finger to activate special and a different gesture or larger hotspot for the bomb would be nice. Basically I don't want to lift my primary finger at any point.
Ya but bulletin hell games are about dodging bullets, that's the point of the game. Not to bomb, special, die, repeat, your way through impossible to dodge walls of bullets. The beauty in good bullet hell is the ebb and flow. The constant swaying of your ship, weaving paths through enemy fire while killing them. I feel like this game is missing that. It's more about powering through, there's no elegant way past the incoming walls of enemy fire. This isn't a bad game by any stetch, it's still fun and the music and style are a big bonus. I just feel like the level design is off and not up there with the best in genre.
It is very hard to avoid bullets and catch the power ups. But as stated above, I find myself getting better each play. I also don't really like "bullet hell" games but this is so awesome. Anyone know how many levels there are?
Still a fun game, I would buy again. There aren't many "great" shumps to begin with, let alone on iOS. This game takes a shot at the genre and succeeds in my opinion, I just don't know if it'll end being a classic.
Though i'm far, far of knowing all the the pattern (mind you, i'm playing still on easy!), i had the same initial thoughts. Missing an individual stage option, too. Overall, an easy recommendation for all shooter fans.
Yeah, I feel that at times too. The other thing is that, despite the feeling that you're supposed to power through, I feel a bit underpowered most of the time due to the fact that your lose a powerup when hit. This makes you very reliant on your secondary weapon, which in turn makes the enemies feel like bullet sponges when you're waiting for your secondary to recharge... especially in the case of the bosses. Don't get me wrong... I'm loving the game. It was worth the price and is going to be a permanent fixture on my device. But I do kind of wonder what it might have been like if you didn't lose a power-up every time you take a hit. Or alternatively, if they'd done away with the 3 energy bars per life system and instead gone for a standard 3 lives and made the enemies a little easier to kill. Btw, I really like the fact that you get a couple of seconds of invincibility after collecting a power/bonus. Lets you dart in an and grab it and then get the hell out of there. Also, has anyone else found that it doesn't save your game? The instructions say it will auto save after level 2, but for me the 'Continue...' option on the main menu is always locked.
ok, starting to get better at holding onto those precious powerups now. man, what a beautifully made game... like a love letter to Raizing. I agree with sapphire_neo though that it would be great if you could activate the special weapon with a second finger touch. (oops. can u believe i only just realised that the skulls up the top show your bomb stock, so you don't have to look at the bomb button? derp!)
Meh As a lifelong "bullet-hell" fan, I cant say this game is doing much for me. Feels and plays like a fairly standard SHUMP without any of the bells and whistles one typically finds, i.e., grazing, intricate and varied scoring system, bullet canceling, etc. Nice, fast graphics, a lot to like, but ultimately it just feels hollow when compared to Cave or others.
I kind of agree now that I've played it more. The presentation and execution of the game are excellent: great retro style, beautiful graphics and fast steady framerate, quick load times, great sounds, excellent touch controls (with the exception of the bomb button location not being configurable), and no bugs that I've encountered. In these ways it almost lives up to the Cave games: provide more difficulty settings and control and screen layout options and I'd say it would measure up to the Cave games technically. However the gameplay is definitely not as engaging. Personally I've never gotten very into the complex scoring systems of bullet hell shooters, but I what I really appreciate about the best of them are the mesmerizing bullet and enemy patterns and special abilities. In those games, the biggest challenge is quickly comprehending the complex bullet patterns you're seeing and spotting a way through them. In this game, while there are occasionally some interesting patterns, I feel like a lot of the time the main challenge is just having fast enough reaction times, and being able to distinguish bullets from all the other clutter on the screen. In short, this game is a high quality piece of software, and has a ton of cool style. However it's missing the mesmerizing and mind-bending level and bullet pattern design of the best bullet hell shooters.
I like to think of the game as a regular shmup, with bullet hell influences...and a superb one at that. Also, it's the perfect gateway shmup to get into the genre. Regarding the difficulty, you do get better at it with each round you play. Then first time I played the game I could barely get to the second boss on easy with one life left. Now I'm able to the 4th level with relative ease, only to get my ass handed to me in that level. Oh, and Josh...you know your music. The second level track is potentially legendary in status. Brilliant stuff.
Y U DU DIIIIIS. Now you know I'm gonna have to ask if you a release date in mind. Just over 280. Surprising really. I was expecting it to bloat up.
I insta-bought too... when I got around to it. Needs an option to have the bomb button at the bottom left. I move with my right hand. The suggested second-finger touch for the special attack would be good too (as long as it doesn't interfere with pressing the bomb button at the same time as moving...) Or maybe an option for one thing on second-finger touch and the other on double-tap. Something. I can't bomb without stopping and possibly getting hit.
