I wish I’d been as into shmups in 1997 as I am today, because playing G-Darius when it was brand new must have been absolutely mind-blowing. Even as I play it for the first time in 2021, in the form of a fairly rudimentary HD remaster on a little handheld …
Overnight, NIS America unveiled the next game from World’s End Club and Death Come True developer Izanagi Games, and it sounds captivating: a mash-up of bullet hell shmup and Zero Escape-style escape adventure called Yurukill: The Calumniation Games. Set in a hellish amusement park, Yurukill sees convicted thrown into a …
Alfa Team’s classic shoot-’em-up Castle of Shikigami 2 is making its way to Nintendo Switch and Steam this December, with two new game modes and a new English translation, thanks to Degica Games. Originally released for arcade in 2003, Castle of Shikigami 2 is a dark fantasy shmup set in …
There’s more Cotton on the way! As part of the series’ 30th anniversary celebrations—and following the success of the excellent Cotton Reboot! earlier this year—four classic cute-’em-ups, only released in Japan to date, will make their international debut: Cotton 100%, Panorama Cotton, Cotton 2, and Cotton Boomerang: Magical Night Dreams. …
Cotton isn’t exactly a household name, and that’s a damn shame. “Cute-’em-ups” are a delight, with their blend of super-cute presentation and classic shooter action, and 1991’s Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams and its handful of sequels more than earned their place alongside the TwinBees and Fantasy Zones of the world. …
Often when someone opts to make a retro-styled shoot-’em-up, there’s a deliberate choice to carry that inspiration through all aspects of the design. An old-school aesthetic comes with game systems that overtly channel those of yesterday’s classics, and the technical constraints they were built within. There’s plenty of appeal in …
Xbox One players will soon be able to enjoy the bullet hell action of Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire, with a release planned for this Friday, July 10. Developed by Alfa System, Sisters Royale is described as a spiritual successor to the Castle of Shikigami series. Sisters Royale, like …
Good news for shoot-’em-up fans! Darius Cozmic Collection is finally getting a Western release on June 16, bringing Taito’s classic side-scrolling shmups to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The Darius series is known for its branching level structure, multiple endings, and creative enemy designs. The first couple of games are …
Orange Juice’s bullet hell shoot-’em-up Flying Red Barrel – The Diary of a Little Aviator is finally coming to Steam and in a remastered form on June 19, publisher Fruitbat Factory announced today. Flying Red Barrel takes place in an world where planes have only recently been invented. Outlaws and …
Nintendo Switch will soon get another classic shoot-’em-up to add to its library, with SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC set for release in the West on May 28 (May 29 in New Zealand). First released in December 1990, Thunder Force AC was an arcade port of Thunder Force III for …
