An expanded game of Batsugun
A second edition, titled Batsugun Special Version, was showcased to attendees at the 1994 AOU Show in Japan but it was never officially released in arcades, as Toaplan slid into bankruptcy and this special version appeared on the secondary video game collecting market after the company vanished. The special version featured a number of changes compared to the original version including a much smaller hitbox, a shield protecting the player from one hit, more powerful bombs, new scoring items, and the addition of multiple loops of increasing difficulty after completing the initial loop, among other changes.
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Great game! The special version is way more forgiving than the normal one.
Got my 1CC!
Got my 1CC!
(Finished on Normal mode with Type-B and 5 credits hahaha...) For what is considered the first proper bullet hell shooting game, Batsugun is an adrenaline-pumping experience that I would want to master in the future. I struggled with the original version, so I tried this one instead and I can say that I will hopefully complete Batsugun with my skills learnt here. It's short enough where I feel encouraged to do it, I just need a LOT of practice moving forward.
Special Version's one-bullet shield and easy-mode first loop turn Batsugun into an excellent introduction to bullet hells as a whole, without compromising its identity as a blood-pumping Toaplan shooter. I love the bomb animation in this one.
(Trying to circle back around to games I played when I was just getting into shmups, now that I've got a couple years of experience with the genre under my belt.)
The original Batsugun was my second or third shmup ever, and I liked it well enough as a credit-feeding newb -- but playing the Special Version on the Saturn (which adds loops, a shield mechanic, smaller hitbox, easier difficulty in loop one, etc.), now that I can confidently handle what it throws at me, is a joy. This is a beautifully pure shooting game--one I would recommend to anyone curious to dip into the genre but not wanting to tackle the memo-heavy dad-games of the 80s or the intimidating bullet-hells of the late 90s and early aughts. It occupies the middle-ground right between them, a hugely-important fulcrum in the over-40-year history of STGs.
The spritework is beautiful here, and the color palette has been hyper-saturated in comparison to the original version (a change I, personally, love). The scoring is simple but engaging (find the pigs and hover near them, and pick up the big golden arrows!). The firepower on display is some of the best in any shmup, with each ship, once leveled up, boasting its own unique screen-filling barrage of colorful, flashing death. It's all ultra-captivating, immediate, streamlined.
The massive amount of your own bullets/lazers/lightning onscreen does, on occasion, make it difficult to see what the hell else is going on, so it loses some points there... and the music just isn't all that great. But those are my only negatives.
I will 4-ALL this game, but since I just spent so long on Espgaluda II my plan is to jump around a little bit over the next couple of months. Once I get back to clearing it in its entirety, I'll add any updated thoughts.
The original Batsugun was my second or third shmup ever, and I liked it well enough as a credit-feeding newb -- but playing the Special Version on the Saturn (which adds loops, a shield mechanic, smaller hitbox, easier difficulty in loop one, etc.), now that I can confidently handle what it throws at me, is a joy. This is a beautifully pure shooting game--one I would recommend to anyone curious to dip into the genre but not wanting to tackle the memo-heavy dad-games of the 80s or the intimidating bullet-hells of the late 90s and early aughts. It occupies the middle-ground right between them, a hugely-important fulcrum in the over-40-year history of STGs.
The spritework is beautiful here, and the color palette has been hyper-saturated in comparison to the original version (a change I, personally, love). The scoring is simple but engaging (find the pigs and hover near them, and pick up the big golden arrows!). The firepower on display is some of the best in any shmup, with each ship, once leveled up, boasting its own unique screen-filling barrage of colorful, flashing death. It's all ultra-captivating, immediate, streamlined.
The massive amount of your own bullets/lazers/lightning onscreen does, on occasion, make it difficult to see what the hell else is going on, so it loses some points there... and the music just isn't all that great. But those are my only negatives.
I will 4-ALL this game, but since I just spent so long on Espgaluda II my plan is to jump around a little bit over the next couple of months. Once I get back to clearing it in its entirety, I'll add any updated thoughts.
Believe it or not, the gunners are based on the characters from Breakfast Club.