Bit Generations: Orbital is a Game Boy Advance video game released exclusively in Japan as part of the second series of bit Generations titles. It is an innovative title that has the player consolidating a multitude of planets together in each stage to create on large rock. It was remade on WiiWare under the title of Art Style: ORBIENT, and was the first of at least three titles to be released in the Art Style series. Gameplay Before starting a stage the player will have to choose which galaxy he or she wishes to play within and then the stage. Following this your small star will shoot towards a large body with a varying amount of small stars orbiting it. The goal is to come in possession of those other stars in order to increase the size of the primary one. When ready, the player will shoot out of the orbit of a star and then be pulled into another one when he enters its range. If the player touches the star that the smaller ones are revolving around, then your star will blow up. With this said, it's suggested you constantly adjust the speed of your stara as not to rush into an orbit, ultimately causing it to crash. When one wishes to enter the orbit of a star, he'll have to press the A button, which is will "attract" your star towards it. If you don't want to enter it, then you'll have to press B, which will repel it. If the player wishes to change the position of the camera, then they can use the d-pad. When not in orbit around a star, you'll simply be floating. This is when you have to use a combination of the attract and repel buttons in order to change your direction. If you're going near a large star, then its orbit will effect the player more than a smaller one would, and you have more of a chance to start revolving around it. There are multiple obstacles in the game that are represented by the color red. Basically if it's red, you want to stay away from it. unfortunately using the repel or attract button will have no effect when you're next to an obstacle, though if a star is nearby and you're heading straight towards an obstacle, it's suggested that you get out of its way. Sometimes these hazards will even revolve around stars.
Reviews View More
A lot of the levels will force you to use these mechanics cleverly and create a bit of a game plan. This is especially true with the later ones, but some of the earlier stages also have moments where poorly executed maneuvers will get you ping-ponging your lives away. The invincibility window after getting hit is especially small, so it's best to be smart with your timing. The game also does not do the best job of indicating which star you're being influenced the most by, so at times it can be a bit of a struggle to know whether to push or pull away from your nearest star. Best rule of thumb is to note which stars are the largest and/or the closest to you, as these will have the greatest effect on your motion. I find this version of the game to be more frustrating than the Wii one for these aforementioned reasons, as that version got all of the QoL touches it needed to really shine. Though, I still find the game to be a treat since the premise of the game is very arcade-y and even has a rather in-depth scoring system for that on-the-go, replayable goodness.
Barring the rare bug in the gameplay, this game feels quite polished and has some really lovely visual touches. A few of these only appearing as infrequent easter eggs but most of them taking the form of the pretty backgrounds (complete with parallax scrolling). The game however wouldn't be what it is without Hiromichi Fujiwara's strange yet endearing soundtrack. I mentioned in my Dialhex review that the music in much of the series is almost too good for the GBA, and this game is one such example of that. All of the music and sound effects in the game are streamed directly off of the cartridge, much like what Sin & Punishment did on the N64. The result is an extremely compressed sound, even after being ripped from the data. Oddly enough though, this doesn't detract from any of the music at all. It's peaceful for the most part, but equally jarring at times for contrast (like the theme for the Final Galaxy or the second Ending). Thankfully, Fujiwara did upload a few of the original masters of these songs to his Soundcloud, so give them a listen there after you finish the game. He's also got uploads of his songs from Orbient, Dotstream, Boxlife, and Zengage on there as well if you scroll way down.
The original Orbital is a strange game, but that's indeed one of its strengths. Add to it that it's got some unique and quality gameplay, because you're gonna have some fun. All 40 stages can be beaten in a couple hours; might be faster if you've got the proper skills, as it's a tough challenge otherwise. And finally, don't forget you can only get to the final stages if you collect the crescent star in each stage (that's the moon-shaped one, if you bump into it you'll have to restart the stage to try again).
Bit Generations series reviews:
Dotstream⠀⠀⠀(Start)
Boundish⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Dialhex⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Coloris⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Orbital⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Digidrive⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Soundvoyager⠀⠀⠀ᐁ (End)