Giga Wing 2 is that kinda of shmup out there that exudes 2000s energy. From it's models being a mix of 3D and 2D to it's immense arcade feel as the game merciless takes advantage of your lack of knowledge of it's bullet patterns. Not only is the game immensely difficult to go up against, but it also has this wonderful pick up and play style that feels incredibly rewarding. Mix that with a killer soundtrack that gets the blood pumping, and Giga Wing 2 might just take your heart along with your quarters.
Like, it's not exactly that I need a gimmick to fall in love with a shmup game, honestly, I don't know what makes me love a shmup game more than another currently, but I do know I would like to play Giga Wing 2 again. This is almost entirely due to it's way of playing over any aesthetic vibes it has, which mind, those help a lot, but not why im fever-ing to come back. No, entirely what separates my mind with Giga Wing 2 is the reflect shield it has going for it. While most bullet hells are all about dodging and weaving, Giga Wing 2 decided that it give you a button that does the opposite. In comes the reflect laser ability that when pressed lets you absorb a certain amount of bullets / enemy fire as you reach your limit and unleash it right back at them. There is something incredibly intoxicating by being on the brink of death with bullets flying everywhere and overloading your mind to turning that carnage of death to a harbinger for yourself. While the game also has standard use of power ups and bombs are your disposable largely the way Giga Wing 2 is set up is to have too many bullets to consistently dodge fairly. Is it possible to dodge everything? I'm not 100%, but I can tell the game rewards you greatly for reflecting at the right time. Plus whenever you do reflect a relatively good amount, the game hands out points like a jackpot from a slot machine which sets off an entirely different neuron in my head.
Can't say I cared much for the story or even understood it tho, whether that's due to sequelitis or from the game simply not being good with it's story telling is rough to say. Still it was rather melodramatic and held pretty well to the 2000s energy I was stating earlier. Thankfully, Giga Wing 2 is mostly it's gameplay. While there is a lot of neat character design and cool 3d Models mixed together in the wonderful backgrounds; it really just doesn't compete with making one real good reflect moment. Perhaps I got too overstimulated to really judge Giga Wing 2 properly, but that's kinda what I hope for in any given arcade run. If you happen to spot Giga Wing 2 or able to play it some how; I strongly suggest giving it a go. The game just clicks in a way that feels good, like a video game should.
Like, it's not exactly that I need a gimmick to fall in love with a shmup game, honestly, I don't know what makes me love a shmup game more than another currently, but I do know I would like to play Giga Wing 2 again. This is almost entirely due to it's way of playing over any aesthetic vibes it has, which mind, those help a lot, but not why im fever-ing to come back. No, entirely what separates my mind with Giga Wing 2 is the reflect shield it has going for it. While most bullet hells are all about dodging and weaving, Giga Wing 2 decided that it give you a button that does the opposite. In comes the reflect laser ability that when pressed lets you absorb a certain amount of bullets / enemy fire as you reach your limit and unleash it right back at them. There is something incredibly intoxicating by being on the brink of death with bullets flying everywhere and overloading your mind to turning that carnage of death to a harbinger for yourself. While the game also has standard use of power ups and bombs are your disposable largely the way Giga Wing 2 is set up is to have too many bullets to consistently dodge fairly. Is it possible to dodge everything? I'm not 100%, but I can tell the game rewards you greatly for reflecting at the right time. Plus whenever you do reflect a relatively good amount, the game hands out points like a jackpot from a slot machine which sets off an entirely different neuron in my head.
Can't say I cared much for the story or even understood it tho, whether that's due to sequelitis or from the game simply not being good with it's story telling is rough to say. Still it was rather melodramatic and held pretty well to the 2000s energy I was stating earlier. Thankfully, Giga Wing 2 is mostly it's gameplay. While there is a lot of neat character design and cool 3d Models mixed together in the wonderful backgrounds; it really just doesn't compete with making one real good reflect moment. Perhaps I got too overstimulated to really judge Giga Wing 2 properly, but that's kinda what I hope for in any given arcade run. If you happen to spot Giga Wing 2 or able to play it some how; I strongly suggest giving it a go. The game just clicks in a way that feels good, like a video game should.
Really exhibits a lot of that NAOMI roughness when it comes to the visuals but man denying all those bullets is just too much fun
i'd consider this better than GW1 if the 3D models didn't have a big effect on overall visual clarity
Liked it a lot, takes the elements from the first game and does it better! Again, Toume Kei's art for this game is very great, with a lot cool looking characters designs.
Kidney failure bullet patterns.