PKMudkipz
2015
this shit was so bad that it died almost instantly
2015
this shit is fucking trash dog, get the fuck off the appstore
2004
Played the first two zones (and an act of the third) and resolved myself never to touch this shit again. People weren't lying when they said the game was filled to the brim with bullshit enemy and obstacle placement. Even ignoring that, the game just wasn't fun to play, period.
2004
Easily one of my favorite shmups. Mechanically, it's fairly simple as far as shmups go; you shoot down enemies while avoiding fire. You got focused shooting and movements, bombs, etc. But there's something different about Mushihimesama that makes it so fun to play, I can't explain it. Weaving through dense bullet patterns while mowing down wave after wave of enemies feels so satisfying.
The soundtrack is great too. My personal favorite mode was Original 1.5 MAX, mostly because of the exclusive gameplay mechanics, but also because it's got the best arrangements of each song. Hearing "Like a Night of Falling Stars" for the first time is not a feeling I'll forget anytime soon. I also want to mention the aesthetic. The whole bug and nature theme it has is really unique, and cool too. Mushi is such a great game in every department.
FUCK Stage 3 though.
The soundtrack is great too. My personal favorite mode was Original 1.5 MAX, mostly because of the exclusive gameplay mechanics, but also because it's got the best arrangements of each song. Hearing "Like a Night of Falling Stars" for the first time is not a feeling I'll forget anytime soon. I also want to mention the aesthetic. The whole bug and nature theme it has is really unique, and cool too. Mushi is such a great game in every department.
FUCK Stage 3 though.
2007
played da multiplayer wif my friends a few tiem
2018
In every single way, shape, and form, this game is amazing. Ten years in development to create a genuine masterpiece.
Do NOT read further unless you've beaten ZeroRanger yourself.
As a shoot 'em up, it's got every core value you could ask for: it's satisfying, and almost addicting to shoot down enemies in various situations, whilst trying to keep that multiplier up for an ever increasing score. Different ships and weapon choices allow for a lot of customization. Stages never overstay their welcome, keeping you engaged all throughout, mixing it up often. Bosses are fast-paced fights with varied patterns as well.
Like any good shmup, ZeroRanger has a phenomenal OST too. There isn't a single song in the entire OST that I didn't like. Was it Greenish?, The Sea has Returned, Despair, Bossay, 4th Gear, Final B'ex, Sky XXX Days, Despair, Unstopping, and Descent At Last are among my favorites. And the game looks great too. Who knew a game composed solely of various shades of green and orange could look so good.
But it doesn't end there.
Once you get the sword/drill power-up, the game releases its COOL limiters, and it just gets progressively more and more insane from there, culminating in a face-off against a computer that sends you across the fucking space-time continuum for the remixed 2nd loop. Every boss reveal, every remixed track, and every new music track just gets crazier and crazier. All culminating in the Radiant Silvergun-esque finale, with the orgasmic Sacred Defender playing, and the fate of the world (and your entire fucking save file) on the line. And believe me. It's a lot of pressure. But this whole game is a once in a lifetime experience. Even though I lost my save file THREE TIMES on the path to enlightenment, it felt amazing. Playing through the entire game every time, building up continues, just to give the TLB another try, I've never felt anything like it.
And then on my fourth try, I finally did it. And what did I get? An alternate timeline without Green Orange, AND without the entire color green. So you go on one last ride, to defeat the Great Oppressor. And this time, your mission is successful.
God, what a truly fantastic game. I have never, and most likely will never, play a game quite like this.
Do NOT read further unless you've beaten ZeroRanger yourself.
As a shoot 'em up, it's got every core value you could ask for: it's satisfying, and almost addicting to shoot down enemies in various situations, whilst trying to keep that multiplier up for an ever increasing score. Different ships and weapon choices allow for a lot of customization. Stages never overstay their welcome, keeping you engaged all throughout, mixing it up often. Bosses are fast-paced fights with varied patterns as well.
Like any good shmup, ZeroRanger has a phenomenal OST too. There isn't a single song in the entire OST that I didn't like. Was it Greenish?, The Sea has Returned, Despair, Bossay, 4th Gear, Final B'ex, Sky XXX Days, Despair, Unstopping, and Descent At Last are among my favorites. And the game looks great too. Who knew a game composed solely of various shades of green and orange could look so good.
But it doesn't end there.
Once you get the sword/drill power-up, the game releases its COOL limiters, and it just gets progressively more and more insane from there, culminating in a face-off against a computer that sends you across the fucking space-time continuum for the remixed 2nd loop. Every boss reveal, every remixed track, and every new music track just gets crazier and crazier. All culminating in the Radiant Silvergun-esque finale, with the orgasmic Sacred Defender playing, and the fate of the world (and your entire fucking save file) on the line. And believe me. It's a lot of pressure. But this whole game is a once in a lifetime experience. Even though I lost my save file THREE TIMES on the path to enlightenment, it felt amazing. Playing through the entire game every time, building up continues, just to give the TLB another try, I've never felt anything like it.
And then on my fourth try, I finally did it. And what did I get? An alternate timeline without Green Orange, AND without the entire color green. So you go on one last ride, to defeat the Great Oppressor. And this time, your mission is successful.
God, what a truly fantastic game. I have never, and most likely will never, play a game quite like this.
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume is a pretty good SRPG, even if it's rocking a budget of about $30 of Costco store credit.
The story was good in my opinion. The concept is incredibly cool, but the execution could have been stronger, especially when compared to that of Valkyrie Profile 1 and 2. The game follows Wyl's quest for revenge against the Valkyrie, who he blames for the death of his father and subsequent destruction of his family. His journey for vengeance (aided by the Goddess of Niflheim, Hel) is set against the backdrop of political turmoil and a brewing major war in the world of Midgard, which to me was reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, and I'm a big fan of FFT. Speaking of FFT, the dialogue also incorporated more of a "ye olde English" style, which was cool.
Wylfred also carries the Destiny Plume, an extremely important item gifted to him by Hel, which allows him to sacrifice his allies. In addition to its effects in gameplay, it also has a large impact on the plot and Wyl's fate. I thought this was pretty damn cool. Unfortunately, similar to FFT (and VP1, for that matter), the possibility of losing allies permanently severely limits any possible story relevance, development, and even dialogue they can have. At the very least, Wyl himself appreciably develops and grows throughout the game, affected by how many times you invoke the Destiny Plume. If you use it enough, Wyl's voice lines in battle even change and become a lot more savage. You'll have to play through the game three times to experience the entire story, but playthroughs are short (I got all three endings in 25 hours), and each path is very different from each (both in allies and story content), so it's a painless process.
The combat, on the other hand, was surprisingly a lot of fun. It's pretty much what you'd expect if you crossed Valkyrie Profile and Disgaea's gameplay systems. It's mostly standard SRPG gameplay; ally and enemy teams take turns moving about a grid, attacking, using items and moves, etc. It gets pretty unique when you actually engage an enemy, as nearby allies can also attack and combo enemies, à la Valkyrie Profile. You can juggle enemies for crystals, knock them down for combo extending gems, and charge the Soul Crush gauge, etc. Positioning matters to an extent as well, as certain formations result in "sieges" that will boost your attack and provide other benefits.
As per your contract will Hel, you also have a Sin gauge to fill up during battles. The more you overkill enemies, the more Sin you gain after defeating an enemy. If you meet the target Sin that Hel wants, you get rewards, and the quality of the rewards increase if you go way over her goal. If you fail to meet the goal, she'll send extremely tough Realmstalkers into your next battle. In addition, you also have access to the Destiny Plume. Using the Plume allows you to sacrifice an ally, which greatly boosting their parameters for the duration of that battle and activates a game changing tactic (ranging from paralyzing every enemy to making yourself immune to physical damage). Wyl will permanently gain access to a slightly weaker version of the tactic, too. Of course, that ally will permanently die after the battle, and you'll incur other story penalties the more you use it. I never really got tired of the combat throughout the entire game, even after two NG+ playthroughs and the Seraphic Gate, so it's great in my book.
CotP features a fairly good OST too. It consists of about 50% all new tracks, and 50% remixes of music from Valkyrie Profile 1, all by Motoi Sakuraba. The music is all well and good, but it suffers a bit thanks to the DS' weak soundchip. There's nothing that'll make you want to turn the volume down, though. I'd recommend listening to Sakuraba's CotP arrange album after playing the game, too. There were some real bangers in there.
All things considered, Covenant of the Plume is a great game. While it's definitely not as good as VP1 or 2, it's absolutely worth playing if you're a fan of the series. Can't wait for Valkyrie Profile 3: Hrist to come out though :)
The story was good in my opinion. The concept is incredibly cool, but the execution could have been stronger, especially when compared to that of Valkyrie Profile 1 and 2. The game follows Wyl's quest for revenge against the Valkyrie, who he blames for the death of his father and subsequent destruction of his family. His journey for vengeance (aided by the Goddess of Niflheim, Hel) is set against the backdrop of political turmoil and a brewing major war in the world of Midgard, which to me was reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, and I'm a big fan of FFT. Speaking of FFT, the dialogue also incorporated more of a "ye olde English" style, which was cool.
Wylfred also carries the Destiny Plume, an extremely important item gifted to him by Hel, which allows him to sacrifice his allies. In addition to its effects in gameplay, it also has a large impact on the plot and Wyl's fate. I thought this was pretty damn cool. Unfortunately, similar to FFT (and VP1, for that matter), the possibility of losing allies permanently severely limits any possible story relevance, development, and even dialogue they can have. At the very least, Wyl himself appreciably develops and grows throughout the game, affected by how many times you invoke the Destiny Plume. If you use it enough, Wyl's voice lines in battle even change and become a lot more savage. You'll have to play through the game three times to experience the entire story, but playthroughs are short (I got all three endings in 25 hours), and each path is very different from each (both in allies and story content), so it's a painless process.
The combat, on the other hand, was surprisingly a lot of fun. It's pretty much what you'd expect if you crossed Valkyrie Profile and Disgaea's gameplay systems. It's mostly standard SRPG gameplay; ally and enemy teams take turns moving about a grid, attacking, using items and moves, etc. It gets pretty unique when you actually engage an enemy, as nearby allies can also attack and combo enemies, à la Valkyrie Profile. You can juggle enemies for crystals, knock them down for combo extending gems, and charge the Soul Crush gauge, etc. Positioning matters to an extent as well, as certain formations result in "sieges" that will boost your attack and provide other benefits.
As per your contract will Hel, you also have a Sin gauge to fill up during battles. The more you overkill enemies, the more Sin you gain after defeating an enemy. If you meet the target Sin that Hel wants, you get rewards, and the quality of the rewards increase if you go way over her goal. If you fail to meet the goal, she'll send extremely tough Realmstalkers into your next battle. In addition, you also have access to the Destiny Plume. Using the Plume allows you to sacrifice an ally, which greatly boosting their parameters for the duration of that battle and activates a game changing tactic (ranging from paralyzing every enemy to making yourself immune to physical damage). Wyl will permanently gain access to a slightly weaker version of the tactic, too. Of course, that ally will permanently die after the battle, and you'll incur other story penalties the more you use it. I never really got tired of the combat throughout the entire game, even after two NG+ playthroughs and the Seraphic Gate, so it's great in my book.
CotP features a fairly good OST too. It consists of about 50% all new tracks, and 50% remixes of music from Valkyrie Profile 1, all by Motoi Sakuraba. The music is all well and good, but it suffers a bit thanks to the DS' weak soundchip. There's nothing that'll make you want to turn the volume down, though. I'd recommend listening to Sakuraba's CotP arrange album after playing the game, too. There were some real bangers in there.
All things considered, Covenant of the Plume is a great game. While it's definitely not as good as VP1 or 2, it's absolutely worth playing if you're a fan of the series. Can't wait for Valkyrie Profile 3: Hrist to come out though :)
2014
Mechanically it's a good shmup, with a wide variety of playable characters and an even larger variety of magic attacks that you can mix and match to best suit your survival and scoring needs. The real strength in the game, though, really lies in the artwork. Yasuda is such a GOATed character designer man, a lesser artist wouldn't have been able to compel me to play better to blow off the women's clothes with Guilt Breaks.
2000
Now THIS is a real man's rail shooter. Not only is it fun as shit, it's also cool as shit (They're crying Brad's name!), and the music goes hard as FUCK. Game Over'd on Stage 2-3 because I was too busy fucking GROOVING
1991
Behold, the first good game on the Game Gear. Don't let its platform fool you, it's a legitimately fun game, especially on Special (Hard) mode.
1993
Behold, the second good game on the Game Gear. Just like its predecessor, it's a pretty fun shmup. This time around, it looks even better, and you have bombs and a rechargeable shield now. You can also choose which weapon you want to start with, but there's not as much weapon variety as before.
2002
Damn, I had to add this game to IGDB myself. So yeah, to the two other Backloggd users in the universe that have played this game, you're welcome.
VERY cool game to try out, ESPECIALLY if you enjoyed Hellsinker, as this game was made by the same developer before it. As it turns out, there are a ton of stuff in this game that carried over to Hellsinker. Atypical weapons, enemy types and attacks, SOL/LUNA/STELLA, branching level paths, and even some of the music, among other things.
But holy goddamn, don't expect to beat this shit anytime soon. Tonnyori must've been out of his fucking mind back then because it's ten times harder than Hellsinker ever was. You've got a 2x2 hitbox and a rechargeable shield, and you better utilize that and every other tool available to you because the game will NOT relent. The game bends you over and prepares the punishment as early as Stage 1, jesus christ. But it's so much fucking fun, even if I can't actually beat the game. I was able to get past the first phase of the final boss on one credit though, and I'm really proud of that.
EDIT: For anyone else having difficulty running the game, make sure to switch your computer's locale to JP (or use the Locale emulator) before you run the game, and download the d3drm.dll file and put it in the same directory as the .exe.
VERY cool game to try out, ESPECIALLY if you enjoyed Hellsinker, as this game was made by the same developer before it. As it turns out, there are a ton of stuff in this game that carried over to Hellsinker. Atypical weapons, enemy types and attacks, SOL/LUNA/STELLA, branching level paths, and even some of the music, among other things.
But holy goddamn, don't expect to beat this shit anytime soon. Tonnyori must've been out of his fucking mind back then because it's ten times harder than Hellsinker ever was. You've got a 2x2 hitbox and a rechargeable shield, and you better utilize that and every other tool available to you because the game will NOT relent. The game bends you over and prepares the punishment as early as Stage 1, jesus christ. But it's so much fucking fun, even if I can't actually beat the game. I was able to get past the first phase of the final boss on one credit though, and I'm really proud of that.
EDIT: For anyone else having difficulty running the game, make sure to switch your computer's locale to JP (or use the Locale emulator) before you run the game, and download the d3drm.dll file and put it in the same directory as the .exe.
Came for the gameplay, stayed for the writing (and the gameplay). It’s a fun game, in more ways than you’d think. I fucked with the post-game too for a little bit, and that was pretty cool too. Sometimes you just really wanna see da big number go up. I would recommend if you’re a fan of SRPGs.
I like this! The cyberpunk aesthetic was cool, and it’s neat that it doesn’t even feel super dated, despite playing it this year. The story is just serviceable, almost serving as mere context to your gameplay, but I was engaged in it regardless. Speaking of the gameplay, it was a lot of fun. Combat is fast as fuck, and I enjoyed messing around with demon and sword fusion. I would recommend the game to any SMT fan. I’m thinking about finishing the post-game and the extra game too.
2014
It’s fun