Originally I was just going to play for a little bit to test out the Retro-Bit Saturn controller I got for my Mister (verdict: seems good, dpad's a little spongey but suspect it'll break in, buttons feel great, cable's about a metre too long) and before I knew it I was done. Nice cooldown from another session on Nioh 2!
Since this is the Japanese version I knew it'd be easier but didn't realise how much so; the game's got practically no challenge at all up until maybe the stage 5 boss. It starts to turn the screws a little bit by stage 7 but that's the end of the game! Still didn't manage to beat the final boss in time fo the best ending but it still counts. Coming from SOR4 I was surprised to find how much it ends up expecting you to actually use your dodge up and down; in 4 just walking at normal speed up or down dodges a significant amount of even tracking enemy moves. The star moves are kind of game breaking too and having a 6 button controller lets you fire them off at will (albeit with a fiddly, Primal Rage-esque pad combo). It basically gives you control over most of the screen for most enemies.
Overall it does feel a bit half-baked; the game feels like it lacks consistency at times, and sound effects are noticeably worse and there are only 7 stages, one of which basically being three corridors with a few single-screen rooms branching off.
One note on the soundtrack - I think time's been kind to a lot of it and it definitely grows on you with some neat, complex tracks but there are still some dreadful tracks on there. The one for the ending in particular reminded me of the infamous Resident Evil Basement track, just random notes without the more progressive sounds other tracks have. Some really long tracks in there for a game like this too - there are multiple ones where it has one more bridge section or even more before looping. Cool to listen to when it's working.
Since this is the Japanese version I knew it'd be easier but didn't realise how much so; the game's got practically no challenge at all up until maybe the stage 5 boss. It starts to turn the screws a little bit by stage 7 but that's the end of the game! Still didn't manage to beat the final boss in time fo the best ending but it still counts. Coming from SOR4 I was surprised to find how much it ends up expecting you to actually use your dodge up and down; in 4 just walking at normal speed up or down dodges a significant amount of even tracking enemy moves. The star moves are kind of game breaking too and having a 6 button controller lets you fire them off at will (albeit with a fiddly, Primal Rage-esque pad combo). It basically gives you control over most of the screen for most enemies.
Overall it does feel a bit half-baked; the game feels like it lacks consistency at times, and sound effects are noticeably worse and there are only 7 stages, one of which basically being three corridors with a few single-screen rooms branching off.
One note on the soundtrack - I think time's been kind to a lot of it and it definitely grows on you with some neat, complex tracks but there are still some dreadful tracks on there. The one for the ending in particular reminded me of the infamous Resident Evil Basement track, just random notes without the more progressive sounds other tracks have. Some really long tracks in there for a game like this too - there are multiple ones where it has one more bridge section or even more before looping. Cool to listen to when it's working.