Bullet Heaven

[@SPM_STG]

I learnt today that the max power level is not time-based but ammo-based, which encourages you to use charged shots and don't hold autofire the whole time in order not to run out of ammo too soon, and also time when to pick up a new power-up (usually as late as possible unless you know another one is coming). That way you're powerful more time AND keep getting 2k bonus points from power-ups. An interesting mechanic that has grown on me in this game and Gunbird. I didn't really like these two games before ^^

[@StudioMudprints]

Huh, that's very interesting. I wonder if that's also a feature in Sonic Wings?

[@PalisadeGaming]

I really appreciate all you guys do, I put these vids on and it takes me away, sometimes to help me relax before sleep. Obviously you should have more subscribers but that would require more people are fan of shmups. Hopefully your channel will open eyes of the uninitiated. Thanks again

[@StudioMudprints]

we're doing alright since 5000. Our subscrivber base has been growing day by day, and we'll hit 6000 way, way sooner than we did from 4 to 5k. Getting the word out helps! Thanks for the kind words, and we're glad you enjoyed the show!

[@Crateix]

Phone notifies, I immediately click watch

[@StudioMudprints]

Dedication! We like that!

[@tkb301]

True

[@TheAlphaOmegaX3]

Thanks for the review. I will steer clear of this one.

[@StudioMudprints]

Unless you want a really frustrating challenge of course.

[@tkb301]

Definitely picking this up

[@StudioMudprints]

For $8, it's hard to argue.

[@raizer3959]

I was wondering why the 4 Elemental Ninjas are working with the side of evil?

[@Dekkuden]

love the game artstyle

[@StudioMudprints]

Strongest part of the game, really. The river level with all of the Bhuddas is pretty, uhm... Ace.

[@reagandow850]

More shoot em up goodness from the best team in the biz!!

[@lorddalek]

Yeah Sengoku Ace is pretty rough around the edges but that's kind of a thing with first attempts at shmups. I mean Tiger Heli, Donpachi, and GStream2020 are all lacking in the technical department but those companies made up for it.

[@StudioMudprints]

They sure did. It'd be something else entirely if all of Psikyo's games continued to have similar issues, but every subsequent attempt got better and refined the great aspects that carried over to this game from Aero Fighters... which, incidentally, were better games than Sengoku Ace.

[@TheCompletionist]

I think that is the best way to think when it comes to a game like this. Its far from perfect but more importantly it was a learning experience that Psikio used in order to make better games. I wonder if all these minor annoyances with regards to the game only existed for the switch version only and not the other versions of this game on the arcade and ps2. Despite its flaws, its still nice to have more old school arcade shoot'em ups from the 90's available digitally to play. I wonder if any other 90's shoot'em up games will make the transition to go digital as well because as far as I'm concerned a lot of people are loving the amount of shoot'em ups that have been digitally released for the switch.

[@StudioMudprints]

Well, Star Force was just released today, and it even has TATE mode built into it along with online caravan score attack. Love. So I could see many more happening. I'd love to see Capcom's stuff, like Carrier Airwing or Progear no Arashi. With regards to Psikyo in specific though, I'm hoping we'll see Gunbird 2 and Strikers 1945 III (aka. Stikers 1999). It's a giant stretch, but the original Zero Gunner and Cannon Spike (aka Gunspike) would be just amazing. I'm inclined to believe that the main issues are, in fact, not limited to the switch, especially the slow ship speed and crazy special weapon and bomber activation time. Input delay could be, but again, it's very, very, veeeeery slight. All other Psikyo games have been perfectly responsive, so there's that as well.

[@dbpooper7512]

I wonder what the publisher has planned for after it's exhausted the Psykio catalog. It would be awesome if they could score the rights to release Eighting/Raizing games for Switch.

[@StudioMudprints]

You're not the first person to say this in even the last six hours. We feel the same though; if Zerodiv got publishing rights from M2 for switch versions of Eighting and Raizing games for Switch - or if Degica brought games like Dariusburst or Cave's games over - the Switch would be an unrivaled shmup powerhouse. Side note: I've already eaten my words so hard about the Switch I've crapped both a dictionary and a thesaurus... but in the best way, really. A year ago, I genuinely couldn't have anticipated anywhere near so many shooters on Nintendo's latest!

[@dbpooper7512]

In fairness, I don't think any sane person would have expected these old shmups to end up on Switch At the very least, I hope we see a "Psykio Collection" as a physical release at some point.

[@davy_K]

I have the PS2 version of this which is quite a nice port with a practice mode, stage order select and a TATE mode (I play it on my rotated CRT). It's on PAL so I had to buy 2 discs to get this and Tengai - but at least there's a 60Hz/NTSC mode to use. The slow ship movement, slow special charge and fast bullet speed is annoying - but for some reason I keep playing. I love the design and look of it - and the wide differences between the different characters. Some of them have faster ship movement too which helps. Anyhow - splendid video - my favourite shmup review resource. :)

[@StudioMudprints]

We may yet get the Japanese Psykyo collections, but it's a pretty hard buy given that we have the switch collections as well. Still, it'd be neat to compare them if we run out of shmups to pick up on PS2.

[@davy_K]

@@StudioMudprints The Switch versions seem to be great value - the Pal PS2 equivalents got short runs and are expensive now - I certainly wouldn't pay their market price now!!!!

[@StudioMudprints]

@@davy_K I've noticed that a lot of budget PAL releases have exploded to completely unreasonable prices. I'll definitely stick to the Japanese releases.

[@GameBoyGuru]

I remember having fun with this one via MAME, despite my love/hate relationship with Psykio shmups. I’m a sucker, so I’ll probably still grab this one 😝

[@StudioMudprints]

I love playing them but I really suck at them in general. The Strikers 1945 series is more my speed.

[@GameBoyGuru]

Studio Mudprints Yeah, I’m in the same boat. I’m pretty terrible at Psykio shmups, but as frustrating as I sometimes find them, I still go back for more punishment 😝

[@ajpiskel]

Great review as always! Definitely a good title for it's historical significance, but I totally agree on a lot of those little issues all compounding to becoming a much bigger problem overall. It's so amazing that the Switch of all things is becoming such a great platform for new and old shooters alike.

[@StudioMudprints]

Glad you enjoyed this episode! I used to be so sarcastic about getting a switch when there was enough shooters for it. Words eaten. They're bitter, but what can you do?

[@ajpiskel]

I'm sure the bitter taste didn't last too long with such a large helping of sweet shmup action to wash it down. Looking forward to your next review!

[@MrPhisch]

i dont watch every video you guys put out and i often dont watch the full 15 minutes or so. But you are lowkey one of the best niche gaming channels on youtube and i really appreciate what you're doing and the consistent quality you deliver.

[@culturalrebel]

The chances of you doing an actual review on this are next to nothing, but do you guys do novelty games in streams? Because I just recently found out someone made a shoot-em-up in the Doom engine, or at least in the GZDoom source port. It's called GZShmup.

[@StudioMudprints]

It's probably worth a look at least! A stream for those kinds of games might be a good idea at some point.

[@alexramos2568]

Can you guys play this games with the original controller or you use arcade stick?

[@PonderingGhost]

All I have to say is, "Damn"

[@StudioMudprints]

Pondering Ghost we really want to play Sengoku Blade. It's very different, but looks like a lot of fun.

[@sfbsfb]

Studio Mudprints I’ve plowed many hours into Sengoku Blade on the Saturn. Great game, one of the few Psikyo horizontals. (Maybe the only one?). Would be such a great fit for the Switch. FWIW, the emulation of the arcade version seems fine to me, so you can check it out that way.

[@StudioMudprints]

sfbsfb Xnauts also did Sengoku Cannon for PSP which sort of counts since they absorbed Psikyo. But then, it only sort of counts, heh Also, just a quick heads-up: this is a no-emulation zone, barring commercial ports like this.

[@jeffroberts9693]

Your review was spot on to my issues with the game! The ship speed makes me the most annoyed. Originally I thought I was just sucking ass at the game but good to hear its not just me. I do enjoy the game to a degree but its far from being as good as even the first Strikers game. Graphics are nice but the music is not very fitting imo. I do look forward the sequel to this one and hope it fairs better. Thanks for the review!

[@bonggzilla]

Infinos gaiden You need to do a review of that steam game Pleèeaae

[@StudioMudprints]

We might... but we got news of another version that we are more keen to cover =)

[@PapaBruno]

Another great review. Unlike Gunbird, this time I bit day-one. However, unlike Gunbird I enjoyed this title a lot less. The bizarre and extremely fast bullet patterns coupled with really slow ships lead to a lot of deaths. And the power-ups only bounce around the top half of the screen.

[@StudioMudprints]

That's actually a really good point. Getting those powerups was a freaking pain.

[@Blueflag04]

will you be streaming tomorrow?

[@StudioMudprints]

Yes, though changes may be coming. If it's not tomorrow, it's going to be Saturday.

[@personavisceration371]

If more old shmups come, I might definitely have to get a Switch. I'm holding out, but I don't think I can much longer...

[@StudioMudprints]

It's already worth it. Danmaku Unlimited 3 on March 13 might be one of the best reasons to break down and take the plunge!

[@personavisceration371]

It's more that I already have more games and systems than I will be able to play in a long time, though precious few shmups have been played or purchased in the past 10 years. I could really use some non-bullet hell type old school shmups, and this one sounds fun.

[@StudioMudprints]

Oh man, you don't need to tell me. If I spent a solid week on everything I haven't opened played or finished it would take over 20 years. Yep, did the math on that one f(0_0);;

[@goncaloferreira6696]

Don’t agree with your view on this one. Its on my top 3 Psikyo shooters. I agree that its not as polished as later titles but its a very cool game. BGM is not that bad, visually is pretty cool and sure bullet patterns are fast but you learn to anticipate. The Tie Fighter is pretty fast and powerfull... great review anyway. Looking forward to your opinion on Strikers 2.

[@StudioMudprints]

I couldn't possibly rank this in any Psikyo top-3 based solely on the fact that Gunbird 2, Strikers 1945 II and Zero Gunner 2 exist. But the best thing about our critical opinions is that they should never be yours, unless they happen to coincide with ours.

[@GuntPulp]

I knew you were gonna dog out the soundtrack- everybody is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn't make it a fact. Sometimes less is more and the traditional Japanese drums work well with this title.

[@StudioMudprints]

GuntPulp but two bars? Or no BGM at all? That's pure laziness. And that IS a fact. If I pulled that on even just a Flash game, I literally wouldn't be hired for work again.