If you are a fan of shoot em ups, then Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo is definitely a game that should be part of your gaming collection. Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo features six different games. Gamers that are familiar with these arcade hits will love to see this collection in one place, and those of you that are not familiar with these games are in for a treat.
The first set of games are Samurai Aces and Samurai Aces 3. Samurai Aces is the oldest game in the collection, dating back to 1993. It’s apparent why these games were well received in arcades, because they look and play great. And even after all these years, these games still look great and fantastic to play.
Gunbird and Gunbird 2 are also included in this collection. Originally released in 1994 and 1998 respectively, these games have a lot of personality around each of the characters. The graphics and gameplay aged well, and for someone that hasn’t played these games before, these games will surely delight those that are looking for a high score challenge or someone that is looking for games with character.
Probably the most well known of all the games is Tengai. Originally released in the arcades in 1996, Tengai is a horizontal, side scrolling shooter. You can choose between five different characters. While you can purchase Tengai on it’s own in the Nintendo eShop, it’s nice to see this game added to the collection.
In all the games that have been mentioned so far, the game play is very similar. You avoid being hit by a storm of bullets and get power ups and bombs along the way. These games are tough, and you are going to die a lot. Thankfully, for those that want to play these games for story, the games do include the ability to add unlimited continues and you can also increase the number of lives as well. Each game does allow you to change the difficulty in the beginning of the game play too.
The one game that I haven’t mentioned yet is Gunbarich, a spin off of the Gunbird series. This game was originally released in 2001 and plays a lot like Breakout. However, as you play through the game, you will encounter a boss at the end of each world. The inclusion of this game is the biggest surprise, and one of my favorite games in the collection.
If I had one complaint, it would be that I wish there was more of a mix of original games like Gunbarich. Shmups all play very similar, especially if you have a few games in the same series.
Overall Score: B+
This is a really great collection of games and if you are a fan of shmups, this game should be part of your collection; if you are a fan of the history of gaming, you should become familiar with these games. This is retro gaming at it’s finest.
The Tip and The Top:
The games included aged well and are still fun to play
Good collection of retro arcade games
Good to see Gunbarich included in the mix
The Flip and The Flop:
Wish there was more of a mix of different style shmups
Review copy provided by NIS America