Mushihimesama Review | More shmup greatness from CAVE

Extra shmup greatness from CAVE

CAVE has an extended historical past of making top-notch shmups and their 2004 bug-themed basic is lastly out on Change so get able to shoot.

Presentation

Mushihimesama is sort of a putting shoot ’em up. For starters, it boasts a singular visible theme based mostly on forests and bugs and the whole lot seems to be completely gorgeous with a great deal of element and slick animations. You possibly can rotate the display screen 90° for tate mode and the remainder can be full of the wallpaper of your selection from a number of 12 or you may have them change routinely which I discovered just a little distracting. Anyway, on prime of the attractive artwork and flashy visuals, you will be handled to a wonderful upbeat soundtrack that makes the quirky world of Mushihimesama come to life. All of it comes collectively to type a pitch-perfect arcade taking pictures expertise that’ll have you ever hooked.

Gameplay

Enjoying Mushihimesama can be fairly intuitive for those who’ve ever performed a shmup earlier than as all you primarily do is management a woman named Reco on a beetle generally known as Kiniro whereas weaving by projectiles and blasting a strong array of weaponry in addition to deploying the odd bomb everytime you’re in a pinch. If you would like to maneuver with precision, you may maintain a button down which slows Reco and Kiniro in addition to materializes their hitbox which may be very useful. For some added complexity, you may choose from 3 shot sorts when beginning a brand new recreation and there are in-game power-ups that may alter your firepower even additional. Throw in a bunch of satellite tv for pc choices that may have a few completely different formations and also you’re taking a look at a well-rounded arsenal. Fortunately, the whole lot controls super-tight which makes working by the handful of phases a deal with, particularly if in case you have what it takes to get the true final boss to emerge.

Scoring

Like many basic shmups, Mushihimesama options some distinctive scoring mechanics corresponding to punishing you by reducing your multiplier for utilizing bombs or getting hit. There are additionally a great deal of gems that spawn from defeated enemies that may improve your rating considerably, particularly for those who can survive a complete stage with out biting the mud. Plus, for those who’re expert sufficient to problem the harder difficulties, there’s an extra layer to scoring the place you are rewarded by juggling enemies and timing your photographs; it will get difficult. All of this culminates within the on-line leaderboards which is superior however as of penning this, they’re sadly nonetheless not on-line but.

Mushihimesama isn’t a mere arcade port as a result of it accommodates some fairly cool additional content material. First, there are some nifty choices like button mapping, further home windows that may present your inputs and such, and varied show settings. The good function is that you may play 4 variations of the sport: Novice, Regular, Organize which alters a couple of points to make a barely distinctive expertise corresponding to the flexibility to vary your shot kind on the fly, and Ver 1.5 which appears like a much-improved iteration of the unique. Particularly, that model has a kickass soundtrack that is very energetic, a max energy mode, many organized in-game eventualities, and it incorporates a proximity scoring system which may make the gameplay way more intense if you wish to rating large. Throw in rating assault mode, coaching which comes with oodles of choices, and the flexibility to look at and obtain replays and also you’re left with a complete assortment of how to play.

Downsides

With all of that being mentioned, I want that Mushihimesama included extra modes corresponding to a listing of challenges and a gallery, particularly as a result of the artwork is so distinct and wonderful. Additionally, Change lacks a trophy / achievement system so having some synthetic type of that may have been nice. On a extra technical notice, there may be occasional slowdown when issues begin to get hectic and though it is not jarring, it was sufficient to make me fly into enemy bullets occasionally every time the pace picked up once more. Lastly, it isn’t an enormous deal however the entire enemy photographs in Mushihimesama are pink and so they come in several shapes to offer you a visible clue as to how they will fly. Nonetheless, I want that they had completely different colors as a result of observing nothing however clouds of pink projectiles will get a bit stale after some time.

I am stoked that Mushihimesama is in the end obtainable on console within the west because it’s one hell of an incredible shoot ’em up. This is hoping which means the superior sequel Mushihimesama Futari can be on its method to Change within the close to future!