[オーダイン/Ordyne] JP ALL CLEAR (Auto-fire ON) [Score: 418,000] [CC Commentary]
6Oh, Namco. Despite their groundbreaking works for the world of shmups, the legacy they carry on today doesn't involve shmups at all. They're more known for idols RPGs and fighting games now.
They did still make banger shmups, though. Ordyne is one of the more obscure one. It's a shame since it's quite fun! Though at a glance it doesn't do anything that unique, huh? But my personal highlight is the composer: Shinji "Sampling Masters MEGA" Hosoe. No, no Indian vocals yet!
It's a run-of-the-mill horizontal shmup on the surface. You can shoot and drop bombs. That's it. Kinda like Scramble. For survival tactics you need to remember that the bullet limit of the default shot, with rapid fire on actually is competent, is 3 at a time. The bomb is only 2. Point blanking is a very good idea to home in the DPS! But a good highlight is the bomb has some piercing properties against 1 HP popcorns! That's handy.
The highlight of this game is the shop. You spend crystals to get... yikes, momentary upgrades like in Fantasy Zone! Weirdly enough the game is sane without them. So they know that the weapons are temporary, at least. There are the permanent and semi-permanent ones, though. The permanent one is speed. This is a must buy! The semi-permanent one is the stock bomber upgrade. It will protect you for 3 shots. But that's not the only thing that it does. It absorbs the orange bullets! The shot is also much stronger too and slightly bigger! This thing is a must get when you can! But the hitbox is quite chunky and you still get instantly killed when you collide with a wall or enemy since you don't have any i-frames each time your shield get hit. Better focus on evading physical threats first.
There is also the Dream Co roulette. This is the RNG aspect of the game, which weirdly enough isn't antagonistic. Each time you do it it does get more expensive but at max it will only cost 5000 Crystals, which is very cheap compared to paying 70000 Crystals for a single Stock Bomber. The worst result will probably just make you gain nothing anyway, which is better than getting any penalty. At best results, though, either you get a weapon very compatible against the incoming boss, a new Stock Bomber (please don't take a new weapon when you still retain your Stock Bomber here. Say no. I'm glad the game gives the option to reject it.), or 100000 Crystals, which you should save up for buying extends! Yes, 2 shops in the run sell extends. Whenever you get a bad RNG, don't give up. Whenever you get great RNG, use it to the fullest!
The main feature of this game is of course, the stage design. It has healthy variety and cool bosses. It's main attraction is the rotating stuff. Some are mild, others are very nasty! Good thing this game is not a checkpoint game and, probably why it's obscure, has lots of extends. Which is a rarity for a 23 minutes-ish shmup! The score extends alone can give you 3 extends and without much effort either. Just mow things down and you'll get them all by around stage 6! There are 2 shop extends too, which not gonna lie, needs luck from the Dream Co jackpot. But hey, better than nothing! So there is a potential of 5 EXTENDS!
This is a fun treat even if it's just for Shinji Hosoe's stuff alone. Give it a shot!
If you haven't noticed, yes, the front cannon of the Stock Bomber upgrade is PacMan. Also I'm not sure if this game has regional differences or any notable rank system, if there is any. Maybe in the US version the lady on Stage 2 got censored?
The game is the Arcade Archives version.
Nintendo eShop:
https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/arcade-archives-ordyne-switch/
#stg #shmup #nintendoswitch