[SAGExpo 2024] Shmupvaganza (feat. 2 Non-SAGExpo Demos with Rainchaser & Crystal Breaker)
600:00 - Intro
00:10 - Potatostrike by LMG3864
13:18 - Art Attack by DrawmiRami
19:17 - Spacewing War 2 by Agus Barrero (New Levels Only)
32:36 - Rainchaser by Kornodd (Non-SAGExpo)
41:02 - Crystal Breaker by Terarin (Non-SAGExpo)
Potatostrike Thoughts:
3 playable missions, unlockable ships, customizable loadout, VS-styled "XP" bar for upgrades per-mission. The game feels kinda dull and is barely challenging, even when you choose to go for longer (which is how you unlock extra ships btw), the graphics of the aircraft are solid, but the background are looking rough.
https://sonicfangameshq.com/forums/sh...
Art Attack Thoughts:
Already getting points with the presentation alone, but the gameplay is where it falters right now. The enemies have WAY too much health and the main shot doesn't do much damage at all. The enemy bullets are also hidden by the player shot, which is a massive no-no.
https://sonicfangameshq.com/forums/sh...
New Spacewing War 2 Level Thoughts:
The sea level's gimmick being tiny with inertia nearly turned me away from playing the demo, but I pressed on. The turnaround is a neat idea, having to go backwards and introducing some new parts that weren't part of the "going forwards" part of the level section.
Cotton candy stage with Yoshi's Island art was fine, though the balloon descent felt a bit out of place, just added for the sake of having some kind of unique gimmick for a stage.
The emerald cave stage requires 12 macguffins to enter, with bomb droppers and tossers everywhere (bombs are dangerous, even as your weapon), alongside a rematch with the space station boss in the middle. The stage boss is cool, but it barely gets going and I hope that not all bosses will rely on the "bounce around the screen", diversify and give them different patterns.
https://sonicfangameshq.com/forums/sh...
Rainchaser Thoughts:
I already played this when the demo leaked (as in before it had the cutscene stuff and finished tutorial) and thought it was solid, that opinion hasn't changed with the proper public release. The graphics are really nice, the soundtrack is really good and the gameplay is solid overall, but critiques must be made.
First off, as someone who has poor eyesight, I wish there was some way to make the bullets have better visibility, either an option to make their contrast higher or by having an option to dim the backgrounds (yes, the silver bullets blend into the background a bit for me).
Another is the RNG on the patterns, mostly on bosses (see Violette's bomb and wing flap attack in the penultimate phase), that's the last thing you want to take from Progear (or even Kanzaki's games, though he solely relies on "de-syncing" the patterns, which then result in unfair walls), showering people with a lot of extends doesn't get rid of the problem, when you're at mercy of RNG-sus if you get hit when dealing with dense patterns (this will reign true if you plan on making the later bosses CAVE levels of bullet spam).
Lastly, I feel some slight clunkiness in the controls when it comes to the backwards shot and the blades when it comes to using the focus variants, this is probably one of the few games where I'd say having an option between holding focus and toggle to focus would be good to have.
I am still intrigued by the game regardless, don't take that as me being petty or "be different for the sake of it," I don't roll like that, I find copy-pasting of opinions cringe, even with people I know. I form my own thoughts, opinions and different viewpoints and am welcome to discuss them as civil human beings, not animals or NPCs.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/31...
Crystal Breaker Thoughts:
Terarin fully embraced his love for caravans like with Star Gagnant, but this time without Meijin or having to mash for fast firerates. With every game, it feels like he's definitely improving, the graphics alone look like something you would see Regista made for a Switch version (don't ask me what deal those two have about the Switch versions with graphic overhauls and gameplay tweaks being unable to be re-released or made as free updates for the PC originals).
Like every Terarin game, it isn't that much of a challenge, even on Expert (and having a rank system in play as well), especially when there are no collisions with anything in this game, so omega pointblanking is the order of the day, constant score bonuses left and right to get those big scores.
P.S.: Knowing Terarin, the last stage will most likely be a boss rush with constant midboss spam.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/27...