Rockin' Android Bringing Doujin Shmups Stateside
Hoping to take advantage of the momentum for games with an "old-school vibe" created by throwback games like Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and Retro Game Challenge, Rockin' Android wants to introduce a number of doujin games (titles created by hobbyist developers in Japan, like Fate/stay night and Cave Story for example) to the U.S.
The Los Angeles-based independent publisher has picked up the distribution rights for four PC 2D shoot'em up properties previously released in Japan, some several years ago, and plans to introduce them to U.S. audiences starting this summer as digital downloads and DVD-ROMs with English translations (though I doubt there's much reading in these bullet hell shooters!).
The upcoming releases include Suguri Perfect Edition, Gundemonium Collection, Flying Red Barrel: Diary of a Little Aviator, and Qualia, all of which look much too difficult and bullet-packed for me to even consider playing.
Orange_Juice's Suguri Perfect Edition
One of the first of the bunch slated for release, Suguri Perfect Edition's DVD-ROM is scheduled to debut on June 30th and will include not only the original Suguri game and its sequel Acceleration of Suguri, but also the Acceleration of Suguri X-Edition Expansion Pack and two soundtracks.
The games look a lot like a 2D version of Zone of the Enders' midair battles, and pair a target-locking control system with "hyper weapons" to give players a fighting chance against bosses with screen-filling, "deceptively distracting weapons."
Shindenken's Qualia
Also releasing June 30th, Qualia takes its inspiration from Geometry Wars but has players laying bombs and dodging bullet patterns from giant bosses. The fluid grid background shakes and ripples with each movement and explosion -- it's easy to get lost in it when you're supposed to be paying attention to incoming projectiles!
Orange_Juice's Flying Red Barrel: Diary of a Little Aviator
The next release, Flying Red Barrel: Diary of a Little Aviator, comes out on July 14th and is a colorful vertical shooter filled with explosions and floating bonus coins. The title is reminiscent of Milestone's Karous and Radilgy for Dreamcast (which were collected for Wii in Ultimate Shooting Collection!).
Platine Dispositif’s Gundemonium Collection
The Gundemonium Collection will release this August with three complete titles -- Gundemonium ReCollection, GundeadliGne, and Hitogata Hapa. The horizontal shooters resemble R-Type, except with a flying maid shooting at pumpkins and runaway locomotives, common enemies for skybound housecleaners.
Comments
"Hoping to take advantage of the momentum for games with an "old-school vibe" created by by throwback games like Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and Retro Game Challenge"
i don't think it is fair to claim that the games above "created" momentum for retro games. tapped into, sure, but created? that doesn't make sense!
Posted by: nitpicker | April 7, 2009 6:49 AM