Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo (Switch) Review

Here at Forever Classic Games, we are all about titles that capture moments of history. Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo is the second part of the effort to collect a total of twelve shoot-em-ups and arcade games from a studio that’s been gone since 2005. When playing through both collections, it becomes clear that Psikyo had a distinct brand that they steadily developed while staying incredibly consistent.

Much of the thoughts I had with Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha also applies to Bravo. It would have been great to see some sort of in-game museum feature, though much of that history is available in the physical Limited Edition releases. Overlay settings menus don’t rotate with the game screens, so playing in TATE vertical mode with something like the Flip Grip (which I’m convinced is the best Switch accessory period) can be a little awkward when setting up a session. Once comfortable though, the Psikyo Shooting Stars collections are some of the most genuine shmup moments I’ve played aside from being on an actual arcade cabinet. Aside from going into the minute criticisms of each individual game, that’s all I have on the negatives for this collection.

Each game features “pixel perfect” recreations but unfortunately, I don’t have a good way to compare to the originals so I’m leaving that sort of investigation to groups like My Life in Gaming and hardcore shmup fans. From what I can tell, each of the six games are snappy with no performance issues anywhere. Starting up the collection and getting into a game happens in seconds and it makes for a perfect travel title or something to pick up while waiting on a download or while traveling on a bus. Each game is also easily played with a single joy-con so it’s an easy one to share for some quick co-op action on most of the games included.

Games in the Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo release include: Samurai Aces Episode I, Samurai Aces Episode II: TENGAI, Samurai Aces Episode III: SENGOKU CANNON, GUNBARICH, GUNBIRD, and GUNBIRD 2. Gunbird, Gunbird 2, and Samurai Aces Episode I are all vertical arcade shooters that play well in TATE mode. Samurai Aces II and III are horizontal shooters with Samurai Aces III filling up the whole screen. The odd one here is Gunbarich, which is a vertical break-out-style puzzle game. Gunbarich provides a fun change of pace but I just didn’t connect with it as much as the other shooters.

While a nice change of pace, Gunbarich wasn’t nearly as exciting to me as the other titles.

Most of the games in these collections are rare to find in their original forms and some of them were not localized. For this release, we get various language options, scanlines, augmentable gameplay like adding more lives or more continues, and one game on each collection is exclusive to these releases. As mentioned in our initial news write-up, Bravo features the first time that Samurai Aces Episode II: Tengai has been made available in North America.

Most of my time with these games was spent getting to know the quirks of each title and the various characters available. I was able to clear easy mode runs of each game and some of them I cleared multiple times, playing around with the difficulty, checking out other ways to play, and taking a stab at not shooting at all. Out of the six, I think the standout releases are Samurai Aces II: Tengai and Gunbird 2. Both features incredibly detailed sprite work and they feel the most approachable. I still recommend changing the controls so that the shoulder buttons do all the shooting for maximum comfort. That’s also a control style that lends itself to using the Flip Grip.

Samurai Aces Episode II: Tengai features some of the strongest sprite work of the series.

This time around I tried to learn ways to better my score. In Tengai for example, players can get coins by using a spammable blast which also turns bullets into coins in certain conditions. Score chasing players will likely find more complexities than I did (plus I’m unfamiliar with the original releases so I may be looking over certain mechanics) but it felt like each game had layers to uncover and I found the process really enjoyable. Frustration is minimal too because the game’s challenge can be tailored to the player. Even on the easiest difficulty though, surviving long without taking a hit is tough. When I finally got the groove, it felt amazing to weave between shots or interrupt bosses with a well-placed bomb.

While this genre often feels like frantic survival, I found myself once again achieving a state of zen which is something that few games do.

Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo carries more fantasy themes than the military slant of Alpha. It’s awesome to see these 80s anime-style characters blasting their way through complex enemies with awesome transformations. Those with an interest in pixel art should definitely check these out. I also believe that these developers were huge fans of Japanese anime of that era because I see designs that seem to echo shows like Gundam, Slayers, and more. There’s one enemy I found that looks just like Char’s Sazabi mobile suit.

Five bucks says the pilot of this boss is blonde and wears a mask. . .

Even though these games can be finished in about an hour or less, depending on if you’re chasing a second loop, I find them to be incredibly rewarding to pick apart and learn more and more about their subtle mechanics. I didn’t even get to mess with co-op, which is a feature on four of the six with Gunbarich and Samurai Aces III being the only ones missing this option. It may be unlockable in Samurai Aces III but I didn’t see it.

Overall, I recommend Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo to those who have even a passing interest in shoot-em-up or arcade history. Picking one collection over the other will come down to taste but at the very least maybe pick up Gunbird 2 as a standalone download. It is whimsical, short, but also full of subtle depth that I really enjoy. I even experimented with playing a pacifist run, just to see if it was possible. I made it through the first stage of Gunbird 2, where I found that the boss was on a timer and it eventually destroyed itself. It took a lot longer than blasting away but it was a completely different feeling that was fun to try out. I’m excited to see if this is a viable way to play on the other titles.

Gunbird features more fantastical elements and things can get delightfully strange.

These games have introduced me to a new world of gaming that I am excited to explore further.

Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo will be available on Nintendo Switch on February 18th digitally and physically as a Limited Edition release. A digital Switch copy of the game was provided for the purpose of review.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 9/10

SOUND - 9/10

CONTROLS - 9/10

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

OVERALL - 8.6/10