Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha (Switch) Review

OBSCURE RETRO SHMUP ACTION ON THE GO

There is a staggering amount of games released daily, so much so that I worry about games getting lost to time. This is why I’ve always been an advocate for emulation and making games available on modern consoles. More than ten years ago, game development company Psikyo closed its doors. Many of their games were released to arcades and several did make their way to Sega Saturn and PlayStation but these titles were in danger of being forgotten and discs of that era are fragile and can be unreliable over time. In fact, I hadn’t heard of Psikyo until Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and Bravo were announced. Thanks to the efforts of City Connection and NIS America, many of these Psikyo classics are available on Nintendo Switch. The Alpha and Bravo collections feature six games each, with many of the games also being available for individual purchase for the eShop and there are no differences between the eShop copies and the ones packed into the collections. For Alpha, this is the first time NA players get to experience Strikers 1945 III. 

More than anything, playing through Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is a huge boost to my familiarity with the Shmup genre which can often dip into the bullet hell sub-genre. I’ve always liked the idea of these games and I’ve spent many hours going through co-op playthroughs of Forgotten Worlds but I rarely spent much time with the more hardcore titles. Thankfully, each game has lots of difficulty options and the ability to have plenty of continues and maxed-out lives otherwise I never would’ve been able to see these games in their entirety. With this in mind, I did eventually get to a point where I could beat several levels without taking a hit, which felt amazing and put me in a state of complete zen. 

Due to the overwhelming odds and mistakes not hurting so much, I found playing most of these Psikyo games to be an exercise in relaxation. 

Out of the six, I enjoyed the three Strikers 1945 games and the fantasy-oriented Dragon Blaze the most. All of these are vertical shooters, meaning their aspect ratio fits into a taller screen like taking a widescreen and turning it on its side. I first played these games on my living room TV with a pro controller, complete with borders. I immediately felt in control of my character and I was impressed with how fast I was picking up the subtle movements required to dodge the waves of bullets. On the easiest difficulty, each game was hard enough to be engaging but rarely reached the insane levels of bullets that most players imagine when using the words bullet hell. 

For those into that style of play, higher difficulty modes and second loops are available. Chasing a high score could also appeal to the most skilled players.  

The other two games in the collection I didn’t connect with as much. Sol Divide is a weird horizontal shooter with fantasy elements that remind me of the weird tones found in James Cameron’s Avatar film. This shoot-em-up has this strange rendered look that’s similar to Donkey Kong Country on the SNES but not nearly as appealing. Although, some of the bosses have to be seen to be believed and I was always eager to see what was next. It was also interesting to find the original (at least likely the original) translations of the game’s text, grammar mistakes, and all. I find this kind of charming but the gameplay just didn’t appeal as much to me. There is a melee attack, various magic spells, and it seemed much more cumbersome when trying to dodge attacks. 

The last title featured in this collection, Zero Gunner 2 is a 3D arcade shooter with a pivot system as its core mechanic. Players take control of a helicopter and fight the typical Psikyo assortment of machines and transforming robots. The bosses all look pretty cool but the gameplay is much slower than the other titles. Pivoting the helicopter also feels awkward. It’s a cool piece of history and I’m glad it is in the collection but this one, in particular, I didn’t care for. 

Playing so many of these in order of release was fascinating as there are themes and mechanics that carry over. For example, red enemies usually drop power-ups, and holding a shot can lead to new mechanics. When I learned the subtleties in Dragon Blaze, my survival rate tripled and I kept getting better with each run. I also loved seeing the multi-stage bosses and their detailed pixel-art and transformations. I’d love to have a model or something of some of these designs. 

Where these games truly shine is when playing vertically in handheld mode. I own an accessory called the Flip Grip which allows one to attach the Joy-Cons to the Switch in a vertical orientation. Setting up the display can be a bit awkward but it’s as simple as pausing and flipping the settings. Once established, playing these arcade shooters feels incredible. I also mapped my shots to the shoulder buttons for a lot more control. I knew I was going to like playing games vertically with the Flip Grip but this is one of my favorite features being utilized in Switch games and I hope to see this TATE mode more and more. One could also set up a vertical monitor when docking the Switch for a similar effect and pairing that setup with a Switch arcade stick would be the icing on the cake. 

Those looking for an arcade game night with friends will be happy to find co-op play in all six games. I didn’t get to spend any time with co-op play but I imagine with the right friend it could be a blast. Since the Joy-Con can be passed to someone, this also makes co-op play portable and easy to share.

I enjoyed playing the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection for the history; it prompted me to read more about this company and its legacy. I would have liked to have seen more care put into the supplementary features for this collection though. A concept art gallery, informational blurbs, a developer diary, or more detailed manuals would’ve made this a truly stellar collection. As of now, the features are minimum but all function well. Load times are lightning-fast and each game seems to play perfectly as far as I can tell. With titles like the Mega Man Legacy Collection though raising the bar for retro collections, I wanted to have a more complete Psikyo time capsule.  

That said, Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is a great launch point for shoot-em-up and arcade fans. I’m looking forward to checking out the Bravo collection and I find that I am eager to play as many games with my Flip Grip as I can. 

Find more information about Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha on the official NIS America website. For information about the physical release, check out our previous news post.

A digital Switch copy was provided for the purpose of review. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 7/10

VISUALS - 9/10

SOUND - 9/10

CONTROLS - 9/10

REPLAY VALUE - 7/10

OVERALL - 8.2/10