Game Talk Vol. 1: Doki Doki Shoot ‘Em Up Panic

Game Talk, with this new format I can allow myself to communicate my thoughts and feelings on video games I’ve finished or played a decent amount of, from a variety of picks, that at least had a lasting impression on me. Honestly, I’ve been struggling a lot with actually publishing a blog, but this idea got me pretty excited, so I want to make use of it as much as I can. Either not feeling the need to share any of my insights, not having anyone I felt comfortable speaking to about them or spreading the love for the sake of spreading love. I want to feel free to say exactly how I feel about each game I mention.

Super Mario Odyssey

Being a big Sonic fan for most of my life, Mario’s latest 3D mainline title sure has me wishing Sonic himself got this level of quality with Sonic Forces. While it’s not my favorite Mario game as of now, this one thoroughly captivated me throughout, with its world travel premise that certainly gives Sonic Unleashed vibes, it calls back to the sense of freedom that Super Mario 64 and Sunshine contained. The fluid gameplay feel and depth in its move set, is a dream to experience, making even the slightest of movement a joy, I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to explore everything the game has to offer. With the hat spirit Cappy, Mario’s capable of possessing or capturing new and foes of the past, providing an interesting spin on power-ups and allowing more possibilities in exploration. The levels are classified as “Kingdoms” giving each a sense of place in the continuity of the Mario universe, with lore, inhabitants and their specific theme. It retroactively supports the existence of the Mushroom Kingdom that we’ve become accustomed to throughout the years, even if Nintendo decides to drop this specific continuity, not developing a sequel, it’s an effort in making Odyssey’s take on the Mario universe feel lived in. While I find continuing Odyssey’s post-game content a little daunting at the moment, slowly revisiting each kingdom to explore on my own terms, I can say for sure this is one of the best Mario games I’ve played in a while.

Stretch Panic

Treasure is pretty much my favorite video game dev, their games are some of the most imaginative, captivating and inspirational games for me. If I ever can develop my own games, Treasure’s influence would probably be front and center and it’s truly a shame we may never get any new games from them. The first game I finished in 2021 was this little gem by the name of Stretch Panic/Freak Out/Hippa Linda and as expected from Treasure this is one weird game, the game owns it as the Japanese boxart’s subtitle states “this is the unusual story of an unusual girl…” So about that story, Linda lives in a household with her 12 fashion obsessed sisters who boss Linda to buy groceries and cosmetics supply. During Linda’s errand, a mysterious truck passes her by, eventually arriving at her home delivering a large package, this package opens a dimension that’s supposedly hell, corrupting the sisters and by the time Linda comes back home has her beloved scarf, that was given to her from her late father possessed, leading to her mission of saving her 12 sisters.

With the game’s plot in mind, this game is unorthodox, it is not what you’d expect from a typical platformer, instead of having levels that challenge your platforming skills, this is mostly a boss-rush game ala Treasure’s Alien Soldier or Cuphead. Not that there isn’t levels in the game that resemble a somewhat traditional level structure, they’re more so used for you to earn points to exorcise, yes exorcise. Linda’s demon scarf can not only stretch, but exorcise each possessed sister as well, the catch is that both Linda and the demon scarf are controlled separately with the DualShock 2’s analog sticks, so it falls into the same realm of games as the Ape Escape or Katamari series. The game doesn’t do a good job at explaining itself or at least giving you a hint on the controls (unless you own the manual), so it took me until after I defeated every boss to realize that I had to exorcise them by pressing L3+R3, while grabbing hold. The controls can be a bit tricky to get a handle on at first, though as it happens with any game you get used to them, the gameplay is still held back by a lack of polish, not being able to switch targets while locked-on, the demon scarf having a depth perception issue where it isn’t always clear how it interacts with the objects in-game, despite that I find the game pretty fun. The boss fights are a major focus in this game, so it’s a treat to know that despite not being the best in execution control-wise, the boss fights are a highlight that’ll likely make you forgive its shortcomings. A collection of oddly charming bosses, that keep you coming for more, with their wacky designs and challenges even among the frustration, you’d want to overcome each battle, especially with Norio Hanzawa’s (NON, composer of Gunstar Heroes, Alien Solider and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor) soundtrack that complements the insanity, it’s one of a kind. Stretch Panic gives me vibes of a 3D Dynamite Headdy spiritual successor, with its art direction, it being another platformer from Treasure and the unique approach to the genre, sadly it doesn’t stack up to Dynamite Headdy or any of the greatest platformers. I think it could have been widely expanded on and in the end it comes off more like a tech demo, but it’s a game I definitely welcome with open arms.

Metal Black

If there’s one video game genre I’ve invested in more than any other these days, it’s shoot ’em ups. They’re usually quick instant gratification journeys into a variety of captivating video game worlds, packing the appeal of one of my favorite genres; JRPGs with their grand scopes, great music and saving the world premise. One day I tuned into a Twitch stream from Zoasty; a Super Metroid speedrunner, as he was playing through Saturn shoot ’em ups, one was Battle Garegga, which I’ve played and another called Metal Black. I didn’t have a clue about this Metal Black, but I was interested nonetheless, I got a little cautious about spoiling the experience for me on the stream, though I kind of got enticed into watching his skill and reactions to it. Eventually, he got a game over on the final level and from there I was motivated to finish the game on my own, because the game I experienced in that stream was one of the best shoot ’em ups I laid my eyes on.

Metal Black is a 1991 arcade shoot ’em up, developed by Taito, though it was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1996, never released outside of Japan until the Taito Legends 2 compilation released on PS2. At a glance it comes across as a standard retro shooter, though the deeper you get into the game, the more it starts to exude this otherworldly aura and honestly that aspect of the game is what gravitates me to it. What makes Metal Black distinct, from the non-Taito shoot ’em ups, especially at the time, is its beam mechanic that can not only destroy enemies on its own, but initiate a beam struggle with the bosses if your beams clash, literally Dragon Ball type stuff in a shoot ’em up, inspiring Taito’s own G-Darius and G.rev’s Border Down with beam duels, and it’s pretty cool. Elevating the game on another level is its soundtrack, Zuntata, Taito’s house band is known for their experimental sound, with Yasuhisa Watanabe at the helm as composer, Metal Black ends up giving an aural experience that stuck with me even outside of the game, especially with stage one’s emotional “Born to Be Free”. I loved the game’s OST so much that it made me curious as to why the Darius games’ OSTs (“Self” from Darius Gaiden was the only track that did) didn’t resonate as much, checking out what others consider the best shoot ’em up game music as well, lately I found a new appreciation for the Zuntata band, with G-Darius’ probably being my personal favorite from them after replaying it and listening to its more popular tracks. Metal Black is a game that takes you on a space adventure like no other, it’s one that leaves you questioning the meaning behind its imagery, it’s one of my all-time favorite shooters and it’s opened a new gateway into the genre for me.