Iridion 3D

Iridion 3D

I purchased this game merely due to nostalgia for arcade super scrollers like galaxy force 2 and it turned out to be a pretty fun game, but warning for potential buyers is that this is a straight up GBA port with nothing new added and looks kind of blurry all blow up on a big screen. One more knock against the game is the fact there is no ability to save and you have to rely on passwords. The game still is a fun arcade shooter, but don’t expect anything close to a remaster.

Real player with 3.4 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cult Classic On-Rails Shooter Games.


I honestly never expected to see this game on steam. Iridion 3D is one of my favorite games of all time. The game is a launch title for the Game Boy Advance, which is something to keep in mind about this game. The game uses a pseudo 3D effect in order to create a unique Shmup game that i have never seen an attempt to replicate the style of. While the pseudo 3D style can be very akward at first, if you are able to adapt, the game is a very fun, while short game. While some may feel the fact the game is short is a flaw, i find it adds to the ease of picking up the game for a quick playthrough. As a launch title for the GBA, the game has some audio oddities, along with issues due to developers still learning the limitations of the platform. all in all, if you can get past the flaws and get used to the pseudo 3D style, it is a very fun game.

Real player with 1.7 hrs in game

Iridion 3D on Steam

Iridion II

Iridion II

my favorite gba game maybe the best im very godlike at it

Real player with 10.0 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cult Classic On-Rails Shooter Games.


Fun shooting game with interesting visuals originally on the Gameboy advance. While I recommend the game let it be known that it is a very straight forward port with little to no changes. The control scheme is a bit counter intuitive if you are playing on an Arcade stick so rebinding through steam is likely a good idea for most.

I still recommend the title and it is especially impressive given the time and hardware for which it was originally released. I do have a CRT monitor to play games like this so that does a long way in making the visuals pop. As mentioned in a negative review it would likely scale rather poorly to higher resolutions on lcd monitors.

Real player with 6.9 hrs in game

Iridion II on Steam

Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015 Edition

Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015 Edition

Very poor port of an old DOS game.

Positives:

+Classic top-down shooter with currency system and upgrades.

Negatives:

-Some achievements have trouble working correctly. This requires you to do the achievement over and over again before it finally unlocks.

-Mouse function does not work very well at all. In windowed mode the curser can go outside the window and your ship will stop responding. The mouse also gets hung on imaginary objects at times requiring you to move it around real fast to free it.

Real player with 12.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cult Classic Pixel Graphics Games.


Not great, not terrible

(applies to both original game and the port)

My young self first played this classic in ‘95 in shareware format (only 1st sector) and it left me in awe. How could it not when all my previous top-down scroller-shooter were the ones from ZX Spectrum. Raptor had great graphic, sounds, rocking music and a real plane (as opposed to shapes glued together forming a flying blob that I experienced earlier). I finally completed the full game in 2006 which was the last time I played it before now.

Real player with 5.3 hrs in game

Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015 Edition on Steam

Raiden Legacy - Steam Edition

Raiden Legacy - Steam Edition

I rate Raiden Legacy 4/5. Good. Works well now.

EDIT: I’ve learned more about what these games were originally supposed to be like. Now I rate Raiden Legacy 3/5. OK. But it is still the only collection of these Raiden games available on Steam and when coupled with the frame rate fix linked below, Raiden Legacy has the potential to be a good game.

The overall negative rating of this game collection appears to no longer be justified. I encountered no issues involving stuttering. Indeed, I have encountered no major bugs of any kind.

Real player with 28.7 hrs in game

Well, when it comes to Arcade, Shoot’Em Up & Shooter genre, Raiden series is surely one of the well known games. And for this one, Raiden Legacy, is a good compilation of 4 in 1 collection. It has all the memorable classic games back in the old days, only with slightly changes of here and there. So, let’s check it out!

The Gameplay

Like any other Shoot’Em Up & Shooter games, the gameplay mechanic is simple and straightforward, shooting & bombing. It’s as they say, shoot on sight! There’s no complexity of button combinations to execute certain kill shots or need any rocket science brain to figure out how to play. It’s just that easy.

Real player with 20.8 hrs in game

Raiden Legacy - Steam Edition on Steam

Jamestown+

Jamestown+

Touhou. In Colonial America. In Space.

Probably not the most accurate comparison, but it’s definitely the most convenient. At the very least, the spectacle is very much comparable to Touhou if we’re to go by soundtrack and background art. Anyways, this game was originally released back in 2011 on Steam, became abandonware in 2015 and resurfaced yesterday with a significant portion of content for all skill levels. While the loyalty discount is debatable for people who played the original 2011 release, it’s definitely a welcome treat for people who haven’t played the original.

Real player with 16.2 hrs in game

I don’t have many hours on this one yet, but I have more on the original. This package is great value, especially if you like this genre of game or want games to play couch co-op. It doesn’t have online multiplayer, but playing with people is absolutely not mandatory to enjoy the game. In fact the way lives work in multiplayer means it can be more difficult to complete a level in co-op play than in solo. Unless you and the people you play with are a similar skill level you will probably get a lot more out of single player.

Real player with 5.5 hrs in game

Jamestown+ on Steam

In Extremis

In Extremis

A fun, challenging, unique and just plain surreal shoot em’ up, would recommend.

Real player with 19.0 hrs in game

In Extremis, at a glance, plays more or less like your generic shoot-em-up/bullet hell game, but there are three major aspects make it stand out amongst the crowd: the visual/musical aesthetics, the customisation, and the variety of challenges present.

I will provide my criticism in the form of two lists, for things that I enjoyed and for things that I would suggest to improve the experience, respectively.

Things that I enjoyed in particular:

  • The level design. Would you rather shoot up an orchestra of sentient instruments, or a swarm of abstract female genitalia? It’s all here.

Real player with 7.4 hrs in game

In Extremis on Steam

Pang Adventures

Pang Adventures

A somewhat decent addition to the Pang series in my opinion. Not nearly as good as the originals and with quite some nuances about it, so your mileage may vary, though.

Pros:

-The default mode, with stage select and infinite lives is very convenient for pick and play whenever you have a few minutes to spare. There is also a real arcade mode with lives.

-Physics and character movement, although limited, feel mostly right and make the game nice to play.

-There is a decent variety of ball types with different physics and dangers.

Real player with 16.9 hrs in game

OK-ish port of the ‘89 arcade classic

Pang was probably the first arcade machine game I ever saw. Seeing such colorful graphics, fluid animations and epic sounds blew my mind because I was only familiar with our old trusty 48KB ZX Spectrum. Watching older boys play Pang (that’s Pang not Pong… ain’t that old) made me immediately aware I was defo not up for the task lol and would only waste money on coins needed to run the machine. So like a hopeful first born I wasted parents’ money on Wardner and Toki while avoiding smokes and booze like a good son that I was. The joint also had the best burgers money could buy, for 1.5 cent in today money. God I miss em.

Real player with 12.9 hrs in game

Pang Adventures on Steam

Offendron Warrior

Offendron Warrior

Really nice and simple game.

Recomend:

1. rebind controls for better gameplay.

2. save missiles for more enemys on screen.

3. let few last enemy to steal civilian an save them to get more score ;)

Real player with 5.2 hrs in game

This is an excellent Defender clone with quite a bit more added to the original game-play. You have the ability to transform your ship into a slower-moving but faster firing warrior mode. And there are whole bunch of new enemy types to contend with. one of the nicest features in the game is the ability to change the game speed to suit your level of play.

Keep up the great work Hijong!

Real player with 0.7 hrs in game

Offendron Warrior on Steam

Groov

Groov

Please buy this game its so cheap and regularly goes on sale, its a great value and the Dev is super helpful on steam and twitter.

Fun game. I’m so glad it came to Steam I loved it when it was on Xbox Indie Arcade back in the day. Has a lot of replayability.

The price is great.

The game play is great.

The sound design is great.

Cannot go wrong with this game. If I were rich I would gift this game to everyone on my friends list.

EDIT: After this review they added a bunch of online Leaderboards so it got even better!

Real player with 6.9 hrs in game

Remember Geometry Wars? It’s similar to that but with Music at its core instead of bright explosions. I kept my 360 solely for this game, thats how great it is. Years ago, I’d get home around twenty after four from work and fire this game up. It was easily one of my favorite ways to chill and wind down after a long day. The game isn’t deep, but it has a lot of depth. 3 basic modes, the last 2 being locked until you beat the first mode.

Gameplay

The game takes place in a 2d box. Your a little spaceship(that always reminded me of The Last Starfighter) and every enemy is a musical instrument. Some enemies only need 1 shot to kill(or trigger their instrument) while others, aka The Romulan looking ship (the rapper) requires numerous hits to kill. There’s numerous waves which are all different. Each wave presents more difficulties than the last. There’s changes in your weapons, rate of fire, enemy population and variety, and a lot more. Later in the game, some pretty crazy things happen, which are pretty exciting to encounter and play through. You only get 3 lives. Theres no restart from checkpoint. So getting to the end is an amazing feeling. Its very reminiscent experience to playing old games at the arcade. Theres definitely a lot of strategy and you’ll learn through your play though how to attack each wave. However, I always called them Shells(guitar), can and will ruin your day. They can go out of the play zone, and come back in. They only take one shot, but when youve been backed into a corner or running a wall and your trying to get out, having a shell sneak in behind you is frustrating. Especially when you seconds to the next wave.. It is very easy to get swarmed and overwhelmed so here’s a couple of beginner’s tips.

Real player with 2.1 hrs in game

Groov on Steam

Pentasma

Pentasma

Excellent version of an arcade classic: Defender \ Stargate. Smooth and fast gameplay. Best played with an Xbox controller. Addictive!

Real player with 272.8 hrs in game

This is basically a brilliant fan remake of the arcade classics Defender and Stargate (aka Defender II). If you have any nostalgia or even a passing interest in those games, then this is a must own. Long live Williams Electronics and Vid Kidz!!

Real player with 43.9 hrs in game

Pentasma on Steam