Frenetic and contagious, Super Galaxy Squadron EX is like trying to dodge laser lights at a rave; quite difficult to accomplish and somewhat uncomfortable at first, but it certainly makes for some sweet dance moves.
Developer: Synset
Price: $9.99
Platform: PC
MonsterVine was supplied with PC copy for review
Super Galaxy Squadron EX is a vertically scrolling shoot’em up (or shmup) that aims its marketing missile squarely at those not well versed in the niche. Exceedingly popular in the Japanese market, agonizing difficulty and intricately complex attack patterns led some shoot’em ups to fall under the appropriately imposing sub-classification “Bullet-Hell”. While Super Galaxy Squadron EX does wet its toes in the geometric underworld, it holds back the reins of its sadism and establishes a comfortable difficulty curve and provides easier game settings for new or casual players.
Having released only a year ago under the same name (minus the EX part), the amount of changes Synset have implemented is commendable. While still the same game for all intents and purposes, an almost complete visual overhaul has had a profound effect on playability. As the older version comes bundled with every purchase I was able to test both iterations first hand. With the addition of cutscenes and voice acting, they have slightly lengthened and polished what is, in truth, a bite-size portion of the overall package. However, the real meat of Super Galaxy Squadron EX is in its gameplay, and it’s a most visceral dining experience.
The arcade mode consists of 6 stages, steadily increasing in difficulty. A stale, oppressively bland sci-fi story does little to help move the stages along, but thankfully that role is already taken by the unending barrage of explosions and color. With 3 difficulty settings to choose from, and an additional option to include health drops or not, customizing the game to your skill level is a simple task. There’s also an endless mode available for those with a predilection towards chasing a high-score. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a global or local leaderboard except for a scoreboard in the options menu populated by non-players (they all had colors for names; although I’m positive there is something going on between Cobalt and Cyan).
Sitting at a length of around 1 hour, the campaign is a short one with replayability being introduced by the various unique ships you pilot. A total of 14 instruments of death are at your disposal, making up the titular squadron. Each ship has its own distinct primary and secondary fire; power, armour and agility stats; and screen ripping “hyper” attack. Some ships favour a slow yet sturdy approach, while others require aggressive movement into close range
The hyper abilities are only usable once you have collected enough blue tokens to fill your hyper meter. They range from unleashing devastating atomic missiles to firing a cascade of lasers; primarily acting as a means to clear the screen of enemies and their bullets when you are under significant duress. Destroying your galactic foes in quick succession adds to the combo meter, which in turn increases the amount of blues tokens dropped; ensuring you are always prioritising a quick fight. Reaching a 10x multiplier activates the “Overdrive” mode. I can’t really tell you what happens, but the screen changes colour and everything starts dying very quickly.
If all that isn’t enough to juggle while avoiding the miasmic spray of return fire, your weapons (both primary and secondary) can be upgraded by collecting dropped powerups. Each has 5 levels of enhancement and receiving damage can lead to dropping one or more of them. Trying to haphazardly recapture your weapon upgrades, or health pack if you choose to enable them, will often lead to taking more hits; a brilliant example of risk and reward.
All of this high-flying action is backed by pumping electronic beats that deviate at times from your traditional sci-fi fare. Produced by the band Random Encounter, the tracks have an element of musicality not always present in other video game chiptunes; rock riffs, bouncy melodies and head bopping rhythm enrich the stages with harmonic intensity.
As you can see by the screenshots, playing Super Galaxy Squadron EX is an eye-melting endeavour. Between the enemies, their bullets, your bullets, your hyper ability, the blue tokens and all the explosions, things get just a little busy on screen. The EX version has compensated greatly for this in the update by making all necessary information much larger and easily visible in your periphery; enabling you to spend more time worrying about your ship and the most recent deluge of purple balls heading your way. However, like a magic eye you find in trashy magazines, once you start to unfocus your eyes and see through the blinding chaos, the bigger picture becomes clear. This leads to a sort of meditative trance as you stare unblinking the screen making twitch adjustments based on instinct.
Unfortunately keeping track of your hitbox is still tricky, as it’s just a small colored circle in the center of your ship. At times I was completely surprised I made it out of a mess unscathed, whereas at others I felt like I had dodged successfully.
The Final Word
A supremely addictive and visceral vertically scrolling shoot’em up. Its solid, yet short, 6 stage campaign and endless mode is extended with the choice between 14 unique ships. While difficult enough for the veterans, there is ample difficulty customization for newer players. Its energetic and exciting gameplay make this an easy recommendation.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
