Title: Rolling Gunner
Platform: Nintendo Switch eShop
Developer: mebius.
Publisher: mebius. and Mastiff (NA)/mebius. (JP)
Release Date: June 20th, 2019 (NA)
File Size: 1.1GB
Review copy provided by Mastiff
Oh hey look, it’s my third Mastiff-published game review after Gurumin 3D and Party Planet! This time Mastiff alongside the developer mebius. have brought a side-scrolling shmup to Switch eShop. mebius. are no strangers to Nintendo systems, having previously made games like Steel Empire on 3DS, helped out on Soldam on Switch, and released Unholy Heights on Switch and other platforms. How is Rolling Gunner? Let’s find out!
The Main Menu with all its different options.
This as said is a side-scrolling shmup, I think most comparable to games like Darius or R-Type? I actually reviewed a vertical shmup on here called Danmaku Unlimited 3 so check that out if you’re interested! Anyway, upon starting the game, you’re presented with quite a wealth of options right out of the gate. You got a tutorial mode, a novice mode, options and configurations, the works!
The Config menu.
When you pick Novice or the general arcade mode, you’re given a choice of two ships; a red one that’s a bit faster but has less wide shooting range. While the yellow one is slower but the shots spread out more as you would’ve guessed. For those who don’t know, shmups have you play as a ship shooting like a billion unlimited bullets at once against an army of enemies (wait, is this Dynasty Warriors: Space Shooter Edition? *thinking emoji*).
The Button Config menu.
Anyway, you pick a ship and after a very brief tutorial on what buttons to press to do what (this can be customized in the button configuration menu mentioned earlier) and you’re off to shoot down every ship in sight. An interesting twist is that you have two modes; a Speed Mode which you’re in by default and firing with the ZR button. You’re ship has two sets of guns; you’re main ship’s which always shoots straight to the right, and the secondary one that rotates away from where you’re moving (so move left to point it to the right, etc). Then there’s the Gunner Mode that by holding the Y button allows you to focus you’re blasts more in a straight line. This also causes the secondary gun to stay in place, so keep that in mind for specific enemies.
CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER!!!
There are enemies of various shapes and sizes and you’ll have to take note of their positions, as well as trying to keep an eye on all the bullets they’re firing to make sure you stay alive, goes without saying of course. It’s worth noting that your hit box is a small green circle in the centre of your ship, so you can just squeeze between shots as long as you’re careful, at times it feels like you’re cheating death and it’s like they phase right through you, it’s odd.
The first level showing normal enemies.
When you face bosses, both the main ones and some smaller ones mid-level, there will be a big vertical health bar on the side of the screen (usually on the side they’re on). The bar is also split into sections, and as soon as you bring it down to each, they change form and obviously start getting more difficult. It’s worth mentioning the bombs you pick up. When you have a bomb, pressing ZL will basically unleash a super move that kills all normal enemies on screen and will also deal a decent amount of damage to bosses. What’s interesting is that upon dying, you get three bombs at least in the novice and casual modes. In those modes, there are no true game overs. Meaning you can pick-up where you left off at the cost of your points, with your peak being saved. This is key to beating bosses if you’re in a pinch and don’t care about points. Also when killing enemies you get these medals. I’m not sure how to get the bigger ones if I’m totally honest, they just happen sometimes…
Using a bomb against a boss.
Visually it’s decent. It’s all pre-rendered sprites with no polygons to be seen I think. The game runs in 60fps as is standard for shmups these days. Animations look good. Not super fluid since they’re sprites but they look fine. Really the eye candy for me are these cinematics at the end of bosses where the ships is flying super quick and you see explosions and such. One in particular had this gorgeous shot of a red and blue super explosion in space, that’s quite a shot (err, pun unintended).
A Mission Complete screen showing how you’re scored, and the different medals you can get.
Audio-wise, it’s what you’d expect. That familiar “shmup” music style if I had to put it in a way. Shots and explosions sound good. As someone that’s not a shmup connoisseur, I can’t really say anything like comparisons to other shmups. You’d have to look elsewhere for an expert’s word on that lol! Also there’s no voice-acting, which is no big deal.
That’s the shot!
Overall it gives you what you ask for. Numerous levels with lots of shooting and enemies and bosses to shoot at. You can save a replay of your run which is a very nice plus (Metal Torrent on DSiWare had this also… can Arika make a sequel on Switch please?). It’s a decent price at $20 USD and $25 CDN on the eShop. It’s not super fancy or advanced, but it gets the job done. Basically I recommend it if you’re a fan of the genre. I think it’s a good entry point if you’re a first-timer.
You’ll Love:
+ It’s not super complex. Controls are simple and generally easy-going, especially with the novice and casual modes to ease you in.
+ The two guns are cool to use when each situation calls for them.
+ The sprites look good. The cinematics are the best-looking part to me.
+ Music sounds good. That classic “shmup” sound you’d expect.
+ Novice and casual modes at least have no true game overs kicking you out, they just reset your points.
+ Has screenshot and video capture support.
You’ll Hate:
– Not super fancy looking I suppose. It’s all sprites-only so don’t expect uber fancy 3D showpieces.
– Music while good wasn’t super memorable, but I wouldn’t really expect it.
– I think there was minor slowdown when things got crazy with bullets covering the screen… but hey, more time to react!
– … That’s actually it. Nothing that bad about it, you can mostly disregard this section! lol
Score: 8/10
