"Absolutely crazy 2-D medieval shooter."

I'm not sure who made this game but it was made fairly recently and continues to uphold the legacy of 2-d shooters, previously upheld by the likes of 1945 Strikers 2 and Giga Wing. The plot of this game takes place in a fantasy medieval world where an underground empire called the Gobligans is trying to conquer the surface. The only ones who can defeat this army are four tough-ass bounty hunters who fly planes and use magic.
The characters that you pick still have a machine gun shot and a secondary weapon ranging from homing shots to forward missles and still have a super bomb that wipes the screen clean. What makes this shooter different is that your character can switch between an ''ice'' aspect or a ''Fire'' aspect similar to the red and blue aspects in that game Silhouette Mirage made by Treasure. Enemies will have one or the other aspect as well and if your weapon has an opposite element (fire vs. ice), it will be more effective but if your weapon is the same element (ice vs. ice) the weapon will be useless. Similarly if enemies of the same element shoot you, you won't die but ''power down'' a bit, but if it is the opposite, then you're pretty much screwed. To switch between elements, you just hold down the fire button which will also release a super attack. Switching elements will play a big role in defeating the bosses, who will be assigned on element or the other.
Fortunately, so that you are not totally helpless against some enemies, your machine gun shots have a neutral aspect, meaning that they will hurt both types of enemies. Some enemies will have the same neutral shots as well. The game also deviates from the normal shooter in that you have to collect a certain number of icons to increase the level of your weapon and replenish your bomb supply, although icons that allow you to skip a level do appear. Another interesting feature is collecting a set of unique treasures that enemies drop when shot, similar to pokemon. When your charge attack kills something, unique icons appear representing different pieces of equipment such as axes,swords and pieces of armor or jewelry, although I don't know what happens when you collect a full set.
Overall, I really liked this game. The graphics were very detailed and the sound was crisp and clear. what I liked most was that all of the characters were very well balanced. It wasn't just a choice between your spread type or laser type, each character could flood the screen with bullets, but in different ways. The game's difficulty wasn't as insane as Giga Wing, what with its million on-screen bullets, but it takes alot of time to get used to the element system and initiates to the shooter genre might find the game intimidating. However, shooter veterans will enjoy the depth tis game offers.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/00, Updated 05/04/00