JENNAFER NORRIS·MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2019·
Platform: Nintendo Switch (Eshop)
Release Date: Aug 15, 2019
No. of Players: 1-4 Players
File Size: 1.3 GB
Genre: Action, Arcade, Shoot’Em Up
Price: $9.99
Publisher: QUByte Interactive
Developer: QUByte Interactive
First off, I’d like to thank QUByte Interactive for the review code that makes this review possible. VASARA Collection is a compilation of both VASARA 1 & 2. The VASARA games are a duo of Japanese arcade shoot’em ups from 2000 and 2001 respectively. It is in the standard top down style where enemies almost exclusively enter the screen at the top and you have to destroy them before they destroy you or move out of the play area. The graphics are a nice throw back to late 90’s early 2000’s arcade games which is a very nice stylistic choice on their part to keep it reminiscent of times long since past.
You play as one of four character options, all of which have different stats for their character. Between the two games the characters to choose from change looks but, the stats between the two characters in the same position from game one to game two are virtually identical. 3 males & 1 female are your character choices and they are essentially the same character between the two games with a different paint job.
The gameplay is your basic arcade shoot’em up, continuous bullet hail type game. The setting is kinda different from others as it takes place in an divergent timeline of Feudal Japan where they have advanced technology such as the flying motorcycles equipped with guns that the player character rides in order to take on their enemies. They did base the player characters after real life Japanese historical figures which I found really interesting as I absolutely love Japanese culture and lore so, that was a nice nod to history.
The levels have a bunch of small enemies that are on the screen for you to kill but, if you miss them it’s okay because the game has forced progression until you reach a boss battle. There are boss battles every so often and during them you have to destroy multiple areas of the enemy ship before you can advance. With every area you destroy, the overall fire power of the boss diminishes and the guns from that area become unusable.
My thoughts on this game collection are this. Both games are way too difficult! The game is set to normal with three continues as the standard setting. I could barely make it past the first couple sets of standard enemies on this setting. The first game is significantly harder but, they were both difficult. I proceeded to try the game on easy with three continues. That was a very, very small amount less difficult but I still wasn’t making any progress. Finally, I searched the difficulty setting once more and I saw a “free play” option which is essentially endless continues. Only after I set it to easy on “free play” mode, did I make any progress at all. I still died a lot but, at least I was able to progress. I had the same experience with both games. So, if you want an extremely difficult game where you die constantly and make little to no progress, this would be the one you would want to take on.
Difficulty aside, this is a very graphically pleasing game. It really throws back to arcade game days but, with a bit more polish. The subtitles were a bit too small for me to read without straining so, I’m unsure if there was any storyline but, I can honestly say that if there was any storyline it would only enhance the experience, not hinder it.
All in all, I would give the game a rating of 6/10, Very Difficult but, stylistically pleasing.
Review By: Jenn N.
