Nanostray 2 Review

Yeah, oooooo, ahhhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later come the running and screaming. I was dazzled by the visuals trickery, then I ran away screaming at the carnivorous man-eating gameplay of Iridion 3D and Nanostray. Luckily, Shin’en always delivers a sequel that more than makes up for its predecessor. Now why the hell couldn’t they get it right on the first try is beyond me, but I guess it’s better than suffering a lousy sequel to an already lousy game. Nanostray 2 is no exception, as this game shows that all it takes for Shin’en to make a good game is swift kick to the tailbone by critics and fans. Hold on to your seats folks, and get ready for some fantabulous old-school alien barbeque.

The gameplay is easily summed up as evil aliens going: “rwwaaarrrrr!” The peaceful planets are all: “waah waaaahhh!” I’m like: “yeehhhhaaa!” And then my ship is all: “pheeew pheeeew boom pheew booommmm!” Then all of a sudden there’s this boss and he’s all: “RAAAWWWR!” And I’m like: “humuna humuna humuna.” That about sums up the plot as well — that and an intergalactic virus outbreak.

As you can see from my eloquent explanation above, the gameplay’s standard shooter affair. It does, however, provide a few interesting tweaks to raise above the norm. First of all, the options (and by options, I mean little bits that float around your ship providing extra firepower) are more controllable than other shooters — including R-Type. With the push of a button, you can switch between a 45 degrees front/back shot, or a 90 degrees vertical (or horizontal depending on the stage) coverage. The stage design, enemy placement, and overwhelming odds forces you to put the options to good use. Your only other power-up comes in the form of a secondary weapon you pick at the beginning of each stage. They all use up your Nano Meter, and the amount varies depending on the destructive properties of each one. Most of them are very useful, but some will suit certain players’ style more than others. Recharging your Nano Meter is as simple as wiping out an entire wave of small enemies. This makes the secondary weapon more involving than the average smart bomb, but it’s not overpowering either.

Speaking of overpowering, the game has the usual Easy, Normal, and Hard for people of all skills. Although it’s probably more like Hard, Hell, and Bullet Orgy for the average player. And you gotta love one hit kills. This is one of those shooters where touching the scenery can also kill you. Lucky for you, they’re pretty generous with the continues. When you lose all your lives, you continue at the exactly where you died at — just like losing a life. There are no penalties like stripping you of your power-ups, either. The harder modes will still surprise you with new enemies even if you already beat it on easy. The bosses do piss me off in Hard Mode. While they’re harder, they also have like 6x the life, and once you’ve figured out the pattern, it becomes a boring endurance test than a test of reflexes.

So why am I so hyped about the controls yesterday? Oh, the regular buttons work very well, and are hardly innovative — that was until I discovered the touch screen controls. When I first saw it in the option menu, I really didn’t give it any thought. There’s no way the touch screen could provide an even better experience, right? WRONG! The touch screen allows for greater flexibility in maneuvering, and speed control. Because I had pixel accuracy with my ship’s movement, I was able to navigate some of the tightest spots riddled with enemy fire. Best of all, you can adjust ship speed to suit you at the beginning of each stage. Not once did I blame my death on the touch screen controls. I recommend everyone to give the touch screen controls a chance before writing it off. If you still don’t like it, there’s always the traditional method.

Finally, we get to the graphics and music. Fans of Shin’en’s previous efforts will not be disappointed. Lavishly rendered background, huge bosses, and a kicking techno soundtrack all come together beautifully. Some bosses are simultaneously cool and lame. Fighting a liquid metal face, lame? That liquid metal face also appears to be rendered with simple vertex shaders. It sure wouldn’t hurt to see and hear more in this game. I wonder if Shin’en would ever consider using their technology on other genres.

To round out the package, there’s also extra challenges like Contra, Arcade mode, Wi-Fi play, and online leader boards to keep you playing. While Shin’en has always made the better sequel, Nanostray 2 is easily one of their best shooter yet. This is a game for the real hardcore player. You will dive into bullet hell, come out unscathed, and jump onto the roof buck naked beating your chest and screaming in triumph. Ok, maybe you didn’t need to know about the last part, but it has that effect on people, I swear. And don’t wuss out like Gamepro (check their review, they didn’t even try the touch controls), or you could very well miss out on something really awesome!

Graphics: 88%
Pros: Some of the best graphics on the DS.
Cons: Some bosses look kinda lame.

Gameplay: 80%
Pros: Challenging, fun, and some replay value.
Cons: It’s still only 8 stages long (a shooter standard though). Even the easiest difficulty can stump casual players.

Sound: 86%
Pros: Great techno soundtrack, and the computer voice has a very lively feeling to the acting.
Cons: Well, 8 stages mean there’s about 8 track plus some other music for menus and ending.

Control: 93%
Pros: Regular controls are fine, touch screen control’s awesome.
Cons: Your hand does get in the way when using touch controls. I never died because of it though.

Story: 57%
Pros: It moves you along with some plot about viruses and defeating Momtroid Brain (you’ll see).
Cons: My version of the story’s better. And again, doesn’t matter what I give it, it’s irrelevant to the gameplay.

Recommendation: Old school gamers, shoot’em up fans, or people looking for some action should look into this. If you play nothing but RPGs or FPS games, stay the hell away. This game will eat you up. And yes, I copied and pasted this part from my Contra 4 review.

Overall: 80%