I know this game doesn’t get much love, but I’m right now infatuated with Söldner-X Himmelsstürmer on the Playstation Network. I must have odd tastes because as hard as I try I cannot understand all the harsh criticism it gets. I will not comply with all the bullshit about euroshmup features or presumably bad stage design. I think this game is gorgeous, extremely challenging and epic.

Last night I just collected all the necessary secret keys to access the 5th and last stage. This means that I’ll still be spending more time with the game for the next few days. And I need more practice to properly deal with Windgeist, for he’s an even greater prick than the 2nd boss was.

Another game I’ve been playing (again) is Zero Gunner 2 on the Dreamcast. I decided to get back to it because I had finished it in its default difficulty, which is 4 (Normal). After a while I knew that the correct default should be 5 (Arcade), which is actually in line with all other Psikyo games I’ve already played. Even with only one step higher in the difficulty range, it’s fairly easy to notice how the rank shifts from Normal to Arcade. Slightly faster bullets and longer fights, for which one more second or one more stray bullet does make a difference. One thing does remain the same though: the game is pure, undeniable fun. Still the most enjoyable Psikyo I’ve ever played.

On the shore of rare shmups, a few days ago I tried Space Turtle Battleship, the Korean-exclusive title for the Mega Drive. I think I was able to reach the 5th stage then. It’s pretty stantard vertical fare, but I did enjoy the fact that all bosses have a numerical health bar, something rather unique for its time. I was commissioned a review of this for Sega-16, so hopefully in a few weeks it should be ready for publishing.