ALLTYNEX Second (WBW)

From start to game over in 10 minutes.

While writing my review for KAMUI I discovered something.  KAMUI is actually the second of a trilogy!  What's more, all three games were in the weekly bundle!  You may have guessed by now that ALLTYNEX Second is also part of that trilogy.  Despite having the word Second in its title, this is actually a remake of the first game in the trilogy.  And boy is it better than KAMUI.

I'm going to assume two things here.  One: you have read my KAMUI review.  Two: you are familiar with shmups.  This will save us a lot of time, because ALLTYNEX Second has more elements that stray from the formula than stick to it.  This review will largely focus on comparing and contrasting ALLTYNEX Second with KAMUI and classic shoot em ups like Raiden.

The first thing any player whose first instinct is to press every button will notice is that you have a melee attack.  Yes, your ship is equipped with two lightsaber-esque things that it uses as paddles, called "blades".  This attack is quite powerful, as one might hope, but it also has a second function.  Like KAMUI's Lightning Katana, your lightsaber paddles dissolve enemy bullets.  It could be said that this is the first shoot em up where your ship is also a Jedi.  Using your blades as a defense mechanism is equally important as KAMUI'S katana if not moreso.  You will frequently find yourself surrounded by a wall of bullets, your only hope for survival to bat them into oblivion like a pinball machine that's been retrofitted for combat.

That green thing is one of the aforementioned blades.

While we're talking about KAMUI, ALLTYNEX Second (which I will refer to as Second from now on because that title is really annoying to type) also has a self-charging special bar.  Unlike KAMUI, this bar has multiple levels.  Each time it fills it will advance to the next level, up to 5.  Each time it does this your primary weapon will become stronger and add more bullets to its barrage, becoming a formidable attack in its own right at the max level.  Incidentally, your primary weapon also dissolves some types of enemy bullets.  This might sound like it makes the game easy, but just wait until we...keep going.  Wait until that, you!

In addition to powering up your primary weapon, the energy bar is fuel for two attacks: a homing missile and a big blue laser called the Buster Rifle.  Sound familiar?  Yes, it is almost identical to KAMUI's special attacks, but with two main differences.  For one, the homing missiles are far less numerous here.  This is probably for the best, because when your energy is fully charged you can constantly let loose homing missiles for several seconds before it drains.  Having that power in KAMUI would mean nothing would ever be on screen for more than half a second.  The laser, on the other hand, is largely the same, save for one difference: the lock on system.

See how it says lock on?  That's not actually the same thing.

When you press the B button to unsheathe your POWERFUL BLADES, your ship begins facing the nearest major target.  Press the X button at this point and, instead of shooting your homing whatevers, you will fire your Buster Rifle.  Locking on and using a combination of buster and blade is the only reasonable way to deal with enemies to your side or rear, as your primary weapon will only ever shoot straight up.  You'll frequently need to decide what's more important: the giant enemy at your flank or the squadron of little guys up ahead.  And that's where the challenge lies.

See, even though your gun, buster rifle, and blades all destroy enemy fire, that doesn't really matter in the long run.  Bullets are going to be coming from every direction.  Your gun isn't going to save you when there's a projectile closing in from below.  Your blades are useless against lasers, so you'll need to dodge those.  But you can't dodge dense swarms of bullets, so you have to take those out.  It's like rock paper scissors but with many different rocks, papers, and scissorses.

Watch as I slice through these papers with my scissors.

As far as presentation goes, this game goes far, far beyond KAMUI.  This is a total remake, with 3D models, 1080p full screen rendering, a whole mess of options and modes, and slick UI elements.  While the original game was some piece of crap for the FM Towns, Second was released in 2010 and it really shows.  The models aren't going to stress your system to its limits, looking more like late era PS2 models than something from the amazing future that is now, but when the camera locks into the overhead mode that 99% of the game takes place in it looks great.  As far as shmups goes, ALLTYNEX Second is one of the more impressive releases I've played.

Bosses like this add to the impressivity.

But wait!  It's a trilogy, after all.  What's next?  Find out in my next review of RefleX!  And yes, it's capitalized like that!