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2D Vertical Shooter Fast Striker Offers PS4 & Vita Action

11th October 2018 By Dan Thornton Leave a Comment

We love a bit of retro 2D shooting at Disposable Media. And the release of Fast Striker for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita definitely ticks all our boxes. It was originally developed for the NeoGeo MVS by NGDev, arrived as one of the last games released for the Sega Dreamcast, and will now be available as a download or rare Limited Edition physical release for the PS4 and Vita.

So Fast Striker covers pretty much everything a retro vertical schmup obsessive could desire. But somehow Qazimod hasn’t had time to write about it, so I’m stepping in!

Quick history lesson first. NGDEV was founded as an indie game developer back in 2001 by German brothers Timm and Rene Hellwig. And they’ve specialised in 2D shooters and arcade-style games for 17 years including the likes of Last Hope, Gunlord, Razion and Neo XYX. The original versions of Fast Striker arrived for the Neo Geo and Dreamcast back in 2010, and on iOS in 2011. Play-Asia still have the listings for the regular and Limited Edition Dreamcast versions with positive reviews from all those years ago, even if the games are obviously out of stock now.

Now back to the present. NGDEV and publisher eastasiasoft are releasing PlayStation 4 and PS Vita editions of Fast Striker based on the latest updated version of the game, which is version 1.5. And it features cross-buy support when it’s available on October 17th as a download for €6.99. Which is a good way to experience the six stages, four game modes and constant 60 fps action.

But there’s more. Just 2,200 copies are being created of a physical Limited Edition release for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. In addition to a region free copy of the game and manual, you’ll also get the Fast Striker Collector’s Box, an Original Soundtrack CD, and a Numbered Certificate.

The Fast Striker Playstation 4 Limited Edition physical release is only available through Play-Asia. And the same is true of the Fast Striker PlayStation Vita physical Limited Edition, which might well be the rarer version if you’re looking to buy it as an investment.

Obviously we’d never encourage someone to invest in video games that weren’t worth playing. So what’s Fast Striker actually like as a game?

Fast Striker Trailer:

Fast Striker: The Game:

The fast-paced, reaction-led vertical shoot ’em up is set in 2020, a year that’s not far away now. Machines constructed to protect and serve mankind in Hyper Blues City have run amuck. And their inventor Samial Salival has disappeared without a trace. Now the robots are building a weapon to completely destroy the city, protected by a flight squad led by the City Guardian. And the only hope is you aboard the Fast Striker FX-1 Prototype.

Which means selecting a difficult level from Novice, Original, Maniac and Omake modes. And to accommodate beginners and expert shooter addicts, each mode has a different playable ship, features and scoring system. So in Novice mode you shoot the enemies and collect gold stars. Whereas other difficulties let you spread your shots, fire rocket attacks and use an energy beam to multiply your score. As well as rewarded you for being closer to the enemies before you kill them.

There are a total of six stages to survive and save your city. And more than 40 unique enemy types to destroy.

If that’s not enough, completing the game on a single credit will let you take on a hidden boss. And to discover the true ending of Fast Striker.

“We’re thrilled to bring our unique twist on the classic vertical shoot ’em up to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita owners,” said René Hellwig, Game Designer at NGDEV. “Fast Striker will test the hand-eye coordination of even the most experienced arcade players.”

You do get the options to map your control buttons. And to use the adjustable screen settings, giving yourself the optimal chance of victory.

The physical Fast Striker Limited Editions for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita can be viewed now on the Play-Asia site and you can save them for when they’re available to pre-order, or sign up for an email alert as soon as you can grab a copy before they sell out.

Catherine: Full Body announced, with debut trailer

20th December 2017 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

Catherine: Full Body is the latest in a hypothetical series of “announcements that I never expected to be made” – the original game was one of the most unusual high-profile (I’m sure there were weirder indie games that I hadn’t heard of) games I had played in 2012, mixing a soap-opera level romantic drama with tense block-based puzzling. Compared to your typical world-saving RPG heroes and blind-firing space marines, it stood out amongst the crowd, and with the game coming from the same studio that brought us the Persona series, it certainly defied expectations. Catherine: Full Body remasters a seventh-gen title that refuses to be pigeonholed. The narrative swerves from the plausible to the absurd, the settings shift from mundane to otherworldly, the gameplay combines social minigames with block pushing and even the music slips between smooth jingles in the Stray Sheep bar to dramatic bombast in the nightmares. To begin with, it’s kind of hard to pin down, and Disposable Media can recall tales of people getting burned after seeing the involvement of Team Persona and expecting something closer to an RPG.

Catherine: Full Body – drama and novelty

At least when Catherine: Full Body is released players may have a better idea of what to expect. Looking back at my first playthrough(s) of the game, I found the puzzling tricky but not impossible, I thought that the core narrative was engaging but a bit too exaggerated for the purposes of tension (again, it’s a TV drama at best), and my favourite moments were probably the quieter bits in-between – checking in on the regulars in the Stray Sheep and hearing about their backgrounds, toying with the morality gauge during phone conversations, examining all of the interactive objects – the jukebox, the arcade machine, the restroom mirror… There’s a lot in there that is open to criticism, but the novelty of playing something so unique is enough to carry you through the first playthrough (besides, once you’re familiar with the puzzles you can clear the main game on Normal difficulty in just a few evenings.)

There aren’t a whole lot of details on Catherine: Full Body right now – we know that there will be a third central female character and new scenes for all three girls, and – brilliantly – the multiplayer Colosseum mode will return with online functionality. It’s said that a Niconico stream and trailer reveal will be on the way later this week (UPDATE: the trailer can now be found below) – personally I’m wondering if they can outdo the absurdity of the original’s Love Is Over special edition…

The website for Catherine: Full Body can be found at http://fullbody.jp/

Garou – Mark of the Wolves coming to PS4 and PS Vita

17th July 2016 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

“Certainly they existed; those devs blinded by ambition… those ports consumed with vengeance. But here, they do not exist. Only winners (Mark of the Wolves fans and Fatal Fury fans in general) and losers (gamers without supporting consoles) here. For here, the mighty SNK rule.”

Earlier this week it was revealed that SNK would be working with Code Mystics to bring the classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves to PS4 and PS Vita. Part of the Fatal Fury family, Garou: Mark of the Wolves was released in 1999 on the Neo Geo arcade hardware, later making its way to sixth-gen home consoles and eventually Xbox Live Arcade. Boasting strict inputs (compared to modern Street Fighter games, at least) and interesting gameplay mechanics such as Just Defend (like SFIII’s parry, you get benefits for defending at the last moment – unlike SFIII, however, you can push back to do this) and T.O.P mode (this activates within a player-defined portion of the lifebar and offers benefits such as enhanced damage and quicker meter gain), Garou: Mark of the Wolves is much less immediate than the likes of Street Fighter V, but still boasts rewarding gameplay, great 2D presentation and fun characters.

In my ongoing mission to recollect all of the MAME classics I used to enjoy years ago, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is one of the most played games in my current collection, and whilst I’m not skilled enough to trouble online opponents (as I type I already have bad flashbacks of netplay sessions on MAME and Kawaks that went awry) I can still appreciate the game on a more general level. According to the PS Blog update, this new release will come with a gallery mode, sound test and netcode from the previously-released Last Blade 2. More than anything, I’m happy that this is coming to Vita as well – I’ve often told people that the handheld seems like it would be a great home for 2D beat ’em ups, and having Garou: Mark of the Wolves on a handheld would offer a great way to while away those long train journeys.

A release date had not yet been confirmed in the PS Blog update

Superbeat Xonic Review (Vita)

26th November 2015 By Qazimod Leave a Comment

2015 might be recognised as the moment in gaming’s current generation when rhythm-action made a big comeback thanks to the release of Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4. However, you don’t have to fill your home with more plastic instruments to find new and interesting music games from this year, as proven by this new PlayStation Vita title…

superbeat xonic

Superbeat Xonic is a rhythm game from Nurijoy, and whilst that name might not be immediately familiar, the nature of the team becomes more significant when you realise that Nurijoy was formed from former employees of Pentavision – the studio behind the DJ Max series of PSP rhythm-action games.

Few of the DJ Max games made it over to the West, but their gameplay is as far removed from the likes of Rock Band as you can imagine. With a pared-down presentation and relentless streams of notes, they actually feel closer in style to the golden era of Beatmania. Happily, Superbeat Xonic has made its way here courtesy of Rising Star Games. This new game follows in the spirit of DJ Max and Beatmania, despite a radically-different interface and new input methods.

superbeat xonic

Flicking and Holding

Superbeat Xonic presents players with a tube-like view that is split into four or six segments depending on the game mode selected. With two or three segments on either side of the screen, the game suits touchscreen play surprisingly well. If you’ve ever played Elite Beat Agents, you’ve probably found yourself in situations where you’re enjoying the goofy story and pop classics but also cursing the fact that your fat fingers reach for notes in one corner whilst covering incoming notes in another. Here, the only areas you need to touch are on the edges of the screen, and all of the notes come from the centre of the screen. It’s a smart interface for a touchscreen rhythm-game and it makes playing songs much more enjoyable.

The notes also take advantage of touch input effectively – as well as tapping and holding notes, you can find yourself flicking yellow notes in a certain direction or holding a red note and following the ‘tail’ with your finger as it snakes up and down the side of the screen. With all of these different note styles it makes for a busy and varied game, but the responsive touch controls mean that it never becomes frustrating. One of the gameplay modes also has you pressing L and R at times in addition to handling all of the touch commands – as you’d imagine, this isn’t a mode for beginners.

superbeat xonic

Cheesy but likeable

The songs themselves are as far removed from Singstar and Rock Band as possible. There’s hardly anything here you will have heard of, but the selection of J-pop, fusion, rock, dance and more has plenty of cheesy yet likeable tunes.

The regular play mode sees you gaining experience and levelling up as you continue to complete songs, which in turn leads to more songs and customisation options to unlock. Additionally, there are challenge modes (beat a certain score, complete a song without missing a certain number of notes, etc.), leaderboards and even gameplay modifiers that, for example, give you a better multiplier or let you miss some notes without dropping a combo. Some of the challenges are quite demanding even with modifiers, but there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had from the regular play mode.

Depending on your preferences, one possible word of warning is that this game lacks the character and personality of something like Rock Band or Persona 4 Dancing All Night and some people might not appreciate such stark presentation. Then again, anyone used to DJ Max or Beatmania will know to expect things like that. If you’re looking for pure rhythm-action fun with lots to do and a touchscreen interface that actually works, you could do a lot worse.

Superbeat Xonic is now available from the Playstation Store for £34.99 – a boxed edition is planned to be released in the future.

Fast Striker Trailer:

Fast Striker: The Game:

Catherine: Full Body – drama and novelty

Flicking and Holding

Cheesy but likeable

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