Review: Shinorubi

Shinorubi is a single player top down vertical SHMUP featuring explosive vibrant colours on
screen all popping out at you that you will instantly notice the first time you play. Inspired by
Japanese shmup arcade games. This is a really fun action packed game that you can pick up
and play if you are new to shmup games or an experienced player.

Things I liked!

• The graphics | It looks really good with bright vibrant colours and lots of pink. Maybe too much
  pink but it works. The game runs at 120 FPS in 4K Ultra HD too so everything looks crisp.
  During my 10 hours I spent playing before writing this review. I never encountered any bugs,
  crashes or did I see any slow down on screen which is remarkable given the amount of action
  going on in the game.

• Sound | The game has some really nice sound effects from each of your main weapons to the
  constant explosions that are going on all around the screen. The music also really stands out to
  me and sounds like something you might find in a superhero movie.
  
  
• Game Modes | The game offers 10 different game modes plus training all available from the
  start. You have the Original mode in 5 difficulties from Super Easy mode to Very Hard. I would
  recommend starting with Super Easy mode to familiarise yourself with the game. You also have
  Boss Rush in 3 difficulties, Caravan mode where you have a set timer to reach your best score.
  Shield mode which gives you a spinning orb to help protect your ship. Super Rank mode which
  lets you choose your difficulty rank, Scratch Mode where you have to brush past enemy bullets
  to score points. Cancel mode where you need to kill the red flying enemies to void all bullets,
  Journey mode where you complete the game on 3 loops with increased difficulty, Pink Pig mode
  where you need to catch all the pigs, especially the pink ones and Laser/Shot mode where you
  must choose between shot and laser when indicated. Finally you have Training where you can
  play on any level in any mode for practice.
  
  
• Characters | There are a total of 8 characters to choose from all which are available from the
  start. Each character has their own story and attributes which consist of Speed, Power and Shot
  cover. With each character also having their own unique main weapon and laser. I had lots of
  fun experimenting with each character and I have a favourite who is called Boombee who is a
  good all rounder. Each of the characters in the game look very different too with lots of nice
  touches to each pilot’s ship.
  
  
• Difficulty | I found the game really fun to pick up and play, the game gives you 99 credits in
  every game mode which makes it pretty easy to complete even in Super Hard mode I was able
  to complete the game using only 18 credits. Although the game does tell you to try and beat
  each game mode using only 1 credit which is a real challenge especially in the harder game
  modes. The only part of your ship vulnerable to enemy fire is the centre mass which helps you
  pull off some insane manoeuvres to escape enemy fire.
  
  
• Gameplay | I really enjoyed the gameplay and the more I played the better I got. As you play
  each level you earn more score points for collecting all trophies that appear, for destroying
  enemies and collecting the star points that they leave behind. You lose points if you use a bomb
  and when you use the laser weapon your spaceship slows down so you have to choose the
  best time to use this powerful weapon. There is also a Fever meter which fills up when you do
  damage with your laser weapon, once this is full all enemy bullets become collectables to
  increase your score. The game is single player only but does have leaderboards so you save
  your high scores..

Neither good nor bad

• Difficulty | I found the game really fun to pick up and play but as the game gives you 99 credits
  in every game mode this makes it far too easy to complete. You can earn some achievements
  by completing each game mode using only 1 credit if you are up for the challenge. Something
  that only true veterans will be able to achieve.
  
  
• Controls | Controls are simple, you have Auto-Shot, Laser and Bomb. Auto-Shot fires your
  guns in an even spread across the screen, Laser is a much more confined powerful blast that
  shoots straight and is the same width as your ship. Bombs are your go to weapon when you
  have too much enemy fire on screen and you need to clear the screen, this will destroy almost
  everything on screen giving you some time to recover. Along with 8 directional movements with
  the stick or d-pad. There is one major issue, too often I would crash my ship because the sensitivity was too
  high with no option to lower this.

Things I disliked!

• Game length and design | Unfortunately the game only offers you 5 levels, which can all be completed in
  under 20 minutes. So the game is very short. Each level didn’t feel too different from the last in terms of how they looked with flying drones and enemy spaceships and big turrets on the ground. Not enough variation in level
  design.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 10 hours
How long to beat the story? 20 minutes per run
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 320 Gamerscore
How long to achieve 1000G |
You’ll love this game if you like these |

Conclusion

70/100 ⭐| Shinorubi is a game that really grew on me the more I played it and definitely a game I will continue to play to try and beat using fewer credits. I am a big fan of shmup arcade shooters
and I just wish that this had more levels to play, but I am glad that it has various other game modes to which add lots to the games replayability.