Platform:

Gameboy Advance

Description:

This sequel to Iridion 3D on the GBA is not a 3D railshooter, but a vertical scrolling shmup, with a slight 3rd person perspective.

Liked:

Shin'en did technically the same as in the first game to create a sense of 3D graphics, and it also works well in the slightly tilted top down view. There is some smooth sprite scaling involved that really shows what the GBA can do visually. I also really liked some of the boss designs. Also while the game has a life bar, the enemy placement is still sensible enough so that knowing what to do you can pass the game without taking damage.

Disliked:

The gameplay is a bit more varied than in the first game, but is ultimately still a bit on the unremarkable side compared to other shooters out there, which became mostly evident because the game features 15 levels, which is a lot for a shmup like this, and thus drags a bit. The game's choice of weapons was ok, but the fact that every level all powerups got removed felt a bit cheap.

Summary:

Judging this as a vertical shooter it's just average game, but it stands out visually, and is overall a bit better than its predecessor. It's got a bit of an euroshmup feel because of the long life bar which also enemies seem to possess, and if you can get past the slightly slow pace it's a recommendable game.