cfx wrote:Looking at a bit of a play video though it looks like the power up items automatically are collected by your ship (car?) though so if correct perhaps it's a bit easier to keep the weapon power up.
Oh no no nooo
You have to manually grab each and every one as it plunges downscreen - and on top of that, your ship is not only slow, it also a frame of startup inertia on movement.
However, this isn't the game's most galling aspect. That would be the sheer randomness of POW drops. It's no exaggeration to call it a slot machine, as the difference between the upper and lower shot levels is profound. Some credits you'll comfortably tear through stages, others you'll be on the breadline, taking only the most critical shots. Bombs add another layer of blind luck, with their four random effects varying radically in usefulness.
All this said, I like Turbo Force. It has enough of what would become Video System/Psikyo - brisk runtime, compact visual arrangement, pleasingly no-frills shooting - and to be honest, there's a reason gambling is popular. Combining slots with a short, rippingly destructive STG isn't entirely displeasing. Regulating the POW drops would've been infinitely preferable, but for a respectable Shin Nakamura & Friends: Year One, there's the entirely superior Sonic Wings. Donpachi or Mahou Daisakusen this sure as shit is not.
Hearing just how jank the game's development process was, I find myself echoing ARMORED CRUISER - I'm surprised it's even as marginally good as it is.
And he's not wrong about the
GRAFX and intricate machine detailings - they're ace, and very satisfying to tear apart with a lucky L9 shot. Best regarded as the fucked-up demo tape they recorded while wasted in mom's basement, sporting enough of their signature sound to amuse devotees.