Putting the "FUN" in "Fundamentals".
ESCAPE: Reach the goal on the maze before time runs out, the fastest you clear the stage, you'll get more stars. Remember, in later challenges it will add variations.
SURVIVAL: The objective is simple: Try to reach the highest score possible to get the 3 stars before losing all lives.
TIMED SURVIVAL: It's alright "Dancin' in the Laser Light" for you?, This one is focused on stay alive as long as possible while crossing through lasers with the correct color.
TIME ATTACK: Similar to Survival, but here you'll be granted infinite lives since the target is to get the highest score possible and the three stars before time runs out.
FUNTIME: Use a wrecking cube "anchored" to your ship to destroy your enemies, just avoid getting hit by your anchored cube by matching the ball's color. If you like to play Triggerheart Exelica with the Anchor Unit control in "Manual", then you'll like this mode.
ZONES: This game variation focuses in taking refuge in "domes" that will gradually shrink and disappear after being used. To enter you'll have to switch to its specific color. Also, the Multipliers are worth 0.5 instead of 0.1 like the others.
WAVES: Try to survive as far as possible in endless waves of enemies. Multipliers will be granted at the end of each wave and your life and bomb supply will be refilled.
It is August 2020. In Cyberspace. The Fourth Geometry War has begun.
Each stage in Challenge will feature its own variations. For a simple instance, in Escape the basic premise of reaching the goal will change to running through a maze to lock you in rooms where you'll have to reach a specific score as fast as possible so you can escape or advance to other room. There's two levels that combine two challenge types, adding a plus to the overall fun within this mode.
Stay Cool!, Someone wakes the noise up!
In a few stages you'll be facing a boss while you try to concentrate on getting the three stars at the same time. This is where the game pushes the player's learned in-game skills as you'll be relying on the Boost (Dash) to evade and be immune for half a second as you collect the multipliers to increase the score. Keep in mind, getting hit will drop the multiplier all the way down to x1.0, also, using the Color Polarity feature to avoid damage from enemy fire doesn't work.
While the difficulty curve goes up in a reasonable level, Challenge 48 "The Network" can go to hell. I SWEAR it was meant to be impossible on purpose. Reaching the three stars requires you to reach the goal in less than 20 seconds, add color lasers, spikes, colored flames and enemy balls that can only be destroyed by bombs or making color paths but there's no place and to make a path or blow them with a bomb. The result: Controllers thrown. It is basically an exercise of how NOT to make a challenging stage as we have a stage with Kaizo-like sadism which leads to pure ragequit. By pure luck and fate I made it in 19.93 seconds, that's the lowest time possible for a human being.
In case if you're asking, those 19.93 seconds are my record. If you can go below that time limit you should be a Super Player.
After getting all the three stars the 54 challenges, the game doesn't give you an ending, but unlocks a special effect: Adds yellow stars in the background. After the "A Winner Is You!" cliche that was Aircraft Evolution's ending (along with other trash shooters that I've reviewed before) I find this starry background rewarding enough for all the hard effort, and I think it is for the better to have a rewarding effect than crap endings.
Like in Star Wars, the battle can take place in asteroid belts.
Arcade Mode is the second mode of the game. Like Challenge Mode, it has its own game variations.
SURVIVAL: Like in Challenge Mode Survival stages, your objective is to reach the highest score possible before losing your last life.
LARGE SURVIVAL: The objective is the same as Survival, only difference is the room is a few screens longer than the original Survival.
OPEN SURVIVAL: Same objective as the other two. This time you are in an infinite asteroid belt, free of the boundaries of the previous modes.
WAVES: Unlike the Challenge Mode version, The arcade variant of Waves is the only mode that is not "Endless", You have to complete 50 waves of enemies in order to win the game.
ZONES: Same as in Challenge Mode. Take refuge in colored domes to survive the enemy fire. This is the only mode that requires to be unlocked by buying the "Color Swap" in the Upgrade screen.
FUNTIME: Same as in Challenge Mode. Destroy all the enemies possible with an anchored cube as a wrecking ball. All "Exeli-fans" (or should I say Triggerheart fans) will like this one.
With all these variations, Arcade Mode's objective remains the same: Racking up a high score before dying, hence the "Arcade" on its name. Just mindless, non-stop shoot and slam things and pick the multipliers as crazy without worrying for any objectives. Before starting to gameplay, you're allowed buy upgrades by entering the Upgrade screen, while you can access the Upgrade menu during gameplay, you can't buy nothing until you exit the game.
Holy Surprising Upgrading, Batman!
For an "Arcade" styled game, Arcade Mode sends you with 1 life and a Level 1 Shot since you have to upgrade your ship by buying upgrades to play the Arcade Mode the way it should be.
HEALTH: Increase your initial amount of health. First upgrade costs you $10,000, the second $50,000, the third $100,000, the fourth $250,000 and the last one $500,000.
HEALTH PICKUPS: Makes healing items to appear at a certain period of time. First upgrade costs $100,000 and drops 1 Health pickup each 120 seconds, second upgrade $500,000 and drops each 90 seconds, and the last one $1,000,000 and drops each 60 seconds.
BULLETS: Increases the ship's firepower. First upgrade costs $100,000 and the second one $250,000.
BOMBS: The murder weapon that kills everything on screen. First bomb costs you 50,000, second $100,000 and the last one $250,000.
BOOST: The Dash of your ship, it makes you invulnerable to laser colors and collisions while dashing. First Dash costs you $50,000, the second 100,000 and the last one $250,000
FRIENDSHIP: Adds a Cog-shaped companion ship that provides extra fire power. Costs $150,000.
COLOR SWAP: The Ikaruga-like feature of Color Polarity used in many of the game's circumstances. Costs you $200,000 and unlocks the Zones mode.
Despite which mode you're playing, #Funtime is a twin-stick shooter where the main feature is the Color Polarity just like Ikaruga and Iro Hero. Learning how to switch colors is required as you'll have to use it to navigate through obstacles like the Lasers and avoiding getting hit by your own wrecking ball. Also, you can make "trails" with the color you're using since there's one type of enemy that can only be destroyed and those are the black balls which can be destroyed by leading them to touch the trail of the color they had. As you keep fighting in a stage, new objects will start to chase you like the "Black Holes" with colored edges. Matching their colors will create a line that can be stretched and used to hit multiple enemies. One more final detail of the Color Matching is the Health Item. Picking the item with the same color (Blue item - Blue Ship) will give you 2 HP instead of one. This is what I call a great execution of a simple feature.
Graphically, the game re-takes the concept of Vectorial graphics like Asteroids and Debris Infinity and combines it with the use of Neon-like lights for a brilliant spectacle of colors that attract your eyes right into the game, this adds more life to the Color Polarity feature of the game. Everytime you select a stage, the screen will zoom away in a warp speed effect as if the game will literally send you to the far away reaches of space.
On a curious note, your ship resembles Batman's Batwing a lot. "Holy Incoming Lawsuits, Batman!", hope Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment doesn't sue OneGuyGames for that.
The music of #Funtime is a combination of techno with different ambient styles that have a calm yet hip-hop-esque beat which for some reason, fit with the simplicity and fun factor that involves this game. If you're looking for frenetic fast-paced rocking you should better find another game.
#CURIOSITIES
- Buying all the upgrades in one shot will require $4,010,000. Despite sounding absurdely much, it is ironically easy to get by racking 1 million points in four "Funtime" sessions in Arcade Mode.
- The color palette of this game is based on the console's controller buttons. This is notorious in the XBOX One port.
- The achievement name "With Our Powers Combined" and the throphy art depicting two hands with rings glowing is a reference to Captain Planet and the Planeteers as the artwork is clearly a reference to the Planeteers rising their arms as they call their respective powers and Captain Planet's phrase "By your powers combined. I am Captain Planet!".
- "Golden Snitch" refers to the winged spheres used on the game of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise.
- The achievement name "Mathmatician" is wrong. The correct spelling is "Mathematician".
- "Battle of Verdun" is a reference to the longest battle of World War I, when the German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun (RFV, Région Fortifiée de Verdun) and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse.
#HINTS AND TIPS
Got any problems to get the three stars in Challenge 29 "Regroup"? Still trying to get both Grand and Millionaire achievements?. Then pay attention to these hints 'cos they might be useful.
1.- Getting both Grand (100,000 points) and Millionaire (1,000,000) achievements can easily be obtained playing Arcade Mode in "Funtime" mode. Just swing the cube and don't stop.
Looks turtle-paced but its safe. You know, better safe than sorry.
2.- In the 29th level of Challenge Mode, you'll be facing "Stars" that shoots bullets on 8 directions, you can try to milk the bullets until you get 750,000 points to get the three stars. It will take you some time if you don't have multipliers, but its by far, the safest way to get them.
NOTE: Make sure your Friendship doesn't hit the star by accident 'cos it will destroy it, starting the next wave.
3.- The Golden Snitch achievement can be easily obtained in Funtime mode.
4.- Destroying a Golden Snitch will set the "default" multiplier to x5.0 instead of x1.0, making it helpful for highscore enthusiasts.
5.- There's 5 bosses in the game: 4 in Challenge Mode and 1 in Arcade Mode, the Arcade one can only be found playing the "Waves" mode.
#Funtime is "The Party Shooter for the Solo Player" since the game lacks of a local or online Co-op player but still has the "Party" element of a multiplayer. With its fair room for error (Ignoring the exercise of stupid difficulty of Challenge 48) and learning curves on its challenges, really makes the achievement hunt a challenge for everyone, giving a fair but fun challenge for newcomers and experts.