READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
YOU'RE STILL HERE?
GET OUT, THIS REVIEW IS NOT FOR KIDDIES!
THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.
LEAVE!, THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS NOT FOR YOU.
WHY YOU'RE STILL HERE? THIS IS NOT FOR...
BAH!, You're gonna read it anyway despite the warnings.
With the warnings said and done, I don't want to get complaints about offended readers 'cos it was your fault for ignoring them.
Anyway, let's go with the review of Gynoug, also known as Wings of Wor.
On wings of glory over the rain, guide me through my secret place.
Full moon fever is raising again, guide me to my chosen fate.
Gynoug/Wings of Wor is an horizontal scrolling shooter which might look like "another basic" of the bunch, but this game has its own mechanics that make some difference from Air Buster or Thunder Force III. To begin with, your Spread Shot can be shifted by picking a Blue Gem. This will grant you a full frontal 5 bullet stream, picking a Red Gem will switch back to the Spread Shot. Ocassionally you'll find an Yellow Gem that provides back fire. There's the red and blue orbs that improve's Wor's skills; The blue one is the Power Orb (Orb of Power in the localization), which increases its strength, and the red one is the Wide Orb (Orb of Pattern) granting Wor a wider attack area. You can increase Wor's speed by picking a feather called "Wing Blade" (Speed Feather) which represents the speed up. But where Gynoug shines is on the Magic mechanics. While the Magic is the bomb-lke weapon of the game. You can decide if you want to stack different elemental attacks or pick the two or three of the same type for the sake of powering it up into a stronger offensive or defensive technique and have more ammunition because of that. Learning this is a must since even on Normal difficulty, the game will throw a challenge to your skills as the mid-to-fast bullets and enemy formations will be taking you by surprise during your mission, and being caught by surprise is fatal since this game is a one hit wonder where one bullet means death and you have 3 continues if you lose all your lives. Memorization is the major element to make it out alive of the third level since there's unexpected objects like the statues which will shoot at you and take some hits before going down. On the good news, if you lose a life, you'll power will drop one level rather than the usual "back to power level 1", granting you a few chances to recover after dying. Also, the only "Shield" you could get is the Aura Shield, but that's very limited (and is convenient to rack it thrice to use the "Level 3" Aura Shield), so you have to rely on your skills, Wor's speed and memorization, unless you're playing the re-release. Like in Gleylancer, you're granted a Forza Motorsport-like rewind function to correct a mistake in the stage up to a certain point, Save States to resume where you left off and the unnecessary option to enable cheats, but that one kills the reason of playing the game.
The Ultimate Battle: Face-to-thing against hideous torments from Hell.
This game throws you two boss fights per level, making the stage length feel longer than they should be, but retaining the difficulty and challenge aspects of arcade-like shooters which is well received on a stand-alone home console game. But unlike games like Vapor Trail and Thunder Force III where you have an idea of where to hit the boss, in Gynoug you have to figure that out. For instance, Dragoon's main weakness is in the "joints" of his neck and Gark needs precise diagonal shots to hit his covered core in the mouth. On difficulty terms is a challenge from the first levels of difficulty but when the game's on Hard or Hyper is a nightmare which might be fun for R-Typers.
Also, one of the levels has a Gradius III-like speed section where you can pick items quickly while engaging the enemy forces. The only thing Gynoug needed was a Co-op two player option to complete the arcade-feeling this game already has.
I know what EVERYONE likes to talk about this game, and that's Perfidy, better known as the "Dickman" due to the shape of his lower body, which is very NSFW to mention here and I don't want any trouble or get kicked out of this wonderful forum, but it makes me wonder how that design passed through the censors from both Japan and the US without being noticed, knowing how strict they were back then. One thing is blood, but that kind of things? that really deserves an explanation.
While everyone talks about the "Dickman" when a topic about Gynoug pops on the web, looks like no one seems to talk about the second ending on Hyper difficulty.
I guess they tried to say "Fuck Yeah! You are the Dekashita".
Yes, the game drops that for finishing the game in a second loop. In the Wings of Wor version it was translated as "Congratulations You are the Hero!" I'm sure they tried to say "Fuck Yeah" as a way to say they're impressed with the player's skills, but the Engrish turned the exclamation into an involuntary insult.
Aside from its Genesis localization as Wings of Wor by Dreamworks (not to be confused with Dreamworks SKG studios), the game made its way to the XBOX One, Series X|S, Switch and PlayStations 4 and 5 by the hand of Ratalaika Games, Masaya and Shinyuden, which brought the Japanese version and is surprising that the Hyper Mode second loop ending wasn't censored on the PS4 and Switch ports, especially the Switch since religious themes, profanity and Perfidy are part of Nintendo's "No-no's" due to its family friendly terms. Anyway, that uncensored expletive is definitely something that "Genesis does what Nintendon't".
The Deadly Inner-Battle.
Graphically, it is a visual wonder that stands on-par with Tecno Soft's works. I remember reading comments about how Thunder Force III feels like a Neo-Geo game in graphic terms, and Gynoug/Wings of Wor easily enters on that league. With caverns that tilt up and down, parallax scrolling and waving at the same time, seems like NCS and Masaya were taking notes from Tecno Soft back then.
Unlike most Genesis shmups where Science-Fiction and Modern Military were common themes, Gynoug broke that aspect with its unique combination of magic and sorcery combined with horror, "Inner Body" and Steampunk-like technology, resulting in an interesting mix that can be described like "R-Type and X-Multiply meets Castlevania".
The game is also notorious for the use of religious imagery. Starting off with your character who is an Angel/Archangel which uses Cherubims as companion sub-weapons like providing additional fire and even summoning thunderstrikes to their enemies. Also, one of the enemies of Stage 1 is a reference to an illustration of King Solomon. This is another reason why many Nintendo enthusiasts will be surprised to see this game on the Switch since religious topics are taboo for the "Big N" to the point that a Cross was censored on games like Faxanadu and Super Castlevania IV.
The music is a variety which feels more like a mix of game. For instance, the first half of all the stages feels like if they were an unused soundtrack for Darius, especially the Genesis Sagaia version. Defeat Dragoon and then the music will change its pace into a Castlevania-esque tune, and speaking of Castlevania, the boss theme has a somber, suspenseful tune that fits quite well with the game mentioned before.
CURIOSITIES OF WOR
We are the Soldiers under God's command!
We hold His two-edged sword within our hands.
We're not ashamed to stand up for what's right.
We win without sin, it's not by our might.
- Wor is pronounced the same as "War".
- The three orbs of light that gave life to Wor might be a reference to the Holy Trinity as if the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit grant him their power to bring Wor's statue to life, effectively creating a "Soldier of God".
- While Wor is depicted shirtless, he appears fully armored on the in-game sprite.
- Omigoto means "Good job" and Dekashita (Dekasita) is "Well Done" and also means "Good job" or "Great Work".
- "Kore de mo owari" means "This is the end."
- The artwork for the Wings of Wor release was done by Boris Vallejo.
- The "above the river/sea and submerge" level background of Stage 2 is very similar to Zone B from Darius Force/Super Nova.
- The Wings of Wor localization changes the "Angels VS Demons" plot into a Battlemaster fighting mutants on planet Iccus.
- The menu from the Ratalaika-Shinyuden release recycles the interface layout and sounds from their release of Gleylancer which will be later reused on Nape Retroverse Collection and Moto Roader MC.
Now that the Earth is safe from Iccus' threats, those are the words I like to hear.
If you are not offended by the religious references, the infamous suggestive boss or the profanity at the end of the second loop, then Gynoug/Wings of Wor is an extraordinary shooter that proves the Genesis could bring arcade quality and excellent graphics.
An amazing game!
Even the "Lea Scale" is in the positive scores today.