Debris Revisited shmup from Revival Studios circa 2010...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Recently inquired about if Revival Studios had any copies of their cool Debris Revisited shmup game and they had four copies left. Considering that the indie game developer/publisher, Revival Studios, is based out of the Netherlands, they're famous for the usage of using simulated bitmapped graphics in their games on the real Vectrex console. Expect the usual flickering with real Vectrex vector monitors -- it's what gives it's unmistakable charm compared to the raster-scan RGB monitors any ol' day.

You might recall back in 2005, Revival Studios did release Debris in both standard and limited edition versions. Same could be said with the December 2010 re-release of Debris Revisited as standard and LE versions as well. It'd been said that only 20 of the DR LE cart sets were made in their entirety (complete with a slick full-color screen overlay, dedicated old-school Vectrex cart casing and some other cool DR themed paperworks).

Upon booting up DR, you're greeted by the usual Revival Studios logo and proceeds to the main title. Upon starting a brand new session, you'll notice that there aren't any sound effects to accompany the gameplay but rather a simple music loop plays in the background. There is built-in support for the optional VecVox accessory if so desired (but will encounter a bug if going that particular route). (I think if having an option to include the choice of either listening to sound effects or a simple BGM tune to listen to when playing would've been a better option IMO.) Of course, you can simply turn off the volume and substitute your own favorite shmup BGMs to play in the background is a better alternative workaround/solution (can mask the usual buzzing sounds found on the USA region Vectrex consoles whereas with the UK Vectrexs, Milton Bradley had the buzzy noise removed entirely).

By using a mixture of both simulated bit-mapped graphics and vector graphics, it gets the job done quite well for a Vectrex based shmup title. It's recommended to crank up the brightness of the overall vector screen so that the graphics come in crystal clear but not to the point of having the center of the screen blooming if using a 1st party GCE produced screen overlay or a 3rd-party produced one. By using the classic GCE produced Minestorm screen overlay does give DR, that cool sci-fi blue-ish colored hue overall aesthetic/vibe.

With a grand total of sixteen stages and an end-stage boss to defeat in each one, DR does fit the bill of a retro arcade shmup harkening from the early 1980s if you will (with some modern-day twists 'n' spins added for good measure).

There is support to have a two-player simultaneous gameplay if you have a second Vectrex control panel on hand (or a modified Sega Genesis or SNES gamepad to work on the Vectrex works wonders as well).

There's a second mini game worth taking a spin but it uses the analog stick of the 1P Vectrex control panel and is regarded as a one player game at best -- it's called Astro Dodge and you simply avoid the oncoming asteroids to score points. Since you've only got one life, try to last as long as possible is the name of the game. The classic game of the Atari VCS/2600 Kaboom! game comes to mind with comparing the simplistic gameplay mechanic of Astro Dodge.

There's a cool unlockable feature section where if you meet the requirements, you'll unlock some cool bonus features. However, if you power down the Vectrex for the night, then those previously unlocked bonuses will be be locked again upon rebooting it the next time. So it makes sense to keep the Vectrex powered long enough to unlock said bonuses.

Instead of a traditional high score screen complete with high score initials (like shown with Protector in it's 1st & 2nd Edition releases), if you get a high score, you'll see a unique generated code that if you enter on the Revivial Studios site, you can upload your high scores by going that method.

It's quite impressive to see an indie game studio attempt to do a serious shmup on the ol' Vectrex despite it's hardware limitations. I'm sure with the higher capacity 256kb and 512kb Vectrex carts with some dedicated on-board RAM & NVRAM + switch banking functionality, such new possibilities in regards to new shmup titles on the Vectrex would be a reality.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[LordHypnos]

Wow, just looked up a trailer on youtube and it looks pretty cool. nice!