Samidare - The packaging for this one didn't make it look very good at all, so I almost didn't buy it. Good thing I did though - it's really damn cool. Responsive control, excellent bullet patterns, and fantastic music. The recharging shield system is well balanced too, as it lets you absorb bullets (and increase your firepower in the process) but the meter depletes fast enough and there are enough bullets onscreen to keep it from being overpowering. The game is obviously "heavily inspired" by the Shanghai Alice Touhou games (it's worth noting that this game stars a ship and not a bunch of cute girls), so if you like those, then you'll like this too.
Espalion - Bleh. I've played much better. The rotating weapon/shield system it uses is okay, and there's enough going on to make it mildly interesting, but everything feels a little second-rate. The bosses have been decent, but the levels are really long and not nearly as fun... pass on this one, you can do better with your money.
Royal Endoma Engine - this is the manic isometric shmup from Murasame Hanten that grabbed some attention a while ago. It's up to his usual standards of quality visuals and responsive control, but the whole "manic isometric" thing just doesn't work quite as well as you might hope. You have a lifebar (which is very necessary) so you don't get totally screwed when you misjudge your place on the screen, but it's still kind of hard to gauge where you are properly. It's still fun and definitely worth the low cost (yay cheap doujin prices), and the game is unique (how many manic isometrics have you played?) so I definitely got my money's worth.
Zenichi - I mixed this up with another doujin game I played a demo of a long time ago and didn't like at all, so I almost passed on this one too. That would have been a crime, as this game is AWESOME. Smooth controls, great levels, fun bosses, interesting bullet patterns, four unique playable ships... even the music is good. Lots of inspiration drawn from good games too - you get bonus points for killing ships quickly as in Raiden Fighters (it even uses the same message
), and you get a shield occasionally as in Batsugun. Perhaps the only thing that seems a little odd is the size of your ship - as in games like Vasara, your ship looks a little large, but your hitbox is pretty small. I adjusted quickly though. Definitely one of the best doujin shmups I've played (and I've only scratched the surface of it); it's games like this that keep my faith in independent products high.Non-shmup reviews (just because):
Maid-san wo migi ni (Move the maid to the right) - Platformer from Murasame Hanten. Looks great but the controls are a little off. It's clearly inspired by Castlevaina (gothic theme, a whip-like weapon, and candles to destroy for items), which is good, and the bosses are awesome, but the somewhat unresponsive handling kind of ruins it for me. Decent for a doujin game still, but Murasame should stick to shmups methinks.
Kuraspe (Clannad Spelunker) - A remake of the famous/infamous game Spelunker with the girls from Clannad as the main characters. Still difficult, but nowhere near as infuriating as the real Spelunker. Responsive controls, good jumping puzzles, lots of places to go, and a lot of obstacles to overcome make this one of the best doujin platformers I've played - just be ready to deal with dying. A lot. If you've played Spelunker you'll enjoy it more, but it's not necessary. The super-cute characters don't hurt either.
Highly recommended for old-school platforming fans.As usual, these games will be really hard to get ahold of outside of Japan, but if you're interested (Zenichi, Samidare, and Kurasupe are all worth seeking out for sure, and Royal Endoma Engine is probably worth it too) I saw several of them for sale at Himeya Soft. You can probably find them at the other few stores that sell doujin games, but I don't remember where any of them are (when I go back to the US, I'll shop at Himeya again, they've always treated me well).
Demos are available for several of these but I don't have any links handy. Google is your friend.
