How's the gameplay of Atlus' 1991 Pollux arcade PCB?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Came across GP's site with an interesting arcade flyer promoting Altus' 1991 Pollux arcade shmup PCB title. How's the gameplay & game mechanics of it? Looks like your average arcade Raiden shmup clone. I don't ever recall any of my local arcades getting it in to try it out back in the early 1990s. It'd probably be due to it's intial Japanese game center distribution routes.

Of course, Atlus of Japan did eventually form a USA arcade subsidairy known as Atlus USA to distribute their arcade PCB conversion kits stateside later on in the mid-1990s (like with the USA region Donpachi PCB conversion kit complete with full-sized backlit arcade marquee back in 1994-1995).

Am not sure what the background story was of Atlus USA not releasing the International version Dodonpachi PCB conversion kits in the USA (despite it's all-English text for the storylines included)...but it could've easily been done so. One plausible theory could be that Atlus USA saw how crazy the danmaku gameplay was on DDP and American arcade shmup fans would've been too timid/not interested in playing it despite the Donpachi name recognition factor from a few years earlier. We'll really never know the real reason why DDP wasn't distributed in the USA unless we can talk with some ex-Atlus USA employees about that particular issue.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[emphatic]

So, is it Altus or Atlus you're talking about?

IIRC, it is a pretty generic game.

[kernow]

Never played it, but I've heard it dubbed 'bollux' in the past.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

So, is it Altus or Atlus you're talking about?

IIRC, it is a pretty generic game.

Whoops, fixed that slight typo error. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Interesting wordplay on the slang term of bollux short for bollocks, kernow. Just like with Namco of Japan wanting to release Pac-Man in the USA under it's original name moniker of "Puck-Man". Would've come across of some incidents of grafitti scrawled to make it read "Fuck-Man" instead if they did so. Very wise decision on their part to make the simple name change for the better.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Damocles]

It's pretty generic. Piss-easy most of the time as well.

[ZOM]

Yeah, pretty much generic & easy. Also, I don't get the feeling away that the developers wanted to rip-off Tatsujin.

[GaijinPunch]

Pretty sure it was meantto be Bollox and they even fucked that up.

[BulletMagnet]

For once, GP, you are not the first one to make a specific genitalia-related joke.

[Drum]

It's definitely trying to be Truxton-y, at least graphically.

One thing I really like is the bullet magnet things that draw the fire away from you. I haven't seen them in any other games - that's one idea that rescues Pollux from the generic label. They should have done more with it though.