Project Formation Z -- The Remake

[m.sniffles.esq]

From your buddies at Granzella

Coming in 202X

[Rastan78]

Watching that trailer reminded me of the Thexder Neo remake for PSP. That one was done by Zereo who also did the newer Ikaruga ports.

[Sengoku Strider]

That looks dope. I'm in.

[DenimDemon]

Those explosion are taken directly from Final 2. The whole trailer looks like a Rtype Final 2 DLC.

[xxx1993]

Ooh, this is unexpected…

[Sengoku Strider]

Those explosion are taken directly from Final 2. The whole trailer looks like a Rtype Final 2 DLC.

I mean, who knows if they even have a pre-alpha build at this point. if they're putting year X in the release date they can't be very far along, I'm sure we're seeing a lot of placeholder assets.

[kid aphex]

Doesn’t look awful… but certainly doesn’t look great.
Looks… lifeless.
Sort of like R-Type Final 2.

[Necronom]

Those explosion are taken directly from Final 2. The whole trailer looks like a Rtype Final 2 DLC.

It's obviously the same engine. They're also recycling assets...in a sort of creative way
I don't mind if it plays fine.

[BulletMagnet]

if they're putting year X in the release date they can't be very far along, I'm sure we're seeing a lot of placeholder assets.

Alternatively, how many times did Cave recycle the explosion graphics and sound effects from DoDonPachi over the years (some bullet types too, IIRC), and they're not remotely alone in that regard, either within the realm of shmupdom or without; everyone draws the line where reused content crosses over into "excessive" territory in a different place, but I personally wouldn't be surprised, or necessarily put off, if the existing assets do wind up in the finished product.

[Sengoku Strider]

if they're putting year X in the release date they can't be very far along, I'm sure we're seeing a lot of placeholder assets.

Alternatively, how many times did Cave recycle the explosion graphics and sound effects from DoDonPachi over the years (some bullet types too, IIRC), and they're not remotely alone in that regard, either within the realm of shmupdom or without; everyone draws the line where reused content crosses over into "excessive" territory in a different place, but I personally wouldn't be surprised, or necessarily put off, if the existing assets do wind up in the finished product.

How many times did every Japanese company in the 90s recycle anime explosion sounds? Like, all of the times.

[Lander]

It certainly has that Granzella style - solid assets run through a top-level renderer (I shan't say top-level engine, since Unreal is an arthiritic old crank underneath all of its graphical bells and whistles ) with a lack of attention paid to the PBR channels and other art parameters needed to really get the most out of the tech.

I won't be holding my breath for polish, seeing as Final 2 still has some ropey-looking base game areas a year or so into its life. Perhaps this will be different since it's a focused remake rather than an anthology-dlc-content-platform-a-do, but better to assume that what we're shown is close to what we'll get.

Criticism aside, the gameplay looks like some novel fun. Kind of reminds me of Transbot on the master system, only with much more going on and better differentiation between the jet and robot forms. Angling your shot based on ship pitch seems unconventional (read: utter heresy), but has the potential to be a powerful tool if it controls well.

And that city stage fly-in is very R-Type Delta I'm a sucker for the imagery of a starfighter screaming in to save the day, so that's an easy and effective pop-off.

[To Far Away Times]

if they're putting year X in the release date they can't be very far along, I'm sure we're seeing a lot of placeholder assets.

Alternatively, how many times did Cave recycle the explosion graphics and sound effects from DoDonPachi over the years (some bullet types too, IIRC), and they're not remotely alone in that regard, either within the realm of shmupdom or without; everyone draws the line where reused content crosses over into "excessive" territory in a different place, but I personally wouldn't be surprised, or necessarily put off, if the existing assets do wind up in the finished product.

There's a particular "egg shell shaped shrapnel bit" that is used in nearly everything CAVE ever made. Blow up a giant bug or a dinosaur... okay that checks out. But shoot down a giant space ship, the still use it. Destroy a guy with a crazy angelic wing back back, sure it fits there too I suppose. Blow up a giant cow, why not use it there too? You don't pay per use.

They can't resist that thing the way foley artists in movies can't resist the doppler shift semi truck horn sound.

[Rastan78]

I feel like Psikyo had to be recycling a lot of explosion effects between games. Never looked at them close enough to be totally sure though.

Actually a lot of great games heavily rely on reusing assets. Even some of the best of all time. Metal Slugs, Raiden Fighters, Capcom and SNK fighters ad nauseum, Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons, guest ships in Batrider etc etc.

Sure you don't want to excuse some kind of cheap ass shovelware approach, but if reusing some assets leads to a better game within the given time and budget I'm all for it.

I think there's also something to be said for how certain series ie the Slugs, Raiden Fighters and Zelda GBC games form sort of a cohesive set of games out of familiar building blocks.

[EmperorIng]

The asset reuse is amusing but not a big deal for me. Honestly what strikes me the most about the trailer is the random, "my first game made in Unreal" tier enemy placement and movement (sine waves!). I know it's a proof of concept but Granzella should have more tricks up their sleeve than that, it looks very similar to the barebones Final2 trailers and those were years ago now. Here's to hoping we see some real improvement.

[Jeneki]

I see transforming mechs, I want to play.

It's certainly been an interesting past few years. Cotton sequel, Terra Cresta sequel, now Formation Z.

[Despatche]

Oh, I was wondering what that image was about. Interesting, wonder if it'll be something like Sol Cresta.

"something that was never great in the past", Christ people do not deserve video games.

[Rastan78]

There's a new trailer for this one

https://youtu.be/SDY2VM7XNJc?si=kXwda8PcNj0HxQyZ

[Lander]

They sure frontloaded the weakest part... The disparity between image quality and everything else in that hangar / takeoff scene could easily pass for an asset flip.

Worlds are at stake.

Tell my significant other 'hello'.

The rest looks a bit more promising - nice deep parallax on some of those city backgrounds.

[xEbb1993x]

https://www.gematsu.com/2026/01/fz-form ... h-2-and-pc

Now cleared for launch on May 21st. That's the same release date as Psyvariar 3.

[Marchrius75]

Hello,
sorry for my bad english. I've a question for FORMATION Z.
Someone know if the game will be a twin-stick shooter, i ask it about robot form phases. Or it will be a classic shoot em up?
Thanks for a reply

[xEbb1993x]

Now that the game's out, I need to know if I should get it on PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2.

[Jonpachi]

Picked this up on Switch 2. First impressions:

- Runs great on Switch 2 with solid performance and no noticeable lag.
- Feels great as a portable game, with big chunky bullets and a pace that fits the small screen well.
- Seems to have been built with analog control in mind similarly to Under Defeat New Order mode. I haven't tried a stick yet, and I don't know that I feel the need to as it seems designed around modern controllers. Your enjoyment of this may vary.
- This is a pure no-frills Famicom game. It's full of cheap deaths that can only be overcome with hard rote memorization of the stages. If you played the original, you know what you're getting. If you're under 40 you may not have the nostalgia goggles for this one. You will likely take many attempts just to clear the first stage.
- LOVE the visual design of the stages. It looks like a Macross toy set come to life in a little diorama. We just don't get fun stage designs in 3D like this in very many shmups, and there's some real love that went into this.

If you are an 8-bit hero, this is maybe worth a look but there is very little here for anyone else.

[xEbb1993x]

You make it sound like the game is difficult. Is the Switch 2 version the way to go, then?

[Jonpachi]

You make it sound like the game is difficult. Is the Switch 2 version the way to go, then?

It's aggressively old school. It's just ALL cheap deaths and rote memorization. Expect to move forward a few screens, get punked, remember to avoid that cheap trap next time, repeat. As an old NES kid, I fall into the groove pretty quickly and do enjoy the process of breaking down the patterns, but it's hardly a modern shmup experience and I would think most younger players would view it as a mess. I mean, the original game was quite clunky even by mid-80's standards.

If you want the absolute best possible version there's never any question really that you should go with PS5. The Switch 2 port seems fine, and I'm a Switch collector so I started there, but if you're building a Criterion Collection of games it's not really a question which version you should go for.

[xEbb1993x]

Okay then. Because I'm gonna get a Switch 2 and I was wondering if I should get this, Psyvariar 3, and the upcoming Truxton Extreme for that or for PS5. I just hope this game has unlimited continues so I can keep trying over and over again.

[Jonpachi]

Okay then. Because I'm gonna get a Switch 2 and I was wondering if I should get this, Psyvariar 3, and the upcoming Truxton Extreme for that or for PS5. I just hope this game has unlimited continues so I can keep trying over and over again.

It does not, at least not from what I've seen so far. I assume it scales up, but you start with 3 credits.

[xEbb1993x]

So just like R-Type Final 2, then...

[DenimDemon]

Okay then. Because I'm gonna get a Switch 2 and I was wondering if I should get this, Psyvariar 3, and the upcoming Truxton Extreme for that or for PS5. I just hope this game has unlimited continues so I can keep trying over and over again.

Was messing with the game last night for the first time and had stocked 29 credits after a while...

[Jonpachi]

Yeah it seems to start spewing out extra credits after a few rounds. Really weird they just keep adding to the total instead of just unlocking unlimited.

I've been playing more and I have to amend my original comment on the Switch 2 version being stable. That's true until you hit deeper into Stage 3 when the FPS goes to shit. Feels like it gets sub-30 at some parts. Unreal Engine on Switch hardware has always been problematic, even with the newer console.

[xEbb1993x]

PS5 is the way to go, then.