V.V (ヴイ ファイヴ)
Jun. 5th, 2011 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leynosI can't type Vee Five (V.V) without it looking like a weird emoticon, hence the katakana.
V.V is an historically significant game for the following reason: Batsugun is the progenitor of the modern danmaku shoot 'em up, and V.V is effectively a rough cut of Batsugun. This is proto-danmaku.
It's quite fascinating to see Toaplan play with the ideas that would come to shape the shooting genre for the next twenty years. It's not just Batsugun. Shades of what would go on to become DonPachi are clearly evident, not least in the primary weapon, which can be switched between a beam and spread shot. The slightly awkward implementation of this transition owes more to Aleste than DonPachi, but I like being able to trace clear routes of progression down the genealogy of the games I play.
Technically, it works. Rather well at that. The Mega Drive version is the closest thing to bullet hell you're going to find on the Mega Drive, and the developers have clearly thought about where they can push things and where not to, so that they play to the console's strengths. I'm looking forwards to playing the arcade version for comparison sake.
It's one of those late Tangen published games, so sadly it's a bit on the pricy side, but I'm sure that won't stop anyone.
V.V is an historically significant game for the following reason: Batsugun is the progenitor of the modern danmaku shoot 'em up, and V.V is effectively a rough cut of Batsugun. This is proto-danmaku.
It's quite fascinating to see Toaplan play with the ideas that would come to shape the shooting genre for the next twenty years. It's not just Batsugun. Shades of what would go on to become DonPachi are clearly evident, not least in the primary weapon, which can be switched between a beam and spread shot. The slightly awkward implementation of this transition owes more to Aleste than DonPachi, but I like being able to trace clear routes of progression down the genealogy of the games I play.
Technically, it works. Rather well at that. The Mega Drive version is the closest thing to bullet hell you're going to find on the Mega Drive, and the developers have clearly thought about where they can push things and where not to, so that they play to the console's strengths. I'm looking forwards to playing the arcade version for comparison sake.
It's one of those late Tangen published games, so sadly it's a bit on the pricy side, but I'm sure that won't stop anyone.
