Introduction! Hey you! Yeah you. You like Battle Garegga? You like sequels? Then luckily the guys at Raizing/Eighting created an even more over the top shooter for the arcades. People say Battle Garegga is one of the greatest shooters of all time. So likely, a sequel to the game would make people very curious. But, does Battle Bakraid hold up to the legacy of the game? Let's find out.
Graphics- 10 This game looks great. The backgrounds looks nice, your planes look good, the bosses are huge and it appears that the problem I had with Battle Garegga in which the bullets mixed with the backgrounds seems to have finally disappeared. So I personally do not see any problems with the backgrounds. The problem I had with Battle Garegga's background and bullet design is gone now.
Sound- 8 The sound is very good in this game. Some might say it's even better than Battle Garegga's sound. Personally, the game's soundtrack isn't as memorable as Battle Garegga's soundtrack of course which is a crying shame to me. The sound track from the previous game was amazing and blended in with the game very well especially with the game's settings. However, in this game it isn't as blending as you think which is a problem. But that doesn't mean the game's soundtrack is bad. NO IT IS NOT. Just, not as blending as the previous game's soundtrack.
Addictiveness- 8 This game is nuts. It has grabbed me and now I can't stop playing the game. This game can be very addictive to the adept shmup fan. But considering others might not be fans, the crazy difficulty (which I will get to) will be quite a turn off for you. Which is a shame because you will be missing out on a very fun game.
Story- Once again, I have no idea why you are here if you are looking for a story. May I point you to the nearest JRPG game if you are expecting a story? Because if you are walking into a shooter for a story, then I'm sorry to say you might be looking at the wrong game. Though I do know that there are a handful of shooters that actually have a story. Like the ray series (Ray Storm, RayCrisis, and Ray Force/Gunlock/Galactic Attack).
Depth- 9 As if Battle Garegga can't get more stuff, Battle Bakraid supplies you with more ships (Battle Garegga had 8, this game has 9), gives you 2 more stages if you go in the advanced course (which in my opinion is the true way to play this game although the enemies get nastier there), more bosses to fight, a training mode so that the game can walk you into the mechanics (you only have to go through 4 stages and the game is less merciless), you can edit your planes (meaning you can choose what ship to use when you die), and a boss rush mode (if you want to skip all the levels and just want to kick some boss ass).
Difficulty- 10 I'll be completely honest. I have no idea what rating to give this game since the game has Battle Garegga's infamous rank system. The game is constantly adjusting the difficulty but I guess I can say the game is slightly easier than Battle Garegga in which you don't just have to die to lower the game's rank. You also have to graze bullets to bring the rank down.With the ranking increasing, the bullets get faster, more frantic, the enemies get angrier, and they get harder to shoot down. But I suppose to make the game simpler, the game supplies you with a small hitbox. Only to take back that kindness and constantly throw bullets at your face. After adding all of that up, I have to give the difficulty rank a 10 out of 10 but it really all depends on how you manipulate the rank system.
Final Verdict- 9! Has it really outclassed Battle Garegga? It's up to you, but to me, it has taken the game's mechanics and has attempted to improve on it. Have they succeeded? Yes. This game is definitely on par with all the other classic shooters like Darius, Raiden, it's prequel Battle Garegga, Gradius, and other great shooters of the past (since this game was released to the arcades in 1999). Battle Bakraid is definitely the shooter you must play with it's good controls, multiple planes, crazy gameplay, and a good presentation that can pull you in. Personally, I recommend this game. Seriously, go play this game please. Introduction! Hey you! Yeah you. You like Battle Garegga? You like sequels? Then luckily the guys at Raizing/Eighting created an even more over the top shooter for the arcades. People say Battle Garegga is one of the greatest shooters of all time. So likely, a sequel to the game would make people very curious. But, does Battle Bakraid hold up to the legacy of the game? Let's find out.
Graphics- 10 This game looks great. The backgrounds looks nice, your planes look good, the bosses are huge and it appears that the problem I had with Battle Garegga in which the bullets mixed with the backgrounds seems to have finally disappeared. So I personally do not see any problems with the backgrounds. The problem I had with Battle Garegga's background and bullet design is gone now.
Sound- 8 The sound is very good in this game. Some might say it's even better than Battle Garegga's sound. Personally, the game's soundtrack isn't as memorable as Battle Garegga's soundtrack of course which is a crying shame to me. The sound track from the previous game was amazing and blended in with the game very well especially with the game's settings. However, in this game it isn't as blending as you think which is a problem. But that doesn't mean the game's soundtrack is bad. NO IT IS NOT. Just, not as blending as the previous game's soundtrack.
Addictiveness- 8 This game is nuts. It has grabbed me and now I can't stop playing the game. This game can be very addictive to the adept shmup fan. But considering others might not be fans, the crazy difficulty (which I will get to) will be quite a turn off for you. Which is a shame because you will be missing out on a very fun game.
Story- Once again, I have no idea why you are here if you are looking for a story. May I point you to the nearest JRPG game if you are expecting a story? Because if you are walking into a shooter for a story, then I'm sorry to say you might be looking at the wrong game. Though I do know that there are a handful of shooters that actually have a story. Like the ray series (Ray Storm, RayCrisis, and Ray Force/Gunlock/Galactic Attack).
Depth- 9 As if Battle Garegga can't get more stuff, Battle Bakraid supplies you with more ships (Battle Garegga had 8, this game has 9), gives you 2 more stages if you go in the advanced course (which in my opinion is the true way to play this game although the enemies get nastier there), more bosses to fight, a training mode so that the game can walk you into the mechanics (you only have to go through 4 stages and the game is less merciless), you can edit your planes (meaning you can choose what ship to use when you die), and a boss rush mode (if you want to skip all the levels and just want to kick some boss ass).
Difficulty- 10 I'll be completely honest. I have no idea what rating to give this game since the game has Battle Garegga's infamous rank system. The game is constantly adjusting the difficulty but I guess I can say the game is slightly easier than Battle Garegga in which you don't just have to die to lower the game's rank. You also have to graze bullets to bring the rank down.With the ranking increasing, the bullets get faster, more frantic, the enemies get angrier, and they get harder to shoot down. But I suppose to make the game simpler, the game supplies you with a small hitbox. Only to take back that kindness and constantly throw bullets at your face. After adding all of that up, I have to give the difficulty rank a 10 out of 10 but it really all depends on how you manipulate the rank system.
Final Verdict- 9! Has it really outclassed Battle Garegga? It's up to you, but to me, it has taken the game's mechanics and has attempted to improve on it. Have they succeeded? Yes. This game is definitely on par with all the other classic shooters like Darius, Raiden, it's prequel Battle Garegga, Gradius, and other great shooters of the past (since this game was released to the arcades in 1999). Battle Bakraid is definitely the shooter you must play with it's good controls, multiple planes, crazy gameplay, and a good presentation that can pull you in. Personally, I recommend this game. Seriously, go play this game please. |