VERY curious about Natsuki Chronicle. I know it was rumored for a long time, and at one point (or several, perhaps), thought to be a dead project. The fact that it was announced as ready for release, then basically released within a couple weeks, was a shock to many. I don’t have any of the Xbox One line, but this is supposed to get a PC release, so I’m wondering when I might be able to grab it, or if it will remain exclusive to the Xbox One, from a console standpoint. It would be a shame for the game to not get more exposure, because it looks fantastic. Footage I’ve seen so far gives me a major old school shmup vibe, and I dig that.
I know for a fact that the Japanese release was, but looking it up it seems the US release was also region locked.
Detana! Twinbee is out for Arcade Archives on Switch and PS4 today:
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Is this just in Japan or US also today?
US too. You can always check the eshop on the web even if you don’t do your purchasing there.
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I forgot it was called Bells and Whistles in the west and couldn’t find it at first.
Picked up an Xbox One X for Natsuki Chronicle earlier this week and set up my Xbox 360 on Friday night so I could finally get round to playing Ginga Force. What I didn’t expect was to spend almost the entire weekend playing both games. It’s been a while since I’ve binged on new games over a weekend but the quality of both games really speaks for itself here.
I really like how Natsuki Chronicle is appreciably different to Ginga Force. Any similarities - in setting, with the weapon customisation - are only surface level. Not just content with switching the perspective over to Natsuki, Qute also switches to a horizontal perspective and this is used to its full potential. Level terrain and large objects often need to be considered now, and using the full widescreen means covering your back is more important now. This extends to weapon customisation, where you might want to equip a Wave type weapon because it can shoot through walls and barriers.
The mechanics have been rethought and refined. In Chronicle mode you get three rechargeable shields from the off and gain EX shields buffers whenever you ‘level up’ a stage. The EX shields aren’t rechargeable so in order for them to have a positive impact you basically have to master what you played before you died, which is a nice thought. Or you can just ignore them and set them to zero - much like you could with Ginga Force’s starting ship count.
Arcade mode is superb, too. The entire game has been rethought for a full run. Instead of the pre-set ships of Ginga Force you now pick and choose from upgrades at certain points in the level, and those upgrades grant you color-coded EX Shield buffers. Lose these buffers and you lose your upgrades too. It really encourages you to play flexibly.
My only real complaint with the game is how a couple of the stages on normal difficulty are a bit dull and uninvolved before you get to the boss fights. Actually while Natsuki Chronicle is more refined and balanced than Ginga Force, it does also sometimes feel like it’s lacking in spectacle - making it less exhilarating to play. I think this is largely down to the shift to side-scrolling horizontal camera. It’s fixed throughout the entire game, so there’s none of the awe-inspiring camera-work and perspective shifts that both Eschatos and Ginga Force executed so well.
The level design is largely good enough to make it as exhilarating as Qute’s other work, though. There’s a cramped underground base, an interesting side-scrolling take on Ginga Force’s mine area, a desert with a bunch of barricades. Chapter 9 is a highlight - you’re assaulted by massive laser beams throughout the whole level while the enemies get tougher and tougher, before it all ends with a battle against a central core. And the laser SFX are all orchestrated in time with the music. It’s just superb.
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I did a no death run of Salamander Arcade!
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Congrats!
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Tonight’s Sunday Night Shmup is the Arcade Archives version of Detana! Twinbee:
Gorgeous and colorful visuals, fast paced and furious gameplay which is split between charge beam play, Xevious style bombing and manic shooting all enhanced with some great power ups and fun co-op play, it’s not only a great comical shooter, it’s truly one of the great shmups of Konami’s early ‘90s golden age. I also own the PCE version which is a great port and highly recommended as well.
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I also put it on Youtube funny enough.
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Thanks for the write up!
What’s the YouTube link?
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Just got done watching it, nice work! 
And I think I learned a few pointers for whenever I try to do a 1cc on it. 
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You’re welcome! It was more rambling than it needed to be, but there’s just so much to think about with the game.
Slowly getting there with Hard difficulty on Natsuki Chronicle…
Purely on development circumstance I hope this isn’t the last game of its type on console. There are a lot of aspects to its development - like the bespoke engine and single format release - which we rarely see in a multiplatform world. 2018’s Rolling Gunner not being on a middleware game engine (it does use middleware for animation) gives me hope that wholly bespoke games can still exist.
Still, I’m willing to bet that City Connection’s rereleases of Deathsmiles will be on Unity like Psyvariar was. And R-Type 2 seems like it’ll go on Unity or Unreal with all the input lag that comes with it.
I just got the Salamander Deluxe Pack for Saturn in the mail yesterday, so I’ll have to give this a watch, and get some tips!
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Yep, it has some tips in key areas to make them more manageable.
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Maybe the devs were fans of the KLF? 