Fire Arrow Plus

Expresso Shmup. Intense with a subtle but refined smoky aftertaste.

Just like the Store description says, these bite-sized shmups are inspired by the so-called "Caravan" games of the 1980s and 90s, special versions of shmups of the era, redesigned as time attack modes lasting only a few minutes; the PC Engine was especially prolific with them, as most of the titles of this small subgenre were made to be played in tournaments hosted by Hudson Soft and Naxat Soft, two of the console's biggest contributors. Cartridges of those games, especially the ones given as prizes to winners of the tournaments, fetch absurd prices nowadays. Faithful to that format, these two games offer modes that last only a few minutes each and ramp up in difficulty quite quickly; to make runs a little less predictable, there are some randomized elements to keep them relatively fresh, as much as such short experiences allow. They are quick and compact experiences, even in the space they take on disk, just a dozen megabytes each. While the backgrounds are predictably quite limited, the spritework is nice, and I especially like those "modular" mini-bosses and mid-bosses, made up of a few segmented sprites. Be warned that on some systems, [b]Fire Arrow[/b] may suffer from…

Fire Arrow Plus is a niche shooter that proudly embraces the traditions of classic arcade gaming rather than chasing modern trends. Developed and published by Team Grybanser Fox, the game packages together Fire Arrow Remastered and its companion title, Fire Arrow X, creating a collection aimed squarely at fans of score-chasing shoot-'em-ups. Its presentation immediately recalls the days of 16-bit consoles and Japanese arcade cabinets, favoring pixel art, straightforward mechanics, and lightning-fast gameplay over cinematic spectacle. What initially appears to be a simple retro throwback gradually reveals itself as a carefully tuned experience built around replayability and player mastery. The heart of Fire Arrow Plus lies in its Caravan-inspired design philosophy. Matches are intentionally short, often lasting only three or five minutes, encouraging players to squeeze every possible point from each attempt. Instead of lengthy campaigns, the game emphasizes refining strategies, memorizing enemy patterns, and improving performance over time. The inclusion of multiple modes, including Novice Mode for beginners and more challenging unlockable options for veterans, gives players room t…

hardass game.

Fire Arrow Plus is a okay small indy team, I believe sophomore effort at a shoot 'em up. It is very responsive, if far too fast for my tastes, but has a nice presentation. The game allows the player to switch back and forth between a straight shot and wide shot ship. Although, I found myself sticking with the wide shot. As I couldn't tell to much of a difference, and the wide shot allowed me to keep my powerups. Which make the game several times easier. Like night and day. Which was just how things were in the early days with Truxton, but feels outdated these days. I'd rather the game leave the powerups out and just tune for what the player has the whole time. Or at least keep power ups to only a couple of levels and fast to regain those levels. On novice, the game is two bosses long. Which is as far as I reached in any of the versions. I just happened to have a good run and kept my power ups. It was a tad easier, but not my much. I think the game just runs too fast. Which I can't even say is the game or that the game was developed for computers 10 years ago. As I have played few of the shmups from this dev, and I swear they run at different speeds. Fire Armor Plus is a col…

This package contains TWO games: Fire Arrow and Fire Arrow Plus Fire Arrow is an awesome tribute to 90s arcade shooters. It's full of challenges thrown at you quickly, with all the bonus powers you need, if you manage to collect them in time. Fire Arrow is perfectly engineered to vacuum quarters out of your pocket at an early 1990s lobby or arcade. It didn't exist then, but you can play it now without burning through all your fun money. I highly recommend it. On the other hand, Fire Arrow Plus is just like a late 1990s sequel that tried too hard. The sprite stretching effects are typical of that era, but not pleasant to look at. In this game you are assaulted with a bullet hell of yoga-ball shots as big as half your ship--even with a tiny hitbox you don't have much of a chance. And the boss ships, while they look cool, they fill the whole screen area and sweep across in patterns that look unavoidable. In the late 90s, after spending two quarters I would have wandered to a different lobby. Conclusion: Definitely buy this to play Fire Arrow! But if you find Fire Arrow Plus as frustrating as I did, just ignore it and stick with the original.