Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special

I love shoot em ups and about 10-15 years ago, I went through a huge slew of them on the Sega Saturn. These days, those same games are deathly expensive to purchase legit copies of, but you won't find a better collection in the genre. Games like DoDonPachi, Soukyugurentai, Galactic Attack/RayForce, Batsugun, Hyper Duel, Battle Garegga, Radiant Silvergun and so many more had effectively set unfair standards of what I expect from a shoot em up and it's rare these days to find one that lives up to those expectations. For those that don't know, this game is from that era and it too did get a release on the Sega Saturn. Except, I wouldn't put in the top half of the good games. Back then, I did an unpublished review of the game where I said it was a serviceable game in an overcrowded genre on a console where that genre shines. Coming back to it 10+ years later, my opinion hasn't really changed. The thing is, there are still plenty of things going for it. Forget that you can't rebound keys for a moment because most of the negative reviews cite that as the main issue. I played with a controller because to me, that is what you use for games like this; it seems crazy to me to use a keyboa…

Recommended. 8/10* The game is a compilation of Game Tengoku arcade and console versions. It's short; you can reach the credits screen in under half an hour in each version. However, there are several characters to choose from, making it easy to replay. The new menus and main UI are very good; the colors and art look fantastic. The pixel art is beautiful, and the character design is incredible. Everything has a very kawaii aesthetic. However, once you're actually playing, you can see that it hasn't aged particularly well, though it still looks decent. This is worse in the console version because the screen zooms in, making everything appear larger. It's also worth mentioning that enemy bullets are yellow, and since the background is rarely dark, they're sometimes difficult to see. This is exacerbated, again, in the console version by the zoom, where the bullets also feel somewhat fast due to the short screen range. The music is good; it gets stuck in your head. And what is absolutely incredible is the voice acting and the dialogues—10/10! Every time I hear it, it makes me happy and smile, and i don't even know japanese. Another thing I think is really good is the anime-style openi…

i think in an hour of gameplay I've already seen EVERYTHING the game has to offer; it's pretty average and as of today it's very okay at least...

Positives: A highly addictive traditional style shmup. Visual style is excellent. A time attack mode that offers a little twist to proceedings. Character variety. Every ship offers a unique style of gameplay. Online leaderboards. Performs well on Steam Deck (docked and hand-held) Negatives: The price. CruisinMix is not a £25 game. Clunky leaderboards. Sometimes they work.....sometimes they don't. 1920 x 1080 is the max allowed resolution. Occasional blurry visuals. Enemy bullets blend into background making them difficult to see. No leaderboards for original mode. No button mapping. I only paid a few pounds for the game so I can kinda live with most of those negatives - but the fact remains that this is a £25 game and for that reason alone there's no excuse for any amount of subpar quality - it should be a highly polished product. Period! So, even though I picked it up the game for next to nothing and have enjoyed my time with it, the rose-tinted glasses have to come off.......

Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special, developed by CITY CONNECTION and KADOKAWA CORPORATION and published by KOMODO, is a vibrant revival of a cult classic arcade shoot ’em up that proudly embraces excess, parody, and pure arcade energy. Rooted in Jaleco’s original Game Tengoku series, this modernized release doesn’t attempt to sanitize or reinvent its identity; instead, it amplifies everything that made the original memorable, from its irreverent humor and colorful cast to its unapologetically old-school design philosophy. The result is a shooter that feels both like a time capsule from the golden age of arcades and a polished celebration of that era for contemporary audiences. At its core, the game is a vertically scrolling shooter that emphasizes constant movement, precise dodging, and aggressive offense. Players choose from a roster of eccentric characters and ships, each pulled from Jaleco’s history and reimagined with exaggerated personalities and distinct weapon styles. These differences are not cosmetic; shot spreads, bomb behaviors, and movement speed meaningfully change how each character handles, encouraging experimentation and replayability. Whether you prefer focused firep…

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