Fast Striker 1.5 [Independent Dreamcast Game]

I was surprised to find out how good the gameplay was in this one. It may not quite be at the same level of some of the Dreamcast shmups from the DC's heyday, like Mars Matrix, but it seems to be somewhat unappreciated by the shmup community at large, and it's definately solid.The novice, original, and maniac modes all play pretty differently with different mechanics and scoring systems, and the DC game comes with the bonus "Omake" mode, if the Maniac mode isn't already hard enough for you. The basics of gameplay involve danmaku type patterns, and the classic "tap for shot with normal speed, and hold for a more powerful, focused attack and also slower movement to better make tight dodges" like in Do Don Pachi, or something (In novice mode this works differently, and in maniac and omake modes it works similarly, but looks different, and I think relates to scoring more). The gimmick here is that you can shoot backward or forward, and instead of a smartbomb, you get a shield that dissolves bullets that it touches and makes you go faster. it's used much like a smart bomb though. This is not the first game to feature bidirectional shot, though it might be the first to have a shield the way it does, but the levels are laid out well for the mechanics, and I think overall it's got original enough ideas going on. Also, the music is fantastic, and the visuals are impressive for a Neo Geo game (which is what it was designed for), but sort of dull. On the other hand, the dullness means you'll never have trouble seeing the many, colorful bullets.This is probably my favorite NG:DEV.TEAM game, and is one of my top DC indie games, so yeah, Get it!