Mamorukun ReCurse!

As a huge fan of Pocky & Rocky on the SNES back in my early teens, I was quite excited when Mamorukun ReCurse! was announced. Taking a similar top down three-quarter view as P&R (which has been similarly updated and re-released courtesy of ININ), Momorukun Curse! was originally released in 2013 by G.Rev for Playstation 3 (and Xbox in foreign markets). It didn't make much of a splash, with limited advertising and shmup's seen as a very niche market given the popularity of first person shooters at the time.

Thanks to Clear River Games, who have been tireless in bringing back similar arcade classics like Under Defeat, Momorukun ReCurse! gives gamers another chance to appreciate the arcade thrills of this really top notch shooter. 

Story Mode sees you taking on the role of Mamoru Tomoka, recently deceased and cast into the spirit world, it's Mamoru who leads the charge against the invading army. Suffering from memory loss and immediately recruited by a "Lady Fululu" as one of her "chosen souls" tasked with defending the Netheworld. You're joined by other characters who can also be selected thanks to all the DLC being included in this release.

The presentation is great, with the story mode presented via animated manga panels which introduce the cast. These can also be selected from the menu as they're unlocked, alongside the two main game modes - Arcade, Netherworld Adventures and Story.

In each mode, you'll use the same basic controls - in this re-release of the game you can select twin-stick shooting rather than having to face the direction you're firing in and is my preferred mode as it's much more responsive, but this comes down to personal choice. You can fire standard or cursed bullets, the latter of which has multiple functions. If you just fire a cursed bullet without charging, you'll create a ring that you can step into and it will increase your firepower for a short period. Alternatively you can charge the shot and fire on enemies - this will deal them continuous damage but it will also increase the attacks the enemy fires at you, so it has a very keen risk/reward mechanic that's a lot of fun to play with. 

Arcade Mode is vertical, making the game feel a little claustrophobic 

As for each mode, let's start with the original - Arcade is a recreation of the 2008 cabinet release where you race against the clock. This also has the screen in a vertical mode which focuses much of the fire and makes things harder to dodge. 

Story mode allows you to switch between five different characters while solving each stage's mysteries while following the narrative via more animated manga panels. This mode also supports widescreen and is the most visually impressive. It also allows you to choose paths, so there's plenty of replay value here.

Netherworld Adventures offers pre-determined paths and challenges, allowing you to switch between five characters - it's a lot of fun but I'd save this until you've mastered the base game.

Graphically the game is sharp and appealing, all the sprites moving smoothly across some attractive backgrounds. The characters are colourful and endearing, carrying a similar vibe to something like Disgaea which is no bad thing. Enemies are varied and memorable, while bullets fly like fireworks around the screen, requiring some fancy footwork while you return fire - in all it's an absolute blast to just reach that zen like state of taking in all the moving parts and just gracefully moving across the screen firing your own multi-coloured death. 

Despite the sugar-coated aesthetics, the game is hard as nails, especially in the latter stages. As you'd expect with a game designed to gobble change, it throws everything at you and it will take genuine skill to conquer it. It's certainly a game that caters to a certain audience, so if you're not a fan of shmups you may find this a frustrating game due to its unforgiving nature, but arcade fans that play for bragging rights should fit right in here.

I really enjoyed my time with Mamorukun ReCurse!, it's not just an excellent shooter, it's also chock full of quality content, with game modes to challenge you for days and unlockables to find. Fans of the shmup genre will find a lot to love here, and if you're so inclined Clear River Games have even produced a widely available "Underworld Edition" which will be released on November 18th.