Tale of ALLTYNEX now on Steam
Following on from the release of RefleX in March, Nyu Media yesterday announced that KAMUI and ALLTYNEX Second, the respective first and last installments in the Tale of ALLTYNEX trilogy, are now available on Steam! Both titles come with Steam Achievements and Online Leaderboards for you die-hard bullet-hell shooter fanatics. Complete OSTs for each title are also be available as DLC.
Both KAMUI, ALLTYNEX Second, and all of the OSTs will be priced at £5.59 while bundle packs of select games and OSTs will be available at a reduced price.
Second is the first but first is the last?
First of all, let’s get the naming confusion out the way. In the original Japanese releases, KAMUI is the first title in the trilogy, followed by RefleX, and then ALLTYNEX Second. Chronologically however, KAMUI is the last chapter, and takes place thousands of years after RefleX, while ALLTYNEX Second is the start of the narrative. In Steam releases though, RefleX (the second title, remember?) was available before KAMUI and ALLTYNEX Second. And although the trilogy is collectively known as ‘The Tale of ALLTYNEX’, ALLTYNEX Second is the only title with the prefix ‘ALLTYNEX’.
Some people may find that all confusing. I say it adds character.
KAMUI
Developed well before video games were even a thing way back in the year 1998, KAMUI is a sprite-based, bullet-hell, arcade-style shooter with more energy than a motorbike event sponsored by the Monster drinks company.
There are two altitudes from which the enemies come at you, and only your auto-targeting lightning attack can take out the enemies on the lower one. This makes for really interesting playing where you’re not only paying attention to the distance of the enemies but also the depth, which is pretty awesome in a 2D top-down shooter.
For hardcore shmup fans, KAMUI also lets you TATE the display. That’s ‘rotating the screen 90 degrees to the right to display the field at the full size’ for the rest of you.
RefleX
Patashnik covered the release of RefleX here and since the words have already been written, I’ll be lazy pay homage to a fellow writer and quote them:
Your ship has a recharging shield you can activate when you’re in serious trouble – and also exploit to reflect certain attacks back at the enemy – which always makes you feel like a total badass when split-second timed to perfection.
The use of the shield also highlights how pure, how tight, how elegantly designed RefleX really is. It does away with any of the extraneous fluff that so many shooters layer in – you have your weapon, you have your shield – and that’s IT.
[The reflect mechanic provides] gameplay that constantly toys with your need to be safe and aggressive – it’s a fine line that’s delicately tuned and, for me, makes RefleX not just the finest game in this collection – but probably my favourite shmup of all time.
You can view the RefleX teaser trailer here
ALLTYNEX Second
I’ll be honest. ALLTYNEX Second is my favourite. While KAMUI started it all and RefleX has an awesome gameplay mechanic, AX2nd has moments where the 2.5D really comes alive and I couldn’t tell when objects in the background would spin into view or when the perspective would suddenly shift and I’d be soaring over a plane at a weird angle.
It’s exhilarating, it really is. Combined with the melee attack that requires you to risk life and robot-limb getting in close to use and the homing lasers that are just so satisfying, AX2nd is an example of a shmup taking design to a whole new level.
There’s even the option to watch your replays entirely in the cinematic camera view which completely removes the top-down approach in favour of fast pans around your ship and tilts around the stage. It’s how replays should be.
Just give me the links already!
Complete Soundtracks Store Page
- Dynasty Warriors 9 Review (PS4) - February 15, 2018
- Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood Review (PC) - July 12, 2017
- FFXIV FanFest Yoshi-P Q&A – Letter from the Producer Live - February 19, 2017
