Shinorubi

The saving grace is that Shinorubi works far better in handheld mode. It doesn’t look as displeasing, the boss designs are pretty heavy-duty, the frame rate doesn’t seem to be as messy, and your ship, while still overly quick, can travel the screen with greater ease. If you’re playing it portable, there’s some fun to be had with its various modes, of which it’s stuffed to bursting: boss rushes, caravan trials, a Muchi Muchi Pork-inspired rebounding pig score game (more interesting than the default, honestly), and a three-loop Journey event. The music, too, if you enjoy endless guitar solos, is well-executed and appropriately heavy.

The flashy, “loud” and repetitive visuals hinder battlefield readability, while standard, unremarkable shmup gameplay fails in helping Shinorubi stand out in any way. Floaty controls, forgettable bosses, and weak scoring systems leave behind an experience that is dull. Bad? No. Just painfully average.

Shinorubi's greatest merit is in breaking a nostalgic mold that limits the full potential that shoot 'em ups can achieve in current generations of games. The different game modes are also very welcome, and the different ships not only in terms of shooting, but also in size, add a differentiating factor. If there were a greater variety between environments and scenarios, this title would have everything to mark its name as an example to be followed for future projects.

SHINORUBI’s widescreen vantage point is certainly unique to the world of shoot-’em-ups, but this title proves there’s a good reason for that. Its lack of personality and cluttered playfield make this a hard pass for even the most hardcore shmup fan.

I Am A Basic Bitch When It Comes To Shmups