Alltynex Second is actually an overhaul of a prototype called Alltynex. It was originally released in Japan in 2010, but now it’s finally in the West. All courtesy of Nyu Media. And it’s quite the contrast compared to KAMUI.
First thing that’s different is that despite being newer than RefleX and KAMUI, it’s the first in the series chronologically. Also gameplay is drastically different. Like any shooter, you have main cannons, but you have no power-ups to pick up. And you can only take one extra hit before going down. To power your weapon, you need to let your meter build up. The twist is that you meter also powers your special attacks. In addition to your main cannons, you can use a powerful but short ranged pair of energy blades. The biggest downside in this state is that you are slower. The blades do erase most forms of gunfire though. Also, you can lock on to the closet enemy so you can engage your big laser special attack. Of course this drains your special meter quickly. In addition there is an alternate fire mode that shoots lock on shots. However, abstaining from using special attacks means stronger main gunfire and energy blade attacks. Since your power level is based on your special meter, so there is a level of risk/reward for deciding when to sacrifice power for a quick attack to save your ship from going down. The game is also more technical in the sense of knowing when to be defensive over being offensive. This is important as the game is very intense, and you only have a handful of continues to get through the game’s five challenging levels. Unlike KAMUI prepare to die a lot until you master it.
While the game looks decent in 3D, it’s still showing it’s age as a game from 2010. 2D doujin games just hold up better. The game still lacks any screen resolution options, but the size of the screen is adequate. However the game made the weird decision to not be compatible for play while using Aero, forcing it to switch to basic. The music is still played in MIDI synth, although the quality of the tracks are better than KAMUI’s. It’s just an odd choice to see in this day and age. The budget must have gone into the gameplay and graphic design. Still this game is a nice challenging contrast to KAMUI, but it’s hard to recommend newcomers to the genre.
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Be sure to check out the KUMI review here on Gametactics as well. You can buy each game individually
or buy all three games for an amazing price here on Steam.
