As a casual fan of the Shmup’ genre, Gleylancer was a very nice surprise. This Japan only 16-bit title from the early 1990s passed most of us by, unless you were a hardcore fan of the genre and had mom-and-pop video rental store run by a nice Asian couple. I did, but they never got Gleylancer sent over from Japan. Remember, this was a time before the internet and even gaming magazines rarely talked about Japanese games, unless they were confirmed for release in the West.
And, so, Gleylancer pretty much came and went without so much a whisper in the West, which is a shame as it’s easy to see this one becoming a Shump’ classic around the world. It might even now be near the top of my list for classic 16-bit shooters! Hell, the game even stands out from other titles in its own genre at the time of release for a couple of reasons. So much so that I’m sitting here wondering why we never got it here in the States.
Gleylancer shines because, while old, features many staples of more modern games. It places a strong emphasis on a grand story, something shooters of tis nature tend to treat as pretty disposable, even today. But what makes it unique for the time are the numerous cutscenes that flesh out a complete story. There’s an extended intro that sets up a neat SciFi space opera, a number of cutscenes between some stages, and a big ending. Sure, it’s not something totally new for 16-bit games, but it’s quite nice to see in this genre which rarely sh65owed players more than some ship taking off into space to shoot random aliens because they were bad.
You take on the role of Lucia Cabrock, a young hotshot pilot in the federation fleet. She is thrust into action after her father, the captain of the federation’s flagship and main fleet commander, has his ship captured by the enemy via their teleportation ray or something. Look, it’s not Oscar winning stuff, but it’s more than we usually get and at least gets you invested in what’s going on. The fact that Gleylancer shows us the enemy being bad is a big deal. Most shooters just throw up some text saying you are in the middle of war with some alien race. There are so many classic titles where you could easily be seen as the bad guys because of this.
After his disappearance, Lucia hears that the rest of the fleet isn’t doing anything to save him thinking him gone. Because of this, Lucia steals a prototype space fighter that is currently onboard the carrier she is stationed on and heads out to save her father. All of this is explained well during the intro cutscenes and got me hooked into the experience before even firing a single shot. This is a good thing as Gleylancer can be a really hard shooter. I’ll be honest and say that I died dozens of times on the first stage alone.
Gleylancer has a fun story but it’s the gameplay mechanics where the game shines and opens up a lot of varied playstyles. Like with so many of these type of games you can collect upgrades in the form of multiple weapons and powerups. You can pickup extra firepower that provide your ship two satellites that can fire alongside you. Where it gets interesting is in how you choose to use those satellites. Maybe you want them locked into place and shoot straight ahead; maybe you want them to shoot in the direction that you are moving; perhaps you want them spinning around you; maybe you want them shooting only to the rear. You get the idea. My favorite mode is the auto target mode that locks onto enemies, although the game tells you it doesn’t always work very well so as not to make thing too easy.
What I love about these firing modes is that it means Gleylancer becomes highly repayable. You’ll find a mode that works best for you and then can play the same stages again with something different. This means you’ll be tackling stages in very different ways adding to that replay value. You can even change them on the fly so that you can adjust your tactics as various enemies change their patterns. Powerups can also dictate what firing style you use as they change not only your main cannon, but what your satellites fire. Bouncing shoots are great in lock-on mode, spinning your satellites works better when you have the laser swords or flame powerup as their range is limited but great when dealing with mobs. You get lot of options which is always nice to see.
Stages are all pretty basic but do mix things up from time to time. It’s not a fast affair, but Gleylancer does place vertical scrolling sections into the mix alongside mazelike segments that require more pinpoint piloting. Stages all have their own look with some nice scrolling backgrounds. Gleylancer is a very pretty game and features nice art and graphics. It’s not mind-blowing, but works quite well with it’s anime-styling. And while the game can be hard it does offer checkpoints so you wont be kicked out to the beginning of the stage upon death. But even if you do die a lot the rewind feature implemented in this rerelease is a godsend.
I don’t know Gleylancer like other games of its genre. This means I died quite a bit until I got a feeling for the game and starting learning the stages and enemy patterns. Shmups’ are all about pattern recognition, something I take for granted with many older titles that I’ve spent hundreds of hours on by this point. The rewind feature here is a standout as I can better practice the stage that I’m on until I learn it. In the old days it was all trial and error, something made worse if you died and had to the beginning of a stage, or die and restart everything. Look, I don’t have the free time I had as a kid in elementary school before the internet existed, so getting practice in with rewinding is quite nice.
On the audio front you get some fun tunes to fly with and the sound effects all have that chunky Genesis/ Mega Drive feel. It’s not going to join my OST list, but it fits the action. You also get a fair bit of voice work all over the place, most notably during gameplay warning up about enemies, obstacles, and upcoming boss fights. But it’s this last bit where the game sort of comes up short. You see, the boss fights are all pretty bland and easy it you have a fully powered-up ship. They are large, meaning you simple shoot strait and avoid some light fire. I can’t recall a single boss and many I didn’t see much of as I blasted them so fast.
Still, that is only a minor problem as the boss fights don’t seem to be the focus of this shooter. In the end, I’m still sitting here wondering why Gleylancer never came West. Sure, it probably wont dethrone the major 16-bit Sega Shmups’ in many peoples minds, but it might have if allowed to get into more hands at the time. That said, it’s good that we have it now and it means many of us will get to play a true retro-shooter for the very first time as intended. Gleylancer is a must own for genre fans and the Switch version makes it the perfect pick-up-and-play game while on the bus, plane, or train, especially for only a couple of bucks.
Final Score:
*Review code provided by the publisher*
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