Vasara Collection

Genre: Compilation / Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Vasara Collection is a Compilation of three Shmups released on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2019. This compilation includes Vasara, originally released in 2000 in arcades, Vasara 2, originally released in 2001 in arcades, and Vasara Timeless, a brand-new game created specifically for this Compilation.

Here is what I thought of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Vasara	Bullet Hell Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B
tl;dr Vasara is an excellent old-school Bullet Hell Shmup with some interesting mechanics – enemy ships do not damage the player but instead bump them away, and players have a powerful vasara melee attack they charge by collecting crystals, and must weigh whether to use this attack offensively or defensively, as it is necessary at times to deflect incoming gunfire. This game is viciously tough, but being able to make use of unlimited credits to continue dulls that sting somewhat. Overall, this is an all-around solid Shmup.
Vasara 2	Bullet Hell Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B+
tl;dr Vasara 2 drops the screen-clearing bombs that were in the first game to focus instead on the Vasara melee attacks, which now build faster and can be stored three at a time. The result is a much better game overall that plays to this series’ strengths. It’s still punishingly touch, but once again unlimited credits will be a huge boon to us normal players who don’t eat and breathe the genre. And if you’re a Shmup fan, this should be considered a must-play entry in the genre.
Vasara Timeless	Bullet Hell Shmup	1-4 Co-Op (Local)	B-
tl;dr Vasara Timeless shoots for the stars with some pretty big changes, but not all of them work well. On the one hand, players have a new charging melee attack in addition to the usual vasara attack, which adds a great risk-reward element to give players a reason to briefly hold their fire. The addition of 4-player co-op is great, and the expanded screen size is wonderful. On the other hand, the randomized levels may frustrate genre fans who enjoy the memorization the genre encourages, and the lack of continues will make the series’ usually high challenge level unbearable for more casual players. This is still an enjoyable Shmup and I’d love to see its better ideas expanded on in future installments, but the flaws make this game harder to enjoy than its predecessors.

Overall, this is a solid trio of Bullet Hell Shmups, and while overall I think that Vasara 2 is the pinnacle of the series, both of the other games here offer some excellent gameplay, although casual players should be warned that as Bullet Hell Shmups go, the Vasara series is extremely difficult, and only access to unlimited continues keep this from being so frustrating you’ll want to rage quit… a feature that Vasara Timeless sadly lacks.

While I may have my complaints about the high challenge level, these complaints are largely silenced by the incredible value present in this package. The $10 this collection is selling for would have been a good deal even if it was just the two classic games, and as such, I could almost view Vasara Timeless as an outstanding bonus thrown into the package for free, except clearly a lot of effort has gone into this game, including some decent 3D visuals – this is clearly not a low-effort addition. What’s more, this package also gives players a lot of options to adapt their experience with the first two games, letting players adjust multiple settings and change the screen orientation.

All things considered, because of the high quality of the games included (absurd difficulty level notwithstanding) and the great value present in this Compilation as a whole, I consider Vasara Collection a must-have for fans of Bullet Hell Shmups, and a great buy for anyone looking for an action-packed old-school arcadey experience… so long as you don’t mind a challenge.

tl;dr – Vasara Collection is a Compilation of three Bullet Hell Shmups – the two Vasara Arcade games, and Vasara Timeless, a new game introduced in this collection. These are three solid Shmups with some interesting and fairly unique mechanics, and while the high challenge level may make this less appealing to more casual players, the great value this package presents makes it a must-have for Shmup fans.

Grade: B+

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