Shmup Mania

Genre: Shmup

Players: 1

.

Review:

Shmup Mania is a Shmup (big surprise, right?) released on Nintendo Switch in 2022. I wish I had something else interesting to add here, but… well, this is a Shmup called Shmup Mania. Just how interesting do you think a game like that is going to be?

Okay, I do try to make it a point not to let preconceptions of a game influence my judgment about it, but having played Shmup Mania, I can say this has to be one of the least imaginative entries in the genre I’ve ever seen, and where it isn’t bland and forgettable, it’s just plain bad.

The game’s 2D visuals work, but are not distinctive in any way. The same goes for this game’s synthesized soundtrack. The menus seem like they’re ripped straight out of a mobile game. Just in terms of presentation, this game does not start by putting its best foot forward.

However, that’s because this game doesn’t have a best foot. The levels are short, populated by a handful of unimaginative enemies, and do nothing to instill a sense of progression. Your default weapon feels largely ineffective while power-up upgrades feels stupidly overpowered.

On top of all this mediocrity, this game requires you to press the button for each shot, and the only limit to how many shots you can fire at once is how fast you can button-mash. Needless to say, this makes for poor gameplay and for cramped hands. Players can opt to turn on auto-fire, but this just means that your ship is always firing… very, very, very slowly.

And just to top things off, this game is normally priced at $10. For comparison’s sake, one of the greatest Shmups of all-time, Ikaruga, is on the Nintendo Switch for $15, a mere $5 more. The Excellent Shoot 1UP DX is $6. I could go on listing the countless other great Shmups on Nintendo Switch that are far more worth your money than this, but why bother? Oh, and for those who will inevitably point out that this game regularly goes on sale for $2, I’ll say it’s not worth that price either. Get one of the countless other great Shmups on Nintendo Switch instead.

tl;dr – Shmup Mania is a Shmup (naturally), but it’s a pretty mediocre and forgettable one, and when it’s not mediocre it’s just plain bad. Unimaginative gameplay, poor enemy design, terrible controls… this game is just not worth the $10 price tag. It’s not even worth the $2 sale price. Skip this one.

Grade: D-

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}