Super Hydorah

Genre: Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

(Note: Included in Locomalito Arcade Legends along with Cursed Castilla)

Super Hydorah is a Bullet Hell Shmup that is very clearly imitating the Gradius series, from its presentation to its power-ups, although it’s not afraid to bring its own unique ideas to the genre as well.

So I’ll say right now, despite its flaws, Gradius III on the Super Nintendo remains to this day possibly my favorite game in this genre, though other games like Ikaruga and Einhander are close to it. So to play a game that seems very much designed to imitate the Gradius series, and possibly even specifically Gradius III… well, clearly it’s hitting a soft spot for me.

The way this game looks and sounds is spot-on for the classic Shmups in this genre, complete with the slight echo in the sound effects. This game adds in a little bit of story (not much – just “alien fleet bad, go get ’em” kinda’ stuff), along with poorly-acted, heavily-accented voiceover (eh, it’s fine, doesn’t detract from the game much). And, I’m sorry to say, the music in this game is pretty forgettable, so at least one area where the imitation of a classic isn’t quite spot-on.

When it comes to the gameplay, this game’s level and enemy design is absolutely superb, with some really creative bosses and some unique level concepts. And of course, as with the Gradius games, this one can get pretty challenging, and there was at least one area where I was mystified how players were expected to get through it without taking a hit.

I’m disappointed that there’s nothing resembling the ability to build up your ship’s arsenal in the same way you can in the Gradius series – instead, over the course of the campaign, players unlock primary and secondary weapons (including the “scort”, this game’s version of Gradius’s “Option” helper power-up) that can be selected before each level and powered-up a few times through pickups within levels. However, you don’t get many options until you’ve gotten through a good chunk of the game, and you’ll never feel that mix of excitement at getting super-powerful coupled with the fear of losing it all if you get hit.

This game also does some interesting things in its co-op mode, such as pickups that allow you to resurrect a fallen comrade. This game also includes Robot Chase, a co-op minigame that… really, has nothing to do with the rest of this game, but is surprisingly fun in its own right.

Robot Chase is an Arcade-style game where two players each control a robot moving around a single screen, and when they get close to each other, they form a laser-like connection that can be used to take out enemies. It’s simple and repetitive, but it’s surprisingly fun and addictive, and makes for a really great spin on the co-op genre. I don’t know why this game was just tossed in with Super Hydorah, but I’m glad it was – it’s a fantastic addition.

While it’s not a perfect imitation of the classic Gradius games, Super Hydorah is nevertheless an absolutely superb entry in the genre that, while not in any way rising to the level of those classics, is still absolutely worthwhile in its own right, and well worth checking out for any fans of Shmups. Plus, this game is an excellent co-op title, especially thanks to the surprising inclusion of Robot Chase.

tl;dr – Super Hydorah is a Bullet Hell Shmup that is very clearly imitating the classic Gradius games, and for the most part, it succeeds at this brilliantly. The music is forgettable, and the power-up system is a bit more limited than the Gradius games, but the gameplay here is still superb, and the game does some really inventive stuff with Co-Op, especially with the surprisingly good Robot Chase minigame. Definitely worth a look for fans of the genre.

Grade: B+

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