Gunbird

Gunbird is a fantasy/steampunk-themed vertical arcade shooter by Psikyo that has been ported to Nintendo Switch by Zerodiv. This was my first Psikyo game and I found it a little underwhelming after primarily playing modern bullet hells, but I’ve come to appreciate its straightforwardness and comparative simplicity. I picked this game up understanding a lot of the Psikyo ports would feel fairly interchangeable and it seemed like the best of their non-military shooters. (That designation has since gone to Dragon Blaze, a more complex game I’ll discuss in another post).

The Zerodiv ports are all well-done and provide keymapping, TATE mode, and other comforts. As with the other Psikyo ports, Gunbird has 7 difficulty levels (the easiest being “monkey,” thanks Psikyo), includes rapid-fire, and features a basic two-button shot/charge-shot/bomb attack palette. The basic game structure includes 4 levels in random order followed by 3 ordered stages. As with other Psyikyo shooters, the campy storyline involves characters seeking four somethings (in this case, pieces of a mirror) to confront a big bad. There are 5 playable characters who can be leveled up 4 times each. The comically-incompetent enemy pirates are called the Trump, and though I could most certainly go the rest of my life without ever hearing the word “Trump,” I’ll accept it in this instance.

Gunbird is a game best played for the love of the old-time arcade shoot bullet game. There is no scoring complexity to speak of, it’s just an old-style shooter with a dodgy translation. On the one hand, I’m glad Zerodiv is bringing these old arcade shooters to the Switch and the Switch portable is a great fit for this type of game. On the other hand, it’s likely only genre enthusiasts will appreciate the minute differences between games like Gunbird and the Aero Fighters series.

When I originally wrote this post Gunbird 2 had been announced for May. It has now been pushed back to June with no definitive release date. Apparently Gunbird 2’s second loop is held in high esteem in the STG community and the game is among Psikyo’s most difficult, so while my feelings toward Gunbird are fairly lukewarm I am looking forward to Gunbird 2’s release. It will probably be the last Psikyo team offering I add to my library unless someone ports Cho Aniki. (Is there a god? Stay tuned!)

edit: Gunbird 2 drops 6/21, hooray