Vasara Collection

I picked this up this shmup collection for $2 back in 2020 and repeatedly failed to get into it. For one, it looks very much like a Psikyo game, and I have to say outside the occasional Gunbird 2 playthrough my Psikyo days are behind me. Two, the size–a whopping 1.4 GB–really, really bugs me as someone who doesn’t use an SD card for additional storage.

But one main problem, on reflection, was that I didn’t really understand how to play it. Vasara has a melee attack component that is absolutely vital, as it deflects those horrid little orange Psikyo-style bullets. Additionally, this collection has TATE mode, local 2-player coop in Classic mode, and local 4-player coop in timeless mode. So there is potentially a great deal to love here. I decided to pull my head out of my ass and give it another go. Unfortunately, I never did really grok the melee attack though, so after quarter-feeding to Stage 3 I called it a day.