Nyu Media has brought upon us a trilogy known as The Tale of Alltynex. The collection contains three games – Kamui, RefleX and Alltynex Second – all of which were originally developed and released by Siter Sakain in Japan. Newcomers to the genre may have never heard of this name, but veterans of the shoot-'em-up genre, especially those of independent games, the name Siter Skain is likely one they’re familiar with.

The Alltynex trilogy is one of the most reputable series of shoot-‘em-ups to grace the doujin industry (independent Japanese games). Known for their unique features that have since been recognized throughout the genre, as well as their challenge while remaining easy to pick up for new players, The Tale of Alltynex is one of the best collections available on the market.

As it features three games that are entirely different from one another, a single review of the bundle itself isn't the best way to go. The most proper way to do this is by giving an overview of each titles separately, ultimately combining them as a single collection's value.

Kamui

While considered the third title chronologically, 1999 marked the release of the first of the Alltynex games. You have a set number of lives and your health is determined by your shield level. Each hit you take knocks down one of your shields, eventually leading to your death if you get hit without any shields remaining. Additional shields can be acquired by defeating certain enemies on your path. Attacks consist of a spread shot used as the primary weapon, a condensed Lightning Katana, and an auto-targeting Lightning Attack. In the same manner as the shields, power-ups can be obtained for increased firepower.

While most shooting games consist of merely defeating the enemies in front of you, Kamui takes this to the next level: Enemies can attack you from different altitude levels. Using the auto-targeting, the player can lock-on to opponents situated below to destroy them. As enemy ships come at you from every angle available in a two-dimensional arcade game, the main challenge comes from being able to properly juggle between each of the attack modes best suited to the situation, which constantly varies from one stage to the other.

Boss fight using the regular attack.

Bosses also come in different flavors having several parts that can be destroyed. Each of the destroyable parts eventually leads to a change in combat as it gives you the opportunity to destroy the boss' weapons, creating a new wave of attacks. As with regular enemies, some of the bosses use altitude to their advantage, requiring a constant change in weaponry on your part, resulting in varied fights along your way to the top.

Using the auto-targeting attack.

The localized version brought to us by Nyu Media contains a new mode known as tate. This mode, which can be activated through the configuration tool of the game, consist of rotating the display vertically, giving it more of an arcade feeling. A lot of shooting games now come with this feature, although it is a new addition for Kamui (it is to be noted that the original game has an update to add this feature as well).

RefleX

Nearly 10 years later, Siter Skain released the second chapter, bringing with it a drastic change to the series. While the different altitudes were dropped, RefleX brought us the reflective shield, leading to a new way of playing in which you use your defense mechanism as a lethal weapon. On top of these changes, the shield system now acts as your remaining lives.

Boss fight demonstrating the main weaponry.

Despite these changes, RefleX retains what made Kamui an excellent game by mixing your different abilities into the gameplay, requiring you to learn and fully utilize the potential of your assets. Enemies will spit out three main attacks: Blue bullets that can be deflected, red bullets that can be absorbed but not deflected, and purple bullets that can be erased by your own shots. Bosses use these same attacks, through which you must carefully make your way, “dancing” with the bullets as they come. As with Kamui, the system used, as well as the destroyable boss' parts, makes the battles varied and entertaining.

Using the shield to your advantage, it is possible to direct powerful attacks at an enemy.

RefleX is a great addition to the series and shows that Siter Skain is able to impress us, delivering not only one unique game, but two of them all while being part of the same collection and retaining the same feeling.

Alltynex Second

The latest entry was released in 2010 and is a prequel to Kamui, thus it is considered as the first chapter in the trilogy. Alltynex Second brings the biggest changes the series have seen: The old mechanics were practically entirely removed to make place for a new gameplay experience, and the graphics were drastically changed, giving the game a much more modern look as well as being much more pleasing the eye. The remaining lives also make a return and the shield system makes a quick appearance, allowing you to be hit once before actually dying and losing a life.

Fighting waves of enemies.

The new attacks added in ALLTINEX Second make this game a lot more intense than the previous titles, allowing you to not only attack from a distance using the main shot, powered-up laser or homing missiles, but also by getting up close and personal thanks to a pair of laser blades. These inflict insane amounts of damage at the risk of your life due to the close range needed to actually hit anything with it. This time around, the regular (orange) bullets can now be erased using the blades or the powered-up laser (special attack when equipping the blades) and the purple bullets that can be erased via your regular attack are back.

Dealing massive damage with the dual blades.

As with the previous installment, the stages and bosses (once again, with destroyable parts) are entirely adapted to the new gameplay. Depending on the pattern used by the enemies and bosses, the player is pushed at finding and using the different opportunities to get closer and deal massive damage using the blades, all while being conscious of when distance is needed to survive. Adding the variety of the combat to the improved graphics, ALLTYNEX Second is without a doubt the best game out of the collection and most likely the one newcomers might be most interested in.

Overall

In the end, Nyu Media brings us three of the most respected games in the shoot-'em-ups genre, bundled together at a much affordable price of $20.00 U.S., or $8.00 U.S. individually. For those whose curiosity got the better of them, the original copies of the games are approximately $25.00 U.S. each, not including the shipping and import fees. With that in mind, there is no doubt that The Tale of Alltynex is a steal for this price, including outstanding music, unique gameplay and a different experience with each of them.

Fans of the genre should definitely grab this collection if they haven't already, it will be worth every single one of your pennies. As for newcomers, while The Tale of Alltynex may not contain the easiest shooting games out there, there is still no better place to start than with titles who have left their mark and are, by many gamers, considered as some of the best in the genre. Just remember, practice makes perfect!

Pascal Meunier, NoobFeed