AL82 Retrogaming Longplays | Mars Matrix Longplay (Arcade) [4K] @AL82RetrogamingLongplays | Uploaded 3 months ago | Updated 11 hours ago
Game Info
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Developer: Takumi
Publisher: Capcom
Year of Release: 2000

Game Review & Impressions
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If you enjoy a good bullet-hell shooter, then Mars Matrix will be right up your street. It's a visual tour de force based on Capcom's CPS2 arcade hardware, although the game was developed by Takumi, rather than Capcom themselves.

Unlike other games where new weapons are collected from destroyed enemies, Mars Matrix takes a different approach. Weapon upgrades are earned as your ship ranks up, and ranking up involves collecting gold spinning cubes to earn EXP points. Enemies often leave gold EXP cubes behind when they die, but it's possible to earn many more by using your ship's shield move to capture enemy projectiles, then fling them back at the enemy. Projectiles striking an enemy will typically turn into an EXP cube, so you'll want to get good at this to rank up your ship guns as early as possible.

And you'll definitely want to get the best guns early because this game pulls no punches. It's as tough as any other bullet-hell shooter out there, and you'll need all the help you can get in the later stages of the game. Although only a couple of pixels around the cockpit of your ship actually register collisions, navigating a path through the onslaught of pink and blue plasma bolts is a perilous endeavour; this is not a game for the faint of heart.

Visually, the game is a real peach. The sprites and backgrounds are a mix of pre-rendered CG and traditional pixel art, but the CG is a lot cleaner and better aliased than other games of this type. Overall, it's a stunning looking shooter, one that's worth playing, even if it's just to admire the spectacle.

Chapters
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TBC