70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X

• Genre: Shmup
• Spoiler Free Review: Yes.
• Time Played: ~13 hours
• Too Short/Long: No complaints either way.
• Did I cry: No.
• Soundtrack: Amazing, absolutely amazing.
• Why I played: A shmup with 90's mecha anime art(even if it attempts to be 70's style), how could I not?
• Jank: It's definitely a bit janky in how it handles. I play a lot of shmups, and sure, maybe one from the 90's may not be as refined as modern shmups... is something you could almost say if some of the best shmups to this day weren't also released in the 90s. Granted, if it were one of the best, it would be much more well know.
• Difficulty: It's damn hard. I attribute a good portion to the jank. Unclear hitboxes for any of the mechs you pilot, and for the shots hitting you. I played the repeated pause game to be sure of it, but things absolutely contact when they shouldn't. It even says in the manual how Geppy's chest is the only part you will take damage from getting hit. Absolutely not true... or maybe it is and all the shots just have wider margins than their visuals. Not only that, but a lot of the patterns provide inconsistent openings. After playing through the entire campaign several times, I did learn some placement for cheesing certain attacks, but I'm not sure if that's by design and if so, I still don't like it.
• Pleased/Disappointed: I'm very pleased at the overall package. Even if it's unfairly difficult and a mediocre shmup, the whole experience is very enjoyable.
• Recommend to others: I would probably only recommend it to those with a strong interest in the Super Robot genre, specifically that of the 70s-style Robot Anime. Who also at least kind of like shmups.
  

Geppy-X plays almost like a bonus shmup mini-game that is added to another game of a different genre. You know the kind(maybe you don't, I don't know your life), it's thrown as a bonus mode, mini-game, boss fight, etc. and feels a little loose, a little unfair, a little chaotic and unbalanced. Well, at least those ones are better than the alternative - which are the too-boring ultra basic, ultra easy shmup mini-games.

Thankfully, it still manages to standout due to it's overall package. Filled with a story line presented like a 70s super robot anime, openings, endings, commercials and all. It's fantastic and super fun. It made it worth me fully replaying and enduring it multiple times just to get little differences in the cutscenes with different characters.

It helps that despite the 70's inspiration, it was very very clearly made in the 90s. The character designs, even many of the mecha designs, are clearly 90s designs with very 90s artwork. I'd say they better nail the 70s-style design with the side-mecha, but to be fair, the titular Geppy-X while drawing obvious inspiration, is a little more original than it's almost carbon-copy secondary mecha.

There is a really solid amount of content in the game, especially for a 90s shmup. Not only does it have multiple, kinda-animated to more-fully animated between each mission, it has a good amount of stage bonuses and little easter-eggs and different cutscenes for finishing off each boss in a specific way, and a bunch of unlockable modes. That's what really sells the game. The gameplay itself could be a lot more polished, but otherwise you can't really ask for more in a shmup.