Verzeus mini-review

All the joys of a classic Game Boy Shooter, just without the eye strain.

This month, Retsuzan’s “Game Buddy” franchise arrived on Steam. As the name implies, each entry in the seven-game series evokes the feeling of playing a Game Boy cartridge. Visually, the games recreate the device’s signature output – with playfields rendered in four shades of olive. Optionally, the Game Buddy titles permit players to apply a filter that simulates the gridded look of the dot-matrix-screen.

But if you’re looking for anything more than a monochromatic image in a 10:9 aspect ratio, you might want to look elsewhere. The Retsuzan doujin circle is fixated on using the Pixel Game Maker MV engine to recreate the experience of playing an original Game Boy title. So, yes, that means that Verzeus’ chiptune soundtrack channels the jaunty energy of a classic eight-bit game. Another upside is that the game has a diminutive, 134 MB footprint, which won’t consume much room on your drive.

Fingers Will Appreciate Permanent Auto-Fire

Whether you opt for the game’s practice, normal, or boss battle modes, you’ll immediately recognize the developer’s appreciation for Konami’s Gradius. Although Verzeus shirks the ability to purchase power-ups on the fly, there are still plenty of nods to Konami’s horizontally scrolling shooter. Here, gunning down either formations of foes or an elevated enemy rewards the player with different icons.

Similar to Raiden, these power-ups cycle through different forms. So, a speed icon alternates between having an upward or a downward arrow – signaling an increase or decrease in ship speed. For your missiles, protective barriers, and types of weapons (lasers or a splitting vulcan shot), you’ll see different numbers. These are different variations, allowing for a remarkable amount of customization for your not-quite Vic Viper ship.

Bringing the Armada with Me

Undoubtedly, you’ll need that kind of flexibility. Verzeus seven stages are tough, even on the easiest difficulty setting. Each level tends to fill the simulated Game Boy screen with enemies, projectiles as you fly toward the end-of-stage boss. Sporadically, the game even introduces enemies from the left side of the playfield, goading you into staying near the center of the screen.

But you do have several abilities that provide an advantage. You can’t crash into the ground or ceiling – which is a refreshing break from convention. Pick up power-up orbs and they’ll float alongside you, multiplying your firepower and offering a bit of defensive shielding. But both your ship and enemy bullets are proportionally large, so Verzeus demands your uninterrupted attention. But that’s how a retro shooter should behave, right?

Conclusion

If you like retro shoot ‘em ups, Verzeus likely warrants its six-dollar purchase price. Sure, it’s not quite as good as Konami’s iconic shooter, but it’s an engaging alternative if you’ve already played through Hiroyasu Machiguchi an immeasurable number of times. You might not be able to duplicate the experience of playing Gradius again for the first time. But a round of Verzeus feels like a musical cover that pays homage to the original while adding just a bit of divergence.

Verzeus was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.