Info about Super Retro Fighter:

Official game description:
About Us
========
Feedback:
125909528@qq.com
About the Game
==============
Classic STG, Two-Player Co-op Returns!
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This is a very traditional STG. You cannot play online — that's right, the only way is to invite a friend to your home and fight together, just like before: the two of you sit in front of the screen and break through the hard parts side by side.
Of course, this doesn't stop you from choosing to fight alone (but that'll be harder).
Pick from a Lineup of Distinctive Fighters!
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_**Pilot-Xun**_
**Main Weapon**
Energy Weapon:“Holy Blade” Laser
Kinetic Weapon:Volley Launcher
**Skills**
Energy Burst:Plasma Shield
Kinetic Burst:Barrage
**Super Weapon**
Pulsar Beam
**Profile**
Sustained fire holds one point, or sweeps the forward arc in continuous barrage. An omnidirectional field cancels all incoming rounds; a multi-link array spends one dense salvo. Flash and thunder become a colossal beam through the front.
_**Pilot-Guang**_
**Main Weapon**
Energy Weapon:Particle Beam Launcher
Kinetic Weapon:Focused Autocannon
**Skills**
Energy Burst:Aegis “Phoenix”
Kinetic Burst:Draconian Claw
**Super Weapon**
Colossal Wing
**Profile**
This machine's doctrine is calling in formed units. Particle beams blanket the forward arc; a high-rate stream then converges on any single point left in it. When rounds close, a support unit can be brought in off-field, or a combat wingman ordered to fall in briefly. Against a massed enemy, it directs the full bomber formation to cover the field.
_**Pilot-Jia**_
**Main Weapon**
Energy Weapon:Violet Lightning
Kinetic Weapon:“Ifrit” Launcher
**Skills**
Energy Burst:Power Storm
Kinetic Burst:Volcano Shot
**Super Weapon**
Fighter Alpha
**Profile**
Several arcs spread outward from first impact; a low-rate heavy gun drives ahead, each shell unusually heavy. Hull-cast EM radiation cancels incoming fire, scorching nearby units. One colossal shell punches through several targets. Against formidable foes, called-in heavy armor sheathes the hull, its full armament under sole command.
_**Pilot-He**_
**Main Weapon**
Energy Weapon:Pulse Launcher “Demon Buster”
Kinetic Weapon:IR Launcher “Fiery Will”
**Skills**
Energy Burst:Disruptors
Kinetic Burst:Sunburst
**Super Weapon**
Annihilator
**Profile**
Several light waves fan into the forward sector, each on its own track; one band of heat holds a single point. Fold-back waveguides sit on both flanks; a blast shell fans across them on contact. At the decisive moment, the gravity-field generator lays down a gravity well, enveloping every foe within—fire fiercest at the core.
**Dual-Color Energy Burst — Twin Energy Weapons!**
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Using different weapon types builds different kinds of energy (the two rise and fall against each other). When a gauge is full, you can use a more targeted energy weapon. Red energy favors attack, blue energy favors defense. Each fighter's dual energy grants you a different set of abilities.
**Permanent Upgrades Outside of Battle!**
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Score from every battle turns into resources for upgrading your weapons. Outside of battle you can level those weapons up permanently, increasing your fighter's damage and widening its attack range. The better you (and your partner) perform, the faster your fighter grows — see which of you contributed more.
**Every Boss Will Drive You Up the Wall!**
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Warning: they're absurdly strong — you might end up smashing your controller or keyboard! Maybe the mouse too. Of course, this game doesn't require a mouse at all!
Reminder again: use a controller if you can, or it really is hard!
**About Adventure Mode**
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Adventure Mode plays out roguelike-style. Each battle runs a bit shorter than the current stages, and after each victory you pick a different route forward.
Adventure Mode gives you a more complete story. You'll meet a mechanic, pirates, merchants, and a string of aliens tied to the plot. They're a mixed bag — some of them may not even be living things.
Through them you can get all sorts of weapons to modify your fighter, or spend reward tokens to raise its base stats — no more spoilers here.
All in all, Adventure Mode keeps the traditional combat longtime fans love while matching the pace of today's players. The difficulty curve is gentler, but a modified fighter makes the fighting even more intense!

Release date: Nov 10, 2026

Categories: Shoot 'em up, Bullet-hell, Local Co-op, Vertical Shooter, Arcade, Upgrade System, Roguelike


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 4.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 0.5h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The report of playing for several hours and clearing the game supports an approximate full-game completion time of about 4 hours, interpreting 'several' as roughly 3-5 hours. A separate report of only half an hour played supports a short session length of about 0.5 hours. The 3.5-hour report corroborates a few-hour engagement window but does not explicitly confirm story completion or endgame duration, so storyCompletion and endgame are left null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Players report immediate appeal from the arcade feel, visuals, and addictive action, but the experience turns stale through repeated identical runs and bland or tedious stages.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: repetition across runs; same content every run; limited content with only one game mode; bland or tedious stages
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: N/A
- Player Archetypes:
  - Hardcore Challenge Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Overcoming a punishing bullet-hell challenge and proving mastery.
    - Playstyle: Learns stages, dodges precisely, repeats runs, and treats difficulty as the main appeal.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: pilot with 10+ years of experience
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Beginner-Friendly Tactician (buy)
    - Motivation: Clearing stages reliably with forgiving characters and simple survival tactics.
    - Playstyle: Picks accessible ships, holds fire, prioritizes movement dodging, and saves defensive skills for emergencies.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Loadout and Weapon Optimizer (sale)
    - Motivation: Finding the most efficient ship, weapon, and support setup.
    - Playstyle: Compares characters and charge attacks, evaluates range and firepower, and optimizes companion or bomb usage.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Retro Indie Value Supporter (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoying nostalgic retro shooting and supporting an affordable indie effort.
    - Playstyle: Plays traditional stage-based shooters, appreciates retro presentation, and values fair pricing.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old gamer born in the 80s
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Unique ships with varied weapons (weight 0.28): Each of the three selectable ships offers distinct attack modes, skills, and bomb types. This variety supports different playstyles and adds depth.
- Local co-op support (weight 0.21): The game includes a local two-player co-op mode, making it suitable for playing with friends. Co-op mode also increases power-up drops and eases difficulty.
- Strong arcade and retro feel (weight 0.21): Reviewers frequently mention the game's arcade-like and retro NES-inspired atmosphere. This nostalgic feel enhances the overall enjoyment.
- Smooth and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.18): Players consistently praise the game's fluid and fun gameplay feel. The overall experience is described as nice and satisfying.
- High replayability and rich gameplay (weight 0.17): The gameplay is described as rich and highly replayable, with varied levels, bosses, and enemies keeping the experience fresh.
- High overall quality (weight 0.17): Players consider the game to be of high quality and already very good. It is also found more interesting than comparable titles.
- Exquisite pixel art style (weight 0.17): The pixel retro art style is highly praised for being on point and exquisite. The graphics are considered great overall.
- Challenging but enjoyable difficulty (weight 0.1): The game offers a challenging difficulty that players find enjoyable. The challenge adds to the satisfaction.
- Responsive and finely tuned controls (weight 0.1): Controls are finely tuned with perfect gamepad analog stick feedback. Players find the controls responsive when using a gamepad.
- Upgrade system with earned points (weight 0.1): Players can earn upgrade points based on performance and spend them on extra ships, bombs, and shot power. This system allows strengthening ship abilities after clearing levels.
- Well-done visual effects (weight 0.1): Visual effects such as sparks and explosions are well executed. The special effects enhance the game's visual appeal.
- Good value for money (weight 0.09): Reviewers feel the game is worth the price and offers good value for money.

Common complaints:
- Poor difficulty curve (weight 0.39): The difficulty curve is poorly designed, with abrupt spikes after tutorial levels and uneven jumps between stages. Many reviewers find the overall difficulty unreasonable, especially in later stages.
- Cannot remap keys (weight 0.35): Players cannot customize key bindings for keyboard or gamepad, and the default layout is awkward. This is a common complaint that hinders accessibility and comfort.
- Ship balance issues (weight 0.3): Ships are poorly balanced, with one ship (G-0612) being overwhelmingly stronger than others. The three ships have wildly different performance, making some nearly unviable.
- No rewards on failure (weight 0.27): Failing to clear a level grants no points or settlement rewards, forcing players to repeatedly grind earlier stages. This is seen as punishing and discourages progression.
- Power-ups lost on death (weight 0.24): Power-ups are lost upon death or level transition, and missed ones are permanently gone. This makes runs feel fragile and forces re-collection each level.
- Unfair enemy behavior (weight 0.22): Enemies often read the player's position and deliberately ram the ship, and some attacks are nearly unavoidable. This creates cheap deaths and frustration.
- Bosses too difficult (weight 0.22): Bosses have too much health, too many phases, and full-screen bullets, often requiring bombs or specific ships. Some bosses are far above the difficulty of their levels.
- Stage repetition and monotony (weight 0.19): Stages feel repetitive and monotonous, with continuous waves of the same enemy formations. This makes the game boring after a few runs.
- Game abandoned by developers (weight 0.17): Many players feel the game is abandoned and unlikely to receive updates, with promised updates not delivered. This erodes trust and discourages investment.
- Poor controller support (weight 0.17): Controller support is lacking, with issues like joysticks not recognized, default assignments wrong, and movement inertia feeling strange. Keyboard controls are also less smooth than gamepad.
- Bugs and technical issues (weight 0.16): Various bugs exist, such as bullets firing after boss death, player 2 losing control, and item pickup failures. These detract from the experience.
- Language and UI issues (weight 0.15): Language selection is buggy, and UI elements are crude or inconsistent. For example, choosing English may still show Chinese, and the portrait style clashes.
- Single-player too hard (weight 0.14): Single-player mode is quite difficult without grinding earlier levels, and some levels seem designed for two players. This makes solo play frustrating.
- No practice mode (weight 0.13): The game lacks a practice mode, making it hard to learn stages and boss patterns. This is especially problematic given the heavy reliance on memorization.
- Lack of visual variety (weight 0.13): Levels are monotonous with black backgrounds and white dots, and enemy designs are very similar. This causes visual fatigue and makes the game feel unfinished.
- Energy weapons overpowered (weight 0.13): Energy weapons are much stronger than kinetic weapons, making kinetic weapons nearly unviable. This reduces loadout variety and balance.
- Esc forfeits game (weight 0.1): Pressing the Esc key immediately forfeits the game and causes a Game Over. This is frustrating as it can be triggered accidentally.
- No Remote Play Together (weight 0.09): The game does not support Remote Play Together, preventing online co-op play. This limits multiplayer options.
- Controller vibration excessive (weight 0.08): Opening controller vibration is extremely strong and lasts over ten seconds, and it cannot be turned off in-game. This is a nuisance for players.

Gameplay feedback:
- Vertical shoot 'em up gameplay (weight 0.7): The game is consistently described as a vertical shoot 'em up with bullet-hell elements, retro style, and widescreen mechanics. Many clusters highlight its shmup nature and retro shooter feel.
- Three selectable ships (weight 0.5): Players can choose from three different ships (X-0708, J-0823, G-0612) with unique weapons, performance, and playstyles. This is a frequently noted feature.
- Upgrade system after levels (weight 0.42): The game includes an upgrade system where players earn points after clearing levels to spend on extra ships, bombs, shot power, and other enhancements. This system is tied to level completion and performance.
- Local two-player co-op (weight 0.39): Multiple reviews mention local co-op support for two players, including a mode where power-up drops are doubled to avoid competition. Co-op is a commonly praised feature.
- Multiple game modes (weight 0.35): The game has arcade and adventure modes, with adventure mode sometimes not yet available. Some reviews also mention simple and story modes, indicating variety in game modes.
- Arcade mode stage count and selection (weight 0.33): Arcade mode has 14 stages (or 8 very long stages in one description) and allows players to select unlocked stages. Some reviews note stage variety and creative puzzle elements.
- Bomb mechanic (weight 0.28): A traditional bomb mechanic exists, sometimes requiring charging. Bombs are not full-screen and are shared across levels.
- Dual red/blue energy system (weight 0.27): The game features an energy weapon system where red and blue attacks accumulate energy, enabling special attacks or defense when the gauge is full. This system is tied to weapon color and tactical use.
- Side and rear enemy attacks (weight 0.25): Enemies can attack from the sides and behind, making positioning matter. Some characters and ships have rear-firing shots or side-charging and rear-charging enemy types.
- Settlement rewards and score upgrades (weight 0.24): Clearing a level grants settlement rewards, including score bonuses based on remaining lives and bombs, which can be used for upgrades.
- Bullet-hell with dense patterns (weight 0.24): The game features bullet-hell shooting with dense bullet patterns, requiring dodging and shooting skills. It leans toward bullet hell with laser attacks and side/back attacks.
- Adventure mode choices and upgrades (weight 0.2): Adventure mode includes choices that affect ship upgrades and resources, with firepower upgrades tied to the current ship. It features a roguelike loop where losing all lives restarts the game.
- Sub-weapon and pickup variety (weight 0.19): Six sub-weapons across C, L, and M slots, with pickups switching equipped sub-weapons. Map fixed sub-weapon pickups and options like mines, missiles, and lasers can be collected.
- Meta progression crystals (weight 0.19): Mimir crystals, red crystals, and blue crystals are used for meta progression, buying permanent starting equipment, wingmen, and other upgrades.
- Roguelike and progression elements (weight 0.16): The game incorporates roguelike route selection, talent point progression, and roguelite elements, with each run contributing to full completion.
- Power-up loss on death (weight 0.13): Power-ups can be missed and are not recoverable, and dying causes loss of power-ups and potentially a ship and damage power.
- Shops and repair stations (weight 0.09): Shops sell ultimate and sub-skill upgrades, ultimate points, and temporary firepower boosts. Repair stations can add up to six lives.
- Stage repetition and grind (weight 0.09): Stages are repeated and use the same content each run, and the game is grind-heavy, requiring players to replay stages to upgrade ships.
- Boss phases and strategies (weight 0.05): Bosses have multiple phases and require specific strategies to defeat.
- Hidden passages and rewards (weight 0.05): Hidden passages can skip a stage and grant rewards, adding exploration elements.

Performance notes:
No performancepoints

Recommendations:
- Ideal for shmup enthusiasts (weight 0.28): Multiple reviewers recommend the game specifically for fans of bullet-hell and vertical shoot 'em ups, especially when played with a friend.
- Grinding and difficulty may deter casuals (weight 0.24): The game is described as grindy and punishing, aimed at hardcore players; casual players are warned to avoid adventure mode and may need to farm early stages to progress.
- Recommended for retro arcade fans (weight 0.21): Players who grew up with classic arcade shooters or enjoy retro pixel style are advised to consider this game, though some warn about its difficulty.
- Highly recommended overall (weight 0.2): Several reviewers give a strong recommendation without specific caveats, calling it an excellent game and worth purchasing.
- Great value at low price (weight 0.18): Several reviewers highlight that the game is inexpensive and offers good value for the price, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- Analog stick or D-pad recommended (weight 0.06): One reviewer suggests using an analog stick or mapping the stick to the D-pad for a better control experience.
- Prioritize energy weapons and upgrades (weight 0.06): A reviewer advises focusing on energy weapons and permanent firepower upgrades to succeed in the game.
- Game may never receive updates (weight 0.05): One reviewer notes that the game is recommended only if you are fine with it likely never being updated, suggesting a lack of ongoing support.
- Innovative content enhances experience (weight 0.05): A reviewer mentions that the game offers innovative content that improves the overall experience.
- Encourages sharing with friends (weight 0.05): The game is noted to encourage sharing with friends, likely through cooperative play or social features.
- Lower voice volume suggested (weight 0.05): A player recommends turning down the voice volume, possibly due to annoying or repetitive voice lines.

Other player notes:
- Adventure mode is still unavailable (weight 0.24): Multiple reviewers note that the promised adventure mode is not yet implemented and remains in development. Some specify it will be a roguelike mode.
- Updates are being made (weight 0.13): Contrary to abandonment claims, some feedback indicates the game receives updates and the developer continuously improves it.
- Developer promises unfulfilled (weight 0.09): The developer stated updates would come, but they have not materialized, and the game may remain unfinished.
- Developer comments on modes (weight 0.08): The developer describes arcade mode as something that will anger general players, while adventure mode is suitable for general player entertainment.
- No online multiplayer support (weight 0.05): The game lacks online multiplayer, though online co-op was planned.
- Music soundtrack is well received (weight 0.05): Reviewers praise the game's music soundtrack.
- Anime-style female characters featured (weight 0.05): The game includes anime-style female characters as a selling point.
- Unity movement causes deceleration (weight 0.05): A movement issue appears to be caused by Unity's default movement settings with gradual deceleration.
- Favorable comparisons to shmups (weight 0.05): Reviewers compare the game favorably to Devil Engine, ZeroRanger, and Super Hydorah, though noting those games are more fair.
- Stage select was removed (weight 0.05): An earlier version had a stage select feature allowing replay of previous and current stages, but it was removed.
- Boss difficulty compared to DoDonPachi (weight 0.05): Boss difficulty is compared to DoDonPachi, with the reviewer noting DoDonPachi bosses are still dodgeable when calm.
- Not a pure dodge or power-fantasy (weight 0.05): Compared to Danmaku Unlimited, destroying bullet-firing units cancels bullets; this game is neither a pure dodge game nor a satisfying power-fantasy game.
- Unfavorable comparison to Ganar Senjin (weight 0.04): One reviewer compares the game unfavorably to Ganar Senjin.
- Voice acting needs improvement (weight 0.04): The voice acting has significant room for improvement according to one reviewer.
- Procedural generation could increase playtime (weight 0.04): Procedurally generated scenes could roughly double playtime compared to repeated fixed stages.
- Super Hydorah has better branching (weight 0.04): Super Hydorah's branching system is considered more free, logical, and friendly, allowing stage restarts or path choices.
- Favorable comparison to Skydrifter (weight 0.04): One reviewer compares the game favorably to '傲气雄鹰' (Skydrifter/Sky Force).

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.27): The game features extremely punishing level design and boss encounters with sudden difficulty spikes, overwhelming enemy counts, and unfair obstacles requiring extreme precision and luck, often leading to a permanent downward spiral after taking damage. Poor controls, including awkward default key bindings and input lag, make dodging bullet patterns difficult, and the lack of a practice mode or ability to remap keys exacerbates the trial-and-error nature. Issues like unskippable cutscenes, unclear stage progression, and game-breaking bugs further compound the frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.13): The game appears abandoned by the developer with no updates for over two years, leaving promised features like adventure mode unimplemented and arcade mode feeling like a demo. Balance issues, monotonous level design, poor ship and upgrade balance, and a lack of custom key bindings contribute to a sense of wasted potential. The heavy reliance on memorization without a practice mode and the removal of stage select further diminish the experience for ordinary players.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Players derive satisfaction from gradually learning the game and overcoming frustrating stages, feeling a sense of progress and achievement. The finely tuned controls with gamepad force feedback, smooth energy weapon system, flashy combat with various special attacks, and replayability through updates contribute to this feeling. The retro game feel, detailed pixel art, and good music also enhance the overall satisfying experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): The game offers deep gameplay systems, a polished retro shooter experience with a killer soundtrack, and fluid gameplay with good ship feel. The charming waifu hubs, catchy music, roguelite elements, and interesting dual-type weapon mechanic add to the fun. Playing co-op with a friend and using the fast-charging fat fighter further enhances enjoyment.
- Annoyance (weight 0.07): Annoyance stems from low blue point income making buying wingmen feel like a grind, the lack of a practice mode, and the dominance of certain ships making others feel pointless. Weird music transitions, language selection bugs, overly flashy light effects causing confusion, awkward key layouts for charge bombs, and enemies continuing to fire after being killed all contribute to irritation.
- Anger (weight 0.04): Anger is primarily caused by unfair difficulty and cheap deaths, especially in adventure mode which is described as for general players but is extremely difficult. The Esc key causing a game over instead of pausing, and the high difficulty of arcade mode with adventure mode unavailable, further infuriate players.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciate the top-notch sprite work, excellent animations, distinct characters, and fitting per-mission music, as well as the exquisite pixel art and retro style. The innovative gameplay, thoughtful TAB key binding display, and polished presentation are also highly valued, leading to a strong recommendation despite flaws.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): Nostalgia is evoked by memories of playing vertical scrollers in arcades, with retro graphics and music reminiscent of Raiden. The art style and sound effects bring back childhood experiences of arcade days, reliving the Raiden experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement comes from the fun vertical shooter gameplay with retro graphics and a killer soundtrack featuring rock music with retro electronic flavor. The cute girls as pilots with animated cockpit images and the anticipation of playing co-op with a friend add to the thrill.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom arises from repetitive stages with the same content, the same enemy type formations appearing continuously, and repetitive space scenes and enemy types. The bland and tedious stage design makes the game feel stale after a few runs.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.02): Dissatisfaction is caused by many mechanical problems and an unreasonable difficulty curve, with no points for failing a level and permanently lost power-ups adding to the frustration. The overall experience feels lacking due to these issues.
- Mild disappointment (weight 0.02): Mild disappointment stems from the female protagonists not being lewd enough, repetitive early level scenes, and points not being calculated at the mid-level end. These minor letdowns detract slightly from the overall experience.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion arises from unclear mechanics such as how to defeat triangular enemies, not understanding the energy and ultimate mechanic, and not knowing how the B item's collision volume is set. These ambiguities hinder gameplay understanding.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Happiness is brought by the amateur voice acting being pleasant and the game simply bringing joy to the player. The overall experience creates a positive emotional response.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is inspired by the gorgeous visuals, satisfying explosions, great atmosphere, excellent pixel art, music, and gameplay. The high-quality presentation and engaging mechanics evoke strong admiration.
- Mild frustration (weight 0.01): Mild frustration comes from the planes being somewhat hard to fight and initial difficulty finding language settings. These minor obstacles cause slight irritation but are not major blockers.
- Discomfort (weight 0.01): Discomfort is caused by keyboard-only play with default key bindings and the opening controller vibration being extremely strong and lasting over ten seconds, making hands numb. These physical and control issues lead to an unpleasant experience.
- Pleasant surprise (weight 0.01): Pleasant surprise was felt when development resumed after 4 years, exceeding expectations of an abandoned project. This unexpected revival brings a positive shock.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Addiction is driven by the gameplay being highly engaging and compelling, keeping players coming back for more. The loop is strong enough to create a compulsive desire to play.
- Love-hate relationship (weight 0.01): A love-hate relationship exists because the game is insanely fun but also frustrating and unbalanced, creating conflicting feelings of enjoyment and irritation. The highs and lows keep players engaged despite the flaws.}