SUGURI Review Summary

This fun game features a great soundtrack and appealing character designs, but extremely high difficulty, problematic dash mechanics, and poor controls hold it back.

Overall game is fun: Players consistently describe the game as fun, enjoyable, and addictive, with several mentioning it as great or good. This is the most common positive sentiment, indicating broad appeal.

Soundtrack is well received: The soundtrack and music are frequently praised as good, great, energetic, and fitting well with the game. This underscores the audio quality as a positive feature.

Appealing character designs: Multiple reviews praise the character design as appealing, cute, and well-crafted, often linking it to the art style and story. This highlights a key visual strength.

Story is engaging: Reviews describe the story as captivating, engaging, and good, with some noting it as simple yet effective. This indicates the narrative contributes positively to the experience.

High replayability: The game offers significant replayability through unlockables, rankings, and a fun improvement loop. This extends the game's longevity.

Difficulty is extremely high: Players consistently report the game as brutally hard even on Easy mode, with steep spikes and merciless bosses. Some took 9-10 hours and over 100 attempts to beat it, while others couldn't finish at all.

Input and dash mechanics problematic: Dashing and attacking inputs suffer from unresponsiveness and unintended actions, such as drifting, auto-direction, or ignoring repeated presses. This makes movement and combat feel clumsy and unreliable.

Controls and keybindings poor: Default keyboard bindings are uncomfortable and unintuitive, requiring remapping. Keybinding configuration is limited, unclear, and has issues like direct input not saving, ESC exiting the game without remap, and gamepad diagonal issues.

Graphics and visuals dated: Players find the graphics dated, low-resolution, and less appealing compared to later games in the series. Visual clarity issues include small pale player characters, simple models, and a bland setting.

Weapon balance and usability poor: Weapons are unbalanced, with some being useless in later stages, lacking upgrades (just alternatives), and having poor accuracy or long attack intervals. This complicates combat and strategic choices.

Bullet hell shooter hybrid: Multiple reviews describe the game as a high-speed side-scrolling bullet hell shoot 'em up with danmaku elements and horizontal scrolling. This genre classification is the most common theme.

Game is difficult: Players consistently note that the game is hard, even on easy mode, and some mention it being harder than another game called Sora. Difficulty is a major point of feedback.

Two weapons laser and bazooka: Players can select two weapons from an arsenal, with examples like laser and bazooka, which affect gameplay and strategy.

Dash mechanic for dodging: The game features a dash mechanic that allows players to dodge bullets, with a gameplay loop involving dash, shoot, and dodge. This is a core gameplay element mentioned repeatedly.

Dash dodges normal bullets: The dash can pass through normal bullets and beam-type enemy bullets, but not missiles, providing invulnerability to certain attacks. This specificity shows detailed player understanding.

Graphics and performance issues: The game has a low frame rate counter showing around 61 FPS, alt-tabbing reduces resolution to 640x480, and fullscreen mode flashes white. These issues affect visual stability and overall performance.

Controller support is problematic: Non-XInput controllers have compatibility issues, and even on some systems, controllers do not work correctly. This limits accessibility for players using various gamepads.

Game crashes on startup: The game crashes immediately when launched, preventing players from accessing the game at all. This is a critical issue that blocks gameplay entirely.

Sound cuts out completely: At some point during gameplay, all audio stops working, leaving the game silent. This disrupts the experience and may require restarting the game to fix.

General lack of fluidity: The game feels unresponsive and not smooth, which may be tied to the technical issues mentioned above. This degrades the overall gameplay quality.

Recommended for difficulty seekers: Multiple reviewers recommend the game to players who enjoy challenging experiences, noting that the difficulty is a core part of the appeal. They specifically mention that the game is suited for those looking for something hard.

Recommended for bullet hell fans: The game is repeatedly recommended to enthusiasts of the bullet hell genre, with reviewers stating that it may be for those who enjoy such gameplay. It is also suggested for fans of fast-paced levels and hard bosses.

Worth playing overall: Several reviews affirm that the game is worth playing and is an interesting experience, with one even calling it the best kind of bullet hell game. These positive recommendations suggest high overall value.

Not for casual players: The game is deemed not suitable for casual players or newcomers, with reviewers warning against purchasing for those who prefer less demanding experiences. This aligns with the general sentiment of high difficulty.

Advises against buying: Some reviewers explicitly advise against purchasing the game, with one stating they cannot recommend playing it and another advising against buying it. This negative feedback may stem from the game's flaws or steep difficulty.

Story completion: 9.5h.

The game has a steep learning curve and lacks a tutorial, causing initial confusion and frustration. However, as players learn the mechanics and experiment with loadouts, the game becomes rewarding and enjoyable.

Friction: lack of tutorial; steep learning curve; confusing mechanics.

Unlock drivers: understanding game mechanics; experimenting with loadouts; progression through stages.

Hardcore Bullet Hell Veteran: High-speed dodging, weapon management, seeking challenge. Motivation: Mastering extreme difficulty and achieving high skill. Stance: buy.

Persistent Difficulty-Crusher: Pattern building on easy mode, slow progression, learning enemy patterns. Motivation: Overcoming personal skill barriers through persistence. Stance: deep sale.

Achievement Completionist: Systematic replay for achievements, weapon unlocking, multiple playthroughs. Motivation: Completing all achievements and unlocking all content. Stance: sale.

Soundtrack composed by DEKU: The BGM, composed by DEKU, is frequently praised for fitting the stage atmosphere and composition perfectly. The soundtrack is a standout feature, with a cool techno vibe that some compare to Snowboard Kids on N64.

Aged but charming game: The game is nearly 20 years old, and reviewers acknowledge its age. Despite dated graphics, the character-drawn style and overall charm are still appreciated.

Missing tutorial is a flaw: The game lacks any proper tutorial, which is a major issue for new players. Reviewers note this lack of guidance as a significant drawback, especially for players unfamiliar with shoot 'em ups.

Bugged achievements are frustrating: Multiple achievements are bugged or unobtainable, with some not triggering properly and one weapon permanently unobtainable. This is a significant issue for completionists and has been noted in several reviews.

Early Orange Juice title: This is the debut game from Japanese developer Orange_Juice, marking the beginning of the Suguri and Hime series. Reviewers recognize its importance as the origin of the franchise, despite its flaws compared to later entries.