Info about Earthion:

Official game description:
Return to the genesis of 16-bit gaming with Ancient's brand new shoot 'em up, Earthion!
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Yuzo Koshiro’s Earthion is a side-scrolling space shooter developed natively for 16-bit systems by legendary Japanese developer Ancient Corporation. 
Guide space fighter pilot Azusa Takanashi, through eight chaotic levels, each with their own unique environment, enemies, and boss fights, to repel the alien invaders and save planet Earth.
**Legends of the 16-bit era return**
Instrumental in the creation of some of the 16-bit era’s most defining games, Ancient Corporation and Yuzo Koshiro return to their roots after three decades to deliver a generation-defining experience and an unforgettable fight among the stars.
**Classic Arcade Shooter Action**
Strap in and deploy a devastating arsenal as you fight your way through eight chaotic levels, each with unique environments, enemies and boss fights. Beat the game on Hotshot difficulty, up the ante in Challenge mode and become a flying ace to claim your spot in the online leaderboard\*.
**Original Soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro**
With an original soundtrack from one of the most renowned composers of the 16-bit era, Earthion offers a truly immersive audio experience featuring 27 original tracks and incredible soundscape of effects to transport you back to a golden age of retro gaming
**Developed natively for classic 16-bit hardware**
Developed to run natively for 16-bit hardware, pushing the original system to its absolute limits while ported to modern platforms with meticulous care, Earthion offers great quality of life features, including highly customizable scanline configurations to give an authentic retro experience on modern displays\*.
**About Ancient Corp**
Ancient Corporation is a Tokyo, Japan-based development studio founded by renowned game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. With over 35 years of experience in game development, Ancient has become a pioneer of 2D action experiences, having produced beloved classic hit titles such as Streets of Rage 2, Sonic the Hedgehog on Game Gear, and more. Earthion represents Ancient’s first 2D shooter game, and its first Mega Drive title since Beyond Oasis, which was released back in 1995.
\*Feature not available for Mega Drive/Genesis editions of Earthion.

Release date: 31 Jul, 2025

Categories: Side-scrolling Shooter, Arcade, High Score Chasing, Linear Progression, Weapon Customization, Character Progression


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


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:
- Exceptional Overall Game Quality (weight 1): Players overwhelmingly praise the game's overall quality, presentation, and technical execution, highlighting its visual appeal, engaging gameplay, and high production value. Many consider it a masterpiece and a top-tier game.
- Excellent Retro-Inspired Shmup (weight 0.91): The game is highly praised as an excellent shoot 'em up (shmup) that successfully captures and elevates the spirit of classic 16-bit titles, particularly those from the Mega Drive/Genesis era. It's seen as a love letter to the genre, blending nostalgia with modern polish.
- Outstanding Music and Soundtrack (weight 0.88): The game's soundtrack is consistently lauded as amazing, incredible, and spectacular, with special recognition given to Yuzo Koshiro's composition. Players feel the music significantly enhances the game experience and evokes classic 16-bit era sounds.
- Well-Balanced Difficulty (weight 0.64): The game's difficulty is described as well-balanced and manageable, offering a reasonable challenge without being overly punishing. Players appreciate the appropriate difficulty curve and the ability to clear normal mode with persistence.
- Well-Designed, Varied Stages (weight 0.3): Stages are well-designed and unique, preventing boredom and encouraging replayability. Each phase feels distinct, contributing to an ideal game duration.
- Extensive Customization Options (weight 0.27): The game offers extensive and complete settings options, particularly for video and visual customization on the PC version. This allows players to tailor their experience.
- Effective Regenerative Shield System (weight 0.26): The shield system is highlighted as a well-balanced and forgiving mechanic. Its regenerative nature and ability to withstand multiple hits make accidental damage less punishing, rewarding skillful dodging.
- High-Quality Sound and Animation (weight 0.25): The game's sound effects are described as awesome, well-done, and punchy, contributing to a lovingly crafted audio design. The animations are also noted as jaw-dropping.
- Satisfying Firepower and Upgrades (weight 0.25): The game's firepower and weapon upgrade systems are well-implemented, providing adequate and strong offensive capabilities. Players note that bosses can be quickly defeated by targeting their weak points.
- Strategic Power-Up Systems (weight 0.12): The A-pod and capsule collection systems allow for strategic progression and post-clear power-ups, adding depth to the gameplay.
- CRT Support and Aspect Ratio (weight 0.11): The game supports native display on CRT monitors and maintains a 4:3 aspect ratio, catering to retro enthusiasts.
- Stunning Presentation Effects (weight 0.11): The game's presentation effects, including the ending and certain screens, are incredibly cool and surprisingly stunning for a game with a Mega Drive aesthetic.
- Modern Polish on Classic Design (weight 0.1): The game successfully elevates classic genre elements with modern polish and design, keeping the experience fresh while honoring its roots.

Common complaints:
- Visibility issues impact gameplay (weight 0.31): Players frequently report difficulty distinguishing enemies, bullets, and terrain from backgrounds, especially in Stage 2 and on higher difficulties. This visual clutter significantly impacts gameplay and requires manual color adjustments for some.
- Audio quality and mixing issues (weight 0.21): Players note that the music quality does not meet the high standards of previous titles like Thunder Force 4. Additionally, sound effects are often too loud, drowning out the music, and voice audio is distorted, suggesting overall audio mixing and quality issues.
- Dominant 3-way weapon (weight 0.13): The initial 3-way weapon is highly effective and versatile, leading players to rely on it heavily. This reduces the incentive to experiment with or utilize other available weapon types, potentially limiting strategic variety.
- Confusing UI and localization (weight 0.12): The game features two separate settings menus, which players find confusing to navigate. Furthermore, UI settings in Japanese still display explanations in English, indicating an inconsistency in localization.
- Missing quick retry option (weight 0.08): The absence of a quick retry option forces players to endure lengthy waits, including logos and full game resets, after each death. This significantly disrupts the flow of gameplay and makes repeated attempts tedious.
- Firepower recovery mechanic (weight 0.07): When the player's ship is hit, its firepower significantly weakens. To recover, players are forced to continuously attack small, often insignificant, enemy planes, which can feel like a tedious grind.
- No full-screen support (weight 0.07): Players have reported that the game does not support a true full-screen display. This can lead to a less immersive experience and potential display issues on certain monitors.
- Unreasonable pricing (weight 0.05): Some players perceive the game's pricing as unreasonable. This is a common sentiment in review bombing, where players express dissatisfaction with the cost relative to perceived value.

Gameplay feedback:
- Cumulative power-up system (weight 0.23): The game utilizes a cumulative power-up system, including an A-pod system and a password-based progression, where collecting capsules and energy points allows for significant post-stage upgrades. This system encourages strategic collection throughout stages.
- Strategic weapon management (weight 0.13): Players must make strategic choices regarding weapon slots and allocation, as weapons need to be switched effectively to progress through the game.
- Dynamic horizontal scrolling shooter (weight 0.13): The game is a horizontal scrolling shooter that incorporates dynamic changes in scroll direction and significant terrain interactions, which influence gameplay.
- Large player hitbox (weight 0.08): The game features a large player hitbox, which increases the difficulty of dodging enemy attacks and requires precise movement.
- One-hit kill bullets (weight 0.07): Bullets are primarily designed to eliminate enemies on the first hit, indicating a focus on precision and efficient targeting rather than sustained damage.
- No slowdown for dodging (weight 0.07): The game's design does not appear to rely on slowdown mechanics to aid players in dodging incoming projectiles, suggesting a focus on player skill and reaction time.
- Mid-boss encounters (weight 0.07): Most stages in the game include a mid-boss encounter, adding consistent mini-challenges before the final stage boss.

Performance notes:
- Smooth sprite rendering (weight 0.08): The game handles a large number of on-screen sprites without any noticeable performance issues like slowdowns or flickering. This indicates strong technical optimization for visual elements.
- Excellent Steam Deck performance (weight 0.08): Players reported excellent performance on the Steam Deck, indicating good optimization for portable play. This suggests the game is highly accessible to users of this platform.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended for Shmup Fans (weight 0.38): Players highly recommend this game, especially for fans of classic shoot 'em ups (shmups) and 16-bit era games. It's considered a must-buy for those who enjoy frantic action and challenges.
- Recommended During Sales (weight 0.06): One cluster suggests purchasing the game when it is on sale. This indicates that while the game is good, some players might find its full price a bit steep or prefer a discount.

Other player notes:
- Yuzo Koshiro's involvement (weight 0.18): Yuzo Koshiro, known for his work on Streets of Rage, is both the producer and composer of this game. His presence at Retrocon during testing on a Neptune prototype further highlights his involvement.
- exA version difficulty and strategy (weight 0.17): The exA version of the game, which includes this title, is noted for its high difficulty. Players found watching YouTube videos of the exA version's location tests helpful for developing strategies.
- Automatic password saving (weight 0.07): A convenient feature of the home version is its automatic password saving. This quality-of-life improvement enhances the player experience.
- Megadrive-like voice speech (weight 0.07): The game's voice speech has a distinct sound reminiscent of the Sega Megadrive. This stylistic choice contributes to its retro feel.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.46): Players expressed satisfaction due to the game's overall high quality, including its well-designed gameplay, balanced difficulty, and forgiving mechanics. The high-quality soundtrack, extensive visual customization, and authentic retro feel also contributed significantly to player enjoyment and replayability.
- Excitement (weight 0.17): Excitement stemmed from the game's high overall quality, particularly its engaging visual and audio design, and the depth discovered through its features and customization options. The intense, hectic action and challenging gameplay, combined with a soaring soundtrack, also contributed to this feeling.
- Amazement (weight 0.11): Amazement was primarily caused by the game exceeding player expectations, particularly regarding its impressive technical performance, high-quality graphics, and stunning visual effects. The game's presentation and its authenticity to the legacy of Ancient also contributed to this sense of wonder.
- Admiration (weight 0.09): Admiration was largely directed towards Yuzo Koshiro's exceptional work on the soundtrack, specifically his mastery of the Mega Drive sound chip. The game's overall artistic quality and its impactful ending sequence also garnered significant praise.
- Frustration (weight 0.07): Frustration arose from practical issues such as visibility problems during gameplay and inconsistencies within the user interface. The high pricing of the game was also a significant point of contention for players.
- Gratitude (weight 0.02): Gratitude was expressed specifically for Yuzo Koshiro's significant contribution to the game's music, highlighting the positive impact of his work on the player experience.
- Pleasure (weight 0.02): Players experienced pleasure from simply playing a high-quality game that evoked the classic Mega Drive era, indicating that the game successfully captured the essence of that period.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy was felt due to the game's overall quality and its successful incorporation of various positive influences, suggesting a well-executed and enjoyable experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia was triggered by the game's successful recreation of a classic shmup (shoot 'em up) feel, appealing to players who appreciate retro gaming experiences.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Hope was expressed as a desire for a future full-screen update, indicating a specific improvement players wished to see implemented in the game.}