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262 games
79 downloadable
1226 MB archived |
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Minimonica 
It's good to see that two-dimensional shooting games aren't always about spaceships, aliens and big guns, a change is always welcome. In this case, you take control of kawaii (Japanese for "cute") little fairy Monica, battling colorful enemies in an Anime fantasy setting. There's even a plot narrated by short cutscenes, but since the text is in Japanese, we can't really know what's happening - not a big loss for the game's enjoyment, luckily.
Visually speaking, the game is a little gem. The Anime style is perfect, as well the use of colors, the variety of enemies (most of them are seen only in specific levels) is great and the multiparallax backgrounds are equally varied, and very good. Bosses and sub-bosses are the most impressive part of the graphics; there are also beautiful drawings for the cutscenes. It all looks like a game from the golden times of Sega Genesis.
The soundtrack consists of quite good songs, matching the fantasy setting perfectly.
The keys are the same of most of the Japanese shooters: arrows, Z to fire, X to use a bomb called Super Magic. You make selections in the starting screen (not that there's much to choose from, only Start and Exit), choose to continue or not - and how can you refuse, with Monica staring at you with puppy eyes in the continue screen? - and skip cutscenes by using Shift, Enter or Space.
You start with a simple magic shot, and by bonuses you can get Fire, Water and Wind weapons, which can be upgraded only once and have their advantages and disadvantages: for example, the basic Wind is nothing special but the upgraded one is quite powerful and widespread. Do not be afraid to use the Super Magic (which changes according to the type of shot you currently have) in case of danger, also since you can't get it as a bonus to be picked up: one is given to you only when you are hit. You will also be able to take back your weapon immediately, with a bonus icon reappearing close to you, but here lies one of the biggest flaws of the game: the icon always starts with Fire, and since in the meantime you must move to avoid enemy bullets, you will be almost forced to take Fire. This causes a big disadvantage to the other two shot types.
If you worry about Monica's sprite seeming too big to avoid the worst swarms of enemy shots, keep in mind that the real collision point is in the center, around the chest area; hat and legs aren't affected.
Now, because of the general cuteness, you could think of Minimonica as an easy product for an unexperienced audience; it's the exact opposite. This game is challenging! The levels are seven, and not very long for the record, but the action is so fast, the enemies so fierce at times, and the shots barrages so big, that you must be lucky to pass level 4 alive. Well, to be honest, this is also due to a badly designed part in it: you must go through a sort of maze, avoiding collision with walls, but some passages are unfairly tight. Not something that kills the overall fun, but a very annoying detail nonetheless. Unlike many shooters with lots of or even infinite credits, easily killing longevity, Minimonica has only ten. The game comes with two downloadable versions, labeled Normal and Easy, the latter being easier than the former - but not easy at all!
Despite some imperfections, this is a game not to be missed by shooting maniacs - unless you are totally disgusted by cuteness, obviously.
The download link leads to the Normal version of the game. To get the Easy one, just go to the official site, you will easily find it on top of the page.
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REVIEWED BY Gendo Ikari
STAFF RATING 8/10
USER RATING 6.1/10
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FILE SIZE 2.2 MB
FILE DATE Dec 12, 2003
UPLOADED Sep 17, 2004
DEV TOOL ASCII 2D Shooting Make
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NO DEMOS 