PS2 Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol 3 - New Import

Taito collects another two shooters from shmup wunderkind Psikyo... Sol Divide (Originally released in 1997)    When a megalomaniac named Ifther joins the hordes of the Dark World and wreaks havoc on the land of Shamain, three heroes are forced to take flight and exact vengeance. Players may choose from three possible warriors as follows: 1) Kashon, the winged and blue-skinned warrior who wields a spear 2) Vorg the raven-haired soldier who smites with a sword 3) Tyora, a sorceress who carries a book of magic and a staff    Played in horizontally scrolling levels, Sol Divide pits groups of soldiers and bosses against one of three heroes. Two basic attacks consist of a simple shot and a slash move for close-up damage when enemies hover near. Special attacks may be pulled off by doing slash-slash-slash combinations that are coupled with a directional move on the controller.    Up to nine magic spells may be picked up over the course of play and added to a roster located below the player's health bar. Fire, Freeze, Thunder, Death, and Wind are only some of the blasts that one may evoke. Bottles of power must however be picked up in order to fuel the spells before they can be cast by pressing the shot + slash buttons simultaneously. There's little room to maneuver because the hero character is relegated to the left side of the screen while enemies and bosses crowd up the right side of the screen. Big bosses such as the dragon in level 2 pretty much leave little room for maneuvering out of jams. Overall, a decent shooter but the cramped screen may prove to be a frustration factor for all but the most crazed of fans. Dragon Blaze (Originally released in 2000)   The Devil has cast a bevy of curses throughout the world. To rid the land of the malfeasance, the God of Sun charges four warriors with the task of obtaining magic stones in order to open the gates of the Dark World and take the battle directly to the Devil. Guide one of four dragon-riding heroes and blast through 8 levels of vertical shooting action. 1) Quaid + Fire Dragon - Shoots out a simple fire shot and may throw out special bombs which render a temporary moment of invulnerability in addition to destroying stuff on screen. Power up enough and a slew of spears accompany the fire shots. 2) Sonia + Aqua Dragon - Fires off globules of blue water(?) and after a few power up pickups, green lasers accompany the globules. Her special attack calls upon the power of Poseiden where the underwater god spins through the air with trident in hand, destroying everything in his path. 3) Rob + Thunder Dragon - Shoots out a yellow laser which expands in a widening arc as power ups are gathered. Once powered up sufficiently, Rob also throws out mines which move upwards and destroy everything in their path. His special attack is a green thunder ring or local area explosion which destroys everything in its perimeter. Hold the shot button down when the magic bar is ready and he'll throw out lightning hammers which pack some damage also. Probably the most powerful hero although slower than the others. 4) Ian + Skull Dragon - Green shots and guided swords which seek out targets once powered up enough. Ian's special attack sends two scythe-wielding skeletons zooming up the screen, slashing against everything in their path.   Enjoyable shooter that would have meshed beautifully with the buzzing system of Psyvariar since the amount of shots filling up the screen gets obscene, whether its from bosses or a quartet of laser firing henchmen. Levels are straightforward and the action never lets up. It's frenetic from the start where enemies appear, attack, and then the next wave appears in rapid succession.    Silver coins are dropped by each enemy which contribute 100 points to the score but there's a way to obtain gold coins which are worth 200 points. The Dragon Separation system may be activated which separates rider from beast - get close to an enemy and separate, and the zooming dragon will destroy or damage it, and release gold coins.    Being the thrill seekers that we are, we're currently playing the game without firing a single shot but relying on only the Dragon Separate attack to go through the levels. Since there's a time lag of a few seconds between separating the dragon and then calling it back, it's a game of mapping enemy shots and finding a path through them as volleys of pink pellets zoom through the screen in radial fashion and criss-crossing webs.