PS2 Twinkle Star Sprites: La Petite Princesse - New Import

A new assortment of pastel colored munchkins take to the skies and shoot for their lives. The shiny cast of playable characters differ in speed and firepower but they pretty much have the same general appearance. Starting the game will divide the screen into two portions and the heroes and heroines spin downwards onto the playfield. Twinkle Star resembles Galaga... except it scrolls vertically and there's a competitive element where one attempts to create chain combinations to send fireballs to attack the opponent.    Foes flying in from the top of the screen include colorful clams with eyes and shells that open and eyes, lemon-like ovals with eyes, mecha teddy bears, floppy eared puppies, flying pigs, and a motley assortment of other attackers. The creatures move in ordered lines where they fly in formation. The target of the shooting action is to destroy a lead object so that it explodes and ignites a chain reaction that blows up all of the followers behind it. Some waves will fly in with orderly downward motion but others will criss-cross the screen which makes the chain reaction destruction somewhat more tricky although destroying a central target will normally cause everyone else to rush into the explosion and destroy themselves. Beautifully executed chain reactions will fill up a meter located on the bottom of the screen. Once it reaches par, "Fever" mode may toggled which grants invincibility to the player for a short while and enhances firepower which in turn allows more attacks on the opponent. The player may only toggle Fever mode once per level. The player's life bar is located on the top of the screen which contains 5 life blobs.    Pressing the shot button will emit a little burst but holding the fire button for more than 2 seconds will charge it up to fire off a bigger blast which is capable of destroying swaths of targets. The destructive force is fine for getting rid of bosses but using it on regular henchmen will cause the player to lose out on chain reactions due to the instant destruction of many creatures at once.    Levels in the game include a Halloween theme where dark houses lie below, spaced apart by a river of lava while jack 'o lantern types fly in attack formation. Another level features a green grassy meadow filled with massive mushrooms, tree stumps, tree tops and occasional sprigs of produce.  Every copy of the game shipping today will include a bonus 64-page manga featuring the characters from the game.