Astral Conjunction

Shmup (shoot 'em up) games - specifically those of the "bullet hell" subgenre - can be very difficult to get into for one reason: difficulty. Most of these games (such as R-Type, Gradius, Life Force, etc.) are extremely challenging due to the limited amount of lives and health (if any), combined with the massive number of things to dodge. These games are all about two things: (1) trial and error, and (2) patience to determine patterns and sharpen your dodging skills. Special cheats and the "rewind" feature on emulator make these games playable for the modern, "impatient" gaming generation. Sadly, a lot of gamers do not have patience for this type of game without cheats, making Astral Conjunction niche fixture of our community.

Astral Conjunction only has three levels, but the developer has packed each with waves of enemies and three very tricky bosses. Players shoot enemies with some sort of supernatural energy particles (as you are some sort of evil goddess trying to escape your void of a prison). There's also a much-needed crutch at the player's disposal: a special energy field attack that destroys enemies instantly and deals heavy damage to bosses while activated. It also deflects all attacks. The catches? (1) it only lasts a few seconds, (2) you can only use it twice per continue by default, and (3) there are only a handful of powerups scattered around the levels. Strategic use of these powerups is key, and I highly suggest saving them for the bosses unless you are both excellent at pattern recognition and very good at doding and moving in small spaces.

Unfortunately, that's one of the minor problems with Astral Conjunction: the spaces are -too- tight. One thing I like about Gradius is that once you identify the pattern, it's easy to dodge the salvos. (In R-Type? Not so easy, heh.) Unfortunately, that's barely half the battle in this game. Some bosses have a "safe zone" so small and so fluid that you have to be perfect with the arrow keys. It's a game that requires quite a few attempts (5+) to beat for this very reason.

I wouldn't mind these tight windows if there were more powerups throughout the stage. Level 3 in particular is a chore to get through: you're trying to stockpile as many lives for the final boss as possible, and there are practically no free lives or special attack stocks to be found. I would've added 3 extra lives and 3 bonus specials in -each- level as an incentive to dive head-first into the levels. In its current form, the game offers very little incentive for killing enemies in the second and third levels.

The presentation of this project is sleek, especially when one factors in the short development period. The music and sound effects, for their part, add to the atmosphere without becoming distracting. That's actually a pretty rare trait for the shmup-type games that I've played: Life Force, for instance, has a prominently upbeat and catchy OST. The music here in Astral Conjunction was likely selected to convey the theme of the story: a dark godlike being escaping imprisonment. If so, it's spot on. The enemy sprites are equally ethereal and supernatural: I love the simplicity of their design. The special attack is not only effective, but quite sexy:



Pros:
- Fitting soundtrack and graphics.
- Challenging yet short.
- Great special ability.

Cons:
- Lack of sufficient powerups, making levels feel more like preludes to the bosses.
- Bosses are a little -too- hellish, even for a bullet hell game.

Overall, this is a solid shooter game that might be a little too challenging. That challenge is offset by the short length of the game, but it could be alleviated further by including more powerups or an "easy" mode with additional lives and special stocks at the player's disposal. For a game created in such a short timeframe, Astral Conjunction succeeds at being both playable and enjoyable.