LogFAQs > #949148167

I'm fairly certain this next game will be the most unknown game on my list.

#89. Kamui (PC, 1999)



I like shmups. They're fun games. I'm not great at them, however. I think I can play the decently well, but I struggle with the hard ones. So when I play them, I'm at more of a casual level. I don't get into the high score chasing mechanics, the bullet grazing, the combo chaining, etc.The bullet hell games can be a good time, but also get to be a bit much for me to keep up with. I just want to fly around and blow stuff up, and dodge a reasonable amount of projectiles and obstacles. I think the older style of shmups appeals to me more, stuff along the lines of R-Type, Gradius, Raiden, Darius, etc. And even then, I can't always quantify why I like some more than others. The pace and feel of the game, the style, the music, these all seem like subjective things, but that's what I lean into.

Kamui is the second game in a series of three shmups (the other two games are Alltynex and Reflexx). It's a vertical scrolling shmup where you mostly fight enemies in the foreground (on the same level as you), but you can also attack enemies in the background (flying on a lower altitude than you). You get a couple tools that helps keep the game from being incredibly difficult. Your ship has a shield, so you can take some damage before dying, a nice forgiving change from the standard instant deaths that are in most shmups. You also have a meter that fills over time. This can be used for your powerful attack weapon, or for an auto-targeting multi-hit weapon, which is great for crowd control.


It's not an overly difficult or long game, maybe only half an hour long? The weapons and shields you get helps the game from feeling overly difficult, so you don't have to suffer at the hands of a singular mistake. There is a lot of stuff to shoot and blow up, but a lot of firepower that you always have access to. The visuals and audio are clear and full of energy, so all the explosions have a satisfying look feel.

I bought the whole triolgy on Steam a few years back, and while all three games were fun, I found that I kept going back to Kamui and just wanting to play that again and again. It was a very unexpected good time.

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