Review: Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser

On target

Amidst a wash of old school mecha anime and Tokusatsu-tinted nostalgia, there was a moment in this otherwise homespun shooter that left me surprised and curiously enamored.

Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser doesn’t come from a genre known for enthralling narratives — and it doesn’t possess a particularly enthralling one itself — but the way in which it intertwines with the satisfying, if unremarkable, action makes for a compelling experience.

Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser (PC)
Developer: Astro Port
Publisher: Nyu Media
Released: June 4, 2015
MSRP: $4.99

The story centers on Takuya Akatsuki, captain of the eponymous Vulkaiser, and his trusty team of VulFighter comrades, who together must defend the planet from an armada of alien invaders.

Akatsuki’s buds can join him in battle one at a time, fusing their ships with his own. Each augment the Vulkaiser with a wide swathe of munitions ranging from a cannonade of heavy missile fire and a gun that harnesses the power of lightning to a needle blaster and a massive drill.

Diffused between the levels are a series of vignettes where the VulFighters that just accompanied the protagonist will have something to say. While it’s never explicitly stated, the game encourages players to stick with one squadmate throughout the experience, as the longer they accompany our hero in battle, the more of their personal storylines we see.

It’s a small lure, but those willing to humor it will discover an added wrinkle to the challenge. Even if you manage to clear the game on its hardest difficulty setting, sticking with a single VulFighter throughout the campaign’s duration certainly ups the ante. In addition to particular allies being more useful in certain situations more so than others, they’re also limited by their shields.

Much like the Vulkaiser itself, the VulFighters only recharge a small amount of health between one battle and the next. Once a ship is gone, it’s gone! And there aren’t any continues either, so you need to be mindful about weaving through every barrage avoid an untimely and disappointing end.

That’s how Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser hooked me. Having initially played through the game and thought it enjoyable, if a tad prosaic outside of its charming ’70s anime veneer, I began playing the game within the game. I decided to see if I would see new dialogue if kept using the same VulFighter. I soon discovered, yes, that’s the case — though this came with the realization that it might be difficult to keep them alive long enough to see all of it.

And challenging it was. Going back to the lede, the moment Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser got under my skin was at its climax. I had nearly completed the entire game with my pal Kimiko in tow, only to see her VulFighter crash and burn mere moments before felling the final boss.

I felt crestfallen, despondent, but more than anything imbued with a sense of purpose, an intense desire to forge ahead on this self-imposed quest. I found it remarkable how such a seemingly unexceptional experience could rise to be so much more than the sum of its parts.

I can’t guarantee Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser will blow you away, but I’m having a blast with it.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}