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Systems > TurboGrafx-16 > P > Psychosis > Staff Review
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Review by Felix Arabia
June 14, 2007
PSYCHOSIS!
MADNESS!
It may not be as dramatic as that, but Naxat Soft was successful in creating an intriguing premise for the beloved PC Engine in the form of Paranoia (or Psychosis if you’re playing the American version). The driving force behind this distinguishable shmup was nothing more than an admirable idea in creating a terrifying atmosphere where bizarre chaos and rampant fear plagued your mind.
Yes, the shooting action – the odd levels of varying inanity – all takes place in your mind. Understand that it has been taken over by a most foul demon called Ungar, and, through his evil perversion, he has forced you to become a prisoner to the terrors that dwell in the deepest and darkest corners of your cerebral matter. In the spirit of patriotism and being the quintessential red-blooded human, you’re not about to let some sniveling demon punk enslave you without a fight.
You design a spacecraft in your unconscious state, a sterling spitfire, to pilot through the ravaged sanctums of your memory in order to hopefully emancipate yourself from the otherworldly horrors that now inhabit your head. There’s just one problem.
You are not that creative.
Or at least Naxat Soft weren’t that creative when it came to compiling the ship you are to use. It’s a pathetic, flimsy fighter that is as fragile as it looks. Where most shooters’ ships can only sustain one hit before turning into a brilliant explosion, at least they have a menacing design or a deadly arsenal of deadly weapons. That’s not the case here. Your anemic fighter will begin with a sputtering laser, eventually acquiring power-ups in the form of electric waves, diagonally firing beams, and zapping streams, all of which can rotate around your ship, helping to compliment the occasional speed boost you’ll receive. They get the job done, but they’re so clichéd. This is supposed to be a shooter where anything goes. Excepting the weapons, apparently.
Despite it being an embarrassingly weak ship, the unique plot premise and unorthodox level aesthetics try to make up for it. These invaluable smoke and mirrors help turn Paranoia into an average adventure.
You’ll begin your journey by flying over a beach ridden with debris, engaging nasty pests and humongous snaking worms, eventually making your way through a shape-shifting cave and having to defeat a rotting apple and other primitive mind guardians. It’s a slow process, but it’s not overly difficult. You shouldn’t have any trouble equipping your ship with the very best available powers by the time you reach the end of the first level. You are rewarded with a boss battle against a smoky eyeball.
In your mind, these nasty little bugs and miasma-cloaked eyeballs are the terrors that torture you. In reality, they’re not the most innovative enemies, but they get the job done. They’re more varied than that, too. The second level, for instance, uses lecherous anemones and giant piles of laser-spewing mold to try and kill you, while the third level uses haunted samurai masks. The fourth stage has a plasma-spewing rendition of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha. It’s different; it’s varied.
It’s not terribly exciting gameplay, though. Since your ship isn’t anything to write home about and the game is kind of slow and rather easy, Paranoia isn’t the type of hori you’re going to be addicted to playing. It has some interesting oddities, such as a secret that allows a turtle to protect you in the fourth level, and the music actually sounds interesting for a HuCard title. But it’s still not that memorable of a shmup. The plot premise isn’t too noticeable unless you read the manual that comes with the game, because there isn’t really any in-game description of what goes on while you’re actually playing. You’re just there, trying to desperately free your mind from all of the insanity that has taken it over.
Once you finally free yourself, you probably won’t feel the need to relive the journey. There’s this little brown alien that gives you the finger whenever you beat a level (by far the most showing aspect in the game), but he doesn’t even do that in the American version! So really, I don’t know what more I could possibly say about Paranoia because even though it starts out with so much promise, it ends up turning it into an afterthought. A fleeting dream.
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Title: Psychosis |
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Super Star Soldier is another TurboGrafx-16 game in the Shooter genre that has been attracting activity lately, so you might want to check it out and see what all of the fuss is about!
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