Cute em ups are a sub-genre of shmups that I really enjoy and Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam may be one of the more interesting takes on the genre. Beneath the humorously lengthy and dramatic title, what we have here is a game that has a surprising amount of depth and detail. At the same time, it is the kind of arcade-style game that you start playing for a few minutes and then realize you have been playing for hours.
Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam sees you choose from a roster of twelve witches, each of whom is paired with their own familiar, and each of whom feels different and unique enough to encourage you to try each one. A lot of the time, you cannot really tell the difference between choices in some shmups, but Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam really makes each character stand out and feel unique. The end result is that each playthrough will feel different if you select a different character and adds a ton of replay value in the process. It’s impressive how much the experience can change from one witch to the next, and that sense of variety immediately lifts the game beyond a simple run-and-gun loop.
Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam is a gameplay bonanza, with multiple mechanics combining into something great. This includes a variety of attack options for taking out enemies, as well as special abilities gained through Magic Cards. The Magic Cars give a variety of abilities such as new attack options like burst attacks, area attacks, new spells and even shields. They manage to make a difference in the gameplay without feeling like they are an overpowered aspect.
You can get cards from a Pumpkin shop, provided you have coins and these are gained not just by defeating enemies, but by ceasing to attack so you can collect the coins. It adds a lot to the game, by forcing you to decide what is more important in a given moment and how best to go about things. You may need to forgo the coins while taking out certain enemies or you may need to slow down and navigate carefully so you can afford upgrades, which creates a great sense of tension.
Part of this involves the Magic Circle that creates a bubble around your character and absorbs shots ( specifically green bullets) and turns them into coins once you defeat the enemies, This does not work on every attack, but does help give you a short breather to enable you to keep going, but there is a tradeoff involved. While the Magic Circle is needed to navigate the more difficult enemy attacks, it wears off and needs to be recharged, which is done by standing still. This puts you at a disadvantage for a short time, and this means you need to manage your strategy in this situation if you are going to survive.
Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam has a full story mode that accompanies the gameplay, although there is also a standard arcade mode. The story mode is voiced entirely in Japanese, but there are English subtitles, and it is a nice addition that adds a bit more flavour to the game and gives the characters more personality. Obviously the main draw will be the gameplay, but this story mode really does help elevate Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam. For some reason, story modes make a lot of sense in cute em ups, and it is probably because they are much more character focused.
In addition to the story mode and the arcade mode, Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam has many more options for gameplay. These include the typical things like multiple difficulty options, a Score Attack mode and an Endless mode, but there is even more. Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam also contains Walpurgis Night mode, a different take on hard mode that affects enemy behavior and is far more wild of an experience. There is also a boss attack mode, a practice mode and an AC mode that recreates the original arcade version.
Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam is an over the top game, but that fits cute em ups well. The action is brilliant and it helps that the visuals are utilized brilliantly with the use of colour,, anime designs and attack effects, to create a bombastic experience. The amazing soundtrack combines with this to make Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam, a game that feels like it is full of perpetual movement, which is appreciated.
Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam is exactly what I want out of a cute em up. Bright and colourful, while full of action and storytelling. It brings you into the gameplay seemingly for a few minutes and leaves you playing for hours instead. Fun in both short spurts and long playthroughs and full of replay value, Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 – Daughters of Amalgam is one that you should not miss out on.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
