Witch-Bot Meglilo (PC) Review

In this shmup, Meglilo takes to the skies to avenge those who have fallen to Gogoh's army. There's a surprising amount of story to this game, due to its frequent cut-scenes and plenty of absurd dialogue. Despite the nonsense, players would do well not to estimate this game. The bullets are quick and plentiful, and the prevalence of shield power-ups matters little, when Meglilo is always just a few direct hits away from a miserable end. Other hazards such as narrow corridors require calm nerves and a careful hand. Oh and by the way, there aren't any continues.

Naturally, this magical girl-bot is packing some serious heat. Alongside her main cannon are two options. Over the course of each stage, there are several opportunities to swap out her secondary weapons. Some are better for certain situations, while others require a riskier style of play to get the full effect. Meglilo can also utilise the miraculous time-stop ability. By simply holding down a button, time freezes, and the heroine can teleport to any location on-screen. This is an important tool, since even the most skilled players can't dodge everything. However, this ability drains a special meter. Overreliance on time-stop can leave the avenger in a serious bind.

Witch-Bot Meglilo offers up four levels of difficulty. The easy setting is perfectly suitable for someone who just wants to enjoy the "intricate" plot. Normal definitely kicks things up a few notches, but anyone who cuts their teeth on arcade shmups shouldn't worry too much. The hard and aptly-named insane difficulties will test the limits of anyone. Not only are there more bullets to contend with, bosses get new attacks, further complicating mankind-avenging matters. There's also a scoring system that rewards robowitches for destroying enemies as quickly as possible while not taking any damage at all.

One of the strengths of Astroport (the developer) is their consistency. All of their games are mechanically sound, action-packed, and have a clear direction. There aren't going to be long stretches where nothing happens, nor are there any unfair deaths or impossible to avoid situations. They know what works and what they have to do to achieve the desired result. This is a short game, but it succeeds where it matters.