GAME REVIEW | Bullet Hell in Tune with Classic "MACROSS" Series

Hard to believe that it’s taken forever to get the MACROSS franchise over to the West, but it’s finally happened. After years dealing with Harmony Gold over its Robotech licensing fiasco, anime fans can now watch MACROSS in all of its glory. How appropriate then that a brand-new MACROSS game just so happens to arrive to celebrate the occasion. Thus, the time has come to bring all the best pilots and songstresses together in a massive crossover, in the form of MACROSS -Shooting Insight-.

Combining the worlds of MACROSS Zero, PLUS, MACROSS7, Frontier, and Delta, MACROSS -Shooting Insight- has you teaming with the best to protect the galaxy. By some strange time-warp thingy, all of the classic heroes from the series are getting together to take down a common enemy. And there’s no better way to do that than with your giant robot-transforming jet craft and an idol singer to watch your six. Of course, diving straight into battle isn’t the best strategy, but sometimes winging it is better than not fighting at all!

Whether it’s with your bullets or lock-on system, you will be taking on countless enemies. They come from all sides and angles, which makes you choose whether a straight-up shootout or a strategic lock-on technique is the best way to gain victory. As you fight, you will come across satellites that are blocking your songstress signal. When you’ve blasted enough of them, the idols start singing and giving you an extra boost of power.

With it being a bullet hell game, you can expect to shoot nonstop throughout MACROSS -Shooting Insight-. Jets, bots, and even the stage bosses will be attacking all over the place, forcing you to keep an eye on everything that’s shooting at you. With enough power though, you can call upon a Support Strike to make mincemeat out of everything that’s on screen, a helpful tool to have when things get overwhelming. (It also comes in handy when you wanna deal a quick & fatal blow to the bosses.)

As a bullet hell title, MACROSS -Shooting Insight- does a surprising amount right. Although you’ll be using your trigger finger a lot to hold down the fire button, it never gets to the point where your digits become tired or sore. Switching between fire and lock-on power is also pretty smooth, although players may find one way of defeating enemies is easier than the other. Depending on who you use will also make you come up with new strategies to blast foes, as no two aircraft are the same. (Thankfully, even the slowest bullets will get faster the more you power up.)

When the songstresses are initiated, you‘ll become a whole lot more powerful on the battlefield. The tunes they sing aren’t just to soothe your ears or get you pumped for the fight; they have legit helping mechanisms. Stronger bullets, weaker enemies, and even better defense will give you the upper hand when these classic anime songs blast through your speakers. Just be sure you defeat the main foe before the song ends, or else you’re on your own when the tougher guys show up!

From a difficulty perspective, this game is one tough cookie to master. Unless you set it so you can regain health quicker and/or set it to either Easy difficulty, you’ll find your pilot being blown to smithereens many, many times. The Evade button may be your friend in dire situations, but I lost count how many occasions I evaded straight into enemy fire. Again, it’s all about creating a good strategy, which players might be able to do the more times they face the challenges head-on.

Story-wise, MACROSS -Shooting Insight- goes a simple crossover route. With that being said, it’s fun seeing these pilots from the classic series interacting with one another. The banter they have while the fight is happening onscreen is very entertaining, even though the subtitles can be a little small to read while you’re in the midst of blasting things away. Alas, there’s no English dub, so you’re out of luck if you were hoping to hear Bryan Cranston reprise his role as MACROSS PLUS’s Isamu Dyson.

Another downside is the story length. Lasting just under two hours, the narrative goes by very quickly. There is plenty of replay value, as you’ll get a chance to see the story played out from five different perspectives in Story Mode. There are also the various items to collect from the classic series via the Akashic Collection, Artwork, and MACROSS Memories.

There are also many modes to experience MACROSS -Shooting Insight- through. Classic Arcade will allow you to play without the narrative side, whereas Boss Rush will have you take on the toughest foes from each level one after another. Ace Battle will give you the chance to face off against the best pilots from the MACROSS series, while Area Survey will let you revisit completed levels with any pilot you’ve used before.

PROS:

• Good selection of characters
• Easy controls
• Nice story mode…

CONS:

• …but on the short side
• Super difficult without buffers
• No English dub

FINAL THOUGHTS:

MACROSS -Shooting Insight- may not be the best way to become acquainted with the classic anime franchise. However, if you are already familiar with a few of its series, then this game will no doubt find ways to make you smile. It’s wicked fun, delivering a solid amount of excitement via its combat, music, and classic characters in ways that will make any lover of MACROSS race to their cockpits and dive straight into battle.

FINAL GRADE:

Promotional consideration provided by Derek Reeve of PR Hound. Reviewed on the PS5.

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