Reaching Through Time & Space: A Macross -Shooting Insight- Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

If there's one thing that Macross fans are used to, it's disappointment. The series which first saw its English-language release come in the form of the first part of Robotech has seen many new shows, movies, games, and more, but just about all of them have remained as Japanese exclusives. It's a matter too complicated to explain here, but rights issues have meant that overseas fans have to go through unconventional means to experience the series that they love. That all changed when it was announced that most of the Macross anime franchise would see its streaming debut on Hulu and Disney+, and that was followed up with the announcement of a game getting a localized release as well. Macross -Shooting Insight- is an arcade style shooter (or "shmup" if you will) that is currently available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. We're going to be looking at the PlayStation 4 release today, and see if the wait has been worth it. This is going to be a long one, so let's just dive in right away!

I'd be lying if I said I understood exactly what was going on plot-wise in Macross -Shooting Insight-, but I'm going to try to outline it here. A mysterious figure has gathered the songstresses from across the Macross franchise in order to harness their energy for seemingly nefarious purposes, and this has created a sort of time compression where characters, ships, and more have also been drawn together from across time and space. This includes both heroes and villains, with the heroes being at only partial strength due to the missing songstresses. The clear goal is to reunite everyone, defeat the enemies that have also banded together, and get back to their correct place in history. I can go into the plot details a lot more, and in fact there was a version of this review where I did, but I've decided that it's simply beyond the scope of an article like this to explain such a convoluted story as this one is. Not only does it draw plot elements from five distinct anime series, but it also brings them together in a way that can still be confusing to longtime fans. That's definitely the boat that I was in, and I've been absorbing everything Macross for decades now. Part of the reason for this is that some dialogue is left untranslated, and also due to the fact that story is only truly made clear once you've cleared all the available campaigns. Having said all that, this is a shmup at heart, so one can easily ignore the wonky story bits if all they want are the ten shooter levels the game provides. Seeing as this is the first official Macross game released in the West, it is a shame that it didn't feature a story that was easier to get into. Everything here is sure to excite fans, but it does little to bring in newcomers.

Even though Macross -Shooting Insight- features five campaigns, they're all similar as far as gameplay goes. The five campaigns correspond with characters from the five main Macross anime, with the first show being left out. The playable campaigns feature Isamu Dyson from Macross Plus, Gamlin Kizaki from Macross 7, Shin Kudo from Macross Zero, Alto Saotome from Macross Frontier, and Hayate Immelmann from Macross Delta. Besides the obvious storyline differences, the only thing that changes between them are some negligible ship stats. I say "negligible", though I admittedly never played on the higher difficulty settings. There are several modes within the game, but all of them are single player, and all of them require completion of the Story Mode to unlock. Beating the game with each character also unlocks extra content in a series of galleries, but these mostly exist for completionist purposes only. It's a fairly simple setup, and I don't think there's any "right" or "wrong" choice when it comes to the player you choose your first time through. There is the issue regarding the content pertaining to the original SDF Macross, but that is something addressed in the Japanese version. For those that don't know, that series is entangled in a web of copyrights that is far too complicated to explain here. Suffice it to say that it's this reason why Macross media rarely leaves Japan, and why the content that features that first series is only available in Japan in the form of additional DLC. I don't want to get too far into the weeds on that topic, but fans of the original series will be left wanting in this release.

With that bit out of the way, let's move on to discussing gameplay. There are three different gameplay modes within Macross -Shooting Insight-, and they all correspond to the three forms the variable fighters can take on. The Fighter Mode, as in the one that looks most like a standard jet fighter, is used for vertical stages, the GERWALK Mode, the one that looks like a fighter jet with arms and legs, is used for horizontal stages, and the Battroid Mode, the one that looks most humanoid, is used for free-roaming overhead stages. Even though there's a decent amount of variation between these modes, it's mainly just movement that is different. They all feature similar mechanics as far as attacking and dodging go, and that's a good thing since you switch between them often. Each character has a ship that has a specific main gun, and a certain number of missiles. The main gun is operated by the fire button, and you can change its trajectory slightly with the right analog stick. Missiles require you to lock onto targets first, and this can only be done when you're not firing the main gun. Missiles deal much greater damage than your normal attack, but they leave you open to enemy fire. Lastly, you can call in support for a screen-clearing bombardment, though this can only be done if the meter it’s attached to is full. Movement is standard, though you do have a dodge of sorts that can get you out of tight situations. That pretty much covers everything you need to know to play the game, though there is still more left to discuss.

Since this is a Macross game, it makes sense that music is a factor. Not only does the plot revolve around rescuing the missing songstresses, but the game also makes use of the "Minmay Attacks" that see your character's fighting abilities become augmented through music. Each level follows a pattern that sees you face off against waves of smaller enemies, then move on to a series of signal jammers that must be destroyed to progress. These jammers aren't just another obstacle though, as they function to block the songstresses' music. Taking out all the jammers allows the songstresses' song to come through, and players are then treated to a classic track from the series. This song sequence continues as more enemies come out of the woodwork, or a final boss appears. This then clears the level, and you move on to more cutscenes that set up the next stage. The use of the songstresses in-game is a nice touch, though they exist more for plot purposes than anything else. They don't seem to provide any additional abilities as far as I can tell. You can still take damage during these sections, and you can definitely still get a game over. They are fun bits that add a lot to the overall game, and they were my favorite gameplay aspect by far. Also, since the cast is made up of characters from across the entire Macross franchise, you can get pairings of pilots and songstresses that only existed in fanfiction prior to this release. I never thought that seeing Walkure cheer on Gamlin would be something I'd see officially in this lifetime, but I guess the world is full of surprises.

Even though I was wowed by the inclusion of all my favorite characters and music, I did ultimately find Macross -Shooting Insight- to be a rather hollow experience. There are several negatives that I'm going to touch upon now, but the most important of them has to do with the fact that the entire game has a very budget feel to it. Nothing truly stands out, and it comes off feeling like a padded out mobile release more than anything else. The graphics are all over the place, and levels are often a crowded mess. I can only assume that the developers realized that fighting in empty space would be boring, so they threw in a lot of background elements that only serve to confuse the player. There's also a lot of issues with the overall difficulty, as I found the game to be annoyingly difficulty on its standard setting. Most of your deaths will be due to shots coming from off-screen, and there simply is not a more annoying way to get a game over than that. It's not even a matter of lowering the difficulty either, as the game seems to go for an all or nothing approach. You can either have it be difficult by way of unfair mechanics, or have it be so easy that there is no challenge at all. These big issues aside, there's others that I could list off as well. The level design is uninspired, the GERWALK Mode makes you too big a target, the dodge mechanic seems to be extremely iffy in the Battroid Mode, the cutscenes between stages are far too long and numerous, and collecting and unlocking everything is a chore that only the most hardcore are likely to complete. I don't want it to seem like I hated the game, but I found it hard to like it half the time I was playing. This isn't a bad game by any stretch, but it is a disappointingly average one.

Discussing the graphics of Macross -Shooting Insight- is rather complicated, since there's plenty of different visual styles going on at once. Starting with the cutscenes, these most closely resemble a visual novel, though only in aesthetics. Whereas a visual novel will often do its best to match the visuals to the mood, we mainly get static images that don't ever feel like they have life in them. It's not even that they're not animated, just that the visuals themselves seem to be as barebones as can be. Then again, they're colorful, and they feature characters fans of the series known and love. Moving on to the shooter stages, these go for a 3D look, but one that is also basic in execution. Most players wouldn't even look twice at the gameplay here if it wasn't attached to the Macross license. There are the three stage modes mentioned earlier, but these stages look like they were created for a high-end PS3 game, or maybe mobile devices. The plus side of this is that the game runs smoothly on all the platforms it's available on, but it doesn't look all that great in the grand scheme of things. That's pretty much the theme of this review, everything feels mediocre at best, but is rescued by all the Macross-related bits scattered throughout. The visuals are disappointing though, and I can only imagine that they're the result of a limited budget. Maybe the developers assumed that it would have a limited market due to the licensing issues, but I feel it was a missed opportunity to not put they're all into something that was going to draw the attention of media-starved fans the world over. There's still plenty of fanservice here to keep the hardcore around, but it's hard to recommend a game on that alone.

Unfortunately I have the same mixed feelings with the game's sound as I do its visuals. Let me start by saying that Macross -Shooting Insight- features all the voices you'd expect to find in the series, as well as a lot of the music. This alone is surprising, though I once again lament the fact that we'll most likely never get content associated with the first Macross series here in the West. While the voice acting is top notch, and the selection of familiar vocal songs are perfect, the rest of the music sounds just okay. It's not a bad collection of tracks by any means, but much of it is forgettable, and doesn't compare well to the music that surrounds it. That small gripe aside, my main issues with the sound have to do with the overall mix of the game. I tried everything I could to fix the sound within the options, but this game is just very quiet no matter. The music feels almost muted, and the voiced dialogue feels like it's taking place in a quiet empty room. Add to this the fact that there's practically no animation in the cutscenes, and it feels like no effort at all was placed into the game's presentation. Having to go through drawn-out cutscenes is rough on its own, but it's made even worse with a sound mix that seems to have been slapped together by someone who hates music. I also found myself wishing that the game had a dub track, since so most of the spoken dialogue heard within the stages themselves is left untranslated. I had high hopes for the sound in this one, and I'm shocked how it turned out in the end.

While Macross -Shooting Insight- does offer up a lot of content, I can't help but feel that its current price of $39.99 seems just a little bit too high for the quality of said content. I understand that a lot of work probably went into getting this game released overseas in the first place, and that it couldn't have been cheap, but that's barely an excuse when the core game is as meh as this one is. I hate to say it, but this is just a middle-of-the-road shooter with some familiar faces and tunes attached to it. The only thing keeping this from being a budget release is the Macross franchise itself. Having said all that, I guess the pricing could've been worse, and fans will find a lot to sink their teeth into. Besides the main game itself, there are lots of unlockables that will keep fans occupied. Too bad it will never feel complete. While I don't want to keep beating the dead horse that is OG Macross DLC, it is sad that we're most likely never going to see that here. At the very least, I hope that this means that better games in the franchise get released now that this one has broken the ice. There are some series-specific games that are of a much higher quality than this one, and maybe we can look forward to those if this one sells well. I hate future releases being held hostage like that, but that's just the way things are sometimes. At least the game isn't a total wash.

If you're a diehard Macross fan, and have been waiting decades for current official media to be released in the West, then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up right now. I'm all for supporting this game in the hopes of getting more like it in the future, but I really can't recommend it to the casual players out there. There's really nothing special about Macross -Shooting Insight-, and there is a lot about it that feels cheap. I hate that I have to be so negative, but I don't think I've been so let down by any one game in years. I had high hopes for this one, but I guess it'll take several more years for the tangled mess that is the Macross franchise to sort itself out, and for better media to make its way overseas. At least we have the anime officially available now. On that note, I'll see you in the next one.

Check Out Macross -Shooting Insight- on PlayStation:
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10007113

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Story: C
Gameplay: B
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: B
Value: B

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ Features characters and music from across the entire franchise. (Except one...)
+ The plot is sure to be a treat for fans of the series, and it sees character pairings that are the stuff dreams are made of.
+ Levels make complete use of each mode of the variable fighters, and they even feature the songstresses prominently.
+ Hearing the original cast all reprise their roles, as well as the hit songs from the anime, is simply amazing.
+ Though most of the additional content needs to be unlocked via the Story Mode, there are several additional modes to try out, and lots of additional content in the form of galleries.
+ This is also a very accessible game for those who are not fans of the shooter genre, as the difficulty can be turned down to the point of it simply being a plot-only experience.

+/- Though technically only present in the Japanese release as DLC, it is disappointing that content from the original Macross series is most likely to remain beyond the reach of Western fans.

Cons:
- While it's full of fanservice, the plot is quite a jumbled mess that is unlikely to bring in any new fans to the franchise.
- The visuals seem to be lacking all around. The cutscenes feature only static pictures, and the stages look like they came from a generic shooter.
- Though the original Japanese voice cast and music are present in the game, the overall sound mix isn't too good, with everything seeming to be far too quiet.
- The difficulty is all over the place, and players can pretty much only choose between two extremes. Unfairly difficult, or so easy as to not be challenging.
- Is a pretty mediocre release overall, and is only noteworthy thanks to the Macross branding.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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There are just so many characters in this game...

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