Nanostray definitely sets out to accomplish a number of things. As you
fly your particular aircraft over expansive jungles, towering space
stations, and rocky canyons, you will begin to see that the game’s
developer had hoped to cater to a plethora of people. From the retro
gamer who knows his classic shooters to a tee to the types of players
who always love that adrenaline filled challenge, developer Shin’en
knew just what they wanted. I would also be lying if I said that this
wasn’t one of the best looking titles on the DS. Intricately
proportioned enemy units, smooth rendering, and impressive lighting
effects help bring that experience even more alive. Unfortunately,
there is a small problem, and it is one that plagues this genre to
death.
It is just too short.
An appropriate comparison would be that of the popular online
role-playing game, Phantasy Star Online. Though visually unique and
naturally addictive, the title gave players a lack of incentive to
progress. Knowing that all they had to look forward to was the same
four levels, generally goes without saying how much of a disappointment
that was. Nanostray has double the amount of areas, but it is all over
way too fast.
Nevertheless, what the game does right, is give you an exciting series
of moments for as long as each area lasts; which is usually no longer
than ten minutes. Enemies are quick and frantic, leaving as quickly as
they appear, all the while launching an array of lasers that fill your
screen with an imagery of destruction. Your objective will be weaving
in and out as much as you possibly can, picking up the score raising
and energy replenishing coins strewn along the way. Yet, it is not just
the swarms of robotic minions or hulking beasts that oppose your
progress, but the entire environment as well. Hellish wastelands full
of exploding lava pillars to a graveyard of ships, chock full of
obstructive, abandoned vessels, serve as your perpetual fork in the
road. And it just wouldn’t be a shooter if there wasn’t a boss waiting
for you at the end now would it?
Each of these eight monstrous machines claim dominion over their
respective domains and menacingly impede your progress, as you quickly
come to the end of each stage. Nothing you can’t handle right?
Especially since you have a variety of interesting weapons that can
turn those contraptions into cinders. Them being in the form of four
unique modes of fire, ranging from an electric pulse field to your
basic beam cannon. In addition to this, there are also energy based
super attacks (which pool from your respective power source), and the
classic smart bomb. Wisely saving these trump cards is essential to
clearing each boss, as is watching your life count and memorizing its’
attack patterns. It is these confrontations themselves that serve to
showcase the fantastic graphical capabilities of the DS. Even with
everything going on at one time, Nanostray doesn’t seem to suffer from
any slowdown or frame-rate issues whatsoever. Unbelievable.
Now while on the surface the title may feel like a progression based
adventure, the real meat behind the game comes from the hope of
reaching that top score. Cleverly avoiding death while chaining
together combo after combo will serve to improve the grade you receive
upon finishing each level. This heightens the replay value a tad and
gives you a chance to compete against others on the Internet for
bragging rights. Ah, nothing like a little friendly competition eh?
While this all sounds well and good, the problem I noticed behind each
session is the lack of AI variance. Meaning that every time you play
the same stage, the attack patterns of your antagonists will remain as
they did before; this resulting in easier play sessions every time you
soar through the two dimensional plane. Memorization is the key factor
here and it is the primary reason that makes Nanostray over so soon.
Sure enough, Shin’en redeemed themselves by presenting us with a
challenge mode that surfaces as soon as you wrap up the opening
campaign. Each one of these challenges sends you back through the same
lands you just cleared, but with a twist. Instead of simply worrying
about keeping that ass of yours alive, you will now be asked to
complete a certain objective. From blazing your way through the
Misturin Jungle to assemble an impressive 300,000 points to
stealth-fully getting out of the Mokuzu Depths without your smart
bombs, these trials can certainly be frustrating enough for the average
gamer. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry -- but you’ll mostly cry.
That is unless you are an ace at these reflex testing titles. Despite
the increasing difficulty as you progress from mission to mission,
veteran players will definitely have no problem breezing through the
game. However, Nanostray certainly does what it originally set out to
do, and that is give you something to pass those sleepless hours by.
Which just so turns out to be the same thing that the classic Star Fox
64 had accomplished. Giving trigger-happy gunners a relatively short,
but unforgettable romp through a series of worlds, all leading up to
that final showdown. And while Nanostray isn’t as remarkable as the
previously given example, it is the type of game that will have you
muttering, “just one more time, then I’ll stop.” Believe me, you won’t.
Nanostray serves as a fine example to developers everywhere on what to
shoot for when making a shooter on the DS. The debut of the genre on
the sleek hand-held is a sight to behold and a great option for those
long, exhausting road trips. With a great presentation, upbeat
soundtrack, and exciting game-play moments, there is little reason to
not recommend Nanostray. A relatively unbalanced difficulty scale and
short single player mode bring down the package, but you are still left
with a solid 15 to 20 hours of action that don’t end until you want it
to. That philosophy sounds like that of a role-playing game doesn’t it?
Let’s just hope they don’t decide to combine the two into one any time
soon. We all saw how Kingdom Hearts’ Gummi Ship feature turned out.
