WITCH-BOT MEGLILO Reviews

Fun game. It looks like it would suck but doesn't. Has great replay value.

It's a very fun game. A solid shmup, nothing very innovative besides the teleport mechanic, but it's fun and does everything well enough. My only complaint is that there's several instances of questionable level design especially on harder modes. Depending on the powers you have at some points, certain stage sections become absurdly hard, which is a problem, because you don't really have a good control of the items you get. The weapon items you get through the game automatically overwrites a one of your side weapons, and you can't choose which to change, so sometimes you want to change a certain weapon but the game changes the other, which is pretty terrible and honestly a major problem in the game. You should be able to choose which side weapon to change. Worth the price.

I've been watching a lot of Electric Underground's videos lately and it got me interested in trying shmups a bit more seriously, so i returned to this one i remembered liking with the goal of completing it in normal mode. After 9 hours i completed my first 1CC in the genre and i have to say i really enjoyed the whole experience, optimizing the pickups, getting a higher score to obtain extra lives, completing the levels without getting hit, seeing my performance get better every time, it's fun and it feels good. I plan to beat it in hard mode next.

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a futurist retro robot girl who likes to blow things up? Well here is your chance. A charming little game that seems to support 640x480 SD, which is nice to see, because I personally don't like pixel art. Its not all blocky on my 34" 2560x1080 ultrawide and seems to scale just fine. Its sort of a 22ish letterbox display. really quite cutesy story, graphics and sound. I really like how you can warp to other parts of the screen, very interesting useful concept, but use it sparingly because it take time to build your warp energy up. game really looks and feels like an old DOS game, uses a typical pre-XBOX 10 button controller, for those of us old enough, PC had a standard 10 button 4 axis controller, 2 axis being for rudder control used in flight games. This being said, a typical "fight stick" for PC is what it was made for. Hence the partial controller support, generally full support means its meant for an XBox compatiable controller. But given the fact it looks and feels like something out of the 90s, its just right that it supports controllers out of the 90s too. This is a really fun well done port. Probably should have had full controller support, but thats forgivable if you understand the difference, so not really any reason to get your panties in a bunch. Given the fact its a well above average SHMUP at such a reasonable price, not really an issue for me, just an observation. What are you still reading this for, go and buy it already. VERY cute fun game!

Not a bad little game. The engrish is a bit rough and it has a DESPERATE need of a continue feature. but its not totally unfair until the last level

great game! not the most advanced art assets ever and the story is window-dressing (not out of the ordinary for bullet hells), but it provides a nice challenge and good music, and the warp mechanic is fun and innovative, an idea that provides for some really unique bullet patterns and obstacles they couldn't employ without it. I kind of can't believe it hasn't been done before, it probably has, but it's not something I've seen in a danmaku game yet, and I play 'em all :) reminds me of the kind of new things bullet eater games like Ikaruga and Exceed 2nd can pull off when they don't have to worry about providing gaps to graze through. I haven't beaten it yet as it's deceptively hard but I give it full credit. play this game if you want a new take on a vertical shootemup :)

Cute'em ups seem rare to come by these days, especially on Steam. Witch-Bot Meglilo is probably one of the better ones I've played in recent times. Even though it features some twisted comedy, I think that it's still fair to compare it. It seems to feature all the staples that make a good cutem up. Between the cutesy characters, bizarre yet hilarious story and dialogue in between cut scenes; along with some pretty funny boss designs. You're given a pretty wide selection of weapon power ups combinations to choose from. It makes the experience fairly enjoyable to have a good amount of options with weaponry since you're limited to Meglilo as your only character to select. The time stop warp mechanic adds a whole different strategy to the way you can play the game. Some of the bullet patterns and level designs require you to become pretty handy with it. Most of the time you can survive without having to rely on it if you're good at dodging. The controls and hitbox size lend themselves well to that style if you have quick enough reactions. The game does offer a fair amount of challenge on hard and insane for more veteran plays. Even if you're not a master at shooters you can still probably enjoy and complete the game rather easily on the lower settings. To make things easier for more casual players you're given shield power-ups that allow you to take a few hits as well as lives. Although the game features no continues so once you're dead it's back to the very start of the first stage again. The music isn't bad. It fits well with the game and has some cheerful tunes but nothing to memorable and a bit repetitive at times. Most of the backgrounds I find to be rather bland and unchanging. It would have been nice had they put more work into those. It's a tad bit short and lacking in extra modes but all in all I found it to be a really enjoyable game. If you've already played some of Astroport's previous games like Supercharged Robot Vulkaiser you'll also probably enjoy that Meglilo takes place in the same universe. I believe if you're a fan of this sub-genre; whether you're more of a hardcore player or just enjoy these kind of games for a bit of quick fun you won't regret purchasing it. Well recommended.

Now, you'd think that with its cute art and its focus on the warp mechanic (being invincible to bullets while time stops) the game isn't too hard. Nope, warping consumes your gauge and it recharges slowly over time (faster while you don't shoot). Additionally, mistakes can be very devastating. Also, despite the cute art and silly music, the game's humor is quite morbid. However, it is widely genuinely considered funny, so do take your time to look at the intro and stage cutscenes. Your only way to gain lives is via score extends and the most efficient way to score is by being in Maximum mode with your shield, which means you collected another shield item while already having 2. Having Maximum shield will provide you with score overtime, unless you fight bosses/mid bosses. If you get hit, you have 1 shield left, which means it will take another 2 shield items without getting hit to get back to Maximum shield. The weapon system is another very important aspect of the game, especially on higher difficulties. Over the course of the entire game, you can collect weapon items. You can equip a weapon either on your left or your right side, based on how you collect it. If you die both weapons will be replaced by the weapon that was equipped before then on each side. You're also still left with no shields after dying, possibly leaving you in a miserable state to continue your run in. You can not set the weapons you want to start out with when practicing a stage in practice mode, even though it is a totally valid strategy to use some weapons across multiple stages instead of using the weapons the stage gives you at the start. The two highest difficulties Hard and Insane have multiple patterns not designed to be dodged without the warp mechanic. However, since your usage of it is limited, you're better of destroying many enemies early by having good weapons. Considering all this, it's easy to end up in a nasty downward spiral after dying or even just taking a hit and not having Maximum shields (I have yet to beat Insane). The two lower difficulties Easy and Normal are vastly easier, however. Patterns are dodgeable and you don't need to be in an ideal state all the time to still stand a chance to clear.

Don't be fooled by the graphical presentation. It's a solid game that's definitely a toss up from the other Astro Port games. I think it shares alot of gameplay mechanics from one unreleased on steam: Zangeki Warp. To sum up: you're a girl like Sailor Moon, but you're also a robot. And you kick ass. Your primary gimmick is to be able to warp from one area of the screen to another, to avoid often inescapable walls of bullets, or environmental hazards. Decently pulled off, and as it runs on an energy meter, you won't be spamming it every other level. It takes alot of strategy to pull off. +gameplay is challenging and is what you'd expect from a shmup. +story has some black humor. Not a bad thing in the slightest, but it's a toss up from the normal campy atmosphere of some of astro port's titles. Think Steel strider/Gigantic Army levels of humor. +No checkpoints here, so like Armed Seven and Vulkaiser, if you lose all your health or your lives, you're dead. So it's best to not get hit. I consider this a positive because it's more of an incentive to not get killed, although I have nothing against checkpoint systems if they're done right. +no glitches as far as I know. Gamepad integration works just fine +resolution is just fine too. You can stretch the window like you could with GA and Wolflame. +the devs are very quick to listen to feedback, and they're very friendly. You can tell they're passionate about their work. -The music can get pretty grating during the story segments, so don't expect a stellar OST there. -the game seems like it's rather short, but for 5 bucks it's a good deal -it's a shmup in a sea of shmups. I love the genre, but I can understand if someone's already had enough shoot em up arcade titles. If you have no problem with another installment, then this shouldn't concern you. -graphics are weaker than Astro Port's other titles, by a larger margin. I guess that's the point, to illustrate the tonal difference between badass giant robots and a sailor moon-esque atmosphere. More of a subjective than a negative. Two thumbs up. I'd recommend it, although it could use some more polish. (I'll be editing my review as time goes on, because Astro Port is a pretty quick dev when it comes to fixes. for example, they've already patched achievements so I've removed that negative)

This is a great intro to bullet hell shooters for newbies or a fun diversion for people who already like them. Edit: I think anyone will find the 'insane' level has a reasonable quantity of bullets. #1 tip - DON'T HIT BUTTONS at the '1977' title screen or at the start of new levels, or you'll miss all the 'plot'. Just sit back and laugh your ass off. Shooting is automatic as long as you hold the shoot key down, enemies are large and colorful, shots stand out well, and there's a time stop and warp mechanism that means that as long as you see the bullet coming you're effectively invincible on easy mode - oh, you'll die a lot to start with if you're new, but once you get the hang of it and of avoiding bullets being the most important thing you'll be okay. I've beaten normal mode which is a tad easy for bullet hell (I've beaten Ten and Till in Lowres Kingdom, I know hell), but there are two higher levels I'll be back for when I have more time And, the huge variation in the optional weapons really changes things up. Finally, the story is great. Instead of going the mysterious emo route like Touhou or Murasaki (which I love, but the plot is trying way too hard) it just goes for outright absurd and funny. Character art is done by Shake-O, the guy who draws Doctor Hitomi's Infirmary. He can draw better than this, but Meglilo is from 1977. Noob tips: * Shooting things is great, but avoiding bullets is your #1 priority. * The #2 most important thing is having the right weapon for the area. If you've got the right weapon things are easy, if you don't it's hell. When the game gives you powerup drones to shoot, shoot them and take it. It's almost always the right weapon for the next area. * Use your warp whenever you need it - it regenerates, and better to use it now and run out later than die now. * Pay attention at the start - the game will explicitly introduce you to the concept of the 'hitbox'. Meglilo's head and feet don't count if hit by bullets, only the blinking bit in her back does! * Kitchy is mai waifu, get away from her YOU BIT... oh, she's dead. :/