Macross -Shooting Insight-

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One of the nice things about living in the modern age, at least if you’re a video game fan, is that practically everything gets localized. Anything that isn’t localized probably gets a fan translation. Anything else…well, it’s probably one of the hundred or so JRPGs I still want to play that are floating in limbo, and no, I’m not bitter, you’re bitter. Speaking of floating in limbo, that’s basically space, which makes for a great segue into talking about Macross -Shooting Insight-, one of those games that probably wouldn’t have seen a localization twenty years ago but is here and ready for your love right now.

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Shooting Insight is a crossover shooter featuring characters and mechs from across the Macross anime series, which you might know as the one with lots of giant robots, singing, and baddies getting blasted away to idol music. It’s a pretty extensive franchise, so getting into the weeds might be a bit out of the scope of this review. The plot is fairly standard crossover video game silliness, with characters appearing from various time period and interacting with each other in fanservice-y fashion. Think Super Robot Wars and you’ve got the idea.

There’s a decided lack of animation and such, with the plot presented in something akin to a visual novel. It’s cute to see all your favorites return, particularly if you’re a long-running Macross fan, and that’s really what you’re here for if you’ve got your eyes on this game, so chances are this can be forgiven.

Gameplay-wise, Shooting Insight mixes a variety of shmup styles together into delicious blaster gumbo. You’ll primarily control one of several Valkyries in scrolling segments reminiscent of arcade shooters of yore, though more unusual moments might feature free-roaming top-down combat and so on. There’s an ongoing voice track going on providing a little bit of plot while you’re blasting away, but it’s all in Japanese and any subtitles are hidden away in a corner of the screen, so good luck trying to keep track of that. At least the actual combat is enjoyable, if a little basic, as you unleash guns, lock-on missiles and periodic blasts of screen-clearing support fire, earning points and trinkets with Macross-lore blurbs along the way.

The stock holding the game’s blaster gumbo together is its presentation, which is pretty much what you’d expect from a tribute to Macross. You can enjoy a solid chunk of fan-focused goodies when you’re not shooting with skill, such as stats on the Valkyrie mechs and the aforementioned lore trinkets, with more unlocking as you proceed through the game. Graphically, it’s…well, a classic-style shmup presented in various styles that runs pretty well, and there’s tons of musical goodness as you’d come to expect from the world’s premier idol-focused action anime series (that isn’t Symphogear).

Macross -Shooting Insight- is a concentrated love-nugget intended for franchise fans, though I imagine everyone else should expect a perfectly serviceable shmup in a world where there’s plenty of shmups to go around. If that’s what you’re after – namely, you’ve got a whole shelf devoted to Macross merch and/or you’ve already cleared all the Touhou games – you won’t have much to complain about here.