Review: Revolgear Zero (Nintendo Switch)

If you’re looking for speedy shmup action, Revolgear Zero has you covered. It offers a solid variety of enemies and weapons in which to take them down effectively. Co-op play makes the game even more fun, but glitches prevent me from giving as broad a recommendation as I first thought.

What little story there is doesn’t really get a proper mention until the closing credits (evidently, there are six endings). All you have until then is the cryptic “Grant a new legend to the cosmic warriors who survived the fiercest  battles.” But when I was asking myself what was happening, I also had to remind myself that this genre doesn’t need a coherent tale attached to it.

Revolgear Zero has four levels of difficulty, covering a wide range of gamers. Whether you’re looking to ease your way in or you want threats to the extreme, the game has you covered. As somebody who was reaching for his glasses and pausing to crack his knuckles, after a few minutes of play, guess which difficulty I started with?

Difficulty assistance comes in the form of co-op. I appreciate this, as a surprising number of shmup games overlook co-op for unknown reasons. But beyond an aid to the challenge, it’s just so much more fun flying, shooting, and strategizing with a buddy. So much that I’d add or subtract half a point to my final score depending on whether you’re going solo or with a friend.

I touched on enemy variety briefly in my introduction. You’ll see mechanical ones (large and small), organic threats, and even the stages themselves, soon proving a potential danger. Some scroll both vertically and horizontally, with portions of the background damaging you with a touch. At certain points, you will be less focused on shooting than on finding a safe spot to camp out and wait for your opening.

As far as the weapons, I won’t waste time trying to describe each in my limited word count. Firstly, because many are variants that most shmup fans are already familiar with. Secondly, because half the fun is experimenting with different combinations and loadouts. It’s one of the game’s strengths, figuring out your own favorite combos, which likely will differ if you’re playing alone or with a friend. They also change depending on the stage, whether you’re in more open areas or tight spaces. Earning weapon upgrades (collect every coin you can) and being able to flip between them on the fly can be the difference between victory and a game over.

Visually, Revolgear Zero starts a tad bland in the sky, but gets much better the further you advance. It introduces a much greater variety of colors, different effects, parallax, and more. It’s not a cutting-edge look by any means, but it is a pleasing one. The music rocks, complementing the graphics to deliver an aesthetically pleasing audio/visual package. There’s no slowdown either, even when the screen is filled with bullets and coins.

Unfortunately, there are game-crashing bugs. More than once, the game shut down after finishing a stage. Once, I was prompted to share the info with Nintendo. The second one was the generic “There was a problem, and the software needed to close.” Revolgear Zero is still a good release, but my recommendation comes with caveats. It’s not a must-own.

Revolgear Zero goes beyond the token shoot’ em up in many ways. Its weapon system has depth, and what it lacks in length, it makes up for in replayability. It’s a fun game to play solo, and even more fun in co-op. I’ll keep an eye on Bikkuri Software and hope their next Nintendo release will have its glitches ironed out.