Tokyo Game Show 2023

Macross: Shooting Insight Hands-On: A Solid SHMUP With Rocking Music

Back in the mid-90s, I was a die-hard Robotech fan. It was one of the few anime airing on TV at the time and, in an era where it regularly cost $35 for two episodes of anime on VHS, it was awesome to have such a long, complex series to watch. Of course, as I grew older, I learned about both the original Macross anime and its various sequels—and devoured those as well.

Soon, I was doing everything I could to get more Macross and eventually got to play my first Macross game, the side-scrolling shooter, Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie for the Super Famicom. After my hands-on time with the upcoming game Macross: Shooting Insight, I can say it's both a love letter to Scrambled Valkyrie (not to mention the rest of Macross' long history of SHMUP games) and the entire Macross franchise in general.

In general, there are two kinds of SHMUP games: side-scrollers and top-down shooters. Macross: Shooting Insight is both. In the short demo I played, the first half of the stage was side-scrolling and the second half—including the stage's boss fight—was top-down. While it's mostly standard fair for these types of games—you know, firing an endless stream of bullets and missiles while dodging every bullet sent your way—there are a few aspects that break from the mold a bit.

In most classic SHMUPs, your bullets always fire at the same angle regardless of your movements. However, in Macross: Shooting Insight, when in Valkyrie mode, the bullets are tied to the direction where the nose of your aircraft is pointing. So, for example, in top-down mode, if you go left or right, the nose of your Valkyrie will naturally go in that direction, shifting your angle of fire dramatically. In other words, if you want to fire straight ahead, you need to stop moving—making you an easy target. So you need to learn where to place your Valkyrie so that when you dodge or the enemy moves, you can keep the endless stream of bullets pounding them. It adds a welcome layer of complexity to the normal formula.

But, of course, the main thing that makes Macross: Shooting Insight special is the IP. Not only are there unvoiced cutscenes where characters from across the Macross timeline interact, but there is also a musical element as well. In the demo I tried, playing well caused an impromptu Fire Bomber concert—allowing me to massacre enemies to some awesome 90s J-Rock.

While I only got to spend a few minutes with Macross: Shooting Insight, it felt like a solid SHMUP filled with Macross fanservice. I can't wait to play the full game when it comes out early next year.

Macross: Shooting Insight will be released on January 25, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.