Nanostray: - A Nano-Sized Handheld Shooter

Iridion II for the Gameboy Advance was actually pretty fun as far as handheld shooters go, and this is why I was excited when I heard that the same developer was creating a shooter exclusively for the Nintendo DS. I became even more interested upon hearing that the game in question supposedly would rival Ikaruga for the Nintendo Gamecube where graphics are concerned. This was a far cry for added hype, as the said shooter Nanostray doesn't quite add up to what the high in the sky apple pie claims. The game does, however, stand out as the first shooter released on the Dual Screen system. So how does it fare? Read on to find out.

The name of the game here is eye candy. This is Nanostray's main draw. The graphics are a real attention grabber, especially once you see this game in motion sailing along at a mostly steady 60 frames per second. It may be no Ikaruga, but it's completely understandable given the less capable hardware running the game. It's also quite impressive for a DS title, especially in a time when developers still aren't ready to drop 2-D sprite based graphics on the DS; Nanostray blasted into the scene with it's assortment of polygonal backdrops and ships. It's a good change to see some polygonal games on DS, especially of the 2-D variety. From my understanding, it seems that Nanostray was shipped minimally. This means that if you don't act now you may not get a copy.

Before getting started you must realize that this game has no storyline. This is very weird actually, especially when you consider the fact that even the earliest shooters had something. This type of game doesn't necessarily need a plot to carry it along, but it's still novel to at least have a sense for why you're flying around and destroying everything that moves. This missing element seems to be more a part laziness by the developer, but at the same time it's nothing really major.

Gameplay
Nanostray is for the most part vertical scrolling shooter action; however the camera never rests overhead. The developer decided to throwback to Iridion II by slightly tipping the camera which makes the world look a bit more flat. This does skew the perspective a bit, however, this just adds character to the game by making it at least a little unique. Because the backgrounds are all in 3-D, this developer saw it fit to take advantage of this aspect by adding in a few environmental hazards into gameplay. Enemies will also come from the background into the play field, which is no real innovation, but it's still a pretty cool feature to notice during gameplay.

Adventure mode is basically Nanostray's main mode of gameplay. This is the setting in which you blast your way through the game's main levels, and is probably the place you'll want to start upon beginning the game. Upon beating the various levels in Adventure mode you will then be able to play through them in Arcade mode. What's the difference between the modes? There really isn't one; as far as I can tell the only real difference is in how many lives you are given. Yeah it's a bit of a rip-off, but there are actually a couple more options for gameplay. For example, there's the challenges. As you may have guessed, these offer up more difficulty by giving specific objectives in the various levels. Some of these are actually quite difficult, and add a little replay value to this title. Each of the different areas are nicely varied amongst each other. They contrast nicely with the genre, and give each of the areas their own flavor.

This game also integrates a two player competition mode of play. The two players compete for the higher score amongst each other between the two DS systems. This mode is fun for a while, but due to the limited amount of levels and options, it gets old rather fast. Still, it's better to have been integrated rather than not. I'd go so far as to say that this mode is necessary, seeing as the main game is breezed through extremely fast. It also doesn't help the game that you get an unlimited amount of continues. Honestly, if you're just looking to scratch the surface of a game than you should avoid Nanostray. It's most rewarding for the type of person who loves to try for new high scores and completing games on their highest difficulty level.

Nanostray succeeds quite nicely in that it retains the classic feel of this genre, while still containing it's own charm. For added strategy your ship is equipped with four primary weapons, each with their own effects. Despite the fact that there are plenty of buttons on the DS that are not in use, the developer decided to make use of the touch screen for switching from weapon to weapon. This is an absolutely terrible idea, as it requires you to take your right (or left) hand off the controller in the middle of the action. This would work well with almost any other type of game, but in this case taking your eyes away from the action for half a second gives the enemies more than enough time to blow up your ship. A bad idea, indeed.

That's not even the full extent of the touch screen's uses in this game though. In what should have been the only feature requiring you to use it, your ship has the ability to scan bosses weak points with a mere tap of the touch screen. This isn't all that useful though, as the game basically states what could be figured out in a few seconds of blasting. Still, this is kind of a cool idea. I really hope that any future shooters from this company will cut out any major gameplay involved ideas with the Nintendo DS' touch screen, because they obviously didn't do a lot of testing with switching weapons before releasing this game.

In the end, it really won't take you a long time to figure out how to beat Nanostray. Everything about this game is memorization based; meaning that the enemies follow the same patterns each time you play. This is a big thing with classic shooter games, but in all honesty I'd like so variations every once in a while. Once you memorize the paths enemies follow the game gets really easy, so should you die in a level all you need do is remember the pattern of the enemy that destroyed you. This makes the game an absolute breeze to complete.

Graphics, Sound, Control, and Replay Value
The biggest reason to get this game is for the eye candy. The game is easily the most beautiful DS title thus far, and though it doesn't quite equal up to Ikaruga status graphically, the developer really knows how to squeeze the juice out of the Nintendo DS. The big thing though is that most of what looks great is merely the backgrounds, and there really isn't a whole lot of detail required in the foreground besides the ship and enemies. Still, the game flows beautifully. One of the best aspects are the background objects that affect the foreground, though at times it's a bit hard to tell if it is an actual obstacle. I noticed next to no slowdown, which is really impressive.

Sound is quite excellent in Nanostray. On top of the various explosions and blast noises, you'll be accommadated with drum driven electronic beats at every turn. Though most of the music does sound pretty typical for such a game, it's still high quality and very nicely done. My only real complaint is that the various songs sound very alike from each other. It's really not a big problem though, as you'll be too lost in the action to really notice after a while.

The controls are where the game gets a bit iffy. Most of everything works well, you've got the directional pad to move your ship around, both A and L to fire the primary weapon, B for the sub weapon, and R for attracting various dropped items from destroyed enemies. I really can't get over the touch screen though, so forgive me if I'm ranting. This play mechanic is terrible, and even though you can in theory play the game only with only your left hand (L also fires the primary weapon), it is still quite annoying to have to move your eyes from the top screen in the heat of battle. If it wasn't for the touch screen, control would not be an issue.

I rather like playing a quick game of Nanostray on the go, but then again, I'm a really big fan of shooter titles. The game is rather short, but it does give you several options for replaying. Firstly, there's the various difficulty levels which are pretty self explanatory. Then we have the challenge mode, Arcade mode, and multiplayer. Still, if you're not a big high score type of person, then you probably won't be coming back to Nanostray all that often after completing Adventure mode.

Final Recommendation
Highly recommended to fans of classic shooters, or even those who just enjoyed Iridion II. Keep in mind, unless you're a shooter junky you probably won't get a lot of gameplay from this package. A very fun game that is held back only by forced features.

Overall Rating: 8.1