Though Square Enix is known for its RPG titles, it's no stranger to shooters. Anyone who played the PS classic Einhander knows that the same crew responsible for Final Fantasy can pump out an adrenaline-soaked, thumb-spraining shooter. Enter Brave Shot, Square Enix Mobile's maiden title for the US market. Combining appealing graphics, challenging game play, and frenetic action, Brave Shot shows that Square Enix is on the right path when it comes to mobile gaming.
In many ways, Brave Shot is a typical shooter. This is no intricately detailed, epic saga. You just keep on blasting aliens until you run out of lives. As you progress through levels, the aliens can take more punishment, making for a theoretically infinite game. You can maneuver your ship forward, backward, and side to side in a 2D display. A steady steam of alien ships descends from the top of the screen, firing at you as they come.
Square Enix saves us gamers from unnecessary finger strain with the auto-fire option. Turn this on, and your ship lets loose a steady, continuous stream of fire. There's the tiniest gap between shots, meaning that timing an attack with auto-fire on isn't an issue. You also have a limited supply of bombs that can wipe every last enemy off the screen. If you have any bombs left over at the end of a stage, you score bonus points.
Gameplay centers on boss aliens--gigantic ships that fill two-thirds or more of the screen. In between boss monster duels, you have the chance to blast a small fleet of lesser enemy ships along with a miniboss that leaves behind a weapon power-up or an extra bomb. The weapon power-up turns your single-shot weapon into a tri-barreled death machine, as you gain two additional streams of shots that fire at opposite 45 degree angles.
Since auto-fire lets you fill the screen with shots, success in Brave Shot is a matter of dodging the aliens' attacks. The bosses disgorge nearly solid walls of energy blasts, forcing you to dance between clouds of bullets to survive. Many times, you need to perfectly position your ship to avoid a fiery death. The action is fast, furious, and addictive. You don't have anywhere to run, and keeping still is a sure way to burn through lives.
The graphics are colorful and attractive. The artists did a fantastic job of creating Brave Shot's cast of characters, from your sleek, blue craft to the monstrous bosses. For looks alone, Brave Shot surges ahead of the pack.
Brave Shot suffers from a few shortcomings. The waves of ships between bosses are too easy to mow down with the tri-shot, while the later bosses are difficult to overcome without it. The boss duels are fun, but as the game advances they become a little tedious. Since the bosses require dozens of shots to destroy, fighting one can take a while--and if you've learned how to dodge a boss's attack patterns, the fun factor erodes quickly.
Despite these drawbacks, this is an impressive title. The tight quarters, monstrous bosses, and attractive graphics combine to push it to the upper echelon of the shooter heap. More importantly, Brave Shot shows that Square Enix Mobile understands the mobile platform. It has the feel of a game designed by a group that's feeling out the medium, scouting out its boundaries, and maybe preparing to redefine them.
