Super Bullet Break pits you as Akari, a young woman against an evil AI.
Imagine a world where your time in video games is valuable. What if the cyber world in your device was in danger? Super Bullet Break puts you in the center of this chaos. So, how does one combat a sentient AI when its objective is complete assimilation? Only by combining powers is there any hope for victory. One must not let the Singulaladies take over the device’s cyberspace, lest they take over more than your hard drive or memory card.
Developed by BeXide Inc. and published by PQube, the title tells the story of a rogue AI that threatens all your games. In addition to copying its own code to assimilate other titles, all your hard-earned achievements are also in danger. Super Bullet Break gives you the opportunity as Akari, a lazy gamer, to be known to her friends as both gamer AND hero. While the young woman may have been called to greatness, she’ll have to shake off her laziness if she’s going to be of any help. Super Bullet Break will be sure to test her mettle.
I’ve always loved the idea of truly “getting into the game.” If the title running on my system tasked me with saving it, there’s no doubt I would answer the odd call. Of course, I’d be apprehensive about being tasked with defeating a malevolent cyber intelligence. But it would still be the adventure of a lifetime, even if I was a bit lazy in getting started on ‘saving the world’ of video games. Who doesn’t love the idea of being some sort of cyberpunk hero?
Getting to know how to use these bullets was frustrating at first. That much is certain. But thanks to the in-game tutorials provided by characters, it wasn’t hard to familiarize with the simple battle system. Each of these rounds in Super Bullet Break had its own special traits. Having to find the right combination eventually grew from frustrating to very fun. Some ‘bullets’ had a super low base attack of +1, but had status effects like poison.
Other Super Bullet Break characters could attack in the same turn, which felt amazing when I could pull it off. These were best used when combined with bullets that increased the next bullet’s attack power. Any round in Super Bullet Break that increased attack power would be indicated on a ‘card’ by a red up arrow next to a sword. Bullets that decreased enemy attacks were indicated with a blue down arrow with a blue sword. Occasionally, I might draw a bullet that both inflicted poison and raised my attack power.
The map itself was separated into four sets of blocks: Event Block, Shop Block, Rest Block, and Treasure Block. Event blocks, represented by a small town icon, depicted events with certain characters from any of the titles on Akari’s device. One might receive a boon from a character in Super Bullet Break, or they might be challenged to a fight. It was never predictable which would occur and in what order. Shop blocks, thankfully enough, often offered useful items that could do many things. Mushrooms would stack poison, depending on what level you purchased them at. And other times, batteries that healed the player were offered.
Rest blocks did exactly as the name implies. One could rest with a “hurried rest” or “casual rest.” Hurried would only heal 30% of one’s total health, and Casual would heal 50% of one’s health. Treasure blocks were a whole other story. There were three choices of the box to choose from. But it was never guaranteed that what’s received would be rare or useful.
Finding other ‘Bullets’ aside from the ones I started with was not hard. In each conflict that was fought and won, I’d be rewarded with a choice between three different rounds. Sometimes it would be three iterations of the same bullet. Other times, it was three distinct bullets with three distinct sets of traits. Whenever I defeated a boss or Singulalady, I would gain them as a reward.
These prizes in Super Bullet Break would be equipped before starting any game downloaded to Akari’s handheld game device. Unfortunately, the summons before starting the game was random. So, in order to have any sort of strategy, one had to wait on whatever Bullet was summoned and gauge how it might affect the battle.
Defeating any enemy was equal parts luck and strategy. My magazine (or deck) was stacked with what I thought were some of the best rounds in Super Bullet Break. But when the enemy combined their status effects, I often found myself on the losing end of the fight. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t frustrate me at times. But it made each uncertain victory that much more rewarding.
Rewards that are bestowed by defeating bosses aren’t normal bullets. These can be equipped well before starting your game. They are known as support Bullets. It will both provide a modifier specific to the bullet summoned. But it will also be one of the more common draws during battle. And, had it been known a person could equip these special characters, my first run in Monochrome Tactics might have gone differently.
If the player character went to a node where rest was available, one could also ‘upgrade’ a Bullet from common to legendary status. This amazing feature in Super Bullet Break gave my units anything from an extra shield buff to a three-stack poison effect. Unfortunately, I could never guess what my upgraded unit would be blessed with. A handful of times was cursed with the “choose a bullet to discard” effect after upgrading certain rounds.
The artwork of Super Bullet Break was certainly something to be admired. Each individual character or ‘Bullet’ has their own aesthetic and design. Bullets seemed boundless in number, but the designs were distinctive enough that the bullets were all unique in some way. Thanks to the characters’ style choices, they also came with their miniature backstory. Seeing so much great art makes me wish for an anime of the same name. It would be a fantastic sight to see. And the game is undoubtedly a fountain of inspiration for one.
Music was very reminiscent of anime games that came out back in the early 2000s. It gave the whole experience a very “Japanese arcade” feel, which gave playing Super Bullet Break an even better feel. The characters themselves didn’t speak except when the player was initially introduced to them. Once that small event is over, there’s not much dialogue aside from text boxes.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a frustrating ride. If you’ve something of a short fuse, it’d be best to avoid increasing your blood pressure with Super Bullet Break. If you’re really into uphill battles, this is certainly one that poses a challenge to anyone hard-headed enough to accept it.
Super Bullet Break is available now for the Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, and PlayStation 4.
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