Caladrius Blaze

Developer: Moss Co., Ltd. | Publisher: H2 Interactive Co., Ltd. | Release Date: 2017 | Genre: Action / Bullet Hell Shooter | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Graham, the 12th king of the Baladin kingdom, used to be a benevolent ruler until betrayal by vassals from his late father’s reign left him without his wife and child. This prompts the grief struck Graham to believe that it was his own weakness that resulted in his terrible loss. Things take an even darker turn when Graham turns to the use of a forbidden spell to gain more power, plunging the kingdom into darkness and despair. The task of taking down Graham and ending the madness now rests in the hands of eight different people who, for their own reasons, have their scores to settle with the king.

Caladrius Blaze is a vertically scrolling shooter from Moss Co., the developers who also worked on Raiden III and IV. Players get to choose from eight different characters, each with their own special ship and unique elemental attacks. These elemental attacks set Caladrius Blaze apart from the competition and make the game so much fun to play. Unlike your primary firing mode, the three elemental attacks have gauges that deplete as you fire them. These gauges slowly replenish, but you must cycle between them before they are fully depleted to keep your multiplier gauges up. This gauge influences your score and resets if you lose a life or destroy enemies with your primary weapon, so careful weapon management is required for the big scores. After completing a level, you can upgrade your shot types to make them more effective. Obviously, you can ignore all of this and blast everything that moves with whatever weapon you fancy, but the elemental attacks add some depth to the game.

The other thing that Caladrius Blaze does a little differently is its “shame break” mechanic. This basically means that the characters are prone to losing their clothes if they take damage. Since most of the characters, including the bosses, are anime girls, this means that the game is packed with plenty of fan service. While the images are not exactly safe for work, there isn’t any actual nudity, although thanks to some strategically placed shreds of fabric, it is probably as close as you can get. This feature is understandably not something everyone will appreciate, so there is, thankfully, the option to disable these images. On the other hand, for those who appreciate this kind of thing, there is also a gallery section where you can admire the artwork without the stress of dodging bullets.

Caladrius Blaze is pretty accommodating to newcomers as far as bullet hell shooters go. In addition to the “Original” mode, the game also includes “Arcade” and “Evolution,” which add a couple of special stages. Evolution also features an additional stage, complete with a brand-new boss. These modes also make some changes to how your special attacks work, so they are worth checking out. Caladruis Blaze also features a host of difficulty settings, making it accessible to players of all skill levels. The pros can jump straight into the hardest modes for a real challenge, while newcomers can try the easier ones. There is even a “practice” mode that eliminates all enemy bullets, and if this is still too hard, you can enable “no damage” to prevent all damage to your craft. These modes allow for learning the ropes and seeing the levels without frustration. You can adjust the number of lives and bombs your character has from one to five, although you will have to play with default settings if you want a shot at the leaderboards. Finally, you basically have infinite continues, so completing the game shouldn’t be an issue. However, if you want to see the hidden final level and boss, you must reach it with one credit, which takes some practice.

Since Caladrius Blaze has a story mode, it is actually quite fun to play through it with the different characters to see their conversations with the bosses. Each character also has their own ending, and everything is tracked in the gallery mode, where you can view profiles, conversations, and more. The English translation could have been a little better, but nothing was too horrible. Players who tire of the story mode will also appreciate the boss rush mode and score attack mode, which can be unlocked.

In terms of visuals, Caladrius Blaze is a mixed bag. The 2D sprites look great, but the game uses 3D models for the actual game. The bosses still look impressive, but the backgrounds look bland and dated, thanks to some rather low-resolution textures. It also doesn’t help that the game only runs in 720p, and your only visual options are playing the game in windowed or fullscreen mode. The actual 3D isn’t too bad as it gives some nice depth to the backgrounds and also allows for neat tricks like the camera rotating around objects like towers while you fly. This doesn’t influence the gameplay in any way, though, as the movement of your craft is strictly on a 2D plane.

The game sounds exactly like you would expect a Japanese bullet hell shooter to sound, so you can expect plenty of explosions and high-pitched yelps from characters. All the voices in the game are in Japanese, but the music, sound effects, and voice volume can be adjusted independently so that you can customize everything to your taste. The actual music is good but can be drowned out by all the voices and sound effects. To play Caladrius Blaze, you will ideally want a suitable controller, as using a keyboard is a bit of a chore. The game also features a two-player co-op mode, so grab a controller for a friend while you are at it. Using a controller simply makes it easier to keep track of the four different attack and two special buttons.

Overall, we had a blast with Caladrius Blaze, but there is no denying that it is not the type of game that will appeal to everyone. If you are a bullet hell shooters fan, this one is highly recommended, especially if you want one accessible to newcomers or playable in co-op. The excessive fan service might deter some players, but you can disable this feature, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. The low resolution is a bit of a bummer, especially for players with large, high-definition screens. Finally, the Steam version of the game features some nice Achievements but comes at the cost of only being playable online, so if that is an issue, it is better to opt for the GOG version. All things considered, Caladrius Blaze is a fun game that offers plenty of value for money, but make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into.