SEGA CD

Keio Flying Squadron

Hardcore shooter fans will appreciate the nonstop action, myriad enemy types, freakish bosses, and weapon variety. Unless you loathe eccentricity, Keio is an experience that deserves a fair share of nostalgia.

So if you're a fan of the obtuse and enjoy playing games that have great animated sequences, funny characters and loads of laughs, you won't be disappointed. Keio Flying Squadron is an unqualified riot.

Keio moves as smoothly as it sounds, so novice players and serious shooters alike will enjoy Keio. If you're tired of complicated flight sims and shooters, Keio may be the break you're looking for.

I’ll go ahead and give KFS the “best Sega CD shooter” nod, just edging out Lords of Thunder and Robo Aleste. It’s like a goofy interactive anime, and it’s fun to play. That’s a recipe right out of my favorite cookbook.

A cutesy shooter with the standard requirements for the genre: huge bosses and power-ups. This one adds excellent cinemas and sound effects. This must be one of the best shooters ever to appear on the Sega CD!

At first I was quite bored by Keio Flying Squadron; then, out of nowhere, I was addicted to it. This really is too unique to not like. If you want a quirky shooter with an interesting (albeit wacky) story then this game is worth checking out. It must be said though, that when compared the juggernauts of shooters -- R-type, Thunder Force, Gradius -- its gameplay is weak. But then, those games don't contain Keio's charm.

While it certainly does not appeal to everyone, especially those into the heavy sci-fi themes of other shooters, it is still a fun little parody on its own. The story is cute and funny, with some simple, but good Japanimation nicely dubbed, along with solid gameplay with a fair challenge rate. The graphics and characters are made big and colorful to reflect the entire image of the game accurately. With the fair amount of options available, the game can be played by the hard-core folks just to say they finished another game (without continuing is advised of course) and still have some fun. The supply of enemies is not huge but the game gives a fair amount to kill. Whoever the hell was at JVC sure did pick an odd title to translate, but at least they got the right voice actors for the english dialogue. As a result, it has made the game much more enjoyable for the story and helped the overall game's theme. It's a nice small game, but don't spend more than 10 to 20 bucks on it at most.

To put it bluntly, this game was tiresome. It takes no ability to constantly shoot and it only takes a matter of time and some luck to figure out how to avoid the onslaught of bullets headed your way. So, don't let a name fool ya. If you do get caught in the Flying Squadron, make sure you're sitting in the crash position.