Gaming Target - Game Boy: Iridion II

Written by Matt Swider on June 27, 2003

Review: At half the price, shooting fans shouldn't think twice.

Game Boy goers may remember Iridion 3D as a behind the ship shooter that launched alongside the Advance system two years ago. Though its name and theme are shared in the sequel, Iridion II shifts both the gameplay and graphics in a completely new direction. It no longer boasts a spectacular 3D engine, but then again it doesn't feature a perspective that causes the game to be unfair and unfun. This basically means that targeting enemies isn't an issue anymore since the primary focus is on shooting as opposed to steering. These changes cause Iridion II to appear as if it were inspired by scrolling shooters from the SNES and Genesis era, making it much more of a contender when compared to the original. With new levels, bosses, and weapon types, it's made out to be interesting and intense the first dozen times through.

For a mere $15 though, the only thing you might expect from Iridion II is gameplay that's short on variety. Indeed, diversity is sparse for this space shooter like many games within the same genre, but Shin'en made sure this one was still worth every penny. Of course, none of this is immediately apparent given the hokey plot that serves as a segue between levels more than it does a concrete story. Things don't take off for the game until you're in control of the ship, which is yet another trait that's common among classic shooters.

Instead of following the ship from behind, Iridion II has shed the 3D perspective and replaced it with a view from above. While I didn't anticipate much from this 2D approach, each of the 15 levels contain visual flair that meets, and in some cases exceeds, what was seen before. The beautiful backgrounds give an impression of depth and the wonderful animation brings the scrolling screen to life. All of this is sure to please the masses, whether they are fans of the first game or newcomers to the Iridion series.

Players that didn't pass up the original will surely remember hearing some great music from their Game Boy Advance speaker for the first time. Well, more superb soundtracks return to accompany your craft as it scrolls down the track and blasts enemies with weapons of mass destruction. Speaking of firepower, levels provide power-ups that can be collected in order to produce a pair of satellites for additional pulses and extra protection. And for those overwhelming moments where the odds seem to be against you, a limited number of smart bombs can be deployed to eradicate enemies. All things considered, the 6 different weapon types, upgrades, super-beam shot, and smart bombs give Iridion II more flavor than anything else.

Upon opening the arcade and challenge mode, players are able to take part in an Internet Raking Database that displays a variety of top scores. Oddly enough, this novel idea is carried out with passwords that you earn and enter at www.iridion2.com. Though ideas like this should be admired by other developers, the mistake of not including a battery to back up personal scores on the cartridge should be avoided. Granted, the price of Iridion II is about half of the cost of a new GBA game and the passwords are only 5 characters in length, but the loss of personal scores defeats a main reason people prefer to replay these classic shooters.