Super Shootin Star

TheAwakening
Nov 12
3 min read

Overview

Super Shootin Star does what it says on the tin: You have a gun, and you shoot downwards to propel yourself to the skies. There are many guns and some dangers above the clouds; this game will test how good of a rocket jumper (or blast jumper) you are. Best scores are awarded based on your top height. A roguelike mode enables more ways you can extend your run.

Gameplay

You start by blasting yourself upwards, armed with a revolver with limited ammo. You aim your shoot towards where you’d like to reach, but only downwards or sideways. Holding the trigger with guns with one clip (revolvers, shotguns) allows you to have more control of momentum and direction. Bigger clip guns (flamethrowers, miniguns) don’t have this option and will chew all the ammo it has to its end.

When you run out of bullets you’ll switch to a star wand, it carries six stars that must be picked one by one, allowing you to jump a bit further under emergencies. There are also special weapons, such as a portal gun.

Among the clouds you can find all the guns and ammo you need, stars that add to your star wand if you run out of ammo, bombs that serve as jump pads if you shoot at the right time, and the clouds themselves as jump pads too. In the Rogue mode there are drones that award experience points to gain new skills as well. The only danger here, other than falling off-screen, are the storm clouds that will electrocute you in a short time, ending your run. Items are less frequent the more height you get in a run.

Classic mode does not offer power-ups or power crates, keeping the game balanced. Rogue mode enables drones, which grant experience to level up, offering up to four power-ups. Powers that buff your star wand, the amount of ammo you can hold, clouds that are more powerful, emergency backups, or bonus points. Some are trade-offs that usually modify something in exchange for more power with other weapons, such as reducing your ammo capacity for more stars or more bounce with weapons than your star wand. Bonus points are neat and all but do not help in the long run.

With enough luck and skill, your score will be saved for future reference. The best way to increase it and keep you jumping for longer is to fly towards the best weapons or ammo, collect stars, and use those for emergencies. No run will last longer, as the game likes to lower the supplies the higher you get, but it’s possible to last more than ten minutes. In Rogue mode, choosing bonus points is pointless; powers that enhance your skills do help you fly higher. It's all a matter of skill and luck.

Bugs

As of pre-release there are several bugs:

Selecting Power Clouds in Rogue mode causes future level-up choices to grant Power Clouds only, with their names invisible.
The star capacity counter sometimes displays as if you had no stars. Only in Rogue mode when choosing certain power-ups.
Mega Ammo in Rogue mode grants you infinite ammo for a short time whenever you pick ammo for your weapon. The description does not reflect this.
Storm clouds are a bit random. One time it exploded right when I touched it; other times it didn’t.

Audio & Graphics

For a 10 MB-sized game, it runs perfectly. Its music and graphics are retro enough. The HUD displays everything and does not occupy a lot of screen; the most important is the shooting bar that informs you whenever you are reloading or charging a weapon. The only problem is the forced aiming locked on our character; sometimes it throws me a bit off.