[C78] Sora

As you may be aware, Comiket 78 has, as usual, brought into light a handful of impressive doujin games.
This is just one of the many, but more notable releases.

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From the prologue.
Once, long ago, the sky was blue. But it was blackened with ash and filth over many centuries, as war continued between two opposing forces. They don't even know why they fight anymore; they forgot the reason long ago.
To one side was born a girl by the name of Sora. She was born gifted, with the power to fight. Realizing this, they sent her off to war. She begins to fight, not even knowing why.

Sora is your standard 2D shooter (similar to Danmaku games), with the addition of several original content as well as the utilization of all four sides of the screen.


Image (game interface) and quote go hand in hand.

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The dash is pretty simple, can be held, change directions, etc. It can also pass through any beam-type attacks, but not missile or special type attacks. As you dash, you will increase your heat gauge. If you dash through a beam-type attack, you will both increase your hyper bar and regain the red part of your life bar, while also increasing your heat gauge even faster. Also dash cancel attacks, it's useful.
Anyway, the heat gauge increases as you dash to a maximum of 300%, which will lower as you stop dashing. The higher this heat gauge is, the more damage you will take from any enemy damage. Just be careful.

The content is quite extensive for a fan-made game, and is what sets apart Sora from the original danmaku.
Here's the basic controls:

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z - select (menu), next (dialogue), shoot primary
x - shoot secondary
c - bomb/special
v - return (menu), dash:
- tap for a quick burst of speed to selected directional, hold to continue moving faster than usual; (will avoid beam projectiles)
a - melee
s - switch Lock-On target

You have a primary, a secondary, and a melee weapon, with bosses designed to be more or less challenging depending on your weapons setup. The unlockable weapons (don't know what exactly unlocks them, but gradual playing does, for one) add fun in mix and matching for maximum customization. Some weapons will have special attacks when dashing/charged via holding "z", so experiment!

The "dash" as mentioned above (performed by pressing "v" and a directional key) is a unique aspect as well. But moreso, its charm appeals to people who may be newbies to the danmaku genre by lowering the difficulty of the game itself. Not only is the dash classy, it's actually functional with benefits and drawbacks--a nifty addition.

"Bombs" are now specials, which are granted once you build up your hyper bar to a certain point. Like classic bombs, they overwhelm or negate hostile projectiles whilst creating a barrier of invincibility around the user. In order to have as many bombs on standby as possible, one will have to think of new tactics as opposed to constantly shooting the enemy. This means a player's performance and skill will determine his/her efficiency in the game.

Speaking of efficiency, every stage or match cleared has a score screen with a final grade. If you are a completionist, Sora will provide you with much replay value (only the higher difficulty settings will grant a player more points as he/she plays a stage).

To top it off, there are three modes of gameplay: Story, Arcade, and Match. Being a doujin game, Sora lacks quantity (only 7 stages in the game). To make up for the deficiency, the other two modes are implemented. Arcade is essentially playing the Story mode in a real arcade, from start to finish. Match on the other hand is a 1v1 with the boss of each stage, great for brushing up your skills and learning the boss's patterns as well as weaknesses--a must to get an S-rank score.

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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WC00DOXS

http://www.mediafire.com/?bode86gzj6bzmmo
http://www.mediafire.com/?cxppklehjgp6jsg

Two different options for downloading, for your choosing.

Try it out, if you have the time. It is certainly a enjoyable fan-made game.
Fanart:

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https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img256/4254/1281828365680.jpg
https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img43/2402/1281863005350.jpg
https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img231/5135/1281869155417.jpg
https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img828/7691/1281874619405.jpg
https://2img.net/r/ihimizer/img138/1684/1281887962124.png

I'll be here to answer questions/give tips. The game's dialogue and some parts are in Japanese, after all.