Single Credit Review 002 – Macross Plus – Arcade

1995 Biguest & 1996 Banpresto

Standard top down shmup based on the Macross anime series. There is no auto fire but holding charges a homing rocket attack that can also attack ground enemies more efficiently. The game offers 3 different ship options and a 2 player simultaneous coop which are a plus. In all the videos and pictures of ships in the attract mode, it shows them in mech form, however I couldn’t figure out how to transform. I’m thinking that maybe the mech forms will just be in later stages?

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I’m decent at top down Shmups. I love learning the patterns in bullet hell games, so I always like playing new unknown ones. The arcade has a ton of these, so the fact that I got one on my second random game isn’t much of a surprise. The controls in Macross Plus are super tight and the ship moves at a perfect speed. I was able to get through the entire first stage unscathed and, in typical top down fashion, the second level is where they took the kid gloves off. While the difficulty was not ridiculous, it was enough for me to rack up some deaths to the inevitable game over.

Upon game over, you get to enter in initials if you reach a high score so you definitely have the ability to improve yourself to get a better score, instead of just adding in quarters. Just like the last game I played, Rohga Armor Force, I enjoy finding games that encourage this mastery. It’s something that makes me want to give Macross Plus another go to see if I can get even further on a single credit. It’s something Billy Mitchell, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man champion player, used to say, “Games after the golden age became less about skill and more about who was the richest kid in the arcade.” So when I find an arcade game that resets the score it makes the game that much better!

– Pros –
– Tight controls
– Decent difficulty ramp up
– 2 player coop

– Cons –
– Chaotic at times
– Music and sfx seemed extra quiet
– Unintuitive mech transformation

– Single Credit Synopsis –
Overall, Macross Plus is a standard top down shmup with tight controls and beautiful graphics. There are plenty of games in the Macross series that are enjoyable and this one should be added to the bunch.

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