Psyvariar
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| Psyvariar | |
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| Developer(s) | Success Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Success Corporation (JPN) Empire Interactive (EUR) |
| Release date(s) | JPN 28 March 2002 (PS2) EUR 26 September 2003 (PS2) |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, 2 player co-op |
| Rating(s) | ELSPA: 11+ |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation 2 |
| Input | 8-way joystick, 2 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Taito G-NET |
| Arcade display | Raster (vertical) |
Psyvariar (サイヴァリア Saivaria?) is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Success Corporation on Taito's G-NET hardware. Two versions were released — the original version Psyvariar Medium Unit in 2000, and an updated and remixed version Psyvariar Revision in 2001. Both were later ported for home release on the PlayStation 2 console.
[edit] Gameplay
The special feature of Psyvariar's gameplay is its risk/reward "Buzz" system. Each time the nose or wings of the player's ship grazes a bullet or an enemy, this counts as one "buzz" (only the very centre of the ship is vulnerable). For each buzz, a meter at the top of the screen increases by a small increment. When the meter fills up through repeated buzzing, the ship levels up and experiences a brief moment of invincibility. The player can use this short period to risk buzzing more bullets to reach the next level-up, or to avoid particularly difficult bullet patterns.
Upon completion of a stage, the player is given choice of which stage to tackle next. The more difficult (and higher-scoring) stages are only made available if the ship's level is high enough. The game can played as a traditional scrolling shooter ignoring the Buzz system completely, but this would strongly limit the choice of stages available resulting in significantly lower scores, and the true final stage of the game would not be seen.
The major gameplay difference between Psyvariar Medium Unit and Psyvariar Revision is that in the former, a single bullet can only be buzzed once, but can be buzzed as many times as possible in the latter which results in much higher scores and levels. To aid buzzing bullets multiple times, the ship can be repeatedly spun on its axis by rapidly waggling the joystick left and right.
[edit] PlayStation 2 version
Psyvariar Complete Edition was released for the Sony PlayStation 2 in Japan on 28 March 2002 by Success. It contains both Psyvariar Medium Unit and Psyvariar Revision on a single disc. The main additions are a replay mode and the option to use a separate button to spin the ship as the waggling motion is harder to perform on a joypad.
Two special editions were also available in Japan. The Special Sound Box included an audio CD of the game's soundtrack, and the Special Capture Box included a gameplay DVD of both games being fully completed by expert players. Both games were also released separately as part of Success' budget range in 2003.
Psyvariar Complete Edition was released in Europe on 26 September 2003 by Empire Interactive at a budget price under their "Xplosiv" label. This version retains all the features of the Japanese release and includes a 60Hz mode.
