Developed and Published By: Raptor Claw
Category: Shooting
Release Date: 02.26.26
Price: $19.99
*Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review
I never thought I’d have so much fun playing an arcade shooter, but here I am with FUR Squadron Phoenix. Apparently, this is a sequel to a game that came out back in 2023, but I never heard of the series until now. For the most part, it’s a rail shooter where you face off against space marauders. I didn’t really “feel” the game during the tutorial, but by the time I was done with the first stage, I was addicted.
You just fly around different stages while shooting down all sorts of enemies. That’s really all there is to it, but it’s so much fun. You play as Robin, a new member of Phoenix Squadron. Your entire team was obliterated during the tutorial and now you’re out for revenge. The stages are split between ones that take place in space and virtual training simulations, but both are equally tough.
I was shot down halfway through the first training mission, but I still got a ton of experience and a few skill points which allowed me to level up my power and shields. Then I tried the simulation again and since the enemies were in the same pattern, I was able to reach the boss on my next attempt. But oh boy was I not prepared for the boss battle. I did win on my first attempt, but I was fighting against a behemoth that had multiple stages.
One thing I learned was that you get a ton of experience each and every time you complete a training mission, even if you fail. I went back and redid that first simulation multiple times so I could keep racking up skill points. After doing the same mission for half an hour, I seriously upgraded my damage, handling, shields, and laser beams to the point where I was overpowered by the time I started the second stage.
This might make it a bit easy to take advantage of because you can just grind until the game is too easy. But it was so much fun. But even when you’re fully maxed out, combat can be chaotic. Movement is really fast-paced, and it might become overwhelming with how many enemies are on screen at once or trying to see where one is hiding. This creates a fun balance.
My only problem is that there was a huge change in control when playing docked vs playing in handled mode. In handheld mode, controlling the ship and aiming was not as fluent. When playing docked, I was using the Switch 2 Pro Controller and gameplay was insanely smooth. Movement and aiming was crisp and accurate but going from that to handheld almost made me not want to play anymore.
With that said, FUR Squadron Phoenix is a fun and addicting game. It’s mindless shooting with fast-paced movement, a nice visual style, and some visual novel storytelling here and there. Even after beating all the stages, I was constantly going back to try to get high scores on some of the stages. $20 is a bit steep for a game you might beat in two or three hours but it’s quite the experience that has a lot of replay value.
4.5/5
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