Strania -The Stella Machina-
Strania -The Stella Machina- is a vertically-scrolling Shoot'Em Up by G.REV, the same developers behind Border Down, Metal Black, and Senko no Ronde, as well as the providers of the engine used in Treasure's Ikaruga. Strania is an old throwback to classic arcade shooters of the 1980s.
Player take the role of the Stranian force's Soichirou Touma (Player 1) and Yu Beatrix Barrett (Player 2) as they pilot their Mecha and take on the Vower. Just as the old shoot 'em up days, players plows through everything that stands in their way, collecting various weapon Power Ups, and generally blowing stuff up.
It was released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on March 30, 2011. Roughly two months after its release, G.REV released the downable Side: Vower Expansion Pack for the game. As the title suggests, the Side: Vower expansion allows the players to play as the enemy forces, the Vower's Yosemite (Player 1) and Su Quadra (Player 2), while the game's original stages are played in reverse order, adding in a new soundtrack, and throwning in a harder game.
- This page is a work-in-progress
- Another Side, Another Story: The Side: Vower downloadable expansion.
- Back to Front: The Side: Vower expansion plays the game's six stages of the Stranian side in reverse order.
- Battleship Raid: For the Stranian forces, Mission 3 has the player defending their battleship from the Vower. For the Vower, players attack the Stranian's battleship instead in Mission 4.
- The Vower attacks a humongous space carrier in the final battle in Mission 6.
- Body Backup Drive: Beatrix, considering she has been killed in battle three times already and 70% of her physical body was recreated wih cultivated cells.
- Bullet Hell: Especially when the game's difficulty is set to Hard or Expert mode.
- Easy Mode Mockery: Playing the game on Normal prevents you from facing the True Final Boss, and ultimately, prevents you from seeing the game's ending.
- Every Ten Thousand Points
- Everything Is Better With Explosions: Everything you destroy goes boom. Literally.
- Excuse Plot
- Eyepatch of Power: Beatrix.
- Frickin' Laser Beams
- Guns Akimbo: Your mecha can dual-wield any firearm you find.
- Dual-Wielding: See Laser Blade below.
- Handgun: The only usable weapon the Stranians get to use during the True Final Boss battle after their mechas are wreaked beyond repair from escaping the exploding Vower fortress.
- Harder Than Hard: The Side: Vower expansion offers a harder game than the Stranian side.
- Homing Projectile: The Missile weapon, although enemies can fire homing missiles too.
- Humongous Mecha: It's what this game is all about.
- A more literal case with the Stranian forces as they battle against a Vower mech about four times their size in Mission 4 and one of titanic scale in Mission 6.
- Impressive Pyrotechnics: See for yourself.
- Interface Screw: Mission 1's boss for the Vower, as it jams the visual display the game's screen.
- Laser Blade: The Sword, and it can be swung rapidly with one hand or dual-wielded with both.
- Dual-wielding swords however limits to how many times they can swung to three in exchange for the ability to cut bullets with third swing of the swords. Each character also performs their third swing differently.
- Laser Sight: Can be seen sometimes before the enemy fires their weapons.
- Latex Space Suit: Soichirou and Beatrix wear one.
- Limit Break, Super Mode: The Overdose mode provides a short burst of speed, invincibility, and a score multiplier bonus as the Overdose runs out.
- Macross Missile Massacre
- Mecha-Mooks
- Mook Maker: Mission 3's boss for the Stranians.
- More Dakka
- Power Glows: During your mech's Overdose mode.
- Token Loli: Su Quadra.
- Rank Inflation: At the end of each Mission, players are ranked (from lowest to highest) C, B, A, and S[1] and given a point bonus for the rank.
- Scoring Points
- Shoot'Em Up: Of the old-scool variety.
- Side Missions: There are defense and assault missions to score extra points during Missions 3 and 5 for the Stranians and on Mission 2 and 4 for the Vower.
- Spread Shot: The Vulcan weapon.
- Super-Deformed: At the end of game's trial version, players are treated to super-deformed versions of Soichirou, Beatrix, Yosemite, and Su while they are having a pie fight against each other. Said super-deformed versions of the characters can purchased as Gamerpics from their respective icon packs.
- True Final Boss: Only accessable on Hard and Expert difficulties.
- ↑ (a rank S is earned by a No Damage Run, destorying the boss quickly as possible, and using the Overdose function of your mecha to score enough to meet the S-rank criteria)