Irem has been showcasing its shoot-em-up range for a while, and I’m fond of how it showcases the genre’s rich back catalogue. For its third volume, Irem has pulled together what I’d call the “we tried something slightly different” collection. There are three principal games included: Dragon Breed, Mr Heli, and Mystic Riders. Each has a Japanese and a World arcade version, with Mr Heli also getting a PC Engine version. These are unsung, potentially forgotten niche titles that are getting some love, and Irem deserves a lot of praise for supporting lesser-known titles. I think Dragon Breed in particular deserves huge attention.
Let’s kick off with Dragon Breed as it was my favourite of the trio. It is a high fantasy vertical shoot-em-up with your character riding a dragon. Your attacks are elemental and can be swapped out through pickups. They can also be levelled up. The innovation here is that you are only hurt if your rider gets hit by enemy fire, and so you can use your dragon’s body in a tactical way. Working a bit like a snake’s body, the dragon’s body and tail wrap themselves around your movements, so you can shield your rider, or position your tail to fire attacks as well as the head. Suddenly, the bullet hell barrage becomes a bit more manageable, especially when enemies are coming in from all kinds of areas. This tactical shield and attack made Dragon Breed stand out from almost any other shoot-em-up I’ve played in recent memory. I’ve not seen this implemented in a similar way since, so it really feels unique.
In a similarly unique gameplay mechanic, Mr Heli has a few interesting gameplay mechanics. Reminding me of Alex Kidd’s copter levels, you can move in all four directions in a level, at your own time and pace. There is a clock for the level to clear, but enemies respawn at different points, so if you need to farm points for upgrades, you can stay still and fire away. Upgrades, I hear you say? Mr Heli has a lot of breakable rubble and walls, which, if you spend time smashing down, will uncover shop items to buy with in-game money from your kills. Gone are traditional power-ups. You’ll need to find the shop first, and then hope it’s what you want and that you’ve got enough cash. This is combined with horizontal and vertical level designs. Some do auto-scroll, but most require the player to navigate like an action platformer in the sky. Mr Heli can also turn around and fire left or right, although I found the controls for this wildly imprecise and a cause of much frustration.
The third game is Mystic Riders, which reminds me graphically of the Cotton series. Bright, colourful, childlike, and full of world-building wonder. A lot is happening on screen, so much so that one of the main gimmicks with Mystic Riders is that the horizontal shooter often has levels that expand out to two or three screens of height. This means you’ll miss upgrades, enemies, and get enemy fire flying in at you from all kinds of different angles. The game can be played in single-player or co-op, and I recommend bringing a friend if you can because Mystic Riders loves to funnel you from wide setpieces into tight, narrow corridors. You’ll need plenty of firepower and lives to survive. The issue with narrow corridors plagues all three titles, but it causes most problems with Mystic Riders because when you trigger any of your special attacks, the game slows down to a couple of frames per second. For a game so beautiful to look at, it runs terribly in this collection and is the main reason I struggled to enjoy it as much as the other two.
All three games have options for different screen sizes, including true 1:1, CRT filters, and some cheat modes such as invincibility, unlimited lives, and maximum power weapons. Each game has two distinct modes, with the traditional “untouched” version being the only place to earn trophies, achievements, and get on the online leaderboards. No cheats are available there, so it’s a true test of skill and grit. One thing that felt missing in this collection was any other promotional or bonus material. There’s no concept art, behind-the-scenes interviews, promotional materials, or anything that helps set the context for where these games fit in the shoot-em-up landscape. I think Irem could improve this in future volumes to help players understand the history of the genre and why it matters.
Irem Collection Volume 3 is a bit of a mixed bag. I think Dragon Breed is a classic that deserves plaudits and love. Mystic Riders needs a performance patch so it can reach its full potential. Mr Heli is unique and fascinating from a “things that didn’t catch on” perspective. There is plenty of fun for horizontal shooter curio fans, but I think others may find an easy introduction to the history of the genre from previous Irem collections.
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