BDNeon

SkyGunner is one of those long forgotten obscure gems of the golden age of the Playstation 2. The art style is endearing, the localization is almost shockingly good (the english voice actors did a wonderful job, and it still has full options for original Japanese with english translations, both experiences are a treat), the amount of replayability is excellent, and the gameplay is just perfect. The plot is that in a fantastical world reminiscent of the early 20th century, experiencing its own golden age of aviation, a group of flying mercenaries-for-hire, "Gunners", are called upon when a criminal genius, Ventre, begins stealing inventions arriving for an upcoming grand exposition of technology. The gameplay is aerial combat, but done in a very arcade style way. One does not have to worry about things like stalling, crashing into buildings or the ground, etc. Instead, emphasis is on pulling off combo-attacks with special weapons, racking up consecutive shoot-downs in a short time, setting off chain reactions on big enemies with careful aim, and so on. There is a tracked score during your story campaign, and at about the halfway point a special upgrade for your aircraft for the rest of the campaign can be unlocked if you can reach a high enough score during that level. There are many different enemies with unique characteristics, and some truly spectacular boss battles. The game throws enough variety at you that it very seldom feels repetitive. When you first start the stories, you have two pilots to pick from, Ciel and Femme, each with their own playstyle and abilities and story missions. Many campaign levels are shared between the characters, each with their own perspective and objectives during the level. You can unlock two more characters, Copain and Rival, through playing the game. A fifth character, Chief Hardi, is available for the games excellent Time Attack and Survival modes. It was one of the best looking games of its time on the Playstation 2, and when running on an emulator like PCSX2 with the native framerate and resolution cranked up to modern standards, it's far from unpleasant to the eye even to one accustomed to modern graphics, due to its lighthearted art style. The game had some unusually advanced graphics options for a console game, such as the option to lock or unlock the framerate. Part of the reason this option existed, was an unfortunate tendency of the game to push the Playstation 2's capabilities to the limits. There would be occasional moments where the framerate would suddenly plummet as the sheer volume of action on the screen would overwhelm the Playstation 2's processor. However, it was only a seldom occurrence, and usually just felt as if you had activated bullet-time for some sweet temporary slow-mo abilities. In short, this one is a must-play. even if "Chibi steampunk anime arcade air combat" isn't enough of a description to catch your attention.