The PC Engine/TG-16 is a machine that is famous for its wide and diverse range of shooting titles, but Psychosis (also known as Paranoia in Japan) is one title that you might not be familiar with, despite the fact that it was deemed worthy of a Western release back in the day.
We also like to see originality here at VC:R and the plot for Psychosis is about as innovative as they come. The concept is that your body has shut down and your mind is slowly dying, but your subconscious decides that it’s not giving in without a fight and therefore ‘creates’ a spaceship-style craft that is then sent into the dark recesses of your mind to flush out all nasty monsters hiding there.
This plot has given the designers free rein to come up with some seriously wacky enemy and level designs (some of which remind us of Bio Hazard Battle, another VC shooting title), and this undoubtedly sets the game apart from the millions of other shooters available on NEC’s 8-bit machine.
However, the innovation doesn’t end there. The game also showcases a unique weapons system, where the player is granted two defensive orbs (very much like the Force power up seen in Irem’s seminal R-Type) that not only have the ability to absorb enemy fire but can also be upgraded. For example, one pickup gives the orbs a lightning-flash attack that can wipe out enemies and also defend against bullets. These orbs can also be rotated around your craft at the press of a button, which gives the game a neat tactical element often missing from other, more mindless shooters.
Every shooter fan will tell you that difficulty is important, and Psychosis is definitely hard – but only when you don’t have the orbs equipped. As soon as you collect them, things become a lot easier – almost too easy. The orbs are so resilient to enemy fire that when you come to face the end of level bosses the vast majority of the time all you need to do is make sure the orbs are in the closed position (so no bullets can pass through them) and keep the boss directly in front of you. There are odd moments when you make a mistake and enemy fire strays past your defences (thus rendering the game difficult again as you have to pick up another set of orbs), and this serves to unbalance the challenge a little.
Psychosis is an interesting game with decent visuals and punchy sound, but it’s badly let down by the inconsistent difficulty level. There are far better examples of shooters currently available on the Virtual Console, but if you’ve sampled them all and want something a bit different, then you could do a lot worse than splash your Wii points on this little-known blaster.
1. Tony
25 Jan 2008, 16:18 GMT
A side scrolling shooter in which you must battle mental illness. Interesting story line
I am waiting for Post Traumatic stress disorder: The Game
2. Corbie
25 Jan 2008, 20:45 GMT
It's an odd shooter, but it feels very plain and vanilla most of the time. Difficulty is pretty stiff as well. It's good but not great.
3. Kawaiipikachu
28 Jan 2008, 12:28 GMT
I knew some people are driven mad by some virtual console release (Which i wonder why anyway) but a game about madness umm strange .
4. michinmuri
13 Feb 2008, 14:11 GMT
Love the back story. The music on the demo video up top seems interesting if not repetitive (makes you want to go psycho.) Never the less I've always been a shooter fan since the Turbo showed me how good they were, and for only 600, I could download worse. If this is better than Monster Lair, it's money well spent. I still have to get soldier blade and R-Type though. Blazing Lasers and the Thunder titles were downloaded the day of release for me. Shmups FTW!
5. Rossi
23 Feb 2008, 23:45 GMT
Nice little soundtrack going there
I totally dissagree with minchimuri with the music quote..
6. Stevii's Father
27 Feb 2008, 03:14 GMT
Seems a lot like R-Type (which is on VC already) with the way it scrolls and moves, with a mild touch of Final Mission (not on VC yet) with those acolyte pods around you...
but why not just get R-Type?
7. Roo
01 Mar 2008, 18:12 GMT
Got a bit excited there. I thought this might be a game based on the former WCW Cruiserweight guy, but alas, its another shooter on a overpopulated system, one that is hardly going to instigate a roaring trade in hardware sales. Hmm.
8. Eltigro
12 May 2008, 03:36 GMT
I have this Turbochip for my TG-16. Got it as a used game from a rental place that was selling all it's TurboGrafx rental games a long time ago. It is challenging and colorful with a unique back story (rare for a Shmup). I like that there are a few secrets hidden here and there. In the first level, if you shoot the two black ant looking things that are attacking a pink caterpillar looking thing, then butterflies will fly around you when you get to the boss of the first level. Later, there is a rat by an arrow. He is making the arrow go up and down. If you shoot the rat, the arrow will point to the path you should choose in the next little section (the path that the arrow does not point to has little things in it that blocks the path some and makes it more difficult to navigate). If you don't shoot the rat, you just have to guess.
I've beaten it maybe two or three times. Each time, I had to do it on one life. Die anywhere in the later levels, and the fact that you come back with nothing but your basic peashooter makes it too difficult to continue.
And again, I started/created this game's page on Wikipedia.
9. Stevii's Father
31 May 2008, 01:53 GMT
^ Nifty piece of trivia, Eltigro! And what makes it even more priceless is that you did it on an original turbopad and turbo grafx. As most people will agree, nothing comes close to having the real thing...even if Nintendo's VC delivers a pretty convenient and functional package.
(Hey Eltigro, I like your userpic by the way...Johnny Turbo put me in high gear!!)
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