Winglancer is an attempt to create a so-called “mania shooting game” for
the MSX2 (and subsequently Windows). Mania shooters have been popularised by
Cave and can be characterized as vertically scrolling shooters with an
emphasis on putting as many bullets on screen as possible. In order to make a
game where the screen is often covered with bullets playable, your “hit box”
is not your entire ship, as in the shoot’em’ups of the eighties and early
nineties. Instead, only a small box one or a few pixels in size is your
sensitive area, and bullets may otherwise pass right through you, as long as
they don’t pass your sweet spot.

Despite its modern play mechanics, Winglancer has a consciously retro look,
similar to the classics such as Galaga or Galaxian, including a score panel
occupying a large part of the screen.

Winglancer has five stages, three ships with various weaponry and speed,
four difficulty levels ranging from “easy” to “god” and two rounds in which to
clear the game. It also has a boss mode, where you only train yourself against
the game’s bosses, one after one. Apart from your ship’s main weapon (choose
from power, wave or laser), you have three smart bombs per life. From time to
time, you will find bonus bombs coming down the screen. When enemies are shot,
they will sometimes release a star. When picked up, the star will render you
invincible for less than a second – enough time to move through a
particularly tricky bullet pattern.

Winglancer