1993 Shenandoah is an old-school shoot ’em up that should have released almost three decades ago. Learn more in our 1993 Shenandoah review!

 

1993 Shenandoah is an homage to shoot ’em ups of a bygone era that has had a very interesting path to release. The game was originally planned to release in 1993 on the Amiga, as the name suggests, that hit development trouble and was all but abandoned. Now 27 years later, we get a faithful translation to the Nintendo Switch, but how does it hold up to today’s standards?

Surprisingly well as it turns out! At its core, 1993 Shenandoah is a bullet hell, sidescrolling shoot ’em up featuring a varied power-up system and an interesting shield mechanic. Each level plays out in a linear fashion, with checkpoints and locations where you can spend your money on power-ups and upgrades mid-level. The story of 1993 Shenandoah isn’t revolutionary but does a reasonable enough job setting the scene for the rest of the game. An invading space group has stolen the Shenandoah, a device capable of terraforming planets. In the wrong hands, it could be used maliciously to catastrophic ends. You are, therefore, tasked with recovering the Shenandoah, and so your mission begins!

 

This game features multiplayer for up to four players. You have full control over a shield, which can take some of the damage intended for the player. You can use the X, Y, L, R, ZL, or ZR buttons to rotate the shield around your ship to protect yourself. The shield will deteriorate with each hit, but there are pick-ups to restore your shield’s power to its former glory. You can use your main weapon, a mighty bomb you can trigger with the B button, and any of the extra weapons you choose to purchase and attach to your ship.

 

There is a deep customization system in 1993 Shenandoah. You can purchase and upgrade your ship as well as a variety of weapons. Weapons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, tools like bombs, homing energy attacks, lasers, and many more. The cost of each of the different classes of weapons is proportionate to their destructive power, with each upgrade to the weapons packing a considerably bigger punch.

 

For a game meant for release in 1993, the game has tight shoot ’em up gameplay mechanics, a retro soundtrack that slaps, and an upgrade system that provides a great layer of customization and replayability. The value is there for this blast-from-the-past shoot ’em up delight that is out now on Nintendo Switch.

Disclaimer
This 1993 Shenandoah review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Limit Break Studio.