Takotan from eastasiasoft and Joseph Calabro is an arcade shoot ’em up inspired by games from the SNES and Genesis era. Learn more in our Takotan review!

The world has been taken over by an alien invasion. On the eve of destruction, humanity calls out for help! Takotan is a retro shoot ’em up inspired by 16-bit classics. Save the world from alien invasion by shooting and dodging your way through 8 action-packed levels with sinister bosses! Collect a variety of power-ups including lasers, bowling balls, and ninja stars to take down enemies and defend the planet.

 

In Takotan, the game begins with some very bad news: the world has been taken over by aliens! It then appears that Takotan is the right octopus for this particular predicament. There isn’t much of a story once you’re past this point, but it doesn’t matter since Takotan is a really good and fun shoot ’em up!

Gameplay-wise, your octopus will be traveling through different regions as you aim to get rid of everything in your path. It will shoot by pressing the X or R2 buttons – which will be mostly pressed down at all times – and can move using the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you try to avoid all attacks. Enemy types are varied, and they each have their own attack and moving patterns, which kept the experience fresh through each of the different levels.

 

Takotan begins each level with a shield of 1000 HP, and the default difficulty is manageable and never feels unfair. When I didn’t manage to reach the end of the level, I knew it was because I had made mistakes along the way, and had a good idea of what I needed to do for my second try. Something you’ll need to make the most of is your octopus’s ability to evade all action on the main section of the screen by pressing the Circle button if the action is too intense.

 

I have to praise the level design since it is really good. Each level has its own art design and enemies, so you don’t end up fighting the same enemies over and over again. I liked how some enemies have rotating animations, which definitely reminded me a bit of the Mode 7 effect from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System era, and what some games did thanks to the SuperFX chip – releases such as Yoshi’s Island. As for the bosses, they are relatively straightforward, but each one is unique. The fights don’t drag for too long, and when a level is completed, the victory fanfare feels very fulfilling and rewarding. Speaking of which, I have to mention that this was one of the best victory fanfares I’ve heard in a long time!

As for the presentation, Takotan has a 16-bits look and feel, with a very colorful palette. I loved the different backgrounds for each of the 2D stages. There are also voiced comments that reminded me of how the Super Nintendo Entertainment System used to present voice samples way back in the day. The main theme is very catchy, and the different level themes were also great.

As for the trophies, in order to achieve the Platinum for this game, you must reach at least the boss on level six. Be careful, because getting a game over will bring you back to the first level! You shouldn’t worry too much about this since your overall health is very generous, so as long as you’re careful, you should make it there. Once this is done, you will have to make sure to have collected a few diamonds of each of the five different colors. You’ll also need to grind 250 diamonds total, which I achieved in my second run close to the halfway point of the game. Depending on your experience with shoot ’em ups, you can end up getting the Platinum trophy in a couple of hours at most.

 

Should you buy this game? I definitively liked Takotan for its gameplay and level design, and can easily recommend this one to players looking for a good looking and fun arcade-style release. The game is short, as is to be expected of a shoot ’em up, and you’ll have a new Platinum trophy for your collection in a couple of hours at most.

Disclaimer
This Takotan review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by eastasiasoft.