ALLTYNEX Second

this game reeks of XBLA and i love it

Very cool

One of my favorite shmups on Steam.

It all starts with a cheesy storyline and some great music. Dated, but awesome N64-ish graphics. For this type of game, it's all surprisingly cinematic with some really cool moments that you won't forget.

The gameplay has a lot of depth. You have a normal shot that gets powered up as you attack. You have homing missiles which power down your main shot in exchange for homing capability. You have a super powerful laser which can destroy some projectiles and absolutely melt bosses, but it powers down your main shot very quickly, so you must be strategic with its use. Last but not least, one of the best things about this game: your melee blades! They are super powerful, don't power down your main shot, and they destroy projectiles. They also automatically lock onto nearby large enemies, so you can use them to attack things to the side and even behind you. I cannot hype these weapons enough, they're so damn fun to use.

The game is a must have, in my opinion.

ALLTYNEX Second is a decent shooter that had a lot of promise. However, a number of weak areas hold it back from being better known I suspect. I still enjoy it, but I feel if little more honing had been done (both general game as well as how it's ported onto Steam) it would have been far better game.

I enjoy the movement and weapons afforded the player. You have wide-ish shot that serves as the default weapon. Followed by a pair bullet canceling melee blades, which is by far my favorite attack. As well as homing missiles and a laser shot that drain from your re-charging energy bar. And the game was designed to make good use of these weapons for the most effective games.

Where the game falters some for me, is these four weapons are tied to two buttons. While in regular shot, holding the blade attack fires the homing missiles. And while in blade mode, holding the shot button fires the laser. Which makes some sense as the blade mode can change the angle of your ship and thus the angle of the laser. However, I have plenty of spare buttons to place missiles and a forward firing laser on their own dedicated buttons with plenty of buttons to spare. The control scheme as is often has be sticking with basic attacks more than I should due to the hassle.

Configuration of controls is done before booting up the game. I'm not going to harp too much as ALLTYNEX Second made using my Sega Genesis 6-button USB controller easier than many shmups. It'd just be nice for mapping to be an in game option. Same goes for locking in a full screen mode. And there doesn't appear to be any volume controls either.

ALLTYNEX Second offers a tutorial covering basic gameplay, scoring mechanics and tactics. Which I commend their inclusion. It's just that I think they'd be better if the player actually controlled the ship to practice this instead of just watching them play out.

My last criticism has to do with color pallet. Everything is desaturated and washed out. The bullets also feel a bit desaturated, but not to the point I lose track of them. I just would prefer them a little brighter to catch my attention a tad more. The enemy ships. on the other hand; really could have used sharper polygons (just given an option for classic appearance) and/or saturated colors to better indicate when they are on the player's shooting plane. There's a huge space station that I crash into more often than not if I haven't played recently because I think it is part of the background.

It sounds like I'm being harsh on this game even though I recommend it. Because even with these issues, I really like this game. It's old school enough to appeal to me, but not so retro as to have the baggage of those games. The weapons feel really good and reward knowing which one to use at the proper time. The mid and final level bosses present a good challenge without taking several minutes to put down. There's a story, but it mostly stays out of the way. I just think for everything it does well, it has a few elements keeping it from being a much greater game. Clearly it's more of direct port of the game instead of re-master of it.

great old classic shmup. The gameplay is good and a bit hard to describe. A classic shmup with a sword to clear enemy bullets (it´s more than that). The bullet patterns are simple and well made. This games belong to a trilogy of the developers Siter skain (my fave developers along with qute )when it comes to classic shmups (not bullet helll). the presentation is early 3d and graphicaly did not age so well. Still it does their job well. But the visual clarity is not so good as the others. Also there is cinematic scenes bettween the stages, that you may fast forward with ctrl key (if you have a controller you have to use joy2key or any similiar program. i would prefer that thet included a option to automaticaly skip it. In the end i higly recomend all the games from Siter Skain

Before I begin, I would like to mention that there might be some bias involved in my review as I personally adore the Alltynex trilogy. I simply cannot find many shmups that manage to immediately hook me in like the games in this series do.

First things first, I have to address one point that I feel makes the Alltynex trilogy vastly different compared to many other products in its genre: It actually has a competently-made story. Granted, it's not something like a masterclass in story-telling but the amount of effort that went into making lore for this game, in a genre that not many people expect a proper story from and most of its story modes suck anyway, is truly praiseworthy. I heavily recommend taking a look at "The Tale of ALLTYNEX Official Guide Book" not only for a complete transcription of the story of all 3 games in the series, but also tons of extra stuff that do not get explained anywhere in the games. Just search it up and you'll be able to find it with ease. Now with this out of the way, let's continue with the game itself.

As it is customary among many shmup games, Alltynex Second is also very short when it comes to gameplay time. The whole game only takes about 20-30 minutes to complete, but it does some harmless (or rather smart) stuff to increase your initial playtime. After starting the game for the first time, the game only gives you two credits to beat the game with, but increases it by one point after finishing a run; no matter if you win or lose it. This is a smart move as not only it still rewards you after a failed run, but it also subconsciously makes you perform better at it over time. And after the introductory period is over and you get your first win, the game still manages to give itself enough replayability. Part of this is done through the game's well-chosen achievements and unlockable content, and part of it is done through its versatile gameplay.

On the surface, Alltynex Second is just another normal shmup: you move around, dodge bullets and shoot at the enemies to destroy them. There are also two special weapons you can use: The energy beam (that can lock-on to your target) and the homing missiles. One nitpick that I have, is how the special weapons become mostly useless after getting accustomed to the game. Personally I find the beam to be fantastic for quickly taking out a certain boss, and the homing missiles are great for deflecting a certain stage hazard. But using them anywhere else is not worth losing the multiplier and your firepower.

But then there are the blades; my favorite weapon in this genre. By pressing the second attack button, you stop firing your normal weapon in exchange for the blades mounted on your aircraft. The blades can only be used in close range, yet not only they can lock-on to the enemies in any direction (just like the beam), but they are also EXTREMELY powerful. These things can shred every boss in seconds if used properly, making a 1cc run into a matter of when and how to approach the tankier enemies.

But here's the nice thing about the gameplay: You really don't have to use everything at your disposal to finish the game. You can try to do a shot-only or blade-only run, or prohibit using any of the special weapons and still be able to finish the game. Aside from those, you can use the type-b aircraft or the additional reverse shot mode after unlocking them as well, effectively acquiring more ways to mix and match your playstyle with and finish more runs. Complimenting the gameplay is the soundtrack and GOD what a good soundtrack this game has. It's catchy and memorable, and dare I say I actually like it more than RefleX and KAMUI's soundtracks.

If there's one gameplay feature that can divide the playerbase, I guess it's the cinematic sections. Sometimes, the camera changes locations from the usual point of view to offer a dramatic point of view for some boss battles, and that can cause trouble controlling the aircraft for some people. I personally have no problem with them, but I can see how some might not like them.


Overall, Alltynex Second is a very good shmup, and one I will hold dear as one of my favorites of all-time. The game is very short, but I've had so much fun replaying the game and finding myself getting better after finishing each run; to the point I actually see myself eventually getting a 1cc if life lets me.
I wholeheartedly recommend playing this game to any shmup fan, and even more so in the form of "The Tale of ALLTYNEX" bundle so you can get all of the games in the series at once, as long as they are willing to put more than just one run into the game.


P.S.: That Omega Javelin achievement left me speechless when I got it by accident. Nice job devs.

Unplayably hard unless you're a god gamer.
The sword gimmick is really dumb. I actually timed out the third boss because there's never a chance to actually damage it.

A shmup that's short, fast-paced, and rewards highly aggressive play. The sword takes a little getting used to but is extremely powerful and fun to use. Kamui is still my favorite game in this series, but this one is worth it too.

Polished doujin shmup with great music and production values. A game I would recommend for anyone looking to get into shooters on Steam. The Sister Skain trilogy kind of spoiled me for how good doujin shmups were going to look and sound moving forward.

An awesome shooter.
An improvement over the original. This is a remake of the original game. This is one of the best shooters on Steam. The music is awesome!

An enemy unit dispatched by the ALLTYNEX OS is closing in.

I activate Secondary Battle Mode and prepare to engage.

May the Goddess of Victory smile upon me.

i really dig this gsme. Definitely feels like it came from the developers of Kamui, but has several unique elements that set them apart as well. You have access to 4 different weapons for each of the two ships (the 2nd is unlocked after clearing the game If I remember correctly) and they both are quite unique from one another,

Regardless of ship you must utilize all the weapons (laser/missile, beam/homing, regular shot and blade) to both survive as well as maximize points if you are playing for score. Definitely on the difficult side of things and will require a serious amount of practice if you are looking for a 1CC. The game is very generous with continues in addition to an easy mode so most players will find their way to the end one way or another.

The game has sharp 3d visuals with nice particles on display. Nothing groundbreaking by todays standards but an attractive 3d stg without question. The game has replay save, and you can choose to watch them in a very cool Gran Turismo esque multiple angle replay mode.

Great game.

I love my shoot em ups and this is a perfect example of how one should be made. Considering how old it is and how cheap this is a fantastic game. Very similar to Radiant Silvergun in spirit and is alot of fun to play. As always with these type of shooters, really easy to get into, very hard to master and get those top scores or 1CC completion. If you have any interest in shoot em ups you need this game.

Good vertical shmup. This game makes you feel like a man. How so? Well.. the games starts you off with some real good weapons. Not some half assed pea shooter thats looks like you stole it from the scrap yard.
In many vertical shmups you die once and lose all your power-ups then find yourself cowering in the bottom corner of the screen somewhere as aliens appears smurking their way towards you firing their 1000 bullet hell mulitshot a second plasma cannons but in this game you've always got some substantial weapons to wipe the smile of thir faces.
One of the weapons is a multi directional laser that does sufficient damage to most things and a huge kick ass melee sword attack that rotates (to quite a distance) 360 degrees round your ship and does a nice heft chunk of damage. Nice, plus not 1 but 2 secondary fire's. The aliens are scared of you in this one as you easily mow down huge swathes of laser fodder and enemy fire. you start with weapons that kicks ass, and the same weapons kick ass right to the final battle. Manhood intact. All in all an enjoyable game.
disclaimer, i only completed on easy so far so not actually a man yet. I did try it on hard afew times however and was happy to see your arsenal happily still does the business, just lots more enemy attacks.

First off, it's 3D! And as weird as it sounds saying this, that's a rare occurence in the genre. Like all the games of the series, this one has unique and interesting mechanics. The melee attack is really fun and mixes things up quite a bit. I do find it has a few readability problems, but once you learn the levels it does get better. Overall a fun game!

This is my favorite game from the Tales of ALLTYNEX series. It's so fun going up to large enemies and destroying them with the ship's swords. One of my favorite moments is near the end of the game, where a sattelite is trying to blast the ship with a giant space laser. That's epic. The soundtrack is pretty good too. However, I do have a problem with how the game handles moments where the camera angle changes. The playing area won't change to accomadate the different camera angles, and this can screw the player over in certain sections (such as the stage 3 boss's final phase) because it's not clear where the boundary is. This can lead to the player bumping into an invisible wall while trying to dodge bullets, causing them to get killed. Another issue I have with the game is that sometimes enemies will materialize out of thin air. The game's still fun though, I just think that the issues that I listed should be fixed so the game looks more professional.

I rate ALLTYNEX Second (I can't figure out the name of this game either), 3.5, It's okay if you like this sort of thing.


This is a fairly exciting bullet hell space action late 1980s styled arcade game which will seem familiar to anyone whos played Crimson Clover or Raiden III. The weapons systems on your spacecraft take a little getting used to but other than that there is nearly no learning curve to this game. However, this game is extremely difficult and can be frustrating at times (like other games in its series). This game runs adequately although I suffered one computer freeze from this game when turning it off. It's fairly creative and frenetic and exciting but if played more than just casually it can get repetitive and frustrating. Best to get this one on a special Steam sale if you get it.

Really on the border with this one.

As shooters go it's not awful, but it doesn't really excite me either. The weapons system is interesting, but once you get used to it... Well, that's all you get.

Turns off aero when it runs and crashes when I alt-tab.

It's cheap, though, so I'll let it pass.

Siter Skain made another ALLTYNEX game.

And it was very good.

I always worry when I see a beloved 2-D game jump to three dimensions. After some time learning Second, this is still every bit an ALLTYNEX shoot-em-up. My one wish would've been more original boss archetypes; most of these are reused from KAMUI and RefleX. However, because it's a visual jump, I'll forgive it that. The devs probably wanted to make the game play well first. And with that, they surely succeeded.

10/10 Would shmup again.

I love shmups! They're my genre of choice.

This one? Goooooood.
The music is outstanding, the controls are tight, enemies are... well, as varied as they are in shmups.

My single complaint (one that I'm sure will cease to be an issue once I play more) is that certain things that look like obstacles to avoid can be flown through while others a'blow you up. Minor quibble that'll get learned over time.

Do I recommend this? Resounding yes. If you like Raiden, you'll like this. If you like Cave's series of bullet hell games, you'll like this. There's something for everyone here, and did I mention the outstanding music? Mein Gott im Himmel.

It is not easy to find modern shoot em ups that keep the quality and enjoyability that had those of the 16-bit era. I have played to many shoot em ups since then and I have found only a few worth playing. Of course Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Gradius V and Gaiden and so on. Alltynex second is clearly worthplaying. It has good graphics, good music and smart gameplay that includes a silvergun-style sword.

As hapens with Ikaruga, it is a bit too short, but I strongly recommend it. By the way, I am enjoying very much Reflex, so I should say that the tales of alltynex package is a good choice.

The shot system is what makes this game feel unique. Fun gameplay with a beautiful soundtrack like in any other good shmup.

Always bet on Siter Skain.