ALLTYNEX

ALLTYNEX is a vertical shooter from the doujin studio Siter Skain that achieved something not expected of an office computer on the PC-98 — smooth arcade action with a dense field of bullets and a mech that behaves differently in combat than an ordinary ship. The player controls a combat machine equipped, alongside regular fire, with a melee attack, so the game isn't just a matter of dodging: it's advantageous to let some enemies get close and finish them off up close, which requires the player to be brave enough to move into spots they'd otherwise avoid.

The structure is classically arcade-like — a handful of short levels, each ending in a fight against a striking boss, a scoring system that rewards risky play, and a length matching a single arcade credit. That's precisely why ALLTYNEX gets played over and over: the goal isn't to finish it, but to finish it better. Technically it's an impressive piece of work, since the game had to fit within the PC-98's capabilities while still maintaining high pace; the graphics are purely mechanical, metallic and cold, and the music uses FM synthesis to keep a sharp, mechanical rhythm that suits the theme.

The game was made outside commercial distribution, within the doujin scene, and mainly for that reason it remained known only to a narrow circle for a long time. Siter Skain followed up with more shooters, and ALLTYNEX eventually received a modern remake that brought it to Western players as well. Today it's interesting in two ways: as a solid, tough shooter that doesn't feel amateurish even after all these years, and as evidence of just how capable the Japanese independent scene on the PC-98 was even before the platform came to be dominated by the first Touhou games. For today's player it's a short but intense experience — a single run takes a few dozen minutes, and the game practically begs to be replayed. The melee attack also adds a dynamic that most vertical shooters of the time didn't offer, and it keeps attention alive even after running through the same levels several times.