And when it is activated there are sometimes frustrating occasions when it can revert to full speed with little to no warning despite the fact that the bullet density hasn't changed, with the resulting jarring impact on the player's flow. It also doesn't help that slowdown, a necessary tool for navigating the more torturous portions of bullet hell titles, is frustratingly inconsistent, kicking in regularly for bomb activations and boss deaths while remaining full pelt at times when the screen is littered with enemy shots. In general there's far less focus on weaving your way between screen filling networks of different speed hazards and it's less engaging and interesting as a result. For most players the only time they'll use much of the vertical space is if a particularly large swarm of popcorn enemies have pushed them right up to the screen edge and you have to slowly inch up as they approach. This means that you never have to dodge and weave your way across the screen to reach any of these pickups.
This is exacerbated by the fact that just by briefly switching to the laser, the player can hoover up all the items on screen, including static ones based on the ground, and even some that have already fallen off the bottom. With such a strong focus on the last minute dodging of very fast, aimed shots there's a lot less utilisation of vertical space, as being close to bosses or enemies just isn't viable. It's visually impressive the first few times, but is indicative of a lack of imagination in bullet patterns that runs throughout the whole experience. All the player has to do is hold down the fire button and sweep their craft from left to right, clearing the whole screen with these foes exploding in vast numbers. With Saidaioujou, they are utilised all the time, sometimes for so many waves in a row that your brain can start to disengage from the action. They are typically used as filler content to keep the player doing something in between more complex setpieces. For anyone not familiar with the term, popcorn enemies are the most basic form of threat in a shooter, they are weak, rush on to the screen in large waves and pump out a very small number of bullets, often only one or two per craft. This in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing but couple this with a huge reliance on popcorn enemies and you're left with a system oddly bereft of satisfying opposition. With the fact that your main weapon is now fully powered up from the get go there's also the not insignificant issue of what this has meant for enemy health – outside of bosses and the odd large craft, they die fast. It's essentially done away with the concept of adjusting your firing choice based on enemy types and turned the game into a one weapon shooter. The problem with this is that there's really no point in ever using the other weapon after this decision has been made you'll get an increased hit counter rate for your selected loadout and the rather large difference in damage output renders the other gun’s damage distribution a mute point. There are some other minor differences between the setups, but fundamentally which armament you want powered up is the key decision maker. Whichever type you choose will be automatically powered up to its maximum strength, while leaving the other woefully inadequate by comparison. The shot weapon fires a wide spread of bullets while the laser releases a concentrated burst in a straight line. Firstly after selecting a character, each with slightly different attack patterns, the player is graced with the ability to choose from three different setups – one for each of the two weapon types (shot and laser) and one for experts which immediately puts the game on the ridiculously hard second loop, something few will want to do. However, this focus on immediacy and pick up and play mentality has permeated through to the weapon balance and enemy wave design in a negative manner. This set of mechanics is solid enough, if a little unambitious compared to some of Cave's past output, and does the job of getting the player up to speed quickly so that they can begin the process of raising their scoring potential.