Nanostray

Nanostray
Studio	Shin'en
Publisher	Majesco Entertainment
Erstveröffent- lichung	January 26, 2006 July 19, 2005 February 10, 2006
platform	Nintendo DS
genre	Shoot 'em up
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
Age rating	USK PEGI

Nanostray is a video game of the genre of the shoot 'em ups for the Nintendo DS , developed by the German game developer Shin'en. The player controls a futuristic spaceship through ten levels and fights against a variety of different opponents.
It is very similar to Iridion 3D and Iridion II for the Game Boy Advance , which are from the same developer. It is also considered to be one of the most graphically impressive 3D video games for the Nintendo DS.
A sequel under the name Nanostray 2 has already appeared in the United States .

Gameplay

The game is played on the upper screen of the Nintendo DS , various status indicators and the weapon selection are displayed on the touchscreen . The player steers his spaceship through ten very different, vertically running levels in a classic top view . These include a jungle area, a flooded city, a space station and many other richly detailed landscapes. In order to pass successfully, a final boss must also be defeated at the end of each level .

In order to fight against the opposing masses, the player has four different types of weapons at his disposal. Each of them has an additional fire mode, which is much stronger, but has to be recharged by collecting blue powerups . There are also so-called "Smart Bombs", which are relatively rare depending on the game mode.

Game modes

There are four different game modes : Adventure, Arcade, Challenge and Multiplayer.

• Adventure : One after the other, all levels with only a certain number of lives are to be conquered. There are three different levels of difficulty to choose from.
• Arcade : All levels are freely selectable. The aim is to get the highest possible number of points in order to achieve a new high score .
• Challenge: Here a certain task has to be fulfilled in each of the levels; among other things achieve a certain score or finish a level despite lack of weapons.
• Multiplayer : Two players play against each other in different game modes. Either the aim is to achieve the highest possible score in a certain time, or the winner is the one who reaches a certain score fastest or collects the most powerups in the form of gold coins.

Others

Using so-called nanocodes, which are generated by the game and have to be typed in on the page, high scores can also be entered in an online list and thus compared with players from all over the world.

criticism

One of the main points of criticism concerns changing the weapon: In order to select a different weapon, the corresponding selection button on the touchscreen must be pressed. However, the player often has to look away from the upper screen because the buttons are very small.

Another point of criticism is the lack of a background story.

swell

• uk.ds.ign.com : Review by IGN on July 19, 2005
• 4players.de : Review by 4Players on February 7, 2006
• planetds.de ( Memento from June 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ): Review at PlanetDS from February 7, 2006

Web links

• Official website
• Nanostray at MobyGames (English)
• Interview with Shin'en on Nanostray : February 12, 2005

Individual evidence

1. ↑ World Ranking : Worldwide highscore list
2. ↑ uk.ds.ign.com : English review from July 19, 2005.
3. ↑ 4players.de : German review from February 7, 2006.
4. ↑ 4players.de : German review from February 7, 2006.