Behelade

Features

• Five short but intense stages without filler

• Practice mode for individual stages or even just the boss fights

• Special input handling for game pad joysticks to allow for precise movements even with a normal controller

• You can save and view replays of your attempts

• The game scales to take advantage of vertical screens ("tate")

• A reason to let go of the shoot button (scoring)

• Tiny file size: A full-fledged game, only using around 10MB of storage

Gameplay

A classic bullet hell shoot ‘em up.

Dodge enemy bullets while returning fire to open gaps in the enemies’ formation. Fight bosses with complex patterns. Persevere and find your route through the five short but intense stages. This game will not waste your time with trivial filler sections while you practice.

When you get hit, you enter a "melee mode" for a short time. During this time, you are invulnerable and will emit blue flames in an aura around you. You can use this to quickly fly into enemies, dealing a good amount of damage, before the time is up and you have to retreat to a safer spot. This turns getting hit into a more active situation, instead of merely waiting until you can shoot again.

Score is gained by hitting and defeating enemies, but also used up when shooting. Yes, this means there is a reason to let go of the fire button and aim more carefully when going for high scores! There are other scoring mechanisms as well, like bullet grazing and bonuses for beating stages with some lives and bombs left.

Story

While there is no in-game text telling the story, there is still a background that explains the stages and enemies you will face. The Behelade is a magic sword that grants the power of the Blue Flame. You play as a young female knight, the wielder of this blade, who sets out to investigate the source of the strange power that made the forest creatures go mad.