Cute Shooters

The age of video games where anything can make a return has been refreshing. ININ Games has been slowly bringing back a ton of retro titles on Switch for a while, but now the entire collection is invading the Xbox platform, and I couldn’t have been more excited. These games are some of the lesser-known retro titles and some I had played, while others I had not. Now to have them all on my preferred platform it was time to double dip back into each one. Each one of these write-ups will cover one or a couple titles in short form, but my suggestion is if the genre strikes your fancy, I recommend snagging these. There are some classics here and plenty of fun to be had, so it is awesome to have them in new places for more players to enjoy.

MSRP: $9.99 (each)
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch
Price I’d Pay: $9.99 (each)

Kicking off this collection are two shooters from the 16-bit era that lots of players have likely heard of, but never played. Panorama Cotton and Cotton 100%. These are two very different games if you can believe that with one being a traditional horizontal shooter, while the other takes a unique approach by heading into a behind the back perspective. Both games are also deemed cute ‘em ups and can certainly be challenging.

Cotton 100% Score: 7.0

Cotton 100% is the traditional horizontal shooter that was originally released on the Super Famicom. This was a direct sequel to the original game. The series is built around the mechanic of gems to power-up shots. There are also magic elemental attacks. These can now be swapped at any time allowing for more diverse game play outside of the standard shooting. This port has all the menus in English, but everything else is in Japanese. All of these ports are just that. The only work is done in converting the menus and adding a few features here and there, but they are basically just ports onto new consoles.

Panorama Cotton Score: 6.5/10

Panorama Cotton is a little different, the most obvious change is the perspective. This entire game takes place from a third-person perspective that is more akin to a rail shooter than a shooter. The game handles the perspective really well. The original game was released on the Sega Master System, but this version is built on the original. This game looks really good, even all these years later. Games of this type make a really good impression and hold up well over time. Both Cotton games are must plays for shooter fans.

It is great to get these classics on more consoles and I hope ININ Games continues to port these titles to more platforms. Classic games are quickly forgotten, but now with console generations really disappearing as everything is available across generations, let’s get these things on storefronts so people can stop chasing outlandish prices for the original cartridges. At the end of the day just being able to experience these games in as many places as possible is the ultimate goal.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.