Anna Holinski is just a regular space treasure hunter who wants to hunt for treasure. But when she encounters Queen Umelda of the Potalians, who’s pilfered all of her jewels, she ends up being charged with defeating her and saving the universe! This side-scrolling bullet hell shooter is a sequel to an indie side-scroller called Hori Slash, featuring the same heroine.
Anna zooms along in her jetpack-equipped spacesuit, which includes a drill and a basic weapon. It also comes equipped with a bubble-shaped force field, which slows down any bullets that come near here, making them much easier to dodge when the going gets tough. Her suit has limited energy though, which automatically drains as you fly along and takes a big hit whenever you take damage. Whenever you defeat one of the many mini-bosses, it’ll drop a power-up that cycles between a brief shield dash, a temporary super laser, or an energy replenishment.
Destroyed enemies yield several types of gems, plus you’ll regularly come across mining sections where you can drill through the dirt to grab even more treasure. You’ll regularly come across the Space Manbow shop (a reference to the MSX2 Konami shooter by the same name) where you can trade in your treasure and purchase a whole assortment of upgrades, including stronger suits, bigger force fields, and better engines to reduce energy consumption.
Anna Holinski does its best to make a bullet hell shooter feel manageable. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but even if you take several hits, you’re always encouraged to get just a little bit farther so you can grab an energy power-up. Even if you run out and have to retreat, you keep all of your upgrades and your gems are converted to cash, plus you can choose to restart from nearly any stage you’ve visited. However, the game is balanced so grinding is more of an aid than a necessity, and expert players can still make it through without needing any upgrades.
The game’s immensely colorful HD visuals lend plenty of charm to this cute-m-up. Many of the stages take place in outer space but you’ll also visit a number of planets, where you’ll fight enemies like enormous one-eyed watermelons. There’s also plenty of cutscenes featuring Anna and Queen Umelda as they trade barbs with one another. The “Osyaberi” of the title refers to Anna’s running voiced commentary, though players who don’t understand Japanese will need to rely on subtitles, which often get lost in the shoot-em-up clutter of the game itself. There’s also an alternate mode where you can play as Umelda, who plays slightly differently.
The game could’ve used some balance tuning between power-ups, as the laser and shield are just too brief to be useful, and grabbing energy replenishments is almost always the best option. Most bullet hell shooters also have screen clearing bombs, which this game conspicuously lacks, though at least the bullet-slowing force field makes up for it. Nevertheless, the colorful characters and setting as well as the compelling mechanics make for an enjoyable time.
