KAIKAN

Hyper-aggressive shoot 'em up. Visually it is fairly standard, looking like a by the numbers 90s arcade game at a glance. The game does utilize some nice scaling and rotation to keep things interesting along with the scanlline / blur filter that does a good job keeping things presentable on higher res displays for those that prefer such a presentation. It seems a bit oppressive at first, but once you experiment with the different shot types and find a preference. You will quickly realize the game gives you enough to succeed.

⚖️ MATCHING EXPECTATION: * 🟢 = Available = Fun +1 * 🔴 = Not Available = Fun -1 * Match Nothing = 0 Fun 🟢 Powerful Weapons 🟢 Large Groups of Enemies with different pattern 🟢 Constant Explosions 🟢 Score Attack for replay value 🟢 User friendly interface & controls 🔴 Online Coop / Local Splitscreen 🔴 Rechargable Shield 🔴 Slow Motion Ability 🔴 Complex Mechanism 🔴 Long Hours Content fMeter FUN fUN METER DISCOUNT COMMUNITY REVIEWER A+ 5 Loving it No Wait - - A 4 Liked it No Wait ✔ ✔ B 2-3 Half satisfied Wait 50% - - C 1 Less interested Wait 75% - - D 0 Not what you need Wait 100% - - 🏅 Community Rating: Very Positive ⚖️ fMeter {A} Worth a play, if you enjoy Mastery through Score Chasing. However, if you're looking for Complex Mechanism for long hours Boss Fight, don't play it 🔎 Check the full list for your preferred gameplay 👇 https://steamcommunity.com/groups/expectationchecklist/discussions/1/589562920377175629/ 🕘 IMPRESSION: * Year 2023: Game released * 1 month later: Received a free copy from Developer * Year 2026: Start playtest for the first time * 60 min later: Suprisingly good :D 🔊 TESTER MUST KNOW: * Hi-Score will be reset if player use continue credit * No exit warning & Hi-Score will be wasted * Reset button = Exit back to main menu 💎 SAME GENRE COMPARISON: * 6 playable ships available at the beginning * Powerful primary attack * Ton of coin drops * Cease fire will automaticly collect coins from a long distance * No checkpoint save * No customize aircraft / gameplay * Optional homing attack as primary weapon * Optional scanline in video setting * Optional brightness & contrast in video setting * Optional rebind controls * Optional play back recorded gameplay ⚠️ RUMOR CHECKING: * Limited content ➜ True, especially entire game can be finish in 1 hour * It can overwhelm newcomers ➜ Sudden bullet density kill newcomer easily * Bosses also die way too quickly ➜ I think the health bar is long enough for this genre, unless you want bullet sponge kind of boss fight * Truly a great game, highly recommended ➜ Agree. Unless you're not ok with short and simple game Remember to 👍 for me if you liked this review: 🔔 More similar reviews ➜ Browse Here and follow this Curator, or 🤝 Visit Our Gaming Discussion ➜ We're Here 📢 Disclaimer regarding Short Hours & English Errors ➜ Read Here

KAIKAN is a focused vertical-scrolling shoot ’em up that embraces the fundamentals of old-school arcade design while introducing enough scoring complexity to make repeated play increasingly rewarding. Developed and published by zakichi, the game revolves around fighting through five stages with six different aircraft, each possessing its own weapon characteristics and tactical advantages. Rather than attempting to impress through an enormous campaign or elaborate narrative, KAIKAN concentrates on responsive shooting, enemy destruction, survival, and the pursuit of increasingly efficient high-score runs. At first glance, the action is easy to understand. Enemy formations appear, bullets begin filling the screen, and the player must destroy everything possible while avoiding incoming attacks. Beneath that familiar structure is a surprisingly involved item system. Eliminated enemies release bonus items, and continuously collecting them raises their rank and therefore their scoring value. Missing an item reduces the rank and triggers a penalty condition that temporarily changes how progression works. Consequently, maintaining a successful scoring sequence becomes almost as important as staying alive. The player is encouraged to move aggressively enough to secure valuable pickups without recklessly entering dangerous areas. One of KAIKAN's most interesting mechanics is the ability to manipulate bonus items through the firing controls. Releasing the shot button attracts nearby items toward the aircraft, while firing again causes attracted items to resume falling. This simple interaction creates an unusual relationship between attacking and collecting. Constant firing is not necessarily the most efficient strategy because temporarily stopping can help secure valuable items. Experienced players therefore have to develop a rhythm between shooting, positioning, collecting, and dodging. What initially appears to be a conventional arcade shooter gradually reveals itself as a game built around carefully managing several interconnected systems. Bombs are equally important. Normal bonus items contribute toward a bomb gauge, eventually providing a bomb that can be stored. Holding one offers additional protection because receiving a hit can activate an automatic barrier, sacrificing the bomb instead of immediately leaving the player defenseless. Manually activating the bomb has significant offensive and scoring benefits, however. Enemy bullets caught in its effect become special bonus items, while enemies struck by the explosion can produce additional bomb-related rewards. These special items are worth more than ordinary pickups and increase a separate counter, turning bombs into strategic scoring tools rather than weapons reserved exclusively for emergencies. Boss battles take advantage of these mechanics by connecting the accumulated counter to time and scoring opportunities. Destroying bosses and their individual components efficiently can produce valuable rewards, while boss-related items contribute toward the BOSSMEDAL system used during the final confrontation. This gives earlier performance consequences later in a run. Players who simply want to finish the stages can approach these mechanics more casually, but high-score hunters will need to understand how item collection, bomb usage, boss destruction, and medal accumulation influence one another. The six aircraft add another substantial layer of variety. Type A specializes in explosive napalm attacks, while Type B offers a wide shot suitable for covering large areas. Type C uses homing weaponry, Type D spreads fire across much of the battlefield, and Type E emphasizes powerful blast attacks. Type F is particularly distinctive because its rotating ball can erase enemy bullets. Weapon behavior also changes during low-speed movement, meaning aircraft selection affects much more than appearance. Learning the strengths of each machine can dramatically alter routes through stages and…