Progear no Arashi (Storm of Progia)

Capcom's CPS2 arcade hardware was no stranger to the STG (shooting game) genre. With many great titles like Giga Wing, 1944 The Loop Master, Dimahoo, Mars Matrix and more, the CPS2 had become a heavy hitter for fans looking for their next shmup fix. In 2001 the legendary developer Cave partnered with Capcom to produce a single entry on their aging but still impressive CPS2 hardware. This partnership produced one of the most legendary and sought after shmups of the classic arcade era, Progear no Arashi (Progear: Storm of Progia in the West). 

Cave is best known for creating blisteringly hard bullet-hell shmups in the tate monitor orientation; that is, the monitor flipped on its side to give a longer vertical playfield for the player. While they had received a generous amount of coverage and praise for their mid to late 90's hits like Dodonpachi, Cave would go on to keep the shmup genre alive in Japanese arcades through the the early part of the 21st century. 

Progear, then, is a bit of an anomaly that literally turned the bullet-hell sub-genre on its side by maintaining the standard 4:3 horizontal resolution that was more common in side-scrolling, pattern based shooters. The result is a unique, horizontally orientated bullet-hell experience that is widely considered to be one of the best shmups ever created. As Cave's sixth game in the STG genre, and their 8th game overall, Progear was originally intended to not only be a vertical shmup in the vein of their prior releases, it was also intended to be their final game. Progear went through a troubled development cycle in the late 90's, mostly due to the limitations of the aging CPS2 hardware compared to Cave's bespoke arcade boards that were significantly more capable. But, as many interactive artists will attest to, some of the best game designs in the industry are born out of creating breakthrough solutions to overcome hardware limitations. Progear is no exception. What Cave created with Progear is not only a testament to their game design prowess, but also to the CPS2 hardware itself. 

As with most arcade games, Progear's story is mostly fluff but there are some interesting tid-bits. Rather than cast adults in the staring roles, the pilots are all adolescents. The two main pilots, Ring and Bolt, join one of three selectable gunners, Chain, Nail, and Rivet, as they battle against the Metoruin Sages to reclaim their home country of Parts from being overthrown. Upon beginning your mission you select one of the two pilots, then one of the three gunners. Each of the pilots and gunners have unique traits that allow you to customize your loadout somewhat before beginning your mission.

• Ring (Pilot): Has a wide shot and faster speed.

• Bolt (Pilot): Has a straight shot and is slightly slower

• Three Gunners: Each of the three gunners has one of three types of shots: straight, spread, and multi-direction.

The variety in the type of ship you build increases replay value as each combination has a significant impact on gameplay. You'll need to test out the combinations and find the one that works best for your approach. Personally, I find that the combination of Ring and Chain (wide main shot with a straight shot gunner) fits my play style the best. 

As you move through each stage, downed enemies will sometimes drop a P icon that will increase your firepower. You can collect up to four P icons which will make your power level and shot spread larger with each pick up. After you reach full power, any additional P icons you collect will become a score bonus. A nice touch is that upon losing a life all of your collected P icons will become available for pick up again. Basically, you are never in a situation where you are not at full power.

Progear is in the STG sub-genre called bullet-hell. This means that for the majority of your play time you will be faced with large waves of dozens to hundreds of bullets on screen at once that you must carefully maneuver through. Like other Cave games, you are presented with two shot modes that will help you deal with the onslaught of bullets. The key to playing Progear is to learn when to use each mode to either maximize your firepower when you need it, or to favor mobility to get out of hairy situations. Expect it to take you 2-3 credits to get the cadence down if you've never played before. 

• Fighter Mode: This mode is like most other shmups where you repeatedly press the fire button and have normal movement speeds. While your gunner does help out in this mode, your pilot's shot spread takes the lead. This mode is all about mobility over fire power and is best used in situations where you need to quickly get out of harms way.

• Gunner Mode: Holding down the fire button puts you in gunner mode. Your gunner takes center stage here by focusing their shots directly in front, above, or below you depending on where the biggest threat is. You cannot control the gunner outright. Rather, they home in on targets automatically while your pilot's gun shoots a smaller, but more focused wave of bullets straight ahead. This mode is all about firepower and precision, so it comes at the cost of ship speed. You'll spend a generous amount of time in this mode as it covers multiple scenarios: you have multiple enemies above and below you that you need to get rid of, you have a large curtain of bullets ahead of you that you'll need to carefully weave through, and finally, if you need a lot of concentrated firepower directly in front of you (like with a boss).

Like most games in the STG genre, once you master the bullet patterns in each level the core of the gameplay loop switches from "stay alive at all costs" to "get the highest score." Also like many other games in the genre, the scoring system is much more complex than "shoot the enemies for a few hundred points each." Score multipliers in Progear are based around chain reactions you can cause through explosions. While each enemy type has a score bonus tied to it, your goal is to create the largest explosions, with as many bullets on screen as possible. Bullets caught in explosions will create medallions you will need to collect that boost your score and add to your rank. But the types of medallions that drop, which determines their value, also depends on which shot mode you are in when you triggered the explosion. The more medallions you collect, the higher your rank will be, and the better score bonuses you'll receive. 

Bombs also play a role in the scoring system. While you do get bonuses for not using bombs, bombs cause huge screen explosions that suck in bullets and immediately turn them into medallions to collect. Basically, if you feel you are about to get overwhelmed by a huge wave of bullets, using a bomb will save your neck but it has the adverse affect of lowering your overall rank. The higher the rank, the more powerful your bomb attack. You only get three bombs per life, but there are usually a couple of bomb drops throughout each stage to help rebuild your arsenal. Your end of level gunner rank is dictated by how many bombs you used, lives lost, medallions collected, etc. 

Rather than manually collecting the dozens of medallions that litter the screen after a successful chain explosion, switching your shot mode will vacuum in all the medallions that are on the screen. Because you should already be changing shot modes often, this will happen without thinking about it too much. That said, you'll still need to have a watchful eye as you can get "in the zone" in gunner mode and let dozens of rank boosting medallions fall off the screen into oblivion if you're not careful. The arcade default grants you one extra life for your first 3,000,000 points, then an extra life for every 4,000,000 points after that. I usually get my first extra life between the end of stage 3 and middle of stage 4.

Progear is also a pretty short game. There are five stages in total, and each stage is a bit longer than the last. That said, there is a clear increase in difficulty that is present in each stage as you progress. This gives the overall difficulty curve a sense of balance I feel is missing in many other shooters. Bosses are wonderful tests of your skill, with bullet patterns that are expertly crafted to test your reflexes but always provide a way out. Just like the levels, the length of the boss battles increase with each stage. After the game is all over, you can enter a second loop which increases the difficulty and changes bullet and enemy patterns somewhat. Stage 4 is worth mentioning because rather than the screen scrolling horizontally, the screen scrolls vertically. Even though that's the case, the horizontal orientation of your plane and enemies stay untouched. This level is all about smart use of your gunner, and using the entire space of the screen to circle around your foes to find little breaks in the walls of bullets to zip through. Once you get this stage down it's SUPER satisfying. 

The difficulty in Progear will feel a bit different depending on the player. Hard core bullet-hell junkies may find the game a bit on the easy side on the default difficulty, while casual STG fans will find a hard, but 100% fair challenge. I'm a casual STG fan who typically favors pattern based shooters over bullet-hell, and I feel that Progear strikes a difficulty curve that sits somewhere in between the two. While entirely subjective, I also feel that Progear is the most approachable bullet-hell game overall, and is a great entry point for gamers like me who have always been intimated by them.

Progear is one of the most beautiful 2D games I've ever laid eyes on. Despite the limited color pallet of the CPS2 (about 4,000 colors on screen), each stage is busting with color and vibrant details in the backgrounds. Everywhere there are little flourishes of animation and detail that are easy to miss because of the onslaught of bullets. Just the fact that the developers took the time to add this level of detail to worlds that you barely get to pay attention to is a testament to the love and care that went into the development of the game. All the bullets are brightly colored blue orbs that are easy to see among the richly detailed backgrounds, so you'll always know where the danger is. Score medallions are easy to tell apart from the bullets and do not litter the screen or obstruct your view like in so many vertical bullet-hell games.

The presentation and setting is noteworthy as well, with a steampunk aesthetic that brings to mind Katsuhiro Otomo's classic anime Steamboy. Bi-planes, zeppelins, war ships, and all other manner of buildings and vehicles fit perfectly in the environments and are always clearly visible no matter how many bullets are on the screen. The level of pixel art mastery on display here is truly inspiring.

While the presentation of the game is stunning, the sound design is...fine. The explosions, engine sounds, and other effects are all well recorded and sound their part, but it is the music that leaves a bit to be desired. Don't get me wrong, it's all good (especially the boss theme), but it isn't as strong as Cave's other work. The standout track is the theme from the first stage, with a somber yet driving melody that easily gets stuck in your head. All subsequent stage themes work well enough in the context of the game, but they don't have as strong of a melody to pull them through like the music in the first stage. 

There are some key regional differences between the Japanese and international rom sets. For starters, the default difficulty in the Japanese version is set to 4 out of 8, while the international release's default is 2. The international release is also missing all of the voice overs from the Japanese version. This is a shame, as each pilot and gunner has their own commentary on what is going on during the game, as well as during the ending. The international release loses some charm because of the lack of character banter, but it's still a fully enjoyable experience. Additionally, a nice touch that is available in either region's rom set is the ability to select alternate outfits for the characters. Holding the start button on the select screen will change their outfits to their street clothes instead of their military garb. While this has absolutely no impact on the game, and this is the only time you see the pilots out of their ships, it's still a nice touch.

Progear is a masterpiece. The difficulty is approachable for newcomers to the genre, but is tough enough for seasoned experts to sink their teeth into. The pixel art on display pushes the CPS2 hardware to the limit as well, creating a rich tapestry of colors and details that bring this world to life. Despite the screen being littered with sprites and bullets at all times, there is little slowdown to speak of which makes the game feel sublime to play from start to finish. It is hands down my favorite game in the genre as a whole, and is the only bullet-hell I've ever had the desire to truly master. I whole heartedly recommend this game to STG junkies or the casual fan alike. 

Up until 2019 the only way to play this game was on real hardware or an emulation solution due to it never receiving a home port like many other CPS2 shooters. The Dreamcast would have been the perfect platform for this game, but even in Japan it remained exclusive to the arcade. Because there were so few ways to play the game, coupled with a more limited arcade release, Progear has held its value over the last 20 years and has become a holy grail arcade board that only the most ardent collectors and STG fans seek out. An authentic, non-phoenixed (resurrected) board will run almost $1000 in today's market. That said, a conversion can be had for a few hundred bucks if you're not picky about authenticity and just want to play on real hardware. A CPS2 multi solution from Darksoft is also a great option for fans that want access to all CPS2 games on real hardware. 

Thankfully, for more casual STG fans, you can get this game on Capcom's recently released Arcade Stadium pack on Nintendo's Switch console for $15. It is also included on Capcom's all-in-one home arcade stick that was released in 2019. That said, the best way to play this game is on real hardware as all other solutions add a fair amount of input lag, and not all rom variants are available. While the game is totally playable on Switch, hardcore fans may want to to find another solution as the lag will detract from second loop or higher difficulty play. Because this is my favorite shooter ever, I have an arcade board - but I got it before prices skyrocketed out of control in the last year or so. Regardless, my recommendation is to play this game anyway you can. It is a true masterpiece that should not be missed by any gamer.