Sturmwind was originally released as a totally independent game back in 2013, and at the time it was lauded for its (inter)stellar visuals and thumping soundtrack, as well as adding relatively modern features not usually seen in Dreamcast games, either contemporary or ante-mortem. Things like unlocking achievements and being able to save a replay to an SD Card; or being given a code at the end of every arcade run that could be entered into a bespoke web portal to post scores to an online leaderboard.
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| Sturmwind...both on and in the Nintendo Switch. See? |
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| Dreamcast |
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| Switch |
As you'd expect, most of what made the original iteration of Sturmwind is present and correct in the Switch game, although if you're familiar with the Dreamcast original you'll notice some differences upon starting the game. For starters, the menus are totally different. Gone is the downbeat (and rather tranquil) menu music, replaced by a selection of more upbeat/epic instrumentals; and the menus themselves have been totally redesigned.
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| Dreamcast main menu |
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| Switch main menu |
The basics of gameplay are pretty much identical though - as you'd expect. I'm going to go out on a limb here by assuming at least a few of you reading this tripe have already played Sturmwind in the past, but for the benefit of those who haven't, I'll explain the basics. You control the space ship Sturmwind, flying through a series of stages based in space, under water, in huge foundries and refineries, and over the surface of alien worlds. As with most games in this genre, mindless waves of enemies will throw themselves at you in a kamikaze style, also occasionally lobbing the odd projectile in your general direction. Being hit by an enemy or a projectile will cause you to lose the ability to use whichever weapon system you're currently using (there are three), and once you've been hit three times, you ship is toast.
In effect, each of your weapons systems represents a 'life,' and they can also be upgraded and replenished should you lose it. This is where Sturmwind becomes quite a tactical shooter. The three weapons systems on offer all have different firing patterns and can all be fired forward or backwards and augmented with drones to enhance firepower. However, if you lose one system, collecting the correspondingly coloured power-up will reinstate it effectively giving you another chance should you be hit by an enemy. You're also equipped with a charged power shot and a powerful screen-clearing bomb, but its best to save those for the boss fights, natch. In no particular order, the systems are:
- Lichtblitz: a blue projectile stream that arcs upwards and downwards slightly that is especially powerful in underwater scenarios
- Nordwest: an orange projectile that can fire in a 360 degree arc around Sturmwind by letting go of the fire button
- Rudel: a green projectile that is very strong but leaves the Sturmwind exposed from above and below
Enemies will come at you from all directions, so it's down to you to work out which weapon system will help you in the situation you are in. Handily you can switch weapons at the touch of a button and switch the direction of fire - forward or backwards - with a similar tap of a button. This may feel like a gimmick initially, but it becomes a large part of playing Sturmwind when you find yourself in stages which move vertically rather than horizontally and when enemies decide to start rushing you from the rear.
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| Dreamcast |
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| Switch |
Sometimes, there's just so much happening on screen at once, that it's actually quite difficult to see enemy projectiles and also suss out which parts of the environment can harm you and what cannot. It comes down to trial and error initially, but once you've played a stage a few times you'll get to know what will kill you and what is a harmless bit of background furniture. Still, it can be annoying if something you thought was stage dressing actually turns out to be something nefarious...and especially so if you're on your last life.
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| Dreamcast |
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| Switch |
So what does this Switch version offer over the Dreamcast game? Well, for starters all of the assets have been lovingly redrawn by lead developer Johannes Graf, meaning that the relatively lo-resolution models of the original have been given a lush new hi-res lick of paint. Likewise, the animated backgrounds which have started to look a bit long in the tooth on the Dreamcast have also been re-done, meaning Sturmwind EX looks better than ever either on HD displays or on the Switch's built in screen. I mean, Dreamcast Sturmwind wasn't exactly a bad looking game, but through the lens of 2019, you can see how certain effects were achieved using pre-rendered effects in the backgrounds and some enemies do have a certain 'shimmer' around the edges. None of this is present in the Switch game.
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| Here you can see the enhanced detail in the Sturmwind model on Switch (right) |
On Switch, Sturmwind runs at a locked 60 frames per second. The Dreamcast game targeted 60fps too, but there were occasions when a lot was happening or when complex effects were employed that the game dipped to 30fps to keep everything running well. And of course, while the Dreamcast game ran in a 4:3 ratio, the Switch runs in 16:9 such is the way of the world (or rather, TV dimensions and Switch displays) these days. One thing I found to be sorely missing was the cool intro cinematic from the Dreamcast game, but I'm told recreating the whole sequence at a higher resolution would have been more trouble than it was worth, and as Duranik was working with a publisher who had deadlines, it was deemed that putting all the effort into reworking the main game visuals took precedence over trying to upscale the older assets from the Dreamcast:
"It wasn't the same programming team for Sturmwind EX as in the Dreamcast version. On the Dreamcast we just took our time and included what we thought might be cool. For a hobby project this is fine, but when a publisher is putting some money behind a project they have a strict timetable and control all costs. So unfortunately, some things had to go - like the FMVs. I also would have
liked to do more on the menu with different background.
"In the end the decision was made to put the majority of development time into reworking the graphics and bringing everything to one level, and not mix parts with lower and high resolution or simply go with upscaling the old graphics and adding some scanline effects to hide it."
- Johannes Graf, Duranik
Interestingly, a large proportion of the little 'Easter eggs' present in the Dreamcast game have been totally stripped out, so gone are the references to the Atari Jaguar origins of Sturmwind (the original game was a tech demo called Native for the Jaguar CD); and likewise the blink-and-you'll-miss-it references to games like Dropzone, Pacman and Lemmings are gone. This was due to copyright issues according to Duranik, and while I can totally appreciate this, it also makes the Dreamcast version that little bit more special as it still contains all the little nods to other classic titles.
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| In the Dreamcast version, you will find references to Sturmwind's Atari Jaguar origins... |
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| But in the Nintendo Switch version, many of these Easter eggs are removed. |
Sturmwind EX on the Nintendo Switch then, is pretty much everything you would want or expect from an update of the classic Dreamcast indie. Totally reworked visuals are married perfectly with the tried and tested gameplay and stages you will remember. There are no new gameplay modes (the Story and Arcade mades are pretty much the same), but the similar soundtrack and sound effects give it a sense of reassuring familiarity.
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| Dreamcast |
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| Switch |
Sturmwind EX is developed by Duranik and published by b-alive GmbH, and is available on Nintendo Switch, Steam and Xbox One now. The original Dreamcast version was published by RedSpot Games in 2013 and re-released by Duranik in 2016 and is also available now...but beware those ridiculous eBay prices!
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1 comment:
Glad to see the port came out so well. This is cool!
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