Compatible emulators

Synopsis

Pink Sweets (also called “Ibara sore kara”) is the direct sequel to Ibara.

Pink Sweets is certainly the most poorly known Cave. It is Shinobu Yagawa's second project for Cave, a former key programmer at Raizing, also known for having created the legendary Recca on NES (1993) whose system was entirely modeled on Pink Sweets.

Theresa Rose was captured by the coalition led by Big Burn. You play as one of her daughters to go and save her, the Rose sisters, former bosses of Ibara: Meidi&Midi, Kasumi, Shasta and Lace. Each one benefits from the Ibara sprite in miniature.

From the title screen we are in the bath: magnificent artwork of a young girl in scanty outfits on a candy pink background and delirious Japanese voice. As in a good Raizing we have a mind-blowing choice of different styles: 4 very varied ships both in terms of shots and bombs (laser, missiles, lightning?). Add to this the 4 types for each ship (selecting by A, B, A+B or Start) which vary the shape of the shot and the speed.

The course will be long with 7 stages to punish you (including the classic "clouds" stage, the desert, a Lego castle,...). The quality is a little uneven, some decorations are magnificent while others are pre-rendered of poor quality (a minority fortunately). Overall the game is doing very well but we are still far from the aesthetics and manic detail of the first Ibara. Overloaded patterns go fast and cover the screen without slowing down. The bosses add big lasers on the colorful clouds of pellets. Special feature: we face toys and robots for 5 year olds! This particular design makes it a “Cute'em'up” which is reminiscent of a sort of parody of Ibara.

The soundscape enhances the crazy side: techno-dance music (sometimes epic) which brings rhythm.
As in Ibara, aerial enemies release a plethora of items to collect which constantly invade the screen: power ups, medals, options. This is where it quickly becomes overloaded and messy: it is not always easy to choose what to pick up.

Playability:
- Shot (A): main, widened or frontal shot. It is possible to modify the frequency by tapping.
- Rose cracker (B): when you are not shooting, a shield charges little by little with a visible bar. When it is full you can bomb (it's the Rose cracker) or stay with the shield which allows you to absorb certain enemy shots.
- Speed ​​(A+B): allows you to adjust the speed in 4 levels.
- Rose Hip: these are the options. It is possible to change the conformation (forward, backward, rotate, homing, etc.). They can be used independently of the shot and therefore used with the shield activated to do some damage. They can also serve as a shield.

To score, several possibilities such as absorbing the pellets. In fact, there are three categories of pellets: those that can be absorbed (by the shot or the shield) and those that should be avoided. You will also have to collect the medals by keeping the chain of 10,000 points and destroy the bosses part by part.

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