Psyvariar Medium Unit - Stage 1
Video gameplay of Medium Unit (credit: Smraedis)
Psyvariar is a vertical scrolling shooter released in arcades in 2000 by Success. There were two separate versions of the game, and they were both ported to the PS2 in 2003 as 'Psyvariar: Complete Edition'. The arcade versions were not available outside of Japan.
Psyvariar: Medium Unit[]
Medium Unit was the first version to be made, and is the easiest out of the two. The game contains a variety of stages. For the player to be able to choose harder stages he or she must have reached the required level or higher. The game features a 'buzz' gameplay style.
Buzzing[]
Buzzing is the main purpouse of this game. It is not required to advance, but it makes up to it. The player has a small hitbox at the centre of the fighter, this hitbox is much smaller when the ship is rolling. When the player gets hit in the hitbox with either a bullet or an enemy unit they lose one life, but if the player gets hit anywhere else on the ship a 'buzz' occurs. Enemy bullets can only be 'buzzed' once.
When the player gets enough buzz points he or she will level up. For about 1.5 seconds after leveling up the player will be invincible and surrounded by a shield. This allows the player to buzz at a higher rate that usual. When a certain level is reached the fighter will transform, and it's bullet pattern will be slightly different than before.
Psyvariar: Revision[]
Revision is a remake of the original version and was released some time after. It featured the same stages, but re-ordered and some minor edits. In Revision, to be able to reach the harder stages, you are obligated to reach higher levels than before.
The buzzing mechanic is almost identical. In this game, a bullet can be buzzed as many times as possible. This allows the player to reach higher scores and levels.
This game also contains a 'Replay Mode', which let's you watch replays of stages and choose a stage to play. A replay is unlocked only if the player completes a stage without using up any continues.
Psyvariar: Complete Edition[]
The PS2 port of Psyvariar was released in Japan and Europe, and it contains both Medium Unit and Revision with updated graphics. It also features an optional Replay Mode for Medium Unit.