SORA

Overview

SORA is a bullet hell doujin title that was released at Comiket 78 by indie developer Orange_Juice. A much more refined game than SUGURI, SORA builds upon the dodge mechanics and tweaks various small aspects of game play that originated from SUGURI. It also features a refined version of Match mode from SUGURI that is similar to the Acceleration titles.

Scenario

A rough translation of the game's opening explains that SORA is about a young girl that showed potential for fighting. The people around her were glad to use her in their war and modified her body. The intro also explains that the war has gone on for so long, that people have forgotten what they're truly fighting for. During Sora's first mission the death of an enemy influences her to end the war herself.

Game Play

Auto Lock On

Sora can auto lock onto enemies. A toggle allows Sora to turn it off so she can fire freely in any direction if needed. It's also possible to select targets by moving towards an enemy and pressing the toggle button.

Shield and Specials

Both consume from the special meter. Specials form a shield around Sora that can protect her from any attack. Changing the setting to advanced mode will allow Sora to trigger only the shield allowing for better timing of specials and freedom of movement before engaging them.

Weapons

SORA has a wide selection of weapons to unlock much like SUGURI. Three weapons may be equipped at one time. Weapon linking is possible but raises heat. Special attacks now form a shield around SORA.

Dashing

SUGURI's unique dash mechanic makes a return in SORA only refined to offer more risk reward type game play. Sora can dash through most energy based attacks while building up heat. Staying still or doing normal movement cools Sora down. When high heat is built up Sora takes more damage but can also deal more damage with attacks and specials. It's still possible to dash cancel out of all attacks and SORA even goes as far as telling you when you perform a cancel.

Game Modes

Story

Select an unlocked stage to play through.

Arcade

Play through all stages to completion for a high score.

Match

Battle defeated bosses once again.

1.1 Patch

The 1.1 update to SORA provides several bug fixes and new music. The most notable addition is the extra stage added after completing the game. Without a stage description the extra stage seems to be a dream sequence where Sora faces off against young versions of Suguri and Hime one after another. During the battle with Suguri the screen actually changes into a "field" from the Acceleration games. After completing the stage a second credit screen rolls and a new title screen is awarded implying that SORA is SUGURI II or that SUGURI II is in the works.