The Switch is becoming a mighty fine shmup machine. There have been some fantastic games within the genre being added, both new and classic. Pawarumi is an entry in the former camp; it’s a new, innovative shmup to be included in the Switch library.

Developer: Manufacture 43

Publisher: Manufacture 43

5 Hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $14.99

Pawarumi is a shmup through and through. Fly through the levels in a spaceship, blasting through enemies and dodging bullets. It isn’t just about beating the level and the inevitable boss at the end, but also about getting the highest score on each level. With three tiers of difficulty, each with an increasing number of levels to overcome, there is a perfect learning curve to ramp up your space shooting skills.

Though this may be a standard shump at its core, it is a good one. The controls are tight, allowing you to navigate the bullets and dive-bombing ships with precision (as long as you have the skills to do so). The graphics and background artwork are beautiful and colorful, but it never becomes too busy to see what you’re doing. As mentioned before, the different difficulty levels provide something for every proficiency, while also giving players the opportunity to grow and expand their skillset.

The bosses in Pawarumi are gorgeous and epic

However, the best thing about Pawarumi is that it implements some innovative ideas to change up the genre as well. A seemingly minor but very welcome implementation is that this is vertical shmup that is built to be played on a widescreen. By a “vertical shmup,” I mean that the screen scrolls from top to bottom. Typically, these types of games have vertical letterboxing – black bars or static artwork to make the screen appear longer in a widescreen setting. It is refreshing to be able to play this type of game in handheld mode and on a standard TV without losing anything.

The main feature of Pawarumi that sets it apart from of games in the genre is the color-based shooting mechanic, though. Your ship has three weapons, each with its own feature and color. Blue is a long, straight beam, Red is cone that fires homing missiles at any enemies that comes within it, and Green is three lasers that braid together. You also have a special attack, which can be triggered once it is ready. This has three levels and can be released for different amounts of damage depending on much it has been charged.

I’m shooting the green enemies with my green weapon to refill my shield

The enemies in the game also align with these colors; everyone is either blue, red, or green. The mechanic comes into play when you match up your weapon’s color with the color of the enemy. Each match-up has a specific outcome.

When you match the colors, it is called Boost; this heals your shield (the only way to recover health in the game). However, it also causes the enemy to shoot faster, so it can be a double-edged sword. The other match-ups are referred to as Drain and Crush. When you use blue against a red enemy, it causes Drain, which charges up your special attack. When you use blue against a green enemy, it causes Crush, which does extra damage to the enemy. The same goes for the match-ups of the other colors.

There is only one special attack, but at the 3rd tier, it can be devistating

This becomes a ton of fun when playing in the fast-paced environment of Pawarumi. It is possible just to use a single weapon, killing enemies and collecting their rewards; the enemies come in different colors often. However, and especially on the higher difficulties, this method will not lead to much success. It becomes imperative that you learn the correct match-ups and switch your weapon accordingly. I loved it when this whole mechanic came together. I would be working on building my special weapon up, and then I would take a hit by accident, and I would have to switch to recharging my shield so I wouldn’t die. When it clicks, it is incredible.

An issue that I have though is that Pawarumi allows only one life to get through an entire campaign. Each difficulty mode does offer a unique experience. Not only is challenge different, but also which levels are included and their order. However, every time you die, you have to start again from the beginning. I got pretty sick of the first levels from playing them over and over again just to get back to the area I was having trouble with. I would have loved a checkpoint or continue system. Even if they implemented a penalty for not completing it one life, having the ability to have more than a single chance to get through the game would have been preferable.

Trying to build up my special for one last blast at this boss

Pawarumi is a step in the right direction for contemporary shmup games. It may not be perfect, but it is fun to play. It also implements some unique features that brings this genre into the modern age. As long as you don’t mind smashing your head against the same levels over and over, this is an excellent entry to the genre.

As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments! For something with a completely different pace, check out our review of Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble. If you want to keep seeing ad-free content like this, please consider donating via Ko-Fi and Patreon. As volunteers, we appreciate all the support! Also, you can find us on Discord and Twitter, and even on YouTube and Twitch for some visual content.