Earthion

Genre: Shmup Developer: Ancient Publisher: Ancient Players: 1 Released: 2025

When Yuzo Koshiro first announced in 2022 that his company, Ancient, was working on a new Genesis title, my ears quickly perked up. When I learned it would be a shmup, I was instantly onboard. With Ancient’s excellent work on games like Streets of Rage 2 and Beyond Oasis, Ancient is well versed in making Sega’s 16-bit wonder sing. Needless to say, it was a fan’s dream come true to learn that the studio was back into developing software for it. Now, the Steam version of Earthion has arrived, and though the game should be tweaked several times before it’s finally released in physical form on Genesis next year, what we’ve played is the same game. You know there was no way I would wait an entire year to review this!

As we all know, Earthion is a 64-Meg retro-style side-scrolling shooter, with Koshiro and planner, director, and programmer Makoto Wada (Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness, Royal Anapoko Academy) attached. You take on the role of pilot Azusa Takanashi, a former environmental researcher who’s battling to defend the Earth from an alien menace in the powerful fighter spacecraft YK-IIA. Unlike many indie titles that are retro-inspired, Ancient dove fully to the retro aesthetic, with an upcoming physical Sega Genesis cartridge release planned to sit alongside this PC and console releases later this year. True to its roots, it delivers pixel-packed graphics, wonderfully chunky sprites, and a soundtrack that would’ve felt at home back in the prime of 16-bit gaming’s heyday.

The gameplay is focused on power-up collection and the strategic juggling of a suite of sub-weapons. YK-IIA is a multi-purpose ship, and you can activate individual weapons when needed (one main and one sub-weapon). Earthion follows the cardinal rule of shmup weapon systems: keep it simple. The time-honored standards are there, like three-way shot and homing lasers, and they can be fired independently or simultaneously. Both weapons are powered up through Solrium crystals, little green crystals dropped by enemies once they’re defeated. Moreover, if you’re lucky enough to grab one and hold onto it through the boss fight, Adaptation Pods that allow ship upgrades at the end of each stage. Your ship has a shield, and once it’s gone, you lose the sub-weapon you have equipped. This introduces a strategic layer absent in most shmups; players will have to carefully consider risk and reward when choosing upgrades or switching guns in the middle of a run.

To save the Earth across its eight stages, Earthion sports various levels of difficulty right out of the gate to please both hardcore and casual gamers. Veteran starfighters may be able to finish the game in a few hours, but novices (and scrubs like me) will enjoy its more forgiving mechanics like the rechargeable shield and checkpoint restarts as a friendly introduction. However, the game doesn’t shy away from challenge, especially at higher difficulty levels, and levels are designed to keep you on your toes with tight obstacles and hordes of enemies. Once you’ve beaten the main game, there are several time-limited challenges that can be tackled to add more replayability. What’s really cool is that Earthion uses a password system that lets you carry over your progress, including weapon upgrades, sub-weapon slots, and even lives to the next play session. A backup save would have been ideal, but the passwords aren’t excessively long.

Graphically, Earthion is beautiful but not flawless. The stages are varied and beautifully drawn, with an amazing use of color. The PC version particularly has full and lively sprites, and I noticed no slowdown or flicker during multiple playthoughs; however, this fullness sometimes interferes with gameplay and renders some important details difficult to discern, particularly on higher levels. It can be a visibility issue, especially in areas with dense effects or poor contrast between foreground and background objects. It’s not a major issue, and it’s possible that it could be adjusted before final cartridge release. I also reserve judgement about the aforementioned lack of slowdown and flicker. Though this is essentially a Genesis ROM running on an emulator, we don’t know how much extra horsepower Steam is pumping into this version compared to a cartridge game played on a stock Genesis console.

One area where there is certainly no reason to doubt is the sound. Koshiro’s soundtrack is a highlight, blending wonderful Genesis-style synths with pumping compositions that match the arcade-like action ideal. The sound effects are great, and there are some YouTuber-powered voice samples to round out the atmosphere courtesy of Joe Redifer of Game Sack and Johnny Millennium, though they are a bit scratchy. The soundtrack is available on vinyl and cassette (!) through Limited Run Games, and it’s absolutely worth purchasing separately.

I can’t recommend Earthion enough. If you’re a fan of old school shmups or Koshiro’s work in general, then this game is a no-brainer for you. I had a ton of fun with the Steam version I purchased, and I will absolutely be adding the Genesis physical release to my library. The game is incredibly polished and well made, and it’s clear that Ancient poured a ton of love and effort into making its return to the console a memorable one. In just about every way, Ancient has succeeded in that mission.

If there are any major changes to the final Genesis release, I’ll amend the review to reflect them. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and grab Earthion for whatever console you prefer. It’s extremely polished and sets a new bar for what an aftermarket Genesis title should be (I seem to be saying that a lot lately). Earthion is a top-tier shmup and one of the best on the console. Gems like this are why the Genesis will never die!