Psyvariar

is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade game series developed by Success Corporation on Taito's G-NET hardware.
Psyvariar: Medium Unit.
Fighters.
Player's fighter has a hit box of 1x1 pixel at the centre of fighter.
In the beginning of a game, player's fighter is AXION 001. A fighter can gain levels by buzzing of destroying enemy units or buzzing. Once the fighter gains sufficient level, it changes form and its firing patterns are altered. Fighter's level is maintained between stages, lives, and credits.
Stages.
There a 6 stages in each game. After completing Stage 1 (Area 1), player can choose the area within the higher numbered stage to be completed. More difficult (and higher-scoring) areas become selectable only if the fighter's level reaches the requirement before choosing next stage.
If a stage is completed with only 1 credit, the high score for that area is saved in the game hardware's non-volatile memory, providing the score for that area is higher than previous record.
Buzz system.
Each time an enemy unit or bullet gets very close to player's fighter without destroying player's fighter, a "buzz" occurs. For each buzz, the fighter gains experience (indicated by meter at the top of the screen). When the fighter gains sufficient experience, its level increases, and it becomes temporarily invulnerable. During that period, fighter can inflict damages to enemy units by colliding. Player can use this short period to risk buzzing more bullets to quickly reach the next level, or to avoid particularly difficult bullet patterns. The collision area for trigger buzz to occur is a circular area surrounding fighter's hit box, covering the fighter's body.
When buzzing causes the fighter to transform, the damage to nearby enemy units increase. If a fighter is rolling, the buzz radius increases, fighter's hit box is reduced, and the buzz collision detection is only done once every 2 frames.
Psyvariar Revision.
The game is an update to "Psyvariar: Medium Unit". There are following changes:
Normal mode.
At the end of each stage, the game shows following statistics:
Replay mode.
It allows player to choose a stage for which a high score is available. Player can watch a replay for the chosen stage before playing. Player can choose up to 5 areas per game. When player starts a stage, player has the same number of fighters as the one in the replay stage. Unlike Normal mode, if player loses all lives in a stage, the game cannot be continued.
Stages.
In Normal mode, there are 4-8 stages in each game, depending on the fighter's level. In addition to the branching system in Psyvariar -Medium Unit-, After completing area 2, 3, or 4 stage with very high fighter level, the next stage becomes a danger stage (Area X), where the type of X-area depends on fighter's level. An X-area can only be played 1 time per game, with easier X-area played first. After completing an X-area stage, the next selectable stage is a higher numbered area (if one remains). If the 3rd X-area stage (stage 7) is completed with sufficient fighter level, the next stage is Area X-D. If a sufficiently high fighter level is not achieved the game will end after stage X-B.
If a stage is completed with only 1 credit, not only the high score of the area is saved, but also the replay for that area, providing the score for that area is higher than previous record. Once a replay for that area is saved, it becomes available in Replay mode.
In replay mode, there are following extra stages:
Area XX stage can only be played by completing Area X-D in replay mode. Once X-D has been completed, all Area XX stages become selectable. The Area XX stages are similar in design to their Area X counterparts but they have an increased number of enemies that fire denser bullet patterns.
SoftBank, DoComo, au versions.
It includes only 11 areas, but internet ranking is integrated into the phone service. Replays can be transferred between players.
Psyvariar: Complete Edition.
It is a compilation that contains both "Psyvariar: Medium Unit" and "Psyvariar Revision".
New features include:
Two special editions were also available in Japan. The "Special Sound Box" included an audio CD of the game's soundtrack, and the "Special Capture Box" included a gameplay DVD of both games being fully completed by expert players. The PlayStation 2 versions of the individual games were later released separately as budget range titles.
The European version retained all the features of the Japanese release and includes a 60Hz mode.
Reception.
On release, "Famitsu" magazine scored the game a 30 out of 40.
Soundtracks.
PSYVARIAR "THE MIX" is a remixed soundtrack published by Egg Music Records.