New Famicom games are always something I tend to keep an eye on, and one in particular was definitely 2024's Changeable Guardian Estique. Developed by Cat Hui Trading, and published physically for the Famicom and NES by Broke Studio, Estique was absolutely worth more than a second look, though if you missed its purchase window, getting your hands on it now is pretty pricey.
Normally we'd be conceding that perhaps a ROM might be the way to go, but oh! No worries, because the very same game was also released on Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series consoles, so you can still play it while supporting its developers, all with some neat quality-of-life improvements and meaty features.
Estique is an interesting title. Sure, a great many shoot-em-ups have implemented a changeable ship a-la-Macross to some degree, starting with – you guessed it – Formation Z. Moreover, of them, the form you choose to wage war in dictates how various attributes such as speed, hitbox, and fire patterns behave.
This also happens in Estique, and while both forms move at the same rates and their weaponry translates more or less identically between the two forms, which can be changed between a barrier-style defensive weapon and a wide-shot offensive type—the main tactical difference lies in Estique's special attacks.
Along the bottom of the screen, a number of bullet icons will be found, which represent how many special attacks the player can activate. Collecting a weapon icon will add one special attack to the stock, and collecting another when the stock is full will auto-engage a free special on pickup. In fighter form, when the barrier is engaged, the special attack will send orbiting bits flying around the player at high speed while overdriving the forward shots. With Wide in play, all shots will increase in power and fire at a higher rate of speed.
While in Robot mode, though, both weapons give way to a slow-moving wave attack that cuts through everything in its path while also clearing bullets. In both cases, additional score bonuses will be awarded, with the robot form's wave attack being worth twice as much per kill. The player will also become invincible for a brief window of time, allowing traversal of enemy shots.
Unlike many games of its kind, Estique also does away with lives per se. Instead, a lifebar will deplete as Estique takes damage. When it empties out, the Estique is destroyed, and Game Over will follow. Thankfully, you can recover life in various ways, most effectively by collecting a Cat icon (which also replenishes special weapons at a faster rate than weapon pickups!).
Played over the course of six stages, Changeable Guardian Estique can be a little on the challenging side until you figure out the I-frames through special usage, but a 1-Credit-Clear can be pretty swift from there. Of Course, several difficulty levels are available to ratchet up the challenge.
Most of its development was handled by ex-compile and ex-M2 staff, so you know you're in for a game that has a rock-solid frame rate with not a ton of flicker, something that was widely praised with its Famicom and NES release. Its presentation is pretty stellar on the whole, but there are a few confusing bits to it all. Like the majestic mountains of... London. Oh, and let's not forget the arid mesas of New York, Arizona.
I also noticed some input delay, which is only ever-so-slight, but very apparent side-to-side when compared with the Famicom original. But, as my Xbox 1CC proves, it's not such a big deal.
The story is also quite different between the NES and Famicom versions, which this singular release includes, but it will be locked to its respective region's language. Break out that translator. For the modern console and PC release, various unlockables, wallpapers, a gallery, a rewind mode, and online leaderboards round it all out.
On the whole, I do rather enjoy Changeable Guardian Estique. It's one of those titles that once it clicks, it really clicks. If you're itching for a little of the pew-pew-pew, you can do worse for more money. This is one of the good ones.