Nanostray

Did You Know?

• The game was ported and published by Taito in Japan on January 26, 2006.
• Famitsu Cube + Advance gave the game a score of two eights and two sevens.

Gameplay

The player defeats waves of small enemies followed by stronger ones. Destroying an entire wave releases a blue powerup that restores the power weapon bar. Enemies may also drop coins worth points. Each level ends with a boss that reflects the level's theme. Three difficulty settings are available: Normal, Advanced, and Expert. As difficulty increases, the number of lives, energy, continues, and smart bombs replenished after losing a life decreases. The Nintendo DS touch screen is used for boss scanning, radar, and weapon management. Four weapon types exist, ranging from a basic forward-firing laser to a side-only weapon and a forcefield generator. Each weapon has a limited-use special attack that is a stronger version of its standard attack. Four game modes are offered: Adventure, Arcade, Challenge, and Multiplayer. In Adventure mode, clearing levels unlocks them in Arcade mode and adds challenges to Challenge mode. The first three stages (Mitsurin Jungle, Mokuzu Depths, Sunahara Desert) can be played in any order, as can the next three (Hibashira Plains, Sekihi Belt, Sekai Outpost). After those, the player must clear Chuuroh City to reach the final stage, Zenshoh Station. Arcade mode tasks the player with scoring as many points as possible on Advanced difficulty; clearing a stage generates a passcode for online ranking. Challenge mode presents 22 challenges with conditions such as minimum score, no smart bombs, no sub weapon, or only one life. Beating a challenge unlocks extras like background music and concept art. Multiplayer mode supports two players in four competitive modes: 120s, 60s, 25k, and Bonus Race. Nanostray supports wireless single card download, so only one cartridge is needed.