Original Release: Kaneko, 1999, Arcade
The second of the S-branch of the series changes up the rules a little and adds a roster of about a dozen new animu ladies, now with phone numbers you can unlock that (used to) lead to hidden messages
Gals Panic S2 (Arcade, Kaneko, 1999)
Where to Buy: Arcade Museum, eBay
How to Emulate: Arcade Emulation Guide
Review by: Master-B
This was my first experience with the “S” branch of the Gals Panic series, information about it online in English is a little confused and vague but as best I can tell it’s kinda like the Street Fighter Alpha branch of the franchise: more colorful, slick and with experimental gameplay and presentation tweaks that deviate from the original formula.
One key thing that the “S” games seem to do is remove the photos of actual models, making the whole thing anime-style. You have to uncover at least 80% of the picture to win the level, but you don’t get the revealing Show Time unless you clear at least 90%. The problem there is that the level automatically stops once you go over 80%. But that whole system is kinda weird and inexplicable sometimes, I’ve accidentally trapped and killed a boss in a small area while having like 30% before and suddenly it rocketed me to 93% for reasons I didn’t understand.
Arbitrary rules that suddenly change on a dime are definitely a theme here, as the game acts like Dungeon Master Cartman after you get a couple levels in. One big example: there are now certain attacks that kill you while you’re in the “safe zone” borders that appear after a couple levels, they aren’t differentiated well from other types of attacks (nearly everything seems to be accompanied by a “WARNING” and the girl yelling at you in Japanese about it), and depending on the current screen composition / circumstances you literally might not be able to do anything about them.
The game mostly just seems to change the lineup of girls from the previous entry and add a smattering of new enemies/attacks and power-up items for your little ship/ball/whatever it’s supposed to be. The other big addition here is the inclusion of phone numbers given to you by the girl at the completion of each level. I couldn’t dig up any good information on these, and they’re almost certainly disconnected now, but best guess is they charged you to listen to some sort of recorded steamy message from the Gal in question’s voice actress.
Gals Panic S2 has an appealing presentation (though the art of the girls often isn’t particularly detailed and seems rushed), and it’s kind of fun to play at first, but after you get three or four levels in it gets incredibly carny and cheap with all the nonsense attacks it throws at you (plus a fairly tight level timer that was not balanced well given how cautious you’re forced to be).
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