Recca is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed by KID and published by Naxat Soft for the Family Computer. Controlling the titular space fighter craft, the player is sent to counterattack an invading alien armada while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The ship has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can be used as shield and clear the screen of enemies and bullets when fully charged.
Known for pushing the Famicom hardware to the limits with its uncompromising high number of sprites and speed, Recca was created for a shooting game competition hosted by Naxat Soft called "Summer Carnival", which took place on July 17, 1992 and featured alongside the PC Engine CD-ROM² shooter Alzadick. It was programmed by Shinobu Yagawa, whose later works includes Battle Garegga, Ibara, Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara and Muchi Muchi Pork!. The game was released in Japan amid focus shifting to the Super Famicom, resulting in few copies sold when released to the market and is considered by gaming journalists as one of the rarest, most valuable and sought-after Famicom titles.
Recca received mostly positive reception from critics for pushing the Famicom to its limits; praise was given to its action, game modes, music and fun factor but criticism was geared towards the unsuitable difficulty for beginners and graphics. It was re-released worldwide on the 3DS Virtual Console via Nintendo eShop in 2012 and 2013, marking the game's first international appearance. Retrospective commentary has been positive and is regarded as a precursor to modern bullet hell games.
Gameplay
frame|left|The second stage
Recca is a fast-paced vertically scrolling shooter where the player controls the Recca415 space fighter craft in the year 2302. An invading alien armada plans to destroy mankind after obliterating the Andromeda galaxy shortly after humans made a peace agreement with its inhabitants. There aree three modes of play: "Normal Game", "Score Attack" and "Time Attack". The game was programmed by Shinobu Yagawa, whose later works at Raizing and Cave includes Battle Garegga, Ibara, Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara and Muchi Muchi Pork!. The visuals were drawn by a graphic designer only known by the pseudonym of "Etsuka" and the music was composed by Nobuyuki Shioda. The game uses a technique similar to Contra, where sprite effects such as explosions are shown at 30 frames per second (fps) instead of 60 fps to work around the system's sprite limitations. Due to the amount of memory available on the cartridge, Shioda claimed that Yagawa was able to implement features such as the second loop and the boss sprite shown after the credits sequence for fun. On September 21, 2005, an album featuring the game's music titled Legend Consumer Series - Summer Carnival '92 Recca Original Soundtrack was published in Japan by Scitron. It was also released in PAL regions and North America on the Nintendo eShop on August 15 and September 5, 2013 respectively, marking the game's first international appearance.
Reception
Recca received mostly positive reception from critics. However, public response was mixed; Japanese readers of Family Computer Magazine voted to give the title a 16.8 out of 30 score, indicating a middling following among the Famicom userbase. According to composer Nobuyuki Shioda, the game did not sell many copies during its release. Plays Dai Kohama praised the game's technical details for pushing the Famicom far beyond what would seem to be possible on the system, with high quality music and effects as well. Time Extension noted the game as historically significant to the evolution of the bullet hell format.