White Butterfly

By: Derek Yu

On: January 30th, 2009

White Butterfly is a new shoot ‘em up from Linley Henzell, who’s probably best known for the roguelike Crawl, but has also created a number of interesting shmups (e.g. Garden of Colored Lights). WB features 3 stages, 4 playable ships (plus one unlockable), and a unique power-up mechanic: each ship is armed with three different shots which can be leveled up individually, but are only upgraded when each shot has reached the next level. Thus, the game encourages the player to use each weapon equally.

WB is unforgiving, and reaching the end of even the first stage should prove a challenge for most players. Thankfully, beating a stage allows you to replay from the beginning of the next one, with each of your weapons powered at the lowest power level that you beat the stage with. Extra ships are awarded at every 2000 points. Good luck!

TIGdb: Entry for White Butterfly