Old school shooter fans rejoiced when the original Nanostray was released for the DS back in July of 2005. Immediately sucked in by the frenetic gameplay and unparalleled graphics being displayed on the DS, gamers were hungry for more and Shin’en heard their cries.

Now with the upcoming release of Nanostray 2, both current fans of the series and newcomers will welcome the vast improvements over the already solid original. Here’s a little taste of what they have in store for them:

Controls

• Users are no longer forced to use the touch screen. In place of just one control choice, now there are three control schemes included:

1. Classic Control (All controls are mapped to the D-Pad and buttons)

2. Left Handed Touch Control

3. Right Handed Touch Control

• When using control 2+3 the player uses their stylus to directly move the ship.
• By tapping on the screen they cycle through their weapon configurations. The sub/top screen is swapped when playing with those controls.
• All menus and also the weapon installation systems can be controlled with the stylus or the normal controls.

GamePlay

• Alternating for each level between the classic vertical viewmode (as known from Gradius, R-Type) and horizontal viewmode (Ikaruga, DoDon Patchi). This guarantees more challenges and variety between the levels.

• Difficulty settings now change the actual gameplay, not only energy settings.
• No more unlimited continues. Limit to 5 Continues. Continues increase with playtime.
• Much more interesting gameplay due to more interaction with the ambience.
• New Satellite Weapons can be programmed.
• 32 Challenges to solve. Challenges are new designed, no reusing of levels.

Internet Ranking

• No more manually entering of codes at 'www.nanostray.com' but automatic WiFi upload by using the Nintendo Ranking server.

Visuals

• In addition to the new top down (not-angled) view, new special effects and improved overall design allow for stunning cut-scenes and introduction parts.

Audio

• The soundtrack contains more then 20 different energetic songs.
• There is now voiceover for all cut-scenes.

New Weapon System and Unlock Features

• Equip your ship with a new arsenal of satellites, and upgrade each weapon through gameplay.