8Bit/Digi

Go Forth Pizza Boy and You’ll Become a Legend

In my experience, retro-style games will either try to capture the feeling of another era, add their own take on a classic, or both. Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation is one such game that attempts to do both. It’s a PC-9800 inspired vertical scrolling shooter with a classic sci-fi theme, but aimed at hentai fans.

Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation is a fast-paced shoot’em up with all the hallmarks of a classic arcade game. The game starts easy but gradually puts the player’s skills to the test. It combines the story elements of a B-film adventure with its impressive artistic quality. One also can’t overlook the effort put into making a quality hentai game.

Invasion of the Giant Vixens

The galaxy is under attack by giant vixens that have been dropped on numerous plants in the solar system. The only hero who could stop them is a pizza guy with a pilot’s license – Captain Firehawk. Using his wits and gaming skills, he must battle the giant vixens along with their army. Aiding him will be his partner, Emmy, along with Shannon back at base. With their support, players will blast through waves of enemy forces before finally confronting the giantess.

Going in, I knew not to expect much from a game like Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation regarding the story. That said, the overall story itself is decent for such a game. It can be easily summed up as a hentai version of the “Raiders of the Lost Arcade” segment from episode 18, season 3 of Futurama. This isn’t to say the story rips off Futurama, but it does present its own successful spin on a familiar theme. To its credit, the game puts significant effort into creating the right kind of enjoyable cheese. As an arcade-style shooter crafted for a more mature audience, the overall story is on point.

A Shameless Fighter

Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation is a retro inspired vertical shoot’em up. It’s a fast paced experience with graphics that attempts to capture the essence of a PC-9800 game. The gameplay has players take command of a starfighter as they battle waves of enemy forces. Along the way, they collect coins that will determine your rating and pay for the fuel needed to leave the stage. Enemy forces are made up of alien ships that shoot at you from all directions. This makes players have to think fast and avoid getting hit.

At first, it may look like a typical arcade shooter, but it stands out when it comes to fighting the giantess. Players need to shoot off the giantess’s clothes before defeating the final boss. Failing to do this results in the giantess knocking you off the planet. Additionally, you need to have a set amount of coins to cover the fuel cost. If you don’t have enough coins for fuel, the mission fails. In summary, you need enough money for fuel and must blast off every article of the giantess’s clothing to complete the level. Thus forcing players to balance the two factors when and at the end of the stage.

Pizza Boy with a Pilots License

I find it’s best to have tempered expectations when it comes to hentai games. While the artistic choices might draw me in, I usually anticipate encountering performance issues or awkward controller configurations that can’t be easily adjusted. That’s why I was surprised by Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation—it exceeded my expectations. I was braced for a mediocre performance, but it turned out to be much better than anticipated.

The overall game had little to no performance issues during my playthrough. Any minor issues that did arise were easily overlooked. Players have the option to use either a console controller or a mouse and keyboard. The mouse and keyboard controls are flexible, allowing players to move their ship with either the cursor control keys or the WASD keys. Additionally, the game supports trophies, which is an added bonus for achievement hunters.

While it has all the hallmarks of a classic vertical-scrolling shooter, one also can’t overlook the artistic style. It has done a solid job of recreating the anime style of a PC-9800 era game. The visuals don’t look cheap or low effort but instead, a lot of attention was put into the details. One should take the time to appreciate the games overall artistic direction. Be it in the heat of combat, the visual novel portions of the story, or in the gallery.

Smashed and Ejected

The only issue with Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation is the absence of weapon upgrades or secondary weapons. Obtaining super weapons / secondary weapons or upgrading your arsenal is a hallmark of arcade-style shoot ’em ups. However, that concept is absent here. You can’t upgrade your weapons as you progress, nor are there any bombs or missiles available. All you have is your standard laser and nothing else. It might not be a big deal until you have one of those moments where a bomb would be very helpful.

Thankfully, it’s one of those issues that will not hamper the overall experience. Just find a way to overcome everything without a secondary weapon or upgrades.

Persistent Star Fighter

Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation is a retro inspired shoot’em up that will take players on an intense adventure. The story is basically Futurama but if it was a hentai while visual designs reminisce of the PC-9800 era. Those who enjoy adult games and retro inspired titles will enjoy this adventure. It has some shortcomings but they can easily be overlooked.

Disclaimer: I bought the game used for this review.

This review is the critique and thoughts of one writer. If you want to see how other critics felt then check it out on OpenCritic.

8Bit/Digi is an independent news outlet that provides insight into the video game and fandom community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation

9

Excellent

9.0/10

Pros

• A good story inspired by an episode of Futurama.
• Anime inspired visuals that capture the style of a PC-9800 game.
• Easy to learn gameplay mechanics and non-stop action.
• Quality game with little to no performance issues.

Cons

• The absence of weapon upgrades or secondary weapons.