Got something going for it..
This little thing has really got something going for it. I'm going to dive right in.
Suggestion. Make the screen bigger or the characters smaller. The view range is q little too small for the range of the weapons and the speed of the bullets. For instance, to be in the same screen as the enemy makes it almost impossible to dodge their bullets. If you're gonna make the whole flying mecha thing work, more maneuverability would be fantastic and a larger playing field would be really nice.
Second, as mentioned before, a couple of things that need to be added like the ability to fix the helpers. Also I didn't feel like my ammunition increased when I upgraded. Actually I didn't feel anything change when I upgraded, until I concentrated on just one thing for a bit.
Which brings me to my next point. I think the curves of difficulty and upgrade aren't really balanced that well. The enemy difficulty curve rises too fast and too far ahead of the upgrade curve. Maybe increase the amount of energy acquired, or make the upgrades a little more potent. Since there are a ton of things to upgrade, including those on the helper ships, I don't think more credits would make it any easier. In fact, making more things feel accessible to the player doesn't detract that much from difficulty, rather it improves the playing experience.
The other thing I would suggest is perhaps layering the game a little bit. There's too much to figure out and too much going on right from the get go and it can get a little frantic. And I also would suggest maybe putting a time pause when upgrading. But that isn't too much of a big deal. But layer the game a little. Maybe add things on slowly per level. It helps get the game going.
Nice look, great feel, good gameplay. Good music and sound effects. And overall a nice play. It's got great potential. Let's see you really bust it out in a sequel.
