Samurai Aces III: Sengoku Cannon Retro Shmup

Release Date: July 13, 2020

If you squint at it from the right angle, Samurai Aces III: Sengoku Cannon is equal parts old‑school horizontal shmup and weirdo samurai fever dream — a compact, score‑focused throwback that trades modern flash for one very particular hook: the Cannon Shot multiplier. It’s cute, it’s crisp, and it will absolutely ask you to relearn the meaning of “risk vs reward.”

What it is

Originally hitting arcades (or niche platforms) in the mid‑2000s, Sengoku Cannon is a 2D horizontal shooter that leans hard into Japanese eccentricity: colorful characters, quirky enemy designs, and a scoring system designed to make dedicated players either cry with joy or grind their teeth. The Steam release adds modern conveniences — practice mode, configurable difficulty/lives/continues, key mapping, screen filters and online leaderboards — and keeps the core gameplay loop intact.

Story & Characters

The plot isn’t trying to win any literary awards, and that’s fine. Each selectable pilot gets a short, dramatic vignette that frames the action — rescue the princess, rampage for personal reasons, wander and fight — but the game’s real narrative is mechanical: how each character’s style changes your approach to the Cannon Shot and score chains.

• Masamitsu — Save the princess, do the hero thing.
• Koyori — Rampaging maiden; probably has opinions.
• Ayin — One‑eyed samurai; gruff and efficient.
• Mizuka — Wandering girl; mystery vibes.
• Tengai — Turbo monk; yes, turbo.
• Junis — Blonde ninja girl; who doesn’t love a dramatic hair whip.

Gameplay Mechanics — The Cannon Shot & Score System

The headline here is the Cannon Shot. When you dispatch enemies with a Cannon Shot, the game boosts your score multiplier. That single mechanic reshapes everything:

• Charge Shot vs Cannon Shot: You’ll juggle normal fire, a charge shot for heavy damage, and the Cannon Shot for scoring. Mastering when to use each is the core challenge.
• Powerups: Collect “P” items to power up your main weapon and “B” items for bombs that clear bullets — useful for survival and strategic multiplier preservation.
• Risk/Reward: Going for Cannon kills often means positioning in more dangerous spots. The multiplier spikes are satisfying but fragile.
• Practice Mode: You can pick difficulty and stages freely — very welcome for learning multiplier routes without the blood pressure spike.

If you enjoy score attack shooters where the path to the leaderboard is a carefully choreographed ballet of risk and precision, Sengoku Cannon delivers in spades. If you want a more casual run‑and‑gun experience, it politely suggests maybe try something else.

Visuals & Audio

The art wears its retro roots loud and proud: 2D sprites, bold color palettes, and stage designs that will feel familiar to anyone who grew up in arcades. It’s charming in a low‑to‑mid fidelity way — not trying to be photorealistic or ostentatious; instead it aims for clarity and personality.

• Visuals: Clean sprites, readable enemy telegraphs, and character designs that lean into anime tropes. The “eccentric Japanese” label fits.
• Audio: Punchy sound effects and an upbeat soundtrack that matches the pace. Not orchestral, but effective and unobtrusive.
• Presentation Notes: If you expect modern polish or cinematic menus, you might be disappointed. This is a gameplay‑first classic shooter aesthetic.

Options & Accessibility

The release does a lot of the modern shmup checklist correctly:

• Set lives from 1–9, continues from 0 to unlimited.
• Screen filter options (including normal +2) for people who like scanlines or softer pixels.
• Key configuration supports assigning Shot, Auto Shot and Bomb.
• Practice mode with stage selection — huge plus for learning scoring routes.

These options make the game approachable for newcomers while keeping the hardcore toolbox intact. It’s the sort of menu love letter that deserves a small bow.

Score Attack & Online Rankings

The Score Attack mode is the new star: fixed difficulty and a fixed number of lives create a standardized leaderboard environment. Coupled with online rankings, it turns the game into a competitive platform for players who live for leaderboard cultivation.

That said, leaderboards only matter if people use them. At launch, community size and engagement are the wildcards. If a handful of dedicated players embrace it, expect fierce, tiny leaderboards. If the crowd stays away, those global ranks may feel lonely.

Community Reception — What the Reviews Say

Steam summary: Mixed — 50% positive from 36 reviews (All Time).

What that split reveals:

• Strengths cited by fans: deep scoring system, tight controls, practice/leaderboard tools, and old‑school charm. Players who enjoy mastery and score grinding tend to praise the Cannon Shot mechanic and the clarity of risk/reward.
• Criticisms noted by detractors: the niche focus on score attacks can feel exclusionary to casual players; visuals and presentation are sometimes called dated; a perceived lack of content or variety beyond score chasing; and a few players expected a more modernized package rather than a faithful retro experience.

In short, the split reads like this: dedicated shmup players — especially those who enjoy optimizing multipliers and routes — tend to recommend it. Players expecting broader appeal, flashy production values, or a more forgiving pickup‑and‑play loop are more likely to be lukewarm.

How It Compares to Its Peers

Samurai Aces III sits in that middle ground between classic horizontal shooters (think R‑Type/Gradius lineages) and competitive score attack titles (links to Radiant Silvergun’s scoring depth or DoDonPachi’s leaderboard culture). Compared with modern indie shmups like Sine Mora or the bullet‑hell of Mushihimesama:

• Vs. R‑Type/Gradius: Sengoku Cannon is less about power‑up strats and more about scoring rituals; it’s smaller in scope but more focused on multiplier mastery.
• Vs. DoDonPachi/Mushihimesama: Not as visually overwhelming or bullet‑dense — it’s more measured and positional than “survive the screen of death.”
• Vs. Sine Mora/modern revivals: It forgoes cinematic presentation for pure arcade mechanics. If you want story and spectacle, look elsewhere; if you want a tight scoring loop, this is closer to the mark.

Strengths & Weaknesses — TL;DR

• Strengths: Unique Cannon Shot multiplier mechanic; tight, readable gameplay; good practice tools; configurable accessibility; online leaderboards for competitive players.
• Weaknesses: Niche appeal — casual players may find it repetitive or opaque; presentation feels retro rather than refreshed; leaderboard value depends on community size.

Final Thoughts

Sengoku Cannon is the kind of game that will warm the cockles of a specific audience: players who like to learn, optimize, and chase ever‑higher ranks. It’s not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is both its strength and its Achilles’ heel. The mixed review score (50% positive from 36 reviews) isn’t mysterious — it’s literally the game doing exactly what it promises for some players and doing less than some others hoped for.

For the scoreboard fiends: this is worth your time. For someone after flashy modernization or broad accessibility, it might feel like a very stylish sampler plate with limited portions.

Bottom line: Samurai Aces III: Sengoku Cannon is a compact, well‑implemented retro shooter with a clever scoring twist. If you love the idea of a cannon that makes your score dance and are willing to lean into a niche, this is a tidy little obsession. If you want cinematic bells and whistles, try another aisle.

Add Samurai Aces III Sengoku Cannon to your Steam collection!