Blitz Angel Spica is a 2D side-scrolling brawler from Erobotan. It’s got a steep difficulty and it’s rough around the edges, but it’s fun nonetheless.

Welcome to Blitz Angel Spica, a beat ’em up with rape in all forms. If you’re familiar with classic games like Streets of Rage, then you’ve got a good idea of what this game is. There really isn’t much of a story; essentially, you just beat the snot out of bad guys and monsters who want to have their way with you. While Blitz Angel Spica may be mechanically similar to other brawlers, it has some unique features of its own. For starters, you have the ability to buy new skills and upgrade your stats, it has a unique “lane-based” movement system, and you can also go on dates. I will come back to these features a bit later, so for now, let me discuss another feature: the Peace meter.

This is your home base.

The Peace meter acts as a timer/life system. When you fail a stage or spend time going on dates, this meter will fall slightly. If you successfully complete a stage, it will gradually rise. When the Peace meter reaches zero, it’s game over. Some of the other mechanics are closely tied in with a few issues I had with the game, so I’ll cover them side by side.

One of my main frustrations with Blitz Angel Spica is the difficulty. Playing this on normal is an experience that equates to rape on its own. The worst part is that most of the game’s difficulty is related to things which are out of your control. Speaking of “control,” you’ll often feel like Spica is ignoring your button presses. It’s probably not so much that she isn’t reacting, but more that the enemy attacks are getting priority and they cancel out your own. There is also the issue where Spica’s punches often seem to fall short by a few millimeters. I’d like to see her attacks have a tiny bit more range or for the enemies to have more forgiving hitboxes.

Evidence of the AI being brutal

The AI can be brutal as well. Enemies have propensity to counter most of your attacks with uncanny precision. They also like to attack in groups, which brings the terms “stunlock” and “invincibility frames” to mind. When getting caught in a combo, there’s nothing you can do aside from waiting for the beating to end. At times of high, on-screen enemy count, you can find yourself stuck between multiple foes who will mercilessly pummel you one after the other. Since there are no frames of invincibility, this masochistic mauling may have no end aside from the game over screen.

Certain enemy attacks will knock you to the ground, and this is where some of the animated porn sequences come into play. Blitz Angel Spica is the type of game that primarily gives you rewards, like H-events, for playing poorly. This approach to lewd content has always been a point of contention with some H-game fans. Essentially, players want to see the adult content in an adult game; however, rather than that being a reward, it’s used as a punishment. Alternatively, this can be viewed as if the players are being punished for wanting to see that content. Either way, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Considering the intense difficulty of this game, players who go after said scenes are actively making the game more difficult.

Looks like someone is getting punished.

On another note, many enemies — especially the grunts — often refuse to initiate the sex scenes. While Spica is laying on the ground with her ass in the air, she’s more likely to have it kicked than fucked. If you are unfortunate enough to be hit while down, you’ll frequently be knocked into another enemy, where the beating will continue. Even if you do manage to initiate a sex scene, you’re going to suffer damage from that too.

Did someone order SPAM?!

There is one saving grace to this flaw, and that’s New Game+. After completing the game, you’ll most likely have leveled Spica to make her a formidable fighter. In this mode, you are afforded the opportunity to go back and unlock those sweet animations. At this point, the game becomes a lot more playable. With playability, comes enjoyment.

Going back to the controls/mechanics, you don’t have full 360° movement. Instead, there are 3 “lanes” that the characters inhabit. While movement to the left and right is standard, you must double tap up or down to let Spica slide up or down a lane. This tactic is your only real means of escaping from moments of stunlock and dodging projectiles. That being said, pulling it off can be a frustrating ordeal. With the way enemies like to gang up, shifting to a new lane can create an “out of the frying pan, and into the fire” scenario when you inadvertently slide into the attack of a different enemy.

Everyone is just waiting their turn.

Leveling your character is pretty straightforward, but the manner in which you gain credits to do so is not. To buy upgrades, you need to collect Doki Doki Cells. The most effective way to get them is either by failing a level or getting raped. Again, you’re rewarded for performing poorly. If you were to complete a level without a scratch, your only reward is tougher enemies. Facing them with your stock set of skills can be nightmarishly difficult.

Good job on that level! I guess I’ll save these upgrades then since you clearly don’t need them.

The one other way to get Doki Doki Cells is to go on a Doki Date. These are simple, animated sex scenes that will earn you some Cells. The amount you gain is based on your level in those specific types of dates, but that amount is paltry compared to what you get for losing. The only way to increase your level in date types is by going on them multiple times, but your level maxes out at 3, at which point, you only get 1 Cell per date. Considering the Peace meter drains each time you go on one, after level 3, they are no longer a viable option.

I like that these dates skip the boring stuff.

Blitz Angel Spica has an odd design choice when it comes to the level lengths. Most levels are a single screen of enemy grunts, followed by a boss battle. This may be to compensate for the unforgivable difficulty or lack of grunt variety, but it also leads to a short game. With practice, Blitz Angel Spica can easily be completed in under an hour; however, the difficulty will certainly pad out the play time for newcomers.

As I mentioned before, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a lot of fun to be had here. In fact, New Game+ is the best thing that could have happened to Blitz Angel Spica. In addition to the fact that the worry of losing is lessened by your increased power, you are also free to enjoy the sex scenes mid battle due to your increased health. You’ll also be able to unlock many of the other skills which make Spica faster, making the game feel more fluid and balanced.

Tentacles are part of a well-balanced hentai game.

For those of you who enjoy a challenge, you’re not forced to level your skills at all. If you so choose, you can indulge in the brutal difficulty to your heart’s content. The boss battles are a lot of fun too. Each boss has custom sex-based attacks, and they are a lot more willing to use them than the grunts are. One section of the game gives you multiple bosses to fight simultaneously and as difficult as it is, you get the most rewarding feeling after beating it. In fact, I could say that for the game in its entirety.

While it’s not perfect, you’re not going to walk away from this game feeling empty. As challenging as it may be, you can always drop the difficulty to ease the pain. The infrequency of which the enemies rape you can be a bit of a letdown, but it’s a lot better than similar games where it’s so frequent that it’s annoying. If you’re in the mood for a quick, lewd, side-scrolling beat ‘em up, Blitz Angel Spica will serve you well. It’s also got controller support, which is much appreciated for a game of this type.

If you’re interested in picking up Blitz Angel Spica, you can purchase it from DLSite, currently on sale for $8.70, a far cry from its original $17.41 price.