Let’s face it. Air-based shooters, in terms of controls, have reached a creative impasse.  The game play was destined to be limited, but there are plenty of ways to build around that to still create a unique experience. Some games take the route of crafting intricate, beautiful backgrounds (Soldner-X Himmelsturmer), and others take the path of ridiculous plots (Otomedius). And then there’s Kolibri. A game so original it’s surprising you don’t hear more buzz (pun intended) about it.

Kolibri is a shooter for the Sega 32X that finds the player as a hummingbird with the intent of ridding the land of a dark crystal that is destroying the environment. The game begins with you simply killing bugs and bringing peace to your hummingbird brethren, but as the story unfolds more and more the scope broadens greatly and finds the player’s kolibri facing bigger baddies and taking on more difficult tasks.

The background and style of the game are beautiful and peaceful, creating an interesting juxtaposition when compared to other shmups. It’s easy to make the mistake that the game will be easy for these reasons, but that’s a lesson quickly learned.  The enemies often travel in packs, which forces you to become very tactical if you want to defeat all of them. Even the finest shmup-ers will have a bit of trouble as the game progresses.

Ever since popular online comic Penny Arcade dubbed it “arguably the finest hummingbird based shooter on the 32X,” the game has launched into what I like to call "Katamari status". It has become a game lovingly known for its quirkyness.  It’s easy to see why, given the plot and interesting protagonist.

Kolibri is a uniquely charming game that is worth the time of any old school gamer.  It may not be easy to find, and it may reside on a somewhat obscure piece of hardware, but tracking it down is definitely worth your time.