Strike Witches STG is a vertical Shoot-em-up game similar to the Tohou games(and various others) where you pilot a team of Witches through waves of Neuroi and Neuroi bosses.
The controls are simple, and the game itself is fairly short, but it's a blast to play, and getting the hang of(and getting to use) the various witches is a lot of fun.
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The Basics
You control a team of two or three witches, and only your piloted witch(the one you directly control) can be shot down. The others either trail behind you or(in the case of Lucchini and Sanya) hover nearby wherever you position them and/or lock onto your character. You activate your teammates special abilities by grazing them against enemy shots, beams, or the enemies themselves. Each "lead" witch, generally, has a secondary magical talent as well, but it has to recharge between uses(letting off the fire key will let you recharge faster).
Controls
Arrows: Movement
Z: Fire
X: Special Attack
C: Pauses
V: Activates scoring multiplier
You can choose between five teams of witches, each of which have their own unique mix of abilities:
Team 1: Miyafuji, Sakamoto, Lynnette
A balanced team, each of the members fires machinegun bullets when you press fire, spreading damage pretty evenly across the screen.
Secondary: Miyafuji creates a LARGE area shield.
Teammates: When Sakamoto grazes an enemy or shot, she'll take a swipe with her sword, damaging enemies and destorying bullets(but not beams). When Lynn grazes an enemy she fires off a massive blast from her cannon, which will destory bullets and damage foes.
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Team 2: Barkhorn, Hartmann, and Minna
Another fairly balanced team, they have slightly lover overall defensive capability compared to Team 1, but higher offensive capability.
Secondary: Barkhorn pulls out and swings around a steel girder(a la Episode 12). It requires some practice to use right, as you have to use momentum for it(that is fly forward, then slightly to one side, then backward to make it physically swing around you) but it does impressive damage and deflects most shots.
Teammates: When Erica brushes a foe, she performs her Sturm attack(barreling forward through enemies inside a powerful shield). When Minna is grazed, she erects a small shield.
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Team 3: Shirley and Lucchini
An offensive oriented team, what they lack in passive defenses they make up for in attack power. Lucchini hovers wherever you put her, firing off a three-way spread of shots and creating a small shield around herself. If you fly into her, you will link together, and her fire will be concentrated forward for maximum focused damage.
Secondary: When you are seperated, you can use the Secondary key to maneuver Lucchini, effectively "calling" her to wherever you are. When linked up, pressing the secondary key will perform Lucchini's "Fastball special" attack she used in EP 12, firing her forward through enemies and erecting a blue shield-wall behind her(but sending her offscreen for a few seconds). This attack(and the blue shield-wall) will damage foes and destroy both bullets and beams.
Teammate: When Lucchini isn't attached, she generates a small shield that can be used defensively to block shots and beams.
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Team 4: Sakamoto and Perrine
Another offensive oriented team, this pair has NO passive defense. It's all about positioning, dodging, and making maximum use of Perrine's Tonnerre attack, making it one of the harder teams to use effectively.
Secondary: Sakamoto takes a swipe with her sword that will deflect bullets and beams and does pretty hefty damage. It's primarily a defensive move, though and charges relatively quickly as well, which is a benefit.
Special Secondary:: By grazing close to enemy shots, beams, or enemies themselves, Mio will slash with her sword and fire a beam foward. This attack will not deflect shot, does do impressive damage, usually able to destroy most weaker neuroi in one swipe. There's a faint circle around here that indicates the trigger range for the attack.
Teammate: When Perrine grazes a foe she initiates her Tonnerre attack, creating a wide field of electricity around her. This attack damages foes and destroys bullets.
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Team 5: Eila, Miyafuji, and Sanya
A powerhouse team with excellent offense and defense... probably the most powerful team in the game, honestly. Sanya begins play hovering nearby, generating a small shield around her and firing off scatter missiles, while Miyafuji trails behind Eila. Flying into Sanya and linking up will cause Sanya to launch massive missiles which seek foes and will detonate on impact into massive explosions which damage foes and block bullet fire.
Secondary: Only used to call Sanya to you, or disengage her if you are linked up.
Teammates: Sanya generates a shield, which can be used defensively, and brushing Miyafuji against foes will cause her to create a small shield.