P.N. 03, Vanquish's mother.

Never thought I see anyone post about this game. I absolutely love it.

I think most people have the same view of it as IGN(gaming poison), who can't even grasp the basics of movement before flying in raging review mode. Read their review and see some of the dumb stuff they say. I'll probably post some counters here if there's enough discussion.

Repetitive settings never got to me. I actually loved the setting in this game especially the outside and those areas where the technology looks older.

It's a high score shooter just like Vanquish and it got the same response from players, love it or hate it.

This game is really good. It has this 'feel' to it. I've got the JP and PAL versions so a warning to anyone wanting to buy the JP version. It's easier than the western releases.

My Freeloader disc is gone so I never finished documenting all differences but I can tell you the suit upgrade and item costs are significantly less in the JP version, and there were a few rooms in the PAL ver that had extra enemies. I've never played the US ver but I assume it's identical to PAL. I remember something about the Papillon suit having different unlock requirements in JP ver.

The development history is interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.N.03

Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi summarized P.N.03's development as striving to create a game that is "fun to watch and fun to play". He listed audiovisuals, action, and speed as the game's key elements, and attempted to balance "tension experienced on the battlefield and the exhilaration of taking out the enemies".[8] Mikami wanted P.N.03 to express a feeling of simple old Nintendo games.

Early depictions of P.N.03 in the media highlighted the action aspects of the gameplay: acrobatics and shooting.[7][13][14] Initial development versions featured gameplay similar to Devil May Cry; Vanessa attacked with two pistols and performed acrobatic moves like Devil May Cry's protagonist, Dante.[3]

Here's a video of that version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUXlHwhaAHU

This version really resembles Vanquish more. There are cover mechanics and shooting while dodging/moving.

Feeling that it resembled Devil May Cry too closely, Mikami altered the game to reward players for performing defensive moves

I totally agree with this decision. It made the game more unique.

After leaving Capcom, Mikami later incorporated ideas he intended for P.N.03 into the 2010 title Vanquish

There you have it. I remember first playing Vanquish and getting a P.N 03 feel from it.

The development staff crafted the gameplay to avoid "button mashing"; instead players are meant to think prior to attacking by watching for enemy patterns.

IGN didn't like that, so they blamed the controls. No win button here.

Anyway, thanks for bringing this game up. Hope this can bring more attention to it.

Disregard the nonsense reviews. I just finished watching this video review. Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USxuLcJpbrs

Let me sum up the idiocy. It's basically a non-stop complaint.

"The movements are clumsy/awkward, you can't shoot while moving/jumping/crouching, crouching only has a forward roll (actually has side rolls too as I recall), there's no melee attacks, you can only dodge and then shoot (uh oh you might have to time something!), can't strafe, jumping is too high, you can't dodge-jump, attacks are limited, camera complaints, blah blah blah"

In other words, "I can't do it so it must be all these reasons".

Seriously I'm so tired of this kind of attitude. It reminds me of the Galerians Ash reviews, that complain about the limitations of each psychic power and complaining that they're not all ultimate invincible abilities. The downsides are what make things unique just like each weapon in Vanquish is different. It's would be like me giving Vanquish a terrible review because the shotgun doesn't have rapid fire, shoot through walls, homing bullets, and have a missile launcher attached.

So much emphasis on what CAN'T be done in that P.N 03 review.

I will admit there's a learning curve. The controls are different and take some practice, similar to Gun Valkyrie, an awesome Xbox title that has complex controls and are the bane of beginners, button mashers, and those after a 'Win Button'.

I read a topic about that. I recall some people getting a bit upset over the comparison.

I see the similarities though and it wouldn't surprise me if Mikami purposely did it. Too bad they don't have the rights for Vanessa or Gene. They would have totally suited being in Anarchy Reigns.

I'm surprised Sam didn't make it in. It would have been awesome to have all his melee attacks as regular moves for combos.