Nanostray 2

Addressing the complaints many had with tacked-on touchscreen features, Nanostray 2 boasts three control schemes – classic control, left-handed touch control, and right-handed touch control, classic being the default scheme. The classic scheme employs the A and B buttons for primary and secondary weapons, the D-pad for movement, and the shoulder buttons (L and R) to change satellite drone placement. The touch control scheme employs the stylus/touch screen for movement, the D-pad or face buttons for use of the primary weapon, and the shoulder buttons for use of the secondary weapon. Like the previous game, gameplay focuses more on graphics quality rather than touch-screen control.

Customization is now a key part of the experience: at the start of a level, players have the ability to adjust which special weapons they'll take into the fight, alter the angle of their side-mounted guns as they get mounted on the front, sides and rear of the ship, and even the ship's sensitivity to D-pad commands. Besides the main single-player mode, Nanostray 2 also has a Challenge mode, where players can try to get a set number of points, collect a set number of coins, or survive for a specific time limit.

Taking place in the future, the supply ship E.S.S. Ariga is returning from its latest voyage when the awakening crew is alerted by a three-year-old distress call. The colonized area the Ariga is returning to has been contaminated by a techno-virus known as Nanostray. According to the distress call, the Nanostray virus had infected the colonist technology from computers to war-machines and made each one hostile. A flight commander has been assigned to win back the infested areas and, with the help of Officer Diane Stewart aboard the Ariga, discover and destroy the source of the Nanostray virus.

Nanostray 2 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Some reviewers praised features such as the 3D graphics and solid gameplay, and others criticized the still-awkward-though-completely-optional touch-screen controls and unusual positions of save points between levels. GameSpot praised it as "a dyed-in-the-wool shoot-'em-up that offers great action in a shiny, proficient package", while lamenting its "D pad controls [as] too sluggish" and its "Disappointing single-card play". IGN praised the game's graphics as "impressive...even the title screen" while lamenting its "enemy and vehicle design [as] uninspired. Game Informer gave the game an above-average review, while Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power gave it mixed reviews, a few months before the game was released Stateside.