Post by soop on Sept 11, 2018 7:44:44 GMT
Ninja Spirit was an early coin op conversion by Irem, released on the PC Engine 2 years after the games 1988 Arcade debut. Despite being released early in the console's life, it shows a mastery of the Engines palette. The colours are spot on for the broody, atmospheric look of the game, and some of the spritework is quite lovely. The game itself is a quick almost run and gun platformer that sees you move from left to right, dispatching enemy ninja until you get to the obligatory boss. But it has some neat ideas thrown in there too. You can gain power ups, notably in the form of "shadows" of your character, that follow you and effectively double and triple your firepower. There's also a lot of verticality in this game, there are often platforms high into the screen, and your characters excellent jumping control means you'll spend a lot of time in the air. There are also enemies which attack from above, just to keep you on guard. The last thing to mention, is that unlike other straight arcade ports, this one features both an arcade-accurate one life-one hit mode, and a slightly easier version where you can take multiple hits. This is a good call, since Arcade games are designed to take your money, and home console games of the time were starting to trend away from high scores, and towards things with a finite ending to be reached. Good call Ninja Spirit.
Super Star Soldier is probably my favourite Soldier series game. Obviously the plot is blah blah blah ALIENS, but this is one of the purest arcade-style shooters on the system in my opinion. It looks incredible, and the amount going on would be overwhelming at times if not for the sheer amount of screen clearing death you're capable of generating. The power up system is brilliantly simple: 4 weapons, each with three levels of power, along with things like homing missiles. There's also a subtle advantage to choosing the right weapon for the right sections. Music is some of the best on any HuCard in my opinion. Where this game really gets it right, is taking everything good about arcade shooters, and reworking it to a home system. It's not an incredibly difficult game, the fun comes from the variance in stages, and the thrill of what comes next.
Also, power ups are not sparse. This game doesn't fall into the trap of restarting you at a checkpoint with peashooter just before a boss. It never punishes you, it wants you to play. Against it, some of the backgrounds could be a little more detailed, but to its credit, it's an early release. I'd say this game lacks very little for what it is, a thoroughly enjoyable vertical shooter that never makes you want to scream in frustration. I've sat down and played through as far as I can get for a whole afternoon, getting a bit further each time, and I've loved every minute.
Super Star Soldier is probably my favourite Soldier series game. Obviously the plot is blah blah blah ALIENS, but this is one of the purest arcade-style shooters on the system in my opinion. It looks incredible, and the amount going on would be overwhelming at times if not for the sheer amount of screen clearing death you're capable of generating. The power up system is brilliantly simple: 4 weapons, each with three levels of power, along with things like homing missiles. There's also a subtle advantage to choosing the right weapon for the right sections. Music is some of the best on any HuCard in my opinion. Where this game really gets it right, is taking everything good about arcade shooters, and reworking it to a home system. It's not an incredibly difficult game, the fun comes from the variance in stages, and the thrill of what comes next.
Also, power ups are not sparse. This game doesn't fall into the trap of restarting you at a checkpoint with peashooter just before a boss. It never punishes you, it wants you to play. Against it, some of the backgrounds could be a little more detailed, but to its credit, it's an early release. I'd say this game lacks very little for what it is, a thoroughly enjoyable vertical shooter that never makes you want to scream in frustration. I've sat down and played through as far as I can get for a whole afternoon, getting a bit further each time, and I've loved every minute.