A port of Power Blazer
22nd CENTURY WARRIOR! When New Earth's Master Computer is attacked by aliens, only NOVA, lord of the ancient Power Blade, can hope to battle through to Control Center and restore the Database!
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Un divertido juego de accion con sus zonas complicadas. Buen diseño en general.
There isn't much about this game that stands out but it's pretty fun.
Many of the enemies are extremely derivative of those in other games. I'm pretty sure the bats are ripped straight from Castlevania and one of the other enemies is traced from the player sprite in Contra.
There's a shump-esque satisfaction to exploding dudes and the upgrade system, especially after suffering through Power Blazer.
None of the stages or bosses are particularly challenging (except for the second for some reason?) or memorable since they don't really follow a specific theme (ex. in Power Blazer, one of the stages has some kind of bio/organic thing going on with plant enemies and boogers that fall from the ceiling and a boss that's a giant beehive. In Power Blade, however, this tileset is not utilized as much for that boss's stage and IIRC also appears in an optional area in one of the other stages?).
There's an "expert" mode but it doesn't change anything besides adding Castlevania-style knockback (but only on certain hits?) and making the time limit much stricter, which does make for some close calls but usually doesn't pose much of a threat.
Music is pretty good I guess.
I suppose it's nice to play a NES side-scroller that doesn't put up much of a fight once in a while.
Many of the enemies are extremely derivative of those in other games. I'm pretty sure the bats are ripped straight from Castlevania and one of the other enemies is traced from the player sprite in Contra.
There's a shump-esque satisfaction to exploding dudes and the upgrade system, especially after suffering through Power Blazer.
None of the stages or bosses are particularly challenging (except for the second for some reason?) or memorable since they don't really follow a specific theme (ex. in Power Blazer, one of the stages has some kind of bio/organic thing going on with plant enemies and boogers that fall from the ceiling and a boss that's a giant beehive. In Power Blade, however, this tileset is not utilized as much for that boss's stage and IIRC also appears in an optional area in one of the other stages?).
There's an "expert" mode but it doesn't change anything besides adding Castlevania-style knockback (but only on certain hits?) and making the time limit much stricter, which does make for some close calls but usually doesn't pose much of a threat.
Music is pretty good I guess.
I suppose it's nice to play a NES side-scroller that doesn't put up much of a fight once in a while.
Really solid action-platformer. A bit on the easy side, but that's not a bad thing at all. I had a great time playing it, and it has music from Kinuyo Yamashita (of Castlevania and Mega Man X3 fame), so fuck yeah
Twenty-second GOTW finished for 2023. Really surprised by this one. Still not even sure what the story was about, but the game was very fun. More of an exploratory approach than your typical platformer, which can be real annoying when you initially miss an informant, but certainly not something I'm used to seeing from a NES game with an action hero on the front. Weapon power ups are a little limited, but it feels great to get your hands on the Power Suit and then mow enemies down. Some pop-in enemies due to the system's limitations, but nothing felt unfair or cruel in it's difficulty or placement. Bosses were mostly pretty easy, especially with the Power Suit. The music is absolutely banging and real fun for each level. Overall, pretty pleased with this one!
Much like with Digger T. Rock, I myself am not too familiar with this game either. The only time I had ever experienced it was when I watched a playthrough of it, and I thought it looked interesting, and only a mere five months later, I finally decided to check out Power Blade. And aside from it looking completely ridiculous, with the Arnold Schwarzenegger wannabe on the front cover and the title screen, I actually found myself having a really good time with the game, and I think it is really good. It’s not exactly the most exciting or original game that you can find on the NES, but it was still worth finally checking out after all this time.
The story involves master computers, the future, and aliens, so you know you are definitely playing an NES game, the graphics are pretty good, even if they aren’t the most interesting thing to look at, the music is pretty good, the control is very solid and feels great to handle, and the gameplay is simple, yet effective with the ways it differentiates from other games at the time.
The game is an action 2D platformer, where you go through various stages, defeat enemies, gain items and powerups, and defeat bosses, so basically every other game on the NES in a nutshell, but this one does stand out from others in several ways. First off, unlike most other games at the time, you don’t just move from Point A to Point B in order to beat levels. Instead, you have to find a contact in each stage, who will give you an ID card that you need to access the boss of each stage. It may not seem like too much, but this extra step does allow for more exploration and location recognition, which makes the stages much more memorable as a result, and varies the gameplay enough to feel somewhat unique from others.
In addition, the versatility you have with your weapons, as well as the weapons themselves, also helps in making the game more fun and interesting. You wield a giant boomerang as your main weapon (which is the dumbest thing ever), which you can throw in 8 directions, which you can get upgrades for from enemies, as well as increasing the power of said boomerang by collecting stars. In addition, there is also a Power Suit that you can find in every level, which not only gives you extra hit points, but also gives you a more powerful attack that helps out a lot in certain scenarios. And finally, you can also find grenades that basically act as screen nukes, and finally cans of some unidentified food that can fully restore your health. It’s not the most creative or interesting selection of weapons and items, but they are very helpful at taking on threats that you will be facing.
I really have no complaints about the game overall, it is pretty solid, and I would consider it to be a hidden gem of the system. If I could complain about anything, I would say that the entire game does feel very generic. A lot of elements blend in together, such as level themes and enemies, with them reusing a lot of the same enemies throughout all the levels, and even just by taking a look at the game from an outside view, it doesn’t really look all that interesting, as it looks like every other NES platformer at the time. Despite that though, the game is still pretty fun, and hey, it even managed to get a sequel, so that must mean it had some amount of success back in the day.
Overall, while not doing much to stand out from the crowd, I would say this is a heavily overlooked title for the system that is short but sweet, and if you haven’t checked it out already, you definitely should. It gets two thumbs up from me. Let’s just hope that the sequel turns out to be as good as this one, or else it will be too clear on why this series died afterwards.
Game #187
The story involves master computers, the future, and aliens, so you know you are definitely playing an NES game, the graphics are pretty good, even if they aren’t the most interesting thing to look at, the music is pretty good, the control is very solid and feels great to handle, and the gameplay is simple, yet effective with the ways it differentiates from other games at the time.
The game is an action 2D platformer, where you go through various stages, defeat enemies, gain items and powerups, and defeat bosses, so basically every other game on the NES in a nutshell, but this one does stand out from others in several ways. First off, unlike most other games at the time, you don’t just move from Point A to Point B in order to beat levels. Instead, you have to find a contact in each stage, who will give you an ID card that you need to access the boss of each stage. It may not seem like too much, but this extra step does allow for more exploration and location recognition, which makes the stages much more memorable as a result, and varies the gameplay enough to feel somewhat unique from others.
In addition, the versatility you have with your weapons, as well as the weapons themselves, also helps in making the game more fun and interesting. You wield a giant boomerang as your main weapon (which is the dumbest thing ever), which you can throw in 8 directions, which you can get upgrades for from enemies, as well as increasing the power of said boomerang by collecting stars. In addition, there is also a Power Suit that you can find in every level, which not only gives you extra hit points, but also gives you a more powerful attack that helps out a lot in certain scenarios. And finally, you can also find grenades that basically act as screen nukes, and finally cans of some unidentified food that can fully restore your health. It’s not the most creative or interesting selection of weapons and items, but they are very helpful at taking on threats that you will be facing.
I really have no complaints about the game overall, it is pretty solid, and I would consider it to be a hidden gem of the system. If I could complain about anything, I would say that the entire game does feel very generic. A lot of elements blend in together, such as level themes and enemies, with them reusing a lot of the same enemies throughout all the levels, and even just by taking a look at the game from an outside view, it doesn’t really look all that interesting, as it looks like every other NES platformer at the time. Despite that though, the game is still pretty fun, and hey, it even managed to get a sequel, so that must mean it had some amount of success back in the day.
Overall, while not doing much to stand out from the crowd, I would say this is a heavily overlooked title for the system that is short but sweet, and if you haven’t checked it out already, you definitely should. It gets two thumbs up from me. Let’s just hope that the sequel turns out to be as good as this one, or else it will be too clear on why this series died afterwards.
Game #187
Pleasant surprise ! randomly found this game and was not sure what to expect but I honestly had a very good time. Very short game sitting at 7 levels it was a very quick finish and honestly a part of me wanted a few more levels. This is a side scrolling action game and a good one at that !
I will say the level design is really cool and interesting as this isn't a linear game you NEED to explore each level to find the key that will allow you into the boss room and I honestly enjoyed that aspect since the levels were well done. You have only 2 weapons to use which is a boomerang and grenades which you have a limited amount to use. The boomerang is fun to use and the longer you wait to throw it the farther it will be thrown. The grenade just wipes out the screen of enemies there isn't anything else to it. There is a suit you can find in each level that will give you free HP and a upgraded Beam boomerang and it is a very good weapon.
This is honestly a nice little hidden gem on the NES and I highly recommend giving it a go!
I will say the level design is really cool and interesting as this isn't a linear game you NEED to explore each level to find the key that will allow you into the boss room and I honestly enjoyed that aspect since the levels were well done. You have only 2 weapons to use which is a boomerang and grenades which you have a limited amount to use. The boomerang is fun to use and the longer you wait to throw it the farther it will be thrown. The grenade just wipes out the screen of enemies there isn't anything else to it. There is a suit you can find in each level that will give you free HP and a upgraded Beam boomerang and it is a very good weapon.
This is honestly a nice little hidden gem on the NES and I highly recommend giving it a go!