Con un uso creativo de todo el potencial de visual que le ofrecía el limitado hardware del NES, este increíble título de la subestimada Sunsoft da catedra del diseño de niveles variable así como de alternar entre dos jugabilidades que son dos mundos muy distintos.

Como tanque, Sophia the third tiene un arsenal vastísimo que brinda al jugador un apetitoso abanico de posibilidades para defenderse de los monstruos del sub-suelo además de contar con una movilidad que se siente de ensueño y un mapeado extenso e inter-conectado que no tenía nada que envidiar al mapa del primer metroid.

Y en cuanto a las partes del piloto a pie, si bien el control es algo tosco pone al jugador en segmentos de acción rápida y de sumo cuidado donde la potencia del poder ofensivo de nuestra arma dependerá de lo bien que sorteemos los peligros que rodean nuestro entorno.

Con jefes de ensueño que ponen en práctica nuestros aprendizajes del arsenal variopinto y una música tan ambiental como mítica Blaster Master es sin duda uno de esos títulos que con justa razón han cosechado un nicho de fanáticos, cada vez más creciente gracias a la intervención de Inti Creates con el fantástico reboot (Zero).

Y es que, aun cuando ya hayan jugado los títulos modernos dar un repaso histórico a la aventura original de Jason en busca de su rana Fred es más que obligado, háganse un favor y no se priven de esta joya del pasado.

This game has some great ideas that are barely expanded upon or executed well. Going into top-down sections for supplies is a great idea, but it's execution is meh. The top-down gun upgrades are lost when you get hit and are extremely sparse in placement, so unless you're really good you probably won't keep it. This problem is made greater by the fact that every boss is in the top-down section. Why half of the bosses aren't in the SOPHIA sections is beyond me, since you also get ammo for SOPHIA from the top-down sections, who controls much better than Jason. In fact, why couldn't every boss be with SOPHIA? The game would instantly be better.

Anyway, you can also play as Jason in the 2D sections, but he's way worse to play as than SOPHIA. There's only two moments where playing as him in the overworld is necessary, and I think there could've been more honestly, because what we got was pretty basic. Still, those two moments were pretty neat.

The backtracking is also a neat idea, but its execution is dumb. You go from stage 1 to 2 to 3 to 4, then back to 1 with new abilities, from there get to 5 and 6, go back to level 1 and then 2, go to level 7, back to 2 and then 3, and then 8. Why was it straightforward for half the game before the developers said, "Now go back to the very beginning"? It should've had level 1 be a center world where you go to each level, get a powerup, go back to 1, then go to the next stage through there. Or, just a completely interconnected map.

And then there's the final level, which it seems was made by someone who hates videogames. Extremely precise jumps, a jank wall climb, and general timewasting is present all throughout. Why? I don't know, I guess developers were still used to arcades where you don't want people to finish your game.

Oh yeah, obligatory 'Play the Japanese Version because they removed unlimited continues in the US versions because of rentals or something'. I actually played the US version, but I used save states. I know, I'm too far gone. Other than that, the game is fine. 6/10 for now, but it could go lower after I play Blaster Master Zero.

The wall upgrade you get in the end is not only a cumbersome and horribly-designed mechanic, there are traps in the last level whose very premise is predicated on the fact that the wall upgrade is cumbersome, horribly designed, and not even necessarily so. Maybe they could have just made an upgrade that was useful and fun instead of build its awfulness into the level design and then just shrug and say I dunno, get better at games, nerd. Or, you know, at least let me turn it off! I had such a blast playing this game otherwise and it certainly would have been in my top three NES games but then it just... I mean just... there's difficult, and then there's just the sheer contempt that developers had for game players back in the 80's and 90's. Who hurt them? And I mean then after you see the way they treat other people like this, and then you're going to turn around and even try to make me feel bad for using save states? Why shouldn't I use them? What have they ever done for me lately to deserve me not using them?

As much as I enjoy traversing interconnected maps, think Blaster Master could've been better benefited with a more linear structure. The movement is a bit too limited and some of the runs are a bit too harsh to warrant the amount of backtracking involved in this title. Still, there's a lot of fun to be had with the game's high-energy action and creativity. One of those titles where it's clear to see why it has such a positive legacy, even if the experience as a whole hasn't held up all too well. 3/6

I'm stuck on Area 3

It's like Metroid. Amazing music, nice atmosphere for NES standards, it's a technical marvel...

But the exploration platformer genre was simply not there yet in terms of its game design mentality branching out from the action platformer in the right ways, and in terms of its now laser-focused awareness on what quality of life features the genre needs, or at least benefits heavily from.

I want to play Blaster Master Zero one day, though. It looks like good fun!