Learning there was a Ninja Gaiden inspired action-platformer on my fav system, Skyblazer was always something I would go into thinking I would fall in love with it. There are shmup levels, large amounts of moves, levels centered around wall climbing, all sorts of exploits to speedrun through levels, animations that are hilariously fluid... so why is it something I come out of just thinking "yeah that sure was an action-platformer I guess" and not something I'm super passionate about like with other action-platformers of the era? I wish I could put my finger on it
Perhaps the biggest positive I can give the game is its graphical presentation. Between the rotating pillar levels and the mode 7 world map shmup minigame (yes this has 2 different shmup modes!) there's a lot to take in. There's fuckall slowdown to be had, the perspective is quite clean, all the animations have just enough frames to not be overly fluid for such a fast-paced game... it's honestly really radicoolio
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1142671002535460884/Skyblazer_USA_-_Snes9x_1.60_2023-08-19_23-33-10.mp4
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1142671053714358272/Skyblazer_USA_-_Snes9x_1.60_2023-08-20_00-05-48.mp4
The gameplay is where I truly am conflicted. There's a lot to like but also a lot to dislike. To start with the negatives, the bosses are truly uninspired. Every boss in the game is either "mash punch to kill it to death while it pathetically squirms in retaliation" or "avoid a million things on the screen" with kinda jack shit in between? I guess some like the wall boss are cool visually.
https://gyazo.com/d1be426f41f6f2c67a8c260f25772736
The shmup minigames are cool conceptually and pretty fun on a first playthrough, but given that the player can only have one projectile onscreen at a time and there are no subweapons in those stages (despite subweapon pickups being available) I can't imagine they would be any fun on replays.
Still, the shmup levels while they last are a cool way to change the pace and never quite overstay their welcome.
Sky's arsenal is immense. The omnidirectional blast is useful on certain bosses, the charge attack allows one to skip a shit load of platforming which is nice, the phoenix form avoids pits... of course the optimal strategy for most of the game is to spam the heal spell but it's alright since the main character's 3 hit combo gets the job done and can even be extended by ducking mid-combo. Also helps extra aerial time can be gained by mashing attacks in mid-air. And definitely be sure to rack up 50 lives ASAP in the first tower, lord knows some levels will require them.
Music and story are both mediocre and I don't feel like getting into them at all. There's nothing bad about them but nothing 1% as sauce-filled as the NES Ninja Gaiden games for example.
Anyhow, Skyblazer is a solid enough action-platformer that everybody owes it to themselves to try once. I ended up needing to start the game over from the beginning 4 times in my life to actually get around to finishing it today. It can shake hands with Soul Blazer for being the most 7/10 game titled S_Blazer in its genre. Overall, one of Sony's best games by far.
Also... the main character is totally just Goku. Similar colours, super saiyan aura, energy blasts, the spiky hair etc. I never even watched DBZ yet this shit was blatant. Jesus LOL.
Perhaps the biggest positive I can give the game is its graphical presentation. Between the rotating pillar levels and the mode 7 world map shmup minigame (yes this has 2 different shmup modes!) there's a lot to take in. There's fuckall slowdown to be had, the perspective is quite clean, all the animations have just enough frames to not be overly fluid for such a fast-paced game... it's honestly really radicoolio
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1142671002535460884/Skyblazer_USA_-_Snes9x_1.60_2023-08-19_23-33-10.mp4
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1048770623805079633/1142671053714358272/Skyblazer_USA_-_Snes9x_1.60_2023-08-20_00-05-48.mp4
The gameplay is where I truly am conflicted. There's a lot to like but also a lot to dislike. To start with the negatives, the bosses are truly uninspired. Every boss in the game is either "mash punch to kill it to death while it pathetically squirms in retaliation" or "avoid a million things on the screen" with kinda jack shit in between? I guess some like the wall boss are cool visually.
https://gyazo.com/d1be426f41f6f2c67a8c260f25772736
The shmup minigames are cool conceptually and pretty fun on a first playthrough, but given that the player can only have one projectile onscreen at a time and there are no subweapons in those stages (despite subweapon pickups being available) I can't imagine they would be any fun on replays.
Still, the shmup levels while they last are a cool way to change the pace and never quite overstay their welcome.
Sky's arsenal is immense. The omnidirectional blast is useful on certain bosses, the charge attack allows one to skip a shit load of platforming which is nice, the phoenix form avoids pits... of course the optimal strategy for most of the game is to spam the heal spell but it's alright since the main character's 3 hit combo gets the job done and can even be extended by ducking mid-combo. Also helps extra aerial time can be gained by mashing attacks in mid-air. And definitely be sure to rack up 50 lives ASAP in the first tower, lord knows some levels will require them.
Music and story are both mediocre and I don't feel like getting into them at all. There's nothing bad about them but nothing 1% as sauce-filled as the NES Ninja Gaiden games for example.
Anyhow, Skyblazer is a solid enough action-platformer that everybody owes it to themselves to try once. I ended up needing to start the game over from the beginning 4 times in my life to actually get around to finishing it today. It can shake hands with Soul Blazer for being the most 7/10 game titled S_Blazer in its genre. Overall, one of Sony's best games by far.
Also... the main character is totally just Goku. Similar colours, super saiyan aura, energy blasts, the spiky hair etc. I never even watched DBZ yet this shit was blatant. Jesus LOL.