Virtual Boy Complete - Game #11
Everything I've been through with the VB up to this point was worth it. I had a massive smile on my face while playing this, it is such a great Star Fox-style rail shooter, with a lot fun little details. (I love how you can destroy unboarded ships and mechas to prevent the enemy army from boarding them)
The controls work really well, you can customise directional movement, you can slow down or speed up with a button, shooting feels good, and there's a sort of air dash (there's probably a better term for this on-rail shooter fans would know) to dodge bullets.
The graphics are unexpectedly great - I might not be getting the full picture since the emulator I used makes VB games grey-ish purple and not red, but I never had any problem with identifying what is good and bad, identifying what's a wall and what's a gap, so on. The biggest problem is draw distance, but even then everything renders in time for you to react
In terms of negatives: there are no bombs or alternate weapons as far as I could tell, which is a shame, perhaps they show up later, I dunno - also, the sound design is a bit funky, I get why they made it so that rapid-shooting doesn't make a sound (assuming it is intentional and not an oversight), but it makes shooting feel a little soft.
My biggest gripe is the boss fight, as I've said before, I'm not completing these games, only giving my first impressions after 1 or 2 levels so perhaps the later boss fights are better. This boss is fought in a very open level, which the ship clearly isn't meant to steer in, and the draw distance cannot support. There is no radar to see where the boss AFAIK, so you will be bombarded with lasers from behind.
Also, yeah, I dunno what's up with the Virtual Boy product placement on the corner of the screen lmao.
Everything I've been through with the VB up to this point was worth it. I had a massive smile on my face while playing this, it is such a great Star Fox-style rail shooter, with a lot fun little details. (I love how you can destroy unboarded ships and mechas to prevent the enemy army from boarding them)
The controls work really well, you can customise directional movement, you can slow down or speed up with a button, shooting feels good, and there's a sort of air dash (there's probably a better term for this on-rail shooter fans would know) to dodge bullets.
The graphics are unexpectedly great - I might not be getting the full picture since the emulator I used makes VB games grey-ish purple and not red, but I never had any problem with identifying what is good and bad, identifying what's a wall and what's a gap, so on. The biggest problem is draw distance, but even then everything renders in time for you to react
In terms of negatives: there are no bombs or alternate weapons as far as I could tell, which is a shame, perhaps they show up later, I dunno - also, the sound design is a bit funky, I get why they made it so that rapid-shooting doesn't make a sound (assuming it is intentional and not an oversight), but it makes shooting feel a little soft.
My biggest gripe is the boss fight, as I've said before, I'm not completing these games, only giving my first impressions after 1 or 2 levels so perhaps the later boss fights are better. This boss is fought in a very open level, which the ship clearly isn't meant to steer in, and the draw distance cannot support. There is no radar to see where the boss AFAIK, so you will be bombarded with lasers from behind.
Also, yeah, I dunno what's up with the Virtual Boy product placement on the corner of the screen lmao.