I wanted to like Journey to Silius a lot more than I did. For the first few levels, I was genuinely convinced I had found a hidden gem. Silius has a very fun movement system and some rock-solid game mechanics. For the most part, it's a pretty fun jump-n-shoot romp through Terminator-inspired environments and enemies. Unlike, say, Mega Man where you always have full control of your movement, Silius is similar to a lighter version of Castlevania's movement where you have to commit to your jumps. This leads to many tight situations where timing your jumps perfectly is a challenging and fun obstacle in its own right. The player's ability to duck also makes the game feel more dynamic, as now you can avoid enemies in ways more nuanced than some other games. The first few levels are decently designed, rarely feel unfair, and generally require a level of trial and error I find acceptable.

A consistent problem that a lot of NES games have, however, is that the game is simply too stingy with continues. While not as bad as some other games due to its extremely short length, Silius only gives the player one continue (read: six lives) to beat all fives levels, and with a game as difficult as Silius, I feel like it's simply unfair to kick the player back to the first level. The Ninja Gaiden trilogy, considered some of the most challenging of NES platformers, has infinite continues, so Silius doesn't have much of an excuse. I also felt that level four is when the game begins to lose its luster. Some of the enemy placements border on the absurd in ways that make Castlevania's infamous Medusa hallway look like child's play. The boss fights range from decent to terribly unfun, with only the first boss feeling decently designed. The hitboxes of the floating fish-like enemies are also larger than the actual sprite and can hit you even if you're ducking and visibly under them. Don't get me wrong, Silius is still a good bit of fun, but the rough edges become more obvious the more time you put into it.

If people remember anything about Journey to Silius though, it's easily its presentation. The soundtrack is legendary among the remix community, and the hard-hitting drums, distinctive SunSoft bass, and catchy tunes that bend and break the NES's sound chip are easily the highlight of the game among all else. The visuals are also rather attractive, and the first level's vision of an apocalyptic, green future hellscape is distinctive (and almost certainly a remnant of its brief tenure as a Terminator-licensed project). Even backgrounds that would typically be basic colors are given significantly more detail in Silius than even some Super Nintendo games. Jay McCray's sprite animates fluidly and the bosses feature large and detailed sprites. Sometimes, however, tiles from the bottom of the screen can appear at the top, which could look distracting.

Journey to Silius is a game I certainly don't regret playing because I had a lot of fun with its platforming, its first few levels, its detailed visuals, and its phenomenal soundtrack. However, the overly punishing continues system, the questionable enemy placement, and the poor boss fights roughened up the experience for me. I wish the game was put in the hands of more capable developers like Capcom, but as it stands, it's still a decent time despite these flaws. Silius might not be a hidden gem, but it is a diamond in the rough, buried under its own flaws.

Yet another game that I would not have beaten on my own if it wasn't for save states and rewinding on the switch. Honestly a lot of these Nintendo hard games are saved by the rewind and save state feature. This game is unbelievably hard in it's platforming and enemy placement. With a lot of the game demanding you make certain jumps and avoiding enemies while having some really stiff controls. I don't think this game is particularly good as it was back then simply because of how harsh it punishes you, and with a game over system a lot of the time you'd likely reach stage 3 and die before seeing the rest of the game. It's not even Ninja Gaiden type of hard where the game actively teaches you to jump and kill enemies properly. No, it just demands your full attention to performing these miracle moves every minute. Overall, I liked the enemy design of this game and the possibility of future installments having interesting weapon mechanics, but it's probably better dead.