Cleared on March 5th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 4/160)
The game is very much like Contra, and if you know what Contra is, then you fire in multiple directions, run around and shoot things, all while using some fun weaponry. In fact, the people behind this were ex-Konami developers who went on to form their own studio and this was their debut game, a game to outmatch Contra in every way and well, I will say it's got its own charm. It has the advantage of being fair to play since you don't die in one hit and you get increased health over the course of the game to make later challenges manageable, and you do get unlimited continues... but I still have my problems with this game compared to Contra Hard Corps which came out one year later.
My biggest vendetta with this game is the lack of the ability to switch between Free or Fixed shot. Contra Hard Corps figured this out by pressing a button to switch between one or the other, but here, you have to choose one of two characters that represent these modes and stick with them. You either have to play a guy who can't be bothered to stand still while moving or a guy who is too afraid he'll miss if he moves. Not exactly a hallmark of a great soldier, and it becomes a bit of liability for certain boss fights where you feel you could've avoided an attack if you could move or just better able to aim by standing still.
I also didn't really like the majority of the common enemies just trying to approach you grapple you up in melee because it doesn't make sense to me. If you're facing someone in a gun, you don't just bull rush them, what do you think is going to happen? Sure some of them do shoot, but the ones that approach you in melee to grab you are just weird to me.
But other than that, this game is pretty much what you'd expect out of Contra except with a more colorful artstyle and a large variety of weapons. And by variety, I mean 16 different weapons in the game. You have 4 Elements that you can choose which include Homing, Lightning, Flame, and Machine Gun. Once you pick your starter, you can pick up an orb representing one of those four to create a new weapon and you'll have opportunities to try them out even ones not related to your starter weapon. They are fun to mix and match, and play around with.
That said, once you find out what might be the stupidest combination in the game, all bets are off. You pretty much just won the entire game. Homing and Lightning gives you a lightning fast laser shot that homes in on an enemy. You don't need to aim, just hold down a button, watch enemies get desecrated all around, dodge attacks, and that's it. The damage and mobility ratio it provides is absurd.
I know I mostly addressed the game's flaws, but I still really enjoy it. Like I said, it's a much more fair Contra. It has sharp and responsive controls and the difficulty never feels like it's cheapening you out. The bosses are really fun too.
The game is very much like Contra, and if you know what Contra is, then you fire in multiple directions, run around and shoot things, all while using some fun weaponry. In fact, the people behind this were ex-Konami developers who went on to form their own studio and this was their debut game, a game to outmatch Contra in every way and well, I will say it's got its own charm. It has the advantage of being fair to play since you don't die in one hit and you get increased health over the course of the game to make later challenges manageable, and you do get unlimited continues... but I still have my problems with this game compared to Contra Hard Corps which came out one year later.
My biggest vendetta with this game is the lack of the ability to switch between Free or Fixed shot. Contra Hard Corps figured this out by pressing a button to switch between one or the other, but here, you have to choose one of two characters that represent these modes and stick with them. You either have to play a guy who can't be bothered to stand still while moving or a guy who is too afraid he'll miss if he moves. Not exactly a hallmark of a great soldier, and it becomes a bit of liability for certain boss fights where you feel you could've avoided an attack if you could move or just better able to aim by standing still.
I also didn't really like the majority of the common enemies just trying to approach you grapple you up in melee because it doesn't make sense to me. If you're facing someone in a gun, you don't just bull rush them, what do you think is going to happen? Sure some of them do shoot, but the ones that approach you in melee to grab you are just weird to me.
But other than that, this game is pretty much what you'd expect out of Contra except with a more colorful artstyle and a large variety of weapons. And by variety, I mean 16 different weapons in the game. You have 4 Elements that you can choose which include Homing, Lightning, Flame, and Machine Gun. Once you pick your starter, you can pick up an orb representing one of those four to create a new weapon and you'll have opportunities to try them out even ones not related to your starter weapon. They are fun to mix and match, and play around with.
That said, once you find out what might be the stupidest combination in the game, all bets are off. You pretty much just won the entire game. Homing and Lightning gives you a lightning fast laser shot that homes in on an enemy. You don't need to aim, just hold down a button, watch enemies get desecrated all around, dodge attacks, and that's it. The damage and mobility ratio it provides is absurd.
I know I mostly addressed the game's flaws, but I still really enjoy it. Like I said, it's a much more fair Contra. It has sharp and responsive controls and the difficulty never feels like it's cheapening you out. The bosses are really fun too.